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The same appealingly anarchic, punk-scented strain of indie comedy that made cult favorites of “Repo Man” and the more recent “Dinner in America” also marks territory for “Rats!” Maxwell Nalevansky and Carl Fry’s debut feature is a sustained goof whose nonsensical progress scores higher for energy and attitude than wit, let alone substance. Truth to tell, the humor here is frequently at a pretty crass level that might induce mere eye-rolls if less deftly handled. But the writer-director duo lend it all a certain deadpan panache that’s diverting even when the material is less than inspired. At its best, often spiked by gleefully gratuitous gore, this very tall Texas tale trades in a kind of snarky absurdism likely to leave suitably jaded viewers in stitches. Yellow Veil opened it on limited U.S. theater screens Feb. 28, with digital release following March 11.

It’s 2007 in the faceless fictive Lone Star State suburbia of Pfresno,...

The 1987 sci-fi action classic RoboCop is one of those rare perfect movies. Everything about it works just right. The satire. The violence. The characters. The design of RoboCop himself. And it’s difficult to follow up perfection. Which is evident in RoboCop 2, a movie that tried to carry on the story… But ended up feeling tonally inconsistent and a bit scattered. It’s a fun movie, but not on the level of its predecessor. And now, we’re going to dig into just what happened to RoboCop 2.

Orion Pictures had a big hit on their hands with RoboCop, which they released on July 17, 1987. Made on a budget of just under fourteen million dollars, the film earned more than fifty-three million dollars at the box office. So, of course, Orion wanted to replicate that success as quickly as possible. They hired RoboCop writers Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner to...

Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s mysterious Leonardo DiCaprio-led 2025 movie could be the most surprising action movie, well, ever. The Academy Award-nominated filmmaker will join forces with the Academy Award-winning star for this year’s One Battle After Another, which has reportedly now had a test screening. And the results are...unexpected.

Known for the likes of Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and There Will Be Blood, One Battle After Another has now been described as the “closest we’ll ever get” to a Paul Thomas Anderson making a “full-on action movie.” The footage that was shown included “tentpole-level spectacle,” including “loads of action and car chases,” and a “phenomenal” car chase climax. According to The Film Stage and their sources, One Battle After Another could be the director’s most mainstream movie yet. “It could definitely appeal to a lot of people, starting with Leo and the scale that is present,...

“I need to start figuring out what the f— to say,” Paul Thomas Anderson recently said when it came to his biggest project yet, a $115 million Warner Bros. summer tentpole with a cast featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Wood Harris, Alana Haim, Benicio del Toro, and Chase Infiniti. The promotion has not begun yet ahead of its August 8 release, but the film, which runs just under three hours, held its first test screening in Phoenix, Arizona at the Harkins Theatres Norterra 14 with the director in attendance and we have the first details.

Speaking with a lucky attendee at the screening, Anderson confirmed the film––which is titled One Battle After Another––is nearly finished, helping squash those unsubstantiated reports of the film being delayed. As early rumors hinted, it is indeed a modern take on Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland. While Donald Trump isn’t mentioned,...

Emilio Estevez made his big screen debut at the age of 11 in the film "Badlands," Terrence Malick's mood drama starring Emilio's father Ramón Estévez, who was better known by his screen name Martin Sheen. When Emilio was 14, he flew with his father to the Philippines for another film shoot. Sheen was playing the lead role in Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now," and the young Emilio was hired to appear as an extra. Sadly, his scenes were cut, but Estevez was inspired by his experience to write a play called "Echoes of an Era," and perform in the lead role. He was officially an actor like his father. 

After graduating high school, Estevez eschewed college and entered show business. What followed was a decades-long and prolific career that brought him into the center of the Hollywood mainstream. In the 1980s, Estevez was part of a generation of rising actors...

Late in filmmaker Gregory Nava’s harrowing 1983 immigration drama El Norte, Guatemalan refugee Rosa (Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez) lays ailing in a Los Angeles hospital, ravaged by a fatal case of typhus acquired crawling through the rat-infested sewers underneath the Mexican-American border. Sadly resigned to her own death, she turns to her equally ill-fated brother Enrique (David Villalpando) to ask: “When will we find a home, Enrique? Maybe when we die?”–a blunt, heartbreaking moment among many.

But even setting aside the Guatemalan Civil War whose harsh realities provide El Norte its backdrop so too could Rosa’s mournful question could just as easily be asked in relation to the state of independent film in the Americas by the time of El Norte’s world premiere at the 1983 edition of the Telluride Film Festival.

After spending the bulk of the 1970s drinking and producing a series of increasingly unreleasable masterpieces, indie film pioneer John Cassavetes was,...

