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Locations are a major part of any movie or TV show, and the right spot can go a long way toward setting the tone of any given project. Ridley Scott's "The Martian" was obviously not filmed on Mars, but the combination of the harshly beautiful Wadi Rum valley in southern Jordan and a massive sound stage worked wonders in creating the illusion. The iconic Amity Island in Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" was actually Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and ABC's mystery show "Lost" was filmed almost entirely on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.  

The importance of great filming locations, of course, also applies to Westerns. This means far more than just finding some suitably Wild West-esque area and giving the actors some guns and cowboy hats -- the location needs to be just so. Fortunately, Hollywood lucked out on this one, because it had the perfect location sitting in its proverbial back yard.

Harris Yulin has sadly passed away.

The actor, best known for roles on TV shows like Frasier, Ozark and 24, died at the age of 87 on Tuesday (June 10) in New York City.

His manager Sue Leibman told TVLine that her client died due to cardiac arrest.

Keep reading to find out more…

He was just about to begin work on the MGM+ series American Classic, which would have reunited him with Michael Hoffman, who directed him in the 2005 film Game 6.

His earliest TV credit was Neither Are We Enemies in 1970. He’d then go on to star in Barnaby Jones, Ironside, Kojak, Little House on the Prairie, Police Woman, S.W.A.T. and Wonder Woman. He also recurred as Deek Peasley on ABC’s How the West Was Won.

He played Bernstein in Scarface and The Judge in Ghostbusters II, as well as Neal Frazier in Wiou.

He also played mobster Jerome...

Harris Yulin, the Emmy-nominated character actor whose myriad TV credits included Frasier, Ozark and 24, has passed away.

His manager, Sue Leibman, tells TVLine that her client died of cardiac arrest in New York City Tuesday. He was 87 years old.

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Yulin’s career spanned more than six decades. At the time of his death, he was set to begin production on the forthcoming MGM+ series American Classic, opposite Kevin Kline,...

"Gunsmoke" was CBS' groundbreaking foray into the world of television westerns for an adult audience, and it paid off incredibly well for them. The popular western drama lasted for 20 seasons and five television movies, all of which were led by James Arness as the steadfast Marshal Matt Dillon. Although he was the face of "Gunsmoke," the series grew out its ensemble cast with characters like Doc Adams (Milburn Stone) and Long Branch Saloon owner Kitty Russell (Amanda Blake). For the series' first nine seasons, the role of Dillon's right hand man went to Dennis Weaver as the timid, boyish non-deputy Chester Goode. The character was a holdover from the popular radio series who couldn't keep up physically with the Marshal on account of his limp, but his spirit made him a valuable presence in the show.

When Weaver left the show to take on new career opportunities, there was...

Kevin Costner’s career has been built on the foundation of gritty, sprawling Westerns like Dances With Wolves and Yellowstone. Credited for reviving the genre with Dances With Wolves, he has since gone on to direct his own epic, Horizon: An American Saga.

But long before that, the film that lit the spark and developed his love for the genre was: How the West Was Won. The 1962 epic, directed by Henry Hathaway and others, hooked him on the genre, eventually inspiring him to transform into Hollywood’s modern cowboy.

How the West Was Won captivated young Kevin Costner A still from How the West Was Won | Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Kevin Costner has always been vocal about his love for the Western genre. His passion for the genre wasn’t something he developed when he entered the entertainment industry but began when he was just seven years old.

In his celebrated 2019 Western Heritage Awards speech,...

It doesn't sound too surprising when a show with a 20-year lifespan decides to go off the air, but it came as a real shock when the cast and crew "Gunsmoke" learned about the show's sudden cancellation. Without a proper heads up that their version of Dodge City was going dark, the long-running CBS western drama was without a proper ending for our main characters. That decision was made on account of the higher-ups cleaning house, playing the time-honored game of out with the old, in with the new. The "good ol' days" era of when "Gunsmoke" was on television was coming to a close, leaving the show in an awkward position.

The best thing you can hope for in a series finale is something memorable to leave longtime viewers with, but the season 20 closer isn't exactly the best note for "Gunsmoke" to go out on. "The Sharecroppers," which aired...

Throughout his 50-year filmmaking career, John Wayne was not much of a risk taker when it came to material. Once he broke through as a movie star with John Ford's template-setting Western "Stagecoach" in 1939, he mostly bounced back and forth between oaters and rah-rah war films. When he did futz with his image, he did so with great directors like Ford and Howard Hawks, whose judgment he implicitly trusted.

