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Just about a year ago, New York audiences breathlessly anticipated the arrival of a heartily hyped West End production of an American classic, Rebecca Frecknall’s pseudo-immersive revival of Cabaret. It was, if not a total disappointment, a letdown, as there was nothing particularly revelatory about Frecknall’s ever-rotating vision of Berlin’s pre-war decadence in a staging that aggressively underlined the material’s self-evident grimness.

And here we are again, anxiously receiving another of Frecknall’s London-lauded takes on an American classic into our prestige-starved harbors. This time it’s Tennessee Williams’s psychological kaleidoscope A Streetcar Named Desire, with Irish A-lister Paul Mescal as the brutish Stanley Kowalski. Is this the underwhelming Kit Kat Club all over again?

Well, yes and no. Frecknall’s production is marked by eyebrow-raising staging choices—a near-constant live drumkit, a heavy reverb on the mics, a series of interpretive dance sequences—that...

Boy oh boy, Seinfeld writers loved writing for J. Peterman, the semi-fictional catalogue mogul and boss to Elaine Benes — at least according to John O'Hurley. The reason, he explained on a recent episode of the Still Here Hollywood podcast, was that Peterman gave the scribes a chance to pen some hilariously lengthy monologues.

The character’s speaking style was based on the florid prose found in the real J. Peterman catalog. O’Hurley, who played Peterman over 22 Seinfeld episodes, likened the catalog’s writing style to Ernest Hemingway meets a 1940s radio drama combined with “a bit of a bad Charles Kuralt.” It was a perfect chance for writers to let loose. But unfortunately, O’Hurley says, many of those monologues ended up on the cutting room floor.

The show was disorganized and “always too long,” says O’Hurley, making wordy diatribes an easy cut when the show was running long.

A classic Marlon Brando movie that generated both critical acclaim and intense controversy is now available for a new generation of viewers to discover. Last Tango in Paris is streaming on Prime Video.

Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, Last Tango in Paris stars The Godfather's Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. The drama follows a grieving American widower who enters a passionate but emotionally complex relationship with a young Parisian woman. The film pushed boundaries with its unfiltered depiction of intimacy, earning both critical acclaim and outrage upon its release.

RelatedMarlon Brando Starred in This 99% Fresh Gangster Movie 18 Years Before The Godfather (& It's Practically Flawless)

18 years before he led The Godfather, the legendary actor Marlon Brando starred in a gangster movie that maintains a 99% Tomatometer score.

Over the years, it has been re-evaluated through a modern lens, with many questioning whether its artistic merits outweigh the ethical concerns surrounding its production. Although...

Earning his second Best Actor Oscar 22 years after his first, Adrien Brody entered the history books as the first leading actor to win two statuettes on his first two attempts on Sunday.

He won for his role as an ingenious, haunted architect in Brady Corbet’s epic, following his win in 2003 for Roman Polanski’s biographical World War II drama “The Pianist.”

And by wining Best Actor on Sunday, Brody not only made history but also preserved his place among Oscar milestones. Had 29-year-old Timothée Chalamet won in the category for “A Complete Unknown,” he would have become the youngest Best Actor victor ever, beating Brody’s own record from 2003.

Brody is the 11th leading actor to win twice in the top category.

“Acting is a very fragile profession,” Brody opened his acceptance speech. “It looks very glamorous, and certain moments it is, but the one thing that I’ve...

Adrien Brody took home his second Oscar on Sunday — Best Actor for The Brutalist — putting him in rarefied air: He is the eighth performer to boast a perfect 2-for-2 record at the Oscars.

The first seven to achieve this are:

1. Luise Rainer: Best Actress for The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and The Good Earth (1937)

2. Vivien Leigh: Best Actress for Gone with the Wind (1939) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

3. Helen Hayes: Best Actress for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932) and Best Supporting Actress for Airport (1970)

4. Kevin Spacey: Best Supporting Actor for The Usual Suspects (1995) and Best Actor for American Beauty (1999)

5. Hilary Swank: Best Actress for Boys Don’t Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004)

6. Christoph Waltz: Best Supporting Actor for Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012)

7. Mahershala Ali: Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight (2016) and Green Book (2018)

See The complete list of Oscar winners

Brody nabbed his first Best Actor Oscar for...

Visionary costume designer Paul Tazewell triumphed on Sunday night, winning his first Academy Award for his nature-inspired “Wicked” wardrobe. He can add his shiny new Oscar to the crowded shelf where he keeps his Tony, his Emmy, his BAFTA, his multiple Costume Designer Guild awards and the many other honors he has won over the years.

