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Oscar winner Gary Oldman will receive a knighthood and Bafta fellow Samantha Morton an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list.

Oldman, 67, is honoured for his services to drama. He won the lead actor Academy Award in 2018 for playing Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour and his celebrated roles include Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films, and spy master Jackson Lamb in the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses.

The British star broke out in 1986 with his portrayal of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious in Sid And Nancy. He portrayed Dracula for Francis Ford Coppola in the 1992 film of that name,...

Over 40 years after its release, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" remains one of the funniest stoner comedies ever made. Helmed by first-time director Amy Heckering (over a decade before she would direct "Clueless") from a screenplay by then-newcomer Cameron Crowe (before his work on "Almost Famous" and "Jerry Maguire"), the 1982 film followed a group of slacker kids as they navigate the socially volatile waters of sophomore year at Ridgemont High School.

"Fast Times" famously boasts an ensemble cast that includes several actors who would go on to become massive stars, some in tiny roles you may not remember. We took a look back at the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" cast to see where their careers took them after they graduated from sneaky hooks up and joints to Academy Award-winning roles in major feature films.

Here's what happened to the "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" cast.

Read more: The Greatest Character Actors Of All Time,...

Sean Penn expressed doubt that Woody Allen sexually abused his daughter, Dylan Farrow, and stated that he has no qualms about working with the director in the future.

In an open letter to The New York Times in 2014, Farrow came forward to accuse Allen, her adopted father, of molesting her when she was seven. The accusation came a few months after Farrow found out that Allen had begun a relationship with his then-21-year-old adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn. Allen has long denied Farrow’s allegations and was never charged with the crime. Four years later, Farrow wrote an op-ed in The Los Angeles Times, positing the question, “Why has the #MeToo revolution spared Woody Allen?”

Allen recently said that he may not make another movie due to his “cancellation” by Hollywood.

Penn previously worked with Allen in the 1999 musical comedy Sweet and Lowdown, along with actors Uma Thurman, Anthony Lapaglia and Samantha Morton.

Sean Penn has expressed that he is open to working with Woody Allen despite the child sex abuse allegations against the filmmaker.

In a new interview, Penn, who received an Oscar nomination for his work on Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown (1999), said he was down to work with the director again.

“I love that movie. I’d work with him in a heartbeat if it was the right thing,” Penn said on The Louis Theroux Podcast.

Allen was accused of sexual abuse by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow. Of the allegations about the Annie Hall director, Penn said, “I don’t know anyone well enough to say 100% this didn’t happen or that didn’t happen or something. God forbid you’re wrong and there is a victim involved, right? I haven’t read everything, but the stories are mostly told by people who I would not trust with a dime.

Sean Penn says he would without a doubt work with Woody Allen again, whose adoptive daughter accused him of sexual molestation, as he sees the filmmaker as innocent given the fact that he has not been “proven guilty.”

“I just think that whatever is the worst of people’s suspicions about him, just check them with the facts separate from the [#MeToo] movement and all those who benefited from that,” Penn said during an appearance Tuesday on “The Louis Theroux Podcast,” adding that he loves his 1999 film with Allen, “Sweet and Lowdown,” which earned him an Oscar nomination.

“Let’s just take a second is all I’m saying. I see he is not proven guilty, so I take him as innocent. I would work with him in a heartbeat,” Penn continued.

Earlier in the conversation, he said he does not have all the facts nor does he know everyone involved...

Sean Penn is unconvinced regarding the allegations against Woody Allen.

The 64-year-old actor, who worked with the 89-year-old director in the 1999 film Sweet and Lowdown, expressed his doubt that Woody ever sexually abused Dylan Farrow in a recent interview.

“I’d work with him in a heartbeat — if it was the right thing. With these things, I don’t know anyone well enough to say, ‘100 percent, this didn’t happen, that didn’t happen’. The stories are mostly told by people that I wouldn’t trust with a dime. It just seems so heavily weighted in that way,” Sean said while on the “Louis Theroux Podcast.”

Back in the early ’90s, Mia Farrow and Dylan publicly accused Woody of molesting his adopted daughter when she was 7, but he has adamantly denied the allegations.

However, Sean explained why he is skeptical of the claims.

Keep reading to find out more…

“I...

Sean Penn came to Woody Allen’s defense during a recent interview on “The Louis Theroux Podcast.” Allen directed Penn in 1999’s “Sweet and Lowdown,” for which the latter earned an Oscar nomination for best actor. Penn starred as a jazz guitarist who falls in love with a mute woman, played by Samantha Morton.