Having established himself with a string of low-budget, transgressive films, New Queer Cinema luminary Gregg Araki expanded his budgetary and artistic palette with his so-called Teen Apocalypse Trilogy, a series of narratively unrelated but thematically linked features about LGBTQ youths living on the margins of a Los Angeles redolent of the desiccated outskirts of the city as seen in Alex Cox’s Repo Man. Like that film, 1993’s Totally F***ed Up, 1995’s The Doom Generation, and 1997’s Nowhere are informed by the legacy and aesthetics of punk, but Araki builds on that foundation with styles drawn from the queer underground, as well as the rise of ’90s alternative music in its myriad forms of noise.

Totally F***ed Up sets the general narrative tone and atmosphere for all three features in the trilogy. Though it does have certain narrative through lines, the most significant of which is telegraphed by...

The utter weirdness of Alex Cox’s remarkable debut—a document of L.A.’s hardcore punk scene that’s also an ode to its car culture, a critique of the American middle class, and a kind-of sci-fi comedy about a radioactive Chevy Malibu—would seem to preclude its existence. And yet here it is. Forty years later, Repo Man is no worse for the wear. Not so much ahead of its time as outside of it, the film’s L.A. punk particularities have broadened over the years. Its ennui has endured not just as a portrait of a certain generation of angry adolescents, but as one of angry adolescence writ large. In a way, the film’s timelessness has always been assured by Cox’s restless protagonist, Emilio Estevez’s suburban punk-cum-repossession agent Otto, who’s always seemed like a bit of a nonentity.

As much as Repo Man...

Like any movie genre, the Western has its fair share of popular subgenres. Well-known Western subgenres include neo-Westerns, revisionist Westerns, and spaghetti Westerns. More obscure Western subgenres include acid Westerns, meat pie Westerns, and weird Westerns. Influential film critic Pauline Kael coined the term acid Western in 1971 in her review of Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo.

In the mid-1990s, Jonathan Rosenbaum expanded upon the definition of acid Westerns. He noted acid Westerns are a type of revisionist Western that reflected the counterculture ideologies of the 1960s and 1970s. Acid Westerns have a hallucinogenic quality that is often aided by surrealist imagery. Rosenbaum also stated that in traditional Westerns, a character's journey West resulted in freedom and prosperity. In Acid Westerns, Rosenbaum argued a character's journey is a march toward death. Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter, Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, and Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid...

For those who like a good dose of honesty and chaos, the 1984 punk cult classic debut from Alex Cox, Repo Man is out in a 4K/Blu-ray combo. The release is beautiful; from the physical booklet to the actual restoration, this is a release you’ll want to pick up. Repo Man follows the raucous Bud, played by the legendary Harry Dean Stanton, Rip. He takes young punk Otto (a young Emilio Estevez) under his wing, and together, the two of them are nihilistic urban cowboys on the brink of annihilation, of both themselves and the other criminals and punks they collide with in Los Angeles. Otto and Bud get into trouble ¾ a lot. They fight...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Is there a more entertainingly batshit movie from the ‘80s than Repo Man?

English filmmaker Alex Cox’s 1984 directorial debut is a satirical black comedy set in a version of Los Angeles (undoubtedly inspired by Cox’s years studying film at UCLA) where the food—even the alcohol—is blandly,...

With 327 episodes to choose from, there's something in Supernatural for just about everybody. Whether you love straight horror or horror comedy, low-fantasy, or family drama, the Winchesters have it all. But sometimes, certain episodes rise above the usual monster-of-the-week material and give audiences (and the Winchesters) the shock of their lives. Okay, that's a bit dramatic, but the Season 7 episode "Repo Man" is a diamond in the rough, one that gave Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) a run for their money. If you thought that humans and demons were bad all on their own, this episode reveals what might happen when the two mix.

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: After going on a hike and getting “really stoned,” Off! guitarist Dimitri Coats approached his friend and bandmate Keith Morris with a tall order: He wanted to make a film that featured the band… with the singer’s erectile dysfunction as the inciting incident. “I was a little worried (Keith) wouldn’t go for it,” Coats told IndieWire.

Morris, the legendary dreadlocked former lead man for The Circle Jerks, detailed his struggle with diabetes in in his 2016 autobiography “My Damage.” And, as he previously disclosed to Coats, erectile dysfunction (now resolved) was an early warning sign. In the film Coats envisioned, Morris never followed his musical dreams and became a defeated elderly porno store clerk who is inspired by a bout of erectile dysfunction to visit a “boner doctor”.

This leads to a hallucinogenic “antidote” created by aliens with the help of albino bees,...

