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Glen Powell and Adria Arjona shoot steamy scenes despite matching skin rashes. ( Photo Credit – Brian Bowen Smith / Netflix )

Turns out, those sizzling Hit Man love scenes weren’t as smooth off-screen as they looked on-screen. Glen Powell and Adria Arjona shot their steamy moments while battling a full-blown skin situation, rashes, makeup coverups, and all.

In a preview clip from their appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Arjona dropped the behind-the-scenes bomb. She recalled how, right before filming the sex scenes, her body broke out in a rash. Powell, ever the gentleman, jumped into crisis mode (per EW). “This will describe Glen really quickly,” Arjona said. “I’m breaking out in a rash and Glen is freaking out for me. He’s like, ‘What do you want?’ He calls a nurse. This whole thing is happening. He’s like, ‘Adria, are you fine? Should we postpone this scene?’, all this stuff.

A new teaser for Hulu’s upcoming half-hour comedy Chad Powers debuted during game four of the NBA Finals. The new series starring Glen Powell will premiere on September 30 with two episodes. New episodes stream weekly on Tuesdays.

In the series, when bad behavior nukes hotshot Qb Russ Holliday’s college career, he disguises himself and walks onto a struggling Southern football team as the talented, affable Chad Powers.

The series stars Glen Powell as Russ Holliday/Chad Powers, Perry Mattfeld as Ricky, Quentin Plair as Coach Byrd, Wynn Everett as Tricia, Frankie A. Rodriguez as Danny, and Steve Zahn as Jake Hudson.

Based on the sketch produced by NFL Films and Omaha Productions that aired on ESPN+ as part of the Eli’s Places series, the comedy from 20th Television will stream on Hulu. Powell and Waldron co-wrote the pilot.

Powell and Michael Waldron are the co-creators and executive producers.

Netflix has acquired US distribution rights to Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague following the film’s debut in Competition at Cannes this month.

Nouvelle Vague follows the production of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, the 1960 film that was a key moment in the French New Wave moment.

Netflix had no comment on the size of the deal, which has been reported elsewhere as in the region of $4m.

Linklater’s film stars Guilllaume Marbeck as Godard, with Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg and Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo, the two stars of Breathless.

The film debuted on Saturday, May 17 in Cannes...

Exclusive: Netflix has won out in a tug of war for Richard Linklater’s Breathless homage Nouvelle Vague after its Cannes Film Festival debut in the competition.

We understand the deal has closed for a hefty $4 million, a record domestic outlay for a French-language movie.

This is an interesting one. Breathless is viewed as a cinema classic and Nouvelle Vague a love letter to cinema. Could there be longer theatrical play either in the U.S. or overseas before it hits Netflix? At least domestically, we hear it’s likely to just be the usual awards-qualifying two-week window.

Nouvelle Vague launched to warm words at the Cannes Film Festival two weekends ago. In the right hands, the talk has been that the film could figure in the awards race.

Netflix is coming off an eventful awards season with Spanish-language movie Emilia Pérez, which scored 13 Oscar nominations and two wins. There...

“Nouvelle Vague” is not like any other movie you’ve seen. It’s not a prequel, sequel, or remake of Jean-Luc Godard’s debut film “Breathless” (“À Bout de Souffle”). It’s not a documentary about the making of the film, nor is it based on any known IP. You could conjure memories of the fictional “Day for Night,” from Godard’s fellow Cahiers du Cinéma critic and French New Wave member François Truffaut, which takes place on a movie set, or the recent Paramount series “The Offer,” which chronicles the production of “The Godfather” from the Pov of producer Al Ruddy (Miles Teller). Some have compared Linklater’s ensemble of icons from French cinema to Woody Allen’s ex-pat literary figures from “Midnight in Paris.”

The fact that Richard Linklater wanted to recreate the 1959 filming of “Breathless” on the streets of Paris, in French, in black and white, in the Academy aspect ratio,...

Multiple domestic buyers are in the mix to buy Richard Linklater’s Breathless homage, Nouvelle Vague, which launched to warm words at the Cannes Film Festival over the weekend.

We expect a deal to get done in the next 48 hours and it should be at the higher end for a U.S. acquisition of a French-language movie. In the right hands, there’s talk the film could figure in the awards race.

The film reconstructs the story behind Godard’s cinema classic. French actor Guillaume Marbeck portrays Jean-Luc Godard, Zoey Deutch plays Jean Seberg and newcomer Aubry Dullin portrays Jean Paul Belmondo. Characters in the movie include cinema legends Godard, Jean Cocteau, Robert Bresson, Roberto Rossellini, Jean-Pierre Melville, Eric Rohmer, Agnes Varda and Jacques Rivette.

Following the Competition title’s world premiere at Cannes on Saturday, the audience at the Palais gave the movie an 11-minute ovation. Our critic Pete Hammond...

