News

Get ready for an exciting sci-fi adventure with siblings Rowan and Ogden Shearwater in the eerie world of Midst: Address Unknown. Critical Role and Third Person join forces with Dark Horse to expand the Midst universe with a new comic book miniseries set to challenge family bonds. Fans can expect new depths in the Midst storyverse with Midst: Address Unknown, promising a thrilling continuation of the sci-fi Western world.

Critical Role and Third Person are coming together to bring the popular sci-fi Western podcast Midst to Dark Horse Comics. Screen Rant has an exclusive first look at Midst: Address Unknown, a three-issue miniseries perfect for longtime fans of the podcast or new fans who have yet to discover the innovative, immersive experience.

Screen Rant is excited to announce Midst: Address Unknown, the first collaboration between Critical Role, Third Person, and Dark Horse Comics. The first issue of this exciting new...

All titles below begin streaming for free on January 1 unless otherwise noted:

Originals

Action

Prepare To Die

– 1/13-

A young man trains in the ways of martial arts to seek vengeance on the corrupt landowner who murdered his family.

Documentary

Vice News Presents: Epstein Didn’T Kill Himself

-1/17-

How the mysteries surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s life and death gave rise to a conspiracy theory that will never die.

Gone Before His Time: Kobe Bryant

-1/26-

Recount the achievements – some personal, some professional, and many halted – of an NBA legend before his untimely death.

TMZ No Bs: Hollywood’S Dumbest Moments

-1/31-

Join TMZ as they examine baffling & cringe worthy celebrity moments – Hollywood stars aren’t always the sharpest tools in the shed.

Horror

Where The Devil Roams

-1/5-

A family of murderous sideshow performers traverse the harsh conditions of Depression-era America in a bloody deal with the Devil.

March brings a fresh slate of new shows and films to Hulu. The rotation of the catalogue also makes room for well-loved films arriving on the streamer this month. Sports buffs will enjoy “Love and Basketball” (2000) as well as “Kicking & Screaming” (2005). Animated family favorites include “Rio” (2011) and “Ice Age: Continental Drift” (2010).

As for new releases, Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon play hard-working journalists in the investigative thriller “Boston Strangler” (2023) from writer and director Matt Ruskin. Olivia Colman can be seen as Miss Havisham in FX’s rendition of “Great Expectations.” And a new twist on reality dating involves the charming countryside with “Farmer Wants a Wife.”

And Best Picture Oscar nominee “Triangle of Sadness” hits the streamer on March 3.

The Oscars as well as the pre-show and post-show red carpets will also be available to livestream around March 12 when the ceremony takes place and March 13, the day after, if...

Hulu’s list of new releases for March 2023 features an event long in the making.

On March 6, History of the World, Part II will finally arrive more than 40 years after Mel Brooks’ classic comedy History of the World, Part I. first premiered. Of course, Brooks never had any intention of adding future parts to his ahistorical film, but that yet makes the arrival of Part II so many years later even funnier. Described as a four-night comedy event, History of the World, Part II will release two episodes a day through March 9. Brooks returns to write and executive produce this series and will star alongside Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, and Ike Barinholtz. Guest stars include…everyone. Basically just everyone.

Read more Movies Great Eat the Rich Satires to Watch After The Menu By Nick Harley Movies Mel Brooks Recalls Alfred Hitchcock’s Unique Review of High Anxiety By David Crow...

With Warzone 2 now out, fans of the Call of Duty series are wondering whether they will be able to transfer their CoD Points from Warzone 1 and Vanguard to the new game. Though Warzone 2 is free to play, most of the game's cosmetic items and battle passes can be purchased using the in-game currency CoD Points. In Warzone 1 and the mainline Call of Duty games launched alongside it, CoD Points could be transferred between titles freely because they were connected to players' Activision accounts. However, Warzone 2 is essentially a hard reset for the Call of Duty cycle, leaving some fans concerned that Activision will discontinue this practice of allowing players to transfer their Points.

Despite the worry, Warzone 2 - and Modern Warfare 2 alongside it - will indeed allow players to transfer their CoD Points from earlier games. This serves as good news for players who collected the CoD Points from Warzone 1's Season 5 battle pass,...

Guided by Voices is famous for their three-hour-plus shows, and — to fuel said shows — they need a near-endless discography. That’s why, just a few months after the arrival of their first album of 2022, Crystal Nun Cathedral, they’re announcing Tremblers and Goggles by Rank, out July 1 via frontman Robert Pollard’s own Rockathon Records.

The band heralded the news with the release of the hard-rocking single “Unproductive Funk,” featuring one of Pollard’s airplane-theme collages — an homage to the much-loved U.S. Air Force museum in his native Dayton,...

