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From Sidekick To Survivor: How Harley Quinn Became The Perfectly Imperfect Hero For Abuse Victims HBO Max By Danielle Ryan/Oct. 11, 2022 10:00 am EST Harley Quinn, the multi-faceted supervillain sidekick-turned-hero, just turned 30. And like any self-respecting 30-year-old, she should probably take inventory of her growth over the years, because she has a lot to be proud of. The character was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for “Batman: The Animated Series,” and debuted on September 11, 1992, but she’s come a long way from being Joker’s horny, homicidal sidekick and romantic interest....

Getting Natalie Portman Up To Thor’s Size Took Some Serious Creativity Marvel/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures By BJ Colangelo/July 7, 2022 9:49 pm EST In Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) wields the mighty hammer known as Mjölnir, proving herself worthy, of noble heart, and establishing her legacy as the Mighty Thor. (Call her “Lady Thor” and earn a swift kick to the shins). We haven’t seen Jane since “Thor: The Dark World” nearly a decade ago, and she only appeared in “Avengers: Endgame” in stock footage....

How An Abandoned Episode Of His Dark Materials Influenced The Show’s Third Season [Exclusive] HBO By Sandy Schaefer/Dec. 6, 2022 11:09 am EST Much like Philip Pullman’s original novel trilogy, “His Dark Materials” started off playing things close to the vest, so far as it concerns Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) and his endgame. Come season 3, however, the show is done hiding Asriel’s true mission and its actual plot behind vaguely religious metaphors....

Jurassic World Dominion Director Colin Trevorrow Shot Down A Request To Ask Bryce Dallas Howard To Lose Weight Universal Pictures By Sandy Schaefer/Sept. 22, 2022 4:19 pm EST For better or for worse, the “Jurassic World” saga drew to a close with “Jurassic World Dominion.” It’s a film that promised to explore the battle between humans and dinosaurs to become Earth’s dominant species, only to take a hard turn right and focus instead on a plot that involves giant locusts....

A beacon of queer joy Discovery+ It’s still a career risk and often materially unsafe to be out as queer in our current timeline, but Leslie Jordan never made any apologies for being the gayest and most vibrant person in every room. He was an activist and early volunteer during the AIDS crisis, never hiding who he was. He was armed with a sharp tongue and an even sharper sense of style, living his life by prioritizing happiness every step of the way....

Making Jurassic World Feel Like A Real Theme Park Was A Huge Challenge For The Props Department Universal Pictures By Devin Meenan/Aug. 22, 2022 10:13 am EST “Jurassic Park” is all about illusion. The original film used a mix of groundbreaking CGI and animatronics to create the most realistic dinosaurs ever seen before in a movie. Despite John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) arguing otherwise, the dinosaurs themselves are as much an illusion in the text of the story: man-made facsimiles of creatures long ago vanished from the Earth....

Marvel Made The Russo Brothers Press Pause On Their Gray Man Plans Netflix By Jeremy Mathai/July 14, 2022 12:41 pm EST From television directors on acclaimed shows such as “Arrested Development” and “Community” to the 2006 comedy “You, Me and Dupree” to essentially becoming the go-to directing duo for all the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s biggest and most buzzworthy event films, few filmmakers can hope to match the rapid ascension of Joe and Anthony Russo....

Moonlighting’s Most Ambitious Episode Was A Total Departure For Bruce Willis ABC By Jenna Busch/Dec. 1, 2022 5:43 pm EST The sitcom “Moonlighting” debuted on ABC on March 3, 1985, and it was unlike any TV show previously seen. It had the quick banter of a 1940s screwball comedy and crazy sexual tension between stars Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd as detective David Addison and former model-turned-detective, Maddy Hayes. “Moonlighting” broke the fourth wall long before “She-Hulk” and “Deadpool” did it on screen, employed a cold open before it was standard, and often showed sets and production staff on camera....

‘What if a plane comes out of the sky?’ It’s funny to imagine a tornado blowing in out of the blue to chase Cary Grant in “North by Northwest,” as if this were “Twister” and he was in danger of being swept up like that movie’s flying cow. Obviously, Hitchcock was a man full of ideas, and the tornado sounds like one he just tossed off the top of his head without really thinking through the full creative implications of it....

Pirates Of The Caribbean Director Gore Verbinski Never Wanted To Make A ‘Jack Sparrow Movie’ Disney By Christian Gainey/Aug. 23, 2022 3:35 pm EST Johnny Depp broke into Hollywood by appearing in popular films like “Platoon,” and “Nightmare on Elm Street,” but he became a star in 1987 when he portrayed Officer Tom Hanson in “21 Jump Street.” Uncomfortable with the idea of being a teen magazine pinup, Depp spent the next few decades accepting roles in films that were outside of the mainstream, like, “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “The Ninth Gate,” and “The Astronaut’s Wife....

