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Disney has been trying — and failing — to recreate the success of the first Pirates of the Caribbean since The Curse of the Black Pearl first sailed onto the big screen in 2003. Within just a few years of that, the entertainment giant produced two flawed but serviceable, enjoyable sequels that delighted audiences with more swashbuckling fantasy, masterful effects, and fan-favorite character dynamics as the original. However, the franchise has since gone downhill, and most will agree that the later Pirates of the Caribbean movies are the worst.

Along the way, Disney tried some more movies based on theme park rides and other properties similar in tone to Pirates of the Caribbean. Jerry Bruckheimer brought the National Treasure movies to the table; The Lone Ranger completely flopped; Jungle Cruise made for an average but interesting turn. Yet none of them quite perfected the aesthetic and story perfection of Curse of the Black Pearl.

From child actor to Academy Award winner to accomplished director, Jodie Foster has built an impressive career spanning over five decades in Hollywood. Her journey is a testament to both raw talent and business acumen, setting her apart from many of her peers in the entertainment industry. While many child stars struggled to maintain their success into adulthood, Foster not only survived but thrived, building a fortune estimated at $100 million.

Jodie Foster in a still from The Silence of the Lambs (1991) | Credits: Orion Pictures

Her story isn’t just about acting talent – it’s about strategic career moves, smart financial decisions, and an uncanny ability to adapt to the ever-changing entertainment landscape. What makes her success even more remarkable is her ability to maintain a relatively low profile while consistently delivering box-office hits and critically acclaimed performances. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Foster has managed to avoid the typical pitfalls of child stardom,...

The Rotten Tomatoes score has been revealed for the series Rivals. Rivals is a new Disney+ show based on the 1988 novel of the same name by Jilly Cooper about a rivalry between Rupert Cambell-Black (Alex Hassell) and Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) that is set in 1986 and centers on the Corinium television station in the fictional Rutshire county in England. The show, which was written by Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Laura Wade and directed by Elliot Hegarty, features a supporting cast that also includes Aidan Turner, Claire Rushbrook, Katherine Parkinson, Luke Pasqualino, Lisa McGrillis, Victoria Smurfit, and Bryony Hannah.

Rotten Tomatoes has now aggregated an official score for Rivals. Although it could fluctuate as more reviews are added, at the time of writing, the series holds a Fresh 86% score from critics on the Tomatometer. This score has been tabulated from seven different critics' reviews and is a full 26% above the 60% threshold past...

It was July 1994. The summer was sizzling. And so were cinemas. That’s truly no lie.

James Cameron’s action comedy flick “True Lies” opened in theaters on the 15th of the month, knocking “Forrest Gump” from the top of the box office chart in its second week. “True Lies” starred a pre-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a U.S. government spy whose occupation is unbeknownst to his own family. (They think that he’s a salesman.) Schwarzenegger was one of the biggest movie stars on the planet at the time, thanks to a string of recent successes including 1988’s “Twins,” 1990’s “Total Recall” and 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” While “True Lies” was judged favorably by most critics, it was the bodybuilder-turned-actor’s onscreen wife Jamie Lee Curtis who received the bulk of the praise. Her nice but naive character was undergoing a midlife crisis, and Curtis injected her...

"The Simpsons" gets a lot of mileage out of its voice actors. Seriously, it feels like half of Springfield is voiced by Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, or Tress MacNeille. Despite the numerous cases of voice actors doubling up, each character in the cast sounds unique and immediately recognizable. Even Maggie Simpson, the perennial infant who never says a word, has her distinctive pacifier sound.

Most of Maggie's baby sounds are provided by Nancy Cartwright (whose primary "Simpsons" is playing Maggie's older brother Bart). On the rare occasions where Maggie does do more than squeal or suck on her binky, the show has brought out some big acting guns.

In season 2's "Bart vs Thanksgiving," Bart imagines his family being angry with him; Maggie declares, "It's your fault I can't talk!" That one line was provided by none other than an uncredited Carol Kane (who these days is rocking it as...

China-based international sales agent Rediance has acquired world sales rights to “The Falling Sky,” a feature documentary which will premiere next month at Cannes in the Directors Fortnight section. Directed by Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha, the film makes the Amazonian Yanomami people its stars.

Based on the book of the same title by shaman and Yanomami leader Davi Kopenawa and French anthropologist Bruce Albert, “The Falling Sky” portrays the indigenous community of Watorikɨ as it engages in a funeral rite known as the reahu, which is a collective effort to hold up the sky and prevent it from falling.

The film stands as a trenchant shamanic critique of the destruction of the Yanomami’s way of life caused by the intrusions of the napë, the white prospectors and the so-called civilized world into the Yanomami territory.

“The spellbinding images, meticulous sound design, and powerful words of Davi...

Disney+ Emea General Manager Luke Bradley-Jones is exiting to become President of The Economist.

