News

It's been just over 40 years since the rock-and-roll mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap altered the trajectory of comedy forever, and it's coming back in a big way. Bleecker Street has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the 1984 cult classic and is planning a nationwide U.S. theatrical release of a newly restored editionthis summer. It's a perfect compliment to the newly titled sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, which has an actual release date — Sep. 12, 2025. There's a new video teaser for it, and it looks like director Rob Reiner is ready to turn it up to 11, and beyond.

Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer reprise their iconic roles as the legendary heavy metal band Spinal Tap. Reiner returns as documentarian Martin “Marty” Dibergi, with cameos from music legends Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. Also appearing will be Paul Shaffer, Fran Drescher, Don Lake,...

Star of the new movie Reagan, Dennis Quaid, appears to be setting up Facebook to blame if his new biopic about the late president fails to be a hit in theaters. Quaid claims that the social media site is "censoring the free flow of ideas" by not allowing an ad for Reagan to be monetarily boosted, thus causing it to have less of an impact on moviegoers who might have otherwise been inclined to check out the film had they seen the promo on Facebook. Quaid portrays the 40th president in the new film, which is slated for release in a couple of weeks on August 30.

Reagan (2011)

From dusty small-town roots, to the glitter of Hollywood and then on to commanding the world stage, Reagan is a cinematic journey of overcoming the odds. Told through the voice of Viktor Petrovich, a former Kgb agent whose life becomes inextricably linked with...

Exclusive: Michael Stahl-David (Cloverfield), Scottie Thompson (Crown Vic) and Michael Weston (Home Before Dark) are in production in Ohio on Down to the Felt, an indie dark comedy with action elements from filmmaker Jon Osbeck. The trio joins a cast that also includes Jo-Ann Robinson and Cullen Douglas.

Written and produced by Dino Tripodis, Ralph Scott, and Osbeck, Down to the Felt tells the story of Paul (Stahl-David), a down-on-his-luck compulsive gambler who makes a desperate deal with a psychopathic hitman (Weston) to kill him in two weeks. But then he meets Erica (Thompson), a mystery woman, and life suddenly starts dealing him aces.

Previously co-directing the award-winning military drama Minus One, Osbeck is also producing Down to the Felt through his production shingle Big Deal Pictures, alongside Douglas.

Stated Osbeck, “It’s truly an embarrassment of riches to be working with both Michaels and Scottie. Their roles all demand...

Jeffrey Donovan will not be returning as Detective Cosgrove for Season 23 of “Law & Order,” Variety has confirmed.

According to TVLine, who was first to report the news, producers are already on the search for a new series regular. The outlet reports sources claim the two parted ways due to creative differences.

Donovan joined the cast in 2021, portraying Detective Cosgrove in Seasons 21 and 22 of the series revival. Cosgrove, a junior detective, joined the NYPD team as the new partner of Det. Kevin Bernard (Anthony Anderson). “Frank is a tough-as-nails detective that seeks justice by whatever means necessary. Every legal drama needs a bad cop, and Donovan shines,” reads his official character description, per NBC.

Probably best known for his leading work as former CIA operative Michael Westen on the USA series “Burn Notice” for seven seasons, Donovan also gained recognition with notable roles on FX’s “Fargo” and Hulu’s “Shut Eye.

Exclusive: Rob Reiner, who directed Lbj starring Woody Harrelson, and journalist Soledad O’Brien have teamed up to find out the truth about JFK’s murder.

The pair is co-hosting Who Killed JFK? for iHeartPodcasts. The ten-part series is a deep dive into one of America’s greatest murder mysteries.

It will feature interviews with authors, witnesses, and forensic experts as they look to connect the dots of JFK’s assassination 60 years later. These include CIA officials, medical experts, Pulitzer-prize winning journalists, eyewitnesses and a former Secret Service agent who, in 2023, came forward with groundbreaking new evidence. The duo will also discuss their own theories and ask why it still matters today.

The series will premiere on November 8 ahead of the 60th anniversary of President Kennedy’s death on November 22.

You can listen to the trailer here.

“Sixty years ago, President John F. Kennedy was gunned down in broad daylight on the streets of Dallas.

In a summer of many misses, “Sound of Freedom” has become a major and unlikely box office hit, making a sequel seem a foregone conclusion. But who exactly holds the rights to tackle a new outing? Well, it’s complicated.

A representative for producer Mike Ilitch Jr. told Variety that her client signed a deal with Tim Ballard, the anti-human trafficking activist who is the subject of the breakout film, “for exclusive life rights” and that the pair recently began developing a follow-up. Ilitch Jr., the son of Mike Ilitch, billionaire owner of Little Caesars Pizza, wasn’t going to stop there. He also planned a scripted series and a docuseries about Ballard’s various missions rescuing children from sexual exploitation.

