Even though Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren, a.k.a. Ben Solo, died seven years ago in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, many fans have been mourning him in a different way over the last six months. In October, Adam Driver revealed he’d tried to bring back the character for a post-Rise of Skywalker movie with Steven Soderbergh, but Lucasfilm ended up scrapping the project. Had The Hunt for Ben Solo moved forward on the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows slate, this would have been Soderbergh’s first time helming a franchise feature, and now he’s weighed in on if he might join other franchises instead.

While Star Wars fans continue to campaign for the Kylo Ren movie, hoping to get the Lucasfilm leadership to change their minds about it, Steven Soderbergh has made it clear it’s not going to make a difference. That’s fair enough, but the filmmaker also had this to say when asked by The Daily Beast about if this experience made him “warier about joining a gigantic franchise machine”:

So on the one hand, Steven Soderbergh’s not ruling out that he could board a different franchise somewhere down the line. On the other hand, it’s not like he’s chomping at the bit to do so. Soderbergh has been a regular presence in Hollywood since delivering Sex, Lies, and Videotape in 1989, and the notable movies he’d made since then include Erin Brockovich, the original Ocean’s trilogy, the Magic Mike trilogy and Logan Lucky. He’s made it this far and is confident he can continue navigating the ever-changing film industry landscape, with or without franchises.

That’s not to say that losing out on making a Star Wars movie didn’t disappoint Steven Soderbergh. He had high hopes for The Hunt for Ben Solo, as it was going to be a departure from the “either small or mid-sized” that he’s been working on over the last several years, saying:

It’s a shame we’ll never get to see this vision that Steven Soderbergh and Adam Driver crafted with Rebecca Blunt realized. Soderbergh previously said that the Disney leadership couldn’t wrap their heads around Kylo Ren coming back to life in The Hunt for Ben Solo. So despite the fact that Disney and Lucasfilm are both under new leadership these days, Soderbergh has made peace with this project never seeing the light of day. Maybe another franchise will court him, but as far as Star Wars goes, that ship has sailed.

What we can look forward to on the Star Wars front is The Mandalorian & Grogu releasing in theaters on May 22, and Star Wars: Starfighter will follow on May 28, 2027. Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord is also currently streaming to fans who are signed up with a Disney+ subscription, and Ahsoka Season 2 is also expected to premiere sometime on the 2026 TV schedule.

There are several upcoming Star Wars movies that are on the docket, while the fates of others remain unclear. What’s known with certainty, for now, though is that Steven Soderbergh and Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren-centric film isn’t happening. Driver went viral after revealing he was developing The Hunt for Ben Solo alongside the acclaimed director. Ultimately, the powers that be passed on the project, and it simply remains a pipe dream for now. Despite that, Soderbergh has an admirable take on crafting the scrapped flick.

While Soderbergh hasn’t shared many specific story details on Hunt for Ben Solo, he has been clear about the fact that a lot of work went into getting the script off the ground. That screenplay came up again while the Black Bag helmer was speaking with Variety. During the interview, Soderbergh was asked about what he learned from the process of trying to get that Star Wars movie off the ground. Soderbergh shared a lovely perspective while also revealing that Driver “felt bad” about getting him involved once the cancellation down:

Now, this sounds like someone who just appreciates the opportunity to work alongside other motivated creatives. I love that Soderbergh doesn’t view the experience as having been “wasted” time and is happy to have worked with Driver, Blunt and Burns. And, of course, another aspect of these comments that’s sweet is the reveal of Soderbergh telling Driver not to feel upset over bringing him into the project only for it to get scrapped. This honestly sounds like the kind of collaborator someone would want to have in their corner.

Adam Driver was the one to reveal The Hunt for Ben Solo during an interview given last fall and revealed that he, Soderbergh and co. presented the idea to since-retired Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy along with executives Dave Filoni (now co-president) and Carrie Beck. While the trio was apparently ecstatic about the idea, Bob Iger and Alan Bergman at Disney passed on the movie. Steven Soderbergh later revealed that he and Driver talked about the latter discussing the project publicly, and the No Sudden Move helmer simply advised him not to “editorialize” what led to their film being scrapped.

Next to nothing has been shared in regard to plot details on the Ben Solo movie, which is reportedly on the back burner now. Still, it was revealed that the film was to take place after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Even faced with only a few details, more than a few fans eventually started campaigning for the Kylo Ren movie.

By the looks of it, though, Steven Soderbergh has put the kibosh on the SW movie, recently saying that “if it was gonna happen, it would have happened.” It’s a shame fans will probably never get to see this big-screen idea for Kylo Ren realized. Nevertheless, I still love that Soderbergh doesn’t regret his time working on the ill-fated movie. In the meantime, franchise devotees can theorize about what would’ve been next for Ben had the film been made.

Fans can currently check out Adam Driver’s performance as Ben Solo/Kylo Ren by streaming the Star Wars sequel trilogy with a Disney+ subscription.

Star Wars is one of the biggest franchise of all time, with generations of moviegoers brought up on the galaxy far far away. Fans are always looking for update about the Star Wars movies (which are streaming with a Disney+ subscription), especially since the franchise hasn't been on the big screen since The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters. The fandom has been campaigning for the scrapped Kylo Ren movie, but could it actually still happen?

The internet exploded when Adam Driver revealed he had worked on Kylo Ren movie with Steven Soderbergh which would have been titled The Hunt For Ben Solo. There's been non-stop chatter from fans ever since, and in a recent interview with The Playlist, the Erin Brockovich director got honest about whether or not the discourse was helping. He said:

Womp womp. While I appreciate Soderbergh's candor, it's a real bummer that the fan campaigns for The Hunt For Ben Solo aren't actually making a difference. Despite the ongoing discourse about how great it would be to see Adam Driver back as Kylo Ren, it seems like the project won't join the ranks of upcoming Star Wars movies. Although whether or not this actually discourages fans from making their voices heard remains to be seen.

Soderbergh previously revealed that the studio couldn't get behind behind the idea of Ben Solo somehow being alive, especially after he perished at the end of The Rise of Skywalker. But fans were holding out hope Disney and Lucasfilm might change their minds. Later in the same interview, the filmmaker shared his feelings about the scrapped blockbuster, offering:

It sounds like the iconic director doesn't have any hard feelings, despite the work he put into The Hunt for Ben Solo. While the movie will seemingly never see the light of day, it sounds like he learned some lessons from crafting the pitch alongside Adam Driver. Still, I really wish we got to see the project come together, and get another entry in Kylo Ren's story.

Star Wars will return to theaters with The Mandalorian and Grogu, which will be released May 22nd as part of the 2026 movie release schedule. As for Driver's Ben Solo, I'm going to hold out hope that he makes an appearance in the developing Rey movie... even if its as a Force Ghost.

While there are a handful of upcoming Star Wars movies to look forward to, one focused on Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren, a.k.a. Ben Solo, isn’t among them. Last October, Driver revealed that he’d teamed up with Steven Soderbergh, who directed him in Logan Lucky, and Rebecca Blunt to put together a story following Ben after he’s somehow resurrected post-Rise of Skywalker. Alas, Lucasfilm didn’t bite at the project, but when the time came that Driver decided he wanted to talk about this scrapped attempt to bring back Kylo Ren, Soderbergh gave him some advice.

During Soderbergh’s interview with BKMag, it was brought up how it sounded that the Kylo Ren movie was close getting greenlighted by then-Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and the rest of the company’s leadership, only for the even higher-ups at Disney to put the kibosh on that for “story reasons.” When the Ocean’s trilogy filmmaker was asked if he was aware how disappointed Kennedy was that this happened, he answered:

Per what Adam Driver said in October, it was Disney heads Alan Horn and Bob Iger specifically who understand how Ben Solo could still be alive after The Rise of Skywalker, hence why the movie didn’t move forward. The actor was willing to share that information, but it also sounds like he took Steven Soderbergh’s advice and didn’t share his personal opinion on these events. From his end, Soderbergh is certainly still displeased with how all that work he poured into the Star Wars project with Driver and Rebecca Blunt ultimately didn’t pay off, saying:

While I’m sure there will be other opportunities to see Kylo Ren in action in novels, comic book series and maybe even video games, this movie would have been Adam Driver’s last chance to reprise the character. Admittedly, I’d raise an eyebrow at most people trying to bring Ben Solo back to life after he nobly sacrificed himself in The Rise of Skywalker. However, if Driver, Steven Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt were willing to dedicate two and a half years into figuring out this twisty return without being paid, then I’m annoyed we’ll never learn what they came up with for Lucasfilm.

With Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan now running Lucasfilm together, and Josh D’Amaro set to succeed Bob Iger as CEO of The Walt Disney Company, perhaps there’s a chance this Kylo Ren movie could be revived in this new era, just like what was planned for the character. For now, though, we can look forward to The Mandalorian & Grogu, the first Star Wars movie since The Rise of Skywalker, being released in theaters on May 22. The Ryan Gosling-led Star Wars: Starfighter will follow on May 28, 2027.

The movie branch of the Star Wars franchise has been in an interesting position over the past several years, as no theatrical films have been released since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. Some films have since entered production, thankfully, though fans were recently met with the news of a scrapped production – a film about Adam Driver’s Ben Solo. Fans lit up social media when sharing their thoughts on the since-rejected script, and it marks yet another big-screen SW production that’s bitten the dust in recent years.

Ben Solo’s Story Would’ve Been Continued In A Film From An A+ Director

Adam Driver recently revealed he teamed up with acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh to develop a story called The Hunt for Ben Solo. The movie would’ve been set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker and focused on the mysterious resurrection of Solo – formerly known as Kylo Ren. Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt produced an outline and pitched it to the Lucasfilm execs, including company president Kathleen Kennedy. Scott Z. Burns was initially commissioned to write a script, but the project ultimately didn’t happen.

Per the Marriage Story alum, it was Disney executives Bob Iger and Alan Bergman who shot down the idea, as they were unclear as to how Solo could still be alive. Burns’ screenplay received some massive praise from Driver, who referred to it as “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.” Driver also said he felt he had some “unfinished business” with Ben.

For his part, Steven Soderbergh – Out of Sight, Traffic, the Ocean’s Trilogy and more – explained on Bluesky that he “did not enjoy lying about the existence of THE HUNT FOR BEN SOLO” but that “it really did need to remain a secret…until now!” In a separate post, Soderbergh added further details regarding the corporate side of the situation:

Star Wars fans have been sounding off on the scrapped project, with many now campaigning for it to happen. Devotees even arranged for an airplane with a banner reading, “Save The Hunt for Ben Solo” to be flown over the Disney offices. The House of Mouse itself has yet to formally respond to the buzz, though a recent video posting of TROS’ final battle convinced some that the studio was trolling fans. This honestly feels like another blow for a fanbase that’s already seen other projects fall by the wayside.

What Other Star Wars Projects Ended Up Being Scrapped?

There’s quite a history of scrapped or discarded Star Wars projects, particularly when it comes to films. In 2018, it was reported that David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the creators of Game of Thrones, would write and produce a new trilogy of SW films, which would theoretically focus on the rise of the Jedi Order. In 2024, Weiss and Benioff didn’t seem bullish about the movies happening due to James Mangold’s (later-announced) movie overlapping with theirs in some ways narratively.

In 2020, it was also reported that Lucasfilm tapped Sleight and Devotion director J.D. Dillard to helm a Star Wars movie. Plot details were (unsurprisingly) kept under wraps at the time. Plans changed by 2022, though, as it was at that time it was reported that Dillard’s film had been dropped, making the SW franchise’s movie future more uncertain.

At present, there are a few other productions that remain in limbo in some ways, including James Mangold’s film about the origins of the Jedi as well as Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film about the new Jedi Order, which would mark the return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey. Also, this year, Last Jedi director Rian Johnson said he’s still open to making his trilogy of films, which was originally announced in 2017 but was later said to be unprioritized by Lucasfilm. The status of films from Patty Jenkins and Taika Waititi are also unclear.

Fans can, at the very least, look forward to The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter, which are set to be released in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Still, some would likely argue that information doesn’t take away the sting of losing The Hunt for Ben Solo or any other scrapped SW fare. For now, let’s pour one out for those projects, and those who want to check out movies and TV shows set within the galaxy far, far away can stream them with a Disney+ subscription.

Considered one of the best movies of the 2000s, and one of the coolest if you ask me, Ocean’s Eleven is truly iconic. That’s mostly thanks to the Ocean’s Eleven cast, which was led by George Clooney. To this day, I think he could be considered a heartthrob, but during the early 2000s, he was really making people swoon, as Joshua Jackson illustrated while telling the story behind “the single coolest movie star thing” he’s ever witnessed.

While Joshua Jackson’s filmography proves that he’s a star in his own right, during a chat on The Rich Eisen Show, he opened up about “the single coolest movie star thing” he’d ever witnessed, and centered around George Clooney. Jackson, who was best known for Dawson’s Creek at the time, was one of the great cameos in the film’s poker lesson scene. While they were filming, he found a way to “weasel” into a conversation with the Danny Ocean actor, director Steven Soderbergh, Brad Pitt and more.

The conversation was wild, as the Doctor Odyssey star recalled:

First of all, just chatting about shipping motorcycles to Italy is crazy. The fact that Clooney was casually sending a dozen of them as gifts is even crazier. However, the story only escalated from here.

The Karate Kid: Legends actor explained that a production assistant came up during this chat to see if anyone wanted coffee or a snack. She made it through asking Brad Pitt and Jackson (which he kept referring to himself as the “young schmuck). However, when she made eye contact with Clooney, she literally swooned:

Girl, same. I’ve watched Ocean’s Eleven so many times (you can currently stream it with a Netflix subscription), and I’m such a big fan of everyone in the ensemble that I likely would have had the same reaction.

To that point, The Mighty Ducks actor also noted that people swooning in front of his co-star must have been a common occurrence, because:

Jackson went on to say that he really couldn’t believe what he saw. He also leaned into the fact that Clooney is known for his pranks by saying that “if it was a setup, bully for him.” Either way, he was blown away, and now he’s been telling this story for over two decades.

It’s a pretty epic one, too! To witness George Clooney, a sexiest man alive and charismatic movie star, literally catch someone who was in love with him is remarkable. Plus, add on the fact that they were casually talking about shipping motorcycles to Italy while filming a movie that’s now a classic heist film, and you have one hell of a tale.

So, yeah, if I were Joshua Jackson, I’d have been telling this story for the last 25 years, too.

There’s a brand-new crop of stars in Hollywood now, and they’ve truly begun to make waves within the industry. In recent years, actors such as Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Florence Pugh have risen to reach A-lister status, and their stellar work speaks for itself. As such, they’ve drawn attention from various filmmakers, including Steven Soderbergh. The veteran director just dropped thoughts on the biggest hurdles facing the aforementioned performers in this current landscape, and he and I are on the same page.

It goes without saying that Steven Soderbergh has seen and done a lot after working in the entertainment industry for over three decades. With that, he’s been able to watch the business shift in various ways. While promoting his 2025 movie schedule entry, Black Bag, Soderbergh was asked about this newest generation of stars. The Dune: Part Two cast, which included the three actors mentioned above, was specifically mentioned. Soderbergh praised the actors while also lamenting their “challenge” of finding the right gigs:

Sadly, the assessment that the Ocean’s Eleven helmer shared with Men’s Health is absolutely true. Right now, it’s tougher for talent to secure juicier roles, given that many of the biggest studios in the game are going for massive blockbusters and low-costing horror flicks. To think that even a mid-budget comedy has become a novelty is wild. Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to many upcoming superhero movies, and there are forthcoming horror films that look great. Also, some of today’s biggest stars have even booked those kinds of films. However, I’d love for up-and-coming stars to have more varied opportunities to flex their acting muscles.

All in all, this is a very nuanced conversation, and many have debated what’s caused studios to largely move away from the mid-budget films that Steven Soderbergh and others are famous for making. Nevertheless, Soderbergh, who’s discussed the rise of streaming as well, doesn’t think this all comes down to a certain demographic not going to the movies:

On the bright side, Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh and many of their peers have managed to land roles that suit their particular talents. For instance, last year, Chalamet was praised for his turn as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, while Zendaya was lauded for her work in Challengers. Pugh also shined in the romantic dramedy We Live in Time. What’s interesting, though, is that Chalamet and “Z” produced their respective films, which shows that in many cases, stars must help spearhead the projects they truly want.

They’re not the only ones who’ve found success, of course, as Austin Butler, Anya Taylor-Joy, Paul Mescal and Sydney Sweeney have carved out lanes for themselves. Each has landed roles in upcoming A24 films, fastly approaching sci-fi movies and more. Still, Steven Soderbergh’s comments are more than worth taking note of, and I sincerely hope the stars of this era are able to take on varied work and not remain limited to certain kinds of productions moving forward.

This past weekend, Cate Blanchett had her latest movie, Black Bag, hit theaters, which has been getting good buzz from critics. The movie had the Oscar winner re-teaming with director Steven Soderbergh, who famously made the original Ocean’s trilogy in the early '00s before serving as a producer on Ocean’s 8. So when I talked to Blanchett, of course I had to ask the actress if she'd talked to him about coming back to the franchise.

Ocean’s 14 has been rumored for years, most recently with Variety reporting in January that Bullet Train director David Leitch is in talks to helm the sequel (after Conclave’s Edward Berger was previously reportedly in the mix). Here’s what Blanchett had to say when I asked her about the future:

Cate Blanchett has worked with Steven Soderbergh a few times over the years, starting with her starring role in his 2006 war drama The Good German. During our interview, Blanchett shared that she’s always up to work with the filmmaker, but in the case of both of them and Ocean’s, the filmmaker is likely stepping back this time around. That being said, she did mention that George Clooney and Brad Pitt are more likely fronting the next installment rather than a sequel to Ocean’s 8 coming along.

In the recent report about Ocean’s 14, it was shared that George Clooney’s production company Smokehouse was developing the feature with both Clooney and Pitt expected to return. But will the whole gang from the original be back too? Over the summer, Matt Damon shared he was “open” to returning to the franchise, but it would depend if the whole gang might get back together.

Sadly, since the last Ocean’s movie with Clooney and Pitt came out, two of the original Eleven have died: Bernie Mac back in 2008 and Carl Reiner in 2020. In order to keep the number right, I could see perhaps the new movie involving a few of the members of Ocean’s 8, especially if they can’t get all the cast from the original movie. I’d certainly love to see Blanchett in the mix.