This is Cannes Film Festival’s third invite (second time competition) to veteran American indie filmmaker Richard Linklater. Oddly his first visit was almost two decades back and he came packing a pair of films – Fast Food Nation and A Scanner Darkly (Un Certain Regard selection). Flash-forward to another double year where Blue Moon premiered earlier this year at the Berlinale (read ★★★★ review) and now we have Nouvelle Vague. How will his narrative structure, naturalistic dialogue, and exploration of human connection be applied here?

The eighth film in competition stars Guillaume Marbeck as Jean-Luc Godard and Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg — it follows the shooting of Godard’s Breathless in 1960.…...

Richard Linklater’s Cannes Competition title Nouvelle Vague had its world premiere the Palais this evening and was welcomed with a 11-minute ovation.

Quentin Tarantino was at tonight’s screening as well and helped lead the long-lasting applause. It was the second time he’d watched the film in about eight hours, having also caught a special screening late Saturday morning.

Quentin Tarantino greets Richard Linklater as Linklater’s ‘Nouvelle Vague’ (‘New Wave’) has its world premiere in #Cannes2025 pic.twitter.com/lofs7qKWUJ

— Deadline (@Deadline) May 17, 2025

An homage to Jean-Luc Godard’s 1959 classic Breathless, the French-language film reconstructs the story behind the film starring Jean Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg. French actor Guillaume Marbeck plays Godard, Zoey Deutch is Seberg, and newcomer Aubry Dullin portrays Belmondo.

Five-time Oscar nominee Linklater was last in the Cannes Competition with 2006’s Fast Food Nation and played Un Certain Regard with A Scanner Darkly that same year.

Hulu’s half-hour comedy Chad Powers, from co-creators and executive producers Glen Powell and Michael Waldron, will premiere on September 30th. Eli Manning serves as executive producer along with Omaha Productions’ Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz, Ben Brown, and ESPN.

Waldron and Adam Fasullo are executive producing for Anomaly Pictures. Luvh Rakhe will executive produce, and Tony Yacenda will serve as director and executive producer.

The series stars Powell, who is also co-creating, co-writing, and executive producing under his production co-banner Barnstorm Productions.

When bad behavior nukes hotshot Qb Russ Holliday’s college career, he disguises himself and walks onto a struggling Southern football team as the talented, affable Chad Powers.

Based on the sketch produced by NFL Films and Omaha Productions that aired on ESPN+ as part of the Eli’s Places series, the half-hour comedy from 20th Television will stream on Hulu. Powell and Waldron co-wrote the pilot.

View...

Exclusive: Richard Linklater’s Cannes Competition-bound Nouvelle Vague, his homage to Jean-Luc Godard’s 1959 New Wave classic A Bout de Souffle (Breathless), has been boarded for international sales by Vincent Maraval’s Goodfellas.

The anticipated French-language film reconstructs the story behind Godard’s cinema classic and is a fitting addition this morning to the Cannes lineup.

Characters in the film are understood to include cinema legends Godard, Jean Cocteau, Robert Bresson, Roberto Rossellini, Jean-Pierre Melville, Eric Rohmer, Agnes Varda and Jacques Rivette.

French actor Guillaume Marbeck is portraying Jean-Luc Godard, Zoey Deutch plays Breathless star Jean Seberg and newcomer Aubry Dullin portrays Jean Paul Belmondo.

There are rumours the film is shot in black and white and in 4:3 ratio. Arp Selection produces and distributes in France. Screenwriters include Holly Gent, Vince Palmo, Michèle Halberstadt and Laetitia Masson.

Related: Cannes Competition: Aster, Trier, Dardennes, Reichardt, Ducournau & Wes Anderson Among Lineup...

The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 78th edition (May 13-24).

Scroll down for full line-up

Festival director Thierry Frémaux revealed the Official Selection at a press conference at the Ugc Montparnasse cinema in Paris alongside festival president Iris Knobloch.

A diverse range of features make up the 2025 Competition, mixing veteran auteurs with up-and-coming directors.

Acclaimed directors the Dardenne Brothers, Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater and Joachim Trier are among those selected for Cannes Competition 2025.

Newcomers to the Competition include genre specialist Ari Aster, Berlin Golden Bear winner Carla Simon as well as Germany’s Mascha Schilinski.

Six...

With just three weeks until the line-up for the Cannes Film Festival 2025 is announced on April 10,Screentakes a look at the films from around the world looking increasingly likely to debut on the Croisette.

North America

English-language auteurs Wes Anderson, Lynne Ramsay, Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch and Kelly Reichardt could all unveil their anticipated next films at the Cannes – and if they do, it will drum up the kind of red-carpet glamour Thierry Fremaux loves.