Tazewell’s “Wicked” victory makes him the first Black man to win for costume and only the second Black person to do so since Ruth E. Carter‘s 2023 victory for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which followed her history-making 2019 win for “Black Panther.” The only other Black person to be Oscar-nominated for costume design is Sharen Davis, who earned nods in 2005 for “Ray” and in 2007 for “Dreamgirls.”

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in “Wicked” (Credit: Universal Pictures)

Over his celebrated career, Tazewell has earned nine Tony Award nominations for “Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk,...

Quick LinksMarlon Brando Is a Hollywood LegendThe Godfather Was Brando's Greatest WorkOn the Waterfront Was Similarly ExtraordinaryOn the Waterfront Still Holds Up Today

Gangster movies have long held sway over audiences. Just as stories about Robin Hood filled people's minds in medieval times, these tales eventually evolved into stories of organized crime. Bonnie and Clyde thrilled people living during the Great Depression, and Al Capone became a giant after Prohibition. The idea of everyday people turning to crime for a myriad of reasons has always been compelling. After all, crime always lurks just outside of reach for many people. Gangsters, who control crime itself, are just as salient as the idea of becoming a king.

Hollywood, of course, was quick to capitalize on the idea of gangsters. The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) was a silent film that saw a man fighting back against gangsters who stole his wallet. 1927's Underworld...

On the Mount Rushmore of great American actors — specifically those who emerged in the late 1960s and brought a transformative, bone-deep intensity to their craft over the industry-redefining decade that followed — four faces loom large: Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman.

The eldest of that contingent, Hackman is less familiar to younger audiences than the others, having withdrawn from acting more than 20 years ago, to write and paint in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Over a four-decade screen career, the stage-trained star gravitated to complex movies for grown-up audiences (the only significant exception being his iconic turn as Lex Luthor in the “Superman” franchise), and might have been entirely forgotten by Gen Z if not for his performance as the gruff patriarch in Wes Anderson’s cult favorite “The Royal Tenenbaums.”

Hackman’s unexpected and unusual death (he was discovered alongside his wife and dog) offers a chance...

Exclusive: Oscar-winner Charlie Kaufman has found his next project as he is set to write and direct Later The War and tapped Eddie Redmayne, Tessa Thompson and Patsy Ferran to star. Kaufman adapted the script from the short story Debby’s Dream House by acclaimed author Iddo Gefen from his short story collection titled Jerusalem Beach.

The original short story follows a man who manufactures dreams for people but ultimately begins creating nightmares for them. Exact plot details of the feature adaptation are unknown.

Ken Kao and Josh Rosenbaum of Waypoint Entertainment will produce, alongside Sarah Green of Brace Cove Productions and Steven Demmler. The film will be fully financed by Suraj Maraboyina’s 131 Pictures with WME Independent and CAA Media Finance co-representing the film’s worldwide distribution rights.

Redmayne is coming off strong reviews in his Peacock series Day of the Jackal. The series also stars Lashana Lynch and...

“I was sure none of these people at the Actors Studio actually considered me an actor. I was a pretty boy, a real conventional kid who somehow had staggered into this mélange." - Paul Newman, The Extraordinary Life Of An Ordinary Man

For Montgomery Clift, there was Howard Hawks’ Red River...

Ask any actor to name a performance that made them want to become an actor, and you'll get people citing the monumental likes of Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire," Meryl Streep in "Sophie's Choice" or Denzel Washington in "Malcolm X" -- big, deep-tissue dives that require thespians to use just about every part of their instrument. They want to leave audiences weeping and cheering as they capture the full range of the human experience. They do not want to play, say, a monotone android whose sole function in the plot is to provide the occasional information dump. This would leave them with nothing of interest to do, and, most likely, little to add to their reel.

So, when Gene Roddenberry began casting the pilot for "Star Trek" in 1964, he probably didn't have actors knocking down his door to play the Vulcan First Officer Spock, whose adherence to logic...

The Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards) are where Hollywood’s best actors get a standing ovation from their peers. Since 1995, these awards have venerated the finest performances in film and TV. Unlike other shows, the SAG Awards are exceptional because they’re all about actors voting for actors.

Ayo Edebiri at the 30th SAG Awards (Credits: @SAGawards)

But let’s get to the important part: who has been dominating the SAG Awards? Who are the stars whose mantels are brimming with gilded statuettes? We’re referring to actors who have made us laugh, cry, and binge-watch like there’s no tomorrow.

In this article, we’ll shine a spotlight on the two biggest SAG winners—Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Alec Baldwin. Plus, we’ll give you the lowdown on this year’s upcoming ceremony so you’re fully prepped for Hollywood’s biggest night.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus tops list with most...

Paul Mescal is looking back on when he fibbed about himself in order to land his role on Normal People.