As you might recall, Ocean’s 8 connected with Ocean’s 11 because Sandra Bullock’s Debbie was the sister of George Clooney’s Danny Ocean. How cool would it be to see them blending teams? I’m just imagining all the great one-liners that could be added to the Ocean’s franchise. While I continue to think about how Ocean’s could continue, you can see Cate Blanchett play a spy in Black Bag, now in theaters.

There’s something so satisfying about a good spy thriller, and we’ve seen many instances over the years of spouses being turned against each other in the name of espionage. That will be the case again in Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag when it hits the 2025 movie calendar, and with this director and a stacked cast, audiences should be in for a treat. Critics have screened the movie ahead of its March 14 release, and while they agree it’s fun, some are saying it’s forgettable.

Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender star as Kathryn and George Woodhouse, two spies who are turned against each other when the former is believed to have gone rogue. In CinemaBlend’s review of Black Bag, Mike Reyes says the film defied his expectations, and movie-goers are in for fun, games and some dark and witty humor. He gives it 4.5 out of 5 stars, writing:

Jeremy Mathai of SlashFilm gives it an 8 out of 10, praising Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett for providing a sizzling good time in what the critic calls one of the smartest and most laser-focused spy movies in recent history. Mathai continues:

Siddhant Adlakha of IGN also rates Black Bag a “Great” 8 out of 10, writing that Steven Soderbergh turns “all the right screws with impeccable timing” in Black Bag, resulting in a “slick, self-assured, wildly entertaining” spy thriller. The critic says:

David Rooney of THR is slightly less enthused with the final product but agrees the director and his cast give Black Bag a “consistently pleasurable buoyancy,” even if the movie is mostly forgettable. In Rooney’s words:

Mark Hanson of Slant agrees, giving the film just 2 stars out of 5. This kind of “cool cucumber” film is easy for the Ocean's Eleven director to throw together, and that works against the project, Hanson says. The script shows its hand too early, and after its 93-minute runtime, it feels like nothing much happened. The critic continues:

Only 29 critics have clocked into Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing, but they seem mostly impressed, as Black Bag holds a 90% Fresh rating. It seems like everyone agrees there’s something to enjoy in this film, even if it doesn’t leave the strongest impression once the credits roll. If this sounds like one you’d like to check out, Black Bag hits theaters on Friday, March 14.

Steven Soderbergh is a celebrated filmmaker, recognized for movies including Erin Brokovich, Traffic, and his debut Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Never afraid to push boundaries, the director is now bringing his unique perspective to the 2025 movie calendar with his upcoming horror movie Presence. Starring Lucy Liu, Julia Fox and Chris Sullivan, Presence is finally hitting theaters on January 24 — a full year after it began garnering attention from its premiere at Sundance and other film festivals. Let’s see what critics are saying about Soderbergh’s supernatural thriller.

Told from the perspective of the entity that inhabits the home of the Payne family, Presence is apparently so intense that some audience members walked out of its film festival premiere, and even the cast was reportedly left shaken. CinemaBlend’s Corey Chichizola had the opportunity to see the film, and he says Presence puts a spin on POV horror that he never knew he needed. He writes:

Lindsey Bahr of the AP gives the movie 3 out of 4 stars, saying as director and cinematographer, Steven Soderbergh really IS the ghost, and he weaves quite the “chillingly effective tale” that packs an unexpected punch. Bahr says:

Jesse Hassenger of AV Club gives it a B+, likening the movie to the Paranormal Activity franchise with a twist. The new spin on found footage horror is worth every penny of the ticket price, the critic says, writing:

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times rates Presence 3 out of 4 stars, positing that it was such an interesting story that it would have even worked without the ghost. The dysfunctional family provides the drama, and honestly the horror too. Roeper continues:

While many critics are buying into Steven Soderbergh’s POV, Nerds of Color’s Mike Manalo says the familiar dysfunctional family story drags down the director’s attempts to liven up the trope of having a dead protagonist. Manalo applauds its diverse cast, though, and admits the movie is still worth seeing. The critic gives Presence an A for representation but a C+ for entertainment, writing:

The critics have lots of interesting takes on the upcoming haunted house movie, but overall they seem to agree that Steven Soderbergh’s POV is one worth checking out. On Rotten Tomatoes, it’s been Certified Fresh with 88% on the Tomatometer, so if you want to see what this movie is all about — and what had people walking out of theaters on the festival circuit — Presence hits theaters on Friday, January 24.

Steven Soderbergh is an acclaimed filmmaker who has used his talents in a variety of different genres. His upcoming horror movie titled Presence prompted walkouts during Sundance, and has continued being featured in other Film Festivals. I had the chance to catch an early screening of the flick, which put a new spin on POV horror. And I didn’t realize I needed this take on found footage.

Soderbergh is known for taking bold creative risks in his projects, like the movie Unsane which was shot entirely on an iPhone. He's once again done it with Presence, which is shot entirely from the POV of the titular ghost in the story. And this bold choice, as well as its twist ending, might help make it one of the best horror movies in recent memory.

I had the chance to see Presence at the Hamptons International Film Festival, and was immediately taken by its unique visual language. The audience IS the ghost that the family is sensing, hiding in a closet until Lucy Liu's Rebecca and the Payne family move into their new home. And we watch as the titular presence observes them, before eventually getting involved in what's happening in the house. As a reminder, you can check out the movie's cryptic teaser below:

While told in a unique set of circumstances, the very beginning of Presence feels like one of the best found footage movies. In a style made famous by The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity franchise, audiences would be able to be brought directly into the story they're following. That happens in Soderbergh's latest movie, although it brings us into the POV of the ghost that scaring up the family.

Much like other moviegoers, the trend of found footage eventually got tired, with the Paranormal Activity movies becoming less scary as they went on. Which is why being the ghost of Presence felt like such a breathe of spooky, fresh air. And despite being in the POV of the one with power in the situation, Soderbergh's pacing and legendary Jurassic Park writer David Koepp's script allowed tension to build into a wildly satisfying (and moving) climax.

I won't spoil the content of Presence's 85-minute runtime but the film has some truly disturbing scenes in it. There's one where protagonist Chloe (Callina Liang) is in danger features a situation that is truly going to be nightmare fuel for me. And that's one of many delightfully startling moments throughout the film.

But as mentioned, the ending of Presence is truly moving. The story is expertly crafted, allowing the audience and the characters of the film to really earn its final moments. And it proved that POV horror and found footage still has the potential to make a big impact.

Presence is expected to arrive in theaters January 17th. Check the 2025 movie release dates for now.

Steven Soderbergh has made a name for himself the past few decades as one of the most prolific and crafty filmmakers of his time, and his upcoming movie, Black Bag, looks to be another great addition to that list. Years after making some of the best ‘90s movies, introducing audiences to the Oceans crew, and creating a terrifying thriller that pretty much predicted the COVID-19 response, Soderbergh is coming out with a spy thriller pitting husband and wife against one another in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

If you want to know more about the Black Bag release date, its story, the impressive cast, and all other kinds of details, stick around. Here’s everything we know about one of the most intriguing releases on the 2025 movie schedule.

What Is The Black Bag Release Date?

You may want to add a date to your calendar for next spring as Blag Bag has a release date of March 14, 2025, Focus Features has announced. And while the film will almost certainly find its way to the streaming world like so many other movies from the studio, the spy thriller will be one of Steven Soderbergh’s few releases in the past five years to debut on the big screen. While Magic Mike’s Last Dance and Presence both took a theatrical route first, others like Kimi, Let Them All Talk, and The Laundromat were all exclusive to platforms like Max and Netflix.

As far as competition, Black Bag will open the same weekend as the Jack Quaid-led action thriller, Novocaine, and just one week after Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17.

What Is Black Bag About?

Steven Soderbergh has made a career out of directing riveting spy dramas, and it sounds like Black Bag will be no different. According to the official plot synopsis provided by Focus Features, the movie will center on legendary British intelligence agent George Woodhouse as he is tasked with spying on his wife and fellow agent Kathryn Woodhouse, who is suspected of betraying the nation. Caught between protecting his wife and his country, George will have a difficult decision to make.

The Black Bag Trailer

In December 2024, Focus Features released the Black Bag trailer, which is full of all kinds of mystery, intrigue, and characters with dubious intentions. Clocking in at nearly three minutes, the teaser introduces the major players, the conflict at the core of the story, and some incredible scenes of espionage.

At the core of the trailer, and presumably the movie itself, is the relationship shared by the Woodhouses as they go from husband and wife to spy vs. spy. It doesn’t look like it’s full-on Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but with so little being revealed about the characters, it’s anyone’s guess at this point.

The Black Bag Cast

In the past, Steven Soderbergh has gotten some massive Hollywood talent to appear in his movies. If you look at the Ocean’s Eleven cast, the actors in Contagion, and pretty much everything else he’s made the past 30 years, you’ll see huge star power up and down the sheet. It’s not going to be any different with the Black Bag cast, as you can check out below:

Cate Blanchett as Kathryn Woodhouse

Cate Blanchett is taking on the role of Kathryn Woodhouse, a spy and wife of Michael Fassbender’s George Woodhouse who is believed to have gone rogue, which seriously complicates her marriage. This will be Blanchett’s fourth time working with Soderbergh, as she previously appeared in The Good German and Ocean’s 8, as well as the 2011 short film titled The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg.

Michael Fassbender as Geroge Woodhouse

Michael Fassbender takes on the role of George Woodhouse, the agent who is tasked with tracking the suspected mole, who also happens to be his wife. Fassbender, who is no stranger to spy thrillers after leading The Agency on Showtime, previously worked with Soderbergh in the 2011 action thriller, Haywire.

Regé-Jean Page

Though his character’s name hasn’t been released, Regé-Jean Page will play a key role in Black Bag as one of the agents assisting Fassbender’s Woodhouse. The former Bridgerton star has recently appeared in movies like The Gray Man and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

Naomie Harris

Naomi Harris, who has portrayed Eve Moneypenny in every James Bond film since Skyfall, will try out a different type of spy story when she appears in Black Bag. Her role is still unknown, however.

Pierce Brosnan

Pierce Brosnan, the man who played 007 for nearly a decade, will be showing up in Black Bag as one of the officials searching for the rogue agent.

Marisa Abela

Marisa Abela, best known for her portrayal of Amy Winehouse in Back to Black, is also a part of the Black Bag cast. Abela’s other recent projects include Industry, Barbie, and Rogue Agent.

Tom Burke

Tom Burke, who most recently showed up as Praetorian Jack in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in 2024, is set to appear in Black Bag. Over the years, Burke has popped up in films like Mank, Only God Forgivies, and True Things.

Black Bag Was Penned By Jurassic Park Screenwriter David Koepp

In addition to collaborating with actors like Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender on his latest project, Steven Soderbergh also worked with recent collaborator David Koepp for the Black Bag screenplay.

One of the most well-known and prolific writers in Hollywood, Koepp is best known for adapting Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park into what has gone down as one of the best ‘90s sci-fi movies as well as perhaps the most influential film of the decade. Over the years, Koepp has also worked on films like Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to name a few. In addition to writing Gareth Edwards’ Jurassic World Rebirth, he’s also directing the Cold Storage adaptation, which is based on his own novel of the same name.

What is Black Bag Rated?

Though Steven Soderbergh has made his fair share of PG-13 movies over the years, Black Bag won’t fall into that category. According to FilmRatings.com, a website operated by the MPA, the upcoming spy thriller will be rated R for “language, including some sexual references, and some violence.”

Will Black Bag be the next big spy thriller we’re talking about for years to come? The only way to find out is by watching Steven Soderbergh’s latest feature film when it opens in theaters this March.

If you look at lists of George Clooney’s best movies or Brad Pitt and Matt Damon’s greatest work, without a doubt Ocean’s Eleven will be on all of them. The same can be said for the rest of the stellar A-List cast that includes Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Andy Garcia and many, many more, and it’s easily some of director Steven Soderbergh’s finest work. It’s so good, in fact, the remake ended up getting two sequels – Ocean’s Twelve and Thirteen, plus the female-led Ocean’s Eight almost two decades later. This fast-talking, smooth world of heists and crime is irresistible, and today we’re talking about the best quotes from this beloved franchise. 

"Why do it? Because yesterday I walked out of the joint after losing four years of my life and you're cold-decking 'Teen Beat' cover boys. Because the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes, the house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes along, you bet big, and then you take the house."  -Danny, Ocean’s Eleven

When Rusty asked Danny why they needed to do this heist he gave the great speech above. What makes it even better is it’s followed by Pitt’s character asking if Clooney’s has “been practicing” his speech, to which Danny responds with “A little bit, did I rush it?”

"Well, first, I know all the guys you’d hire to come after me, they like me better than you. Second, you’re not gonna go to cops. Well, let’s face it, you’re not going to go to the cops. Third, you shook Sinatra's hand. You should know better, Willy." –Danny, Ocean’s Thirteen

Once Danny exacts his revenge on Willy Bank and bests him, he says this great line, which ends with him bringing it back full circle to the Frank Sinatra line that Reuben said to Al Pacino’s character at the beginning of the movie.

"Who died and made you Danny?" –Turk, Ocean’s Twelve 

Linus really tried to take on more of a leadership role in this movie, and the boys didn’t take it lightly, hence this sassy line from Turk that came after basically everyone else got arrested. 

"So whatever happens tonight, I want you to remember one thing, you are not doing this for me. You are not doing this for you. Somewhere out there is an 8-year-old girl lying in bed, dreaming of being a criminal. Let's do this for her." -Debbie, Ocean’s Eight

In the quiet moment right before the heist began, Sandra Bullock looked at herself in the mirror in a public bathroom and said this motivational, yet funny, monologue to herself. Everyone needs a pep talk, and this was Debbie’s. 

"You think we need one more? You think we need one more. Alright, we’ll get one more." -Danny, Ocean’s Eleven

The boys had their crew of ten assembled, however, they were questioning if they needed one more. That, my friends, is how Matt Damon comes into the Ocean’s 11 cast as the young pickpocket Linus. 

"We got a grease man." -Rusty, Ocean’s Eleven

As Danny and Rusty search for their grease man, Pitt’s character takes Clooney’s leading man to the circus. That’s where they find Yen, and Rusty couldn’t have been happier to hire him. 

"The specs aren't on the gray market, the black market or any other market. And all I keep hearing is there's never been a system like this. Now, I found out where they designed it, but I can't even get in the building! I've blown all my buy money, my bribe money, four of my best ID's and I am nowhere! Not only am I nowhere, I'm pretty sure I'm being followed." –Linus, Ocean’s Thirteen

While walking through their plan with Roman, Rusty says the security in this casino is “spooky.” 

Then, while on the phone with Danny, Linus confirms that as he shares that what they’re trying to figure out is the Greco while noting that he’s been having a really hard time. 

"If you're going to have a problem with stealing, then you're not going to like the rest of this conversation." -Debbie, Ocean’s Eight

Debbie and Lou’s relationship is very reminiscent of Danny and Rusty. And just like the boys’ first scene in Ocean’s Eleven, Sandra Bullock’s first interaction with Cate Blanchett’s character does not disappoint.

"She already left me once. I don’t think I’d do it again just for kicks." -Danny, Ocean’s Eleven 

Ocean’s Eleven opens with Danny Ocean in a hearing about whether or not he’s likely to commit a crime again if/when he gets out of jail. After explaining that his wife Tess left him, he gets asked if she’ll do it again, and he quips back the great line above. 

"Mr. Benedict, you can lose $80 million secretly or $160 million publicly. It’s your decision. [Rusty puts his phone down and looks at Tess] Hi." -Rusty, Ocean’s Eleven 

This line hits so hard because it’s one of the big moments where it becomes clear that these guys are going to pull off the heist. What makes it even better is that as Brad Pitt’s Rusty is talking to Andy Garcia’s Terry, he also just casually says hi to Julia Roberts’ Tess in the middle of it all. 

"You're analog players in a digital world. You're done." – Roman, Ocean’s Thirteen

Once Roman finds out that the Greco is the issue Rusty and Danny are running into he’s quick to tell them that this heist is out of their league. As much as he likes them, this is too much, and it’s too technological for these “analog” players according to him. 

"You’re gonna ask me a question? Give me time to respond, unless it’s rhetorical in which case the answer is obvious: yes." – Rusty, Ocean’s Twelve 

One of the most fun dynamics in Ocean’s Twelve is between Rusty and Linus. Seeing Brad Pitt act as Matt Damon’s reluctant mentor is so silly, and fun, and it’s moments like the one above that I get a great chuckle out of. What makes it even better, is when Linus started to ask his question about Tess looking like Julia Roberts, Rusty stopped him, saying he could never ask about that. 

"You of all people should know Terry. In your hotel, there is always someone watching." - Tess, Ocean’s Eleven 

As one of their final tricks, the boys make it so Tess hears Terry betray her. So, when she runs into him, she makes sure he knows that she’s leaving and that it’s 100% his own fault. 

"It just hurts, you know, because it seemed like we all agreed to call it ‘the Benedict job.’ I mean that’s what we called it when we were doing it. If you wanted to call it something else all along then…" – Virgil, Ocean’s Twelve

When the boys found out that the job they pulled off in Ocean’s Eleven was named after Danny Ocean, they weren’t thrilled. While many of them lamented to George Clooney’s titular character during their first team meeting, Affleck’s disappointed words as Virgil were top-tier. 

"Ted Nugent called, he wants his shirt back." -Danny, Ocean’s Eleven 

After Danny gets out of jail a second time, Rusty comes to pick him up. Of course, the movie ends on a classic Pitt/Clooney back and forth. So, once Rusty says he hopes Danny was a groom since he left prison in a tux, Danny ribs his friend with the line above. 

"I’d like to say a few words about commitment, about honor, about responsibility, about a very special someone and admitting to her. Get up. Pull the chair out. Admitting to her, in front of everybody, that her wedding, and that very special honeymoon trip to Epcot Center, will have to be postponed." -Terry, Ocean’s Twelve 

When Terry Benedict starts to make his visits to the boys at the start of Twelve, he does a good job of intimidating them all. However, one of the most memorable moments was when he showed up to scare the brothers Virgil and Turk Malloy, who are played by Casey Affleck and Scott Caan, respectively. 

"What? Did you guys get a group rate or something?" - Reuben, Ocean’s Eleven

Once the crew is assembled, they all head to Vegas and meet at Reuben’s swanky house. What makes this scene iconic is that when most of the guys show up at the same time, Elliott Gould’s rich character quips this hilarious line.