Exclusive: The feature take of Steve Stoliar’s memoir Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho’s House is finally moving forward, with Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush set to play comedy legend Groucho Marx and Oscar nominee Oren Moverman directing off a screenplay he co-wrote with Stoliar.

Sienna Miller and Moonfall and All the Money in the World actor Charlie Plummer will also star in the Cold Iron Pictures project, which is produced by CEO Miranda Bailey and Moverman.

Set between 1973-1977, Raised Eyebrows follows Steve (Plummer) as he enters Groucho Marx’s house for his dream job of working for the aging, frail comedian, under the watchful eye of Erin Fleming (Miller), who had taken over the Marx brother’s personal and professional life. Marx and Fleming had a controversial relationship in his twilight years, she his devoted girlfriend-turned-manager. The power struggles result in a comedy of horrors in which obsession,...

Buenos Aires-based sales agency Meikincine has acquired the international rights to “Sublime,” the first feature film from Argentine director Mariano Biasin,

A coming-of-age drama, the title screened at Buenos Aires’ Cinemark Puerto Madero cinema to sales agents, fest heads and buyers on Tuesday. It did so as part of Ventana Sur’s Copia Final pix-in-post section, hitting the market as one of its buzz titles, rated as one of the strand’s productions with most commercial potential.

Struck between producer Juan Pablo Miller at Tarea Films and Meikincine’s Lucia and Julia Meik, the deal reps one of the first known sales pacts stick on-site at this year’s Ventana Sur, the biggest film-tv market in Latin America.

“Sublime” follows Manuel, 16, as he struggles with desire, tangled relationships and a coalescing identity in a coastal Argentinian town. Anchored by a soundtrack played out on screen by Manuel’s band, the...

Move over, Clint Eastwood — the 91-year-old “Cry Macho” director isn’t the only nonagenarian American director intent on staying busy. At the age of 94, filmmaker Jerry Schatzberg hasn’t directed a movie since 2000’s “The Day the Ponies Come Back,” but still feels like he could make his swan song. “I’ve recently decided I’d really like to do one more film,” the New York-based director said in a phone interview with IndieWire last week, sounding a bit raspy but energized nonetheless. “I don’t know what it is yet.”

He added that he recently heard an interview on Wnyc with author Atticus Lish about his novel “The War for Gloria.” Curious, Schatzberg sought out the book and has been thinking about it adapting it. “Most of my friends can’t believe I’m the age I am because I don’t act it,” Schatzberg said. “I don’t really think about it.

Exclusive: Oscar winner Ben Kingsley, 2x Emmy winner Jane Curtin, Harriet Harris and Zoë Winters are starring in the Marc Turtletaub directed Big Beach production Jules, Deadline can report first. Production is already underway in New Jersey on the pic.

The pic, written by Gavin Steckler (Comedy Central’s Review), is about an unusual and unexpected visitor who brings together several people living in a small city in rural Western Pennsylvania.

Turtletaub, who is also the head of Big Beach, is known for his directorial work on the film Puzzle in addition to his producing and executive producing credits which include the Independent Spirit Award-winning film The Farewell starring Awkwafina, the Oscar nominated Tom Hanks Sony feature A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the Oscar nominated Jeff Nichols movie Loving starring Ruth Negga, and 2x Oscar winning movie Little Miss Sunshine. Big Beach next has Ry Russo Young’s docuseries...

When Yugi Muto assembles the Millennium Puzzle, he makes a wish without really thinking it would pass. He wishes for friends that'd be loyal to him and to whom he could reciprocate. His plea comes true in the form of Joey, Tristan, and Tea, and the four of them live exciting and dangerous adventures throughout the anime.

Related: Yu-Gi-Oh!: Joey's Most Wholesome Moments

Friendship plays a crucial role in Yu-Gi-Oh! Time and again, Yugi risks his life for his friends, who also prove they are willing to sacrifice everything for the spiky-haired duelist. The show does go a bit overboard with the importance of friendship, providing ample material for numerous and hilarious memes.

Created by Kazuki Takahashi in 1996, Yu-Gi-Oh! remains one of the most popular manga and anime series ever created. No matter the medium, the story traces the heroic exploits of Yugi Mutou (Dan Green), a young boy on a dangerous quest to solve the age-old Millennium Puzzle with his closest friends and allies.

Related: 10 Best Yu-Gi-Oh Games!

=Along the way, Yugi channels a dormant gambling spirit in his body that allows him to conquer a series of challenging games, puzzles, and riddles while defeating his biggest enemies. Yu-Gi-Oh! has a large cast of main characters, many of which bear traditional Japanese surnames of specific origin and meaning.