While appearing on one of W magazine‘s Best Performances covers, the Gladiator II star was asked if he ever lied about having a certain skill to land a part to which he pointed to his role as Connell on the hit Hulu-BBC show.

“I said I could drive for Normal People, and I could not drive. We’d signed the paperwork, I’d gotten the part, and then I’d forgotten about doing my driver’s license. So I ended up doing Normal People on a provisional license. I could only drive the car if there was a fully licensed driver beside me,” he shared.

The actor quipped that despite being unable to drive in his day to day life for the show, “I did the best...

Meryl Streep is the best of the best.

Her performance in Sophie’s Choice (1982) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Actress winner ever, according to a Gold Derby ballot cast by 21 of our film experts, critics, and editors, who ranked all 97 movie champs.

Diane Keaton ranked second for Annie Hall (1977), with Jodie Foster following in third for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Liza Minnelli for Cabaret (1972) and Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) rounded out the top five.

At the bottom of the list of the Best Actress winners is Mary Pickford for Coquette (1929). Just above that film in the rankings are Luise Rainer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932), Loretta Young for The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), and Marie Dressler for Min and Bill (1931).

Another recent Gold Derby poll of cinema experts declared The Godfather (1972) as the greatest Best Picture Oscar winner of all...

The performance by Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice (1982) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Actress winner ever. The results are from a recent Gold Derby ballot cast by 21 of our film experts and editors, who ranked all 97 movie champs.

Ranking in second place is Diane Keaton for Annie Hall (1977). Following in third place is Jodie Foster for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Rounding out the top five are Liza Minnelli for Cabaret (1972), and Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).

At the bottom of the list of the Best Actress winners is Mary Pickford for Coquette (1929). Just above that film in the rankings are Luise Rainer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1932), Loretta Young for The Farmer’s Daughter (1947), and Marie Dressler for Min and Bill (1931).

Another recent poll had The Godfather (1972) declared as the greatest Best Picture Oscar winner of all time (view...

Paul Mescal is one of the rising stars among the current generation of movie actors. However, his career trajectory differs from that of his same-age contemporaries like Asa Butterfield, Lucas Hedges, and Tom Holland. After gaining theatre experience in Dublin and London, Mescal got his big breakthrough in “Normal People,” a coming-of-age romance drama series based on Sally Rooney’s 2018 novel of the same name. It became a global sensation during the Covid pandemic. The Hulu series put both him and his co-star, Daisy Edgar-Jones, in the limelight, who has recently starred in “Twisters,” one of the year’s defining summer blockbusters. Like her, Mescal is also set to venture into big-budget projects like Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator 2,” where Mescal is expected to share screen space with Pedro Pascal & Denzel Washington.

Before such large-scale projects, Mescal had often chosen indie films with a lot of heart. After a small...

Get the latest scoop on everything you need to know about today’s Jeopardy! episode airing on Tuesday, 17 December 2024 including the Final Jeopardy, contestants and today’s winner!

Today’s Final Jeopardy 12/17/2024 (Fictional Characters) – Tuesday, 17 December 2024

Jebel Musa in Morocco & Mount Hacho near Ceuta are candidates for this southern half of this pair

Today’s Final Jeopardy Answer – Tuesday, 17 December 2024

The Final Jeopardy Answer is: Blanche DuBois

Final Jeopardy Explanation – Tuesday, 17 December 2024

The character is Blanche DuBois from the play “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams. Blanche, who is dressed in white in her first scene, symbolizing purity and fragility, explains that her name means “white woods.” This name aligns with her outward persona, which contrasts sharply with her troubled past and the psychological turmoil she faces throughout the play. Her name, Blanche, is French for “white,” further emphasizing themes of purity and innocence, which are integral to her...

In season 8 of "The Big Bang Theory," Kaley Cuoco — who earned the lead role of Penny after a different actress played the female lead in the show's unaired pilot — ends up getting a "major" acting job, but it's also a total disaster. Apparently, Cuoco hated it ... as did her co-star Johnny Galecki (who played her erstwhile boyfriend turned husband Leonard Hofstadter) and the show's creator Chuck Lorre.

Early in her career as an actress in Los Angeles — before the show's narrative even begins — Penny appears in an obviously terrible, low-budget horror flick called "Serial Ape-ist" and is understandably embarrassed by the whole thing. Then, in the show's seventh season, "Star Trek" veteran Wil Wheaton — who plays himself on the show, appearing semi-regularly as a major nemesis for Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) — tries to convince Penny to star in a sequel with him, titled "Serial Ape-ist 2: Monkey See, Monkey Kill.