"‘I,’ ‘I wasn’t in Four Weddings and a Funeral.’ Just protect your fake baby." -Linus, Ocean’s Twelve

As Tess, Linus and co. make their way into the hotel, with Tess pretending to be Julia Roberts, she starts getting overwhelmed by all the paparazzi around them. Then, when Linus told her to calm down and think about the great rom-com Four Weddings and a Funeral, she reminded him that the actress was not in that movie, to which Damons’ character had this hilarious response. 

"You lose focus in this game for one second…" -Linus // "I know, and somebody gets hurt." - Danny, Ocean’s Eleven 

Picture this, Linus and Danny are almost in the vault and they’re trying to detonate the explosives to get in, however, the clicker isn’t working. So, in the midst of this high-stakes heist, they have a humorous back and forth about preparation, focus and batteries. 

"[Sobbing] I'm old, and I'm going to prison. Then I'm going to be really, really poor." -Rose, Ocean’s Eight

Helena Bonham Carter’s role in Ocean’s 8 is so fun, and it’s because she’s quite dramatic and extra. No line proves that better than one where she was lamenting to Debbie and Lou after her fashion show. 

"Well, we've shaken all the trees, we've looked under every rock, we’ve searched…I mean, we've talked to everybody we can trust. I know it's not a great idea but it is an idea and as long as we have one idea we shouldn't give up." – Linus, Ocean’s Thirteen 

Right when the boys are on the verge of failure, and they’re out of ideas, Linus thinks up one, and Danny wonders if he really means it. Well, it’s desperate times, so yes he really meant it when he suggested that they contact Terry Benedict, their nemesis from the first two films. 

"[Slaps Danny] That is for keeping me in the dark. [Punches Danny] That is for making me a master thief. [Elbows Danny] And that is for ruining our second third anniversary." – Tess, Ocean’s Twelve

After everyone gets cleared and out of jail, Tess has a very reasonable reaction to it all as she slaps, punches and elbows Danny once they’re in the cars leaving. 

"I couldn't even hear myself think. You know, five women in one cell. So I got myself thrown in solitary for a little peace and quiet, and that's where I finally came up with it." -Debbie, Ocean’s Eight

As you likely know, like Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Eight begins with our master planner getting out of prison. It quickly becomes clear that Debbie has been scheming the whole time she’s been in the clink, and once she got herself “thrown in solitary” she could really cook on her plan. 

"Number one: if any of you try to screw me, you'll be dead. I'll be looking in on the operation just to make sure. Number two: I'm your senior partner, which means last money in, first money out and you will double my investment." –Terry, Ocean’s Thirteen 

Enter Terry Benedict, AKA, Andy Garcia’s bad man from the first two movies. However, this time, he’s the thirteenth member, and he’s actually helping Linus, Danny, Rusty and co. as they try to take down Willy Bank and avenge Reuben. As they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. 

"I want the last check I write to bounce." –Saul, Ocean’s Twelve  

The late great Carl Reiner played Saul, and he wanted to go out on top with his money in Ocean’s Twelve! While he eventually does come back to help the crew, this moment where he walks out with his head held high is pretty epic. 

"A him gets noticed, a her gets ignored. For once, we want to get ignored." –Debbie, Ocean’s Eight 

While Debbie and Lou are putting their team together, Lou runs the idea of hiring a few guys by her. However, Sandra Bullock’s character makes a point that’s both sad and useful at this moment: they don’t want to be seen, they are actively trying to get ignored, and it works in their favor. 

"How was the clink? Did you get the cookies I sent?" - Rusty, Ocean’s Eleven 

After Danny gets out of jail and meets up with his pal Rusty Ryan, and Brad Pitt’s character jokes around with his pal by asking if he got the sweet treats he sent while he was in “the clink.” 

"No, Dad. It will work. [Danny puts his hand out for the phone] No Dad, I won't put Danny on. [Rusty puts his hand out] Or Rusty." – Linus, Ocean’s Thirteen

In a heated phone call with his father, Linus pushes back against his parent – who is later revealed to be a con man working as an FBI agent specializing in casino fraud cases – about the fake nose he wears later in the movie, and he also won’t let him talk to Rusty and Danny. While Matt Damon’s performance at this moment is incredible, it’s the perfectly timed gestures of George Clooney and Brad Pitt trying to take the phone that make it. 

"Terrific, it’ll be nice working with proper villains again." -Basher, Ocean’s Eleven 

Basher is the explosion expert for the team, and when he’s approached about doing the job he responds with this fantastic line, despite the fact that Don Cheadle’s British accent is quite bad in the film. 

"Look, it’s not in my nature to be mysterious. But I can’t talk about it, and I can’t talk about why." –Rusty, Ocean’s Twelve 

After Rusty tells Linus that he should just ask the question, the inquiry he makes is not one Rusy is willing to go into detail about. Hilariously, this topic has to do with Tess looking like Julia Roberts, which is funny because, you know, Tess is played by Julia Roberts. 

"First of all, if there’s one thing I know it’s bad acting." –Daphne, Ocean’s Eight  

Surprise, Anne Hathaway’s Daphne Kluger is the eighth member of Ocean’s 8, and it’s brilliantly revealed at the end of the female-led Ocean’s movie when she starts her admission with this line. 

"It's not their fight." -Danny, Ocean’s Thirteen

These are some of the first words uttered in Ocean’s Thirteen after Rusty boards a private jet and asks Danny if “they understand.” It’s later revealed after Linus asks Danny the same question that the “they” they’re referring to are Tess and Isabel, Danny and Rusty’s respective partners.

Overall, the Ocean’s movies are full of quick-witted, fun and intelligent lines, and it’s one of the big reasons why they remain so iconic to this day. 

Steven Soderbergh isn’t afraid of making a sexy movie, and has even criticized many modern movies for being sexless. The prolific filmmaker became a recognizable name after his film Sex, Lies, and Videotapes won him the Palme d’Or at The Cannes Film Festival in 1989, and he's since gone on to direct Out of Sight, Behind the Candelabra, and two Magic Mike films. His upcoming movie Black Bag is another project he is calling a love story, but he's been firm about his opinions on sexuality on screen. The Oscar winner recently got candid about how he feels about sex scenes in general, and why he often avoids them.

Soderbergh was recently a guest at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where he honored the late author Franz Kafka. He took time to participate in a roundtable interview where he was asked about his own perspective on sexuality on screen, especially considering his film Out of Sight is often regarded as the best use of intimacy in a movie. While the director is deeply invested in interpersonal relationships in movies, he personally isn’t a big fan of simulated sex scenes. His reasoning surrounds the idea that sex is often used as a placeholder for romance in Hollywood. He explained his perspective, saying (via The Hollywood Reporter):

Out of Sight is a great example of romance and tension being prioritized over a sex scene. There are several scenes with Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney’s characters where they flirt, seduce each other and try to fight their attraction to one another. The “sex scene” is earned after the character dynamic is built. It is also intercut with an intimate dinner conversation, which is even more alluring than the actual intimacy scene. Soderbergh employs the same technique in Sex, Lies, and Videotapes, where he intercuts a character dynamic-building conversation between Andie MacDowell and James Spader with a sex scene between two other characters. Again, it’s the dialogue that’s most alluring.

Another reason Soderbergh avoids sex scenes in his later work is because they are awkward to shoot. He feels like the actors never look right and that it often comes across as ridiculous on camera. He explained:

He is right to think that it’s been a while since he’s shot a sex scene, as he's been more deeply focused on generating romance and character relationships. There are several intimate scenes between Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in Behind the Candelabra that showcase sexuality without an actual simulated sex scene. Magic Mike does something similar, using dancing to establish tension and connection rather than something overt.

Soderbergh also explained that the rise of the internet made sex scenes almost ineffective on film, which is all the more reason to avoid them. He said:

Many directors are starting to share this sentiment with Soderbergh. Luca Guadagnino made one this year’s sexiest movies with Challengers, which never features an actual sex scene, but rather cinematic devices like tennis to turn up the heat. Period pieces like Pride and Prejudice also build incredible tension without so much a kiss. There are so many ways to build a love story, and sometimes, as Soderbergh suggests, holding back can be most effective.

You can revisit Out of Sight, one of Steven Soderbergh’s most notable films, now by renting the movie on Amazon. Also, make sure to watch out for his upcoming film Black Bag which stars Cate Blanchett and is currently in production. For more information on other films expected to head to the big screen in the near future, read through the 2024 movie release schedule.

The directors on this list are among the greatest in the history of cinema, with films that are considered the best of all time; films that will never be forgotten. What about those movies they brought all their tremendous talents to, but which aren’t remembered as well? Here is our list of great movies, by great directors, that don’t get talked about enough these days. 

The Frighteners - Peter Jackson

The Frighteners is such a great movie, and it’s criminally underrated. No, it's not as sprawling or overwhelming as Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, but it has all the heart and more. Michael J. Fox leads as a con man/exorcist who can see and interact with ghosts. The Frightners is really funny, well-paced, and delightful. 

The King Of Comedy - Martin Scorsese 

When you think of Martin Scorsese, “comedy” is not usually the first word that pops into your head, but The King Of Comedy is really a pretty great movie, and while it’s technically a comedy, it’s really dark. Goodfellas has some comedy in it, like Joe Pesci acting like a clown… but a true (dark) comedy? This Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis-led film stands alone in Scorsese’s canon. 

Peggy Sue Got Married - Francis Ford Coppola

Peggy Sue Got Married is a deceptively simple film. Unlike Francis Ford Coppola’s more-talked-about epics like The Godfather films and Apocalypse Now, this film, starring Nicolas Cage and Kathleen Turner, is smaller, but that doesn’t mean it’s lesser. It’s a weird time-travel tale, but at its heart, it’s really a love story, and while it's not Coppola’s best work, it’s well worth a watch and should be talked about more often. 

Jackie Brown - Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Taratino has famously said that his next movie, his 10th, could be his last. Whether that holds true or not remains to be seen, but it’s a safe bet Jackie Brown will still be his least talked about.

Strange Days - Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow’s won Oscars (for The Hurt Locker) and she’s directed cult classics (Point Break). Strange Days is certainly closer to the latter. In it, Bigelow dabbles in science fiction, a rarity for her, but it’s unsurprising, as Strange Days was written by her then-husband James Cameron. It doesn’t have the iconic quotes that Point Break has, nor is it as white-knuckle as The Hurt Locker, but it is a great time capsule to filmmaking in the mid-90s and well worth remembering. 

Amistad - Steven Spielberg

Wedged between The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan in Steven Spielberg’s filmography, is Amistad. It’s easy to understand why this powerful historical drama revolving around a landmark court case regarding the slave trade is overlooked, but it shouldn’t be. It’s a moving story, told expertly as only Spielberg can, with a monster cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, and Djimon Hounsou, among many others. 

Clockers - Spike Lee

Let’s be clear here, Clockers is not Spike Lee’s finest work. It doesn’t reach the heights of movies like Do The Right Thing or Malcolm X, but it's still a really good movie. It gets lost in Lee’s stellar filmography, which is understandable. It’s also a testament to just how good Lee’s career has been. 

Talk Radio - Oliver Stone

Talk Radio has everything you expect from an Oliver Stone movie. Its pacing and storytelling are perfect, it’s a fascinating and terrifying story that pulls from the real-world events of a murdered radio show host. It also has a healthy dose of conspiracy, as any great Stone film does. 

The Bling Ring - Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring is a meta-tastic heist film that is not only a ton of fun to watch with celebrity cameos and great acting performances, but it also touches on some of the emerging trends that exploded in the years after the movie came out, notably influencer culture. It’s too often overlooked in Coppola’s stellar filmography. 

The Game - David Fincher

David Fincher is a master, and his filmography is full of great movies, like Se7en and Fight Club. The movie he made between those two classic is The Game with Sean Penn and Michael Douglas. Understandably, it’s overshadowed, but it’s an amazing film that is every bit as good as those two more talked-about movies. Even when people watch Fincher’s whole body of work, The Game gets overlooked and it shouldn’t. 

Casualties Of War - Brian De Palma

Casualties of War was released in 1989, which was the tail end of a slew of excellent Vietnam War movies released in the late ‘80s, like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and Hamburger Hill. Despite earning well-deserved praise from critics, the Brian De Palma film bombed, and as such, it's unfortunately one of the director’s least talked about movies when it should be one of the most. 

Matchstick Men - Ridley Scott

Usually, when movie fans talk about Ridley Scott, it’s his sprawling historical epics like Gladiator or Napoleon that dominate the conversation, along with sci-fi classics like Alien and Blade Runner. Matchstick Men is a smaller movie, a dark comedy about a con man with a myriad of personal problems played by Nicolas Cage. It’s a wonderful performance by Cage, and despite not performing well at the box office, it’s been well-reviewed over the years.

Inherent Vice - Paul Thomas Anderson

Inherent Vice from Paul Thomas Anderson is a complicated movie, based on a complicated book by Thomas Pinchon. It’s easy to understand why it’s not as talked about as some of Anderson’s other movies, like There Will Be Blood and Boogie Nights, but it’s every bit as good as those, featuring great acting performances and wonderful cinematography. 

Out Of Sight - Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderberg is known for stylish filming techniques with snappy dialog and interesting plot twists. It’s all right there in Out Of Sight, but the movie still gets overlooked. It was Soderbergh’s first big-budget film, and maybe that’s why it doesn’t get talked about enough. It was also his first collaboration with George Clooney, which makes it even more confounding that it’s not more popular. 

Barry Lyndon - Stanley Kubrick

It’s hard to really argue that any of Stanley Kubrick’s films are not talked about enough, but Barry Lyndon comes the closest here. It’s most revered for its cinematography, but it’s also a wonderful story. While it doesn’t have the panache of A Clockwork Orange or the scope of 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s still a Kubrick film and it’s one of the best ever made. 

Stardust - Matthew Vaughn

Matthew Vaughn has quietly put together one of the finest resumes in Hollywood. The Kingsman movies are a hot franchise, he’s dabbled in Marvel, and may have inspired the choice of Daniel Craig as James Bond after directing him in Layer Cake. Stardust seems to get lost in the shuffle, but it’s maybe, low key, his best film. 

Ryan's Daughter - David Lean

David Lean is rightfully most remembered for three films, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago. Lost in the discussion of those films is Ryan’s Daughter, a retelling of Madame Bovary set at the end of World War I. It was the last film Lean directed for 14 years and we can only wonder what he might have done had he not semi-retired. 

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson has developed one of the most distinct styles in film history, which translates brilliantly to animation, as well. Anderson’s first foray into the genre was Fantastic Mr. Fox, starring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Bill Murray, among others. While it may never outshine his live-action classics, it should be discussed more as one of his best works. 

Bound - The Wachowskis

The DNA of the Wachowskis is very evident in Bound, their first movie. It was made on a shoestring budget, so it doesn’t have the over-the-top effects of The Matrix series, but you can see where they were headed in their filmmaking. 

Intolerable Cruelty - Coen Brothers

When you have a filmography like the Coen Brothers, inevitably, some of the movies won’t get talked about as much as others. Intolerable Cruelty is one of those that gets lost in the mix, behind movies like The Big Lebowski and others that are among the best movies of the ‘90s and beyond. 

Insomnia - Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is among the most beloved directors of the 21st century, creating what feels like independent films, but with monster budgets. That DNA was on display early in his career with Insomnia, which has everything you’d expect from a Nolan movie, but with less than half the budget of Oppenheimer. 

The Fan - Tony Scott

There are few better action directors in Hollywood history than Tony Scott. Most remembered today for classics like Top Gun, and Days of Thunder, The Fan should be talked about more. It’s not a perfect movie, but De Niro’s performance is terrifying (in a great way) as a baseball fan obsessed with Wesley Snipes' character. It’s action horror, and it’s great. 

Vincent And Theo - Robert Altman

Robert Altman had one of the most up-and-down careers in Hollywood history. After a string of successes in the ‘80s, his career was almost sunk by Popeye. It took years for him to rebound, but he did with Vincent & Theo. That led to a career revival, but it’s hardly remembered anymore, overshadowed by his early and later films. 

She's Having A Baby - John Hughes

One of the biggest reasons John Hughes is so loved by people who came of age in the ‘80s and ‘90s was his ability to write and direct genuine teenage characters. That extended to a young married couple starting their lives together in She’s Having A Baby. It’s not as quotable as some of Hughes’ other movies, but it’s still sharply written and a fun watch. 

Only The Lonely - Chris Columbus

Chris Columbus has some directed some huge films in his career, most notably Home Alone and Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone. He's also got movies like Mrs. Doubtfire and Adventures in Babysitting on his resume. One film that is not talked about enough is Only The Lonely starring John Candy as a man looking for a wife, but dealing with a controlling mother. 

Beowulf - Robert Zemeckis

Generations of high schoolers have been confounded and frustrated by Beowulf. Some love the old English classic, but many hate it. It takes a bold director to take it on as a movie. Robert Zemeckis makes it work, and work well. Still, given the material, it’s not a surprise it’s not talked about as much as Zemeckis’ more popular movies like Back to the Future. 

Great Expectations - Alfonso Cuaron

Director Alfonso Cuaron has made some of the best movies of the last 20 years, including Roma, Gravity, and Y tu mamá también. One of his films that doesn’t get talked about much anymore is 1998’s Great Expectations starring Gwenyth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke. It’s a bold modernization of the classic Dickens novel that can be polarizing, but still worth talking about more.

Ed Wood - Tim Burton

Of all the movies Tim Burton has made, it’s unsurprising that Ed Wood is one of his least discussed. It’s a love letter to legendary B-Movie director Ed Wood, and despite being filled to the brim with great performances, it's not as popular as many of Burton’s other works. 

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil - Clint Eastwood

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is not exactly the kind of film you might expect from Clint Eastwood, but you should. Some of his best work is when he strays away from the tough guy movies he’s so well known for and this is a great one, starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey. 

Away We Go - Sam Mendes

Sam Mendes is best known for movies that cover heavy topics, movies like American Beauty, 1917, and Road to Perdition. That's probably the reason 2009's Away We Go with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph isn't talked about as much, but it's a sweet movie about a couple dealing with major changes in their life and how to handle them. 

Sleepers - Barry Levinson

Sleepers is a dark, dark film. It's also really, really good. With an all-star cast that includes Brad Pitt, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, and many more, it's surprising it doesn't get talked about as much as some of director Barry Levinson's other work, but given the subject matter, it can be a very hard watch.  