Bradley-Jones will take up the President and Managing Director role at the 180-year-old publication over the summer. A recruitment process to find his replacement will begin shortly.

Bradley-Jones was responsible for the roll-out of Disney+ across the crucial Emea region, along with looking after strategy, operations, and commercial performance of Disney’s Dtc business. He has overseen big subscriber growth alongside local originals such as the upcoming Renegade Nell, The Good Mothers and Oussekine. Prior to Disney, he spent eight years at Sky including as Chief Marketing Officer.

Jan Koeppen, President of Disney Emea, said Bradley-Jones had been at the helm during a period of rapid growth.

“And, while it’s hard to lose such a highly valued team member, he’s going to a great job at The Economist, a company that he’s incredibly passionate about,...

The 30th annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards recognized the best talent in film and television industry this Saturday night. As the event unfolded, veteran actress Jodie Foster got caught off guard on camera. This happened when X-Men actor Jessica Chastain credited her for being the first recipient of Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture Award.

Jodie Foster in True Detective

SAG Awards is one of the prestigious award shows in Hollywood which celebrates the potential of the best in the entertainment world from past year projects. The former shares an old link with the SAGs due to her role in 1994’s Nell. Here’s what happened when her embarrassing moment caught on camera!

Jodie Foster Was Caught Puzzled on Camera as Jessica Chastain Honored Her

Jessica Chastain in Dark Phoenix

The 46-year-old actress, Jessica Chastain is a familiar face in the TV and film industry...

Considered to be one of the most prestigious accolades in the film industry among a select others, the Screen Actors Guild Awards is a ceremony that happens every year to commemorate the finest that Hollywood has to offer. And as this premier event turns 30 with this year’s show, Jodie Foster remembers the time she became one of the first winners of this award all those years back.

Jodie Foster in a still from Silence of the Lambs

Back in 1995, when the Screen Actors Guild Association decided to introduce their own commemorations for the talented actors, filmmakers, and other essential members of the film industry, the actress had won the Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role category for her role in the film Nell. But unlike many of her peers, she didn’t attend the ceremony in person because she had no idea that the awards were even happening until she had won.

Jodie Foster was a bit thrown when the crowd at the SAG Awards began applauding her on Saturday night, after seemingly missing the fact that presenter Jessica Chastain had shouted her out while teeing up the award.

Chastain was on hand to present the award for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture, which ended up going to “Killers of the Flower Moon” star Lily Gladstone. But, before Chastain announced the winner, she noted that Foster was the first ever winner of the category back in 1995, for her work in “Nell.”

Foster was, of course, in the audience as a contender once more this weekend, for her performance in “Nyad.” But, when the crowd began applauding and the camera panned to Foster, she was clearly confused.

“Huh? What? What’d she say?” Foster could be seen saying on camera.

You can watch the moment in the video below.

Jodie Foster's 2024 comeback features a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars for her role in Nyad. Foster's performance in Nyad marks her first Oscar nomination since 1994, reviving her career and awards season recognition. By starring in True Detective: Night Country, Foster could potentially secure both an Oscar and Emmy nomination in 2024.

Jodie Foster has finally snapped her 29-year drought at the Oscars, but this actually makes her 2024 comeback even better. Jodie Foster was one of the biggest names in Hollywood from the 1970s through the 1990s, and while she continued to find roles throughout the 2000s, the actress' awards season successes have been in a bit of a lull. However, 2024 has completely changed this, with Foster finding several recent successes. Jodie Foster's successful 2024 has done a lot to revitalize her career, with her track record at the Oscars making this situation even better.

Jodie Foster was...

Acclaimed actress-filmmaker Jodie Foster finds it is “cool” that there’s been 47 years between her first Oscar nomination for ‘Taxi Driver’ and her most recent for ‘Nyad’. The 61-year-old actress was recently shortlisted for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role accolade for her work on ‘Nyad’, an biographical sports drama film about swimmer Diana Nyad’s multiple attempts in the early 2010s to swim the Straits of Florida, with flashbacks to her early life.

Jodie, whose first nomination was for ‘Taxi Driver’ in 1976, told The Rake: “Oh, really. That’s cool, I like that statistic. Look, I worked in the sixties, the seventies, the eighties, the nineties, the noughts, the tens and the twenties… That’s amazing, all those different eras.”

The ‘True Detective’ actress became the youngest double Oscar winner in history when she was 29, taking Best Actress in a Leading Role for ‘The Accused’ in 1988 and ‘Silence...

Upon securing a spot in the 2024 Best Supporting Actress Oscar lineup, Jodie Foster (“Nyad”) officially shattered the Academy Awards record for longest span between fourth and fifth acting nominations. Following her two Best Actress wins for “The Accused” (1989) and “The Silence of the Lambs” (1992), she had last been recognized in that category for “Nell” (1995), making for a general nomination gap of 29 years. Coincidentally, she took this particular distinction from fellow “Silence of the Lambs” winner Anthony Hopkins, who waited 22 years between his supporting bids for “Amistad” (1998) and “The Two Popes” (2020).