Quick Links Marlon Brando's Early Career and Last Gig The Marlon Brando Film Would Never Be Released

Critics and film historians alike widely consider Marlon Brando to be one of the greatest American actors of the 20th century. His filmography proves that with A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, Julius Caesar, Apocalypse Now, and The Godfather, among numerous others. Brando died at age 80 in 2004, and you might be wondering about his final completed film. Was it a gritty gangster flick? Hardcore war piece? Or some other deep, dramatic picture? But if you said cheap, animated Spider-Man ripoff featuring Brando voicing an old lady that was never even released, you'd be absolutely right.

Yes, Marlon Brando's last movie role on this Earth was in the animated Big Bug Man. Set for a release in the mid-2000s, the movie was shelved and has never seen the light of day.

Quick Links What Was Marlon Brando's Last Movie? How Marlon Brando's Final Role Would've Been an Animated Oddity Will Audiences Ever See Brando's Final Performance?

Marlon Brando is celebrated for some of the most iconic roles in cinematic history, yet his final performance in a lost superhero film stands out as one of his strangest. When an actor passes away, audiences often reflect on their legacy, the talent they brought to the screen, and the impact they left on the industry. But sometimes, it's the overlooked projects and forgotten performances that reveal the most about a performer, shedding light on their struggles, passions, and true character. Big Bug Man may not have been the most prestigious entry in Brando’s iconic career, nor a film destined for posthumous acclaim. However, Brando’s last film offers a fascinating glimpse into the man behind the legend in his final days.

Known...

Earl Holliman, a renowned actor who defined midcentury entertainment, died on Monday in Los Angeles at 96, according to his niece Theresa Mullins Harris. Holliman, known for his diverse appearances in television and movies, personified the typical Hollywood success tale.

Holliman rose to popularity with notable performances in science fiction and Western films. In October 1959, he made television history by playing Mike Ferris in the first episode of The Twilight Zone, titled “Where Is Everybody?”

Holliman rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s, appearing in hit shows such as Bonanza, The Fugitive, and Marcus Welby, M.D. His most well-known performance was as Lt. Bill Crowley in Police Woman, which peaked in the Primetime Top 15 during the 1974-75 season.

Beyond television, Holliman exhibited extraordinary versatility. In 1957, he received a Supporting Actor Golden Globe for The Rainmaker and was honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star. His early film appearances...

Earl Holliman, an actor whose scores of credits spanning a half-century ranged from 1950s films Forbidden Planet and Giant to Police Woman and others popular ’70s and ’80s TV dramas and starred in the first episode of The Twilight Zone, died Monday in Los Angeles after a short illness. He was 96.

His niece, Theresa Mullins Harris, announced the news on social media, writing in part: “His dream at 5 years old of becoming a movie star came true, more than he ever could have imagined.”

Holliman got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame won a Supporting Actor Golden Globe for 1957’s The Rainmaker and was nominated for the short-lived early-’90s ABC sitcom Delta, starring Delta Burke. He was a series regular on the latter, playing the understanding owner of a bar where aspiring country singer Delta Bishop (Burke) worked while trying to make it.

Born on September 11, 1928, Holliman...

This weekend, a lot more people were thinking about the Roman Empire than usual thanks to the release of "Gladiator II" (read our review). Ridley Scott's return to the glory of Rome sees Paul Mescal take on the role of Lucius, the newest contender in the Colosseum after the late, great Maximus (Russell Crowe), who haunts the "Gladiator" sequel throughout. There was a time, though, when other stars were being considered to enter into the arena as its new hero, and their involvement could've made for a very different movie.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Timothée Chalamet and Miles Teller were both eyed to play Lucius before Mescal came aboard. The "Dune" and "Top Gun: Maverick" actors (respectively) were apparently the frontrunners for the role, too, at least until Scott decided to indulge in some late-night television binging. After hammering through hours of Mescal's hit series "Normal People," steps...

When you’re one of Hollywood’s few remaining movie stars, it’s not surprising for your name to be floated for every leading man role popping up around town. Such is the life for Timothée Chalamet, whose slate this year included the release of “Dune II,” shooting “A Complete Unknown,” leading into what is gearing up to be an awards campaign for Best Actor, and starting production on Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme.” As if this weren’t enough, Ridley Scott shared in a recent piece for The Hollywood Reporter that, for a time, Chalamet was considered for the part of Lucius, a role which ultimately went to Paul Mescal after the director saw his performance in “Normal People.”

“Any studio would always prefer to have a known star,” said Scott’s producer, Doug Wick, to THR. Having only starred in indie features like “Aftersun” and “All of Us Strangers...

Among all of the preparation Paul Mescal did for his starring role in Gladiator II (out now), the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 swords-and-sandals epic — hitting the gym six days a week and eating unholy amounts of chicken to add 18 pounds of muscle to his frame — some of the most intensive involved his fittings with costume designer David Crossman. In the spring of 2023, between morning workouts and evening performances in a West End adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, he taxied by motorcycle to Crossman’s London studio, where the...