High Anxiety - Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks is a living legend and his filmography is filled with some of the most quotable movies of all time. One that doesn't get quoted much, or even talked about much, is High Anxiety. It was, believe it or not, the first time Mel Brooks also played the lead in one of his movies, so that alone should garner more attention. 

Great directors usually have long filmographies, so it's only natural that some of their finest work would be talked about less than their most groundbreaking or biggest films. That said, many movies should be talked about as much as those classics, but aren't. Here's to that changing now! 

Steven Soderbergh is a filmmaker who is known for being consistently interesting. He constantly pushes the envelope with his craft, whether hitting a home run with his directorial debut, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, writing and directing big-budget comedies like the Oceans 11 trilogy, or experimenting with making movies like Unsane, shot entirely on an iPhone. He's not afraid to reinvent himself or try something unexpected, which is precisely what he has done with his upcoming horror movie, Presence. According to early reports, the film had viewers walking out during its premiere, and it’s not for the reason you might expect. Honestly, I think it sounds like a terrifyingly revolutionary movie.

Presence is a supernatural thriller set for the 2024 movie schedule. The film revolves around the Payne family, a wealthy household dealing with various issues, including a mysterious presence that may either be friendly or hostile. Director Steven Soderbergh filmed the movie from the entity's perspective, and it recently premiered at Sundance. According to Variety, the film was so intense that some audience members left early to take a break. Even the cast was not immune to its horrific charm, as Lucy Liu, who plays the fictional family's matriarch, was alleged to have been visibly shaken after the screening. She said:

Her co-star, West Mulholland, backed her up. He grabbed the mic at the Library Theatre and made it clear he was nothing like the murderous character he plays. He said: 

I'm really hyped to watch the movie after reading the comments from the cast. The idea of something being so tense is actually exciting. 2024 is going to be another excellent year for horror movies.

One of the subplots in Presence revolves around Chloe (played by Callina Liang), who senses strange occurrences after moving into her new home. These are possibly linked to her late friend Nadia’s untimely death following an overdose. Items rearrange themselves, and a ghostly presence in her closet raises suspicions. Chloe's father, Chris (played by Chris Sullivan), suggests medication. In contrast, her distant mother, Rebekah (played by Lucy Liu), dismisses them, focusing instead on Chloe's brother, Tyler (played by Eddy Maday), who distances himself from his sister.

While the story may not be the most unique, what sets this movie apart is the way it's shot. As previously mentioned, the entire film was filmed from the point of view of the ghostly entity, which is groundbreaking and adds a unique twist to the movie. In a way, from behind the lens, Steven Soderbergh becomes the unseen lead of the flick. 

The early response to the movie has been quite positive. Devan Coggan from Entertainment Weekly gave the movie an A- in her film coverage. She described the film as a tense character drama and a horrifying tale set in a single location, which will leave a long-lasting impression on audiences who dare to watch it until the end.

According to New York and Vulutre film critic Bilge Ebiri, the upcoming movie is Steven Soderbergh's best work in recent times. He says in his write-up, “The movie is an art film that also works as a spellbinding horror film.” Based on early reactions like these, it seems like this movie could become one of the biggest horror movies of the year, and I'm so here for it.

It's still yet to be confirmed whether Presence will be released widely in theaters or if it will be available for streaming immediately, similar to some of the director's previous films. We'll be keeping an eye on any developments on the matter. In the meantime, you can watch the filmmaker's other popular movies, such as No Sudden Move, The Informant and Magic Mike's Last Dance, which are all available to stream with a Max subscription.

Some filmmakers require time to find their voice. They have to make a few simply "ok" features before having the skills required to make their masterpiece. But that's not the case with the directors featured on this list. These folks quickly figured out what they could do with a camera, and they produced magic with their first feature.

It's a terribly hard thing to do, but here are 32 directors who made great films on their very first try.

Orson Welles – Citizen Kane

A lot of incredible films are highlighted on this list, but Citizen Kane is special given that in addition to being Orson Welles’ first feature, it’s considered by many to be the greatest movie all time. The hunt for the meaning behind a publishing titan’s last word is endlessly compelling and a fascinating examination of the soul corruption that comes with a rise to power.

Quentin Tarantino – Reservoir Dogs

Before making modern and instant classics like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, the legend of Quentin Tarantino began with the phenomenal Reservoir Dogs. The sharp dialogue, the non-linear storytelling, the tense violence and the needle-drop centric soundtrack all instantly confirmed that Tarantino was a talent to watch.

Jordan Peele – Get Out

It came as a shock when comedian Jordan Peele announced that he was shifting to a new phase of his career, as he wanted to pursue his true passion: directing horror movies. It was hard to know what to make of the decision at the time, but Peele has since established himself as one of the industry’s greatest genre filmmakers, and it all started with the stunning Get Out. It’s scary, layered, and the big third act twist never loses its impact.

Spike Jonze – Being John Malkovich

Spike Jonze wasn’t exactly inexperienced when he took the helm of Being John Malkovich as his first feature, as he had established himself as a genius talent in the world of music videos, but that doesn’t take anything away from his accomplishments. It’s a wild, strange, and perfect execution of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s genius and cerebral script, and both the design and cinematography make it unforgettable.

Sidney Lumet – 12 Angry Men

It requires incredible skill to direct a film that almost entirely takes place in a single room and juggles 12 different characters with different perspectives… but there’s a reason why Sidney Lumet is considered one of history’s greatest filmmakers. The basic description of 12 Angry Men doesn’t sound particularly cinematic, but it grips you from the start, and keeps you fascinated throughout – particularly thanks to one of Henry Fonda’s greatest performances.

Joel & Ethan Coen – Blood Simple

Joel and Ethan Coen are masters of crime fiction, and they proved that instantly in the start of their careers as feature filmmakers. Blood Simple is a tense neo-noir that comes with all of the trimmings of the genre – from the chiaroscuro lighting to a brilliant femme fatale turn from Frances McDormand – and M. Emmett Walsh is a force as the relentless Loren Visser.

Rob Reiner – This Is Spinal Tap

Few filmmakers have had runs like what Rob Reiner accomplished in the 1980s/1990s, sequentially making Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and A Few Good Men, but his genius as a director was first established with 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap: a hilarious rock n’ roll mockumentary widely considered to be one of the greatest comedies of all time.

Sam Raimi – The Evil Dead

In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell were college students determined to make their first ever feature, and traveled from Michigan to a dilapidated cabin in Tennessee to make The Evil Dead. The production of the film was an absolute nightmare, but the juice was very much worth the squeeze, as the movie exists as a testament to brilliant imagination, and it is an important classic in the history of the horror genre.

Frank Darabont – The Shawshank Redemption

After writing a brilliant adaptation of Stephen King’s novella “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption,” Frank Darabont actually took a major pay cut so that Castle Rock Entertainment would allow him to make The Shawshank Redemption his directorial debut. This turned out to be a legendary move that has cemented Darabont in cinematic history, as the movie is one of the most beloved of all time and an antidote to cynicism.

John Singleton - Boyz n The Hood

With his directorial debut, John Singleton captured the perspective of an underrepresented audience on the big screen – crafting a Stand By Me-esque coming-of-age story about life in south central Los Angeles. In one of his earliest roles, Cuba Gooding Jr. demonstrates incredible talent alongside Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut, but it’s Laurence Fishburne’s Furious Styles for which the film will always be remembered.

Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman

Emerald Fennell made quite an impression in 2020 with the debut of Promising Young Woman – a primal scream of a movie that captures the horrors that women experience in our modern world and comes together as a darkly comedic revenge thriller. Carey Mulligan’s performance is wicked, and it sports a finale that leaves the audience breathless and mind-blown.

Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal is unquestionably one of the greatest actors of his generation, and Nightcrawler sees him let off the leash to showcase his phenomenal cinematic presence. Dan Gilroy was an experienced screenwriter prior to making his directorial debut, and one can understand why he wanted to make this movie himself: it’s a vicious, Taxi Driver-esque look at crime scene videography and a stunning and cutting commentary on “if it bleeds, it leads” culture in local journalism.

George A. Romero – Night Of The Living Dead

There aren’t exactly a lot of filmmakers who successfully launched an entire new subgenre with their first feature, but that’s exactly what George A. Romero did with Night Of The Living Dead. The zombie film was a shocking standout upon its original release – featuring a Black actor as its lead and a series of nightmarish scenes of horror – and its genius is no less apparent today.

Rian Johnson – Brick

Long before wowing us with his ensemble-driven Benoit Blanc mysteries Knives Out and Glass Onion, Rian Johnson stunned cinephiles as a first-time director with Brick. It’s a stylized neo-noir that stands out with its high school backdrop and young characters, and it dazzles with unyielding tension, unique dialogue, and a terrific third act reveal.

Tom Hanks – That Thing You Do!

Admit it: even just seeing the title of That Thing You Do! has immediately gotten the eponymous song stuck in your head. But on top of that track being two minutes and 50 seconds of peppy greatness, the film is a fantastic tale about a one hit wonder that pops thanks to Tom Hanks’ excellent direction and a delightful ensemble cast.

David Lynch – Eraserhead

It didn’t take long for David Lynch to tell cinephiles what he is all about. The auteur filmmaker established his nightmarish, cerebral sensibilities from the get-go with Eraserhead – which is a confident work from the first time director and paved the road for further masterpieces like Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks.

Amy Heckerling – Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Amy Heckerling would easily be in the Coming-Of-Age Movie Hall Of Fame if Clueless were the only film on her filmography, but it was 13 years earlier that she made one of the genre’s all-time greatest titles as her directorial debut: Fast Times At Ridgemont High. There is so much to love about this film, from the radical Jeff Spicoli, to the drama of the relationship between Stacy and Mark, to the sounds of The Cars’ “Living In Stereo.”

Destin Daniel Cretton – Short Term 12

It’s a remarkable thing when a film, a series of images mixed with sound rapidly displayed to show movement, can touch your soul, but that’s something that Destin Daniel Cretton’s powerful directorial debut does – centering on the staff of a residential treatment facility. In retrospect, the ensemble cast in this one is beyond outstanding (including Brie Larson, Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, LaKeith Stanfield, and Stephanie Beatriz), and their talents are on full display.

Patty Jenkins – Monster

Patty Jenkins’ directorial debut, Monster, is far from a fun cinematic experience, and one actually feels compelled to take a shower after watching it, but it’s a riveting work. Charlize Theron delivers what is arguably the best performance of her career and earned her Academy Award.

Josh & Benny Safdie - Good Time

Cinephiles were thrilled to discover the cinematic heart attack that is Josh and Benny Safdie’s Uncut Gems in 2019, but anyone who watched the brothers’ directorial debut was at the very least mentally prepared for the experience. Starring Robert Pattinson, Good Time is a deeply stressful crime film that comes packed with touches of Of Mice And Men, and it leaves a deep impression on whoever watches it.

Darren Aronofsky – Pi

Darren Aronofsky has a gift for making movies that makes you want to curl up in a ball and cry (see: Requiem For A Dream, Black Swan, mother!), and it’s a mode he hasn’t diverted from since making his feature debut with Pi. It’s a stylistic story of obsession and has one of the most upsetting endings of all time.

John Huston - The Maltese Falcon

There are some films that are held up as the true classics of classic film noir, and right alongside Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Bill Wilder’s Double Indemnity and Carol Reed’s The Third Man is John Huston’s phenomenal The Maltese Falcon. Humphrey Bogart’s Sam Spade is an icon of detective fiction, and the twists and turns of the mystery feel as fresh today as ever.

Ari Aster - Hereditary

Ari Aster has quickly become one of the most exciting modern filmmakers making original horror, and that’s in part because audiences are still experiencing nightmares from his directorial debut. A look at both generational trauma and grief, Hereditary is a movie so scary that it would make you feel cold if you were in the middle of the desert, and has more than a few images that end up tattooed on the back of your eyelids as you try to go to sleep at night.

Michael Mann - Thief

Nobody makes crime movies like Michael Mann, and it all started with Thief. It’s a thrilling and captivating look at a talented Chicago criminal who is looking for his way into legitimacy and finds himself fighting forces that try and drag him back into his shady business. The movie features one of James Caan’s best performances, and the talented ensemble includes Jim Belishi, Dennis Farina and Willie Nelson.

Francois Truffaut - The 400 Blows

Valued as an important part of cinema history and the French New Wave, Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows is a powerful coming-of-age story starring Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel, a troubled youth who ends up quitting school and turning to thievery, only to be apprehended and thrown in a juvenile detention center. Truffaut is recognized for having created some of the most beautiful films to ever be produced in France, and it all started here.

Jean Luc Goddard - Breathless

Another evocative title that emerged from the French New Wave, Jean Luc Goddard’s Breathless is a visually stunning work of crime and love, with tremendous cinematic innovation, attitude that bleeds off the screen, and an outstanding performance from star Jean-Paul Belmondo in his breakout role.

Barry Jenkins – Medicine For Melancholy

Barry Jenkins first earned widespread acclaim in 2016 for his film Moonlight (which deservingly won Best Picture at the Academy Awards), but not to be slept on is the debut feature he made eight years earlier: Medicine For Melancholy. Starring Wyatt Cenac and Tracey Heggins and set over the course of a single day, it’s a beautiful and emotional romantic drama.

Steven Soderbergh - Sex, Lies, And Videotape

Steven Soderbergh is now recognized as one of the most talented, eclectic filmmakers in cinema, but it all started with Sex, Lies And Videotape – a fascinating romantic drama with brilliant meta levels examining intimacy via camera.

George Miller – Mad Max

Many genre classics have been covered in this list, and now it’s time to dive into one of the greatest action/adventure films of all time. With Mad Max, George Miller takes us to an unnerving not-to-distant future full of violence and chaos, and his unique skills as a filmmaker capturing all that wildness all in camera is what makes this a forever-thrilling experience.

Damien Chazelle – Whiplash

One can read and learn that there is intense competition in performance arts schools, but it’s another thing to live it – and that’s what audiences get to do in Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash. Miles Teller is brilliant as the determined and talented Andrew Neiman, but it’s the Oscar-winning work of J.K. Simmons that makes this outstanding directorial debut exceptional.

Mel Brooks – The Producers

Every legendary cinematic run has to start somewhere, and for Mel Brooks, it was with the brilliance of The Producers. Long before he was shocking with the world with Blazing Saddles and History Of The World Part I, the brilliant comedian unleashed his tale of a Broadway scheme and the insanity of “Springtime For Hitler.”

Jim Abrahams, David Zucker And Jerry Zucker – Airplane!

In the 1980s/1990s, nobody made spoof movies like Jim Abrahams, David Zucker And Jerry Zucker, and they quickly established their special comedic voice with their directorial debut: Airplane! The insane pacing of the jokes and the sheer ridiculousness of everything make this a movie that threatens to choke you with laughter, and there are so, so many quotable lines – many thanks to the deadpan brilliance of Leslie Nielsen.

This list obviously has the potential to grow forever, and it'll be exciting to see who the next big breakout movie directors are. 

Steven Soderbergh has been in the entertainment industry since the late ‘80s, when he made his directorial debut with one of his top movies, Sex, Lies, and a Videotape. This modern indie film pioneer has since expanded towards film series like Ocean Twelve and Magic Mike, as well as lending his talents to the streaming services Netflix and Max. But one thing that is most concerning to Soderbergh is streaming services hiding their numbers, as “they don’t want Wall Street to look under the hood.”

As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes continue, there have been a lot of issues raised like better compensation for performers and writers as well as the fear of AI replacing jobs done by humans. Steven Soderbergh has his own pressing concerns, as he said in an interview with Defector that he’s never seen the data of the shows and movies he’s made for Max services.

It’s understandable where Steven Soderbergh’s frustration is coming from. Since he’s the one who made movies for Max like Let Them All Talk and Kimi, as well as shows like Finding Magic Mike and Full Circle, he has a right to know what his numbers are. Soderbergh revealed to Defector that he’s only received “adjectives” to describe how his programs are doing, like, “We feel good about these numbers.” It’s better that those on and off camera are informed of the success of their projects compared to being in the dark about it. As the film director’s Max programs have gotten high Rotten Tomatoes scores for critics and audiences, I’d like to believe they’ve been a success for the streaming service too.

Streaming services are already taking over the entertainment industry as it already feels like we have way too many of them and TV networks haven’t stopped creating their own. The Laundromat director continued to explain the importance of needing to know those streaming service numbers.

It’s true that especially in the case of a TV show, the truth will eventually come out about how well a show did. With demands still being fought for in the 2023 Writers Strike, more stars are revealing the surprising numbers of how much they’re getting paid in residuals. Suits writers unveiled the little money they’re making from the show's Netflix success, with Lilla Zuckerman saying she made only $414.26 for one episode in residuals from the platform. Mandy Moore said her teeny-tiny residual check from This Is Us was a disappointing number of 82 cents. The positive praises and awards attention these shows are getting deserve to have their pay match that success.

Steven Soderbergh made excellent points about why data transparency is the key to keeping these streaming services alive. With the correct data revealed, actors and writers can get the money they need to survive as well as gain a better understanding of how well a film or show they've worked on is doing. You can watch Soderbergh’s latest limited series, Full Circle, with your Max subscription as part of the 2023 TV series lineup.   

Few movie stars are as candid about regretting a role as George Clooney is when it comes to the infamous campy caper that is Batman & Robin -- a movie he has apologized for and poked fun at time and time again. Then again, few actors have been asked to don rubber nipples. The reason I bring this up is because, the Oceans franchise star was joined by series director Steven Soderbergh to talk about one of their best movies, and while discussing the beloved heist franchise they brought up the Hollywood A-listers who turned the film down. Bringing this back around to Batman: Clooney vicariously compared Johnny Depp and others in the discussion turning the gig down to his time as the Caped Crusader. 

According to Soderbergh and Clooney, the production process for what is now considered one of the best heist films wasn't entirely trouble-free. The pair revealed to TCM host Ben Mankiewicz (via EW) that some major Hollywood heavy hitters were approached for the part of Linus but passed -- somewhat aggressively -- before Matt Damon was ultimately cast. The big revelation here was that both Johnny Depp and Mark Wahlberg were some of the actors who turned the part down. The Up in the Air star comedically added that those stars regret turning the project down about as much as he regrets agreeing to wear the Dark Knight cowl. He said:

It’s always fun to imagine what could have been when it comes to Hollywood casting, but it is almost impossible to imagine anyone else as the characters who make up Danny Ocean's team, which included the likes of Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Don Cheadle. And sure, I could imagine someone else in the part of Batman in Joel Schumacher’s love letter to camp, but at this point, I wouldn’t want to. Clooney is perfect. In recent years, he has even acknowledged that the critical and financial bomb indirectly made him a movie star. 