The iconic Criterion Collection has expanded into viral Closet trips, its streaming channel, and of course its staple 4k restorations on Blu-ray. Now, the Criterion Collection celebrates 40 years since its founding with a monumental 40-film box set including works from auteurs Agnès Varda, Spike Lee, Jean-Luc Godard, and Federico Fellini.

The box set, titled CC40, spans an eclectic selection of curated classic films that includes special features and essays. The collection encompasses the works “frequently chosen by the hundreds of filmmakers, actors, writers, and other movie-loving luminaries who have visited Criterion over the years, as documented in our popular Closet Picks video series,” per the official press release. “Neither a historical survey nor a top-40 compilation, this exciting, personal, unpredictable anthology reflects the cinematic joys and inspirations of the creative community that makes the Criterion Collection possible.”

The 40th anniversary Blu-ray box set includes films like “8½” (1963), “All That Jazz...

With nearly 1,700 titles in their catalog, it’s hard to discern where exactly to start when exploring the Criterion Collection. To celebrate their 40th anniversary, the company has now made it a bit easier as they’ve unveiled CC40, a 40-film, 49-disc collection retailing for around $640 that is now the new go-to gift for that budding cinephile in your life.

“This monumental forty-film box set celebrates forty years of the Criterion Collection by gathering an electrifying mix of classic and contemporary films, and presenting them with all their special features and essays in a deluxe clothbound, slipcased edition,” they note. “CC40’s eclectic selection includes the releases most frequently chosen by the hundreds of filmmakers, actors, writers, and other movie-loving luminaries who have visited Criterion over the years, as documented in our popular Closet Picks video series. Neither a historical survey nor a top-forty compilation, this exciting, personal, unpredictable anthology...

Alex Cox's 1984 punk rock sci-fi riot "Repo Man" is one of the defining films of its decade. It follows a disaffected punker named Otto who resents that he has to take a wage-slave job in the blasted-open, comedically meaningless landscape of Reagan's America. He finds solace and job satisfaction as a repo man, serving as the angry inversion of consumer culture. If we are defined by what we consume, then the repo man robs us of meaning, laying bare the fragility of modern economics. Also, be sure to keep your middle fingers highly raised at all times. 

The magical McGuffin of "Repo Man" is an elusive 1964 Chevy Malibu, marked for repossession. The driver, however, is J. Frank Parnell (Fox Harris), and he seems to be unbalanced, having had a lobotomy at some point. Also, his trunk contains the corpse of a radioactive alien. Whenever someone tries looking in the trunk,...

Emilio Estevez’s storied Hollywood career was nearly cut short before it even began, but thanks to the impulsive bravery of a lifelong friend, he was saved from a perilous situation. As an extra on the set of Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now, starring his father Martin Sheen, Estevez befriended a young Lawrence Fishburne. During a break in the Philippines, the two took a leisurely boat ride down a nearby river. As the boat drifted too close to the bank, Estevez offered to get out and push it back to the center. But as soon as he stepped out, he began sinking into the river muck like quicksand. Without hesitation, Fishburne extended his hand and pulled Estevez back into the boat, saving his life. All that dancing with death for his extra work to be cut from the final film.

So what kind of life did that turn out to be?...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 4K Uhd from Warner Bros.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga drives onto home video on August 13 via Warner Bros. The fifth installment in the post-apocalyptic action franchise is presented on 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision/Hdr and Dolby Atmos audio.

Mad Max creator George Miller directs from a script he co-wrote with Nico Lathouris (Mad Max: Fury Road). Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne, and Lachy Hulme star.

Five featurettes are included: Highway to Valhalla: In Pursuit of Furiosa, Stowaway to Nowhere, Metal Beasts & Holy Motors, Darkest Angel: Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa, and Motorbike Messiah: Chris Hemsworth as Dementus.

The Toxic Avenger Figure from Super...

Sci-fi films like Sunshine and Under the Skin failed to achieve initial success but developed loyal cult followings. Galaxy Quest stands out as a sci-fi comedy parody, gaining popularity post-release, praised for its hilarious take on the genre. Cult classics like Brazil, They Live, and Repo Man offer unique interpretations of sci-fi combining humor, satire, and social commentary.

Sci-fi is one of the best genres of film purely for the imagination and creativity that go into making the movies, but some iconic sci-fi hits go under the radar, amassing a cult following. Sci-fi is a huge genre which encompasses fictional stories grounded in some sort of scientific rationality. Whether that equates to these movies being based in the distant future, on a far-off planet, or simply including some sort of alien invasion, there are plenty of ways for the genre to be interpreted.

However, movies don't always reach levels of critical and commercial success,...

It’s a mix of old and new with the September Criterion releases. Not only that, it’s a solid mix of genres, giving consumers quite a lot to think about purchasing come the fall.