Two years after The French Dispatch played in Competition, Anderson looks a safe bet to return with The Phoenician Scheme, a spy comedy thriller featuring...

What’s going to be this year’s “Anora”? As the Cannes Film Festival rapidly approaches, that’s the question for artistic director Thierry Fremaux and movie buffs around the world.

A month before Cannes Film Festival’s press conference, the official selection is still very much a work in progress, with little reliable information filtering through about which movies have already been invited. In fact, as of Friday — despite the volume of splashy prediction stories — it appears that only three films have so far been given a golden ticket to compete in Cannes. Variety can reveal that one of them is Jim Jarmusch’s anticipated “Father Mother Sister Brother“ starring Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver and Tom Waits.

The last edition of the festival, which Fremaux had warned would be slightly weaker due to the impact of the double Hollywood strikes, proved to be anything but. Headlined by Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning “Anora,...

Ethan Hawke is getting raves and (very, very) early awards buzz for his performance in Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, which had its world premiere in Berlin Tuesday night.

Hawke is unrecognizable as famed American musical-theater lyricist Lorenz, “Larry” Hart, the balding, diminutive creative partner to composer Richard Rodgers. The real-time feature follows Hart as he struggles with alcoholism and depression on the opening night of Oklahoma!, Rodgers’ Broadway triumph and his first musical with new lyricist Oscar Hammerstein. Andrew Scott is Rodgers, Margaret Qualley is Elizabeth Weiland, Hart’s student “protégée.” Bobby Cannavale plays Hart’s bartender buddy, Eddie.

But the film belongs to Hawke, who appears in every frame and gives one of his long career’s standout performances. His Hart alternates between charming raconteur and seedy has-been as he tries to reconcile with Rogers for a possible comeback. Even more unlikely is his attempt to woo Elizabeth,...

Before premiering their latest collaboration “Blue Moon” at Berlin Film Festival, Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke revealed that they have a 10th film together in the works.

“Blue Moon” marks Hawke and Linklater’s first film in over a decade, since 2014’s “Boyhood.” They’ve now joined forces on nine feature films over the course of their careers, including the “Before” trilogy, “The Newton Boys” and “Fast Food Nation.”

When asked by Variety if fans would have to wait another decade for his next film with Hawke, Linklater said, “I sure hope not. There’s this thing we’re working on, it’s kind of a historical piece, 19th century thing. Hopefully he’s a big part of that. But until it’s financed and ready to go, I never really talk about things too much just because they get frustrating.”

The Oscar-nominated director continued, “There’s pressure enough… just...

Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater spoke about taking risks in art at the Berlin Film Festival press conference for their new film “Blue Moon” on Tuesday, saying that this diminishes when money is prioritized.

“Audiences have to care. They don’t sell. You guys, the community, has to make it important. For offensive art to have a place in our conversation, it has to be cared about,” Hawke said. “And when we prioritize money at all costs, what we get is generic material that appeals to the most amount of people and we’re told that’s the best. It’s a dance we all do together. If you love offensive art and you want it, demand it. Right now, people don’t think they’ll make any money off it so it doesn’t get made.”

The idea of “offensive art” is a theme in “Blue Moon,” which follows...

All About Glen Powell’s Big Breaks Before The Dark Knight Rises & Top Gun Roles ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Before Glen Powell looted hearts as a smooth-talking pilot in Top Gun: Maverick or showed up in Gotham in The Dark Knight Rises, he was hustling in Hollywood—but not how you’d predict! Sure, now he’s all about big blockbusters, but his rise to fame was less “instant superstar” and more “slow burn with unexpected pit stops.”

He kicked things off with some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it gigs you probably forgot (or never noticed). But hey, every big star starts somewhere! Those early roles were just stepping stones toward becoming a Hollywood heavy-hitter for Powell. The Twisters star didn’t just waltz into Hollywood as the leading man—he put in the work. From tiny roles in family films to popping up in indie projects, he was grinding, slowly making a name for himself.

Hulu has revealed the official teaser trailer for the half-hour comedy Chad Powers, which will premiere on the streaming service in the fall of 2025. The series comes from co-creators and executive producers Glen Powell and Michael Waldron.

Eli Manning serves as executive producer along with Omaha Productions’ Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz, Ben Brown and ESPN. Waldron and Adam Fasullo are executive producing for Anomaly Pictures.

Luvh Rakhe will executive produce Chad Powers and Tony Yacenda will serve as director and executive producer. The series stars Powell, who is also co-creating, co-writing and executive-producing under his production co-banner Barnstorm Productions.

In the series, when bad behavior nukes hotshot Qb Russ Holliday’s college career, he disguises himself and walks onto a struggling Southern football team as the talented, affable Chad Powers.

