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The Creep Tapes not only marks the return of the Creep movies' titular serial killer but also adds new characters to the mix who serve as catalysts for exploring the franchise's comically unsettling world and stories. Made on a shoestring budget of $500, the first Creep movie garnered immense critical acclaim after its release in 2014 and still boasts an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 91%. For obvious reasons, the movie's success spawned a sequel, which premiered in 2017. Unlike most sequels, Creep 2 performed even better than its predecessor, boasting a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Although Creep 3 was reportedly in development after the second movie's success, creative challenges held its filmmakers back from bringing it to life. However, instead of creating Creep 3, they have now made a spin-off/prequel miniseries, which unfolds partly as an anthology. With each new episode, it shows how the franchise's central killer targets and murders new victims.

"On an island everything is complete..." There's a little film playing on the festival circuit this fall (including at AFI Fest) that quietly sneaks its way into the hearts of anyone who watches it. This lovely story set on a Finnish island is the kind of wholesome, healing work of art that can provide real comfort to viewers of any age. The Summer Book is the latest feature film from American filmmaker Charlie McDowell, director of the films The One I Love, The Discovery, and Windfall before this. It's rare to come across a film that is so peaceful and sublime, never grating or meandering, so deeply in love with the magnificence of life on this planet. It's cliche to say, but it's absolutely true for this film – it feels like a really warm, nourishing hug of a film from a grandma that loves you dearly no matter what shenanigans one might get into.

Michael Stipe performed at a Harris-Walz get-out-the-vote rally in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday attended by Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (Mn) and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. He performed R.E.M.’s “Driver 8” from the band’s third album, 1985’s Fables of the Reconstruction.

“Thank you for being here, and thank you all for voting or getting ready to vote,” Stipe said as video footage showed from the event. “I want to encourage everyone in Georgia, because we know what it means. We’ve been here before. We know what...

R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe has mostly avoided the spotlight in recent years, but Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has temporarily changed that. On Thursday night (October 10th), he performed at his second rally in as many weeks, this time at R.E.M.’s former home base of Athens, Georgia.

During his four-song set, Stipe was backed by Now It’s Overhead’s Andy LeMaster and Mercyland’s David Barbe. After kicking it off by performing R.E.M.’s 1985 song “Wendell Gee” for the first time in 39 years, Stipe played his solo track “Your Capricious Soul,” his Big Red Machine collaboration “No Time for Love Like Now,” and revisited “Driver 8.”

Watch Stipe’s performances of “Wendell Gee” and “Driver 8” below.

Last Friday, Stipe teamed up with Jason Isbell at a rally in Pittsburgh, during which he broke out “Driver 8” for the first time since 2008. During the brief set,...

Michael Stipe and Jason Isbell teamed up for a four-song set at a campaign rally in support of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in Pittsburgh on Friday night.

The performance kicked off with Stipe revisiting R.E.M.’s “The One I Love,” before the two sang Isbell’s songs “Traveling Alone” and “Hope the High Road.” They then closed out their mini-set with a rendition of R.E.M.’s “Driver 8.”

The duo were introduced by Harris’ husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. “So honored and just geeking out, nerding out and geeking out that I’m about to introduce Michael Stipe and Jason Isbell,” he said.

As for Stipe, it marked a rare live public performance for the former R.E.M. frontman. He most recently sang live at the Songwriters Hall of Fame event back in June, where he reunited with his former bandmates for a performance of “Losing My Religion.” During Friday’s rally,...

Jason Isbell and Michael Stipe — in his first public live appearance in five years — performed a set of music together Friday at a Pittsburgh fundraiser for the Harris-Walz campaign, with the duo playing R.E.M. songs that Stipe hadn’t sung since before the band’s breakup.

The singers were introduced by Second Gentleman and noted music fan Doug Emhoff, who welcomed the pair to the Schenley Plaza stage. “So honored and just geeking out, nerding out and geeking out that I’m about to introduce Michael Stipe and Jason Isbell,...

TV giant Fremantle has acquired the worldwide rights to “Penelope,” the coming-of-age indie drama produced by Duplass Brothers Productions

Created by Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn, the 8-part series premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and is set to launch on Netflix in the U.S. on Sep. 24.

The series follows Penelope, played by Megan Stott, a 16-year-old who feels out of place in modern society and is drawn into the unknown wilderness, where she begins to form a new life for herself in a National Forest.

Alongside Stott, the cast also includes Austin Abrams, Krisha Fairchild and Rhenzy Feliz.