The “Sound of Freedom” franchise plan also included leveraging an unnamed Ballard nonprofit and other nongovernmental organizations “to provide targeted resources, specific calls to action and further real-life and...

Peter Werner, an Oscar-winning director known for his work behind the camera on such TV series as “Moonlighting,” “A Different World” and “Law & Order: Svu,” has died at age 76.

His brother Tom Werner, co-founder of The Carsey-Werner Company, said via an email to The Hollywood Reporter that Peter died Tuesday morning in Wilmington, North Carolina, of a torn aorta.

Born in New York on Jan. 17, 1947, Werner earned his B.A. from Dartmouth College, his M.A. from Antioch University and an Mfa from the American Film Institute.

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While still a student at AFI, Peter won an Oscar for his 1976 live-action short film “Region of Ice,” which was based on Joyce Carol Oates’ short story and starred Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan.

The next year, he began his long and illustrious...

Peter Werner, the Oscar-winning director known for his television work that spanned five decades and included helming episodes of such popular series as Moonlighting, A Different World, Justified and Law & Order: Svu, has died. He was 76.

Werner died Tuesday morning in Wilmington, North Carolina, his younger brother, Tom Werner (producer on The Cosby Show, Roseanne, That ’70s Show, The Conners), told The Hollywood Reporter. “He had a torn aorta that the doctors weren’t able to repair. So sudden,” he wrote in an email.

As a student project while attending the American Film Institute, Peter Werner directed the 1976 short film In the Region of Ice, which was based on Joyce Carol Oates’ short story and starred Fionnula Flanagan. The project won the Oscar for live-action short film.

His career kicked off from there, with Werner helming a 1977 episode of Family. The ABC drama counted Mike Nichols and Aaron Spelling as executive producers.

Sony Pictures Classics has announced October-December release plans for The Return of Tanya Tucker; Salavatore: Shoemaker Of Dreams; The Son; Living; and Turn Every Page.

Additionally, it said, One Fine Morning, written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve and starring Léa Seydoux, and Davy Chou’s Return To Seoul, which were both acquired out of Cannes, will have one-week qualifying runs by the end of the year before their 2023 releases.

Kathlyn Horan’s The Return Of Tanya Tucker, featuring Brandi Carlile will be released on October 21, 2022 in New York and Los Angeles before expanding to additional markets. The documentary follows Tanya’s richly creative, utterly captivating, bumpy ride back to the top as Brandi encourages her to push past her fears to create a new sound and reach a new audience.

Luca Guadagnino’s documentary film, Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams, which tracks Ferragamo’s life from humble beginnings to California and...

Ready to rock?

Castle Rock Entertainment, Rob Reiner’s company that recently re-launched its film division after going somewhat dormant, is back and with a big new project to shop around the Cannes Film Festival: “Spinal Tap 2,” a sequel to 1984’s immortal comedy classic “This Is Spinal Tap.” And what’s more – everybody is back, including Reiner (as director and in the film as Marty Dibergi), Harry Shearer, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest, Castle Rock announced in a statement.

“When it was announced that Spinal Tap would reunite for one final concert, Marty DeBergi saw this as a chance to make things right with the band who viewed ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ as a hatchet job. So he left his position as visiting adjunct teacher’s assistant at the Ed Wood School of Cinematic Arts in pursuit of film history,” said Reiner in a statement.

Specific plot details for “Spinal...

Paul Bogaards, whose departure from Alfred A. Knopf earlier this month brought a close to his 32-year career as a publicity and marketing exec at the publishing house, is already on to the next chapter: Bogaards announced today the launch of his new company, Bogaards Public Relations LLC.

Clients already lined up include authors Robert Caro, Dani Shapiro and Clémence Michallon, The Joan Didion Estate and The Sonny Mehta Fellowships in Creative Writing.

In an email to colleagues today, Bogaards describes the model for the new company as “a long runway business, not a quick fix shop.”

“If you are looking for someone to book a tour – that’s not us,” he writes. “Think of us as project managers – with you, your work, or your company as the project. Our mission is to help writers broaden their readership through careful analysis of their work and by developing long arc campaigns for their books and identities.

Exclusive: Netflix continues a turn in the barrel with today’s staff walkout to protest displeasure with Dave Chappelle’s The Closer. Across the dial, HBO has upcoming an episode of its reality series We’re Here airing November 1 that was filmed in Selma, Alabama. A trio of people — trans, gay and the mother of a lesbian who was murdered — describing the difficulties of living LGBTQ+ lives in the South, the episode is an antidote to the polarizing Chappelle Netflix special. And with the inclusion of several women who were foot soldiers in that march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in 1965 that galvanized the civil rights movement, you can see similarities between that struggle and the ones that We’re Here focuses on.