Based on the sketch produced by NFL Films and Omaha Productions that aired on ESPN+ as part of the Eli’s Places series,...

Glen Powell is the man of the hour in Hollywood, which is why some people may be surprised to hear the net worth of the supposed movie star. Austin, Texas-born Glen Powell has been working in movies and TV since he was 14 years old, with his first role coming in a small, but memorable, performance in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. His career remained steady for years, with small roles here and there in films like Fast Food Nation and in episodes of TV shows like Without a Trace and CSI: Miami.

It wasn't until Scream Queens that people began to take notice, and still, he was not a household name until six years later when he appeared in Top Gun: Maverick, hitching his name to one of the most successful movies of the decade. A break-up with Gigi Paris in 2023 after 4 years has not slowed him down and now,...

There’s nothing better in baseball than a surprise grand slam, and this morning, Glen Powell got one in his first Golden Globe Nomination for Male Actor in a Comedy/Musical for the Netflix movie he produced and co-wrote, Hit Man.

Powell was in London for the shoot of his next movie, Edgar Wright’s The Running Man when his family –who literally has cameo roles in the Paramount title– “stormed” into his hotel room screaming with glee over the Globes news.

The movie, which world premiered at TIFF during the strike in 2023 where it was snapped up by the streamer, has been a passion project for Powell, his first learning about via Michael Costigan at Aggregate Films who turned the Top Gun 2 actor onto Skip Hollandsworth’s Texas Monthly piece about a humdrum professor who moonlights for the police department. He poses as a hitman. In the movie,...

Kris Kristofferson — the tough yet weary country music singer/songwriter behind “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” and “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” as well as the rugged leading man featured in romances like “A Star is Born” (1976) and westerns like “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” — has died at 88. He passed away in his home in Maui, Hawaii.

A statement released by his family reads, “We’re all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he’s smiling down at us all.”

A proud son of South Texas, Kristofferson was also a military brat who often hopped around before finally settling in San Mateo, California. He went on to attend Pomona College where he excelled in rugby, American football, and track and field. At one point, he was even featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The Accident, directed by Lpez and Querejeta, gained worldwide popularity but received mixed reviews for its stretched movie-like premise. Ana Claudia Talancn shines as Daniela, a police detective investigating a tragic event that leaves families reeling in grief and blame. The talented ensemble cast includes Sebastian Martnez, Alberto Guerra, Erndira Ibarra, and other notable actors in the gripping Netflix thriller.

Netflix's The Accident, a Mexican thriller drama from directors Klych Lpez and Gracia Querejeta and writer Leonardo Padrn, surged in popularity worldwide just days after its initial release, prompting many viewers to wonder more about The Accident's cast and characters. Broken into 10 episodes, The Accident has garnered negative reviews from critics, who feel like the movie-like premise is stretched too thin. Without delving into spoiler territory, the thriller-meets-drama definitely takes cues from the best telenovelas and soap operas, as The Accident chronicles the aftermath of a birthday party gone wrong.

Glen Powell is thrilled to work on The Running Man with Edgar Wright, calling him a "bucket list" director. Powell revealed that he has been hoping to work with Wright since soon after he moved to L.A. Powell's work on The Running Man comes with a recent expansion in his roster of collaborations with notable directors.

Glen Powell has explained why The Running Man is a dream project. Ahead of the upcoming The Running Man, the star has a string of hits under his belt after having held a supporting role opposite Tom Cruise and Miles Teller in the 2022 legacy sequel Top Gun: Maverick, which became the fifth highest-grossing domestic movie of all time. He followed that by starring in the $220 million rom-com sleeper hit Anyone But You in 2023 and the 2024 smash Twisters, which has grossed $337.6 million so far, making it the ninth highest-grossing movie of the year worldwide.

Hulu has shared a first look at Glen Powell as Chad Powers in its upcoming comedy series, which has officially started production.

Hulu’s half-hour comedy Chad Powers from co-creators and executive producers Glen Powell and Michael Waldron. Eli Manning serves as executive producer along with Omaha Productions’ Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz, Ben Brown, and ESPN.

When bad behavior nukes hotshot Qb Russ Holliday’s college career, he disguises himself and walks onto a struggling Southern football team as the talented, affable Chad Powers.

Based on the sketch produced by NFL Films and Omaha Productions that aired on ESPN+ as part of the Eli’s Places series, the half-hour comedy from 20th Television will stream on Hulu. Powell and Waldron co-wrote the pilot.

Waldron and Adam Fasullo are executive producing for Anomaly Pictures. Luve Rakhe will also executive produce, and Tony Yacenda will serve as director and executive producer.

Series...

Glen Powell's rise to A-list status from supporting roles makes him a potential leading man for Top Gun 3. Powell's popularity could overshadow Miles Teller's Rooster, causing a dilemma for the franchise. Top Gun 3 may need to balance the roles of Maverick, Rooster, and Hangman to continue the story effectively.