Previously, the female record for longest wait for a fifth nomination was 12 years, as shared by Julianne Moore and Frances McDormand. Considering gaps between any two consecutive acting nominations, Foster ranks well behind overall record holder Judd Hirsch, whose first and second career notices for “Ordinary People” (1981) and “The Fabelmans” (2023) came 42 years apart. His female counterpart is Helen Hayes (39 years...

By racking up three Best Actress Oscar notices between the ages of 26 and 32, previous teenage supporting nominee Jodie Foster proved it possible to earn academy recognition more than twice during adulthood after initially charming them as a child. Now, nearly three decades later, she has improved upon that distinction by landing her fifth career bid for “Nyad,” thus entering the Best Supporting Actress arena for the first time as an adult. Since her two featured bids are separated by 47 years, she now holds the record for longest span between consecutive Oscar nominations in a single acting category.

Foster, who first caught the academy’s attention at 14, belongs to the 18% minority of child nominees who went on to contend as adults. She was preceded in that regard by 17-year-old “Rebel Without a Cause” (1956) cast mates Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood and has only been followed by Saoirse Ronan, who competed for...

Jodie Foster is explaining why she hid her acting career from her young children.

The 61-year-old Silence of the Lambs star shares two sons with her former partner Cydney Bernard: Charles “Charlie” Bernard Foster, 25, and Christopher “Kit” Bernard Foster, 22.

While reflecting on her nearly six decades in the entertainment industry, Jodie opened up about why her children didn’t know about her film career until they were older.

Keep reading to find out more…

“I guess I just didn’t want them to know me that way, the two-time Oscar winner said during an appearance on The View on Friday (January 19). “I wanted them to know me as their mom and the person who went away to work and stuff. I just didn’t want them to be confused about what I did for a living.”

Jodie said that she even convinced her older son that she was a construction worker.

With the Screen-to-Stage-back to Screen adaptation of Mean Girls landing in first place this weekend, we wanted to know what film based on a play has been your favorite? Are Oscar winning musicals such as Chicago or Amadeus your favorite? Maybe the classics like Grease or Little Shop of Horrors are more your speed? Or perhaps a nice court room drama such as A Few Good Men ranks number one for you? If you don’t see your favorite listed click the “Other” button and let us know what your favorite is in the comments.

Favorite Stage-to-Screen AdaptationCasablanca (1943)West Side Story (1961)My Fair Lady (1964)The Sound of Music (1965)A Man For All Seasons (1966)Oliver! (1968)Amadeus (1984)Driving Miss Daisy (1989)Chicago (2002)Alfie (1966)American Buffalo (1996)Annie (1982)Annie Get Your Gun (1950)A Bronx Tale (1993)Bug (2007)Cabaret (1972)Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)Children of a Lesser God (1986)Closer (2004)The Crucible (1996)Cyrano (2021)Dear Evan Hansen...

The newest trend in horror is this: once you’ve exhausted your franchise with as many sequels as possible, many of them delivering diminishing returns, unfortunately, the only way forward is backward. And thus, you’ll have noticed many horror franchises going the prequel route in order to start fresh and new. Recent examples include “Prometheus,” “Prey,” “Pearl,” “Insidious: Chapter 3,” “Annabelle: Creation,” and “Ouija: Origin of Evil”.

Continue reading ‘First Omen’ Trailer: Nell Tiger Free Stars In A Supernatural Prequel To The Classic Horror Franchise at The Playlist.

Jodie Foster is fast becoming a sure thing for a Best Supporting Actress nomination at this year’s Oscars and her status as Golden Globe favorite for “Nyad” only boosts that theory.

Foster c0-stars in this Netflix biopic which charts Diana Nyad’s attempts to swim across the 110-mile open ocean from Cuba to Florida. Annette Bening takes on the titular role while Foster features as Nyad’s coach and friend, Bonnie Stoll. Foster arguably has the meatier role out of the two as the entire climax of the film features Bening’s Nyad swimming, largely without dialogue. That leaves Foster’s Stoll as the narrative anchor and the actress delivers a supporting turn that feels like a co-lead (this is something Oscar voters love in this category but we’ll get back to that later). Critics love Foster’s performance, too.

Peter Debruge (Variety) observed: “Foster proves a...

This year’s Golden Globe nominees for Best Film Supporting Actress are Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”), Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”), Jodie Foster (“Nyad”), Julianne Moore (“May December”), Rosamund Pike (“Saltburn”), and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”). Two of them in particular, Foster and Moore, happen to have something in common. It’s not just the fact that they’re both previous Oscar winners contending for Netflix releases this year. It’s actually the fact that they’ve both taken on the role of Clarice Starling in separate films adapted from novelist Thomas Harris‘s Hannibal Lecter series.