When it came to experimenting with emerging cinematic technology and new formats, however, Wayne was open to giving anything a whirl that would help movies stave off the stay-at-home threat of television. He made lots of films in Cinemascope and starred in "How the West Was Won," one of the first three-strip Cinerama movies. You might think the 3D fad of the 1950s would've been too sweaty for the Duke, but he actually teamed with director John Farrow to shoot...

For whatever reason, folks in the film and TV industry seem inclined to hand Kevin Costner a ten-gallon hat and stick him on a horse. Okay, if we're being real, it's often the "Dances with Wolves" filmmaker who casts himself to play cowboy, as was also the case when he starred in his own feature-length directorial efforts "Open Range" and "Horizon: An American Saga -- Chapter 1." You can actually trace the "Yellowstone" veteran's association with the Western genre to the early days of his career when he starred in Lawrence Kasdan's Oscar-nominated 1985 oater "Silverado." The duo's reunion almost a decade later on "Wyatt Earp" didn't fare as well by comparison, although Costner has always defended the three-hour epic.

Funnily enough, Kasdan's 1994 feature isn't even Costner's longest sojourn into the Old West. That would be "Hatfields & McCoys," the three-part 2012 History Channel miniseries that reunited Costner with his "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves...

Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda made their impeccable individual contributions to the Western genre that have earned them a place among its greats. They generally rarely collaborated on-screen, and when they did, it was for a good cause, like in the Western epic How the West Was Won, which also starred John Wayne, Gregory Peck, and other Hollywood stars of the time. Stewart and Fonda's first onscreen encounter was in a whimsical 1948 comedy drama, On Our Merry Way, a three-part anthology with interconnected vignettes in which the duo play struggling musicians. After amassing decades of experience in diverse genres, the two legends would team up again in 1970 in one of the most hilarious Westerns ever made, Gene Kelly's The Cheyenne Social Club.

Mark Withers, who had recurring roles on such shows as Kaz, Dynasty and Days of Our Lives, has died. He was 77.

Withers died Nov. 22 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, his daughter, Jessie Withers, told The Hollywood Reporter.

“He confronted his illness with the same strength and dignity he brought to his craft, creating a legacy of warmth, humor and dedication, along with his remarkable ability to make every role unforgettable,” she wrote in a tribute. His “enduring talent and commitment to the industry will be fondly remembered by colleagues, friends and fans alike.”

Withers portrayed Peter Colcourt on the Ron Leibman-starring CBS crime drama Kaz from 1978-79, Ted Dinard on ABC’s Dynasty in 1981 — he’s murdered by Blake Carrington (John Forsythe), leading to Joan Collins joining the series as Alexis Carrington — and Coach Locke on NBC’s Days of Our Lives from 1986-87.

He also appeared on dozens of other shows,...

When John Wayne named his personal favorite top five out of the movies he’d starred in, he left out the classic that finally earned him an Academy Award: 1969’s True Grit. Over the course of his legendary, decades-long film career, Wayne starred in some truly great movies. He starred in hits like Big Jake and El Dorado and appeared alongside fellow screen legends in the sprawling ensembles of classic epics like The Longest Day and How the West Was Won.

So, when Wayne was asked to name the best movies he’d starred in, he had a lot of gems to choose from. Wayne co-starred with Jimmy Stewart in the character-driven western drama The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. He made Rio Bravo, one of the greatest hangout movies ever made, as a response to the cowardice displayed by Gary Cooper in High Noon. But surprisingly, when Wayne named his top five,...

Destry Rides Again is one of the finest westerns of James Stewart’s career, but its remake (simply titled Destry) is surprisingly an underrated gem — starring a perfectly cast Audie Murphy. From Winchester ’73 to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Stewart appeared in some of the greatest western movies ever made. He was in the sprawling ensemble of How the West Was Won and he co-starred in John Wayne’s final western, The Shootist. Released in 1939, Destry Rides Again is one of Stewart’s best contributions to the genre.

Set in the lawless town of Bottleneck, Destry Rides Again sees the mild-mannered son of a gunfighter being named sheriff. While he initially seems hopelessly ineffective, he proves to be just what the town needs. A lot of movies from that era play as stiff and slow-paced by today’s standards, but Destry Rides Again is a lively, fast-moving western adventure.

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In the history of the Academy Awards, only 17 Westerns have ever been nominated for Best Picture. A brief list of the nominees: "In Old Arizona" (1928), "Cimarron" (1931), "Viva Villa!" (1934), "Stagecoach" (1939), "The Ox-Bow Incident" (1943), "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948), "High Noon" (1952), "Shane" (1953), "How the West Was Won" (1963), "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), "Dances with Wolves" (1990), "Unforgiven" (1992), "No Country for Old Men" (2007), "True Grit" (2010), "Django Unchained" (2012), "Hell or High Water" (2016), and "The Power of the Dog" (2021).