We’re Here just began its second season, with Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara & Shangela reprising as the trio dispatched to Red State locations in America to mentor...

Castle Rock Entertainment, the stalwart content label founded in 1987 by partners including Rob Reiner and Alan Horn, is reviving its film production unit with a $175 million cash infusion.

Reiner remains CEO of the outfit, with co-presidents Michele Reiner and Matthew George. The new fund will develop, produce and finance feature films, and is backed by blue chip investors and banks. David Oliver of Cit Bank, who structured the deal with Daisy Stall of California Bank & Trust, is running point.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” Reiner said upon the announcement. “The Castle Rock lighthouse has always signaled a safe harbor for the creative community. With this relaunch, we will be able to continue the tradition of providing an environment for filmmakers to do their best work.”

Castle Rock is behind some of the most indelible films in the American canon, including “When Harry Met Sally,” “A Few Good Men,” “In the Line of Fire,...

Exclusive: Two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern is starring with Richard Grieco, Michael Paré, Sofia Nistratova, Nick Davi, Mike Mendez in the horror thriller feature The Devil’s Trap which is commencing production.

In the film directed by Mike Mendez, a big city hospital is terrorized by a demonic presence. In the quiet nighttime corridors and patient rooms of a city hospital, Abigail (Nistratova) consoles her traumatized brother, Billy (Davi) who is now a paraplegic. Billy suffers from horrible nightmares in which he revisits his childhood, where we meet his alcoholic and violent father. Sharing Billy’s hospital room is a dying man, Mr. Cohen (Dern) who seems to know everything about Billy and Abigail. There’s also another horrific presence roaming in the hospital terrifying patients and staff alike. Paré portrays Father Gestas. Grieco is the lovestruck hospital orderly who worships his nurse g.f. Diana. Their romantic interludes in...

Archie Bunker might call this “Meathead vs. Maga.”

Rob Reiner said in an interview today that he is working on a “10- to 13-episode” TV project about the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Watch a clip from the sit-down above.

The Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind films ranging from This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride and A Few Good Men to Lbj and Shock and Awe told SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah that he is prepping a project called The Spy and the Asset.

“It’s all about Putin and Trump, and it takes them from their childhoods up to the point where they cross and what happens to democracy as a result of this convergence,” he said on the satcaster’s The Dean Obeidallah Show. Reiner later added: “I wanna do it because, for me, it’s like … taking the first real cut in history.”

Reiner noted that he...

CNN announced a batch of new series at the WarnerMedia upfront, including Patagonia, Nomad with Carlton McCoy and Dark Was the Night: The Life of Hitler.

Other projects on its slate for 2022 include Lbj: Triumph and Tragedy and Reframed: Marilyn Monroe.

The network had previously announced the renewal of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. This is Life with Lisa Ling has been renewed for an eighth season this fall, and United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell will return for a seventh season next year.

The network also unveiled a slate of CNN Films projects, including including the previously announced Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, which has been on the festival circuit and is set for theatrical release on July 16, also will be shown. Another project, Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story, will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.

Other credits include the ’80s films “Cat People” and “Troop Beverly Hills”

Charles “Chuck” Fries, the prolific TV producer behind the 1970s “Amazing Spider-Man” series and “The Martian Chronicles,” has died at the age of 92.

According to a representative, Fries died Thursday “peacefully surrounded by family.”

A Hollywood veteran of nearly 70 years, Fries began his career at Ziv Television in 1952, working on syndicated shows like “The Cisco Kid,” “Highway Patrol,” “Bat Masterson” and “Sea Hunt.” He went on to work at Screen Gems, Metromedia Productions and, later his own company, Fries Entertainment.

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Fries was known as the “godfather of the TV movie,” having pioneered the genre with a number of projects and Metromedia and Fries Entertainment. Among the TV movies he produced were “Small Sacrifices” starring Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal; “The Martian Chronicles,” based on the Ray Bradbury novel and starring...

Charles “Chuck” Fries, whose career as a television and film producer included a long list of classic shows, series and films, died Wednesday, his family announced. He was 92. No cause of death was given.

During a prolific career that spanned more than 60 years, he participated in the production of more than 5,000 series episodes, 140 television movies and miniseries and more than 40 theatrical films. His producing credits range from Tales of the Crypt and The Call of the Wild to TV’s The Amazing Spider-Man and The Martian Chronicles to Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean, Troop Beverly Hills and Screamers.