Exclusive: There’s fire and anger in Maxine Peake’s portrayal of Dolours Price in new FX drama Say Nothing.

Price, in her younger years, was one of the Irish Republican Army’s most feared paramilitary operatives, responsible, along with her younger sister Marian, for atrocities in London and Northern Ireland during the so-called Troubles.

Peake abhors that phrase. “It’s such a flimsy word, isn’t it?” she argues. “The country was occupied, the English came, and it was a war.”

The Troubles, she continues, is a feeble way of describing “something so horrific and something that the legacy continues on and on.”

Peake is one of the best actors of her generation. She’s an expert comedienne — watch her in Dinnerladies,Inside No. 9 or Shameless — and a breathtaking dramatic thespian. Witness her in dramas such as Little Dorrit, Silk and The Village and movies that include Peterloo...

Ridley Scott has been trying to squeeze a rhinoceros into the Colosseum for 25 years.

Back in 1999, when he was shooting his first Gladiator film, he talked to animal trainers about the possibility of bringing a real 6,000-pound rhino onto his set but was told the horned animals were too difficult to control. Then he talked to CGI experts to see if a digitized one could be rendered for the movie but learned that the technology was budget-bustingly expensive.

For the next quarter-century, it became a running joke among Scott and his crew. “If we ever do a sequel,” Scott’s producer, Doug Wick, said in an interview in 2020, “Ridley gets his rhino.”

Well, they finally did a sequel, and Ridley got his rhino, a state-of-the-art, remote-controlled animatronic version whipped up by Industrial Light and Magic that can clock speeds of up to 40 miles an hour — while being ridden by a guy with a sword.

Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group has struck a deal with Cj Enm, the backer of Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite” and Celine Song’s acclaimed “Past Lives,” to develop, finance and distribute English-language and Korean-language remakes of each studio’s films.

Through the new agreement, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group will take the lead on English-language remakes of Cj Enm’s library, while Cj Enm will spearhead Korean-language adaptations of Warner Bros. films.

Each studio will be responsible for the development and productive of their respective remakes, though the other company will provide input on creative decisions like the project’s writer, director, producer, cast and budget. Warner Bros. Pictures will serve as distributor globally on all films, with the exception of Cj Enm handling the rollout of its remakes in South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Turkey.

“Miky Lee, Cj vice chairwoman, and the team at Cj Enm have...

As Democratic voters lick their wounds from an emphatic defeat in the recent presidential election, a film like “An American Pastoral” isn’t likely to bring much comfort, but it does offer an instructive, microcosmic snapshot of the obstacles they were always facing. Meticulously tracing the arc of a school board election in the small, predominantly conservative Pennsylvania borough of Elizabethtown, this strictly non-interventional documentary by French journalist and filmmaker Auberi Edler offers no narration or commentary on a fraught face-off between ideologically moderate Democrats and a local Republican Party steered by far-right Christian nationalism. Instead, Edler’s calmly watchful film — premiering in the main competition at IDFA, and sure to travel further on the strength of its sharp gaze and topical heft — trusts in viewers to see the national forest for the trees.

To many non-American audiences, the idea of school board elections being a party matter of community-wide...

The buzzy Edinburgh Fringe play Weather Girl, which Netflix has acquired for a limited series, will transfer to London’s Soho Theatre next year.

The production will have a limited run at the Soho Theatre from 5 March – 5 April 2025.

Written by Brian Watkins (Outer Range) and Julia McDermott (Women of the Movement), the production picked up the Scotsman Fringe First, Popcorn Award, List Award, and Lustrum Award during its run in Edinburgh. Described as an “apocalyptic one-woman play,” the production follows a Californian weather girl in meltdown.

The play’s official synopsis reads: Stacey is a California weather girl. An oversexed and underpaid harbinger of our dying planet. But today, her regular routine of wildfires, prosecco, and teeth whitening descends into a scorched earth catastrophe before she discovers something that will save us all.

The London production will be directed by Tyne Rafaeli (The Coast Starlight). Rafaeli preciously collaborated with Watkins on Epiphany at Lincoln Centre.

Paul Mescal will make his American stage debut this coming spring.

Following his starring role in Gladiator II, Mescal will reprise his role in Rebecca Frecknall’s stage revival of Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire. The revival will run Off-Broadway at Bam, or the Brooklyn Academy of Music, from Feb. 28 through April 6.

Before coming to New York, the production will play London’s West End again, at the Noël Coward Theater, from Feb. 3 through Feb. 22. Frecknall’s production of the play was first staged at London’s Almeida Theater in 2022, before transferring to the West End in 2023. The director is currently represented on Broadway by the revival of Cabaret.