“It is an honour to be partnering with the esteemed Duplass Brothers to introduce ‘Penelope’ to the world. This premium, coming-of-age series has strong emotional heart and beautiful production values, all whilst addressing important, timely and relatable issues that consume our everyday lives” said Rebecca Dundon, senior vice president of scripted content for international Fremantle.

Underrated psychological thrillers from the 2010s showcased diverse storytelling and complex themes, deserving rediscovery. The power of psychological thrillers lies in intrigue, suspense, and clever writing, seen in lesser-known gems like The Invitation. Films like The One I Love and Nightcrawler explore complex human emotions and societal norms through dark and thought-provoking narratives.

The 2010s were a great decade for movies filled with plenty of incredibly underappreciated psychological thrillers. While heavy hitters like Gone Girl, Prisoners, and Shutter Island have dominated the conversation around this genre during that time, this completely ignored some amazing lesser-known triumphs from the 2010s. As a period that encouraged diverse storytelling and was just at the beginning of the streaming revolution, plenty of amazing psychological thrillers flew under the radar during this time and deserved to be rediscovered by new viewers.

The greatest psychological thrillers were categorized by intrigue, suspense, and clever writing, and the...

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance has a total of two new endings. Combine those with the four endings in the Canon of Creation, and you have quite a few possibilities for where your story can go by the end of the game. If you choose not to take the girl's hand at the beginning of the game, you'll end up on the Canon of Creation path. In order to unlock the Canon of Vengeance path, choose to take her hand to play the newly-added story and endings.

Not only does this Jrpg live up to its pre-release hype, but the new endings introduced in Vengeance add depth and allure for fans of the base game. By allowing players to choose their path, fans of the original game can re-live everything they enjoyed about Shin Megami Tensei 5 while fans looking for more have some new content to sink their teeth into.

A week of welcome R.E.M. reunions — which began with their first interview together in nearly 30 years and followed by a surprise performance at the Songwriters Hall of Fame — continued Saturday with a new playlist curated by the band highlighting their favorite R.E.M. songs.

“The R.E.M. Top 40 — according to the guys themselves — is out now wherever you stream music!” the band’s social media said Saturday. “Michael’s are #1-10, Peter’s 11-20, Mike’s 21-30, & Bill’s 31-40.”

The R.E.M. Top 40 — according to the...

Romantic comedies typically rely on familiar tropes like meet-cutes, grand gestures, and the warm satisfaction of happily ever afters. But what if the journey to love wasn't paved with roses, but with a twisted blend of confusion, dark humor, and a whole lot of "what the heck?" That's what Charlie McDowell explores in his directorial debut, the mind-bending 2014 romantic thriller The One I Love. The acclaimed feature defies categorization it crisscrosses genres with hints of romance, comedy, surrealism, and drama.

Black Bear’s management arm has signed Swedish creator, writer and showrunner Oskar Söderlund for international representation.

Söderlund is best known for creating the Swedish crime thriller, “Snabba Cash,” which was a hit series for Netflix. He was recently tapped to write and showrun a television adaptation of the John Le Carré spy novel “A Most Wanted Man” from production companies The Ink Factory, founded by Le Carré’s sons Stephen and Simon Cornwell, and Amusement Park, which produced “All Quiet on the Western Front.”

Söderlund currently serves as the head writer on TV4’s “Cry Wolf,” a thriller based on Hans Rosenfeldt’s novel of the same name, and on Netflix’s series “The Breakthrough” — both of which are set to premiere early next year. His previous work includes award-winning television series “The Fat and the Angry” directed by Johan Renck; thriller series “Greyzone”; and the five-part psychological drama series “The Dark Heart,...

After more than two years in development, Charlie McDowell was nearly ready to direct his third feature. This one was going to be set all over New York, a step up in budget and in scope. But then came Covid, and the film, like everything else, was put on indefinite hold. “The question for myself and friends who are artists was, ‘How do we continue to make stuff?’ ” McDowell tells Tudum. The answer came a couple months into the pandemic. During a video chat with several friends and frequent collaborators — McDowell’s writing partner, Justin Lader; the actor Jason Segel; and the writer Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en) — Segel suggested that the group write a film specifically set in a location where a small cast and crew could safely isolate.

It wasn’t so much an inspired idea as an obvious one: McDowell’s two previous films, The One I Love...

Don't let the bastards grind you down! If you don't like what they're saying, change the conversation.