“I love that movie. I’d work with him in a heartbeat if it was the right thing,” Penn said about Allen, who has been accused of sexual abuse by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow.

“Do I think he has a bad rep?” Penn then asked, referring to the allegations against Allen. “Look, with these things… I don’t know anyone well enough to say 100% this didn’t happen or that didn’t happen or something. God forbid you’re wrong and there is a victim involved, right? I haven’t read everything, but the stories...

Woody Allen is without doubt a fine filmmaker, but his legacy has been tarnished by sexual abuse allegations against him. Some stars have rejected him entirely while others have stood by him. Sean Penn, who was directed by Allen in 1999's Sweet and Lowdown — which garnered Penn a Best Actor Oscar nomination — is one of the latter.

Mia Farrow has always maintained that Allen abused their adopted daughter Dylan Farrow, and Dylan has said this too. No criminal charges have ever been brought, however, and another adopted child, Moses, claims the abuse never happened. Allen has always denied the allegations, but things were always complicated by the fact that he married Farrow's adoptive daughter, Soon-Yi Preven. He's suggested in the past that Farrow made up the allegation as revenge for Allen becoming romantically involved with Soon-Yi.

Now, Penn shared how he believes the allegations may not be true. "I'd work with [Allen] in a heartbeat,...

Best Actor Oscar Winners List (Photo Credit – Instagram/Wikipedia)

The Academy Awards have long vaunted acting titans, and a rare few male actors have commandeered the Best Actor statuette more than once, with Daniel Day-Lewis scaling the peak thrice. From living legends like Tom Hanks to recent winners such as Adrien Brody, 10 men are trailing Day-Lewis’ record. Here is every name with two or more wins in this hallowed category.

1. Daniel Day-Lewis

Sir Daniel Day-Lewis stands alone with three Best Actor Oscars, a feat no other man has matched. His wins were facilitated thanks to dramatic transformations for My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, and Lincoln—roles that exhibit him as an unforgettable chameleon. The Irish actor has retired since 2017’s Phantom Thread, but his five nominations out of fewer than a couple dozen movies certainly make us wonder whether Day-Lewis could come back for that gold once again...

Did Christoper Nolan add more actors to The Odyssey’s cast list? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

All of these actors are also extremely well-known faces from the industry, including Elliot Page, Himesh Patel, and more.

Christopher Nolan is currently busy perfecting his star cast for his upcoming movie, ‘The Odyssey.’ The feature film is an adaptation of the Greek epic poem written by Homer. The storyline revolves around the Greek King Odysseus and his struggle-filled journey to his home in Ithaca from the Trojan War. On that 10-year journey, Odysseus had to face many hurdles and interruptions from many people (including Gods). The plot also covers how his wife and son deal with aggressive suitors while the King has been away from his kingdom.

Nolan’s feature project already confirmed the lead star cast, including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Jon Bernthal.

Gold Derby’s top news stories for Jan. 31, 2025 Reality Smash Married at First Sight heads to Peacock

The hit long-running wedding-themed reality series Married at First Sight has been snapped up by the NBCU streamer Peacock and will begin running there with its 19th season later this year. No terms were announced in the deal for the show that’s produced by Kinetic Content and Chris Coelen that originally launched in July 2014 and has run for more than 200 episodes on the A&e Networks channels. Deadline reports that there was a bidding war for the series among multiple companies interested in the format, which is one of the most popular reality formats around the world. It casts stranger couples who meet for the first time at the alter.

The 18th season of Married at First Sight, featuring couples from Chicago, premiered on Lifetime in October – the show’s home since its fifth season.

Sean Penn may not be the first actor who comes to mind when thinking over the history of funny movie performances. Indeed, Penn’s reputation is as the most serious of thespians, and his is a well-earned one, built upon award-caliber work in heavy-hitting dramas like Dead Man Walking, Mystic River and Milk. But in fact, Penn’s long and impressive filmography is peppered with roles that have seen him shifting gears from drama to comedy, sometimes with memorable results.

Penn’s co-starring turn with then-wife Madonna in Shanghai Surprise may have been an early disaster, but the star kept on scratching his comedy itch nonetheless, starring alongside Robert De Niro in the remake We’re No Angels. Letting his funny side out finally paid off for Penn in terms of awards love, when his performance as a self-absorbed jazz guitarist in Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown garnered an Oscar nomination.

Cannes premiering Santosh from Metrograph Pictures joins Neon’s 2073 in limited release with comedy horror Bloody Axe Wound from Rlj Entertainment/Shudder on several hundred screens for the last weekend of the year. Some of the highest profile films from Searchlight Pictures’ A Complete Unknown to Focus Features’ Nosferatu and A24’s Babygirl and more arrived in theaters on Christmas making for a nice cluster of year-end releases. They’re capping a solid run for indie films in 2024’s recovering post-strike box office.