Mankiewicz asked the pair about the prospect of revisiting the characters from the Oceans franchise, which premiered its third film, Ocean's Thirteen, 15 years ago. Soderbergh acknowledged that there had been numerous discussions about it, and he cited the all-female-led Ocean's Eight as one of the outcomes of those talks. Of course, Clooney pointed out it might be hard for his character to return, pointing to the fact that Sandra Bullock's Debbie Ocean visits her brother's grave more than once during the film. He joked:

The TCM interview is delightful and definitely worth watching. You can check out the video below to enjoy Clooney's charming and funny responses.

Clooney and Soderbergh have enjoyed a rich partnership over the years, beginning with 1998’s Elmore Leonard adaptation Out of Sight, but they also have stayed busy with their own projects. The director recently finished up the story he started about male dancers in Magic Mike’s Last Dance. As for The Ides of March actor, he is set to reteam with fellow Oceans star Brad Pitt in Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts' upcoming thriller, Wolfs. Sadly, I don't think he'll be making his return as the campiest of the Batman's based on these comments, but there's always something to look forward to from Clooney.

For all your entertainment news, make sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend, and while you're at it, check out our schedule of 2023 new movie releases to plan your next trip to the cinema.

Let’s start here: If I met Channing Tatum or Matt Damon I would not be OK; they are two fabulous actors at the top of their games, and they seem like pleasant folks to be around. Well, it turns out Channing Tatum is in a similar boat, as he recently admitted he was extremely nervous the first time he met Matt Damon, and said he was so embarrassed by what he said he “almost didn’t recover.” 

This interaction happened back in 2011, so before 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike, Tatum was working with Damon on one of Steven Soderbergh’s movies called Side Effects. The actor recalled the story about meeting the Oscar-winning actor and writer, noting how funny it was, but also how embarrassing it was for him at the time. Tatum told People:

He makes a good point, it’s hard to not know where Damon is from. The Good Will Hunting star and his BFF Ben Affleck are famously from Boston, and Tatum knew that, however, he asked the question anyway. The Magic Mike star continued the story, recalling how mortified he was in the moment, saying:

I feel you man, I also would have said something silly like this if I met any member of the Ocean’s Eleven cast, especially Matt Damon. Luckily, The Martian actor was very friendly, and he didn’t question Tatum’s silly quandary. The Logan Lucky star continued the story, explaining:

Tatum finished the story by saying he still talks to Damon from time to time, and he “sort of [keeps] it together today.” 

It’s fun to know that actors also get nervous around other actors they look up to. Considering both men have made massive marks in the film industry, and they both have big releases on the 2023 movie schedule, it’s funny to think Tatum would be so gobsmacked by meeting Damon. However, it makes total sense, and I wouldn't be shocked if The Bourne Identity also had some stories about being starstruck, and saying something like his Side Effects co-star did. 

Lucky for us, both Damon and Tatum have exciting movies coming out this year, with the third installment in the Magic Mike trilogy hitting theaters this weekend (the other two are available with an HBO Max subscription), while Damon and his pal Ben Affleck’s movie Air released its first trailer with a release date of April 5. Hopefully, we’ll get to see the two actors in a movie together sometime in the future, and maybe this time Channing Tatum will be able to play it cool with Matt Damon. 

It’s the trilogy no one would have expected. Through three movies and a little over a decade of dancing, the Magic Mike series has become a key calling card for star Channing Tatum, first adding big buzz to his career back in 2012. With each of the previous films it felt like there couldn’t be another story to tell, but Tatum and series writer Reid Carolin found an angle that set its protagonist on a new adventure.

With its third and potentially final installment, Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike’s Last Dance, we now have a crucial trilogy capstone – a place where some franchises go to die. Should this be the final fling, however, it'll be a rest well earned for the man who pony'd up through it all. 

Set years after the events of Magic Mike XXL, which saw Mike Lane (Channing Tatum) reunite with his boys, the film finds the stripper-turned-furniture entrepreneur in a low place, having lost his business during the pandemic. We don’t see Mike down on his luck for long though, as Magic Mike’s Last Dance sees him lucking into a new job opportunity rather quickly. 

All it takes is one dance with Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek Pinault), a creative and wealthy divorcee, to inspire this new pair to put on one hell of a show for the London stage.

Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek Pinault’s chemistry is the star of Magic Mike’s Last Dance.

If your decision whether or not to see Magic Mike’s Last Dance is based solely on the chemistry between Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek Pinault, your ticket should be considered bought. The story of Mike and Maxandra’s courtship is the most interesting new hurdle for the series to explore, as previous entries didn’t put too much of an emphasis on the people Channing Tatum was supposedly romancing. One of the improvements that puts this chapter above its predecessors, it’s a vital part of all the other changes that come with the story.

Steven Soderbergh’s return to the series after skipping the helming duties for 2015’s Magic Mike XXL couldn’t have come at a better time. Shifting the scenery to London would be an irresistible lure to go a big bigger on the visuals, as Mike’s transatlantic voyage opens up a lot of possibilities. Magic Mike’s Last Dance doesn’t get too distracted with that possibility, instead using the new setting as an appropriate source of humor in certain moments. Just as he's shown in his work with Ocean's 12, the director can enjoy sending his characters to new surroundings, while not becoming too enamored to be distracted from the story at hand. An inspired dance scene on a a double decker bus is the best example of keeping the British end up, without tipping the film’s hat too much. Using aspects such as this to establish the setting, Soderbergh's actors are allowed to shine while showing off some of the local color.

Don’t be fooled, there’s still plenty of chiseled men taking off shirts while dancing to Ginuwine’s “Pony.” The new cast that Magic Mike’s Last Dance assembles for that task is no disappointment, and the dances that result are properly electrifying. But beyond what's expected lies the greatest strength of this threequel’s plot: a very introspective Mike, who’s trying to figure out what he really wants in life.

Departing from the typical formula, this Magic Mike story is the most mature and romantic entry.

The life of Mike Lane is taken much more seriously in Magic Mike’s Last Dance. In his third round of trying to figure out life, Channing Tatum’s semi-autobiographical avatar isn’t dancing or taking his shirt off as much as he used to in the past. Instead, we’re shown the more creative side that Mike has always nurtured through stuff like his furniture work, fused together with his obvious dance skills. 

Another welcome departure from formula is the increased participation of female characters throughout Magic Mike’s grand finale. Salma Hayek Pinault’s Maxandra is a spirited woman who’s trying to shake things up in her life, but that quest doesn’t depend on her romantic feelings with Mike. Whatever’s developing between the two figures isn’t the point of the journey taken in Magic Mike’s Last Dance, but rather a note that sweetens the deal. 

The play is absolutely the thing for these lovers, which offers a great amount of action that takes place outside of their flirting. Rehearsals, rewrites, and all of the obstacles that come with putting on a show rear their head in quick succession, keeping everyone on their toes in the process. Offering so much more than just a meet-cute that leads to a stage show that'd fall into the background of any other rom-com, the plot swaps those mechanics to let the dancing do most of the talking. 

There’s still time for love in Magic Mike’s Last Dance, but it’s through a romance that’s the most mature and thought out in the trilogy. Rather than make their coupling the main thrust of the story, their love is allowed to blossom as a side effect of Mike and Maxandra's work in the theater.

Credit also has to be given to the performances of Jemelia George and Juliette Motamed. George’s role as Maxandra’s adopted daughter and Motamed’s part as the actor who becomes the emcee of the show both add more strong female characters to flesh out this particular world. George in particular gets to steal some moments with humor and rapport with Channing Tatum, showing that Mike Lane knows how to handle kids with as much respect as he does his audience.

Still sexy, but with a little more introspection in the works, Mike Lane’s last dance is the best of the trilogy.

Selling Magic Mike’s Last Dance on the more titillating aspects only shows half of the picture, as Maxandra’s quest to tell a story that reflects everything she sees wrong with romance is as insightful as it is entertaining. It also pairs brilliantly with Mike’s skill set, as he and his friends have always been about making women feel good by using all the right moves. Big swings are taken throughout, but they are in line with the spirit of the character that brought us to the party.

What we end up getting out of the potentially final chapter is a movie that earns its ending, while at the same time leaving the crowd wanting more. Part of that may be because, like all Magic Mike movies, this last dance seems to end just moments shy of a proper conclusion. Even that caveat doesn’t seem like a gamebreaker, as it fits with tradition and merely welcomes loyal viewers back warmly to the Magic Mike experience.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is all about keeping things fresh, while honoring those events from Mike Lane’s past that got him to where he is today. The reasons for bringing him back lead to equally compelling events, and it all culminates in a finale that proves moving this movie to a theatrical release was the best decision. It may not change the routine too much, but this story has the right steps to say a proper goodbye to the magic of Mike.

As Magic Mike’s Last Dance becomes the hottest new 2023 movie release to hit theaters this weekend, Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek bring all the spice this time around to the stripper franchise. However, back when the production was initially announced, Westworld’s Thandiwe Newton was initially set to star alongside Tatum rather than Hayek. When the actress exited the movie, all kinds of rumors surfaced as to why. Now Magic Mike director Steven Soderbergh has responded to these claims. 

When Newton exited Magic Mike’s Last Dance, Warner Bros. reported she made the “difficult decision” to step down to deal with “family matters,” but other rumors suggested there was more to it. Among the rumors, sources claimed that Newton was “acting strange” on the movie’s set and had to leave the project to go to rehab, while another claimed she clashed with Tatum on set over Will Smith infamous Oscars slap. Here’s how Steven Soderbergh responded to the rumors:  

In other words, Steven Soderbergh has chosen not to entertain the rumors about Thandiwe Newton and keep the whole thing private. Though, in his words to Rolling Stone, he did hint at these stories perhaps all being inaccurate. Plus, as he points out, at the end of the day, what was going on with Newton was a personal matter that should remain private.

There’s certainly no bad blood between Newton and her replacement. Following the actress’ April 2022 exit, Thandiwe Newton took to Instagram to clear that up by raving about Salma Hayek’s performance in Beatriz at Dinner, which came out back in 2017. Newton shared to her story (via People) that there was “no finer performance, no finer film.” 

Salma Hayek stars in Magic Mike’s Last Dance as Maxandra Mendoza, a wealthy socialite, who meets Channing Tatum’s Mike after learning her husband is cheating on her. Maxandra commissions him for a private dance and their relationship gains steam there before she asks Mike to direct a show she can invest in. 

Magic Mike’s Last Dance follows Steven Soderbergh directing the 2012 original Magic Mike, along with classic films like Ocean’s Eleven, Out Of Sight and Erin Brockovich. Like the previous Magic Mike films, this one is spicy enough to be rated-R, but Soderbergh recently shared that he cares more about what’s “sexy” than sex itself in the movie. You can check out Tatum and Hayek in Magic Mike in theaters starting this Friday. 

For many people Super Bowl LVII will be the biggest event to take place this weekend, but for others the big game will be easily overshadowed by Channing Tatum’s "Super Bowl of stripper movies," aka Magic Mike’s Last Dance. The third and (supposedly) final movie in the franchise comes more than 10 years since Magic Mike’s premiere, and the actor has promised lap dances, a crazy opening and “less character, more dancing.” Reviews are in for the threequel that many thought would never happen, so let’s see what the critics are saying.

This time around Channing Tatum’s Magic Mike will not be joined by his motley crew of dancer buddies from the first two installments. Instead, Salma Hayek’s Maxandra Mendoza whisks the enthusiastic dancer-turned-carpenter-turned-bartender away to London to breathe life into a production she’s been running at a theater on the West End. So where will this film fall in the discourse of best dance movies? I’ll let the critics answer that. 

Leah Greenblatt of EW grades the movie a B-, saying that while the characters are underdeveloped, there are flashes of the original, and the pelvic thrusting that most of the audience is going for is still there. The critic continues: 

Jude Dry of IndieWire gives Magic Mike’s Last Dance a B, saying that while the “playground lesson in consent” sometimes feels patronizing to everyone in the audience, Channing Tatum and Salma Hayek’s chemistry gives the trilogy a satisfying sendoff: 

Katie Rife of Polygon says Magic Mike’s Last Dance often feels like an advertisement for the Magic Mike Live! shows that take place in Las Vegas, Miami and London, with the plot of the movie setting up an origin story. The review continues:  

Like other critics, K. Austin Collins of Rolling Stone also speaks to how important consent is in Magic Mike’s Last Dance, and points out that this movie isn’t actually about Mike, but rather Salma Hayek’s Maxandra Mendoza. He argues that the movie’s good intentions mute the pleasures audiences got in the first films, saying: 

Peter Debruge of Variety agrees that Last Dance — a sequel “in name only,” the critic says — has dulled its bite over the last decade. He calls the script lazy, as the film “plays more like a made-for-cable backstage musical than a gender-swapped Pretty Woman fantasy.” Debruge continues: 

The Magic Mike movies are considered some of Channing Tatum’s best work, with the original also counted as one of Steven Soderbergh’s best movies. Mixed reviews are unlikely to deter fans of the first two offerings, so for those of you who want to check out Magic Mike’s Last Dance, you’ll be able to do so in theaters starting Friday, February 10. In the meantime, the first two movies are available to stream with an HBO Max subscription, and be sure to check out what other films are hitting the big screen soon with our 2023 Movie Release Schedule. 

Steven Soderbergh has helmed a variety of iconic movies, including the original Ocean’s trilogy, Erin Brockovich, Sex, Lies and Videotapes, and, of course, two of the three Magic Mike movies. This week will see the release of his third film in the male stripper saga, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, which is already generating a lot of buzz. The first two films were sensations, performing well critically and commercially. While the films feature several scenes from the strip clubs with all kinds of sexy dancing, they don’t feature many actual sex scenes, and now the famed director is detailing why. 

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the Contagion director discussed his approach to directing and how he chooses his projects. He also talked about his approach to the Magic Mike films and what plot elements are important to him when approaching a controversial subject matter. When asked why the Magic Mike franchise doesn’t feature many sex scenes, Soderbergh explained: 

Clearly the visuals and suggestive nature of the film is more interesting to the director than sex scenes. Based on much of his previous work, Soderbergh has much more of an interest in building tension and chemistry than he does choreographing explicit sequences. There is a lot more to the Magic Mike films than the subject matter suggests, and the director seems more keen on building character and a story than titillating scenes. The filmmaker further detailed his approach, saying:

Soderbergh seems to take his characters and his stories seriously. While there is clearly a sexy story at the center, much of the plot of the Magic Mike films centers around the world around the stripper shows and the blue collar nature of the characters involved. The director truly gets great performances out of the cast, and while Matthew McConaughey was snubbed from the awards circuit for the first film, many considered his performance to be Oscar-worthy. Magic Mike’s Last Dance will likely be no different, especially with Selma Hayek in the mix this time around. 

Basic plot details of Magic Mike’s Last Dance have already been revealed. The third installment is once again centered around Channing Tatum’s Mike Lane, who returns to stripping after a bad business deal goes wrong. He goes to London, where a socialite offers him an opportunity to assemble a new roster of dancers for a show. The film looks even steamier and sexier than the first two Magic Mike movies, so there is a lot to anticipate. Along with Soderbergh, the film marks the return of screenwriter Reid Carolin, who wrote and produced the other films in the franchise. 

Magic Mike’s Last Dance hits theaters on February 10th, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Fans of the franchise looking to revisit Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL ahead of the last film’s release can do so now with an HBO Max subscription. For more information on other films hitting theaters this year, make sure to check out CinemaBlend’s 2023 movie release schedule.

Steven Soderbergh has become one of the film’s most iconic directors in my opinion. While he’s known for his suave crime thrillers and heist adventures, he’s also received lots of acclaim for his films that feature scathing social commentary. While there are commonalities between a lot of his movies, like his massive ensemble of A-list actors who return time and time again, he also makes unexpected choices and zigs when we all expect him to zag (see his decision to direct Magic Mike). 

So, considering the director is back at it again, working with Channing Tatum for the fourth time on the final film in the Magic Mike franchise, Magic Mike's Last Dance, we figured it’d be a perfect time to rank this director’s top ten movies. 

Honorable Mention: Ocean’s Twelve  

Now, is Ocean's Twelve a bit of a hot mess, yes, but that’s part of the fun. The cast has admitted to knowing people don’t love Twelve, Don Cheadle included, who said to those who don’t like the movie: “that’s cool, you didn’t have to @ me.” And I agree with him, it’s fine if you don’t like this movie, however, don’t hate on Ocean’s Twelve, because it’s a grand ol’ time.

Seeing the gang go on a European vacation to do pull a few wild heists with a fun French villain and epic cameos (I’m looking at you Robbie Coltrane and Bruce Willis), plus the truly iconic Julia Roberts bit, is something to appreciate. Not only is the film fun it’s also technically masterful, with fun cuts, a brilliant score from David Holmes, and A+ performances from the returning ensemble. 

Rent/buy Ocean’s Twelve on Amazon.

10. The Limey (1999)

Terence Stamp gives a commanding performance in Soderbergh’s 1999 film The Limey. Stamp plays an Englishman who makes his way to Los Angeles in an effort to find the man who took his daughter’s life. I think this movie is showing off Soderbergh’s style at its peak, it doesn’t seem to conform to what a studio wants, and it isn’t afraid to make bold technical decisions. You can see the director’s affinity for bold editing, jazzy music and criminally inclined characters on full display in this film. It also shows everything Soderbergh is capable of in a stylish smooth criminal kind of way, if you know what I mean.  

 Rent/buy The Limey on Amazon or stream on Showtime.  

9.  Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) 

You know you’re off to a good start when your first feature film wins the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Not only did Soderbergh take home that prestigious honor early in his career, the screenplay for Sex, Lies, and Videotape was also nominated for best original screenplay at the 1990 Academy Awards. While all these accolades are amazing, this movie also set the tone for Soderbergh’s career of making edgy movies that explore topics a lot of people may be scared to tackle. 

This movie starring James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Laura San Giacomo and Peter Gallagher shows the complex relationship between a couple and their other partners in the dramatic, yet darkly comedic way Soderbergh is a master of.

 Buy Sex, Lies and Videotape on Amazon.  