Amazon Prime Video France has unveiled a slate of originals, including Cedric Klapisch’s “Greek Salad” — a series sequel to the “L’Auberge Espanole” trilogy — Melanie Laurent’s “Le Bal des Folles,” as well as live sports such as the tennis tournament Roland Garros, and adaptations of popular unscripted formats such as “Lol” and “Celebrity Hunted.” All titles will roll out on the streaming service later this year.

The programs were presented during a virtual press conference on Monday hosted by Georgia Brown, director of European Originals; Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios; Thomas Dubois, head of French Amazon Originals at Amazon Studios, Isabelle Bertrand, head of content for Amazon Prime Video France; and Alex Green, managing director of sport at Amazon Prime Video.

“Greek Salad” will be set in Athens, Greece, and follow the children of Xavier and Wendy, who were played by Romain Duris and Kelly Reilly, respectively,...

Puzzle Box Horror has released the “Atlas of Lore #1 Oregon” edition. This book includes Oregon’s most terrifying supernatural folklore, original short stories inspired by the legends, a 6 page comic by artist Felipe Kroll about the haunted White Eagle Saloon and hotel, and a release of H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Nameless City.” The book is …

The post Puzzle Box Horror – “Atlas of Lore #1 Oregon,” Released appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Warning: This recap contains major spoilers for A Million Little Things‘ Season 3 premiere.

After a long and agonizing wait, A Million Little Things fans on Thursday got the answer to the question that’s been lying there, bleeding on the pavement since March:

More from TVLineSupernatural's Killer Revival Puzzle? Undoing Low on Spirits? Fresh Prince Star Mia for Og Aunt Viv? And More QsA Million Little Things Premiere Burning Q: Who Do You Think Hit Eddie?A Million Little Things' David Giuntoli Breaks Down Eddie's 'Karmic Justice'

Did that hit-and-run in the Season 2 finale kill Eddie?

Thankfully, the answer is no.

Dean and Sam are crossing off some items on their respective bucket lists in Supernatural‘s series finale — but first, they’re paying tribute to their dearly departed friends, Cas and Jack.

In the above sneak from tonight’s series ender, Dean is excited to finally fulfil his destiny at Pie Fest, but his brother has “sad Sam face,” he notes. Sam admits that he’s thinking about Cas and Jack, and wishing that they could be there with them.

More from TVLineSupernatural's Killer Revival Puzzle? Undoing Low on Spirits? Fresh Prince Star Mia for Og Aunt Viv? And More...

Milan Records today releases Ammonite (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) with music by Dustin O’Halloran and Volker Bertelmann. Available everywhere now, the album features music written by the duo for director Francis Lee’s critically-acclaimed film starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. Continuing a fruitful creative partnership, the nine-track album features music co-composed by O’Halloran and Bertelmann, who previously teamed on the Academy® Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe® Award-nominated score for 2016’s Lion, A Christmas Carol and more.

Following its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Neon opened the film in select theaters on November 13.

Please watch the film safely in theatres, but don’t worry if not, it comes out digitally in the US December 4th. I hope you and your loved ones are well pic.twitter.com/ewWAVAuoNx

— Francis Lee (@strawhousefilms) November 13, 2020

Of the soundtrack, composers O’Halloran and Bertelmann say,

“Writing music for Ammonite...

María Elena Wood, producer of Turner’s “Mary & Mike,” Joyn’s “Dignity” and now “News of a Kidnapping” for Amazon Studios, is re-launching her own production house, María Wood Producciones.

Shaping up already as a key Latin American production partner for top high-end fiction producers in Europe and the U.S., Maria Wood Producciones will focus, as in past series produced by Wood, on premium scripted drama of substance, with a social or political underbelly and frequent recourse to creative film talent.

“It’s what we’ve always done and know how to do,” Wood told Variety in the run-up to Mipcom. In contrast to the past, however, she said that “rather than talk about villains, despicable people,” Maria Wood Producciones will “cherry pick more luminous, happier content which talks about how we are today.”

First up on Maria Wood Producciones’ slate is “Mujeres Grandes” (Big Women), an original half-hour...

Everyone loves a good puzzle. And now, more than every, America is looking for ways to stave off boredom. So it is with great pleasure that Mondo has announced their exciting new Puzzle Party lineup featuring 8 pop culture titles that are sure to captivate and excite movie fans worldwide.

Mondo, producers of some of the most sought after collectible posters in the world, is thrilled to now offer fans a second chance at owning some of their favorites in the form of premium 1000-piece puzzles. Mondo's new "Puzzle Party" collection, 8 brand new&#160puzzles featuring artist-created posters, are available for pre-order now at MondoShop.com along with Mondo's&#160previous selection of puzzles which are available for immediate shipping.