Others may be on the border of the genre, like, say, "Brokeback Mountain" or "The Revenant," but the above 17 are indisputable.

The first of those 17 films to win Best Picture was Wesley Ruggles' American history epic "Cimarron," one of the highest-reviewed films of its day. Variety's 1931 review of the film praised it as one of the modern age's great spectacles, a pinnacle of pop filmmaking.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 composer John Debney found a kindred spirit in actor-filmmaker Kevin Costner when the two met making Hatfields & McCoys over a decade ago, both for their shared love of the Western genre and their proud status as native Angelenos.

“We both grew up out here, and so it’s kind of weird when you grow up out here,” Debney said on stage at Deadline’s Sound & Screen event Friday night. “My dad was in the film business for 40 years, so I sort of grew up on sets and it was like that we connected on sort of a visceral level, from the same experience.”

And when Debney and Costner discussed collaborating on Horizon, they discovered their passion for the Western genre shared an origin story. “As a kid, I used to ride horses with my father in the hills of Griffith Park – yes, there are riding trails in Griffith Park!

Looking at Kevin Costner’s filmography as a director, one thing is apparent: the guy loves his epics. His debut, 1990’s Dances with Wolves, clocked in at just over three hours, while his 1997 follow-up, The Postman, ran just under that. After practically making a short film with Open Range (139 minutes), he took a two-decade break before diving into his next: the multi-part Horizon, with its first two parts surpassing the six-hour mark. So what drives Kevin Costner to make such lengthy movies? It comes down to the classics.

At History Channel’s recent History Talks event (via Deadline), Kevin Costner said it was seeing movies of an epic scale that not only captured his curiosity for film but also subconsciously made him lean towards movies of such lengthy runtimes. In particular, he cited 1962’s How the West Was Won, which credits three directors – Henry Hathaway, John Ford and George Marshall...

John Wayne was a humbled man early in the 1960s. His passion project, "The Alamo," had fallen well short of box office expectations in 1961. An epic Western about the siege of the basement-less San Antonio mission, Wayne directed the film and took its failure personally. He didn't need a hit; even at his lowest point in the 1970s, a Wayne picture at a certain budget level was an automatic greenlight. Still, Wayne was a prideful man who actively tended to his legacy; he was mindful of his fan base, and sought their approval. So Wayne came charging out of his corner in 1962, and knocked out every last naysayer with Howard Hawks' "Hatari!," "How the West Was Won," "The Longest Day" and John Ford's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

The Ford movie could've been Wayne's Western swan song, but a rifle-toting Wayne astride a horse still held commercial appeal,...

Two former U.S. presidents, one former first lady and noted historians, authors, academics and journalists gathered Saturday at the Academy Museum for a History Talks event that looked at moments of conflict in the nation’s past to bring perspective to the polarization of the present.

The 2010s were “a decade of indignation,” said David Brooks, New York Times political and cultural columnist. “That decade is now giving way – people want something more joyful.”

The event hosted by A+E Networks’ History Channel featured Q&As with President Barack Obama, who engaged playfully with Malcolm Gladwell, and President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush. That pair opened the half-day event with a wide-ranging conversation conducted by their daughter, “Today” co-host Jenna Bush Hager.

Other speakers at included Kevin Costner, Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington, Kate Winslet, Nicole Avant and John Legend. The event drew a large industry crowd,...

Kevin Costner doesnt make short movies, and the actor probably knows the reason for this. During an appearance at the History Channels History Talks event, the Horizon director recalled one of the very first movies he remembers watching being the Western epic How the West Was Won at the age of around 7. It was also one of the movies that began his obsession with the American West, something that has remained with him across many of his movies.

Costner is currently in the middle of his ambitious and very costly passion project, Horizon. Envisioned as a four-part saga, Chapter 1 was released in cinemas earlier in the summer, but failed to make its mark at the box office thanks to a combined general lack of audience interest and some very mixed reviews from critics. This forced Warner Bros. who are distributing but not financing the movie to push back the release...

Kate Winslet is in her “life is too short” era, and we all here for it. Known for speaking her truth, the Oscar-winning actor has been making headlines while promoting her upcoming biopic Lee, in which she portrays renowned photojournalist Lee Miller. Winslet’s viral comments have included pushing back when a crew member had advised her to suck in her stomach to hide her “belly rolls” during a topless scene and subsequently dismissing her reaction being hailed as “bravery.”