In 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs” directed by Jonathan Demme, Foster played Clarice, who was assigned by the FBI to interview and profile deranged killer Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). The film was a huge critical and commercial hit upon release that February, so much so that 13 months later it won five Academy Awards including Best Picture.

"Renegade Nell" is a new 8-episode action fantasy, adventure TV series, directed by Ben Taylor, starring Louisa Harland as 'Nell', who unexpectedly becomes the most notorious highwaywoman in 18th Century England, premiering in 2024:

"....'Nell' is a quick-witted and courageous young woman who finds herself framed for murder...

"...and unexpectedly becomes the most notorious 'highwaywoman' in 18th Century England. 

"But when a magical spirit called 'Billy Blind' appears, Nell realizes her destiny is bigger than she ever imagined..."

Click the images to enlarge...

There is no exit for American Psycho. Bret Easton Ellis‘ hilarious and grisly novel has hardly gathered dust since its 1991 publication, thanks to the shock and awe of the narrative, the ensuing cultural reaction, and, no doubt, Mary Harron‘s slick 2000 feature adaptation that re-introduced Christian Bale to a post-Newsies generation (and also nabbed him the cowl). Blame it on the dark humor, the ’80s nostalgia, or our predilection for primal indulgences, but Patrick Bateman remains one of the rare cultish enigmas of the 21st century. One that is seemingly impervious to memes, merch, and even a middling Dtv sequel.

But what about a musical? These days it’s perhaps no surprise that even Ellis isn’t immune to Broadway’s IP-driven pursuits. Yet there was admittedly a slight reluctance in seeing this particular story leap from page to stage. After all, the journey to celluloid alone was paved with...

Steven J Martin and the crew of Must See Pictures have been quite busy this year, with “She Sings to Birds” being the third movie they shoot in 2023, in a title that had its American premiere a few days ago in Hyannis Film Festival. It is also worth mentioning that the transition from intense stage play aesthetics is essentially completed, with the film being the most cinematic the group has shot so far.

“She Sings to Birds” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative

After the loss of her beloved husband, Michiko, an elderly woman, falls into the throes of dementia, only communicating with weird sounds and the movement of her hands, to the annoyance of her daughter, Sara. However, when a new caretaker, Megumi, enters her life, she becomes convinced that Michiko can talk with birds, and even shares her thoughts with Sara. Despite her initial reluctance towards the newcomer,...

Just keep swimming… to Oscar? Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng are here to discuss “Nyad,” last-minute contender “Memory” and more.

After opening in limited release two weeks ago (which you may not have noticed since that was the same weekend that “Killers of the Flower Moon” opened), “Nyad” will arrive on Netflix on Friday. The film, which marks the narrative directorial debut of Oscar winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, follows Diana Nyad‘s (Annette Bening) lifelong quest to swim from Cuba to Florida with the support of her friend-turned-coach Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster). Will Bening get her fifth Oscar nomination for this physically demanding role? And can Foster return to the Oscars 29 years after her last nomination for “Nell”?

See Experts slugfest: Will ‘The Holdovers’ win over Oscar voters? Plus: Gotham Awards nominations

Meanwhile, there’s a last-minute entrant in the Oscar race.

Neeson. Liam Neeson. For awhile, in the mid-nineties, after Timothy Dalton quit as James Bond, pretty much every European leading man had his name associated with James Bond, including Mel Gibson, Ralph Fiennes, and now Liam Neeson is saying he too was considered by the Broccolis. As he told Rolling Stone, it came pretty close to happening:

‘Schindler’s List’ had come out and Barbara [Broccoli] had called me a couple of times to ask if I was interested, and I said, ‘Yes, I would be interested.’ And then my lovely wife Natasha Richardson, God rest her soul, said to me while we were shooting ‘Nell’ down in the Carolinas, ‘Liam, I want to tell you something: If you play James Bond, we’re not getting married.’”

While Neeson admits to occasionally walking around the house humming the James Bond theme to himself to tease his late wife, he admits he has no regrets.

Liam Neeson revealed in a recent interview with Rolling Stone that James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli contacted him several times in the 1990s to ask if he was interested in taking on the role of 007. The actor was fresh off an Oscar nomination for best actor at the time thanks to “Schindler’s List.” Why turn down one of the most iconic action roles in film history? It all came down to Neeson’s wife, Natasha Richardson.

“I know the Broccolis. They looked at a bunch of actors,” Neeson said. “‘Schindler’s List’ had come out and Barbara [Broccoli] had called me a couple of times to ask if I was interested, and I said, ‘Yes, I would be interested.’ And then my lovely wife [Natasha Richardson], God rest her soul, said to me while we were shooting ‘Nell’ down in the Carolinas, ‘Liam, I want to tell you something: If you play James Bond,...