"Puzzle Party" Lineup&#8226 Captain America: The First Avenger / art by&#160Rory Kurtz&#8226&#160Die Hard / art by 100% Soft&#8226 Dungeons & Dragons / featuring iconic art from the D&d archives&#8226&#160G.I. Joe: Cobra Wants You!

With almost no sports left to watch on TV, “Wheel of Fortune” is starting to feel like an extreme sport.

Fans were beside themselves over one mind-bogglingly quick puzzle solve by a contestant on Thursday’s show, who guessed an entire phrase with only one letter on the board.

Contestant Mark Franco, an avid outdoorsman from Brentwood, Calif., correctly guessed the answer “I’M Having A Ball.”

Also Read: 'Wheel of Fortune': Twitter Users Have Field Day With Naughty-Sounding Puzzle Involving 'Italian Sausage'

Just a split second before, the puzzle had read “_ ‘ _ – _ _ _ _ _ G – _ – _ _ _ _”.

Fans couldn’t believe how quick he did it.

“What in the hell is this sorcery,” was one fan’s response on Twitter.

“Quarantine day… whatever… no sports, and I just got way too hyped when a dude just guessed an entire puzzle with One Letter On The Board” wrote another.

Also Read: Watch Andy Richter...

Andrew Heckler has been spreading the same message for two decades. When the first-time filmmaker debuted his real-life drama “Burden” at Sundance in 2018, he teared up as he told a packed house what he hoped they would get out of it. “You can never turn an enemy into a friend through hate, you can only turn an enemy into a friend through love,” Heckler said, recalling the moment in a recent interview with IndieWire. “This is a real story about real people who had every reason not to do this, but they stuck through it, and the end is real love and real friendship and real understanding.”

The film was greeted with a five-minute standing ovation, but it would take two long years for “Burden” to find its way to theaters.

A fact-based drama about former Kkk member Mike Burden (Garrett Hedlund), “Burden” follows the story of what happened after...

“It’s a whole different world,” says costume designer Sonu Mishra, comparing the challenges of “Genius” season one to her work on season two. The second season of NatGeo’s anthology series stars Antonio Banderas as Spanish surrealist painter Pablo Picasso. It follows last year’s installment of the series, which focused on theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (Geoffrey Rush). Season one was about “the scientific world,” which made it “very restricted in a way for costumes,” but season two is set in “the bohemian world, where it’s all very much invented fashions.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Mishra above.

See Antonio Banderas (‘Genius: Picasso’) explains why he was ‘afraid’ to play the famed Spanish artist [Watch]

While living in Spain, Picasso opposes the regime of Francisco Franco, the violent dictator who ruled the country from 1939 until his death in 1975. So Mishra’s designs started with “very dark colors” to...

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, announces Golden Globe nominated actress, Mila Kunis, as the recipient of its 2018 Woman of the Year Award.

The Pudding is excited to honor a talented actress, whose career has taken her from television to film and now to producing as well.

The Woman of the Year Award is the Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ oldest honor, bestowed annually on performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment. Established in 1951, the Woman of the Year Award has been given to many notable and talented entertainers, including Meryl Streep, Debbie Reynolds, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson, and most recently Octavia Spencer.

The Woman of the Year festivities will begin at 2:45p.m. on January 25th, 2018, when Ms Kunis will lead a parade through the streets of Cambridge. Following the parade, the Hasty Pudding Theatricals will host a celebratory roast for the actress.

Corsan boss accused of swindling, forgery, tax breaches and money laundering.

Belgian film financier Paul Breuls, founder of Corsan, has been arrested as investigations continue into allegations of fraud against his company.

The 66-year-old Monaco-based producer is currently being detained by authorities in Antwerp, Belgium, facing criminal prosecution as well as civil action.

Belgain tax shelter specialists Corsan co-financed such films as Lee Tamahori’s The Devil’s Double, Killing Season starring John Travolta and Robert De Niro, and Paul Haggis’s Third Person, which starred Liam Neeson.

The company is also behind Tamahori’s yet to be released adventure epic Emperor, starring Adrien Brody.

A spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Antwerp confirmed to Screen that Breuls has been held in detention in Antwerp since June 21 because he is considered a flight risk.

He stands accused of swindling, forgery, tax breaches and money laundering, whether through Corsan or affiliated companies.

“In general...

When you see celebrities swanning down the red carpet or posing for some surreal, high fashion glossy editorials, it can be easy to forget that these picture perfect people are in fact just that, people. Just like the rest of us, the A-list still has to wake up every day and feed themselves (albeit often with the help of personal chefs), get dressed (again most of the time with the aid of a stylist), and put their shoes on one foot at a time all by themselves. Well, unless you happen to be Liam Neeson, that is, in which case...

