Hollywood may be suffering through a spiritless patch but Halloween films can still lend a needed jolt, as Lionsgate’s new “Jigsaw” horror film and a clutch of other scary films showed by boosting an otherwise flimsy weekend box office. “Jigsaw,” the eighth chapter in Lionsgate’s “Saw” horror franchise, took in an estimated $16.3 million over the…
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Kenneth Branagh joined the galaxy of screen icons to leave their mark on Hollywood on Thursday as he plunged his hands and feet into cement at the TCL Chinese Theater. The Northern Irishman was hailed as the new Laurence Olivier at the start of a 35-year career that has seen him move from Shakespearean stage actor…
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“This film was made on faith, by faith and for faith,” screenwriter and actress Sam Sorbo (pictured above right) told LifeZette in an exclusive interview about her new movie, “Let There Be Light.” The story is about Dr. Sol Harkins (played by Sorbo’s husband, “Hercules” star Kevin Sorbo). Harkins is a popular atheist author hiding the…
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Many people have and condemned him after allegations and revelations — mainly via reports in The New York Times and The New Yorker — about . Some people have bravely come forward to share their own unpleasant encounters with the man, while others have expressed shock and sworn off working with him. One of the last…
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Though female veterans are the American military’s fastest growing population — stories about them are not often told or heard. “Blood Stripe,” one of the most recent films to be recognized by the , is looking to change that. The title “Blood Stripe” refers to the scarlet band on the trouser leg of a Marine Corps…
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ANALYSIS/OPINION: I need to start out saying I’ve never been a fan of “Blade Runner.” Both times I’ve watched it I fell asleep; both times I left the experience feeling I either didn’t get it or was above it. Upon my second attempt in 2013, I found the three-hour making-of documentary on the DVD infinitely more…
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J.D. Salinger’s greatest professional achievement, the 1951 novel “Catcher in the Rye,” has inspired more controversy — and more teens to read — than perhaps any other book. Salinger to this day is one of the most influential and yet mysterious authors to ever walk the Earth. Because he was so reclusive during his lifetime (he…
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Award-winning “Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus has breast cancer, she announced through social media on Thursday. The 56-year-old American actress revealed the diagnosis to her 750,000 Twitter followers, posting a note that read: “One in eight women get breast cancer. Today, I’m the one.” “The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive…
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Spy comedy “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” dominated North American box offices on its debut weekend, industry figures showed Monday. It ousted horror hit “It”, which had held the crown for two weeks. With a star-studded cast featuring Colin Firth, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and even Elton John, “Kingsman” raked in $39 million for the weekend, according…
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It’s not often a movie comes around that gives viewers a positive look at the Constitution — but now may be the perfect time of all. “In Search of Liberty” is not a typical movie. The film, available now on home video, takes a look at an average suburban American family. When the family’s two children…
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Increasingly political celebrities and lackluster content and the traditional box office. Audience members are instead turning to streaming platforms — or skipping much of today’s artistic endeavors altogether. However, there is still a good amount of strong content hitting theaters today. This content includes no political sucker punches and is as strong as anything to ever…
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Veteran comedian and filmmaker Mel Brooks says political correctness is killing comedy and that some of his movies would never have been made in today’s climate. Mr. Brooks, 91, told BBC Radio 4 on Thursday that his 1974 comedy western “Blazing Saddles,” which satirized racism in Hollywood, would never be made today because people have gotten…
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Jake LaMotta, the legendary former world middleweight boxing champion whose wild life and times inspired the Oscar-winning movie “Raging Bull,” has died at age 95, his family announced Wednesday. LaMotta, an iconic figure from boxing’s 1950s golden age best known for a brutal six-fight rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson, passed away on Tuesday, the boxer’s daughter…
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One of the former joys of the movie-going experience that today’s kids are totally unfamiliar with was the appearance of one or more animated cartoons that precede the feature film. Two classic Warner Brothers cartoon characters that captured youthful imaginations better than any others, were Wile E. Coyote and the…
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LOS ANGELES — Harry Dean Stanton, the craggy-faced character actor who for decades filled memorable and often eccentric roles including a prisoner in “Cool Hand Luke” and the creepy polygamist prophet on “Big Love,” has died at age 91. Stanton died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles of natural causes, said John Kelly, his agent.…
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“I’m a fan of the books. That’s how I got to this property, actually,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (pictured above left) told LifeZette in an exclusive interview about the film “American Assassin,” which hits theaters this Friday. “American Assassin” is based on the popular book series by the late author Vince Flynn, about counterterrorism agent Mitch…
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You usually had a good idea of a Frank Vincent character just from his name. Billy Batts. Joey Big Ears. Dino the Rat. Tommy the Bull. Or, when he was really starting out, simply, “Mafia Thug.” But you didn’t know the real Frank Vincent — a Jersey City boy who idolized Dean Martin, once had a…