Although 2024 has been an incredible year for Glen Powell, this could ironically prove a problem for Top Gun 3. Glen Powell has been around a lot longer than cinemagoers might think. The actors earliest roles date back to hit parts in Spy Kids 3D: Game Over and Fast Food Nation between 2003 and 2006. Powell later rose to stardom with supporting roles in The Expendables 3 and Ride Along 2 alongside a scene-stealing turn in TVs Scream Queens. However, it was 2022s Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick that introduced him to the A-list.

Although Powell lost out...

It’s been 21 years since Glen Powell first appeared on the Hollywood scene with his role in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.

At just 13, Powell made his acting debut in the popular film, a fact that has left many fans amazed as his star continues to rise in Hollywood.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Powell, now 35, reminisced about his first film experience.

“I will never forget that moment,” he shared. “I was 13. I shot my part, and then I hung out behind the camera.

Powell continued, “The entire crew had the most interesting jobs on the planet. You had endless friends on set.”

“And Spy Kids 3-D was arguably our Dune,” he added with a laugh.

Glen Powell shares Spy Kids 3 throwback photo

Powell recently went down memory lane about his acting debut in Spy Kids 3, he posted a still from the film on social media on Friday,...

On Wednesday, 17 July 2024, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert welcomes Glen Powell and Charlamagne Tha God to the show. Glen Powell is an American actor who began his career with small roles in television and film, including Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) and Fast Food Nation (2006). Powell gained wider recognition for […]

The Late Show: Glen Powell, Charlamagne Tha God...

Austin, Texas – May 15: Glen Powell attends Netflix’s Austin premiere of “Hit Man” at The Paramount Theatre on May 15, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Netflix) If director Richard Linklater ever wants Glen Powell to work on another project, it’s a pretty certain bet that Powell will accept. Long before Powell ascended into Hollywood’s top echelon of stars, Linklater hired fellow Texan Powell to work on his dark comedy Fast Food Nation, Since then, they’ve worked on several projects together, including the new film Hit Man. Powell spoke about his working relationship with Linklater and said it feels more like a partnership. (Click on the media bar below to hear Glen Powell) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Glen_Powell_Working_with_RIckchardLinkater_Hitman_.mp3 Hit Man is currently streaming on Netflix.

The post In Glen Powell, Richard Linklater Has A Fan...

Glen Powell is already making an impact in Hollywood with his impeccable projects that well showcased his acting prowess. However, the actor is yet far from achieving one record that Ethan Hawke and Hitman director Richard Linklater will attain with the upcoming project that they’re set to collaborate on.

Glen Powell in Hit Man (image credit: Netflix)

It is quite a great feat as the actor-director duo have already collaborated on numerous projects that even actor-director duo, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese have yet to attain.

Ethan Hawke and Glen Powell’s Hitman director Richard Linklater Will Work on the 9th Project Together

Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater have long been collaborating on projects that produced some of the most critically acclaimed films over the last three decades. From bringing innovative narratives to authentic character portrayals, their partnership has continued to expand the horizon of storytelling on the big screen cinema.

Deadline reports that Ethan Hawke is set to reunite with Richard Linklater once again for Blue Moon, a drama which dives into the final days of Lorenz Hart, one half of the songwriting team Rodgers & Hart.

In addition to Hawke, Blue Moon will also feature Margaret Qualley (The Substance), Bobby Cannavale (Ezra), and Andrew Scott (Ripley). Production will kick off in Dublin, Ireland this summer. Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the worldwide rights for the project, which has been scripted by Robert Kaplow. The film will be set “primarily in Sardi’s Restaurant on March 31, 1943, the opening night of Oklahoma!, which marked Rodgers’s first collaboration with Oscar Hammerstein II as Hart’s replacement.“

“Robert, Ethan and I have been developing this story for over a decade and are excited and grateful that the time has come to bring this to life,” Linklater said in a statement. A spokesperson for...

Everybody Wants Some!!! is a hidden gem collaboration between Hit Man's Glen Powell and Richard Linklater with an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score. Powell shines in the Richard Linklater-directed Everybody Wants Some!!! as college baseball player Finn. Despite positive reviews from critics, Everybody Wants Some!!! bombed theaters and earned only $5.4 million in 2016.

Glen Powell and Richard Linklater struck gold with their acting, directing, and co-written screenplay for Hit Man, which is a great reminder to watch their often-forgotten collaboration from 2016. Boasting an incredible 96% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, Glen Powell leads the cast of Hit Man as Gary Johnson, a psychology professor who also works as a fake undercover hitman for the New Orleans Police Department. However, his experimental assassin aliases become complicated when, as Ron, he falls in love with a would-be client named Madison (Adria Arjona).