If you've been along for the wild ride that has been Elisabeth Moss' prolific television career over the last two decades, then you probably recognize these quotes from two of her well-known shows.

If not, then you've come to the right place for a crash course in the "Queen of Peak TV." And while Vulture absolutely nailed it with that moniker, they left out the fact that she has a well-established film career.

Luckily, we haven't missed that important fact.

Seriously. The list of films and television shows that Elisabeth Moss has been in spans further than some of our readers' lifetimes.

Her agelessness is right up there with Paul Rudd and Halle Berry.

So, in celebrating the premiere of her new show The Veil on Hulu, here are ten of Elisabeth Moss's greatest hits.

R.E.M., Steely Dan, Timbaland, and songwriters Dean Pitchford (“Footloose”) and Hillary Lindsey (“Jesus Take the Wheel”) are this year’s inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the organization announced today.

The 2024 induction ceremony and Awards Gala is set for Thursday, June 13, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Additional special award honorees will be announced soon.

“I’ve said it before, but the music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first,” Shof Chairman Nile Rodgers said in a statement that this year’s inductees represent “not just iconic songs but also diversity and unity across genres, ethnicity and gender.” He added that this year’s songwriters “have enriched our lives and literally enriched music and the lives of billions of listeners all over the world.”

In today’s announcement, the Hall of Fame listed key songs in the inductees’ catalogs:

Hillary Lindsey:

Jesus Take...

Being a superstar doesn’t always mean having chart hits.

From massive rock groups and boy bands to iconic vocalists and singer-songwriters, there are countless acts that have managed to inspire generations of entertainers and win over millions of fans without having ever actually notched a No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Over the years, there have been some especially surprising icons who would seem to have a few No. 1s under their belt, but for whatever reason, their songs never managed to wind up sitting at the top spot of the chart.

Not having a No. 1 doesn’t take away from these talented artists’ repertoire, and it’s pretty interesting to see how charts don’t always mean everything when it comes to a musician’s success and impact on the culture.

Click inside to see which artists have not notched at No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit…

One Direction

The...

Many movies don't rely on a script and instead trust the talents of their cast to improvise, resulting in memorable scenes. Between Two Ferns: The Movie, Best In Show, Coherence, and This is Spinal Tap all utilized improvisation to varying degrees. Improvisation in these films allowed for more realistic performances, enhanced chemistry between actors, and added charm and authenticity to the movies.

Unlike popular belief, not all movies rely on a script, and there are many great movies that trusted their casts’ talents and didn’t need a script. A movie’s script can be an adaptation of other works or an original idea, and its purpose is to indicate the movements, actions, dialogue, expressions, and more that each character needs in specific scenarios and moments in the story. Scripts are key for directors to know how they will film each scene and what each one needs, but as important as scripts are,...

Steely Dan, Blondie, Public Enemy, R.E.M, Timbaland and the man who wrote bubblegum classics “Build Me Up Buttercup” and “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” are among the nominees for the 2024 Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Also included on the roster of nominees are, among others, Bread frontman David Gates, Tracy Chapman, the Guess Who’s Randy Bachman & Burton Cummings, Kenny Loggins, Heart and Roger Nichols, who composed the music for such Carpenters hits as “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “Rainy Days and Mondays.”

See the complete list of nominees below.

According to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first significant commercial release of a song. Eligible voting members will have until midnight Et on December 27, 2023 to turn in ballots, with their choices of three nominees from a songwriter and three from performing songwriter categories.

Being a superstar doesn’t always mean having chart hits.

From massive rock groups and boy bands to iconic vocalists and singer-songwriters, there are countless acts that have managed to inspire generations of entertainers and win over millions of fans without having ever actually notched a No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Over the years, there have been some especially surprising icons who would seem to have a few No. 1s under their belt, but for whatever reason, their songs never managed to wind up sitting at the top spot of the chart.

Not having a No. 1 doesn’t take away from these talented artists’ repertoire, and it’s pretty interesting to see how charts don’t always mean everything when it comes to a musician’s success and impact on the culture.

Click inside to see which artists have not notched at No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit…

One Direction

The...