The play follows Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who has experienced a series of personal misfortunes, as she moves to New Orleans in the apartment rented by her younger sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley.

Mescal, who is playing Stanley Kowalski,...

It appears Gladiator II will only be the beginning of director Ridley Scott and lead star Paul Mescal's working relationship. The duo go from ancient Rome to a futuristic America in their next planned project, The Dog Stars.

According to Deadline, Scott has earmarked The Dog Stars as his next film amid an increasingly busy schedule, with Mescal finalizing negotiations to feature in the 20th Century Studios flick. The Dog Stars is an adaptation of Peter Heller's eponymous novel, with The Revenant and Twisters scribe Mark L. Smith penning the screenplay.

Related Gladiator II Sneak Peek Reveals New Look at Intense Colosseum Battle

A new look at Gladiator II sees Paul Mescal's central character deep in battle in the heart of Rome.

The Dog Stars is set in a near future in the U.S., with the country decimated by an unnamed pandemic. Amid the pandemic, a civilian...

Gladiator II may not have even entered the cinematic arena just yet, but that isn't stopping Ridley Scott from turning his attention towards his next team up with star Paul Mescal. In fact, just weeks after we learned the 86 year old filmmaker is already toying with ideas for a Mescal led Gladiator 3, today we're getting word that Scott is circling another project with his newfound Irish muse. According to Deadline, Scott has set an adaptation of Peter Heller's post-apocalyptic bestseller The Dog Stars as his next film at 20th Century Studios — and Mescal is in advanced talks to star.

The Revenant and Twisters scribe Mark L. Smith has penned the screenplay for the movie, which is prospectively set to shoot as early as next Spring, once Mescal has finished his run starring in the upcoming Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. Set in the aftermath of a pandemic...

After conquering the arena with the highly-anticipated sequel Gladiator II, Ridley Scott and Paul Mescal are re-teaming for an adaptation of the Peter Heller novel The Dog Stars. Mescal is in advanced negotiations to star in the feature-length project, which hails from 20th Century Studios. Scott’s been weighing options for his next endeavor, including Paramount’s Bee Gees biopic, which is likely on hold while The Dog Stars takes priority. After examining their schedules, Scott and Mescal could shoot The Dog Stars next Spring after Mescal’s starring role in a Broadway presentation of A Streetcar Named Desire, in which the Gladiator II star plays Stanley Kowalski. Twisters scribe Mark L. Smith adapted Heller’s novel for Scott’s film.

Here’s a synopsis for Heller’s novel courtesy of Amazon:

Hig’s wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog,...

Are you not entertained? Ridley Scott sure is. He’s looking to reunite with his “Gladiator II” lead Paul Mescal for what will be his next film.

Scott is set to direct “The Dog Stars” at 20th Century Studios, and Mescal is in advanced talks to star in the film, an individual with knowledge of the project told IndieWire.

“The Dog Stars” is based on a 2012 novel of the same name by Peter Heller, which is a post-apocalyptic story about a man living alone in an airplane hangar in Colorado with his dog and another companion after a pandemic has ravaged the earth’s population, only for them to venture out once they hear a strange transmission come through on the radio of his old Cessna.

Mark L. Smith, who wrote “The Revenant,” “Twisters,” and “The Boys in the Boat,” is adapting the book for the screen.

It’s expected...

Exclusive: As they globally barnstorm their Paramount epic Gladiator II, director Ridley Scott and Paul Mescal will jump right back in the ring together. Scott has set as his next directorial outing The Dog Stars at 20th Century, with Paul Mescal in advance negotiations to star.

Mark L. Smith adapted the Peter Heller novel. Scott and Michael Pruss will produce for Scott Free alongside Smith and Cliff Roberts.

Scott has been weighing a handful of films for his next project including Paramount’s Bee Gees movie. Sources said that they found a sweet spot for the busy Mescal to re-team with Scott, and that is why they’ve set this as their next collaboration, with the aim to shoot next spring after Mescal stars on Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire. Mescal is reprising his turn as Stanley Kowalski from the lauded London production of the Tennessee Williams play.

The...

Paul Mescal has no patience for comparing filmmaking to content creation.

The “Gladiator II” star told The Sunday Times that he finds the label of films as “content” to be a “filthy” practice, akin to putting influencers side by side with auteurs.

“Over the last few years people have been talking about films as content,” Mescal said. “That’s a filthy word. It’s not ‘content’, it’s fucking work.”

He continued, “I’m not being snobby, but there are two concurrent industries. One that works with a lack of care, artistic integrity. Go nuts, make stuff with Instagram followers as a factor, whatever … But the other is what has always been there — the craft of film — making, directing, lighting and production design. That keeps artists alive.”