Leading the way in September is “All of Us Strangers.” Yes, the acclaimed drama from filmmaker Andrew Haigh which was released only last year is getting the Criterion treatment. The film will be presented in 4K, as you might expect, with some new goodies such as an interview with Haigh, as well as another interview with Dp Jamie D.

Continue reading ‘All Of Us Strangers,’ ‘Repo Man’ & More Headline September’s Criterion Releases at The Playlist.

Marking one of their biggest 4K months yet, Criterion has announced a September lineup led by Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse trilogy of The Doom Generation, Nowhere, and Totally F***ed Up in a rather full set, and all but the last in 4K. One of Criterion’s earliest titles, John Mackenzie’s The Long Good Friday, is receiving a sizable 480-to-2,160 upgrade; a more recent addition, Repo Man, also gets upgraded, hopefully fueling further interest for Alex Cox’s recently announced sequel.

On the new-film front, Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers makes the most-enviable home debut possible. And with regard to films I never thought would be presented in such profound resolution, Todd Solondz’s Happiness is given the 4K treatment, at long last supplying a companion to Life During Wartime.

See artwork below and find more details at Criterion:

The post The Criterion Collection’s September Lineup Includes Gregg Araki,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.NEWSNorma Rae.The Academy Foundation Workers Union has approved its first contract, including structured raises, extended leave time, increased job security, and other benefits.Just weeks after the conclusion of the festival, Hot Docs has announced it will lay off staff and temporarily shutter its year-round cinema in Toronto.The Hollywood Commission, chaired by Anita Hill, has introduced an online tool to report workplace abuse in the American motion-picture industry.The organizing wave in New York cinemas continues as the Cinema Village union becomes official. In PRODUCTIONIn his signature direct-oblique style, David Lynch is teasing “something…for you to see and hear,” which “will be coming along” on June 5.REMEMBERINGSuper Size Me.Morgan Spurlock has died at 53. The filmmaker followed his debut feature,...

Richard Foronjy, who spent more than eight years in prison before he turned to acting and appeared in such films as Serpico, Midnight Run, Repo Man and Carlito’s Way, died Sunday, his family announced. He was 86.

Foronjy said he was arrested more than 20 times for “forgery, bank robbery, credit card rip-offs, assorted crimes and skullduggery … [guilty of] almost everything except drugs and homicide,” he said in a 1987 interview with Upi’s Vernon Scott.

The Brooklyn native was convicted only once, but that got him an 8½-year stretch in the New York prisons Sing Sing and Attica before he was released when he was 32.

In Hollywood, not surprisingly, Foronjy specialized in portraying cops and crooks.

He was a cop killer in his screen debut, Serpico (1973), and cops in The Morning After (1986) and Prince of the City (1981), all for Sidney Lumet. “I was especially good at playing cops, no doubt because I got to...

Character actor Richard Foronjy, known for his unforgettable roles in movies like Midnight Run and Carlito's Way, has died. He was 86 years old.

Foronjy's death was announced on Facebook by his family, who shared in a post that he'd died on May 19. The actor is said to have passed away peacefully, joined by his granddaughter Katerhine Fornjy Coburn, his live Wendy Odell Chiaro, and her daughter Lori. He'd been spending his final days with Wendy and her family, who'd "showered him with love and adventures."

"Richard was a legend in every sense," the family statement reads. "He has left an indelible mark on all who had the privilege of knowing him. With a spirit as vibrant as the sun, he embraced life with unparalleled vigor and enthusiasm. Richard's outgoing nature and infectious joy illuminated every room he entered, leaving a lasting impression on all who crossed his path. Richard Foronjy's...

Richard Foronjy, a character actor who grew up in the gangster world and went to prison before becoming an actor in movies including “Midnight Run,” “Prince of the City” and “Carlito’s Way,” died Sunday. He was 86.

Foronjy, born in Brooklyn, N.Y., saw his first small role as Corsaro in “Serpico,” the 1973 autobiographical crime drama that starred Al Pacino as a whistleblower whose work led to an investigation by the Knapp Commission into the department.

In the 1984 “Repo Man,” starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez, Foronjy played Arnold Plettschner, the rent-a-cop with the memorable speech, “You’re fuckin’ right I’m Plettschner! Arnold Plettschner! Three times decorated in two world wars! I was killing people while you were still swimming around in your father’s balls! You little scumbag! I worked five years in a slaughterhouse, and ten years as a prison guard in Attica!”

In the 1988 comedy action film “Midnight Run,...

Spoilers for "X-Men '97" follow.

The goriest moment of "X-Men '97" season 1 will assuredly go down as episode 5, "Remember It," which saw the mutant nation of Genosha wiped out just as it was in the dark "X-Men" comic arc "E is for Extinction."