Emperor backer recently lost protection from its creditors.

Monaco-based Paul Breuls, founder and CEO of sales and finance outfit Corsan, has denied that the troubled Belgian company is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

This week, the Emperor, Killing Season and Third Person backer, lost protection from its creditors having previously been safeguarded through local law. On Monday, the commercial court in Antwerp concluded that the arrangement should be terminated immediately, citing the company’s restructuring plans as “neither clear nor credible”.

Speaking to Screen, Breuls has revealed that his lawyers are appealing the court decision and claims that Corsan can avoid bankruptcy. During the appeal process, he expects Corsan to be able to trade as normal and the protection from the company’s creditors to be re-instated.

Corsan asked for protection from its creditors in June. The company’s troubles reportedly stem from investors not having received the promised tax certificates for the money they have...

Belgian financier of films including Third Person and Killing Season filed for protection from its creditors last month.

Antwerp-based financier, tax shelter specialist and production outfit Corsan has issued a press release expressing optimism about its ability to continue in business, after recently being granted legal protection from its creditors until October 31.

Silence and Third Person backer Corsan asked for protection from its creditors (who include Haacht Brewery) last month and the company is attemping to work out a restructuring plan with them.

The company’s troubles reportedly stem from investors not having received the promised tax certificates for the money they have invested in at least one of Corsan’s films.

Corsan claims in the recently issued press release, quoted in Flanders News, that the delay is due to the tax authorities not issuing the correct certificate in time.

Corsan boss Paul Breuls points out that the company has three international projects in the pipeline and that...

Producer Migde Velazquez has been appointed Us representative and head of international operations to Rome’s Cinecittà Studios in Los Angeles.

Velazquez will be tasked with Us and international sales of Cinecittà’s locations and production services as the iconic studio seeks to expand its profile in the Us.

She will also advise on European production strategies and tax credits.

Velazquez reports to Cinecittà Studios CEO Giuseppe Basso and will work closely with Apa’s Matt Birch, who has represented Cinecittà Studios in the Us for more than six years.

With more than 15 years of physical production experience, including 10 years as a line producer in the Us and Europe for American and UK productions, Velazquez’s credits include Third Person and Le Grand Tour (previously Top Gear) for Amazon.

“It is very important for us to have someone in the U.S. who can meet with our customers in advance to discuss their projects and guarantee that we...

Exclusive: Moran Atias, who stars on the FX series Tyrant which premiered its third season last night, has signed with Paradigm. On Tyrant, Atias plays Leila, the smart and sometimes scheming wife of Abbudin president Jamal Al-Fayeed. The series, from Gideon Raff and Howard Gordon, will air 10 episodes this season. Her credits also include Third Person, directed by Paul Haggis, whom she worked with on his Crash drama series based on the Oscar Best Picture winner. She…...

Today is Liam Neeson's birthday, meaning there is no better time to celebrate our favourite Irish actor.

Let's face it, the man is capable of anything. He trained Batman in Batman Begins, saved over 1000 people from the concentration camps in Schindler's List, and he has a very particular set of skills that let him save his daughter in Taken.

On this, his 64th birthday, we are counting down five reasons why we love Liam Neeson.

1. Olivia Wilde ties his shoes

Other than her partner Jason Sudeikis, we bet no other man is getting their shoes tied by Olivia Wilde. This photo which was likely taken while Neeson and Wilde were filming Third Person is truly adorable. Although the film never saw the light of day, at least we have this wonderful treasure from it.

 ...

Coming off of a triple Oscar win with Ex Machina, Room, and Amy, as well as a successful wide release of The Witch, A24 is easily the biggest success story when it comes to new independent distributors. Next month they’ll release Pamela Romanowsky’s The Adderall Diaries, a drama which premiered at Tribeca last year and features James Franco, Amber Heard, Ed Harris, Christian Slater, and Cynthia Nixon. Ahead of the release, we now have the first trailer for the drama.

We said in our review, “Style trumps substance in writer-director Pamela Romanowsky’s The Adderall Diaries, a pet project involving Franco that perhaps seems to write the wrongs of his previous bomb about the writing process, Third Person. Inspired by a memoir from the real Stephen Elliott, his process here is a tortured one as he blames his father for his addictions in this cinematic equivalent of a Staind song.