8. Contagion (2011)

What’s interesting about this movie is it’s not a thriller that relies on big outlandish scares to terrify the audience. Soderbergh uses patience and the horror of reality to slap the audience in the face, and make them realize this might actually be how a global outbreak would go down. And it did in 2020. Soderbergh's plot is not that far off from accurate, which makes sense considering many behind-the-scenes facts about Contagion include the lengths the cast and creatives went to research what could actually happen.

Watching the beginning of the movie kind of feels like a historical drama in a way considering what we all went through in 2020, and it was made in 2011. The cast, including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Laurence Fishburne, to name a few, all give haunted, terrified, yet calm performances that really hammered home the scary yet level-headed tone of the film. 

You can stream Contagion with an HBO Max subscription.

7. Logan Lucky (2017)

Logan Lucky, or "Ocean’s 7-11" as it’s referred to in the literal movie, is a hillbilly heist that is a delightfully good time and wicked smart, in my humble opinion. This movie marked the director’s return to film, after Soderbergh’s short retirement, and obviously, it had to be another heist movie. 

What I really love about Logan Lucky is it allows you to see actors like Daniel Craig (Joe Bang walked so Benoit Blanc could run), Channing Tatum and Adam Driver in roles we’ve never seen them in before. They all play characters that come off as dimwitted at first, however, as the movie progresses you realize you are the dumb one, and this little West Virginian family, and this film, is pretty genius.

 Buy/rent Logan Lucky on Amazon or stream on Showtime.  

6. The Informant!

This movie will really sneak up on you with how funny and twisty it is. Over the course of 1 hour and 48 minutes, Soderbergh takes you on a wonky journey through our protagonist Mark Whitacre’s (Matt Damon) perspective, and as the story unfolds you start to realize just how unreliable our narrator is. 

Much like the Ocean’s movie, this is a plot that will have you wondering what is really going on the whole time. Also, it's full of fun performances from its ensemble, but especially from Damon, who is acting his face off. It’s by no means the smooth heist the Ocean’s movies are, however, it has the snappy dialogue and misleading plot that harkens back to one of Damon and Soderbergh’s best collaborations. 

Rent/buy The Informant! on Amazon.

5. Traffic (2000)

Like Contagion what makes this movie so scary is how grounded it is. It’s not relying on massive dramatic events, it’s using the terrifying, realistic implications of the War on Drugs to spook audiences. By examining the impact drug use and addiction has on different types of people and social groups, Soderbergh uses Traffic as a way to provide a thorough and brutal look into how this issue has affected the United States. 

The film clearly had an impact on the film industry too as it went on to be nominated for five Oscars, and win four -- this happened in the same year Soderbergh was nominated for directing Erin Brockovich. Benicio Del Toro took home a trophy for his performance as an agent working on the Mexican border, Soderbergh won Best Director, and the film also took home awards for its editing and adapted screenplay. 

Rent/buy Traffic on Amazon.

4.  Magic Mike (2012) 

On the surface, Magic Mike seems like it will just be a movie full of hot men stripping and that’s it. However, Soderbergh and the movie’s star Channing Tatum made this a heartfelt film about a stripper who is struggling with aging out of his job, and trying to figure out what he wants to do next. 

Along with capitalizing on Tatum’s dance and stripping background, as well as his comedic timing, the cast is also made up of actors who are having a blast making this film, especially Matthew McConaughey. And not only are the guys great strippers. but they're also likable characters who you want to root for. 

You can stream Magic Mike with an HBO Max subscription.

3.  Erin Brockovich (2000) 

This movie won Julia Roberts her Oscar, and changed the game for women in film. Not only does Erin Brockovich tell the incredible story of a real woman who fought against PG&E, Roberts was also part of breaking the glass ceiling for actresses’ salaries by demanding better pay on the film. 

With this movie, Soderbergh managed to capture the story of a single mom in an empowering way, that shows other women what is possible. That mixed with Roberts demanding better pay, and her stand-out award-winning performance, makes this an incredibly impactful film, unlike anything else Soderbergh has made.

 Stream Erin Brokovich with an Amazon Prime subscription.   

2.  Out Of Sight (1998) 

I don’t think it’s possible to have a more charismatic duo than George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez in a cat-and-mouse romance together. Clooney plays a career criminal and JLo is the agent trying to take him down. However, there’s an undeniable attraction between the two, and despite their opposition, they can’t stay away from each other. 

This movie introduced the world to Geoge Clooney, the movie star, it let us know Jennifer Lopez is an actress with range, and it showed us just how amazing Soderbergh is at mixing genres and creating a menacing, tense, funny and suave films. Out of Sight oozes with charm, and was the start of a beautiful partnership between the actor and director.

Stream on Freevee through an Amazon Prime subscription. 

1. Ocean's Eleven (2001)

To be fully transparent, Ocean’s Eleven is one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s the movie that made me realize how much I love heist films. It’s the movie that made me aware of George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. And it’s one of the most fun movies ever made, in my opinion.

This Rat Pack remake capitalizes on Soderbergh’s smooth style and affinity for making movies about career criminals, and it brings together an ensemble that makes it clear that the Ocean’s Eleven cast is one of the greatest ensembles of all time. Between Clooney’s undeniable charisma, Pitt’s snacking and irresistible sidekick, a myriad of other A-List actors at the top of their games, plus Soderbergh’s snappy pace, jazzy sound and timeless tone, this movie has stood the test of time and is a modern classic. 

 Rent/buy Ocean’s Eleven on Amazon. 

Well, there you have it, Steven Soderbergh’s top ten movies. Admittedly this was an extremely hard list to put together because of his wide breadth of work. However, in this list, you can see both the director’s range and tendency to lean into similar genres and tones. Overall, Steven Soderbergh’s career is remarkable, and his work is all worth checking out, including his film on the 2023 movie schedule, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, which hits theaters on February 10. 

Ahead of Zoë Kravitz’s turn as Catwoman in The Batman, the actress is the star of a new offering exclusive to those with HBO Max subscriptions, Kimi. The movie directed by Contagion and No Sudden Move filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is a tight pandemic thriller that follows Kravitz as a tech worker who comes across a piece of audio she believes to be evidence of a crime. Let’s talk about what happened and what goes down in the Kimi ending. 

The suspenseful film, which has received overall positive reviews, starts by setting up Zoë Kravitz’s Angela Childs, who works on improving the intelligence of a digital assistant likened to Alexa or Siri called “Kimi.” Angela has agoraphobia and is living in Seattle during the COVID-19 pandemic. She lives in a huge place that has massive windows to look out to see her neighbors across the way, especially two of the movie’s key players, a man named Terry she’s been seeing casually (played by Byron Bowers) and a mysterious onlooker (Devin Ratray). 

She spends her days listening to audio she calls “streams” in which random people called upon Kimi for something and it didn’t understand and provide the proper response. Angela hears the audio and adds adjustments to the Kimi software so it can distinguish difficult commands such as when someone asks to play “ME!” it knows they are talking about the Taylor Swift song. Before we get to the rest, be warned: SPOILERS are ahead for Kimi. 

What Happened At The End Of Kimi

The inciting incident of Kimi is when Angela hears a piece of audio that seems off from the others. She listens closely and tunes into a stream that sounds like a woman who is in danger and being hurt. Angela’s first plan of action is to speak to her employer and report the audio stream, however her boss is uninterested in bothering with it. He asks her to not get involved, but she ends up asking a coworker of hers about it and he gives her information that allows her to hear more streams from the same audio device of the mysterious woman. 

What Angela learns is that the woman, whose name is Samantha, was raped and subsequently killed after she threatened to reveal the truth. Angela decides to get in contact with one of the corporation’s heads, Natalie Chowdhury (played by Rita Wilson). Initially she cannot get through to Natalie, but after many phone calls, she returns her call and asks Angela if she’d like to come to her office to listen to the audio with her and the company of the FBI. Angela pushes through her fear of leaving her home to meet with Natalie, but once she gets there the company head invalidates her, citing her mental health history and they are not in the company of the FBI. 

Angela goes to the restroom and returns to Natalie’s office to two men charging at her. She frantically escapes and decides to walk to the nearby FBI headquarters to report the case. While she’s on foot, an expert begins to track her and the two men catch up to her and take her back to her house to get rid of the evidence of the woman’s murder. The mysterious onlooker sees she is perhaps in trouble and comes with them inside the house. While held captive at her home, Angela’s mother video calls her and she asks Kimi to answer the call, giving her warning to her intruders. Then, using her digital assistant as a sidekick, Angela gets away briefly and finds a nail gun as a weapon and shoots the intruders, gets help from her mysterious neighbor (who reveals himself to be a man named Kevin) and calls 9-1-1 just as Terry shows up at her door with flowers. 

Who Was Behind The Audio In Kimi?

Angela finds herself in such a dangerous situation in Kimi because the rapist who is actively trying to cover up the murder of the woman he raped is the CEO of the company she works for, Bradley Hasling. He had the men who are following Angela throughout the movie to kill her and subsequently follow her to destroy all evidence of the rape and murder. 

Hasling is the man who is showed in a meeting at the very beginning of Kimi and later after he is revealed in a flashback image shares that he is the one who gave the woman he raped the Kimi. Because Angela was listening and decided to delve into it deeper, Hasling is arrested at the end of the film and justice is served. 

Angela’s Backstory Revealed

Angela is agoraphobic, which is an anxiety disorder in which you fear or avoid places or situations that cause you to panic or make you feel trapped. Per the Mayo Clinic, people with agoraphobia often have a hard time feeling safe in public places. Her disorder is made known early in the film when Angela is invited outside to grab a bite to eat with Terry and she becomes panicked before leaving her house and invites him over instead. Angela is seeing a therapist and it is hinted that she lost her father and the massive house she is staying in was his. 

Just ahead of the third act of Kimi, we learn that Angela was sexually assaulted and placed on trial instead of the man who assaulted her, as she reveals while speaking to Rita Wilson’s Natalie. It then makes sense why Angela is particularly interested in getting to the bottom of Samantha’s murder and has a “strong feeling” that the audio is from a situation of the sort. Her trauma from the incident could have very well led to her agoraphobia. In Kimi, once Angela solves the mystery at the center of the film and takes down the guys after her, she makes significant progress to get past her anxiety and is seen going out with Terry outside her house. 

In the final shot of Kimi, Angela has dyed her hair light pink instead of its bright blue and it looks as if she’s happy and enjoying her life. It’s a case of solving another mystery that helped Angela begin to get past her own obstacles. Now that you’ve streamed Kimi, check out what other great HBO movies or other Zoë Kravitz movies and TV shows to stream now, here on CinemaBlend. 

It has almost been exactly two years since we all first experienced a life stuck at home when lockdowns went into effect across the globe thanks to COVID-19. It was during this time that we all became more accustomed to taking part in work video calls, carrying hand sanitizer around more than usual, and even finding unlikely ways to forge new connections. It is from that angle that Steven Soderbergh’s Kimi begins, but our protagonist, Zoë Kravitz’s Angela, is not only navigating a pandemic – she’s also an agoraphobic tech worker listening in on audio data from a digital assistant called “Kimi” in the middle of it all. 

While most recent releases have ignored the pandemic all together, the audience quickly catches on that Kimi takes place in our era of mask mandates. There will be a familiarity here for many of us as Angela goes about her day at work with her home setup – yet her job is more specific, as she listens in on commands people give to Siri/Alexa knockoff “Kimi” to improve its  intelligence. 

Kimi is appealing thanks to Zoë Kravitz's performance and the direction of Steven Soderbergh, who develops a particular flair for the Seattle-set pandemic era movie, but beyond that, you’ve seen this story unfold before and better. The script penned by David Koepp – who previously wrote Jurassic Park, Panic Room and Spider-Man, but more recently has been a part of more flops than classics, like 2017’s The Mummy and Mortdecai – doesn’t take big swings in a nail-biter that is primed to shock its viewers, and it ends up instead being a relatively routine entry in the thriller genre. 

Kimi is a pandemic-era set Rear Window with a digital assistant sidekick. 

There’s a slick setup at play here as Zoë Kravitz’s Angela goes about her work day listening to the random moments in others days when they call upon Kimi to ask a question, give a command or throw out an insult in a moment of loneliness. The idea of centering a film on a young woman who has the access to invading the privacy many of us give away in the technology era is intriguing and hooks right away. Once she comes across a “stream” that she is confident is the sound of someone's murder, it’s  gripping to see how she decides to go about helping and the reactions of her higher-ups. 

Kimi also plays tribute to Rear Window in many aspects and ties it to the COVID-19 era, with Angela’s place and neighborhood having large windows to peer in and out of. There’s a few characters in play from the building across the street that are implemented in a unique way as the story progresses. Kimi briefly explores the pros and cons of the connection a digital assistant can provide, especially in times of isolation, but it feels as though this clever concept had a missed opportunity to be explored with more wit. 

Zoë Kravitz does great character work, but the script falls short. 

Zoë Kravitz has rarely in her career put a whole big screen storyline on her shoulders, but in Kimi the actress gracefully carries the weight. Kravitz portrays a difficult, introverted character who we learn about through a day in the life, rather than the movie going down the flashback road. Angela is motivated by her fixated passions that she must get to the bottom of before moving on. Kravitz is alluring to watch on screen as Steven Soderbergh’s direction complements in highlighting the small details of the character.

Even though Kimi’s story around her isn’t particularly great, Kravitz makes the watch worthwhile as the audience finds themselves captivated by what she’ll do next despite the character's limitations. The third act in particular creates mixed feelings regarding what David Koepp’s intentions are with Angela. On one hand, the final act becomes a fun Die Hard-esque one-woman survival story, but Kimi’s character development doesn’t ultimately serve her or develop her arc in the meaningful way it likely thinks it does. 

Steven Soderbergh brings an engaging spunk to Kimi that makes up for this otherwise routine thriller. 

Aside from a great Zoë Kravitz’s performance, Steven Soderbergh brings a stylish eye to Kimi. The pandemic thriller doesn’t have a lot of scale or dialogue to work with, and the Contagion and No Sudden Move director uses this to his advantage and works with production design and cinematography that significantly adds to the suspense and eeriness of the film. Navigating the protagonist's solitary lifestyle, Soderbergh’s direction feels like another main character in Kimi. 

With a director like Soderbergh, who has such a massive filmography, it’s rare for this kind of talent to go back to basics and make a more intimate project. For fans of the filmmaker, Kimi is ultimately a solid reminder of his talent; it’s just a shame the script isn’t stronger. 

It’s no secret that superhero movies are everywhere. Despite their box office draw, plenty of acclaimed filmmakers have taken umbrage with the genre. The latest of these is Steven Soderbergh, who recently dropped f-bombs regarding the lack of sex in those blockbusters. And James Gunn has shared some superhero sex scenes in response to that viral complaint.

James Gunn is a major figure in the comic book genre, having directed acclaimed projects for both Marvel and DC. So it should come as no surprise that the irreverent filmmaker weighed in on Steven Soderbergh’s comments about the lack of sex scenes, which lamented that "Nobody's fucking!" Gunn shared his own opinion on social media, posting:

Well, there you have it. While some comic book movies are sexless, James Gunn definitely isn’t a filmmaker who has gone that route. As we can see from various stills he posted from superhero projects that he’s made for both TV and film. Let’s break down what we’re being shown here.

The above post comes to us from James Gunn’s personal Twitter. He’s super active on social media, often using it to directly communicate with fans of his work. And once Steven Soderbergh’s criticism of the genre went viral, Gunn shared images from his work. Here we see post-coital scenes from The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Peacemaker. 

In addition to posting stills from his various comic book projects, James Gunn took the time to respond more fully to Steven Soderbergh’s assessment of the genre as a whole. Because while his characters engage in sex, not all superhero flicks contain such carnal sequences. He named some filmmakers who are on the same page as him, saying:

For those unfamiliar, Steven Soderbergh’s viral comments come from a recent interview with The Daily Beast about his career and the film industry as a whole. Eventually the massive popularity of comic book movies was brought up, where the Erin Brockovich director dropped multiple F-bombs about the lack of sexuality in the genre. As he put it,

Of course, there have been some glaring exceptions to this assessment, with James Gunn personally naming a few filmmakers. Zack Snyder had some graphic sex in Watchmen, while Chloé Zhao’s Eternals had the MCU’s first sex scene. Then there’s Tim Miller’s Deadpool, which had an entire sex montage for Ryan Reynolds’ character.

James Gunn is currently working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 which is expected to arrive in theaters on May 23rd, 2023. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Matt Damon’s done a lot of interviews over the last year, thanks to his passion for the film Stillwater and the press he did to promote The Last Duel, a movie he starred in but that also got him back into the writing game. He’s spoken this year about what actors know about being on the famed “A-list,” but he also talked about a time when he himself was struggling with fame and was worried about having to step out of the limelight and quit acting. 

Apparently, sometime between 1997’s Good Will Hunting and 2002’s The Bourne Identity, there was a period where Matt Damon was legitimately worried his acting career was nearly over. He was looking for other Hollywood outlets where he could find work, including writing at that point, and he said on the Hot Ones series that it was actually Steven Soderbergh who gave him the confidence to continue. Here’s what happened: 

At this point, Matt Damon did already have some writing chops, having famously created Good Will Hunting with Ben Affleck, to general acclaim. If you look at Matt Damon’s acting resumé, it seems to seamlessly transition him from Good Will Hunting into Saving Private Ryan and from Saving Private Ryan into The Talented Mr. Ripley. From there, you bump ahead a couple of years and Damon goes on to appear in Ocean’s Eleven and then star in the big hit of his career, The Bourne Identity. 

There was that bump ahead period, however, just before the latter two movies came about, where Damon landed roles in largely forgotten films like The Legend of Bagger Vance (which flopped at the box office) and the critically panned All The Pretty Horses (Damon has said how the movie turned out still sticks with him). In that time, it seems Matt Damon was worried about what was next and it was ultimately Steven Soderbergh who helped get him excited about film work and back on track.  

The Informant! wouldn’t come out until 2009, after The Bourne Identity had already found success with viewers, spawning sequels and an entire franchise based around Jason Bourne and later a character played by Jeremy Renner. The Martian actor also recalled it’s “one of [his] favorite things [he’s] ever done,” and the project obviously was encouraging for him to keep moving forward with what he was doing when it fell into his lap.

Coming up, Matt Damon is expected to return to the MCU  in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder movie, out in 2022. That’s not the end of his upcoming high-profile work, as he’s also set to star in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer with Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Rami Malek and Cillian Murphy.. He’s busy, he’s prolific and he does a lot of different things in the industry, producing a slew of projects and recently writing The Last Duel as well. To consider there was a time two decades ago that he was thinking his career would be over is a little hard to process, but it does show how sometimes a twist of fate can change a lot in Hollywood. 