While “Gladiator II” marks Mescal’s first major studio role after his rise as an indie icon, Mescal admitted that he wants to...

It is a big moment in Paul Mescal’s life. The Normal People star is just a few days away from the release of Gladiator II, a movie many believe is going to be his big ticket to Hollywood royalty. But the tag doesn’t bog down Mescal himself, who wouldn’t want things about his life to change one bit.

While his attitude and love for his profession are praiseworthy, it might have propelled him into the eye of the storm. And the proximity between the release date means that even the Denzel Washington-starrer isn’t safe from getting caught in the crossfire.

Paul Mescal has come a long way from his debut in Normal People Paul Mescal has climbed the steps real fast || Image by Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, licensed under Cc By 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Paul Mescal‘s rise to fame has been nothing short of phenomenal.

Marlon Brando transformed into all different kinds of people on the big screen. He was a dockworker in On the Waterfront, Shakespeare’s Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, and a temperamental and abusive drunk in A Streetcar Named Desire. But it was while he was preparing to become the mafia boss Vito Corleone in The Godfather that he decided to try a new role based in the real world: the founder of an ecological island resort in Tahiti. Playing pretend for so long gave him an edge of boundless confidence...

Vivien Leigh was the two-time Oscar winner who made only a handful of films before her untimely death in 1967 at the age of 53. Yet several of those titles remain classics. Let’s take a look back at 10 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Born in British India, Leigh appeared in a number of roles on both the stage and screen in England, including a production of “Hamlet” opposite her husband, Laurence Olivier.

She came to international attention after landing the coveted role of Scarlet O’Hara in David O. Selznick’s massive adaptation of Margaret Mitchell‘s bestseller “Gone with the Wind” (1939). Leigh was far from the first choice to embody the headstrong Southern belle who pines after a married man (Leslie Howard) while wedding another (Clark Gable) against the backdrop of the Civil War. Yet the relatively unknown thespian beat out the likes of Bette Davis, Claudette Colbert,...

2-time Oscar winner Marlon Brando had a historic run 70 years ago that has yet to be matched or replicated. Some of Marlon Brando's best movies came out of Hollywood's Golden Age, which took place from the late 1910s until the early 1960s. Although many of Brando's most prolific roles would arise in the 1970s in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, his performances as a leading man were just as impressive at the start of his acting career during the early 1950s.

Brando remains one of the few actors in Oscars history to win the Academy Award for Best Actor twice in his career. He is cemented among other great actors such as Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, and Anthony Hopkins. Daniel Day-Lewis remains the only actor to have ever won the award for three separate performances. He also remains the third youngest...

From Al Pacino to Marlon Brando, the cast of The Godfather is full of bona fide screen legends who went on to appear in some of the greatest movies ever made. The Godfather was a massive box office success, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, and it had universal acclaim from critics to match. It didnt just make its director Francis Ford Coppola a household name; it made household names of everyone in its sprawling ensemble.

Some of the actors in The Godfather were already big names. Robert Duvall had already appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird and James Caan had already starred in Brians Song. But most of the films cast members, like Talia Shire and Diane Keaton, got their big break from The Godfather itself. Today, The Godfather is remembered for having one of the most star-studded casts in film history but at the time, a lot of them were unknowns.

When Paul Mescal was first cast in Ridley Scott’s much-anticipated sequel “Gladiator II,” the actor was initially not too fussed about the inevitable physical transformation he would need to undergo to believably play a tough-warrior-turned-Roman-gladiator for the part.

Within weeks of being cast in the role last year, the actor was already grappling with questions about his workout plans for the role. At the time, he told The Hollywood Reporter, “Of course, there’s a physical robustness required for the character, but past that, I’m not interested. This guy’s got to fight and got to be a beast. And whatever that looks and feels like is right for me, is what it’s going to be.”

After actually filming the role, however, Mescal (who gained 18 pounds of muscle for the film) has a slightly different take on it. Following a Monday night screening in New York City,...

Get ready to venture into the dark side of the California dream.

Production has started on East of Eden, the Netflix adaptation of the 1952 novel by Nobel Prize–winning author John Steinbeck.The seven-episode limited series, written and executive produced by Zoe Kazan, will film in several locations across New Zealand and will star Florence Pugh, who will also executive produce.

The new take on the classic novel continues the legacy of Zoe’s grandfather, Elia Kazan, who directed the 1955 East of Eden film starring James Dean.

“In the process of bringing this family saga to life, the resonance of my own familial connection to the material has not been lost on me,” Kazan told Netflix. “But it is Steinbeck’s writing — personal, shocking, profound, and...