In an interview during History Channel’s History Talks at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Saturday, Winslet continued speaking her mind on the topic.

“I quite like making statements. And actually, I have to say, I’m at the point where I’m just like, You know what? Life is too short,” she said onstage. “But it is one thing that’s been happening to me quite a lot recently,...

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is arguably the best Wayne/Stewart western, showcasing their unique on-screen chemistry and individual talents. How the West Was Won, a sprawling epic, features both Wayne and Stewart in a star-studded cast but lacks depth in exploring its themes. The Shootist serves as Wayne's poignant swansong, offering a powerful portrayal of an aging gunfighter and challenging his clean-cut hero image.

Throughout their legendary respective careers, John Wayne and James Stewart co-starred in three western movies together but which one was the best, and which one was the worst? Wayne and Stewart are two of the biggest names in Hollywood history. The former was John Fords muse; the latter was Alfred Hitchcocks. Wayne and Stewart were massive stars in the Golden Age, and they each represented something totally different. Wayne stood for the American ideal the gun-toting hero who doesnt hesitate to spring into action...

Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson star in the classic Western "Once Upon a Time in the West" on Amazon Prime Video. Sergio Leone's epic film features Fonda as the villain facing off against Bronson in an iconic showdown. Considered one of the best Westerns ever made, the film's complex story and characters have left a lasting impact.

One of the best Westerns of all time is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and the all-time great features Henry Fonda fighting Charles Bronson. Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson were two of the biggest actors of their times, with them appearing in some of the most popular and critically acclaimed films ever made. However, this specific Western is so popular because it featured both of the actors on screen together, with the movie in which they fight now streaming for fans to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

Henry Fonda is an...

John Wayne & James Stewart's best collaboration was their first movie together, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." The film is a complex and morally intriguing Western, focusing on themes of stolen valor and the price of noble choices. Wayne and Stewart's characters were perfectly portrayed, making the movie a must-watch for fans of the actors and the Western genre.

John Wayne and James Stewart worked on a handful of Western movies together, but their best collaboration was also their first. Both John Wayne and James Stewart are legends of Hollywood, and they were at the height of their popularity in the early 1960s. Some of the movies that defined John Wayne's career came in that decade, as did some of James Stewart's best films. Since they were so popular, it seemed almost inevitable that Wayne and Stewart would work together, and they finally got their chance in 1962.

In total,...

Spencer Tracy leads a stellar cast in Bad Day at Black Rock, mixing film noir with western vibes. The all-star ensemble includes multiple Oscar winners and iconic actors like Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin. The film captures post-wwii tensions in an isolated town, combining the mystery of noir with vast western landscapes.

Bad Day at Black Rock is an intriguing blend of film noir and neo-western featuring one of the greatest ensemble casts Ive ever seen led by the great Spencer Tracy. Throughout his storied Hollywood career, Tracy shared the screen with many legendary actors. In his feature film debut, Up the River, he co-starred with Humphrey Bogart. In Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, he co-starred with Sidney Poitier and his real-life spouse Katharine Hepburn. In Judgment at Nuremberg, he co-starred with Burt Lancaster, Maximilian Schell, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, William Shatner, and Montgomery Clift.

Tracy appeared in the all-star ensemble of Its a Mad,...

Quick Links What Is How the West Was Won About? What Is Cinerama? Why Were Four Cinematographers Used? Could Cinerama Make a 21st Century Comeback?

Released in 1962, How the West Was Won remains one of the most cherished epic movie Westerns on record. In addition to boasting a star-studded ensemble cast, the 3-time Oscar winner is a technical marvel that made history by becoming one of the first films to adopt Cinerama, a widescreen projection format allowing directors Henry Hathaway, John Ford, and George Marshall to shoot the most expansive canvas possible.

Achieving the stunning technical feat required four cinematographers, each earning an Academy Award nomination. As Kevin Costner's epic Western Horizon struggles to find footing, a look back at How the West Was Won's groundbreaking cinematography, formatting, and depiction of the American frontier could help to revitalize a traditional movie genre that is becoming less popular in 2024.

What...

John Wayne's final Western movie, The Shootist, is considered one of his best due to its honest portrayal of a dying cowboy. The Shootist also marks Wayne's last collaboration with James Stewart, who played Dr. E.W. "Doc" Hostetler, adding to its significance. Aside from The Shootist, Wayne, and Stewart worked together in How the West Was Won and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

John Wayne is considered one of the greatest Western stars of all time, yet his final Western movie with James Stewart was arguably one of his best works. Wayne, also known as "the Duke," starred in 179 films and television series throughout his 50-year career. Though Wayne was best known for Westerns and war movies, like True Grit and The Sands of Iwo Jima, he acted in a variety of different projects that ranged in genre. Although the concept of a movie star has changed over the years,...