Writer / Director / Actor Halina Reijn discusses some of her favorite movies with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Rrr (2022)

Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Gothic (1986)

Warlock (1989)

Annie (1982)

Midsommar (2019) – Dennis Cozzalio’s 2019 year-end movie roundup

Bambi (1942) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary

Annie (2014)

A Woman Under The Influence (1974)

Husbands (1970) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Opening Night (1977)

The Piano Teacher (2001) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Black Book (2006)

Elle (2016) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review, Dennis Cozzalio’s 2016 year-end movie roundup

The Fourth Man (1983)

Basic Instinct (1992) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary

Showgirls (1995)

Indecent Proposal (1993)

Fatal Attraction (1987) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

9 ½ Weeks (1986)

Fifty Shades Of Grey (2015)

365 Days (2020)

A History Of Violence (2005)

Last Tango In Paris (1972) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary

Chinatown (1974) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary

Marathon Man (1976)

The Abyss (1989)

Apocalypse Now (1979) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?...

Exclusive: New Girl alumna Hannah Simone has been tapped as a series regular opposite Gina Rodriguez on ABC’s new comedy series Not Dead Yet, from Casey Johnson and David Windsor, McG and 20th Television.

She will play a new character, Sam, in the project based on Alexandra Potter’s 2020 book Confessions of a Forty-Something F**k Up. Sam, who is a colleague of Rodriguez’s Nell, is part of the retooling of the single-camera comedy, which now is leaning more heavily into the workplace, with the female-friendship storyline from the pilot phased out. As a result, Jessica St. Clair and Mary Elizabeth Ellis, who played Nell’s girlfriends Annabel and Fiona in the pilot, did not continue on the series.

Written by Johnson and David Windsor, Not Dead Yet centers on newly single and feeling-old Nell Stevens (Rodriguez), a self-described disaster who works to restart the life and career she left behind 10 years ago.

Jodie Foster is set for one of the lead roles in “True Detective” Season 4 at HBO, Variety has learned.

The new season of the anthology crime series was first reported as being in development in March 2022, though no official plot details were confirmed at that time.

Now it is known that in the fourth season, when the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the six men that operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.

Foster is a two-time Academy Award winner and a four-time nominee. She won the award for best actress for her roles in both “The Accused” and “The Silence of the Lambs.” She was first nominated in the best...

The award ceremony is set to take place at the Music Center De Bijloke in Ghent.

US film composer and jazz artist Mark Isham will be this year’s guest of honour at the 22nd World Soundtrack Awards on October 22.

The awards ceremony will be held as part of the Film Fest Ghent taking place at the Music Center De Bijloke in Ghent, Belgium.

Isham’s most notable credits include Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break, Shaka King’s Judas And The Black Messiah, Paul Haggis’ Crash and Michael Apted’s Nell. He was Golden Globe-nominated for the latter.

He is...

Four Grammy Awards. Five American Music Awards. Multiple MTV Movie and Video Music Awards. Can Will Smith add a Screen Actors Guild Award to his trophy collection?

Note that I’m not talking about the Oscar here. I’m specifically focused on his individual SAG Award bid. And yes, Mr. Smith should plan to make a little room for a new piece of Hollywood hardware. Here are five reasons why he’ll win the Best Actor SAG Award for Warner Bros’ “King Richard.”

See ‘Don’t Look Up’ silences haters by scoring 4 Oscar nominations including, yep, Best Picture

1. He’s Will Smith.

He’s played a prince, a bad boy and a boxer. He’s battled aliens, cowboys and robots. He’s been one of the biggest stars in the world for a quarter of a century. He’s a legend. And he’s not just a marquee attraction; he’s...

Sensing a potential trend in the possible nominations of three major Oscars categories — best director, actor and actress — we could see a first-time occurrence for the Academy Awards on Tuesday. However, if you read the tea leaves put forth by the nominations for the DGA and SAG, there’s a strong possibility that all three of those categories may not include a first-time nominee — a first in Oscar history.

For best actor, the SAG lineup recognized all former nominees and winners — Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”), Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”), Andrew Garfield, Will Smith (“King Richard”) and Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”). Even the ones on the bubble are once-nominated or crowned, including Mahershala Ali (“Swan Song”), Bradley Cooper (“Nightmare Alley”) and Leonardo DiCaprio (“Don’t Look Up”). The closest first-timers in the running seem to be Golden Globe nominees Peter Dinklage (“Cyrano”) and Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza...