Episode 9, "Tolerance is Extinction Part 2" just gave it a runner-up though. Magneto, who has returned to his old villain ways, is fighting the X-Men on his new base of Asteroid M. Wolverine, famous for his adamantium-coated claws and skeleton, stabs Magneto. Undeterred, Magneto uses his powers to tear out the adamantium from Wolverine's body.

This bit, like most of the episode, is taken from 1993 "X-Men" comic crossover event "Fatal Attractions." The episode ends with a shot recreating a panel from "X-Men" #25 (drawn by Andy Kubert) of liquified adamantium heeding Magneto's call and pouring out of Wolverine's battered body. Writer Peter David first suggested this as a joke,...

Netflix is continuing to roll out its celebration of iconic films, this time turning the page to 1984.

As part of the streaming platform’s “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection,” Netflix has unveiled the 1984 films celebrating their 40-year anniversary in 2024 with classics like “Footloose” and “Sixteen Candles” alongside Oscar contenders “Amadeus” and “Iceman.”

The Milestone Movies hail from Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Sony — the distributors that license content to Netflix.

Starting today, April 1, 2024, Netflix subscribers can revisit Brian de Palma’s erotic noir “Body Double” and Kevin Bacon’s breakout performance in “Footloose.” How about a double feature? There’s also “Repo Man” and “Beverly Hills Cop,” streaming just in time for franchise reboot “Beverly Hills Cop: Axle F” out this summer.

In addition to the cinematic celebrations in your Netflix queue, in-person special screenings of select films will continue at the Paris Theater in New York and Los Angeles...

Ethan Coen's queer roadtrip film "Drive-Away Dolls" is set in 1997, and feels like an escapee from that era, for better and for worse. On the one hand, it possesses all the impish, make-the-straights-squirm energy of a legit '90s indie lesbian farce. It is not just upfront about its queerness, but confrontationally playful about it. "Drive-Away Dolls" unapologetically and cartoonishly plunges audiences into lesbian basement make-out parties and rowdy gay bars, flinging about cunnilingus jokes, masturbation scenes, and multiple on-screen dildos with gleeful impunity. It's a lightweight, weirdly teen-friendly (but very R-rated) slumber party movie with an upbeat and liberating "be gay, do crime" vibe. It's a queer, hand grenade-shaped squeak toy. 

On the other hand, however, "Drive-Away Dolls" is being released in 2024, and the very fact that it depicts queer characters having queer sex and talking about queer issues isn't nearly as confrontational as it once was. There...

Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer will be blending sci-fi and punk rock with a modern twist on technology and nostalgia. Director Alex Cox reveals Otto's new repo methods in the internet age, longing for beer, booty, and a world without nuclear war. The cult classic sequel promises a fresh take on Otto Maddox's journey, blending nostalgia with contemporary themes for a wild ride.

The 1980s gave birth to a film that would etch its name in the annals of cult cinema history: Repo Man. Directed by Alex Cox, the movie blended sci-fi elements with punk rock ethos, creating a unique and unforgettable experience. Fast forward to the present, and Cox is set to revisit this iconic universe with the announcement of a sequel, Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer.

In a recent interview with Inverse, Cox shared insights into the upcoming project, revealing that the...

The action genre became popular during the '80s, which led to cult hits like Cobra, Red Dawn, and Road House. Classic '80s action flicks turned into cult classics like Highlander, The Lost Boys, and The Goonies. Cult status was achieved by '80s action films like Bloodsport, Flash Gordon, and Repo Man due to critical acclaim.

The action genre is currently resurging in popularity thanks to movies like the John Wick series, Fast & Furious, and popular shows like Reacher, but the golden age for action was the 1980s. Action is a popular genre that is often blended with other subgenres, but when action movies were growing in popularity in the '80s, it was all about the action. This was also the period when many of the most famous faces in action films rose to prominence, with actors like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and...

Alex Cox returns after forty years with "Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer." This sequel makes up for Universal's unofficial sequel, "Repo Men." "Repo Man 2" will add to "Repo Man's" big but unofficial film universe.

It was recently announced that Alex Cox is returning to his 1984 cult classic, Repo Man, with an upcoming sequel, Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer, which will fix a 14-year old injustice created by Universal when they made their own unauthorized Repo Man sequel. Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer is a direct sequel to the 1980s hit, Repo Man. According to director Alex Cox, Kiowa Gordon has signed on to play Repo Man's Otto Maddox, and rather than repossessing cars, the iconic lead character will be surfing the internet and hijacking onboard computers.

In an interview with Inverse, Cox spoke about his Repo Man sequel: "Otto, who has...