Before long, the world will get to see Paul Mescal's performance in Ridley Scott's highly-anticipated, long-simmering sequel "Gladiator II" as Lucius Verus, son of the original film's protagonist Maximus (Russell Crowe). If you're unfamiliar with Mescal's game, though, you might want to prepare for "Gladiator II" by watching the actor's incredible breakout role in the miniseries "Normal People," based on Sally Rooney's bestselling second novel.

"Normal People" became a huge pop culture phenomenon when it hit Hulu in the spring of 2020 — by pure chance, it ended up coming out just as the entire world entered quarantine thanks to the Covid-19 virus, leaving people to watch a whole lot of TV at home — and the series absolutely put Mescal and his co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones on the map.

Mescal ultimately earned an Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actor in a limited series and won trophies for his performance at...

Those who were driving through the intersection of Highland and Fountain in Los Angeles in the early 2000s got to know Tommy Wiseau very, very well. It was at that intersection that Wiseau chose to buy a billboard for his then-new film "The Room," and it featured a rather unflattering closeup of the man, staring directly into the camera, one of his eyes half-closed. The billboard stayed up for five straight years, costing Wiseau $5,000 a month.

It worked, though. Enough Angelenos drove past the billboard to become curious about "The Room" and seek out a screening at the Sunset 5 theater nearby. Those who saw it in those early days were utterly baffled. "The Room" is an intense infidelity drama about an all-around good guy named Johnny (Wiseau) whose fiancée Lisa (Juliette Danielle) instigates an affair with Johnny's best friend Mark (Greg Sestero). The film, however, is so weirdly scripted and...

Adrien Brody won an Oscar at the 2003 ceremony for his performance in “The Pianist.” Despite his impressive career, that film has brought him his only nomination. Things could change in early 2025 now that his latest film “The Brutalist” has him competing for Best Actor. An Oscars victory would add him into an exclusive club that currently just has seven members: performers to win two Academy Awards for their only two nominations.

Our Gold Derby odds for Best Actor currently have Brody tied for second place with Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) at 9/2 odds. Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”) is out front in first place at 4/1 odds. We then have Timothee Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”) at 6/1, Daniel Craig (“Queer”) at 21/2, Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”) at 16/1, and John David Washington (“The Piano Lesson”) at 30/1.

SEEOscar flashback 20 years ago to 2003: Adrien Brody, Nicole Kidman, Eminem and a ‘Chicago’ domination

Let’s take a look at...

Alvin Rakoff, the Canadian-born filmmaker who directed Laurence Olivier in A Voyage Round My Father, has died. He was 97.

His death was confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter by his longtime publicist, Nick Pourgourides. He passed away on Oct. 12 surrounded by family at home in Chiswick, a neighborhood in London.

Rakoff as a writer, director and producer of over 100 TV, film and stage productions, as well as novels, directed Olivier and co-stars Alan Bates and Jane Asher in the 1982 TV drama A Voyage Round My Father, a film written by John Mortimer and which earned the director his second Emmy Award.

Alvin and Olivier also worked together on Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson and A Talent for Murder, both shot in 1983. The two-time Emmy Award winner also gave a young Sean Connery his first leading role in the 1957 film Requiem for a Heavyweight, and Alan Rickman as a young actor was...

Ron Howard’s survival thriller “Eden,” starring Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby and Sydney Sweeney, has been set as the opening film of Italy’s Torino Film Festival with the director in tow.

“Eden,” which follows a pair of high-minded Europeans, played by Law and Kirby, who are seeking a new life on a previously uninhabited island in the Galápagos, will be having its international premiere in Torino after world premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

Landing the international launch of the survival thriller, with Howard on hand, marks a nice coup for the fest’s new artistic director, Italian actor/director Giulio Base. Torino’s upcoming 42nd edition will run Nov. 22-30.

Torino is Italy’s preeminent event for young directors and indie cinema, and is where Matteo Garrone and Paolo Sorrentino screened their first works. The festival’s lineup will be announced on Nov.

Canadian director, writer and producer Alvin Rakoff, best known for directing Laurence Olivier in “A Voyage Round My Father,” has died at the age of 97.

The cause of death was “old age,” his publicist told Variety. He died on Oct. 12 at home, surrounded by his family.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, which began when television was still only available in black-and-white, Rakoff was involved in over 100 television, film and stage productions as well as writing novels. According to his representatives, he was still working into his ’90s.

Rakoff was the third of seven children born to Sam and Pearl Rakoff in Toronto in 1927. His parents owned a dry goods shop but the director grew up in poverty after the Great Depression hit in 1929. He would later recount the experience in his novel “Baldwin Street.”

After seeing his first film in a theater at the age of 6, his...