Born on September 30, 1928, in native of Cincinnati, Fries began his career at Ziv Television in 1952, where he worked on legendary syndicated shows like The Cisco Kid, Highway Patrol, Bat Masterson, and Sea Hunt. He moved to Screen Gems in 1960, where he was involved in the production of such classics as Naked City,...

Charles “Chuck” Fries, the longtime film and television producer who helped introduce the TV movie concept and shepherded films including “Cat People,” died on Thursday. He was 92.

Over his six-decade-plus career, he participated in the production of more than 5,000 episodes of television, 140 television movies and mini-series, and more than 40 theatrical films.

Fries oversaw feature film production for Columbia Pictures, which produced movies during his time at the studio, including “Five Easy Pieces,” “Easy Rider,” “Getting Straight,” “The Horseman” and “Castle Keep.”

He pioneered the television movie while at Metromedia Productions in the 1970s, then launched his own company, Fries Entertainment. Fries Entertainment produced issue-oriented movies like “The Neon Empire,” “Small Sacrifices,” “The Martian Chronicles” and the Emmy-winning “Lbj” with Randy Quaid and Patti Lupone. He served as executive producer on “The Amazing Spider-Man” TV series that ran from 1977 to 1979. More recently, he had an executive producer credit on both the...

Electric Now will be available on platforms including Stirr, Xumo and Distro TV.

Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment is launching an ad-supported Ott linear channel in the Us, offering Devlin-produced TV series such as The Librarians and The Outpost and features including Flyboys and The Book Of Love.

The Electric Now channel will become available In November on platforms including Stirr, Xumo and Distro TV, and will bundle more than 300 hours of content from Electric’s library – TV shows, films and video podcasts – with third-party acquisitions.

Los Angeles-based production, distribution and post-production company Electric, which also has an office in Vancouver,...

Brian Cox, star of HBO’s “Succession,” will play Lyndon B. Johnson in this fall’s Broadway production of Robert Schenkkan’s “The Great Society” — the follow-up to his Tony-winning play “All the Way” that secured Bryan Cranston a Tony of his own as the Texas political giant who became the 36th president of the United States.

Performances will begin a 12-week run on September 6 for a still-to-be-announced official opening at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. The show includes two dozen locations and 50 characters, including Richard J. Daley, Martin Luther King Jr. and Hubert Humphrey (Richard Thomas).

Actors playing Richard Nixon, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Coretta Scott King, Lady Bird Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, Governor George Wallace and Robert McNamara are still to be cast.

Bill Rauch (“All the Way”) will direct the production, which depicts the tumultuous times that led to the conclusion of the Johnson presidency...

Vertical Entertainment has picked up domestic rights to “See You Soon,” the story of a U.S. soccer star who embarks on a romance with a single mother, Variety has learned.

The film’s characters’ lives intersect after the soccer player suffers a career-ending injury in the lead-up to the World Cup. It stars Liam McIntyre (“Spartacus: War of the Damned”), Harvey Keitel, Poppy Drayton (“Downton Abbey”) and newcomer Jenia Tanaeva. The company plans to release the movie on July 26. “See You Soon” is the feature directorial debut of David Mahmoudieh. Central Partnership is handling foreign sales. The sale was finalized at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The film also stars Oleg Taktarov (“Predators”), Spanish soccer legend Carles Puyol and Larissa Malevannaya. Tanaeva wrote the script with Mike Cestari. The romantic drama is produced by Tanaeva under her Rising Moon Prods. banner and Monella Kaplan for eMotion Entertainment, with Alexander Mikhalskiy executive producing.

Los Angeles-based Electric Entertainment, co-headed by “Independence Day,” “Godzilla” and “Bad Samaritan” producer Dean Devlin, has acquired thriller “Alone” for worldwide distribution (except Cis).

Electric, headed by Devlin alongside Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan, will be releasing the movie in the U.S. as well as handling international sales, and will screen it at Cannes.

“Alone,” which marks the feature directorial debut for Russian director Vladislav Khesin, follows a writer seeking peace and solitude in the countryside in an attempt to recover from tragedy and finish her book. However, as the welcoming country house turns into a living hell, she soon realizes that her inner demons are not the worst of her problems.

The film stars Elizabeth Arends (“On Wings of Eagles”) and Bailey Coppola. Also in the cast are Sara Anne, Albina Katsman, Dane Majors, Kyle Dondlinger, Caesar James and Christa Atkins. Evgeny Borisov, Daniel Shapovalov and Abylay Zhakashov...