Fingernails is a romantic sci-fi drama film written and directed by Christos Nikou. The Apple TV+ film revolves around a young couple Anna and Ryan who have found true love in each other, according to a controversial new technology. Problems arise when Anna is still not sure and things get worse when she meets Amir. Fingernails stars Jessie Buckley, Jeremy Allen White, Riz Ahmed, and Annie Murphy. So, if you loved the Apple TV+ film here are some similar movies you could watch next.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Peacock & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Focus Features

Synopsis: From acclaimed writer Charlie Kaufman and visionary director Michel Gondry comes Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. An all-star ensemble cast shines in this comical and poignant look at breakups, breakdowns and breakthroughs. Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has had their tumultuous relationship erased from her mind.

At every turn, Garth Davis’s Foe not only fails to adequately redress or rework played-out tropes within its high-concept world, but its examination of marriage and identity is also hackneyed. Written by Davis and Iain Reid, this sci-fi chamber piece feels Frankensteined together, each limb a reminder of more heartbreaking, wondrous, or sophisticated works that reconciling with the end of the world and the fragility of human relationships.

In the dystopia of Foe, new “self-determinative” lifeforms are conceived to take on dirty work in a ravaged land. They’re first introduced to us as an idea via the opening title card, which informs us that Earth’s natural and fertile resources, like water and soil, will become rare and valuable commodities later this century. Then they’re presented as the solution to marital loneliness, such as in the case of Junior (Paul Mescal) being drafted to try a government-funded...

On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.

First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.

Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.

The Pitch: Is This a Trip… or a Test?

Whether you’re dodging death at a White Lotus or camping with “The Parent Trap” twins, the vacation is a notorious killer of relationships. With every fork in the road comes the possibility for conflict, and the collateral damage can be catastrophic to even the most solid connections. Hunger, exhaustion, and inconvenience will spell break up faster than you can text your therapist, “Am I Really ending my marriage on this flight to Toledo?” And with Labor Day Weekend upon us, it’s...

Exclusive: Black Bear, the production, management and financing company founded by Teddy Schwarzman, on Thursday announced its signing of Simona Tabasco, one of the breakout Italian stars of The White Lotus‘ second season.

The news follows the firm’s introduction to Tabasco as the producer of Immaculate, a forthcoming psychological horror film in which she stars opposite fellow White Lotus alum Sydney Sweeney.

In the Sicily-set second installment of Mike White’s HBO satire The White Lotus, examining the dynamics between employees and guests at luxury hotels around the world, Tabasco starred alongside Adam Dimarco, Michael Imperioli, Beatrice Grannò, Theo James and more. The 10x Emmy-winning series had her playing the role of Lucia Greco, a prostitute enjoying the high life alongside aspiring chanteuse Mia (Grannò), as she builds her business on the grounds of The White Lotus Sicily. For her performance, the actress was recognized with an Emmy nom...

We might be entering the dog days of summer but Hulu isn’t slowing down. The streamer’s list of new releases for August 2023 is a pretty impressive collection of content.

The biggest Hulu original this month is season 3 of true crime comedy Only Murders in the Building on Aug. 8. This time around Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd are joining the already-stacked cast that features Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. This season’s central murder appears to take place at a theater (outside the building) but I think we’ll let it slide.

That’s far from the only worthwhile original in August as Aug. 2 sees the premiere of the third and final season of superb comedy Reservation Dogs. That will be followed by South Korean sci-fi series Moving on Aug. 9, Solar Opposites season 4 on Aug. 14, and A Murder at the End of the World on Aug. 29. Of course,...

The $100,000 Pyramid fans, we’ve got a fresh off the press preview for the new Season 6 Episode 15 episode titled Mark Duplass vs. Yvette Nicole Brown and Larry Wilmore vs. Tisha Campbell!

Find out everything you need to know about the Mark Duplass vs. Yvette Nicole Brown and Larry Wilmore vs. Tisha Campbell episode of The $100,000 Pyramid, including a full preview, videos, release date, cast information and how to watch!

The $100,000 Pyramid Mark Duplass vs. Yvette Nicole Brown and Larry Wilmore vs. Tisha Campbell Season 6 Episode 15 Preview

Get ready for game night on ABC as “The $100,000 Pyramid” returns with an episode titled “Mark Duplass vs. Yvette Nicole Brown and Larry Wilmore vs. Tisha Campbell.” Tune in at 9:00 Pm on July 30, 2023, to witness showdown of wit and wordplay as these celebrity contestants compete for the $100,000 prize!

In this episode, four celebrities will pair up in an electrifying game of word association and quick thinking.

Once in a while a film comes along that simply grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. Biosphere is one of those films. Written by the ever creative Mark Duplass and Mel Eslyn, who also directs, Biosphere is part buddy film, part dystopian dramedy, and an all-encompassing experience that waxes philosophical as much as it amuses.

