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The most frequent fact cited about Ron Howard's 1985 sci-fi film "Cocoon" is that star Wilford Brimley was only 50 years old when he appeared in it. One might have heard the statistic that Tom Cruise was the same age when he made "Jack Reacher" and "Oblivion." This was said to be notable because Brimley plays an aged retiree in "Cocoon," and his advanced age is part of the film's plot, while Cruise was still leading action franchises. Many young people can't wrap their heads around the fact that two 50-year-old men should look so different in age. 

Another fun fact: Did you know that pretty much only people around Wilford Brimley's age in "Cocoon" remember the movie "Cocoon?" Ron Howard's film was a notable hit at the time, making over $85 million on a $17 million budget (those numbers translate to $252 million...

On Saturday, June 7, at 8pm Eastern / 7pm Central, Lifetime will be airing the “ripped from the headlines” film Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story – and Deadline has let us known that the cast of the film includes Steve Guttenberg of the Police Academy franchise, Jana Kramer of One Tree Hill, and Rachel Stubington of Shrinking, with Guttenberg taking on the role of a real-life serial killer.

Directed by Lee Gabiana from a script written by Shawn Linden and Pamela Gray, Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story is based on the true story of Heather Robinson, who was abducted as a baby and raised by the family of a serial killer who was convicted of murdering her mother. Heather (Stubington) grew up in a loving family in Illinois. By the time she was a teen, she had long known that she had been adopted as an infant by her parents.

Something inevitable has started to happen. Hardcore movie fans have stopped buying Blu-rays (although they’re in the midst of a slight comeback). Maybe it was the pandemic, when we were all stuck at home, or perhaps it was the closure of all of our favorite mom-and-pop physical media stores, but fans started to build digital libraries rather than physical ones. I get it. One of the reasons I got into buying movies on iTunes was that whenever a fancy new 4K restoration came out, they would upgrade the version you already bought. But, as Christopher Nolan warned recently, you should buy the movies you love on physical media because when you own something digitally, you don’t really own it.

Here’s why:

Digital Copies are basically long-term rentals:

While you can be reasonably sure that the digital copy you buy will stay in your library for a long time,...

1968's "Planet of the Apes" is one of the most legendary sci-fi movies in cinematic history. Co-written by Rod Serling of "The Twilight Zone" fame and directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, it spawned a franchise that is still going strong to this day.

It all started, however, with the story of astronauts landing on a mysterious planet filled with intelligent apes, only to discover that they were actually on Earth in the distant future. Led by Charlton Heston, the film boasted an incredible cast — not to mention some legendary practical makeup effects that helped bring the apes to life. Unfortunately, when a film is more than 50 years old, not many people from the cast are going to be around any longer. Luckily, a couple of key cast members are indeed still here to help keep the legacy alive.

Read more: Critically-Panned Sci-Fi Movies That Are Actually Worth Your Time

Linda Harrison (Nova)

Linda Harrison,...

In the opening scene of the second ever episode of Seinfeld, titled "The Stake Out," Jerry and Elaine are browsing the shelves at a video store (the '90s!), cracking wise about Cocoon: The Return and the stars of the movies in the porno section (the sex-negative '90s!). It's a prototypical Seinfeld scene, not really about anything but evoking the preoccupations of young, single people living in the city, which is to say Chinese food and needing a date to an upcoming wedding. It's also the very first scene for Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes, making "The Stake Out" quietly one of the most impactful episodes in TV history. It's the episode in which Seinfeld became Seinfeld.

Both huge stars of the '80s, Bruce Willis and Steve Guttenberg have never starred together in a movie. That all changes this holiday season with the action thrillride Trauma Center. The man that made Die Hard a true Christmas classic and the driving force behind the original Police Academy movies are teaming up for what can only be described as a must-see outing this December.

Today, Lionsgate has dropped the first trailer for Trauma Center, and action fans aren't going to want to miss this. No way, no how. Along with the first look footage, we also have a series of photos, which also feature Bruce Willis' main co-star in the movie Nicky Whelan.

Bruce Willis stars in the heart-pounding action-thriller Trauma Center arriving in select theaters and everywhere On Demand on Friday, December 6 from Lionsgate. In this non-stop thrill ride, Willis portrays a police detective determined to solve...