Prey Made An Innovation To The Predator Costume Hulu By Jeremy Mathai/July 27, 2022 11:36 am EST If you ever thought the “Predator” franchise was in need of a drastic creative shake-up, then “Prey” will likely be the movie for you. Rather than continuing to spin its wheels with more and more diminishing returns, “10 Cloverfield Lane” filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg was wisely given the reigns and the means to reinvigorate the series like never before....

Smile Made Scary Good Money At The Box Office Again, Amsterdam Made Scary Bad Money Paramount Pictures By Ryan Scott/Oct. 10, 2022 11:43 am EST After a downright miserable September at the box office, even a halfway decent weekend looks good by comparison. That’s what we found ourselves with this week, as “Smile” once again took the top spot on the charts, becoming the first original horror movie of 2022 to take the number one spot two weeks in a row....

The 14 Best Downton Abbey Episodes, Ranked PBS By Dalin Rowell/Sept. 8, 2022 5:29 pm EST Adored by fans for its characters and emotional stories, “Downton Abbey” still remains one of the most beloved TV franchises of all time. From the tales of the wealthy Crawley family to those of their downstairs staff, viewers can’t get enough of creator Julian Fellowes’ world of glamour and impactful drama. But what are the ingredients that make for a great installment of the drama?...

The Invitation Composer Dara Taylor Wants To Unsettle With The Unfamiliar [Exclusive Interview] Screen Gems By Jack Giroux/Aug. 29, 2022 1:00 pm EST Dara Taylor’s score for “The Invitation” leaves a lot to the imagination. She wants listeners to ask, “What is that sound?” That question arises right at the beginning of her score for Jessica M. Thompson’s horror movie, when a deranged, reversed choir comes and goes. It’s one of the many recurring motifs in this score, almost a painful chant or plead for help that, in the end, turns triumphant in a 10-minute track for the finale....

Mr. Blonde wasn’t quite the fit Miramax Films You may know Madsen from his memorable work as Mr. Blonde in Tarantino’s feature-length directorial debut, “Reservoir Dogs,” or as Budd in the “Kill Bill” films. But both of those roles, Madsen was very close to being cast as Detective Mike Logan in “Law & Order.” “Inside Television Producing” examines the production of “Law & Order,” offering a look at the casting process of the series....

The Scandalous Real-Life Building That Inspired Only Murders In The Building Hulu By Sandy Schaefer/July 8, 2022 3:37 pm EST How many murders can a single building contain before the authorities close it down? As of this writing, the Arconia on “Only Murders in the Building” is up to two — well, three if you count Zoe Cassidy falling off the roof ten years prior to the show’s events. But if you think that’s bad (which, y’know, it is), it’s got nothing on the scandalous history of the real-life New York City edifice that inspired the place that Charles-Haden Savage, Oliver Putnam, and Mabel Mora call home....

Thoughts And Prayers: My Personal Connection To “Son Of Sam” Made ‘Mindhunter’ Season 2 Even More Unsettling By Jamie Righetti/Aug. 28, 2019 9:00 am EST The first time I heard the name David Berkowitz I was a bored pre-teen, tucked into an uncomfortable wooden pew at my parents’ church, mentally counting down the minutes until I could duck out into the sunshine and salvage a few minutes of my Sunday. Growing up a born-again Christian meant Sundays and several weeknights were dedicated to multiple church services, tedious affairs that lasted hours and whittled away at precious free time....

‘They sold like an extra million units of Nevermind’ Roku In an interview with Seth Meyers, Al Yankovic talked about a little about the Yankovic bump and how it influenced the movie. “I heard from Nirvana’s record label that, when my parody ‘Smells Like Nirvana’ was released, they sold like an extra million units of ‘Nevermind,’” he said. “Artists’ record sales spike when the parody comes out, so we kind of took that little nugget and extrapolated it into this whole subplot about Madonna wanting that Yankovic bump!...

What Is Bix Caleen Fighting For In The Morally Gray Star Wars Setting Of Andor? [Exclusive] Disney+/Lucasfilm By Ernesto Valenzuela/Sept. 15, 2022 2:02 pm EST “Andor,” the latest “Star Wars” show set to stream on Disney+, will explore the life of rebel spy Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) before the events of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” Given the darker nature of that “Star Wars” spin-off film, it only makes sense that “Andor” will explore a similar tone....

We all want the best for Brendan Fraser Universal The press tour for “The Whale” so far has focused primarily on Fraser’s big return, and there’s no shame in that. The actor appears genuinely humble in interviews, and absolutely touched that his work is being so highly praised. We all want the best for Brendan Fraser — we all want him to succeed; to recapture the stardom that was once in his hands before slipping away....