The Screen Actors Guild Awards have one of the best track records with the four Oscar acting categories: SAG has only mismatched five times in Best Actor, seven times in Best Actress, nine times in Best Supporting Actor and eight times in Best Supporting Actress. That’s pretty good news for SAG champs Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom“), Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) and Yuh-Jung Youn (“Minari”). But while SAG matches up with Oscar a lot in the categories individually, it has comparatively less success batting 1000 in all four categories in one year.

In its 26-year history, SAG has directly matched 4/4 with Oscar only eight times, most recently last year with sweepers Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”), Renee Zellweger (“Judy”), Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”). That was the second season with a complete 20/20 acting sweep of the Golden Globe,...

After a completely crazy year, where the coronavirus forced most movie theaters to shut down — and the Oscars voting window was extended by two months — it was mostly business as usual at the 93rd annual Academy Awards nominations.

“Mank,” a black-and-white drama from Netflix about the making of “Citizen Kane,” led the pack with 10 nominations. After that, Oscar voters shared the wealth, as six films received six nominations: “The Father,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “Sound of Metal” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

For decades, the Oscars have failed to nominate worthy female directors in the best director category. But on Monday morning, history was made: two women directors — Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”) and Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) — were nominated together in the category for the first time ever. Both films received best picture nods, the third time two female-helmed titles have been recognized in the top category.

Golden Globes viewers were likely stunned on Sunday night when Jodie Foster won Best Supporting Actress at the 2021 ceremony for her performance in “The Mauritanian.” Before her upset victory — which seemed to surprise Foster as much as anyone else — it’s likely few had seen the Kevin Macdonald film. Released in theaters last month, “The Mauritanian” has earned just over $500,000 at the coronavirus-impacted box office. But with Oscar voting starting soon, the STX movie is finally available to watch nationwide via on-demand services. Ahead, how to watch “The Mauritanian” starring Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Shailene Woodley, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Where can I watch “The Mauritanian”?

“The Mauritanian” is out in limited theatrical release now in areas where theaters are open. But for those who would rather not venture to a movie theater during a global pandemic, “The Mauritanian” is also available via premium-video-on-demand services starting March 2.

Is “The Mauritanian” playing in theaters near me?...

Since she began acting at the age of 6, Jodie Foster has served as a role model for child actors by demonstrating how to effectively transition to a lasting adult career. Now 58, she is an expert at deliberately choosing projects that reflect her own deeply felt convictions. Nearly every character she has ever played has confronted some sort of injustice, often when no one else will. The same is true of her latest role in “The Mauritanian,” which has brought her her eighth acting Golden Globe nomination.

Foster faces off against Glenn Close (“Hillbilly Elegy”), Olivia Colman (“The Father”), Amanda Seyfried (“Mank”) and Helena Zengel (“News of the World”) in the race for Best Film Supporting Actress. All five competitors are new to the category, but Close and Colman have each won three times outside of it. They both took home Best Actress awards in 2019, with Close winning for her dramatic...

Three-time Golden Globe Award winner Jodie Foster is nominated for the first time in nine years, for portraying Nancy Hollander in the new docudrama “The Mauritanian” from STX. She contends in the Best Supporting Actress race as the real-life defense attorney; Foster’s co-star Tahar Rahim is up for Best Drama Actor as her client Mohamedou Ould Salahi, who was detained at Guantanamo Bay from 2002 to 2016.

Hollander was on set during filming and Foster explains in her exclusive interview with Gold Derby about playing her (watch the video above), “There are a few things that I didn’t take from her because I felt like they might hurt the pace of the movie or they might not help establish the relationship with Mohamedou.”

SEEour interview with Tahar Rahim.

Foster reveals that she excised swaths of her own material after joining the project to remove the “more distracting parts of Nancy’s life.

When Jodie Foster accepted her second Academy Award in 1992 for her portrayal of Clarice Starling in “The Silence of the Lambs,” she expressed gratitude for the embracement of “such an incredibly strong and beautiful feminist hero.” In the almost three decades since, she has continued to play all sorts of gutsy women in films like “Contact,” “Panic Room,” and “The Brave One.” But she has been nominated for only one of these roles – “Nell” in 1995. She lost that race to Jessica Lange (“Blue Sky”).

This year she should finally be back on the academy’s radar for her scene-stealing turn in “The Mauritanian” from STX. Kevin Macdonald’s gripping docudrama tells the story of Mohamedou Ould Salahi, who was erroneously detained at Guantanamo Bay detention camp for 14 years on suspicion of involvement in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Foster portrays Nancy Hollander, a New Mexico defense attorney who bravely decides to take...

Steven Soderbergh hails “remarkable body of work”.

Michael Apted, director of the "Up" documentary series and Bond thriller The World Is Not Enough, has died. He was 79.

Apted passed away on Thursday night (January 7). Sources at The Gersh Agency and Directors Guild of America (DGA) confirmed the news to Screendaily but did not provide further details.

The English film and TV writer and director was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, on February 10, 1941, and served three terms as president of the DGA spanning 2003-2009.