35 years ago, the actress sang the body electric.

The handful of actresses I associate with motherhood include ’80s movie and TV staples Dee Wallace, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Joanna Kerns, Judith Light, and Meredith Baxter. They were the ones that comforted me when I was a kid. But when it comes to images of grandmothers, only one woman comes to mind: Maureen Stapleton.

On January 17, 1982, Stapleton was only 55 years old. She had three Academy Award nominations under her belt and was about to receive her fourth. She would win that Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the end of March for her performance as Emma Goldman in Reds. But on this particular night, she was on television in the title role of The Electric Grandmother.

The Emmy-nominated NBC special, part of the network’s Peacock Theatre, was co-written by Ray Bradbury based on his 1962 Twilight Zone episode “I Sing the Body Electric,” the...

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From writing Beverly Hills Cop to directing Toy Soldiers and Dawn Patrol, we have a chat with writer/producer/director Daniel Petrie Jr.

Daniel Petrie Jr comes from a family with movies in its blood.

His father, Daniel Petrie Sr, directed films such as Resurrection, Cocoon: The Return and A Raisin In The Sun. His mother, Dorothea, produced movies, wrote novels and acted. And then his brother, Donald Petrie, directed Cocoon: The Return, Miss Congeniality and Grumpy Old Men.

Yet Daniel Petrie Jr is just as busy. His screenplays include Turner & Hooch and Beverly Hills Cop (for which he earned an Academy Award nomination), whilst his directorial debut was the much-loved (by us especially) Toy Soldiers.

As his new film as director, Dawn Patrol (starring Scott Eastwood) lands on DVD, he spared us some time for a chat about his career. Starting with what he's up to right now.

Braveheart, Aliens, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, Apollo 13, Wolfen, Legends Of The Fall, Krull, Battle Beyond The Stars, A Beautiful Mind, Titanic. The list goes on and on.

The prolific Oscar winning composer James Horner has died in a plane crash at the age of 61. (June 22, 2015). Variety confirmed the news Monday evening.

Brilliant Composer James Horner, friend & collaborator on 7 movies has tragically died in a plane crash. My heart aches for his loved ones.

— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) June 23, 2015

Listen to samples of his genius. James Horner will be profoundly missed.

From James Horner’s bio (Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency):

Having composed the music for more than 130 film and television productions, including dozens of the most memorable and successful films of the past three decades, James Horner was one of the world’s most celebrated film composers.

He earned two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for...

Every single month, Netflix adds and subtracts movies and television shows from its roster. Like a mad chemist, it never stops tinkering, both pleasing and infuriating users as more and more is added and subtracted. Think of it like one giant game of Dr. Mario, except instead of pills, we.re dealing with content like The Rocketeer and Apocalypse Now. Today, Netflix announced the movies and TV shows that will be taking their last bow, at least for awhile, and sadly, there are some gems in there. We.ve gone ahead and embedded the entire list of content, courtesy of THR, that will disappear sometime in February. So, spend your evenings getting busy. Leaving On February 1st Airheads (1994) Apocalypse Now (1979) Apocalypse Now Redux (2001) A View to Kill (1985) Blackadder: Seasons One-Four (1983-1989) Babes in Toyland (1961) Batman & Robin (1997) Batman Forever (1995) Batman Returns (1992) Cocoon: The Return (1998) Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) Down Priscope (1996) Fawlty Towers...

Netflix has just released their lists of what films and TV shows we will see added in February…and what films and TV shows will vanish.

First, the good news: quite a few classic and popular TV shows are making the grade on the streaming service, including the first five seasons of Mash, Hawaii 5-0, and the new season of House of Cards. New additions to the film list include RoboCop, The Brothers Bloom, and Gimme Shelter. While there’s not a lot of quality stuff on offer, there are at least a few new films and TV shows that we can enjoy on the Netflix streaming service.

Now for the bad news: quite a number of favorites are going to vanish from Netflix come February 1. Among these are several James Bond films, Zodiac, Jane Eyre, and Dredd. The TV shows fare even worse, with tons of BBC shows expiring,...