The 1962 Western film "How the West Was Won" showcased a star-studded ensemble cast, including John Wayne, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, and Debbie Reynolds. The movie's unique structure featured five different stories following the Prescott family, allowing each actor to have their moment to shine. "How the West Was Won" was a major success, grossing $50 million on a $15 million budget, and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three.

A 1962 Western put together an impressive cast that elevated the film and made it an instant classic that would also become a box office champion and a critically acclaimed hit. Casting has always been one major factor in a movie's success, not just in terms of what the actors can deliver, but also the star power that comes with them. It was no different for Westerns, a genre that shaped some of the greatest actors of all time. Likewise, the works of actors like John Wayne,...

Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga marks a return to the Western genre that Costner himself made a career in from films like Silverado to Dances With Wolves and even Yellowstone. Costner, who has planned four chapters of the project, has been working on it since 1988 with the character Hayes Ellison in mind for a while.

Costner has cited films like How the West Was Won and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance as inspiration for Horizon. We’ve rounded up 20 Western films to watch if viewers are in the mood after Horizon.

Read on for Western films to watch right now and where they are streaming.

Justin Kroll and Pete Hammond contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This review was originally published May 19, when the movie world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. It hits theaters beginning today in previews before going wide Friday.

There can be no doubt if there is one person bound and determined to keep Hollywood’s long history of Westerns alive, it has been Kevin Costner. Ok, well Clint Eastwood too.

And that has been true right from the beginning of Costner’s career, when he played the freewheeling scene stealer Jake in Lawrence Kasdan’s Silverado in 1985. He also made an impression as the title star of 1994’s Wyatt Earp. But his real mark on the genre has been not just as an actor but also as director and producer behind the scenes, first with his Best Picture Oscar-winning 1990 pic Dances with Wolves and 2003’s terrific Open Range with co-star Robert Duvall. For the past few seasons he...

There is no doubt that John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Henry Fonda are three of Hollywood's greatest stars. They individually made many classics but rarely worked together. But did you know that there is a Western that the trio appeared in together? Although they didn't meet onscreen, the threesome appeared together for the first and last time in the star-studded triple Oscar-winning 1962 classic, How the West Was Won. This film had the unique distinction of being directed by three of Hollywood's best directors, who also shared the honor of making the first-ever full-length feature film using the Cinerama process. How the West Was Won comprised five interrelated segments, with Henry Hathaway directing three of them, while John Ford and George Marshall directed one segment each.

Following his 2015 Emmy win for the final season of “Mad Men,” Jon Hamm took a large step back from TV stardom in order to beef up his film resume with titles such as “Baby Driver,” “Richard Jewell,” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” Now that he has made a splashy return to the small screen by playing new roles on “Fargo” and “The Morning Show” and reprising one on “Good Omens,” his Emmy nominations total could instantly rise from 16 to 19. If all of his possible 2024 bids come to fruition, he will be only the fourth person and second man to ever compete for three acting Emmys at once.

Hamm’s string of recent TV acting gigs began last July when he returned for season two Prime Video’s “Good Omens” as supporting character Gabriel – a humanoid version of the biblical archangel. He then fulfilled the new role of ambitious tech billionaire Paul Marks...

Ever since the early days of cinema, filmmakers have turned to inspiring stories from history as a source of inspiration. Classic films like Ben-Hur, Spartacus, Cleopatra, How The West Was Won, and Lawrence of Arabia took important historical events and used them as the basis for dramatic storytelling. Among the most popular “epics” of this era was John Wayne’s 1960 Western classic The Alamo. Although Wayne starred in countless Western adventure films, The Alamo attempted to recount the most famous battle in Texas history and pay tribute to the men who died fighting the Centralist Republic of Mexico. There was clearly a special touch that Wayne had that other filmmakers simply could not replicate. When Patrick Wilson, Billy Bob Thorton, and Dennis Quaid attempted to star in a 2004 remake, it became one of the biggest bombs at the box office.

For nearly the entire history of the Western, director John Ford has been considered one of the greatest filmmakers in the genre. Films like The Searchers, Stagecoach, How the West Was Won, and My Darling Clementine, among others, have redefined and shaped the genre, and Ford has been at the forefront of it. Near the end of his career, he directed the epic 1964 Western Cheyenne Autumn, a pro-Indian picture meant to honor the titular tribe as they attempt an exodus northward to their Native lands. But this feature is also known for something else, particularly because of its ignorance towards its own use of the Navajo language.

Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan played iconic roles in different Star Trek series from 1993-2002. Flanagan's characters had close ties to major heroes, impacting storylines in intriguing ways. Star Trek: DS9, Tng, and Enterprise featured Fionnula Flanagan in memorable guest star roles.

Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan played three very different characters in the Star Trek franchise between 1993 and 2002. Born in Dublin, Ireland, Flanagan trained at the Abbey Theatre School, where Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Colm Meaney would also train as an actor. Fionnula Flanagan moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, and became a recognizable face, popping up in guest roles on classic TV shows like Gunsmoke and Kojak, before winning a regular role in How the West was Won, which also starred Ricardo Montalban, best known as Khan Noonien-Singh in Star Trek.

Fionnula Flanagan has also appeared with several Star Trek personalities over the years, outside the franchise itself.

A lot of sci-fi films helped shape the genre into what it is today, but perhaps none of them are as underrated as the 1982 film "Tron." The original entry into a franchise that would come to span several decades was studded with soon-to-be stars like the incomparable Jeff Bridges, who would go on to earn an Academy Award.

Bridges stars in the action-adventure as Kevin Flynn, a video game developer who gets trapped inside his own software and has to interact with the programs inside his computer's main frame to escape. Digital technology was still emerging in the 1980s, and computers were relegated to those with a proclivity for science. All that is to say, the public wasn't ready for a movie filled with symbolic computer metaphors, and the film was not a success.

However, as computers began to rise in popularity, so too did "Tron." Early web users looked...

Two years ago, the hashtag #EmmysSoWhite began trending when the Television Academy failed to award any major acting trophies to people of color. The pendulum has swung, with this year’s ceremony awarding a record-breaking number of people of color across all major categories: drama, comedy, limited, reality and variety series — a first in the TV Academy’s history.

That said, there were some stark reminders of historical shortcomings throughout the evening, such as a “Martin” cast reunion. The beloved show failed to score a single Emmy nod during its five-season run.

One year after making history as the second Black woman to win for comedy writing, Quinta Brunson took the stage again for her performance as the lovable teacher Janine Teagues in “Abbott Elementary.” She became the second Black woman to win the category, following Isabel Sanford for “The Jeffersons” in 1981.

Ayo Edebiri was part of the historic night for FX’s “The Bear,...

For nearly the entire history of the Western, director John Ford has been considered one of the greatest filmmakers in the genre's history. Films like The Searchers, Stagecoach, How The West Was Won, and My Darling Clementine, among others, have redefined and shaped the genre, and Ford has been at the forefront of it. Near the end of his career, he directed the epic 1964 Western Cheyenne Autumn, a pro-Indian picture meant to honor the titular tribe as they attempt an exodus northward to their native lands. But this feature is also known for something else, particularly because of its ignorance towards its own use of the Navajo language.

Over the course of more than a century, nearly every one of the hundreds of acting Oscar winners has shared the big screen with at least one other film academy honoree. In some special cases, viewers have been treated to extraordinarily star-studded movies that feature six or more Oscar champs, with the record for largest Academy Award-winning ensemble standing at an even dozen. Check out our photo gallery in which we break down the 22 movies that each include performances by at least six acting Oscar recipients.

The eclectic entries on this list cover a staggering eight decades of film history, having all been released between 1939 and 2019. Collectively, they themselves won 22 Oscars from 73 nominations, with standouts including respective 1940 and 1957 Best Picture winners “Gone with the Wind” and “Around the World in 80 Days.” The only directors with multiple films on the list are George Marshall (“Variety Girl” and “How the West Was Won...

Over the course of more than a century, nearly every one of the hundreds of acting Oscar winners has shared the big screen with at least one other film academy honoree. In some special cases, viewers have been treated to extraordinarily star-studded movies that feature six or more Oscar champs, with the record for largest Academy Award-winning ensemble standing at an even dozen. Check out our photo gallery in which we break down the 22 movies that each include performances by at least six acting Oscar recipients.

The eclectic entries on this list cover a staggering eight decades of film history, having all been released between 1939 and 2019. Collectively, they themselves won 22 Oscars from 73 nominations, with standouts including respective 1940 and 1957 Best Picture winners “Gone with the Wind” and “Around the World in 80 Days.” The only directors with multiple films on the list are George Marshall (“Variety Girl” and “How the West Was Won...

Many of the iconic Hollywood movie stars of the Golden Age got their start in classic western films, which helped launch them to stardom. Clint Eastwood and John Wayne both had breakthrough roles in westerns that paved the way for their successful careers as leading men. The western genre was a popular and influential genre in early American cinema, and actors like Charles Bronson, James Stewart, Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott, Lee Marvin, and Henry Fonda all found success through their roles in western movies.