Here’s a solution for the indecisive moviegoers. Not sure if you’re in the mood for a drama or comedy or a thriller? Well, how about an anthology? It’s like a good short story collection, or you could call this type of flick a movie buffet or a cinema smorgasbord. Most of the time, these films, in their earlier incarnations, center around a setting (Grand Hotel), a gathering (Dinner At Eight), or an incident (the big cash winners in If I Had A Million). There are animation anthologies (the most famous may be Fantasia or Allegro Non Tropo) and musicals (Invitation To The Dance). The most prolific type may be those in the horror genre, beginning with 1945’s landmark Dead Of Night. In the 60’s and 70’s, Amicus Studios made their mark with Torture Garden and The House That Dripped Blood along with the EC Comics-inspired Tales From The Crypt...

They say that the month of March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Traditionally, March was an unconventional month to release huge tentpole movies, but that all changed a few years ago when The Hunger Games took in $152.5 million in its opening weekend, proving that this month could be used to launch huge blockbuster franchises. To get you prepared for the month ahead, we're breaking down the five movies we're most looking forward to this March, along with an indie honorable mention. Here are the best movies awaiting you in the weeks ahead!

1Chappie - March 6

South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp returns with his third feature film Chappie, following Best Picture nominee District 9 and the sci-fi tentpole Elysium. The filmmaker goes back to his South African roots with Chappie, which centers on the title robot (voiced by Sharlto Copley), who is the first android...

Chicago – “Jupiter Ascending” is certainly one of the oddest and densest of sci-fi movies, this side of “Dune,” and has some of the most laughable acting and dialogue seen in a major film in awhile. But the worst offense is that the film is dull, and practically without emotion or human empathy.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

There is one major current Oscar nominee is in the film – Eddie Redmayne – and fellow cast member Channing Tatum is also in the Best Picture nominated “Foxcatcher.” There might be a “Norbit Effect” (the horrible film starring Eddie Murphy, that was released the month he was favored to win Best Supporting Actor for “Dreamgirls,” which has been attributed to his loss of the trophy) for Redmayne, as the character “Balem Abrasax,” which nicely can be described as an “eccentric performance.” Not that anybody else survives the wooden script by Andy and Lana Wachowski (the “Matrix” series), and...

Chicago – One of the specialities of HollywoodChicago.com is the film and personality interview. The majority of these chats came through me, Patrick McDonald, and I couldn’t narrow it down to a top 10 or even a top 20. For 2014, there were 25 top interviews, and it is a diverse range of voices.

It is a privilege to get the opportunity to participate in the promotional tours, awards ceremonies, film festivals, book appearances, phoners and other lucky happenstances that feature the notable among us. To whittle down the list, I mostly thought about what was said in these interviews, whether inspirational or provocative – plus the status of the participants, whether they are up-and-coming or established.

The interview highlights are broken down by “Background and Behind-the-Scenes” and the “Memorable Quote” associated with each subject, and are often accompanied with exclusive photography by Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com. Four notables who just missed the...

The Wall Street Journal reports “overall North American box-office receipts and attendance for 2014 declined more than 5% to $10.35 billion from $10.92 billion in 2013, according to box-office tracker Rentrak Corp. – the worst results since 2011.”

Kicking off 2015 with “Best of” lists and awards season on the minds of many Cinephiles, we offer our look back at the worst of 2014. Some awful, some horrendous, we were disappointed and flummoxed by some of the movies Tinseltown released into theaters (and on moviegoers) over the past 12 months.

As we shake our Wamg heads over the biggest letdowns, here we go with our Top 10 list of the Worst Films of 2014.

Dishonorable Mention: Horns

In Horns Daniel Radcliffe played a grieving young man who inexplicably grows horns from his forehead after the community he lives in finds him culpable for the death and murder of his girlfriend. Horns was a mishmash of genres that never quite fit together; crime drama,...

Liam Neeson is attached to star in a remake of The Escapist, the 2009 film that served as the directorial debut of Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Gambler). Sean O'Keefe is writing the screenplay, but no director is attached at this time. It isn't known when production may begin on the StudioCanal action thriller.

The original film The Escapist starred Brian Cox as a convict serving a life sentence, who recruits his fellow inmates to stage a prison break, so he can visit his ailing daughter. Damian Lewis, Joseph Fiennes, Liam Cunningham, Dominic Cooper and Steven Mackintosh rounded out the supporting cast in The Escapist, which helped pave the way for Rupert Wyatt to direct Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Actor Brian Cox revealed to us in a 2011 interview that he was so impressed with Rupert Wyatt's work in The Escapist, that he...

Italian Film of the Year goes to Marco Martone’s Leopardi.

The Imitation Game picked up Best Picture and a Best Director award for Morten Tyldum at the 19th Capri Hollywood International Film Festival, which wrapped in Italy on Friday (Jan 2).

Other awards went to TimothySpall for Mr. Turner while Jennifer Aniston and Amy Adams tied as Best Female Actors for Cake and Big Eyes respectively.

Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood) and Gugu Mbarta Raw (Beyond the Lights) were selected as Rising Stars and Ida was named Best Foreign Film.

The Italian American Icon Award was presented to director David O. Russell and the Lifetime Achievement Award went to English actress Brenda Blethyn.

The event, which incorporates a slightly bewildering array of prizes, was presented under the auspices of the Capri in the World Institute which is chaired by Italian director Lina Wertmuller and Indian director Shekhar Kapur. The festival is produced by Pascal Vicedomini.

“The board of...

The 19th annual Capri, Hollywood International Film Festival wrapped today off the Italian coast with an awards ceremony that saw the Weinstein Company’s The Imitation Game win Best Picture and its Morten Tyldum scooping Best Director. Other honors were scattered among numerous awards-season contenders including Best Actor Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner) and a tie between Jennifer Aniston (Cake) and Amy Adams (Big Eyes) for Best Actress. Birdman and Boyhood also picked up trophies — for the Visionary Award and Family Awards, respectfully — and Disney’s Big Hero 6 drew the Animated Movie of the Year prize.

“This year, Capri, Hollywood was able to present the best of this cinematic season, many of which are contenders for year-end honors including the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards. thanks to a number of the world’s ‘majors’ that trust our work and are willing to premiere their movies at our festival,...

When it comes to cultural impact, mega-sales and drama, this year’s Best Original Song category at the Academy Awards is going to have an awfully difficult time competing with last year’s category.

The 2013 winner, you might remember, was “Let It Go,” the anthem from “Frozen” that became a hit around the world and spawned a zillion amateur YouTube renditions.

See photos: 15 Movies You Already Forgot About: TheWrap’s Best & Worst 2014 (Photos)

And “Let It Go” was joined as a nominee by another song that was so ubiquitous that most sentient human beings got sick of hearing it before the Oscars – Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,...

Three hundred twenty-three feature films are eligible for the 2014 Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.

To be eligible for 87th Academy Awards consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.

Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format.

Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category. The “Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 87th Academy Awards” is available at http://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced that 114 scores...

Bye bye baby weight! Mila Kunis made her first talk show appearance since giving birth to daughter Wyatt Kutcher on Oct. 1, stopping by "The Late Late Show" to talk about life as a new mom."Anything going on in your life?" Craig Ferguson joked. "You know, a couple things," Kunis said with a laugh.The "Third Person" star went on to talk about nine week old Wyatt. When the late night host admitted the "girls are easy," Mila agreed, saying, "I think so.""Until they're teenagers," Craig clarified. "That's not my problem! That's daddy's problem!" Mila declared, referring to fiance Ashton Kutcher, of course."My sister-in-law had a little boy two weeks prior to us having our little girl and it is completely different. Everything," she added.Ferguson also commented on Mila's post-baby bod, which she flaunted in a Lbd with side cut-outs that showed off her toned abs."Breastfeeding's a great workout!

Look who's got that new mom glow! Mila Kunis made her first talk show appearance since giving birth to daughter Wyatt Kutcher on Oct. 1. The Third Person star stopped by CBS' The Late Late Show to chat with Craig Ferguson about what's new since they last saw each other. "Anything going on in your life?" the comedian, 52, asked the actress, 31. "You know, a couple things," Kunis said with a laugh. The movie star said her little girl is "nine weeks" old. Though Wyatt's not running around—she is an infant, after all—she's fairly energetic. "She's not lethargic," Mila assured the TV host. "She moves!" Craig said he thinks...

Just over one month after Gal Gadot backed out of MGM's Ben-Hur, the studio has brought on Homeland star Nazanin Boniadi as the female lead. Gal Gadot entered talks to play Esther, a female slave who falls for Jack Huston's title character, in mid-October. She was forced to bow out just a few weeks later, citing conflicts with her schedule on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, where she plays Wonder Woman.

Nazanin Boniadi joins a cast that also includes Toby Kebbell as Messalla, Ben-Hur's former friend who sells him into slavery, and Morgan Freeman, who mentors the title character and teaches him to become a champion chariot racer. Deadline reports the actress beat out a number of candidates for the role. Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) was the runner-up to land the part, with other contenders including Moran Atias (Third Person) and Natalia Warner (The Double...

From D Films, Sneak Peek footage from writer/director Paul Haggis' latest dramatic feature "Third Person", starring Adrien Brody, Kim Basinger, Liam Neeson, James Franco, Loan Chabanol, Mila Kunis, Olivia Wilde, Moran Atias and Maria Bello, available on on DVD, Blu-Ray, VOD and Est, December 2, 2014:

"...the film tells three stories of love, passion, trust and betrayal, in a multi-strand story line. Tales play out in New York, Paris and Rome: three couples who appear to have nothing related but share deep commonalities: lovers and estranged spouses, children lost and found.