Tri-g and Savvy Media Holdings announced today that Jerry O'Connell and Celia Weston have signed on to star alongside Katie Holmes and Josh Lucas in Andy Tennant's The Secret Movie. Joe Gelchion's Tri-g, Matthew George's Savvy Media Holdings and Robert Katz under his Shine Box banner recently boarded the film to produce, alongside Robert Cort Productions, Illumination Entertainment and Covert Media.

Producers include Robert Cort, Rhonda Byrne, Paul Hanson, Matthew George, and Robert Katz and Joe Gelchion, who's banner Tri-g is fully financing the film. Covert Media is handling international sales which continue through the Afm this week. Principal photography begins today in New Orleans.

The Secret Movie centers around a hard-working young widow with three children who hires a handyman to fix her house during a terrible storm. As the handyman grows closer to the family, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of thought to create what we want,...

Judd Lormand has been promoted to series regular for the second season of “Seal Team” at CBS.

Lormand plays Lieutenant Commander Eric Blackburn, the Seal Team troop commander who coordinates operations whenever Bravo team is on mission and serves as the team’s leader and confidant, both on and off the battlefield.

In addition to his work on “Seal Team,” Lormand has appeared in over 70 feature films and television shows. His television credits include fellow CBS shows “NCIS: New Orleans” and “Zoo,” as well as “American Horror Story” on FX. He also played Secretary of State Robert McNamara in “Lbj” opposite Woody Harrelson, Mr. Freely in “Carter & June,” and a corrupt police officer in “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.”

He is repped by Alexander White Agency, Rugolo Entertainment, and attorney Derek Kroeger.

“What I love about Judd as an actor is his naturalness, his ease of performance and his...

Joaquin Phoenix stars in his second Specialty release in the last few months with Gus Van Sant’s Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far On Foot, with Jonah Hill and Rooney Mara. Amazon Studios is opening the title in several locations in New York and Los Angeles ahead of a wider roll out. The title will likely headline a fairly busy weekend of Specialty newcomers given the tentpole season. Rob Reiner put up his own money to finance, in part, his latest directorial effort Shock And Awe, a project that was twenty years in the making and takes a look at events precipitating the Iraq Invasion in 2003. PBS Distribution is opening Kimberly Reed’s doc Dark Money in New York ahead of a select national roll out. The feature examines the role of ‘dark money’ in U.S. politics. Among foreign-language titles, Cohen Media Group opened Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti...

Kevin Spacey has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by numerous men, but that’s not stopping Vertical Entertainment from releasing the actor’s new film in theaters this summer. “Billionaire Boys Club,” directed by James Cox, reunites Spacey with “Baby Driver” co-star Ansel Elgort in the story of young men attempting to strike it rich by planning a Ponzi scheme. The movie was shot in 2015 and early 2016, long before the allegations against Spacey surfaced in fall 2017.

“We hope these distressing allegations pertaining to one person’s behavior — that were not publicly known when the film was made almost 2.5 years ago — do not tarnish the release,” Vertical Entertainment said in a statement to The Wrap.

“We don’t condone sexual harassment on any level and we fully support victims of it,” the indie distributor continued. “At the same time, this is neither an easy nor insensitive decision to release this film in theaters,...

Cliff Robertson, “Pt 109” (1963)

Oscar winner Cliff Robertson (“Charly” and “Spider-Man” 1 and 2) portrayed JFK during his military years as a U.S. Navy officer in command of Motor Torpedo Boat Pt-109 touring the waters of the Pacific amidst World War II.

William Devane, “The Missiles of October” (1974)

Devane portrayed JFK in this made-for-tv offering, which depicted the drama in the 1962 White House while the President’s administration decided the best course of action during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Martin Sheen, “Kennedy” (1983)

Jed Bartlet on “The West Wing” wasn’t the only Democratic president Sheen has portrayed on screen. In 1983, he played JFK in the miniseries “Kennedy.” Nine years earlier he played “Jack’s” younger brother Robert opposite William Devane in “The Missiles of October.”

Steven Weber, “The Kennedys of Massachusetts” (1990)

The “13 Reasons Why” star played a young JFK in the ABC miniseries, which focused on the 54-year marriage on the family patriarch and matriarch,...

They’re creepy and they’re kooky, and they’re coming to theaters next fall. On Tuesday, MGM President Jonathan Glickman revealed the famous voices behind the studio’s upcoming animated remake of “The Addams Family.” Oscar Issac and Academy Award-winner Charlize Theron (“Monster”) will lead the cast, collaborating for the first time as spouses Gomez and Morticia Addams.

Playing their dour progeny are Chloë Grace Moretz (Wednesday Addams), star of this year’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “The Miseducation of Cameron Post,” and “Stranger Things” regular Finn Wolfhard (Pugsley Addams). Rounding out the mansion on Cemetery Lane are Uncle Fester (Nick Kroll) and Grandmama.