Italian thriller Vermiglio from Sideshow/Janus Films opened 12/25 on one NYC screen (IFC Center) where it stays, adding LA and Chicago Jan 3. Directed and written by Maura Delpero (Maternal). Premiered at Venice. The distributor’s Latvian animated Flow, which has been an awards season phenomenon, is still out on 107 screens and just passed $2 million – making a run for Sideshow’s highest grosser, Drive My Car at $2.35 million.

In Season 9 of The Walking Dead, British actor Samantha Morton played Alpha, the leader of the Whisperers. From a viewer's perspective, the villains of The Walking Dead comics were the hardest to adapt, even more so than the "good" characters. The villains are iconic for their diabolical nature and unique appearances. Alpha was the last villain of The Walking Dead universe to truly scare other characters and audiences alike. It took a versatile actor to accomplish on screen what Robert Kirkman did on the page.

Morton certainly came onto The Walking Dead with an impressive filmography under the belt. The actor has two Academy Award nominations for her roles in the films Sweet and Lowdown and In America, as well as an Emmy Award for her performance in the HBO television film Longford. Her more mainstream projects include the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Whale and The Serpent Queen.

Denzel Washington wasn’t too pleased to lose the Best Actor Oscar to “American Beauty” star Kevin Spacey — so much so, in fact, that he felt bitterness over his “Hurricane” loss for years to come.

The actor (who later won the top Oscar for “Training Day”) revealed in an interview with Esquire published Tuesday that the resentment of the situation lasted “for about 15 years.”

The topic arose mid-interview while discussing his filmography. That’s when he recalled the night he lost to Spacey at the 2000 Academy Awards.

“At the Oscars, they called Kevin Spacey’s name for ‘American Beauty.’ I have a memory of turning around and looking at him, and nobody was standing but the people around him. And everyone else was looking at me,” Washington explained. “Not that it was this way. Maybe that’s the way I perceived it. Maybe I felt like everybody was looking at me.

Denzel Washington is looking back on how he felt after losing the Best Actor Oscar to Kevin Spacey in 2000. The Gladiator II star, who had already won one Oscar and earned three other nominations before that ceremony, was nominated again for playing Rubin Carter in 1999’s The Hurricane.

He competed against Spacey for American Beauty, Russell Crowe for The Insider, Richard Farnsworth for The Straight Story, and Sean Penn for Sweet and Lowdown. In the end, Spacey took home the award, though Washington did win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama that year.

“At the Oscars, they called Kevin Spacey’s name for American Beauty,” Denzel remembers. “I have a memory of turning around and looking at him, and nobody was standing but the people around him. And everyone else was looking at me. Not that it was this way. Maybe that’s the way I perceived it.

Denzel Washington revealed to Esquire magazine as part of a new cover story that he got bitter after losing the best actor Oscar to Kevin Spacey in 2000. Washington was already a three-time Oscar nominee and one-time winner when his performance as Rubin Carter in “The Hurricane” landed him in the Oscar race for best actor opposite Spacey (“American Beauty”), Russell Crowe (“The Insider”), Richard Farnsworth (“The Straight Story”) and Sean Penn (“Sweet and Lowdown”). Washington won a Golden Globe for his performance, but the Oscar went to Spacey.

“At the Oscars, they called Kevin Spacey’s name for ‘American Beauty,'” Washington said. “I have a memory of turning around and looking at him, and nobody was standing but the people around him. And everyone else was looking at me. Not that it was this way. Maybe that’s the way I perceived it. Maybe I felt like everybody was looking at me.

The official poster and trailer for the new Neon film, 2073 has just been released. The film, which is directed by Asif Kapadia, has yet to receive an official release date.

Synopsis: It’s the year 2073, and the worst fears of modern life have been realized. Surveillance drones fill the burnt orange skies and militarized police roam the wrecked streets, while survivors hide away underground, struggling to remember a free and hopeful existence. In this ingenious mixture of visionary science fiction and speculative nonfiction, Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia (Amy) transports us to a future foreshadowed by the terrifying realities of our present moment. Two-time Academy Award® nominee Samantha Morton plays a survivor besieged by nightmare visions of the past — a past that happens to be our present, visualized through contemporary footage interconnecting today’s global crises of authoritarianism, unchecked big tech, inequality, and global climate change. 2073 is an urgent,...

Neon has revealed the trailer and poster for 2073, from Academy Award-winning director Asif Kapadia and starring Samantha Morton. 2073 is an urgent, unshakable vision of a dystopic future that could very well be our own.