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You probably know Steve Buscemi as a character actor from films like “Billy Madison” or “The Big Lebowski.” You may even know him from his lead role in five seasons of the HBO drama, “Boardwalk Empire.” You likely don’t know him, however, as a former firefighter for the FDNY’s Engine Company 55 in Little Italy. Before…
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The events of Sept. 11, 2001, gave way to countless stories of tragedy, desperation and pain. They also also gave way to stories of bravery and unity. Amid the rubble and devastation of a terrorist attack that changed this country forever were people helping each other and first responders running toward certain danger. The country will…
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“Watch movies and TV however the BLEEP you want.” That is the motto of a modern technological David taking on corporate Goliaths. VidAngel Inc. offers filtering of certain stream-on-demand media, said CEO Neal Harmon. Consumers have the option of removing objectionable content while watching Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO Amazon Channels, all from the comfort of their home. The technology can remove obscene language, nudity and violence. By age 18, a youth has seen 16,000 murders on movies and TV, according to a 1998 study titled “Psychiatric Effects of Media Violence” by the American Psychological Association, as reported on a VidAngel promo video. Parents don’t have to worry about covering their children’s eyes or covering their ears. Consumers can filter the streaming videos through the VidAngel app on most devices, Harmon said. Does that degree of parental control sound like a good idea? Some media giants do not think so. VidAngel has been locked in a legal battle with Disney, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm for more than a year. The fight is uphill at this point as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 24 denied the company’s appeal of a preliminary injunction that was…
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Summer attendance at the box office has hit a 25-year low. This year’s total gross numbers have fallen by over six percent from last year, and this past Labor Day weekend had the worst box office numbers in 17 years. Movie theater chains are watching their stock values drop. Everybody in the industry is sweating and…
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Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Sequel” drew a lukewarm response from moviegoers, ranking 15th at the box office in its first weekend of wide release and earning tepid reviews from audiences. The sequel to Mr. Gore’s influential 2006 climate-change documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” has earned about $1 million since its limited release July 28, prompting one critic…
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Sam Shepard, paragon playwright of the American West, was born to roam. With a father who was an Army officer and sometime farmer and a mother who was a teacher, Shepard — born in 1943, the oldest of three — spent his childhood bouncing around the heartland. This would later inform his writing, which often explored…
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LOS ANGELES — It was the night of April 4, 1968, and George A. Romero was driving to New York City from Pittsburgh on a mission: In the days to come he was to meet with film studios in hopes that one might buy the horror film he was lugging in his trunk, “Night of the…
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For the third year in a row, Lynda Carter thrilled fans with songs from the Everly Brothers, Billie Holiday and other fan-favorite standards at the Franklin Theater in Franklin, Tennessee.
Read the full storyLOS ANGELES — Competing with a presidential inauguration, multicity marches and big-budget Hollywood productions, M. Night Shyamalan’s creepy psychological thriller “Split” pulled off a surprising opening weekend victory, pulling in an estimated $40.2 million. The low-budget “Split,” which cost a reported $9 million to make, blew away predictions that it would be bested by Vin Diesel’s…
Read the full storyThe story of “Beauty and the Beast” is nothing new. In fact, it’s a tale as old as time. However, Sir Ian McKellen, who plays talking clock Cogsworth in the new Disney remake starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast, guarantees that the film will have fans “enraptured.” “I’ve seen it, and…
Read the full storyThe “X-Men” movie universe is a complicated beast, but that doesn’t mean “Logan” is ignoring it entirely. Despite reports that “Logan” would be a standalone film, director James Mangold has clarified that it is connected to the other “X-Men” films. The reports started when Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine, told Digital Spy that the movie would…
Read the full story— Only comScore Provides the Official Global Movie Results — LOS ANGELES, Jan. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR) today announced the official worldwide weekend box office estimates for the weekend of January 22, 2017, as compiled by the company’s theatrical measurement services. As the trusted official standard for real-time worldwide box office reporting, comScore…
Read the full storyThe title of the next installment in the Star Wars saga has been revealed. It's official. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is the next chapter of the Skywalker saga. This December. #TheLastJedi https://t.co/ySkVwQcMTP pic.twitter.com/eHrPgbsRJq — Star Wars (@starwars) January 23, 2017 Star Wars: Episode VIII will be called Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The movie, which is scheduled for release on December 15, 2017, is written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman, with J.J. Abrams, Jason…
Read the full storyLOS ANGELES, January 21, 2017 – Big Mac, anyone? In “The Founder,” moviegoers are introduced to the legendary story of mega-fast food chain McDonalds and Ray Kroc, the man who made McEverything famous. Michael Keaton stars as Kroc, a traveling salesman who peddled milkshake machines to drive-ins across the country before he stumbled into greatness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX2uz2XYkbo…
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