Charles Addams first published his namesake cartoon family in 1938 in The New Yorker, where they continued to appear for 50 years. This film will introduce a new villainess, reality TV makeover host Margaux Needler, who is “consumed with a desire for absolute suburban, pastel perfection,...

LeBron James has settled the Michael Jordan debate ... at least, in his own head ... because he just publicly deemed Himself as the greatest basketball player of all time.  Here's the deal ... LeBron is on the cover of the new NBA 2K19 20th anniversary edition video game ... and was asked to personally select words that describe him to be included in the cover art.  He chose words like "King," "Strive for Greatness"  and "Equality" ... and also,...

Exclusive: Star Thrower Entertainment has acquired rights to Bill Minutaglio and Steven L Davis’ book The Most Dangerous Man In America. In what I hear was a competitive situation, Tim and Trevor White’s Star Thrower bought the book, originally published in January and subtitled Timothy Leary, Richard Nixon and the Hunt for the Fugitive King of LSD, with plans to develop it into a limited series.

Based on freshly uncovered primary sources and firsthand interviews, The Most Dangerous Man In America follows Leary’s daring prison escape and run from the law in 1970. Aided by the Weather Underground, Leary’s prison break was the counterculture’s union of “dope and dynamite,” aimed at sparking a revolution and overthrowing the government. The ensuing global manhunt, led by President Nixon, spanned 28 months and wound its way among homegrown radicals, European aristocrats, a Black Panther outpost in Algeria, an international arms dealer,...

Dean Devlin has been active since the 1990s, where he wrote and produced the Roland Emmerich triple-whammy of Stargate, Independence Day and Godzilla, and since has produced a wide range of movies and TV projects. He’s now forging his own destiny with production company Electric Entertainment recently making the move into distribution (last year they released The Book of Love and Lbj). Next up is his own directorial project, Bad Samaritan.

Natalie Dormer took an onscreen hiatus following her Summer 2016 “Game of Thrones” exit. Next month, however, she stars in both Amazon’s limited series “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and a film that marks her first foray into screenwriting.

“In Darkness” will introduce audiences to Dormer’s Sofia, a blind London pianist and the accidental eavesdropper on her upstairs neighbor’s (Emily Ratajkowski of “Gone Girl”) murder. Law enforcement first deems Veronique’s death a suicide, but at least one investigator has his doubts. The trailer opens with Sofia answering his questions, and a flashback confirms that Veronique — the daughter of an alleged war criminal — knew she was in trouble: She slipped Sofia what appears to be a key during an elevator ride.

Soon the criminals realize they must stop Sofia from revealing what she knows. During their hunt, Sofia’s anxiety of being unable to identify her foes increases from...

Companies collaborated on Lbj, The Book Of Love.

Electric Entertainment has teamed up with P&A financier and media provider Global Pictures Media on the upcoming Us release of Bad Samaritan.

The thriller’s nationwide release is scheduled for May 4, with Global Pictures Media serving as its exclusive media agency and assisting in financing the release with Electric.

Electric Entertainment CEO Dean Devlin directed Bad Samaritan, which stars David Tennant and Robert Sheehan in the story of thieves who find more than they bargained for after breaking into a house.

Kerry Condon, Carlito Olivero, and Jacqueline Byers also star. Brandon Boyce...

Electric Entertainment will team again with P&A financier and media provider Global Pictures Media for Bad Samaritan, Electric’s upcoming release directed by Electric Entertainment CEO Dean Devlin.

Starring David Tennant (Doctor Who) and Robert Sheehan (Geostorm) is set for a nationwide release on May 4. Global Pictures Media will act as the exclusive media agency of record and assist in financing the release with Electric.

The logline: Bad Samaritan is a terrifying cautionary tale of two thieves uncovering more than what they bargained for when breaking into a house they thought would be an easy score. After making a shocking discovery, they must choose to run and hide, or face the killer whose dark secrets they have exposed.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be continuing our successful relationship with the Electric team on the release of Bad Samaritan,” said Global Pictures Media President Grant Cramer. “Dean Devlin has crafted an intense,...

The Realm, a subsidiary of Bron, and Tim and Trevor White’s Star Thrower Entertainment announced today that Golden Globe and Emmy winner Kyra Sedgwick (The Possession, The Edge of Seventeen, “The Closer”) and Jeffrey Donovan (Shot Caller, Lbj) will be joining Bill Skarsgård (who starred as Pennywise in It) and Maika Monroe (It Follows, The Guest) in the darkly comedic thriller Villains, which Dan Berk and Robert […]...