Having come to the conclusion that it's genuinely useful to tell its users what movies will soon be expiring from its service, Netflix is now releasing a list of the films that will disappear from its coffers (some presumably only for a short time) at the end of every month. Here is a list of what will expire on February 1. Several James Bond films will disappear from Netflix — since they have many times before, expect to see them return at some point soon. We will update the list closer to the end of the month with additional titles.February 1Blackadder (Seasons 1–­4) A View to a Kill Airheads Apocalypse Now Apocalypse Now Redux Babes in Toyland Batman & Robin Batman Forever Batman Returns Cocoon: The Return Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Down Periscope Fawlty Towers (Seasons 1­–2) For Your Eyes Only From Russia With Love Goldfinger Hotel Babylon (Seasons 1–4) Jane Eyre Live...

Michael Douglas. Anthony Hopkins. Just two actors who've returned to play the parts that won them Oscars...

When Oscar glory comes knocking for a successful Hollywood actor, it must be hugely tempting when the chance arrives for them to reprise that award-winning role. But while sequels and reboots are a common enough sight in the movie industry these days, examples of stars who've returned to their Oscar-winning roles are relatively few and far between.

The reason, perhaps, is because it's so difficult to recapture the creative lightning in a bottle that led to the Oscar win in the first place. Nevertheless, some actors do occasionally take up the offer and return to the filmmaking well. And as the list below proves, the results can sometimes be highly accomplished - though seldom quite as powerful and fresh as the films they're following...

Gene Hackman

Won for: The French Connection

Played the...

Legendary Sondheim actress and noted foul-mouth Elaine Stritch has passed away at the age of 89. She died in her home in Birmingham, Michigan. Stritch will forever be remembered for her saucy and sassy performances on stage and on screen.

With a career spanning over fifty years, Stritch rose to fame in the 1940′s as a charismatically brash and husky singer on stage. Perhaps her most memorable performance was in Sondheim’s 1970 production of Company, in which she set a new industry standard with her version of “The Ladies Who Lunch”. She would, much later, perform this song for President Obama and during her own one-woman-show in 2002. She became even more of a household name after her performances in Woody Allen’s September and the cult classic Cocoon: The Return. More recently, Stritch played the grumpy matriarch of the Donaghy clan in an Emmy-award garnering performance on Tina Fey‘s 30 Rock.

New Netflix movies and TV shows are plentiful in February. 

Highlights include:

"Breaking Bad's" final eight episodes (on February 24)"House of Cards" Season 2 (February 14)Showtime's "Queer as Folk" which has been off air since 2005. 

On the movie side of things, new additions to Netflix include:"Mash""The Naked Gun""Sunset Boulevard""Star Trek V: The Final Frontier""Crocodile Dundee 2""Airplane!" 

The full list of everything added:

"Airheads""Airplane!""Airplane 2: The Sequel""Bubba Ho-Tep""City of Men""Cocoon: The Return""The Dancer Upstairs""Death Wish 2""Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry""Down Periscope""Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007""Failure to Launch""Flashdance""From the Terrace""The Good, the Bad and the Ugly""The Hard Way""Harold and Maude""Heartbreakers""Home of the Brave""Intersection""Leap of Faith""A Life Less Ordinary""Marathon Man""Mash""The Naked Gun""North Dallas Forty""Patriot Games""Queer as Folk""Star Trek V: The Final Frontier...

There are all kinds of producers: hucksters, hustlers, con men and schlockmeisters. Some are in it for the glory, some like to walk the red carpet with a starlet on their arm. For some, the biggest award is a box office hit and it doesn’t matter what kind of crap they throw on the screen to earn it. There are producers like Harvey Weinstein who will spend more money to promote himself to an Oscar win than he does on actually making the Oscar-winning film. And there are producers like Joel Silver who once said the only proper role for women in film was either as a dead body or naked.

And there are those – who, to be honest, may also have a touch of all of this – who are mainly driven by a desire to make good movies. Like Dick Zanuck.

I don’t think anyone will argue...