Now tying Top Gun: Maverick as Glen Powells highest-rated movie on Rotten...

2024 is turning out to be a fresh breath of year for films, as it appears, mainstream Hollywood might be once again leaning towards original releases. From Challengers to Civil War, we’ve witnessed some exciting original releases in the past few months, and Glen Powell’s new action comedy Hit Man is the new addition to this summer’s slate.

Sitting at a whopping 97% on the Tomatometer, the film has further added to Powell’s reputation as the next big thing in Hollywood, but making this film a reality was a bumpy ride for its creator.

Studios Weren’t Keen on Betting on an Original Idea

A still from Hit Man | Credit: Netflix

Since the rise of big-budget blockbusters, mainstream Hollywood has strayed away from investing in original ideas, as most execs prefer banking on familiar ideas. So when director Richard Linklater and his Fast Food Nation colleague Glen Powell,...

It’s a “Hot Glen Summer” at the movies.

Just like the immortal words of Megan Thee Stallion, who’s billed every summer since 2019 the perfect time to do “hot girl shit,” Glen Powell is heating up movie screens. Summer 2024 firmly establishes him as a power player with Netflix’s “Hit Man,” the Prime Video documentary “The Blue Angels” and Universal “Twisters” dropping in rapid succession.

In the words of Retta — who first met Powell on the 2014 indie rom-com “Sex Ed” before they reunited for “Hit Man” — “Homie is a straight up movie star.”

“This is the summer of Glen,” director Richard Linklater concurs. “They’re all ‘Johnny come lately’ to the Glen Powell thing. Anybody who’s known Glen for the last 10-plus years knows that he’s a star. He’s smart. He’s funny. He’s hard working.”

Like Retta, Linklater has had a front row seat to the actor’s glow-up,...

Netflix and Richard Linklater certainly make for peculiar bedfellows. Where every other Netflix exclusive feels like it was concocted by an algorithm and designed to have maximum appeal, Linklater has been perfectly happy to direct films for a niche market these past 30-plus years. Even at his most commercial, with a film like "School of Rock," you get the sense the eccentric Texan auteur is making movies that speaks to his interests first and foremost.

Yet, somehow, Linklater has now found himself releasing back-to-back films for the streaming giant. The first of them, 2022's "Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood" — a rotoscope-style animated feature where segments inspired by the filmmaker's real childhood in 1960s Houston are seamlessly integrated with a fictional story about a young boy being recruited by NASA for an off-the-books space mission — reads like the opposite of what studios feel constitutes an easy sell. It plays that way,...

Linklater's filmography spans iconic modern classics, including Dazed and Confused and Boyhood, inspiring filmmakers for decades. Hit Man showcases Linklater's genius, offering a love story with Powell's challenging role and sharp writing that defies expectations. From groundbreaking animations like A Scanner Darkly to romantic masterpieces like Before Midnight, Linklater's diverse work continues to captivate audiences.

Richard Linklaters newest film Hit Man is the latest in the director's expansive filmography, but which of his movies is the best? The director and writer of many landmark pieces of modern cinema, such as the cinematic classics Dazed and Confused, the Before trilogy, Boyhood, and Everybody Wants Some!!, his first collaboration with Powell. Linklater was also an instrumental figure in the independent film movements of the 1990s. His innovations in animation and narrative continue to inspire filmmakers across the decades.

Born in Texas, Richard Linklater developed a love for cinema in his early twenties.

“Hit Man” is the kind of movie that 25 years ago could have made $200 million at the box office on a budget of two percent of that. Now, Richard Linklater and Glen Powell’s romantic thriller-comedy is going straight to Netflix after traditional studios balked at giving it a theatrical release.

In an interview with the BBC, Linklater attributes that change to studios being afraid to take even small risks on adult-oriented dramas.

“You don’t get fired for doing a sequel or an origin story, something that already exists,” the Oscar-nominated “Boyhood” director said. “You don’t get in trouble for what’s obvious and commercial. What changed is that films got greenlit by the marketing department and then it’s become really safe choices.”

The film, which was written by Linklater and Powell and based on a Texas Monthly article, tells the story of a police consultant (Powell) who...

Richard Linklater's latest film, Hit Man, is one of the most anticipated films on the 2024 film calendar. Now on Netflix, the film is set to be a building block for one of Hollywood's rising megastars, Glen Powell, who is not only the star of Hit Man, but also Linklater's co-writer. Powell and Linklater have previously collaborated on the adaptation Fast Food Nation, the coming-of-age baseball comedy, Everybody Wants Some!!!, and the animated nostalgic look at the space race, Apollo 10 12: A Space Age Childhood. Without even considering the revered talent in the project, its alluring concept of an undercover police officer posing as a contract killer to arrest his employers serves as a sturdy backbone for a genre picture. Each of Linklater's films is a rich concoction of comedy and drama. The writer-director's humanist storytelling may clash with the outlandish synopsis of the film's plot. However, Hit Man is far from an outlandish story,...