It’s the year 2073, and the worst fears of modern life have been realized. Surveillance drones fill the burnt orange skies, and militarized police roam the wrecked streets while survivors hide away underground, struggling to remember a free and hopeful existence.

In this ingenious mixture of visionary science fiction and speculative nonfiction, filmmaker Asif Kapadia (Amy) transports us to a future foreshadowed by the terrifying realities of our present moment.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Samantha Morton plays a survivor besieged by nightmare visions of the past—a past that happens to be our present, visualized through contemporary footage interconnecting today’s global crises of authoritarianism, unchecked big tech, inequality, and global climate change.

Neon, Double Agent,...

Two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn has excelled in a number of fields, including acting, writing and directing. But it’s his career as a performer that has brought him the most acclaim. Let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films as an actor, ranked worst to best.

Penn entered the Oscar race for the first time with his performance as a death row inmate in Tim Robbins’s “Dead Man Walking” (1995), for which he competed in Best Actor. Subsequent lead nominations as a jazz guitarist in Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999) and a mentally handicapped father in “I Am Sam” (2001) quickly followed.

He hit the Oscar jackpot with Clint Eastwood’s “Mystic River” (2003), which cast him as a criminal grieving the murder of his daughter. Just five years later, he returned to the winner’s circle with his lead role in “Milk” (2008), Gus Van Sant’s...

Sean Penn rarely grants interviews — he and the press haven’t always gotten along, to say the least — but last week, at his home in Malibu, the venerated actor and filmmaker sat down with The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast for an in-depth conversation about his life, career and most recent project, Daddio, an indie, released last Friday, of which he is particularly proud.

Seated in a small, light-filled room that he recently re-designed himself, the walls of which are covered with photos of his late parents, his two children and himself alongside many of world figures he has encountered in his travels as an activist, Penn, sporting a shock of white hair, puffed on cigarettes, spoke softly and was far warmer than his reputation would suggest he’d be. At 63, thrice divorced and currently single, he seems to have found a measure of peace — at least when one...

One of the most celebrated comedies of 1999 is “Notting Hill,” starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. Written by Richard Curtis and directed by Roger Michell, the film tells of a famous movie actress named Anna Scott who falls in love with a small-town England bookstore owner named William Thacker. Released 25 years ago in May 1999, “Notting Hill” was a major box office success, grossing $364 million worldwide on a $42 million budget. Read on for more about the “Notting Hill” 25th anniversary.

The nation’s critics gave mostly positive reviews to “Notting Hill,” unusual for a studio romantic comedy. Derek Elley in Variety wrote, “[The film] has buckets to spare of that rarest screen commodity — genuine, engaging charm — plus a cast and production values that fully deliver.” Wesley Morris in San Francisco Examiner said, “Director Michell isn’t content to rest on his stars’ slapstick laurels, mining instead the more sophisticated if subversive socio-romantic pratfalls in Curtis’ script.

There were many memorable cinematic performances that came from actresses in 1999 (Annette Bening in American Beauty, Samantha Morton in Sweet and Lowdown, Julianne Moore in Magnolia). And then there was a truly iconic turn from Reese Witherspoon as Tracy Flick, the terrifying antagonist in Alexander Payne’s sharp political satire, Election.

A cunning, ambitious and oh-so-annoying foil to her teacher and would-be mentor, Omaha-area social studies instructor Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), Tracy is at times the worst — for example, when her affair with Mr. McAllister’s best friend is discovered, the teenager has no qualms about abandoning him entirely — and in other moments, Tracy can be the absolute best. At least, she insists on that top slot, no matter what: having the highest grades, getting into the best college, winning a high school election — she’s destined for greatness, which in the time Election takes place means winning the office...

Acclaimed British actor, writer and director Samantha Morton who was awarded a Fellowship at the Ee BAFTA Awards on Sunday has called for more investment in British cinema.

The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.

Addressing a press conference after accepting her award, Morton said: “We need more investment in British cinema. I’ve been saying this for years because we can’t just be a service industry for the wonderful Americans. They are amazing and thank God they come here and make movies and put us in as well, thank you. Like in France, we need our own quotas and we need to be making those investments.” Inward investment in the U.K. film and high-end TV industry was $4.22 billion in 2023, with the bulk of it coming from the U.S.

The U.K....

Throughout the 96-year history of the Academy Awards, the amount of acting lineups consisting only of first-time nominees has reached 37, or about 10% of the overall total. While that number may not seem high in a general sense, these cases actually outnumber those exclusively involving veteran contenders by a ratio of three to one. However, although this list expanded as recently as 2023, rookie-only acting lineups are gradually becoming less common than veteran-only ones, the amount of which has nearly doubled within the last dozen years.