"'Michael' (Neeson) is a Pulitzer Prize winning fiction author who has holed himself up in a hotel suite in Paris to finish his latest book. He recently left his wife, 'Elaine' (Basinger), and is having a tempestuous affair with 'Anna' (Wilde), an ambitious young journalist who wants to write and publish fiction.

"At the same time, 'Scott' (Brody), a shady American businessman,...

Director: Paul Haggis; Screenwriter: Paul Haggis; Starring: Liam Neeson, Mila Kunis, Adrien Brody, Olivia Wilde, James Franco, Maria Bello, Kim Basinger; Running time: 137 mins; Certificate: 15

An intricately constructed tale of three interwoven stories spanning three cities, Third Person suffers from a script that fails to hook you in during its opening section and drags on without sufficient emotional connection for 137 minutes. There are sporadic moments when the movie sparks into life, particularly in two-hander scenes featuring blistering dialogue and stark revelations. Yet these standalone scenes aren't sufficient to salvage the movie as a whole.

Liam Neeson and Olivia Wilde excel in their respective roles as an experienced writer and his lover (an aspiring writer) who can't form a secure bond due to psychological baggage. Their romantic intrigue is laced with sexual tension and played out particularly well, with the self-conscious dialogue managing the rare feat of working well because of these characters' literary background.

Catherine Shoard and Peter Bradshaw join Xan Brooks for our weekly round-up of the big cinema releases. This week the team watch Benedict Cumberbatch have a crack at the best actor Oscar as he plays Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game; while director Steve James salutes the late, great Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert in the documentary Life Itself; Tom Hardy follows a puppy into a dog's dinner in New York mob-noir The Drop; and Liam Neeson heads up a whole host of embarrassment in Paul Haggis's posh-but-shonky drama Third Person.

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Blu-ray Review

Jersey Boys

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Cast: Vincent Piazza, John Lloyd Young, Johnny Cannizzaro, Michael Lomenda

Running Time: 2 hrs 14 mins

Rating: R

Due Out: November 11, 2014

Own “Jersey Boys” on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital HD on 11/11

Plot: (courtesy Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) “Jersey Boys” tells the story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons. The story of their trials and triumphs are accompanied by the songs that influenced a generation, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Dawn,” “Rag Doll,” “Bye Bye Baby,” “Who Loves You,” and many more.

These classic hits are now being embraced by a new generation of fans through the stage musical, which has been running on Broadway for more than eight years and has also enjoyed successful tours around the globe.

November 7, 2014

Interstellar

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway

Running time: 166 mins

Certificate: 12A

November Man

Director: Roger Donaldson

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey

Running time: 108 mins

Certificate: 15

Say When

Director: Lynn Shelton

Starring: Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz

Running time: 99 mins

Certificate: 15

Set Fire to the Stars

Director: Andy Goddard

Starring: Elijah Wood, Celyn Jones

Running time: 97 mins

Certificate: 15

The Skeleton Twins

Director: Craig Johnson

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader

Running time: 93 mins

Certificate: 15

November 14, 2014

The Drop

Director: Michaël R. Roskam

Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace

Running time: 106 mins

Certificate: 15

The Imitation Game

Director: Morten Tyldum

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley

Running time: 114 mins

Certificate: 12A

Life Itself

Director: Steve James

Starring: Roger Ebert, Martin Scorsese

Running time: 121 mins

Certificate: 15

Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey

Director: Debbie Issit

Starring: Adam Garcia, Catherine Tate

Running time: 105 mins

Certificate: U

Third Person

Director: Paul Haggis

Starring: Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde...

Luke Evans, Olivia Wilde, Armie Hammer, Cillian Murphy and Michael Smiley have signed on to star in Free Fire, the latest from British filmmaker Ben Wheatley (Sightseers, A Field in England).

The story is set in 1978 Boston, following a woman named Justine (Olivia Wilde) who has set up a meeting between two Irishmen (Cillian Murphy and Michael Smiley) and a gang lead by Luke Evans and Armie Hammer for an arms deal. When shots are fired before the deal is made, the meeting turns into a deadly game of survival.

Here's what director Ben Wheatley had to say about Free Fire in a statement.

"The idea for Free Fire came from my love of hard-boiled crime movies; from The Asphalt Jungle, The Big Sleep, The Killing and 'The Big Combo' through The Driver, Le Samourai and The French Connection, to the modern cycle of Goodfellas, Goodfellas, Hard Boiled and Reservoir Dogs.