Richard Linklater is opening up about the hurdles to producing his latest movie, “Hit Man,” saying that studios initially “really didn’t want to make the film.”

In a new interview with the BBC, the celebrated director of “Dazed and Confused” and the “Before” trilogy said that he and Glen Powell — who stars in the film and co-wrote the script — worked on the film “very independently.”

“Glen and I wrote it speculatively and we didn’t get paid anything, we just tried to get the film made,” he told the BBC. “We really felt we were onto something, we felt we had written a film noir, a crime film that’s also a screwball comedy about a couple that you’re rooting to be together, but I think they wanted it to be just one thing.”

Based on a true story, “Hit Man” stars Powell as Ron, a part-time police...

Flip through the pages of (or, because it’s 2024, click on) the October 2001 issue of Texas Monthly, and you’ll find an article by Skip Hollandsworth about a Houston man named Gary Johnson. He is described as being in his mid-fifties, “tall but not too tall, thin but not too thin…[who] sometimes wears wire-rimmed glasses that give him a scholarly appearance.” Gary teaches a few classes at a local junior college. Mostly, however, he pretends to be a professional killer for the police department when they want to set up...

Richard Linklater has been known as the filmmaker known for making chill, feel-good yet thought-provoking films over the years. While his Before trilogy might have gained more traction than others, he perfectly captured the wild, fun, and coming-of-age vibes of teenagers with Dazed and Confused and its spiritual sequel Everybody Wants Some!!.

Before Sunrise remains one of Richard Linklater’s most loved films | Columbia Pictures

Linklater is also known for his experimental films that explore the human like Boyhood. The filmmaker is also a fan of films in general and filmmakers who have come before him. Martin Scorsese is definitely one of them and despite its many controversial elements, Linklater chose Goodfellas as his favorite Scorsese feature.

Richard Linklater Loves ‘Controversial’ Goodfellas And Can Quote The Whole Film Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas | Warner Bros Pictures

Richard Linklater has been a seminal filmmaker since...

The popularity of American independent cinema that emerged in the 1990s is largely credited to the success of Richard Linklater, a unique writer/director with an aptitude for capturing realistic moments of everyday life. Linklaters early films Slacker and Dazed and Confused were heralded for their non-linear, slice of life structure; he showed more interest in conveying ideas about youthful bliss and small town life than he did in narrative cohesion. While Linklaters style didnt change, his approach certainly matured, as he began tackling more serious issues in the later half of his career. Linklaters 2006 dramedy Fast Food Nation addressed the systemic corruption and abuse involved in Americas fast food restaurants.

Buoyed by a two-year deal at HBO, a weekly CNN presence and a new book, Bill Maher now has decided to describe himself as a “centrist.” Is it a claim in vain?

Having watched his show for years and done several shows with him, I suspect he’s instinctively too “incorrect” to qualify for “moderation.” Strategically, some feel he shouldn’t even try.

The audience for stand-ups and for TV in general is changing noticeably, to some performers’ discomfort. At their annual upfronts, TV executives two weeks ago no longer were obsessed by that premium 18-49 age group, acknowledging that their remaining audience is becoming geriatric – 66 for the ABC network, for example, and 69 for Fox News.

Stand-up comics report their crowds at arenas or clubs are aging as well, and they are adjusting their routines accordingly. Even the jokes seem less coital, more socially consensual.

So will the more mature...

Hit Man stars Glen Powell as the eccentric Gary Johnson, a real-life person who posed as a killer-for-hire to help the police catch potential criminals. Richard Linklater and Glen Powell's script is cleverly constructed, even if the dialogue can be pretty embarrassing and unrealistic, and the film relies on some weak tropes (especially in the beginning). Despite Hit Man being genuinely ridiculous and its characters being arguably psychotic, it's very fun, unpredictable, and delves into complicated themes of identity, fantasy, and the nature of self.

Richard Linklater continues his work with Netflix on Hit Man, an extremely more accessible movie than his last film, Apollo 10. It's so seemingly mainstream, in fact, that it stars Glen Powell, the handsome young actor du jour, whose work opposite Sydney Sweeney in Anyone but You and Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick has quickly made him a star. Before those movies, Powell starred in...

Eric Schlosser knows food. Not in the way Bobby Flay or Giada De Laurentiis does, but in a scholarly manner that knows its affects on the health of anyone who eats.

The author of the classic study Fast Food Nation and an EP on several films, Schlosser came to Bill Maher’s Friday Real Time as a harbinger of potential doom to come, a guest with the credentials to back up his scary predictions with authority.