Whereas 75% of veteran-only acting quintets have involved lead performers rather than supporting ones, almost the exact opposite is true of lineups full of newcomers. For instance, only one existing case of the former kind concerns supporting actresses, whereas the same category has produced 15 rookie-only rosters. The last such group consisted of 2000 winner Angelina Jolie and nominees Toni Collette (“The Sixth Sense”), Catherine Keener (“Being John Malkovich...

British actor, writer, and director Samantha Morton will be awarded the BAFTA Fellowship at next week’s Ee BAFTA Film Awards.

Born in Nottingham in 1977, Morton garnered international attention in 1997 with her performance in Carine Adler’s Under the Skin, earning her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for Best Actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award first for Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and later for Best Actress for Jim Sheridan’s In America (2003).

Other notable film credits include work with directors such as Lynne Ramsay on Morvern Callar (2002), for which she won Best Performance, Toronto Film Critics Award and a BIFA for Best Actress; Steven Spielberg on Minority Report (2002); Michael Winterbottom on Code 46 (2003); Shekhar Kapur on The Golden Age (2007); Harmony Korine on Mister Lonely (2007); Anton Corbijn on Control, (2007), earning her a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Film Award nomination; Charlie Kaufman Synecdoche,...

Acclaimed British actor, writer and director Samantha Morton will be awarded a Fellowship at the upcoming Ee BAFTA Film Awards.

The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.

After earning plaudits in theater and television, Morton’s breakthrough film role was Carine Adler’s “Under the Skin (1997) that earned her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for best actress. She has been Oscar nominated twice – for best supporting actress for Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999), and for best actress for Jim Sheridan’s “In America” (2003).

For her portrayal of child-murderer Myra Hindley in “Longford” (2006) Morton scored best actress nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and BAFTA Television Award, and won a Golden Globe. In 2009, she made her directorial debut with television film “The Unloved,” a semi-autobiographical film based in the British children’s care system,...

Samantha Morton, the British actor (She Said, The Whale, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Walking Dead), writer (I Am…Kirsty) and director (The Unloved), will receive the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy’s highest honor.

She will be given the honor at the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony, hosted by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Inside Man), in London on Feb. 18.

“As a proud BAFTA member I am honored, profoundly humbled and grateful to BAFTA for giving me this award,” Morton said.

Anna Higgs, chair of BAFTA’s film committee, lauded her as “a mesmerizing storyteller with incredible range,” adding: “She has made an extraordinary impact on the British film industry – consistently shining a light on complex characters and championing underrepresented stories. On-and-off screen, she always works to break down societal barriers and change the make-up of the screen industries for the better – often against great odds.” She concluded:...

Actor, writer and director Samantha Morton will receive the Bafta Fellowship at next week’s Bafta Film Awards, on Sunday, February 18.

The British performer and filmmaker will receive the award during the ceremony as part of a special commemoration of her work to date.

Morton, who hails from Nottingham, broke through with her role in Carine Adler’s 1997 Under The Skin, for which she received a Bifa nomination.

Her subsequent credits include Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar, for which she won the Bifa for best actress; Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report; Anton Corbijn’s Control, for which she was nominated...

Two decades ago at this time, the Oscar race for Best Actor was shaping up to be a rather competitive one. We had no idea what we were in for. Allow me to backtrack just a bit.

Three-time previous nominee Sean Penn had taken an early lead for his role as a troubled ex-convict and grieving father in Clint Eastwood’s crime drama “Mystic River.” Then Bill Murray began to generate major buzz for his portrayal of an aging movie star in Sofia Coppola’s acclaimed Tokyo-set comedy “Lost in Translation.”

The Golden Globes did little to clarify things. Penn prevailed in the drama category while Murray picked up the comedy/musical award. The latter did arguably get a bit of a boost with his charming acceptance speech.

All eyes were then on the Screen Actors Guild Award, which many thought would serve as a tie-breaker. But in the ultimate awards twist,...

From a gorgeous puppet show venue to a minimal 20th-century church via some Brooklyn jazz, the actor and musician picks her current favourites

The actor Samantha Morton was born in Nottingham in 1977 and had a turbulent childhood, spending nine years in and out of foster care. At 13, she joined the Central Junior Television Workshop and in the late 90s broke through in the TV series Band of Gold and a searing performance in Under the Skin. She’s been nominated for an Oscar twice, for Sweet and Lowdown and In America, and won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Myra Hindley in Longford. For her directorial debut, The Unloved (2009), she won a Bafta. Earlier this year she released her first music with producer Richard Russell. Morton lives with the film-maker Harry Holm in East Sussex and has three children. Her BBC Radio 6 Music festive takeover will be broadcast on...