The story finds Billy (Duplass) and Ray (Sterling K. Brown) as the last two men on Earth. Lifelong friends, they’ve braved holding political office together and, apparently, the apocalypse. Their survival lies mostly in Ray’s hands. He’s the brilliant scientist who designed the domed structure they have existed in for some time. There’s a sustainable vegetation system, a fishpond, timed lighting, and plenty of debate about Super Mario Bros. What two pals to chat about, after all.

On that note, things take a curious turn with the appearance...

Gender, identity, sexuality, and “life” finding a way to survive are a few of the ambitious yet wonderfully presented ideas that occupy Biosphere, the new film directed by Mel Eslyn, who shares co-writing duties with one of its two stars, Mark Duplass. Biosphere is part post-apocalyptic sci-fi romp, part buddy film. It is also one of the best films to hit the screen this year, a thought-provoking ride that’s bound to spark conversation.

Meet Billy (Duplass) and Ray (Sterling K. Brown), two lifelong pals — "brothers from another mother,” we’re told — who happen to be the last two men on Earth. Their survival is credited to Ray, the shrewd scientist who designed the domed structure they’ve lived in after the planet ceased to sustain life.

The biosphere comes with perks — basic necessities and all that — but when fish in their fishpond begin dying, the duo faces an ominous future.

The sheer quantity of Netflix’s output of original science fiction films can be overwhelming for genre films to separate the high-end prestige projects from generic rip-offs of other popular titles. When everything is cataloged under the same content bubble, a title like The Discovery can easily go unnoticed. Although the simple title and stark poster may indicate that The Discovery is just another streaming title, the film hails from The One I Love and Windfall filmmaker Charlie McDowell, and was picked up by the streaming service for exclusive distribution after its premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Not only is The Discovery one of the best films in recent memory about predestination and artificial intelligence, but it features Jason Segel in one of his first dramatic roles and Robert Redford in one of the few modern films that warranted his legendary star power.

If you’re going to spend the apocalypse with someone, you might as well do it with your Bff, right? Though that could potentially get really weird. That’s the premise of “Biosphere,” a new IFC Films movie that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and stars Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”) and Mark Duplass.

Continue reading ‘Biosphere’ Trailer: Sterling K. Brown & Mark Duplass Are BFFs & Also The Last Two Men On Earth at The Playlist.

Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown are seeking best friends for the end of the world.

The duo star as lifelong pals who are the last survivors on the planet after the apocalypse in Mel Esyln’s debut feature film “Biosphere,” which premiered at 2022 TIFF. The film is set to be released by IFC Films.

Per the official synopsis, in the not-too-distant future, the last two men on Earth must adapt and evolve to save humanity. Billy (Mark Duplass) and Ray (Sterling K. Brown) are lifelong best friends, brothers from another mother — they also happen to be the last two men on earth. Their survival is largely due to Ray, a brilliant scientist who designed the custom biosphere they call home, outfitting it with both creature comforts and the necessities to sustain life on a doomed planet. When the population of their fishpond — which supplies essential protein — begins waning, the...

Exclusive: Deadline has learned that 8x Oscar nominated actress Glenn Close and Anders Danielsen Lie have signed on to star in a feature film take of Tove Jansson’s novel The Summer Book which Charlie McDowell will direct and produce with his Case Study Films, a production company he co-founded with Alex Orlovsky and wife Lily Collins.

Recently celebrating the 50th anniversary of its original print publication, The Summer Book tells the life affirming story of a young girl and her grandmother as they spend a summer on a tiny, unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The novel distills the essence of the summer into 21 vignettes and has been translated into 35 languages since its first publication in 1972.

Robert Jones adapted the book for screen. Pic is co-financed by High Frequency Entertainment and Hurst Capital. Production starts this summer in Finland.

Anders Danielsen Lie, courtesy Case Study Films

“I’m...

Mel Eslyn’s feature directorial debut stars Sterling K. Brown, Mark Duplass.

Blue Fox Entertainment will kick off international sales at EFM next week on Mel Eslyn’s TIFF 2022 sci-fi comedy Biosphere starring Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass.

Eslyn and Duplass wrote the screenplay set in not-too-distant future where the last two men on earth must adapt and evolve to save humanity.

Producers are Zackary Drucker, Eslyn, Maddie Buis, and Shuli Harel. Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass serve as executive producers through their Duplass Brothers Productions.