The next pandemic, Schlosser said, is potentially germinating down in Texas. That’s where it was recently discovered that bird flu had migrated into the cows at mega-dairies, and the federal government has not been allowed in to test the livestock or its workers.

“It’s a perfect example of how the public health is being threatened by private interests,” he said, noting, “The food industry spends more money lobbying than the defense industry.

Real Time With Bill Maher continues Friday, May 10 (10:00-11:00 p.m. Et/7:00-8:00 p.m. Pt). Allowing Maher to offer his unique perspective on contemporary issues, the show continues with its opening monologue, one-on-one interviews with notable guests, roundtable discussions with panelists, and its signature “New Rules.” The series airs on HBO and is available to stream on Max. This week features a one-on-one interview with Eric Schlosser, investigative journalist, author of TheNew York Times Best Seller “Fast Food Nation,” and stars in the documentary film “Food, Inc.” This week’s panel discussion includes Frank Bruni, contributing writer at The New York Times and best-selling author, whose new book is called “The Age of ... Read more...

Glen Powell's career has formed a surprising trend featuring many movies about flying. Powell's flying movie trend includes roles in Top Gun: Maverick and Devotion and producing the documentary The Blue Angels. This habit of making flying movies has a foundation in Powell's real life.

One upcoming movie featuring Glen Powell proves a surprising and unusual trend for the actor's overall career. Powell, who stars in the upcoming Twisters, has been performing onscreen since 2003. After appearing in early teen features including the Richard Linklater movie Fast Food Nation, he began to appear in more prominent titles including The Dark Knight Rises and The Expendables 3 before getting his breakthrough role as the charismatic and cruel Chad Radwell in the Ryan Murphy horror-comedy Scream Queens. More recently, he starred in the hit rom-com Anyone But You, which grossed $219.2 million against a $25 million budget.

After achieving success with the Anyone But You box office,...

Glen Powell is using his undeniable charm to put people behind bars in the new trailer for Netflix’s Hit Man. The streaming service released the official trailer for the Richard Linklater-directed film on Thursday, showing Powell as a strait-laced professor with a hidden talent as a fake hit man.

As a part-time, undercover hit man for the New Orleans Police Department, Gary Johnson (Powell) takes on several disguises sporting fake teeth, strawberry bobs, leather trench coats, and three-piece suits to lure in criminals. But he loses focus after meeting client Madison,...

Food, Inc. 2 exposes the dangerous monopolistic power of corporations in the food industry, impacting workers, consumers, and the environment. You can watch a clip above. The film emphasizes the need for antitrust enforcement to prevent powerful companies from dominating the food system for unlimited profits while exploiting workers and poisoning people. The film urges audiences to demand change and support efforts to break up monopolies to create a more sustainable and ethical food industry.

When it came to theaters in 2009, Food, Inc. made a big impact on the collective perception of the food industry, which had undergone drastic and destructive changes since modernization and politicization. The film featured a variety of passionate critics of corporate food production, including Michael Pollan (author of The Omnivore's Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation). 15 years later, the industry seems even worse, leading to Food, Inc. 2, a rare documentary sequel...

Food, Inc. 2 follows the golden rule of Hollywood sequels: The second time around, the villain must be scarier and the death count higher. Directors Melissa Robledo and Robert Kenner’s 2008 documentary Food, Inc. helped spark a national conversation about the devastating economic, environmental and health effects of our industrialized food system, and built momentum for serious reform. They never intended to direct a follow-up. But since then, Big Ag has fought back, and by some measures the problems caused by corporate consolidation have only gotten worse.

Journalists Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), who co-narrated the first film, became famous for exposing the deep dysfunction of America’s food industry. They’ve since followed their curiosity to other realms — psychedelics for Pollan, for example, and nuclear warfare for Schlosser. But 16 years after the release of Food Inc., they’ve reteamed with the directors for the sequel,...

The first wave of voice actors for the highly anticipated animated series from CBS Studios, Innersloth, and creator Owen Dennis, Among Us, have been discovered! Randall Park, Ashley Johnson, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Elijah Wood lend the voices to the animated madness as four characters acting sus while trying to survive a John Carpenter’s The Thing-style mystery.

Featuring in the adaptation of the wildly popular social deception game is Randall Park as the voice of Red, Captain of the Skeld. Red is a people pleaser and blowhard. As a confident leader, Red is the type of crewmate who will fail upwards.

Ashely Johnson plays Purple, Chief of Security. Concerned with safety, prone to suspicion, and confident, Purple is a crewmember with trust issues.

Yvette Nicole Brown plays Orange and is a member of the Hr department. Orange is a “spineless corporate shill” in charge of eliminating redundancies redundantly. Orange...