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is full of homages to other pieces of media, though some are a little more obscure than others. For every reference to "Die Hard" or "Rambo," there's a deeper cut to something like "Serpico" or "All the President's Men," and that makes watching the series a total blast for movie nerds. There's one reference that may have slipped by even the most hardcore cinephiles, however, and it has to do with Charlie's big moment at the end of his musical, "The Nightman Cometh." After the rest of the gang finishes singing "Dayman," Charlie (Charlie Day) descends from the ceiling riding a giant sun, dressed in a fabulous lemon yellow suit, and it turns out that the moment comes directly from... Sean Penn?!

On the "Always Sunny Podcast," Day was joined by co-stars Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton, along with writer/producer Megan Ganz and special...

John Waters is no longer a cult filmmaker. The filmmaker, author, artist, actor, and spoken-word performer has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1990 (David Lynch was his sponsor). He’s screened “Hairspray” in the museum’s theater (with a Q&a moderated by Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins). The Academy Film Archive preserved his PSA, “John Waters Doesn’t Want You to Smoke.” He’s even getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As Waters likes to note, he’s so respectable he could puke.

At this point, everyone loves John Waters. John Waters should be hosting the Oscars, an idea so commonly held that if you ask the upbeat and unerringly polite Academy CEO Bill Kramer the odds of making that happen, you can hear him doing his best not to roll his eyes. “If I had a dime for every time that question’s been asked,...

Ron Cephas Jones, an Emmy-award-winning actor for his role as William Hill on This Is Us, has died. He was 66.

A representative for the actor confirmed the news of his death to Deadline.

“Beloved and award-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones has passed away at the age of 66 due to a long-standing pulmonary issue,” read a statement from the actor’s representative shared by People. “Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him.”

The statement continued, “He began his career at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and his love for the stage was present throughout his entire career, including his recent Tony-nominated and Drama Desk Award-winning performance for his role in Clyde’s on Broadway.”

Jones played the role of William Hill on This Is Us, the biological father of Sterling K. Brown’s Randall Pearson.

Ron Cephas Jones, the Emmy-winning actor known for his role as William Hill on NBC’s “This Is Us,” has died. He was 66.

“Beloved and award-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones has passed away at the age of 66 due to a long-standing pulmonary issue,” a representative for Jones confirmed to Variety on Saturday.

“Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him,” the statement continued. “He began his career at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and his love for the stage was present throughout his entire career, including his recent Tony nominated and Drama Desk Award winning performance for his role in ‘Clyde’s’ on Broadway.”

“Ron’s inner-beauty and soul was evident to the huge audience from his multi-Emmy award winning performance on ‘This is Us.’ He is survived by his daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones,...

David Fincher’s The Game is a fascinating thriller, and its all-star cast makes the movie one of the most memorable and powerful entries in the director’s filmography. Released in 1997, The Game chronicles the complex relationship between two wealthy brothers who find themselves caught up in a game of secrets and deception. The Game is among David Fincher's most rewatchable movies because it features plenty of twists and turns that keep the audience on the edge of their seats and withhold the truth right until the very end of the story, warranting multiple viewings to really see how it all comes together.

David Fincher's best movies are known for their celebrity casts and powerful performances, several of which have received Academy Award nominations over the years. From Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield in The Social Network to Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl, the director clearly knows how to draw...

Rosie O’Donnell appeared on Monday’s edition of “The Howard Stern Show”, and among the many celebrities she dished on was Woody Allen.

During the conversation, O’Donnell recalled receiving an offer to star in Allen’s 1999 movie “Sweet and Lowdown” — something she found highly surprising considering she had eviscerated him in her 1995 HBO standup special.

“Can you believe the nerve of this guy, showing up in public with his lover-slash-daughter?” O’Donnell said in her special, referencing Allen’s relationship with Soon-Yi Previn. “Incest, buddy, is a word. Look it up. Pedophile, what a concept. Have you heard of it?”

Read More: Rosie O’Donnell Shades Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s ‘Strange’ Return To ‘The View’

She added, “I forgot that rule: You can adopt a baby and when she turns 16, f**k her! That’s the Woody Allen clause in all the adoption contracts… Every day my agent has been...

Rosie O’Donnell didn’t think twice about turning down an offer to star in a Woody Allen film.

The “A League of Their Own” actress recently recalled during “The Howard Stern Show” that following a 1995 HBO comedy special where she slammed the child abuse charges against Allen, the director called her to star in his feature “Sweet and Lowdown.”