Classic 80s movie Repo Man is getting a long-awaited sequel with the same director. Originally released in 1984, Repo Man gained a dedicated following and became a cult classic. Titled Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer, the sequel will satr Kiowa Gordon.

The classic 1980s movie Repo Man is getting a surprise sequel with the original director. Originally released in 1984, Repo Man is a dark comedy about a young man who is recruited by a car repossession agency to find a Chevy Malibu that is wanted for a $20,000 bounty. In the years since its release, the film has become a cult classic.

As per Variety, Repo Man will now be getting a sequel. Titled Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer, the sequel will be directed by original Repo Man director Alex Cox. The film is set to star actor Kiowa Gordon, taking over for Emilio Estevez. The filmmakers explain...

Get ready to dive back into the punk rock sci-fi wasteland of 1984’s Repo Man — a sequel, titled Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer, has been announced, with the original writer and director, Alex Cox, set to return.

The story was first reported by Variety, who confirmed that Cox would be in the director’s chair, with Kiowa Gordon (Twilight) starring as the punk-turned-repo-man, Otto, portrayed by Emilio Estevez in the original. Plot-wise, the new film will pick up right where the original left off, following Otto after a brief trip “across the infinities of time and space,” which has only aged him “exactly 90 minutes.”

According to filmmakers, Repo Man 2 will “deliver an enthralling mix of punk energy, existential comedy, and unconventional storytelling, navigating the absurd and chaotic world of repo men into a new age of nuclear brinkmanship and driverless cars.”

Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer...

Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer's writer and director, Alex Cox, reveals the upcoming film's plot, character details and filming window.

The film is partly a reimagining and partly a sequel to the 1980s cult classic Repo Man, also directed by Alex Cox. In an interview with Inverse, Cox revealed some significant details about the upcoming sequel, which he aims to start filming around June/July 2024. Cox shared that Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer follows Otto's (Kiowa Gordon) transition from cruising through rough neighborhoods in search of cars to utilizing internet searches and hacking into onboard computers. Cox replaced Otto's original actor Emilio Estevez with Kiowa Gordon from The Twilight Saga as the lead.

Related 10 '90s Cult Classics That Are Ready For A Remake From Pretty Woman to Armageddon, there are some popular '90s cult classics that would make a great modernized version of the beloved storylines.

Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer will see Otto trade in punk rock for tech upgrades in the repo world of 2024. Alex Cox hopes to begin filming the sequel with Kiowa Gordon and Angela Sarafyan in June or July. The iconic punk rock soundtrack and black humor of the original will make a comeback in this highly anticipated sequel.

Alex Cox, writer and director of the 1984 cult classic Repo Man, has revealed details about his upcoming sequel, Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer. Starring Emilio Estevez as Otto Maddox, a young punk rocker turned reluctant “repo man” in pursuit of a vehicle with extra-terrestrial connections, Cox’s sci-fi comedy garnered widespread acclaim on its original release. Bolstered by an iconic punk rock soundtrack featuring the title track sung by Iggy Pop, the original Repo Man would go on to be considered one of the best independent movies of the 1980s.

“It’s a mystery… it’s a comedy… it’s a chase… it’s the forces of law against the representatives of discontented youth… against the finest minds in government… and they’re all in pursuit of a ’64 Chevy Malibu from… who knows where,” the original theatrical trailer for 1984’s Repo Man previewed. A fitting description for an oddball cult classic that’s… getting a sequel?!

40 years later, director Alex Cox is returning to the world of Repo Man with sequel Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer, and Indiewire broke the news of the project this week.

According to the site, the upcoming sequel Repo Man 2 will “take place in a world of self-driving cars and an even more pressing threat of global destruction.”

“The advent of incredible technology means, for the repo man, that everything has changed — and nothing has changed,” Cox explained to Indiewire in an email this week.

Alex Cox’s 1984 “Repo Man” was a Reagan-era satire about consumerism and the Atomic Age. Its punk rock soundtrack transformed it into a cult hit, but its funny and strange combination of sci-fi, workplace comedy, and the fear of nuclear annihilation made it an enduring classic.

Forty years later, Cox will revisit the repo man and the world of bland, generic grocery store clerks stocking and selling “Food” and “Beer” day in and day out. He has written and will direct a sequel, “Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer,” and he told IndieWire why this film will embody “the repo world of 2024.”

Cox said “The Wages of Beer” will take place in a world of self-driving cars and an even more pressing threat of global destruction. “The advent of incredible technology means, for the repo man, that everything has changed — and nothing has changed,” he said via email.

Alex Cox is finally getting Repo Man 2 off the ground, and it’s set to be called Repo Man 2: The Wages Of Beer – more here.

It’s been seven years since British director Alex Cox’s last feature – Tombstone Rashomon – was released. But in a surprise piece of news, he’s heading back behind the camera again, for a project he previously tried to get going in the 1990s.