Listen up, horror fans. Cause this is cool. The stars of It and It Follows are so tired of having their movies confused that they've decided to team up and do something about it. Yes, that's right. The guy who plays Pennywise is hooking up with that girl who couldn't escape her latest sexual encounter in a new movie called Villains.

Star Thrower Entertainment, who recently developed and executive produced Steven Spielberg's The Post, and The Realm, a subsidiary of Bron, are announcing Bill Skarsgard and Maika Monroe to star in Dan Berk and Robert Olsen's Villains. Tim and Trevor White are producing for Star Thrower, alongside Allan Mandelbaum, and Garrick Dion for The Realm. Endeavor Content is handling North American rights.

The Realm, a subsidiary of Bron, and Tim and Trevor White's Star Thrower Entertainment announced today that this match made in heaven will star in their upcoming darkly comedic thriller,...

There’s more than a few good men lining up for Supporting Actor recognition at this year’s Oscars, and they all won’t make the cut. Here’s a roundup of who’s likely to land a nomination slot, as well as a few worthy dark-horse contenders.

Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson

From Venice to Toronto to the Hollywood Foreign Press, “Three Billboards from Ebbing, Missouri” has been wowing audiences and critics. Actually, if the Screen Actors Guild is any indication, the Ozark-set dramedy may score three acting Oscar contenders — Golden Globe winners Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell, as well as Woody Harrelson. It’s a rare sign of strength.

The veteran character actors starred together in McDonagh’s raucous comedy “Seven Psychopaths.” This time out, uncharacteristically, two-time Oscar nominee Harrelson (“The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “The Messenger”) is the straight man of the piece as empathetic cancer-ridden Sheriff Willoughby,...

There’s more than a few good men lining up for Supporting Actor recognition at this year’s Oscars, and they all won’t make the cut. Here’s a roundup of who’s likely to land a nomination slot, as well as a few worthy dark-horse contenders.

Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson

From Venice to Toronto to the Hollywood Foreign Press, “Three Billboards from Ebbing, Missouri” has been wowing audiences and critics. Actually, if the Screen Actors Guild is any indication, the Ozark-set dramedy may score three acting Oscar contenders — Golden Globe winners Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell, as well as Woody Harrelson. It’s a rare sign of strength.

The veteran character actors starred together in McDonagh’s raucous comedy “Seven Psychopaths.” This time out, uncharacteristically, two-time Oscar nominee Harrelson (“The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “The Messenger”) is the straight man of the piece as empathetic cancer-ridden Sheriff Willoughby,...

141 original scores just made the Oscar shortlist, meaning that we have no real idea which soundtracks will go on to be nominated for the actual Academy Award — “Phantom Thread” composer Jonny Greenwood looks poised to finally be recognized for his work, but might “Baywatch” be a spoiler? We simply don’t know, dear reader. We simply don’t know.

As you await the nominations — which will be announced on Tuesday, January 23 — treat yourself to this selection of tracks from the shortlist.

Read More:2018 Oscar Predictions: Best Original Score



Read More:Oscars 2018: Best Original Score Shortlist Includes ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘All the Money in the World,’ and More

Here are the 141 scores vying for an Oscar nod:

“Alien: Covenant,” Jed Kurzel, composer

“All I See Is You,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer

“All the Money in the World,” Daniel Pemberton, composer

“Annabelle: Creation,” Benjamin Wallfisch, composer

“Band Aid,” Lucius, composer

“Battle of the Sexes,...

Whether he’s playing troubled, complex men in Six Feet Under and Olive Kitteridge, or as Senator Rusell in Lbj, Richard Jenkins is a face you’ve seen before. You...

Gary Oldman

Winston Churchill, The Darkest Hour 

It took more than three hours each day for Oldman to transform into the British prime minister for Joe Wright's World War II drama, according to Kazuhiro Tsuji, Oldman's prosthetics, makeup and hair designer: "I sculpted facial prosthetics consisting of the neck, cheeks, nose and chin. Gary also wore a very finely crafted wig that changed the actor's facial and head shape similar to the former British prime minister." The look was completed with makeup, applied by David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick.

Woody Harrelson

Lyndon B. Johnson, Lbj

Harrelson spent an...

Leading fall Oscar contenders “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (Fox Searchlight) and “Lady Bird” (A24) continue to pull crowds as they both expand after limited openings. They are the top performers by far among specialized films this weekend, including the platform debut of “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” (Sony).

The Denzel Washington legal drama had a modest debut in four New York/Los Angeles theaters before its wider release on Wednesday. The fate of Dee Rees’ acclaimed “Mudbound” (Netflix) is the compelling story of the weekend. The ’40s southern farm drama opened in a handful of big city theaters parallel to its home-viewing debut, with grosses unreported by Netflix. We are estimating its performance based on limited indications from several theaters.