“I had done an HBO special where I said everything about him,” O’Donnell said, via Entertainment Weekly. “And then I got on my show. So it’s the first year of my show and I get a call and they said, ‘He wants you to be in [‘Sweet and Lowdown’]. I said, ‘Please send him my HBO special.’ And the woman said, ‘Oh he’s already seen it.’ And I said, ‘Send it anyway with two words: Fuck no.’ And I sent it to him.”

Sean Penn and Uma Thurman led the 1999 feature.

Exclusive: Uma Thurman (Super Pumped) will play U.S. President Ellen Claremont in Prime Video’s rom-com, Red, White & Royal Blue, based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston. She’s set to star alongside the previously announced Taylor Zakhar Perez, Nicholas Galitzine, Clifton Collins Jr., Stephen Fry, Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, Ellie Bamber, Aneesh Sheth, Polo Morin, Ahmed Elhaj and Akshay Khanna.

Red, White & Royal Blue will follow the Mexican-American character Alex Claremont-Diaz (Perez) who, upon his mother’s (Thurman) election as President, is promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, brilliant―his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a long-running feud with his royal counterpart across the pond, Prince Henry (Galitzine). And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an altercation between the two, U.S./British...

Samantha Morton is returning to the Walking Dead Universe: She’ll reprise her role as villainous Alpha in an episode of the upcoming six-episode anthology series “Tales of the Walking Dead,” AMC confirmed to TheWrap on Friday.

Alpha, who led a group called The Whisperers that wore zombie skins to avoid being eaten by walkers, appeared in Seasons 9 and 10 of AMC’s hit series “The Walking Dead,” which is now in its 11th and final season.

Details of Morton’s episode have not been released yet. Each episode of “Tales of the Walking Dead” will be a standalone, but are all set in the same zombie apocalypse world. Previously announced cast members include Anthony Edwards, Parker Posey, Jillian Bell, Terry Crews, Daniella Pineda, and Poppy Liu.

“Tales of the Walking Dead” is slated to debut this summer on AMC and AMC +. It’s one of several upcoming spinoffs, including “Isle of the Dead,...

With nine acting nominations to his name, Denzel Washington ranks as one of the six most-recognized male performers in Oscars history alongside Paul Newman, Al Pacino, and Spencer Tracy and behind Jack Nicholson (12) and Laurence Olivier (10). Having been included in so many lineups, it is only natural that he has faced some opponents multiple times. As the star of “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” he is in contention for the 2022 Best Actor award against two former rivals: Andrew Garfield and Will Smith (“King Richard”). This brings his unique rematch total to five, which makes for a new male record.

All five of Washington’s rematches have been in the lead category. The first two occurred in 2002 when he triumphed for “Training Day” over past challengers Russell Crowe (“A Beautiful Mind”) and Sean Penn (“I Am Sam”). The three of them had all lost to Kevin Spacey (“American Beauty”) two years earlier,...

Samantha Morton has been cast in the lead role of the Starz drama series “The Serpent Queen.”

Morton will star as Catherine de Medici. Based on the book “Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France” by Leonie Frieda, the eight-episode series is described as an account of one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown. Considered an immigrant, common and plain, Catherine de Medici is married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected to bring a fortune in dowry and produce many heirs, only to discover that her husband is in love with an older woman, her dowry is unpaid and she’s unable to conceive. Yet, only with her intelligence and determination, she manages to keep her marriage alive and masters the bloodsport that is the monarchy better than anyone else, ruling France for 50 years.

Morton recently had a celebrated turn on...

Samantha Morton, who played the villainous Alpha on “The Walking Dead,” will star as the nefarious Catherine de Medici in Starz’s new series “The Serpent Queen,” the premium cable channel said Wednesday.

Based on the book “Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda,” the eight-episode TV series

is “a cunning account of one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown,” per Starz. “Considered an immigrant, common and plain, Catherine de Medici is married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected to bring a fortune in dowry and produce many heirs, only to discover that her husband is in love with an older woman, her dowry is unpaid and she’s unable to conceive. Yet, only with her intelligence and determination, she manages to keep her marriage alive and masters the bloodsport that is the monarchy better than anyone else,...

The Walking Dead actress Samantha Morton has been hospitalized. The British star took to social media this Tuesday to reveal the news. The cause for her hospitalization is currently unknown, but what we do know is that she’s now feeling much better following medical care provided to her by the NHS, whom she praised in a tweet.