It’s a sequel to his 1984 cult favourite Repo Man, a film that starred Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez. It’s a satirical science fiction thriller, set in 1960s America, that never set the box office alight, but has earned its audience over time.

Now comes the news that Alex Cox has written the script for Repo Man 2: The Wages Of Beer, that he’s raising funds for at the European Film Market over the next week or so.

Marking an incredible escape from director jail, Alex Cox is ramping up his first feature in seven years (and perhaps the first well-financed project in 20-plus). At this year’s Berlinale and European Film Market he’ll shop Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer, which continues directly from his 1984 cult classic as Otto, having aged a total of 90 minutes, boards “his trusty 1967 Chevy Malibu to journey across the infinities of time and space.” [Variety]

Cox has mostly laid low in recent years, directing the odd microbudget project here and there––among them a spiritual sequel, Repo Chick, that looks more like a Tim and Eric sketch than studio production––making this return to feature filmmaking quite notable. Though primarily known for Repo Man or Sid and Nancy, his filmography’s studded with treasures: Walker, Straight to Hell, and (personal favorite) Three Businessmen boast a punk-with-classicism sensibility that is simply non pareil.

Per Variety, Alex Cox is ready to return to the bizarre world of car repossession and extraterrestrials. The outlet reports that the director is set to helm Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer, a long-belated sequel to the 1984 cult classic.

The original movie starred Emilio Estevez as Otto, a young punk who is recruited by a car repossession agency and finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu that is wanted for a $20,000 bounty – and has something otherworldly stashed in its trunk. The sequel will pick up “after Otto has boarded his trusty 1967 Chevy Malibu to journey across the infinities of time and space. In that time, he has aged exactly 90 minutes.” As Estevez is naturally a little too old to reprise the role, Kiowa Gordon has stepped in to play Otto in the sequel.

Related Rip: Harry Dean Stanton has passed away at 91

Gordon is best known for...

Alex Cox is getting back behind the wheel.

The “Repo Man” director is revisiting the off-kilter world of extraterrestrials and car repossession that he mined so memorably in the 1984 cult classic in a new sequel that is being introduced to buyers at the Berlin Film Festival and European Film Market. Entitled “Repo Man 2: The Wages of Beer,” the film is being backed by Buffalo 8 Productions, a film and media company best known for the critically acclaimed work on Netflix series “The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes.” Cox wrote the script along with directing the film.

Kiowa Gordon, best known for his role as Embry Call in “The Twilight Saga” and for his work in the AMC series “Dark Winds,” is set to lead the cast as Otto. Emilio Estevez played Otto in the 1984 original. The film picks up after Otto has boarded his trusty 1967 Chevy Malibu to journey across the infinities of time and space.

If it takes doing an MCU movie, with all the corporate constrictions that entails, to plunge into the kind of exhilarating creative exorcism that Freaky Tales represents, then bring on the superhero as stepping-stone. Before they made Captain Marvel, longtime filmmaking duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck established their talents with three boldly idiosyncratic indies, Half Nelson, Sugar and Mississippi Grind. But nothing in those distinctive works can prepare you for the kinetic energy, the freewheeling imagination and the righteous battles — we’re talking rap and some serious blade slice-and-dice — of their love letter to the Bay Area and the pop-cultural imprint it left on Fleck as a kid in the ‘80s.

The tales of the title are four chapters all built around the theme of underdog victory, each of them different in texture and tone yet all ingeniously interconnected and all owing something to the big-screen aesthetics of the time.

Coined by Alfred Hitchcock in the late 1930s, a MacGuffin is simply a basic plot element that filmmakers use to propel a movie's story forward. It can be a device, an event, or even a person, and while it can often lazily be employed as a crutch by a screenwriter in a time crunch, there have been a number of iconic MacGuffins in cinema over the years. You have the titular Maltese Falcon, the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Death Star plans from Star Wars, and Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now. But, there is one MacGuffin that stands above the rest: the briefcase from Pulp Fiction.

Aside from its snappy dialogue and expertly crafted nonlinear storyline, Quentin Tarantino's Academy Award-winning screenplay for Pulp Fiction really works because Marcellus Wallace's briefcase pretty much ties it all together. Characterized by its mysterious golden glow,...

Robby Müller: Living The Light director Claire Pijman will do a Q&a with Andrea Müller-Schirmer following the 2:30pm screening at Metrograph on Sunday, October 1 Photo: Claire Pijman

Claire Pijman’s resourceful and enlightening documentary, Robby Müller: Living The Light (with a score by Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan’s Sqùrl), is a big part of the series, Robby Müller: Remain in Light, at Metrograph that celebrates the legendary cinematographer, who died in 2018. Films by Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, Sara Driver’s When Pigs Fly, Andrzej Wajda’s Korczak, Alex Cox’s Repo Man, Peter Bogdanovich’s Saint Jack, William Friedkin’s To Live And Die In LA, and Michael Winterbottom’s 24 Hour Party People will all be shown.