Some of the most iconic movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood got their start in a classic western film that introduced them to a wider audience. In the early days of American cinema, the western was one of two popular genres – along with hard-boiled film noir – that were hugely popular among moviegoers. A hit film in one of these genres, especially westerns, could turn...

Halloweentown remains a beloved must-watch particularly during the spooky season, with all four movies available to stream on Disney+. The cast of Halloweentown grew up with the audience, creating a nostalgic connection between the fans and the actors. Many of the cast members have continued to act and have had successful careers outside Halloweentown, while others have pursued different interests.

Decades later, Halloweentown remains a must-watch during the spooky season, while the cast of the movie has changed a lot over the years. The beloved TV movie first aired on Disney Channel in October 1998, showing every child’s dream of finding out that they have magical abilities. Halloweentown follows a family of powerful witches and depicts a world where the creatures of Halloween live throughout the year. Over the course of a decade, three sequels were released, and all are now available to stream on Disney+.

Halloweentown’s actors are...

Many Western movies have been criticized for historical inaccuracies and perpetuating stereotypes, particularly in their portrayal of Native American cultures. Films like "The Searchers" and "Dances with Wolves" have faced criticism for perpetuating the White Savior complex and inaccurately depicting historical events. While films like "The Revenant" and "The Lone Ranger" received critical acclaim, they have been criticized for historical inaccuracies and perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

American cinema has always been famous for its Western genre, with catchy storylines about the forever seeking of poetic justice, mesmerizing landscapes, and heroic leadership, but much of it may not be realistic at all. Many Western movies came under scrutiny for historical inaccuracies, exaggerated portrayals, and embracing stereotypes, particularly when viewed with a modern lens.

Over the years, scholars and critics have pointed out inaccurate depictions of native cultures, or events that simply didn't fit with the time period. The Western genre continues to...

Dean Smith, a Hollywood stuntman who worked in dozens of Westerns after winning a gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, died on Saturday, his son Finis announced on social media. Smith was 91.

Born and raised in Texas, Smith competed in track and football for the University of Texas at Austin and qualified for the Olympics at the age of 20. While he finished just off the podium in the 100-meter dash by landing in fourth place, he claimed the gold medal in the 4×100-meter relay as part of a team with 1948 100-meter Olympic gold medalist Harrison “Bones” Dillard, 1952 100-meter gold medalist Lindy Remigino, and 1952 200-meter gold medalist Andy Stanfield.

After playing running back for the Texas Longhorns and helping the team win the 1953 Cotton Bowl, Smith had a brief career in the NFL as a scout team player. After that, he moved into motion pictures and worked as a stuntman who...

Finis Dean Smith, a stuntman regular in John Wayne Westerns who turned to Hollywood after becoming an Olympic gold medalist, died Saturday. He was 91.

Smith was born in Breckenridge, Texas and began his athletic career competing in track and field competitions, earning All-American status in the 100-meter dash in 1952.

He went on to win varying athletic championships, culminating in his inclusion on Team U.S.A. as a member of the 4×100-meter relay team at the Helsinki Olympics, where he would win the gold medal. Following his graduation from University of Texas at Austin, Smith would play for the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers for a few years ahead of his career in the entertainment industry.

Working as a stuntman, Smith was a part of several Oscar-winning Western films, including “True Grit” and “How the West Was Won,” in addition to “The Quick and the Dead,” “El Dorado” and “Rio Lobo.

Dean Smith, who won a gold medal as a sprinter at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics before becoming a top-notch Hollywood stunt performer who worked on a dozen films starring John Wayne, has died. He was 91.

Smith died Saturday at his home in Breckenridge, Texas, after a battle with cancer, his friend Rob Word told The Hollywood Reporter.

Smith, who got into the business with help from James Garner, appeared in seven Paul Newman films, including Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), The Sting (1973) and The Towering Inferno (1974).

The tough Texan, who loved to say he could “ride, run and jump,” doubled for good friend Dale Robertson on the 1957-62 NBC series Tales of Wells Fargo, the 1964 film Blood on the Arrow and the 1966-68 ABC series Iron Horse.

He also did the dirty work for Ben Johnson...