Blue Fox Entertainment is screening Biosphere in the market. Head of international Lisa Gutberlet...

Early 2023 followed by exclusive streaming run on AMC+

IFC Films has acquired North American rights to Mel Eslyn’s TIFF world premiere and feature directorial debut Biosphere starring Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown.

The sci-fi takes place in the not-too-distant future as the last two men on earth who must adapt and evolve to save humanity.

Eslyn – whose producing credits include The One I Love, Language Lessons co-starring Mark Duplass, and The Intervention – served as producer with Zackary Drucker, who co-directed docuseries The Lady And The Dale produced by the Duplass Brothers.

The producers roster includes Shuli Harel and...

Exclusive: The wild story of crypto couple Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein and Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan is headed to the screen. Hulu is in early development on the limited series Razzlekhan: The Infamous Crocodile of Wall Street, from Searchlight Television. Lily Collins (Emily In Paris) is set to star as Morgan in the project, which she is producing with Charlie McDowell, who is slated to direct, and Alex Orlovsky.

The trio also produced Windfall, directed by McDowell with Collins starring opposite Jesse Plemons and Jason Segel. The film was released earlier this year on Netflix.

Based on the New York magazine article “The Many Lives of Crypto’s Most Notorious Couple,” the series focuses on Lichtenstein and Morgan, tipped to be either the masterminds behind one of the largest heists in history or a pair of hapless wannabe entrepreneurs who somehow stumbled onto a hard drive containing 3.6 billion in Bitcoin stolen from the Finex exchange.

Toronto Film Festival attendees were surprised this weekend to find director Mel Eslyn’s “Biosphere,” a humorous, semi-futuristic rumination on the last two men on Earth. A late addition to this year’s lineup, the film stars Mark Duplass as the U.S. president and Sterling K. Brown as an advisor, the planet’s sole living humans who are trapped in the biodome of the film’s title. The story sprang from Duplass’ idea of two guys arguing over the virtues of the video game “Mario Bros.,” according to Eslyn.

“They had me at ‘Mario Bros.,’ man,” Brown said. “I always wanted to warp, so I thought that doing this movie would pick up some trade secrets. It can be that simple sometimes.” To which Duplass said: “If the films sells well in Toronto, I’ll teach you how to warp.”

Brown, Duplass, Eslyn and producer Zachary Drucker sat down with Steve Pond,...

Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. IFC Films releases the film in theaters and on VOD on Friday, July 7.

Toward the beginning of “Jurassic Park,” while debating the efficacy of the rigid confines of Isla Nublar’s foolproof dinosaur containment and control system, chaos theorist Ian Malcolm ominously intones the now iconic line, “Life finds a way.”

This line is referenced numerous times, first directly and later more obliquely, throughout “Biosphere,” the directorial debut of producer Mel Eslyn. Led by Sterling K. Brown and Mark Duplass, it follows two men as they cope with being the last humans alive on the planet and the evolutionary changes that nature throws their way.

Ray (Brown) and Billy (Duplass) are the only residents of an apartment-sized bio-dome after some unknown catastrophe appears to have annihilated all other life on Earth. It’s implied eventually that Billy,...

Fest runs September 8-18.

An on-stage conversation with Taylor Swift and the feature Biosphere produced by the Duplass Brothers have been added to TIFF programming.

TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey will interview pop icon Swift under the In Conversation With… Industry Conference banner on September 9.

The star will discuss filmmaking and the visual aspects of her music following the first screening of All Too Well: The Short Film on 35mm which she wrote, directed and produced.

Biosphere will play in Special Presentations on September 10 and marks the feature directing debut of Mel Eslyn, the long-time president of Duplass Brothers Productions whose producing credits include Room 104,...

Exclusive: One of the most prominent ex-ICM agents still in play, Jessica Lacy, has landed at Range Media Partners as Partner and head of management company’s newly minted division, Range Select. In her role, Lacy will oversee structuring and arranging financing, packaging, and securing distribution for select independent films. She is joined by her former ICM colleague Oliver Wheeler who also will work in the Range Select unit as a manager.

Lacy spent the last two decades combined at ICM Partners — where she was a partner and head of the Independent Film Department for the past 10 years — and Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency (before its 2006 acquisition by ICM). Throughout her career, Lacy has brokered distribution deals for many of the many acclaimed films coming out of the Sundance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca, and the Toronto International Film Festival.