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early part of 2020, Steven Soderbergh’s anxiety-inducing 2011 thriller Contagion has become one of the most talked about movies for the way in which it pretty much predicted what would happen nearly a decade after its release as well as how it thoughtfully and honestly approached a global health crisis. Even before Contagion became the go-to choice for people looking for a movie tackling pandemics when we all first went into quarantine, it was a gripping film that balanced great research with captivating performances from its various stars. Below we will break down all the behind-the-scenes facts about how the movie went from an idea to one of the most traumatizing films in recent memory, facts that hopefully give you an even greater appreciation for Contagion.

Scott Z. Burns Came Up With The Idea Of A Pandemic Movie While Working On The Informant!

Screenwriter Scott Z. Burns and Steven Soderbergh first worked together for the 2009 crime comedy The Informant!, a movie that saw Matt Damon play real-life whistleblower Mark Whitacre. During that film’s production Soderbergh came up to Burns and asked him what he was working on next, to which Burns replied by saying he wanted to make a pandemic movie. During a 2011 interview with The Inside Reel, Burns revealed that he was inspired by a scene in The Informant in which Damon’s character goes on a rant about how quickly germs can spread, and so he thought it would be an idea worth tackling. But instead of making a movie that sensationalized viral outbreaks and society’s response to them, Burns wanted to instead make a more realistic and grounded take on the genre. Soderbergh was totally on board.

Scott Z. Burns Consulted With Epidemiologists To Come Up With A Virus For Contagion And Figure Out How Pandemics Work

Once Scott Z. Burns decided that he wanted to make a more fact-based pandemic movie, he began reaching out to experts in the field like Dr. Larry Brilliant, a world-renowned epidemiologist who had given a TED talk about the transmission of diseases. In the same Inside Reel interview mentioned above, Brilliant, Burns and Steven Soderbergh worked together to come up with the MEV-1 pathogen that would eventually become the virus at the center of Contagion and its gripping narrative. Through these conversations, Soderbergh and Burns were introduced to Columbia University researcher W. Ian Lipkin, who would go on to become the film’s chief scientific consultant. 

Steven Soderbergh And Scott Z. Burns Made A List Of Cliches To Avoid With Contagion

One thing that separates Contagion from your standard outbreak movie or disaster film is the way in which Scott Z. Burns and Steven Soderbergh found a way to tell an intimate story that takes place all around the world. In order to pull this off, the creative pair decided it would be best to avoid the tropes and clichés that often plague the genre. During a 2011 appearance on Charlie Rose, Soderbergh explained that he and Burns decided very early on there were certain things that didn’t belong in the movie, which included random shots of places like Paris where none of the characters visit or the shoehorning in of people like the President of the United States of America.

Jude Law’s Conspiracy Theorist Character, Alan Krumwiede, Was The Product Of The Critical Response To The H1N1 Pandemic

You would think that Jude Law’s character, Alan Krumwiede, would have been one of the earliest characters to be dreamt up for Contagion, but the conspiracy theorist and blogger was written very late in the writing process, as Steven Soderbergh revealed during that same Charlie Rose interview. When Soderbergh and Scott Z. Burns were working on the story, the world was in the middle of a real pandemic, H1N1, and the world’s response, especially from the more fringe media outlets inspired the character:

Steven Soderbergh would go on to explain that there was a “great parallel” between Alan Krumwiede’s method of spreading information and the way the MEV-1 virus infected the world throughout the movie.

Matt Damon Met A Doctor To Prepare For The Scene Where He Reacts To Gwyneth Paltrow’s Death

There is a scene very early on in Contagion where Mitch Emhoff (Matt Damon) is told that his wife, Beth (Gwyneth Paltrow), has died from an unknown disease (later revealed to be the MEV-1 virus), a fact the shocked character fails to register before asking to speak with her. During a 2011 interview with ScreenCrave, Damon revealed that he had a lot of trouble preparing for this specific moment, not because of the nature of the scene, but because of the way in which Mitch responds to the news of his wife’s passing. But after meeting with a doctor on set, one who had a lot of experience in these types of situations, Damon learned that there are two common reactions to news like that: they either accept it or, in the case of a sudden death, they react the way in which the script was written: they initially disregard what the doctor (and social worker) tells them and ask to see their wife, parent, or child, failing to register they’ve passed away.

Practical Effects, A Medical Examiner, And A Very Still Gwyneth Paltrow Helped Create The Iconic Autopsy Scene

After the audience gets over the shock of Gwyneth Paltrow’s character dying very early on in Contagion, the moment is made all the more real when an autopsy is performed. To pull off this scene, Steven Soderbergh didn’t call for a model of Paltrow’s head or elaborate CGI. Instead, the production team took a more straightforward approach. In the same ScreenCrave interview mentioned above, Steven Soderbergh revealed that when it came time to the prepare for the scene, someone constructed a flap that would stand in for Paltrow’s scalp, met with a medical examiner to describe what a body looks like during an autopsy, and then have Paltrow partially stick her tongue out of her mouth and sit very still for an extended period of time.

Kate Winslet Met With CDC Epidemiologists To Prepare For Her Role In Contagion

One of the many subjects of Contagion is Kate Winslet’s ill-fated character, Dr. Erin Mears, who leads the Center For Disease Control and Prevention’s on-the-ground investigation of the movie’s viral outbreak. When preparing for the role, Winslet met with CDC epidemiologists to make the performance all the more real. Not long after the release of the film, NPR published an article on the CDC and its response to the depictions of specialists like Dr. Anne Schuchat, who was the basis for the character. In the article, Schuchat admitted that at one point Winslet called her up for advice on makeup and wardrobe advice for the character, to which the CDC official responded by saying it wasn’t a “glamorous” role for the Oscar-winning actress because not much makeup would be required.

Only The Exterior Shots Of The CDC Campus Were Filmed In Atlanta, Everything Else Was Mostly In Chicago

A large portion of Contagion takes place at the Center For Disease Control and Prevention’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, but the labs, offices, and briefing rooms we see throughout the movie weren’t actually filmed at the secured facility. In a 2011 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about the film’s production, it was revealed that while the production crew were able to come onto the CDC campus to film exterior shots, they couldn’t film anything inside the building. All of those interior scenes were filmed beforehand in Chicago.

Hundreds Of Extras And A Football Stadium Were Called Upon For One Of Contagion’s Most Intense Shoots

One of the major plot-threads throughout Contagion is the development and implementation of a vaccine, a story that coalesces with a mass vaccination scene at a football stadium. In order to pull off this massive and intense shoot, the production crew called upon hundreds of extras and had them set up shop at Candlestick Park, the home of the San Francisco 49ers at the time of production (the team has since relocated to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California). In early 2021, the Contagion cast and crew spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Datebook website to share their experiences from the 2011 shoot that completed the months-long production of Seven Soderbergh’s pandemic thriller, with one of the paid extras saying they felt it was strange at the time to see so many people wearing masks, something that has become a common sight 10 years later.

Composer Cliff Martinez Was Tasked With Conjuring Up Fear, Anxiety, And Then Hope With His Contagion Score

One thing that helps move along the plot of Contagion is Cliff Martinez’s captivating and driving score that takes the audience on an auditory thrill ride as the story unfolds on the screen. In September 2011, Martinez, who has since been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, told Mubi that his job with Contagion was to “keep things moving along” while also conjuring up various emotions. This included creating a sense of anxiety at times, magnifying the fear at others, conjuring up a feeling of tragedy, and then finally hope as the tide begins to turn with the rollout of the vaccine near the end of the movie.

There are multiple reasons why Contagion has aged so well (frighteningly so) over the course of the past decade, including its level of detail, the commitment by its all-star cast, and just about everything else about the terrifying thriller. In the event you’re looking for something less anxiety-inducing, check out CinemaBlend’s list of upcoming 2021 movies.

All-star cast ensembles are getting more and more common in Hollywood, but arguably the OG all-star film is Ocean’s Eleven. It’s been a whopping 20 years since Brad Pitt, George Clooney and their merry band of A-listers came together to rob Las Vegas casinos. There’s been two sequels and an all-female adaptation since, but there apparently was also talks about an Ocean’s 14 that didn’t quite make it. Don Cheadle has now revealed just what kept the film from moving forward and what it would take to get the ball rolling on another Ocean’s film.

Ahead of the release of his and the Ocean’s franchise’s director Steven Soderbergh’s new film No Sudden Move, Don Cheadle revealed that he and Soderbergh were talking about Ocean’s 14 years ago, and the idea may have resurfaced. Cheadle says the passing of Bernie Mac, who appeared in all three of the Ocean’s films, is what quickly shut down talks of a 4th film the first time around, but Soderbergh thinks he has found a way to make Ocean’s 14 happen after all these years later. Here it is in the Iron Man star’s own words to Entertainment Weekly:

By the sound of it, we have all the details that Don Cheadle does, and Steven Soderbergh is keeping it all locked in his head for now. Maybe living in a time full of classic reboots is what has the director feeling reminiscent and wanting to get the gang back together again. Honestly, the glimmer of hope that Cheadle just gave for an Ocean’s 14 is good enough for me.

Don Cheadle, even though he doesn’t know much, doesn’t seem against the idea at all. He definitely includes himself in the “us” when speaking about who would return in a 4th film. Bringing back as many original faces as possible would, of course, be the goal. While we obviously won’t be able to see Bernie Mac or Carl Reiner in another sequel, (at least, without the help of some wild technology), it’s very possible the rest of the gang will be down. The team famously had a lot of fun together; Brad Pitt and George Clooney remain pretty tight and I could definitely see them on board with working together again. However, Pitt may be hard to convince to go back to the Ocean’s franchise.

I’m not sure how Steven Soderbergh is going to top robbing three casinos at once, but he’s certainly had enough time to try. Soderbergh and Don Cheadle’s film No Sudden Move comes out on HBO Max tomorrow, and if it’s half as exciting as an Ocean’s 14, it’s certainly worth a watch.

Steven Soderbergh, the legend himself, joins the show to discuss his new film No Sudden Move, starring Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Jon Hamm. We cover moments from across his filmography, from Sex, Lies and Videotape to Ocean’s Eleven to Contagion.

F9: The Fast Saga hits theaters in the US this weekend, and our opinions couldn’t be differ any more. Let us know on social what you thought of the latest in the Fast and Furious franchise. In other news for the week, Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment signed a deal with Netflix that put folks in a stir. Is this a major shift in the director’s recent comments towards the streamer? Will he direct a film for Netflix in the near future? We discuss.

This week’s BlendGame looks at the incredible cinematography from Rachel Morrison. Next week, we’re looking at Steven Soderbergh’s filmography to decide which of his films is our absolute favorite. Play along on Twitter using #StevenSoderberghBlend

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Director Steven Soderbergh knows a thing or two about making star-studded heist movies. After all, he was the director behind the original Oceans trilogy, which famously brought together George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts among other massive names. He jumped into the genre again just a few years ago with Logan Lucky, which brought Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig together back in 2017 – but now he's ready for yet another go-round. His latest, No Sudden Move, is set to arrive on HBO Max in just a few weeks, and as you can see from the trailer above, one hell of an ensemble has been assembled to tell the story.

No Sudden Move reunites Steven Soderbergh with Don Cheadle – who was not only in the Oceans movies, but also the criminal-centric Out Of Sight – and the actor is surrounded in every scene by amazing talent. Featuring a mix of Soderbergh veterans and new faces, the cast includes Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Brendan Fraser, Kieran Culkin, Noah Jupe, Craig muMs Grant, Julia Fox, Frankie Shaw, Ray Liotta and Bill Duke.

A period piece, the movie takes place in 1950s Detroit, and begins as a group of criminals are brought together as part of a job to steal a simple document. As you might guess, however, nothing about the situation is simple, and mid-heist the whole situation goes pear-shaped. The small-timers caught up in the scheme decide that they need answers and go hunting for them – ultimately becoming embroiled in big picture happenings in the city. An original film, No Sudden Move is written by Ed Solomon, best known for the Bill & Ted trilogy and Men In Black.

In a way representative of Steven Soderbergh's body of work, No Sudden Move looks like it is going to feature a wide blend of tones, and that's a big part of what makes this trailer so intriguing. There's a good number of funny lines and a fair amount of snark that inspire smiles and laughs in this preview, but it also looks like it is going to be going to some dark places as far as the crime at the center of the action goes. It should make for an exciting cinematic experience.

The best news of all: we don't have to wait all that long for the film to arrive. No Sudden Move will be having its world premiere later this month at the Tribeca Film Festival, but it is already set up as an HBO Max exclusive, and will be arriving just in time for the Independence Day holiday – specifically one July 1. There are admittedly a number of titles being released that weekend that are going to be vying for attention from audiences, including The Tomorrow War with Chris Pratt, the horror sequel The Forever Purge, and the first chapter of Netflix's Fear Street trilogy, but this trailer has most definitely grabbed our attention.

Chadwick Boseman losing the Best Actor Oscar capped off a bizarre, yet historic Academy Awards telecast. The disappointment over the late actor’s loss left a bad taste after being last award season's darling. What made the moment even more awkward was the placement of the award. Now, Oscars producer Steven Soderbergh has broken his silence on the final award and Boseman’s surprise loss.

As one of Hollywood’s celebrated directors, Steven Soderbergh is known for his avant-garde filmmaking. S, his approach to this year’s Oscar shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Certain changes for the 2021 Oscars were met negative criticism, especially switching the order of Best Picture, Actress and Actor categories. The prolific director gave some insight into placing the Best Actor category last with the following:

After revealing the awards switch was planned before Chadwick Boseman’s nomination, Steven Soderbergh and the other Oscar producers’ decision makes more sense. It also falls in line with Soderbergh’s auteur approach to filmmaking. He did have a point with saying actors’ speeches are usually more powerful than the ones from producers. Despite this knowledge, it didn’t make Boseman’s posthumous loss hurt any less despite his family's class response. Unfortunately, since the public was not privy to ths knowledge, it came off as if the Oscars were using Boseman’s passing for the press.

During his interview with The Los Angeles Times, Steven Soderbergh gave his take on Chadwick Boseman’s loss at the Oscars, saying even he was aware of the impact the late actor’s win would mean for the show. The director said about the ill-fated moment:

It's at least nice to know Steven Soderbergh and the other producers knew how big Chadwick Boseman’s win would’ve been. But the switching of categories did disprove one Oscar theory – the Academy knows who’s winning ahead of time. Best Actor winner Anthony Hopkins not being in attendance made the moment even more awkward. Even though Soderbergh cleared things up, hopefully this anticlimactic moment will serve as a learning moment for the Academy.

Somehow, this year will mark 20 years since Steven Soderbergh brought together George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle and more for a star-studded remake of the 1960 heist classic Ocean's Eleven. In retrospect, the casting was still absolutely on point in terms of assembling some of the most iconic talents of our time.

When CinemaBlend spoke to Oscar-winning actor Casey Affleck about his time on Ocean’s Eleven as Virgil Malloy -- from the team’s getaway driving department -- he spoke about how the early experience was unique to his versatile career. In his words:

Now you’d think that with so many cooks in the kitchen, the making of Ocean’s Eleven would take longer but, as it turns out, the all-star cast of Ocean’s Eleven was super productive. Those guys were clearly pros and managed to split up work and play in an effective way. At the time, Casey Affleck was in his early ‘20s and had yet to seriously break out. He would, of course, later do so, with true breakout performance arriving alongside Brad Pitt in 2007's The Assassination of Jesse James.

To this day, the younger brother of Ben Affleck has not seen a cast knock out scenes before lunch, which is saying something considering Casey has been part of a number of ensembles like Interstellar, Out of the Furnace and The Finest Hours. Though as we’ve heard from George Clooney and co., there was a good amount of pranking on the Ocean films, especially on the first sequel where the cast stayed together in Clooney’s villa in Lake Como.

Clooney recently revealed a fun haunted house prank he played on Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Brad Pitt during filming of Ocean’s Twelve. Pitt was even able to play his own hilarious prank on Clooney in Italy. Overall, it sounds like being part of the cast of the Ocean movies was an absolute blast for Casey Affleck and the rest of the cast.

Affleck’s latest role is in Our Friend with Dakota Johnson and Jason Segel. In the drama based on a true story, Casey Affleck plays Matthew Teague, journalist and husband to Johnson’s Nicole, who gets diagnosed with terminal cancer. Segel plays the couple’s mutual friend who drops everything to support the family. Our Friend is playing in select theaters and is available to rent on VOD.

For any director, getting asked to direct a James Bond film is a career highlight. There’s been the legendary run of John Glen to Sam Mendes’ gritty reinterpretation to Cary Joji Fukunaga overseeing Daniel Craig’s final Bond movie. At some point, Eon Productions and MGM were courting celebrated filmmaker Steven Soderbergh to enter the Bond pantheon, and now the acclaimed director discussed why his vision of Bond never made it to the silver screen.

Steven Soderbergh recently spoke with the podcast Happy Sad Confused to discuss his latest film Let Them All Talk. He spoke on a variety of subjects, including his take on film’s future and the importance of 2011’s Contagion in today’s climate. The conversation eventually turned to the director’s brief brush with the iconic spy franchise. Soderbergh explained to the podcast how his vision of 007 didn’t match up with MGM and Eon Production.

Given how experimental Soderbergh’s work tends to be, I could see where MGM and he might have clashed over Bond’s portrayal. He might have wanted to take Bond in directions Eon may have seen as going against the Bond brand. Soderbergh’s timeline did line up with the Daniel Craig era – Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. The same thing happened with fellow Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle after being chosen to direct Daniel Craig’s final Bond film. His clash with the production company eventually led to him leaving the project and Fukunaga stepping in.

Around the time Soderbergh was being vetted for a Bond film, he had decided to take a brief hiatus from filmmaking due to the current Hollywood system. The filmmaker in him didn’t die as he directed and produced more projects during his “hiatus” than any other time in his career.

But Soderbergh’s career hasn’t suffered from not doing a Bond film, to say the least. He went on to direct films such as the Magic Mike series, Side Effects and Haywire. The celebrated director even delved into television as the driving force behind the acclaimed Emmy-winning HBO television film Behind the Candelabra with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon.

