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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Isn’t Just About Grief — It’s About Joy Marvel Studios By Lyvie Scott/Nov. 14, 2022 6:00 pm EST This post contains spoilers for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The specter of grief casts an undeniable shadow over “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” With the gravity of Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing in 2020, that was always going to be a given. The cast and crew of the original “Black Panther” grieved the loss of their leading man and close friend throughout the making of the sequel, and it’s that grief that informs major elements of “Wakanda Forever....

A stranded orphan Disney+ In this episode, it’s revealed that Maarva died on Ferrix off-screen. In response, the town mourns her death, especially her trusted droid B2EMO. Of course, Cassian is not present. It takes the entirety of the episode for Cassian to get back to the vacation resort on Niamos, but when he does, he finds himself on the very same beach where he was arrested. Then, Cassian takes the time to make a phone call to let Maarva know he’s fine, noting that “she’d be proud of me....

Casting Neil Patrick Harris In How I Met Your Mother Completely Changed Barney’s Character 20th Television By Jamie Gerber/Aug. 20, 2022 5:00 pm EST Suit up, it’s time to discuss everyone’s favorite self-proclaimed lady’s man. The antics of Barney Stinson may not have aged particularly well here in 2022, but the “How I Met Your Mother” character somehow remains just as beloved today as he was when the show was on the air....

Director Mary Harron Thinks She Knows Why Audiences Were Split On American Psycho Lionsgate By Debopriyaa Dutta/Dec. 16, 2022 3:06 pm EST “There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman; some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me: only an entity, something illusory.” NYC investment banker Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) narrates these lines during his extensive luxury skincare routine in the opening minutes of Mary Harron’s horror movie, “American Psycho....

‘You weren’t supposed to recognize me’ United Artists Looking closely, Harrison Ford’s character name is clearly visible on an identification patch on his uniform. The name “Lucas” is stitched just under the right label of his army fatigues. According to Brad Duke’s all-encompassing book, Ford had the wardrobe department add the homage, a loving nod that is much more obvious in the “Apocalypse Now Redux” given the higher picture quality. Funnily enough, when George Lucas originally watched Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam epic, he didn’t even notice the reference....

Friends Creator Marta Kauffman Has A Major Regret About Kathleen Turner’s Character NBC By Ryan Leston/July 7, 2022 1:23 pm EST It’s a TV classic, but “Friends” sure hasn’t been without controversy. “Friends” co-creator Marta Kauffman has said that it was a “mistake” to refer to Chandler’s transgender parent as his “father.” “We kept referring to [Chandler’s transgender parent] as ‘Chandler’s father’, even though Chandler’s father was trans,” she told the BBC....

House Of The Dragon Reminds Us To Never Attend A Westerosi Wedding In ‘We Light The Way’ HBO By Shania Russell/Sept. 18, 2022 9:59 pm EST Traditionally, Westerosi weddings are a violent affair. While blood, death and misery aren’t formal elements of the ceremony, they always seem to find their way into the festivities — and if you thought a Targaryen on the throne might change that, then you were woefully mistaken....

House Of The Dragon’s Nasty Medical Practices Have A Basis In Reality HBO By Danielle Ryan/Aug. 29, 2022 5:42 pm EST Getting sick or injured in the Middle Ages was no picnic, and for the characters in the fantasy world of “House of the Dragon,” medicine is still pretty medieval. The series premiere showed audiences just how bloody and brutal birth can be when men take it into their own hands, and the second episode, “The Rogue Prince,” delivers a scene depicting the treatment for gangrene and infection....

How Robert Altman Used A Single John Williams Tune To Flesh Out The Long Goodbye United Artists By Demetra Nikolakakis/Dec. 18, 2022 6:00 pm EST Known for his experimentation, Robert Altman’s audio tracks were in a league of their own. The director’s unconventional sound mixes — often featuring overlapping voices and noticeable ambient noise — usually mimicked the chaos of real-world audio. Sure, it was harder to understand what any given character was saying, but in return, viewers were treated to a film that felt far more realistic....

Is Wayne a draft dodger or a loophole exploiter? Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer John Wayne never actually had to register for the draft, instead starring in 18 films between 1941-1945, many of which had war-related themes that positioned him as a tough American hero who survived the impossible. With his A-lister status now well entrenched, there was no real reason he couldn’t enlist. His family had the money to stay afloat without him, Hollywood clearly loved him and would have welcomed him back with open arms, and director John Ford even had an “in,” getting Wayne to join the naval photography unit....

Jon Snow Is ‘Not Okay’ After The Events Of Game Of Thrones, Says Kit Harington HBO By Danielle Ryan/Dec. 12, 2022 7:00 pm EST This article contains spoilers for the final season of “Game of Thrones.” In the most unsurprising news out of Westeros since Cersei Lannister admitted that her kids weren’t her husband Robert’s, actor Kit Harington has revealed that his character, Jon Snow, is “not okay” following the events of HBO’s “Game of Thrones....