She was part of...

This June on HBO and HBO Max will play host to a new season of “Westworld,” a new adaptation of “Father of the Bride” and much more.

The big new Warner Bros. release on HBO and HBO Max this month is “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” which actually debuted on the HBO Max streaming service on May 30. The third film in the Wizarding World prequel franchise first hit theaters in April, and is now available to stream in 4K.

There’s also the updated version of “Father of the Bride” premiering on June 16, while a pair of noteworthy documentaries are coming on the early side this month: “The Janes” premieres June 8 and follows unlikely outlaws in pre-Roe v. Wade America who defied state legislation that banned abortion, while “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” debuts on June 9.

As for original series, the fourth season of “Westworld” premieres on June...

With its list of new releases for June 2022, HBO Max is joining in what should be a TV summer to remember.

Not content to let Netflix’s Stranger Things or Prime Video’s The Boys to dominate the summer TV landscape, HBO is coming through with a new season of one of its big hits. Westworld season 4 is set to premiere June 26 on both HBO and HBO Max. What will this season of the increasingly confusing sci-fi drama be about? Per HBO’s synopsis it will be “A dark odyssey about the fate of sentient life on earth.” So you know, only that.

Irma Vep is the only other Max Original of note this month. Based on a 1996 cult classic of the same name, this limited series stars Alicia Vikander as a disillusioned movie star looking to remake the early 20th century French silent film serial Les Vampires.

It’s...

“Seven” screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker is not used to working with a co-writer. And yet he jumped at the prospect of working with his friends on a contained, film noir-inspired thriller.

“Windfall” – which is now streaming on Netflix – stars Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins as a wealthy couple who arrive at their vacation home, only to happen upon a stranger in the middle of robbing the place. That stranger then holds them hostage, and what plays out is an incisive and acerbic thriller all set in one location.

The stranger is played by Jason Segel, who originated the idea that would become “Windfall.” Segel, Walker, co-writer Justin Lader and director Charlie McDowell are all friends who were called to a Zoom meeting by Segel during the pandemic to figure out if this idea might be worth turning into a film.

For Walker – a frequent collaborator of David Fincher’s who wrote films like “Fight Club,...

There’s an air of tense possibility during the opening title sequence of “Windfall,” a Netflix film that’s being rather boldly marketed as “a Hitchcockian thriller.” A single, static shot of a sunny patio outside a picturesque villa is paired with a suggestively sinister soundtrack (a dead ringer for the oft-emulated “Vertigo” score), building an atmosphere that’s almost too still for comfort.

The action that follows, however, soon deflates our mild anticipation, offering up little more than an ultimately dull narrative about a rich married couple (Lily Collins and Jesse Plemons), who arrive at their vacation home to find it being robbed by a strange man (Jason Segel). It’s a film that relies too heavily upon its scenic location and not enough on building any real sense of story, let alone suspense, and only adds to the growing feeling that, when a work calls itself “Hitchcockian,” it...

Is this Bad Movie Week at all the big streaming platforms? We haven’t checked in with Prime Video or HBO Max yet, but after struggling through Hulu’s Deep Water a few days ago we now find ourselves faced with this week’s soon-to-be-forgotten Netflix offering, Windfall.

Windfall was directed by Charlie McDowell, who gave us the interesting, quirky, and eerie The One I Love a few years back and the numbingly dull The Discovery after that. Windfall — which needed four writers to come up with the story and screenplay for this 86-minute affair, including McDowell himself and Seven scribe Andrew Kevin Walker — lands somewhere between the two, but unfortunately closer to The Discovery territory in its blandness and lack of energy.

The film begins with Jason Segel — playing against type for McDowell for the second time after also starring in The Discovery — as a disheveled, hulking man wandering around an extremely nice,...

Tense situations tend to bring out the worst in people, and few situations are as potentially charged as a home invasion and hostage situation. In "Windfall," the latest from "The One I Love" director Charlie McDowell, three unnamed protagonists are put to the test when a random Nobody (Jason Segel) breaks into the vacation home of a filthy rich CEO (Jesse Plemons) for a little R&r when the CEO and his wife (Lily Collins) arrive unexpectedly. The movie was conceptualized and produced during the early parts of the pandemic, when everyone felt trapped in their homes and unsure of what was going to happen next, and those...