He was a mainstay on the ground-breaking Up TV documentary series that chronicled the lives of 14 British people from childhood,...

Michael Apted, the award-winning British filmmaker behind the groundbreaking 7 Up documentaries and such feature films as Coal Miner’s Daughter, The World Is Not Enough, Gorillas in the Mist and Gorky Park, has died. He was 79. The Gersh Agency confirmed the news but did not immediately provide details of Apted’s death.

Apted served as DGA president for three terms from 2003-09, the longest consecutive presidential service since the 1960s.

“Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the passing of esteemed director, longtime DGA leader and my friend Michael Apted,” said DGA president Thomas Schlamme. “His legacy will be forever woven into the fabric of cinema and our Guild. A fearless visionary as a director and unparalleled Guild leader, Michael saw the trajectory of things when others didn’t, and we were all the beneficiaries of his wisdom and lifelong dedication.”

Apted had dozens of film and TV credits during...

Michael Apted, the beloved British documentary filmmaker behind the decades-spanning “Seven Up” film series as well as a body of acclaimed fiction films, has died. The filmmaker was 79. The news of his passing was confirmed by Roy Ashton at the Gersh Agency, though a cause of death has not been revealed.

Apted’s last entry in his documentary film series, which interviews follows a group of British ciitizens from childhood into old age, was 2019’s “63 Up.” He was also known for directing films including “The World Is Not Enough,” “Nell,” “Gorillas in the Mist,” “Thunderheart,” “Enigma,” “Enough,” and his feature directorial debut “The Triple Echo,” starring Glenda Jackson and Oliver Reed. His “Seven Up” series began in 1964, with a total of nine entries over the decades. Apted also made music documentaries focused on the likes of The Rolling Stones and David Bowie.

“Our hearts are heavy today as we...

Michael Apted, British director of the “Up” series of documentaries, as well as “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” “Gorillas in the Mist” (1988), James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough” (1999) and “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (2010), has died, his agency Gersh confirmed. He was 79.

Apted directed three actors in performances that drew Academy Award nominations: Sissy Spacek in “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” Sigourney Weaver in “Gorillas in the Mist” and Jodie Foster in “Nell,” with Spacek going on to win the Oscar.

His “Up” series of documentaries for Granada Television, in which he profiled a varied group of young Britons and revisited them every seven years to what changes time had wrought, topped the list in the 2005 Channel 4 Program “The 50 Greatest Documentaries.”

Apted also served as president of the Directors Guild of America from 2003-09 and helped negotiate its contracts with producers.

DGA President Thomas Schlamme said in a statement,...

Michael Apted, the acclaimed British director behind the revolutionary series of decades-spanning Seven Up documentaries and features including Coal Miner’s Daughter, Nell and The World Is Not Enough, has died. He was 79.

Roy Ashton at the Gersh Agency confirmed Apted’s death to The Hollywood Reporter. No details of his passing were immediately available.

Apted made his feature directorial debut with the war saga The Triple Echo (1972), starring Glenda Jackson and Oliver Reed, and his résumé also included Continental Divide (1981), featuring John Belushi as a romantic lead; the crime drama Class Action (1991), starring Gene Hackman; and the thrillers Gorky Park (1983), featuring William Hurt; Thunderheart (1992), with Val Kilmer; Blink (1993), starring ...

STXfilms has decided to enter this unconventional awards season with a mighty and timely drama, “The Mauritanian,” formerly called “Prisoner 760,” from Scottish director Kevin Macdonald. The film will be released on Feb. 19, 2021, and could echo the same late-breaking awards success that past movies like “Million Dollar Baby” were able to execute. With an impressive cast that includes Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch and Shailene Woodley, the inspiring true story could resonate with AMPAS voters, especially its large international membership.

“The Mauritanian” tells the true story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Rahim), who was held captive and tortured by the U.S. government in Guantanamo Bay detention camp for 10 years without a charge or trial. Losing faith, he finds hope in defense attorney Nancy Hollander (Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Woodley), who face countless legal obstacles in their pursuit of justice.

I was able to view an unfinished version of the film,...

You’re going to have to steel yourself for this monster of a content update. Between them, Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime have an obscene number of quality titles debuting this weekend.

Be it films or television shows, new releases or old classics, there’s a ton to dig into here. So if you’re ready, let’s dive right in…

Netflix

July 31st

Get Even — Netflix Original

Latte and the Magic Waterstone — Netflix Family

Seriously Single — Netflix Film

The Speed Cubers — Netflix Documentary

Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet — Netflix Original

The Umbrella Academy: Season 2 — Netflix Original

Vis a vis: El Oasis (Locked Up) — Netflix Original

August 1st

A Knight’s Tale

Acts of Violence

The Addams Family (1991)

An Education

Being John Malkovich

Death at a Funeral

Dennis the Menace

Elizabeth Harvest

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Hardcore Henry

Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Season 1-2

Jurassic Park...