“Thank you to all the A and E staff at the Conquest who helped me tonight,” Morton wrote on Twitter. “I’m so grateful for our NHS, to see the red zone first hand and the nurses and doctors being so kind and wonderful to us all was humbling. I’m ok tonight because of them.”

Thankyou to all the A and E staff at the Conquest who helped me tonight. I’m so grateful for our NHS,to see the red zone first hand and the nurses and doctors being so...

Viacom-owned streamer Pluto TV has inked a deal with Signature Entertainment for a collection of Woody Allen movies from the 1990s and will put them out in a dedicated season on its Avod service in the U.K.

Woody Allen Fridays start on the service this week, with the filmmaker’s pictures playing on the Pluto TV Movies channel. The first double-bill will comprise comedy-drama “Celebrity” and crime comedy “Bullets Over Broadway.”

Pluto TV has a suite of themed online channels, spanning general and special interests. With a linear schedule, it is positioned as an online alternative to traditional TV and a straightforward lean-back alternative to the Svod platforms.

The Woody Allen double-bills will play each Friday for four weeks. Films that will feature include “Mighty Aphrodite,“ “Sweet and Lowdown,” “Everyone Says I Love You,” and “Deconstructing Harry.” Barbara Kopple’s portrait of the auteur himself, “Wild Man Blues,...

Sean Penn celebrates his 59th birthday on August 17, 2019. The two-time Oscar winner has excelled in a number of fields, including acting, writing and directing. But it’s his career as a performer that has brought him the most acclaim. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films as an actor, ranked worst to best.

Penn entered the Oscar race for the first time with his performance as a death row inmate in Tim Robbins’s “Dead Man Walking” (1995), for which he competed in Best Actor. Subsequent lead nominations as a jazz guitarist in Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999) and a mentally handicapped father in “I Am Sam” (2001) quickly followed.

SEEWoody Allen movies: Top 25 greatest films ranked worst to best

He hit the Oscar jackpot with Clint Eastwood’s “Mystic River” (2003), which cast him as a criminal grieving the murder of his daughter.

British actress Samantha Morton has had a pretty great career in the realm of film and TV. In fact, she’s actually been nominated for two Oscars, with her first one coming in 2000 thanks to her role in Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown.” And it’s that film that Morton credits for kickstarting her career and is why she has very specific thoughts on the controversial filmmaker.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Morton discussed her feelings about working with Woody Allen.

Continue reading Samantha Morton Is “Forever Grateful” To Have Worked With Woody Allen & Doesn’t Have Any Regrets at The Playlist.

The actor, who survived sexual abuse as a child, says director was ‘wonderful to work with’

Samantha Morton has said she has “no regrets” working with Woody Allen and that she remains “forever grateful” for the experience.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Morton, who worked on Allen’s 1999 picture Sweet and Lowdown, said: “I was working for a director who was kind, funny, and wonderful to work with. It changed my life. And I’m forever grateful for that.” In Sweet and Lowdown Morton played a mute laundry woman who falls for jazz guitarist Emmett Ray (played by Sean Penn); she was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar.

No actor on “The Walking Dead” has ever been nominated at the Emmy Awards — not Andrew Lincoln (Rick), not Melissa McBride (Carol), not Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan), etc. But all of that could change this year if Emmy voters decide to recognize Samantha Morton as Best Drama Supporting Actress. This acclaimed English actress is a two-time Oscar nominee, so she brings a level of prestige and experience to Alpha, the murderous leader of the Whisperers. Below, see my four reasons why Morton could make history for AMC’s nine-year-old zombie apocalypse drama.

See‘The Walking Dead’ actors on Emmy ballot: Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan are submitted in guest, 5 others in supporting

1. Emmy loves Oscar

It’s true: Emmy’s deep dark secret is that she yearns to one day be as influential and significant as her big brother Oscar. That’s why we often see Academy Awards faves dominating...

The Emmy buzz began the moment that “The Walking Dead” hired Samantha Morton to play new big bad Alpha. This British actress is a two-time Oscar nominee for “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999) and “In America” (2002), so she brings a level of prestige and experience to the role of the murderous leader of the Whisperers. If Emmy voters are still watching, might we see Morton become the first-ever actor to receive a nomination for AMC’s nine-year-old zombie apocalypse drama?

See‘The Walking Dead’ death watch: 5 characters who won’t survive the Season 9 finale

To date “The Walking Dead” has amassed 16 below-the-line Emmy bids, with two wins for Best Prosthetic Makeup (2011 and 2012). None of the show’s cast members have ever received an Emmy nomination, though three earned notices at the Critics’ Choice Awards: departing lead Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) in 2013 and current players Melissa McBride (Carol) in 2014 and Jeffrey Dean Morgan...