Claire Pijman with Anne-Katrin Titze on Robby Müller and Wim Wenders’ Buena Vista Social Club: “That’s how I got to know him, and since then we stayed...

The list of directors who put their trust in Robby Müller could constitute a nice history of post-war cinema. A retrospective of films on which he served as Dp reflects accordingly––so’s the case with Metrograph’s “Robby Müller: Remain in Light,” which starts on Friday, September 29, and for which we’re glad to debut the trailer.

Contained therein are bits and pieces of what Metrograph attendees can anticipate. The series will offer a chance to see (among others) 24 Hour Party People, Alice in the Cities, The American Friend, Barfly, Breaking the Waves, Dead Man, Down by Law, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, Kings of the Road, Korczak, Living the Light – Robby Müller, Mystery Train, Repo Man, Saint Jack, To Live and Die in L.A., When Pigs Fly, The Wrong Move, and Paris, Texas. The opening night will be anchored by “a panel on Müller’s continued influence on filmmaking,...

Jimmy Buffett, music’s easy-going icon, has died at the age of 76.

“Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs,” according to a statement released on social media. “He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”

TMZ reports that Buffett was diagnosed with skin cancer and lymphoma, and recently began receiving hospice care. Earlier this year, he postponed several upcoming live performances to “address some issues that needed immediate attention.”

As the founder of Margaritaville, “Bubba” catered to his own unique musical ecosystem, combining a natural country twang and western-folk influences with flavors from his tropical Gulf Coast upbringing. At live performances, he routinely graced his multiple generations of devoted fans, affectionately known as Parrotheads, with “The Big 8” set of signature songs including “Margaritaville,” “Come Monday,” “Fins,...

Jimmy Buffett, the chill musician and entrepreneur who turned a few simple songs into a way of life for many, has passed away. He was 76.

The news was shared in a message posted to his official X (formerly Twitter) page this morning: “Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs. He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”

pic.twitter.com/hQ7BwPJFVz

— Jimmy Buffett (@jimmybuffett) September 2, 2023

Jimmy Buffett began his career as a country artist in Nashville but by the time he released his first album in 1970, he was drifting directly into the clear seas, with a style dubbed both “drunken Caribbean rock ‘n’ roll” and “gulf and western.” Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett released more than two dozen albums, nearly half as many...

Cars, it’s often been observed, offer a sort of contradiction of motion: They allow us to move around while sitting still. It only makes sense, then, that the movies have for so long been attracted to the allure of the automobile, for surely the appeal of the cinema lies in its capacity to take us from the comfort of the theater or living room to adventures around the world. The greatest car movies—movies about cars, largely set in cars, or otherwise significantly concerned with them—understand that our affection for our vehicles has as much to do with the possible freedoms they promise as the routines they let us uphold. Cars drive us to and from work every day, keeping our lives precisely ordered. But they also suggest escape: We’re always aware, faintly, that we could drive away from it all at any moment, out and off...

Dermot Mulroney didn't decide that he wanted to be an actor until he was already partway through college. According to a profile in a 1986 profile in the Washington Post, Mulroney -- then an up-and-coming 22-year-old -- auditioned for a William Morris agent who just happened to be visiting his college. She was so impressed, she laid a contract in front of him on the spot, and he was on screen in the CBS TV movie "Sin of Innocence" only weeks later. Since then, Mulroney has enjoyed a long and lucrative career in film and TV, appearing in hit films, indie movies, thrillers, horror movies, Christmas movies, and just about anything. Mulroney received a SAG Award nomination for his performance in "August: Osage County" in 2013. He is currently appearing in the Marvel series "Secret Invasion" (as the president) and the Showtime series "Ghosts of Beirut." He also can be seen in...

One of independent film’s key players, Ray Price, died July 16 at the age of 75 from heart failure after a long battle with cancer, his long-term partner Meg Madison confirmed.

Talking to Price about movies, past and present, was an exhilarating sport that could take a while. He knew his stuff — no one loved movies more — but more than anyone during the great indie decades of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, he was a respected innovator who thought outside the box. He began as an exhibitor in San Francisco and moved on to marketing, releasing, and distributing movies, leaning toward the outrageous in how he lured audiences to sample challenging fare.

“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,” Magnolia Pictures co-ceo Eamonn Bowles wrote me in an email. “From theatre chain owner to distributor, exquisite marketer, and production exec, he...