Joseph L. Mankiewicz’ “Cleopatra,” which opened in New York on June 12, 1963 and in Los Angeles a week later, was not a flop. In fact, the 243-minute film was a box office champ making $26 million at the box office, $6 million more than the Cinerama epic “How the West was Won.” But being the most expensive movie of its time — the budget ended up being around $44 million which would be around $429.5 million in 2023 — it took a long time to recoup its staggering costs. The film was such a drain on Twentieth Century Fox, the studio ended up having to sell nearly 300 acres of its backlot. That acreage was transformed into Century City.

The budgets started to soar when the original production with Elizabeth Taylor, who asked for and received $1 million for her services, Peter Finch as Julius Caesar, Stephen Boyd as Marc Antony and veteran filmmaker Rouben Mamoulian as director, stopped production...

Since the early days of film, Westerns have been a popular genre among audiences, further established by legendary films like the John Ford classic, The Searchers and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, before the arrival of memorable television series including The Rifleman, Wagon Train, and How the West Was Won. Today, the classic genre has continued to grow with hit shows such as Yellowstone and Longmire as well as miniseries like Hatfields & McCoys, Broken Trail, and Showtime's The Good Lord Bird.

Planet Express is back in business as the new season of Futurama was confirmed. Hulu’s streaming hub will air 10 episodes of the acclaimed show by The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening, reviving the series that doesn’t cease to come back. It’s Futurama’s third revival, after a direct-to-video season and a Comedy Central reboot, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect for this hit comedy series. As dystopian TV shows rise as a genre, the not-so-bright 31st century of Futurama has a lot to say about the present time.

There’s already a lot of information about the Futurama reboot. Aside from the cast reprising their roles as Fry, Leela, Bender, and the complete set of colorful characters, the names of the episodes for the eleventh season have already surfaced. Every title is quite suggestive of what the episodes are about, so it’s easy to predict...

Nine years after he won his fourth and final acting Emmy for playing Walter White on “Breaking Bad,” Bryan Cranston has a solid shot at triumphing in the corresponding Best Drama Guest Actor category for reprising the role on the prequel series “Better Call Saul” on AMC. In fact, he has three chances to win at least his fifth acting Emmy this year since he could also earn notices for Best Movie/Limited Actor for Paramount Plus’ “Jerry and Marge Go Large” and for Best Drama Actor for Showtime’s “Your Honor.” If all three nominations come to fruition, he will be only the fourth person and second man to ever compete for three acting Emmys at once.

Cranston’s highly anticipated “Better Call Saul” appearance consists of several flashback scenes in which he reunites with his “Breaking Bad” cast mates Bob Odenkirk and Aaron Paul. His two episodes aired...

Director John Ford made some of the most legendary western films in cinematic history, and his frequent collaborator John Wayne often added his cowboy star power to those classics. Highly respected by his contemporaries for his lavish camerawork and on-location shooting style, Ford's 50-year career in cinema earned him four Best Director Oscars among a slew of other accolades. Similarly, Wayne's massive movie and TV catalog earned him a reputation as one of the Golden Age of Hollywood's biggest movie stars, and he won the Best Actor Oscar for his turn in the film True Grit towards the end of his career in 1970.

Starting with 1939's Stagecoach, the actor-director pair would collaborate for a total of 14 feature films, with nine of them being their signature westerns. Though Wayne attempted to break away from westerns at one point in his career, his cowboy roles were what made him famous, and Ford...

Over 100 popular films are leaving HBO Max at the end of the month, but luckily you have the whole month to stream them.

They include cinema classics like “Ben Hur,” the winningest film in Oscars history

Leaving April 5

The Inside Story, 1948

Reminiscence, 2021 (HBO)

Leaving April 11

Adult Swim Yule Log (aka The Fireplace)

Leaving April 12

About Face: Supermodels Then and Now, 2012 (HBO)

Leaving April 13

The Last Duel, 2021

Game Theory With Bomani Jones, Season 1

Leaving April 18

The Lego Batman Movie, 2017

Leaving April 24

Tom and Jerry Cowboy Up!, 2022

Leaving April 27

Malignant, 2021 (HBO)

Leaving April 30

47 Ronin, 2013 (HBO)

3 Godfathers, 1948

Accepted, 2006 (HBO)

The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938

A Private War, 2018 (HBO)

An American in Paris, 1951

The American President, 1995

Any Given Sunday, 1999

Australia, 2008 (HBO)

Before I Fall, 2017 (HBO)

Ben-Hur, 1959

Black Legion, 1937

Blade, 1998

Blood Diamond, 2006

Blow Out, 1981 (HBO)

The Bodyguard, 1992

Boogie Nights, 1997

The Book of Eli, 2010

The Bourne Identity, 2002 (HBO)

The Bourne Supremacy, 2004 (HBO)

Bringing up Baby,...