Kenneth Branagh’s Next Poirot Film A Haunting In Venice To Star Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, And More 20th Century Studios By Jenna Busch/Oct. 10, 2022 6:01 pm EST Agatha Christie fans are about to get a Halloween treat. It was announced today by 20th Century Studios that production is set to begin next month on “A Haunting in Venice,” a new thriller based on Christie’s novel “Hallowe’en Party.” As with 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and 2022’s “Death on the Nile,” Academy Award-winner Kenneth Branagh will direct the film and star as famous fictional detective Hercule Poirot....

Kurt And Wyatt Russell Board Apple’s Godzilla Monsterverse Series Buena Vista Pictures By Rafael Motamayor/July 20, 2022 4:34 pm EST It’s finally happened. Someone realized the huge meme and viewership potential of watching Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell bring their incredible beards to TV at the same time. According to a press release, the father-son duo will unite on screen in the upcoming untitled Monsterverse show for AppleTV+. This marks the first time Kurt Russell has appeared in a TV show since “Hawaii Five-O” in 1977, which is already enough cause for celebration, given how much this man has given both the TV and film worlds with iconic roles like Elvis and Snake Plissken....

Larry David Makes Sure There’s No Way To Prepare For A Curb Your Enthusiasm Audition HBO By Miyako Pleines/Sept. 12, 2022 1:18 pm EST Watching an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is kind of like meeting someone new for the first time: It’s awkward as hell. Larry David, the show’s creator (of “Seinfeld” fame) and main character, is a master of the neurotic. On the show, he plays an embellished version of himself who is constantly getting into petty tiffs with the show’s rotating cast of characters, guest stars (including Ted Danson as perhaps one of the best frenemies TV has ever seen) who often play souped-up versions of themselves, as well....

‘Give the character her own tears’ Universal Pictures Anya Taylor-Joy stars in “Split” as Casey Cooke, a traumatized teenager who is kidnapped with two other girls her age by Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy), a man with dissociative identity disorder (although portrayed inaccurately) who has developed 23 distinct personalities. The three teens are meant to be sacrificed in a bizarre ritual that will bring out a new personality in the form of a cannibalistic, superhuman entity dubbed “The Beast....

Marvel Studios Phase One of the Michael Giacchino Cinematic Universe A inspiration for future filmmakers Flashing back to all these home movies creates a heart-warming juxtaposition when you see how Michael Giacchino is living out his childhood dream by directing “Werewolf by Night.” Specifically, this Marvel Comics title from his childhood, and the presence of practical monster effects (with an assist from digital VFX in post-production), brings together Giacchino’s love for both cinema and monsters....

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone Director John Lee Hancock Only Had Donald Sutherland In Mind For Mr. Harrigan [Exclusive Interview] Netflix By Jeff Ewing/Oct. 5, 2022 1:44 pm EST In writer-director John Lee Hancock’s film “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” the latest Stephen King adaptation, we find a young man named Craig (Jaeden Martell) building a friendship with a rather unexpected individual. Originally hired to read to the wealthy and aging John Harrigan (Donald Sutherland), the unlikely duo become a pair of unconventional pals....

Kurosawa’s King Lear, but prior to Ran United Artists In 1972, Kurosawa was suffering through a career slump, as well as a bout of extreme depression (as detailed in his book “Something Like an Autobiography”). His 1970 film “Dodes’ka-ded,” was a bold experiment for Kurosawa, as it was the filmmaker’s first in color. Kurosawa had been encouraged to make it by no one less than Sergei Eisenstein, and he had to mortgage his house in order to pay for it....

Phineas And Ferb Co-Creator Dan Povenmire On Studio Notes And Bringing Nosferatu To SpongeBob [Interview] Disney By Rafael Motamayor/Aug. 11, 2022 1:10 pm EST (Welcome to My Most Ridiculous Note, a series of interviews in which animators talk about the weirdest and funniest notes they received from studio executives.) When “Phineas and Ferb” premiered on Disney XD 15 years ago, it quickly became one of the most original, consistently funny, inventive Disney cartoons in years, as well as one of the network’s biggest hits....

Rian Johnson Explains His Giant Paycheck From Netflix For The Knives Out Sequels John Wilson/Netflix By Danielle Ryan/Nov. 21, 2022 1:47 pm EST It’s never too surprising when filmmakers get big payouts for sequels, but when writer and director Rian Johnson purportedly got paid $100 million to direct two “Knives Out” sequels for Netflix, some folks were shocked. That’s a pretty hefty payday, even if “Knives Out” was a surprise box office hit that cost around $40 million to make but grossed more than $300 million worldwide....