Also getting strong reviews for its New York-Los Angeles debut, the Chilean Oscar submission “The Fantastic Woman” (Sony Pictures Classics) opened for a qualifying week with no grosses reported. It...

For the second straight weekend, a strongly reviewed new film with a central female character broke through the clutter of this mixed fall season to great success. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (Fox Searchlight) joined “Lady Bird” (A24) as the best starts among the many top titles vying for attention, and both did so by a wide margin above other films. “Lady Bird” added other top cities and proved its first week was no fluke, showing results unequaled since “La La Land” last year.

The grosses in both cases are early results, but the films look in prime position for both greater success and maximum attention just as the awards jockeying is reaching high gear. And given that both are female-centered, and not historical figure-based like so many other titles, makes them even more vital at the moment.

Opening

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Fox Searchlight) Metacritic: 86; Festivals include: Venice,...

From director Rob Reiner, the political drama Lbj showcases what happened after Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson (Woody Harrelson) lost the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination to Senator John F. Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan), but agreed to be his running mate. After they won the election, Johnson found himself sidelined as Vice President, but that all changed on November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated and Johnson, with his devoted wife Lady Bird (Jennifer Jason Leigh) by his side, became the President of the United States and set out to honor JFK’s legacy while also establishing his own. At the …...

“Lady Bird” (A24), Greta Gerwig’s first solo directing effort, rode a wave of strong reviews and publicity to score the best limited opener of the year. After a disappointing prime specialty season when it has become easy to forget what a strong limited platform opening can be, her valentine to her home town of Sacramento starring Saorise Ronan debuted even higher than expectations.

This success stood in sharp contrast to the weak opening for Richard Linklater’s “Last Flag Flying” (Lionsgate). Despite a strong push for the Amazon presentation, which opened the New York Film Festival, the military veteran drama starring Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell and Laurence Fishburne couldn’t pull in specialty audiences.

Opening

Lady Bird (A24) – Metacritic: 93; Festivals include: Telluride, Toronto, New York 2017

$375,612 in 4 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $93,903

The first breakout hit of the awards season is also the biggest specialized release of the year...

Disney and Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok got the 2017 holiday movie season started in strong fashion, debuting with over $120 million as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to fill theaters. Additionally, Stx's A Bad Moms Christmas brought in over $20 million for its five-day start, but it's the road ahead that will tell the full story as it hopes to play well into the holiday season. Overall, the top twelve delivered a combined $166 million, which is a massive improvement over last week but still falls short of the $183 million for the same weekend last year, which not only featured the $85 million debut of Doctor Strange, but openings for Trolls and Hacksaw Ridge. With an estimated $121 million, Disney and Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok delivered the seventh largest opening for a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, topping the $117 million debut for Spider-Man: Homecoming earlier this year. On average, films in the McU deliver 2.72x multipliers, which...

From director Rob Reiner, the political drama Lbj showcases what happened after Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson (Woody Harrelson) lost the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination to Senator John F. Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan), but agreed to be his running mate. After they won the election, Johnson found himself sidelined as Vice President, but that all changed on November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated and Johnson, with his devoted wife Lady Bird (Jennifer Jason Leigh) by his side, became the President of the United States and set out to honor JFK’s legacy while also establishing his own. At the …...

Chicago – The circumstances surrounding the John F. Kennedy assassination on November 22nd, 1963, put a man into the presidential spotlight who never thought he would get there… Lyndon Baines Johnson. The story of that strange time and the man who “would be king” is told in ‘Lbj.’

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Woody Harrelson portrays the title character in a surprising piece of casting, but he delivers Johnson so humanely and historically that by the end he is most appropriate for the role. Director Rob Reiner – working from a script by Joey Hartstone – structures the film through the filter of his fascination for Washington, D.C. shown in “A Few Good Men”… that justice can prevail if the right person is there at the right time. In his era, Johnson was rightly vilified in his escalation of the Vietnam War, but in other areas of legislation (the Civil Rights Act, Medicare, Medicaid, the anti-poverty Great...

Reading Robert A. Caro’s magisterial and minutely drawn Lyndon B. Johnson biographies — four so far, and counting — it’s not difficult to see how captivating the Texas-born giant of politics would be as a screen character. A physically imposing tornado of purpose, means, crassness and cunning, Johnson would be a feast for any actor, any screenwriter, and any director who relishes serving slabs of grandiosity with a dash of folksy humor, all in the service of a story about one of the most momentous eras in American history. And Rob Reiner’s “Lbj” is an often pedestrian, sometimes punchy,...