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A well-heeled young couple arrive for a weekend away at their Ojai country pad, only to find it already occupied by a criminal drifter out to take not just their money, but their happiness too, over the course of a tense, tetchy overnight hostage situation. But our sympathies aren’t directed exactly as you might expect in “Windfall,” a tightly wound sunshine noir that borrows from hardboiled classics like “The Desperate Hours,” while revisiting the kind of chilly, compressed relationship anatomy that director Charlie McDowell essayed in his debut “The One I Love.” Blending the oddball sensibility of McDowell and regular co-writer Justin Lader with the nastier genre smarts of “Se7en” scribe Andrew Kevin Walker, this low-key Netflix holds to its intriguing promise for a crisp 90 minutes, though even its climax is muted by design.

A trio of stars all playing effectively against type will be the chief draw for...

From the old school ‘50s-era opening titles, you can feel what tone Charlie McDowell’s Windfall is going for. The director’s third feature plays up the Hitchcock aesthetic big time in its marketing, but tonally it feels even more adjacent to Rian Johnson’s bouncy recent works of mystery thrills, The Brothers Bloom and, especially, Knives Out. A three-hander confined to a single location, the film stars Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins as a tech CEO and his wife heading to their vacation home in Ojai, only to find Jason Segel’s character in the middle of robbing it. Knowing that his identity is blown thanks to a hidden camera he spots, Segel demands enough cash to be able to start a new life, and the unnamed trio enter into a tense period of waiting for the money delivery to be arranged.

It’s a quick and easy set-up for a film,...

With his third feature, Windfall, writer-director Charlie McDowell crafts a playful deconstruction of the heist movie. With no specific character names, Lily Collins (as Wife) and Jesse Plemons (as CEO) play a couple heading to their vacation home, only to find a burglar, played by Jason Segel (as Nobody), has broken in. A single-location hangout heist movie that carefully builds with complexity, it’s another testament to McDowell’s skills at wringing out the tension of a carefully-controlled scenario.

Ahead of the film’s Netflix release this Friday, I spoke with McDowell about the genesis of the project, subverting and deconstructing the crime drama, being influenced by classic noirs (as well as a Ruben Östlund masterpiece), having his trio play against type, and more.

The Film Stage: You do a great job setting up the location at the start, then mine it for all it’s worth. Can you talk...

With most films seeking to get out of the shadow cast by a certain caped crusader, March is a bit of a lighter month than usual, but there remains a handful of recommendations. From offbeat festival favorites to the return of the erotic thriller to what’s sure to be one of the best sci-fi tales of the year, check out our picks below.

11. Jane by Charlotte (Charlotte Gainsbourg; March 18 in theaters)

After being in front of the camera for nearly four decades, Charlotte Gainsbourg gets personal with her directorial debut. Jane by Charlotte, which premiered at Cannes before playing NYFF and beyond, is a portrait of her mother, singer and actress Jane Birkin, as the pair reflect on their creative lives. As they discuss the pains and joys of their relationship, it promises an intimate look at the intricacies of a bond formed not only by blood, but also fiercely creative drives.

What would you do if you arrived at your vacation home, only to discover it was being robbed? That’s the conundrum facing Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins in the first trailer for the new Netflix thriller film “Windfall.”

Plemons and Collins play a wealthy married couple who find themselves being held hostage by an unstable but also somewhat inept criminal, played by Jason Segel. As the hostage situation continues, Plemons’ character grows more agitated, and with the sun going down, the stakes get more dangerous.

The original film hails from “The One I Love” and “The Discovery” filmmaker Charlie McDowell, who has a knack for twisty, semi-sci-fi stories. But further intrigue is added by the involvement of screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, the writer behind “Se7en” and various other David Fincher projects who co-wrote “Windfall” with Justin Lader, based on a story by Walker, Lader, McDowell and Segel.

Plemons and Collins,...

After making a splash with his nifty single-location romantic thriller The One I Love, Charlie McDowell’s follow-up The Discovery came and went quickly. But his next film has quite an enticing set-up. Jason Segel, Lily Collins, and Jesse Plemons star in the Hitchcockian noir thriller following a young couple who arrive at their vacation home only to find it’s being robbed.

Now set for a March 18 release on Netflix, the first trailer has dropped, which showcases a rather playful tone setting up the dynamic between the trio. As one might expect, Plemons is clearly having the most fun, while Segel takes on a fittingly aloof villainous role. With McDowell having proved his skills at the one-location drama, here’s hoping this is a bounce-back for him.

Watch the trailer below.

Windfall opens on March 18 on Netflix.

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