With the end of the month ahead of us, we now have a full list of everything that’s coming to Netflix and the various other streaming services across August. The sites will continue to do their best to keep you from straying out into the sun for the rest of the summer, too, as each of them has got a whole heap of new movies and TV shows coming to their libraries that you’ll want to check out. Mostly classic films you’ll enjoy sticking on again, but also a few much-anticipated originals, too.

See below for the full line-up of titles coming to Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Hulu and Prime Video, as well as our own picks for what should be on your radar.

August 1

Netflix

A Knight’s Tale

Acts of Violence

The Addams Family (1991)

An Education

Being John Malkovich

Death at a Funeral

Dennis the Menace...

HBO Max is continuing to pull from Warner Bros.’ incredible back catalogue of movies, with August bringing a huge number of new titles to the streaming service. With over 130 new pieces of content, the list of upcoming arrivals encompasses classic films of all kinds, from Oscar winners to comedies, horrors to family pics and, of course, tons of blockbusters.

A highlight for many users will probably be the glut of Batman films coming to HBO Max at the start of the month. Every cinematic outing for the Caped Crusader from 1989’s Batman starring Michael Keaton to 2008’s The Dark Knight with Christian Bale (which just celebrated its 12th anniversary this weekend) are going up on the site. Sticking in Gotham, both seasons of Harley Quinn are also coming to HBO Max, following their original release on DC Universe.

Elsewhere on August 1st, some of the more notable new titles include Before Sunrise and its sequel,...

It’s August 2020 and that can only mean one thing: HBO Max is about to enter Lovecraft Country.

Over the years HBO (and by the transitive property its new HBO Max streaming offshoot) has grown accustomed to debuting a buzzworthy new TV show or limited series every couple of months. For August 2020 that will almost certainly be Southern Gothic horror series Lovecraft Country. The J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele-produced thriller arrives on August 14 on HBO and HBO Max.

Other strong HBO Max originals arriving in August include the documentary Class Action Park (release date Tbd), Seth Rogen-starring comedy An American Pickle (Aug. 6), and finales for I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Doom Patrol, and Perry Mason.

Of course, HBO Max is designed to house much of WarnerMedia’s content across many mediums. That means some recent movies on note like Jojo Rabbit (Aug. 1), Richard Jewell (Aug. 8), and Birds of Prey (Aug.

IFC Films is acquiring U.S. rights to “Summerland,” a British drama starring Gemma Arterton and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Variety has learned exclusively.

The movie is the directorial feature debut from Jessica Swale, who won an Olivier Award for her play “Nell Gwynn,” in which Arterton and Mbatha-Raw both starred. Swale was named as one of Variety’s Brits to Watch in 2019.

IFC Films will release “Summerland” on July 31. In the film, Arterton portrays a fiercely independent folklore investigator who secludes herself in her clifftop study to debunk myths using science to disprove the existence of magic. Consumed by her work, but also profoundly lonely, she is haunted by a love affair from her past. When Lucas Bond’s spirited evacuee from the London Blitz is dumped into her irritable care, his innocence and curiosity awaken her buried emotions. “Summerland” also stars Penelope Wilton (“Downton Abbey”) and Tom Courtenay.

“‘Summerland’ reinforces...

by Nathaniel R

Hope Gap

Have you ever wanted to see Annette Bening play a retired British poet attempting to create her own 'Martha & George'  dynamic with her unwilling elderly husband (Bill Nighy)? That was a rhetorical question. Of course you want to see The Bening do that as you'd want to see her do all things onscreen if you have any taste. Hope Gap, the second directorial effort from long time screenwriter William Nicholson, is about a married couple of 29 years whose marriage has died. The wife just doesn't know it yet and continually "has a go" at her husband, eager to see him fight back or express anything at all. Their loving but avoidant son is completely out of his depth as he is forced into the role of shoulder-to-cry on, referee, and messenger boy all at once. Though Bening struggles a bit with the accent, she's on...

After the same four people became the first quartet to run the table with all the major acting awards last year en route to Oscar gold, it’s refreshing to know that we definitely won’t get that sheep mentality rubber-stamping this year.

The Golden Globe Best Actor champs Christian Bale (“Vice”) and Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) have already split the Critics’ Choice (Bale) and Screen Actors Guild Awards (Malek). Globe and Critics’ Choice supporting actress winner Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”) was snubbed at SAG and BAFTA. And SAG gave its supporting actress statuette to an Oscar snubbee, Emily Blunt (“A Quiet Place”), for the second time in four years, guaranteeing that the four SAG Awards winners — Glenn Close (“The Wife”) and Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”) being the others — won’t all go on to win the corresponding Oscar.

The SAG Awards has a good track record with the academy.