There are all kinds of producers: hucksters, hustlers, con men and schlockmeisters. Some are in it for the glory, some like to walk the red carpet with a starlet on their arm. For some, the biggest award is a box office hit and it doesn’t matter what kind of crap they throw on the screen to earn it. There are producers like Harvey Weinstein who will spend more money to promote himself to an Oscar win than he does on actually making the Oscar-winning film. And there are producers like Joel Silver who once said the only proper role for women in film was either as a dead body or naked.

And there are those – who, to be honest, may also have a touch of all of this – who are mainly driven by a desire to make good movies. Like Dick Zanuck.

I don’t think anyone will argue...

Battleship - or as I should probably call it, Battleship!!!, considering that it is officially the Loudest Movie Ever Made - plopped into the pop culture consciousness last year like so many Alka-Seltzers on a list of Wtf film projects announced by the esteemed Hasbro toy company (alongside Candy Land and Ouija, if memory serves).

The response was one of resounding confusion - the idea of turning a game that we all spent our childhoods trying to avoid playing with our Scotch-hazed grandfathers into a massive action film about an alien invasion was as logical as turning Connect Four into a musical about polygamist online dating.

The trailers have been roundly scoffed at, the promise of pop tart Rihanna defending humanity against an interstellar threat widely ridiculed (will it be revealed that the creatures have a fatal weakness to the sound of someone rhythmically slapping their pubic mound?), and the...

Even if Paramount brass didn’t express the desire to go with Mission: Impossible V before Tom Cruise is older than Wilford Brimley in Cocoon: The Return; even if Ghotocol wasn’t the series’ highest-grossing entry, unadjusted for inflation; and even if we all hated Brad Bird‘s movie, Mission: Impossible V would probably be happening. But it was the series’ highest-grossing entry, and I haven’t met anybody who hated it (although not all of us were fond)… so, basically, you knew this was coming.

When Viacom’s CEO, Philippe Dauman, was asked if Paramount had ambitions for another chapter in the story of Ethan Hunt, his response was as simple as “Oh, yes.” Nothing about Bird returning, no word on what cast members are sticking around, or what part of the world Imf will have to infiltrate after being set-up. Only “Oh, yes.”

Which, to be fair, is...

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost chat to us about the DVD release of Paul, as well as a potential sequel, Tintin, the third Cornetto film, and Star Trek…

Earning sizeable cash earlier this year, the long-in-gestation Paul, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, is arriving on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK from today. They sat down to chat to us about the film, and a few other things too...

I was following you guys on Twitter, around the time of the very first press show in London. And I got a sense that the two of you were hiding in the Twitter cupboard waiting, in quite a paternal way. When you go back to how long the project has been in your lives, were you particularly nervous of letting this film out?

Nick Frost: It is nerve wracking. We have spent so much time on it,...

Twenty-five years have passed since Ron Howard made old people cool with his fantasy drama Cocoon, a 1985 smash hit about a group of aliens who come back to Earth to save some long lost friends and, in the interim, let a bunch of senior citizens absorb their youthful energy by swimming in their pool. Starring Steve Guttenberg, Brian Dennehy, Wilford Brimley and Don Ameche, just to name a few, the double Oscar winner feels firmly routed in the 1980s with its costumes, music choices and overall look, but that final thirty minutes remains an emotional, original tearjerker.

The Blu-ray is much like the movie in that respect. It tows the line between being totally ’80s and a timeless piece of dramatic entertainment. Hit the jump for more details including jokes about man boobs and mustaches.

Cocoon begins with a trio of friends, played by Ameche (who won the Oscar for...

Steve Guttenberg has basically moved into the realm of television movies and serving as a punchline for The Simpsons and Family Guy. There are many actors who would dream of having that sort of career, but for the once-promising actor that should serve as a message that it's time to hang it up. Instead Guttenberg is trying to recapture his fame in the worst way - by creating more sequels to movies that were once successful. Guttenberg is no stranger to sequels, having done them successfully (Cocoon: The Return), unsuccessfully (Casper: A Spirited Beginning), and redundantly (Police Academy 2, 3, and 4). The actor says he regrets turning down some of the opportunities he's been given though, like Short Circuit 2 and the second half of the Police Academy franchise. Looking at how those turned out, I would have much in the way of regrets Steve. Guttenberg's first big announcement is that he's hoping...