In recent years, Steven Soderbergh has returned to being behind the camera with critically acclaimed films such as Logan Lucky, Unsane, High Flying Bird and The Laundromat. He just wrapped filming No Sudden Moves with an all-star cast including Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Jon Hamm and Ray Liotta. It’s nice to see someone as prolific as Soderbergh not let one film stop him from doing his craft even after taking some time away from the film industry.

If you want more Steven Soderbergh, check out his latest film Let Them All Talk on HBO Max.

In the tumultuous, horrible year that has been 2020, people find themselves ever grasping for any sense of normalcy – some suggestion that while there are a lot of terrible things happening on the surface level of everyday life, that at the heart of things there is a degree of order still being maintained in the universe. We take it where we can get it, and in the particular case being discussed here the provider is Meryl Streep. While the acclaimed actor isn’t what you would call overwhelmingly prolific, you have to go back to 2003 to find a time when she wasn’t featured in at least one buzzed-about film released in the second half of the year.

Thankfully, that’s not a streak that’s being broken in 2020 even when theaters across the country are shut down, and the first to arrive this season is Steven Soderbergh’s Let Them All Talk, which is a fascinating addition to Streep’s legacy both because of the tremendous performance she delivers, and also because of the film’s wonderful overall quality.

The movie is Soderbergh’s fifth since his short-lived retirement, and true to form it has a wholly different style and tone than Logan Lucky, Unsane, High Flying Bird, and The Laundromat; but it also features a great deal of what the director does best, presenting a blend of comedy and drama, capturing excellent turns from awesome actors, and stealthily implanting a meaningful and genuine message. It doesn’t quite rank among his best (admittedly a high bar to clear), but it makes an impressive impact from a contained narrative.

Though it’s an ensemble story, Let Them All Talk has Meryl Streep’s Alice at the center of it all. She is an acclaimed author who has garnered a reputation as a diva, and with her next manuscript imminently due to her publisher, her new agent, Karen (Gemma Chan), becomes desperate for details. There has been some suggestion that Alice is developing a long-awaited sequel to “You Always/You Never” (her most popular book and a novel she despises), but Karen struggles to get any kind of confirmation.

Hoping to coax the writer into revealing more information about what she’s working on, the young agent arranges the opportunity for Alice to appear in person to receive a prestigious literary award in England – a situation made complicated by the fact that Alice doesn’t fly. As an alternative, Karen suggests booking a crossing of the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2, which is agreed upon so long as she can bring some guests.

This group includes her two oldest friends, Roberta (Candice Bergen) and Susan (Diane Wiest), and her nephew, Tyler (Lucas Hedges) – who comes along to be his aunt’s assistant, and because of his curiosity about the long-lasting relationship between the three women. What unfortunately comes to light during the trip, however, is that Roberta resents Alice for using her as the basis for the protagonist in “You Always/You Never,” and, unbeknownst to Alice, Karen boards the ship with the party in order to spy on her client’s progress.

Let Them All Talk’s sharp script keeps you engaged with its sharp story and compelling characters.

With the majority of the film set on the Queen Mary 2, keeping all of the characters in close quarters, Let Them All Talk has the energy of a stage play, and the slow boil that comes as an extension. The action is limited, putting all of the focus on emphasis on the dynamics between the cast, and Deborah Eisenberg’s script finds a fantastic level of escalation as subtext in dialogue slowly becomes text. There’s a classic super ego-ego-id triad in the relationships between Alice, Susan, and Roberta, and it’s captivating to watch the tension grow between Alice and Roberta while Susan does her best to moderate from the middle (Admittedly this results in Diane Wiest getting the short stick comparatively in terms of material, but it’s still a key role).

The narrative recognizes that when all of the characters are trapped together, there is either meaningful confrontation, or apparent avoidance, and the movie heightens the atmosphere with both.

Meryl Streep is masterful, and Candice Bergen is an amazing secret weapon.

The film is rich with talented performers, and there is no weak link in the chain, but Meryl Steep and Candice Bergen are most definitely provided the richest material, and what they do with it is fascinating and awesome – if not especially because there is the bonus of the film’s shocking third act providing everything with a new color in retrospect. The performers work with both big splashes of character and delivered subtleties, and the complexities allow for both real drama and surprising laughs.

One of the many charms of Meryl Streep is her ability to be captivating regardless of her demonstrated demeanor, and Let Them All Talk’s Alice serves her skills perfectly. Being an acclaimed author, Alice is meant to have a powerful atmosphere surrounding her (which Streep can do in her sleep), but what’s special is the occasionally visible vulnerability. What she and Roberta want during their time aboard the ship isn’t all that different, and her guilt just slightly peeks out whenever “You Always/You Never” is brought up. It’s a quiet pain brought to life beautifully.

Candice Bergen’s Roberta is the opposite, a woman scorned and stuck working at a lingerie store to make ends meet, and it’s her brashness that makes her commanding. While building up the nerve to confront Alice about what she believes she is due, she makes quite a show of trying to avoid one-on-one time (avoiding a catch-up conversation that could be used to fuel the sequel’s story), and instead uses the time to go full man-eater hunting for a potential new husband. She provides the majority of the film’s funniest moments, but also some of its hardest-hitting dramatic moments.

It’s funny, dramatic, and poignant in equal measure.

As a film that can be sold as an intimate dramedy that reteams Meryl Streep with Steven Soderbergh, Let Them All Talk delivers on expectations with superb filmmaking and performances. It’s the exact dose of Streep that we need at the moment, and a great addition to the prestige movie season.

Steven Soderbergh’s latest foray into the crime drama has taken a few twists and turns in production, mostly thanks to current events. His next movie, titled No Sudden Move, saw the exit of George Clooney, John Cena and Sebastian Stan. And it’s made an apparent shift by casting very different leads instead.

Typically, if a script has a certain character written in a certain way, they would try to cast an actor who fits those characteristics. But perhaps Steven Soderbergh has something else in mind? According to a recent press release, No Sudden Move is hopping into production with newcomers David Harbour, Brendan Fraser and Noah Jupe. Assumably these three will be replacing George Clooney, John Cena, and Sebastian Stan, but it’s still unknown what roles they will be playing.

Those three actors will be joining an already locked and loaded all-star cast. Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Amy Seimetz, Jon Hamm, Ray Liotta and Kieran Culkin, among many others, will be playing a role in the crime drama set in Detroit.

Production was originally set to start earlier this year, before having to shut down. The shutdown is reportedly the reason George Clooney, John Cena and Sebastian Stan had to leave the project.

Written by Bill & Ted’s Face the Music’s Ed Solomon, No Sudden Move, previously titled Kill Switch, follows a group of small-time criminals in 1955 Detroit who are hired to steal what they think is a simple document. When their plan goes wrong, they search for who hired them and what the purpose of the job was.

No Sudden Move officially starts production today. Like all other movie productions operating today, they’ll be working under strict safety protocols due to current events.

Of course, if you need a crime drama and heist thriller done right, Steven Soderbergh is the man to do it. With directing past projects like Out of Sight, Ocean’s Eleven and Logan Lucky, he’ll no doubt make quite a picture with this high-profile cast.

Steven Soderbergh, who took a bit of a hiatus from directing for a while, seems to be back in the swing of things. But while his own project was on standby, he had been staying busy on other very different kinds of projects, including Bill & Ted’s Face the Music, where he served as an executive producer.

No Sudden Move is intended to land on HBO Max when it finally wraps and is ready to go. When that will be has yet to be confirmed. For more movie news on No Sudden Move and more, be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend, and don't forget to look through our 2020 release schedule to keep track of the movies still to arrive this year.

Society's constant use of technology is a common conversation in the past few years, and is something that we've seen reflected in art. TV and film put a spotlight on the issues of the world, which is exactly what Steven Soderbergh seems to be doing with Unsane. The new psychological thriller makes plenty of statements about health care and mental health issues, but it's also told through a very specific modern lens. Soderbergh shot the entirety of Unsane on an iPhone, resulting in a surprisingly intimate and unnerving moviegoing experience. Rather than just an attempt to make headlines, the use of an iPhone actually helps Soderbergh bring the film's tone and tension to the forefront in a successful way.

Unsane focuses almost solely on Sawyer Valentini, played by The Crown's Claire Foy. Sawyer recently moved to a new city, and is clearly very isolated from the world and dealing with issues of PTSD. After she sees a vision of the stalker she moved away from, she attempts to find a support group for stalking victims. But she unwittingly ends up admitted into a mental institution, and her sanity begins coming into question for both the character and the audience.

What follows is an extremely intimate and unpredictable ride, as Sawyer attempts to hold onto her sanity (and eventually her life) from within the confines of the facility. Clearly something shady is going on, although she's unable to convince any of the staff that she's sane. All she's got is a buddy in Jay Pharoah's Nate, who seems to understand the insidious nature of the hospital.

From the film's opening shots, you can tell that Unsane isn't going to be your typical thriller. The use of an iPhone results in long shots that simply don't look like anything audiences are used to seeing. Closeups are extremely intimate, with the actors no doubt playing their scenes just inches away from the equipment. These long shots help establish a connection with Sawyer, while also giving the audience an overall sense of unease and anxiety.

Of course, this was likely purposeful. We feel like someone is always watching the scenes, no doubt Steven Soderbergh's way of putting moviegoers through Sawyer's perspective. She's constantly terrified of her stalker in the outside world, which only intensifies once she's in captivity and being monitored and medicated.

Unsane's performances are all pretty solid. Fans of Netflix's The Crown will be thrilled to see Claire Foy once again shining on screen, albeit in a role that is the total opposite of Queen Elizabeth. This is reportedly what attracted the actress to the role, who had been inhabiting Elizabeth's stuffy attitude and unique accent for the past two seasons. Unfortunately Foy's American accent does falter a few times throughout the course of the film, but her vulnerable and layered performance helps to keep the movie going forward.

Claire Foy gets to share her most intense scenes with Joshua Leonard, who plays Sawyer's stalker David Strine. Horror fans will of course know him from his iconic role in The Blair Witch Project, and will be excited to see him in another horror movie. Their long scenes, combined with the look from shooting with an iPhone, allow the audience to truly immerse itself in the twisted world of Unsane.

The film's marketing all seems to be focused on making Sawyer an unreliable narrator. "Is she or isn't she?" is touted to be the main questions of the film, although that's a conceit that fades in and out of the narrative. Once Sawyer is able to contact her mother (Amy Irving), that feeling does seem to dissipate. Someone she loves knows she's in the facility, and is trying to get her out. This actually lowers the stakes at points, and made me just assume that Sawyer was right all along.

Unsane is an unsettling and wholly original thriller that twists and turns all the way to the end. The decision to use an iPhone is an inspired one, and pairs perfectly with the film's themes and Claire Foy's stunning acting. The horror renaissance is alive and well, and I wouldn't be surprised if other filmmakers attempt to use similar cinematography in the near future.

It's a good time to be a horror fan. The genre is currently in the midst of a renaissance, with new and original content being released every few months. Rather than stale franchises or predictable slashers, filmmakers have been making bold choices in the world of horror, which has resulted in a spike in theater attendance and critical acclaim. After all, Get Out managed to win an Oscar this past season. Acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh is doing some genre defying with the new psychological thriller Unsane, which was shot entirely on an iPhone 7. I recently asked the cast how that changed things onset, and got a glean into what it was like shooting the project.

I recently had the chance to speak with both Jay Pharoah and Joshua Leonard about their respective roles in Unsane. Leonard is known for his role in The Blair Witch Project, and spoke to how filming was unique with an iPhone. He said,

It looks like the use of an iPhone helped to break down some of the barrier that sometimes affect film sets. Because there is so much equipment and crew involved major projects, there can be a disconnect between the actor and director. But the Unsane set felt like guerrilla filmmaking, as it was clearly a fun experiment between Steven Soderbergh and his cast.

SNL alum Jay Pharoah piggybacked off of Josh Leonard's comments, revealing Steven Soderbergh's vision and unique way of filming Unsane. Namely, that he'd be instantly sure that he got certain shots.

While Steven Soderbergh's vision is what made him known for projects like Traffic and The Knick, it's not the only thing he bring to the table. He's also got abilities as a film director. In fact, the use of an iPhone to film made it so that Soderbergh could begin editing the movie together while they were still filming. This was mind boggling to Jay Pharoah, as he told me:

Clearly Steven Soderbergh was having fun working on Unsane, which was a major departure from his most recent project Logan Lucky. It's this excitement that ultimately made the new thriller so exciting. Now we'll just have to see if audiences agree.

You can check out my conversation with Jay Pharoah and Joshua Leonard below.

Unsane hits theaters March 23, 2018. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

The horror genre has generally been on a major upswing over the course of the last few years, and we already have a number of 2018 horror thrillers to keep an eye on. One of the most intriguing of the bunch is Steven Soderbergh's Unsane, which has been kept relatively hidden through much of its development. Now it looks like we finally have our first good look at the Claire Foy-fronted psychological mind-bender, and yes, it seems like the Ocean's Eleven director actually shot the entire thing on the iPhone. Check out the bizarre trailer, below.

In a genre full of vampires, zombies, and bizarre found footage, Unsane takes a much more realistic (and yet no less terrifying) approach to the horror. The film centers its story on a woman (Claire Foy) who finds herself institutionalized with delusions (or are they?) of a stalker terrorizing her life. Unsane's trailer hints at an incredibly voyeuristic style, which likely stems from the fact that the film was shot through an iPhone lens. The result is a low-tech thriller that appears to lean far more heavily on the placement of the camera and what happens in front of the camera than it leans on fancy camera tricks.

Of course, even without the fact that Steven Soderbergh shot Unsane through the lens of an iPhone, there's quite a bit else to look forward to here. Aside from the decision to stick with a less advanced means of a capturing the on-screen action, the central performance by The Crown's Claire Foy also looks like an incredibly intriguing and exciting element for the film. Many of the scenes depicted in this preview seem to tease that she will carry much of the film's dramatic weight on her shoulders.

The decision to shoot Unsane on an iPhone seems to represent the latest in a recent run of creative gambles by Steven Soderbergh. In addition to this bizarre, asylum-based story, the director also recently helmed last year's critically-acclaimed (albeit not entirely financially successful) heist film Logan Lucky, and circumvented traditional distribution channels to get the film in front of audiences. Moreover, he also recently debuted the choose-your-own-adventure series, Mosaic, for HBO. Although he seemingly retired a few years ago, it's becoming increasingly apparent that a guy like Steven Soderbergh can't stay retired for very long until the decision to tinker and experiment with the filmmaking format becomes difficult to resist.

Steven Soderbergh's Unsane will hit theaters later this year on March 23. However, Unsane is just one of many films set to debut this year, so make sure to hop over to our movie premiere guide to get more information on all of the movies set to hit the silver screen in 2018!

We're due for our next adventure in silver screen larceny next summer when Ocean's 8 finally debuts, but the title of the caper naturally has me wondering why Debbie Ocean's team has three fewer members than Danny's team in the original flick did. As it turns out, the name of the upcoming, female-driven heist film actually comes from Ocean's Eleven director and Ocean's 8 producer Steven Soderbergh as a means to potentially pave the way for a trilogy. Ocean's 8 director Gary Ross explained:

Every member of the team has to serve a purpose. From the hacker and the fence to the jewelry designer, every element of the Ocean's 8 unit needs to feel designed to be part of the overall ensemble. For Steven Soderbergh, the pro to using a team of eight meant there would be enough vital characters, plus would offer the franchise a chance to do Ocean's 9 and Ocean's 10 with additional team members before (by his estimation) audiences eventually grow bored. It worked well for Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen, so there's seemingly no point in deviating from that system now.

It is worth mentioning that Gary Ross' remark to EW about Steven Soderbergh's rationale for a Debbie Ocean trilogy doesn't necessarily mean that sequels are going to happen. Leaving room between Ocean's 8 and Ocean's Eleven (as they share continuity) affords the studio the chance to make two sequels if they want to, but as of right now we haven't heard anything about a long-term plan for this franchise offshoot.

Ocean's 8 is definitely a catchy title for a heist film, and it obviously paves the way for a clear trilogy until the storyline catches up with the male-centric continuity. However, this explanation of the title still doesn't clarify one pressing question about the Ocean's 8 story: who is the eighth member of the crew? The first official trailer for the film recently dropped, but it only shows seven women working on the film's central heist of the Met Gala in New York. This disparity has led some to theorize that Anne Hathaway's Daphne Kluger is actually Member 8 of the team (serving as an inside woman to help them pull off the job).

Beyond that, other theories have also suggested that Member 8 could be anyone ranging from Carl Reiner's Saul Bloom (who is confirmed for a cameo) to George Clooney's Danny Ocean (who might not be as dead as the film suggests). At this point, all we know for sure is that the team is supposed to have eight members to live up to its title.

Ocean's 8 will hit theaters next summer on June 8, 2018.

Steven Soderbergh is one of the greatest filmmakers working today, with filmography filled with studio crowd pleasers and more unconventional experimental movies. The directors latest film, Logan Lucky, came out earlier this month; and while it was praised by critics, not a lot of people went out to the theater to see it. However, the movie has its fans and that's alright with Soderbergh. He mostly makes movies more for himself. Like sex! If he accidentally makes someone else happy, then works out just fine too.

In a lengthy interview with The Guardian, Steven Soderbergh discussed his long career in film, touching on multiple bodies of work and his general approach to filmmaking. Soderbergh's relationship with the studio system has been up and down to the point that he announced his retirement from filmmaking altogether to be an oil painter. But like any great lover, he keeps coming back for more. While some of his films have been more experimental than others, such as Schizopolis and Bubble, he doesn't seem to care much if they are massively popular. Soderbergh winkingly compares his filmmaking to his lovemaking: giving joy to others is more of a happy accident.

Steven Soderbergh has never been very interested in only making films that will be popular. While he does have popular films like the Ocean's Eleven series and Magic Mike, he's not afraid to completely buck the trend and get weird with the movie making. His comedy Schizopolis uses a nonlinear narrative, and his film Bubble didn't use a use a script or professional actors.

Logan Lucky, while mostly conventional onscreen, was actually made using a new production model that avoided the typical studio system. Instead of spending huge amounts of money on marketing (which Soderbergh believes to be wasteful), the director used "foreign rights to finance production costs, and ancillary rights -- HBO, Netflix, video on demand, TV replays -- to pay for a much more micro-targeted campaign." Thus, Logan Lucky is an indie film, but it looks and acts like a bigger budget studio film because of how it spent its money. Even big name stars like Daniel Craig agreed to take pay cuts for the movie. Whether or not this worked out for the heist movie is debatable, but Soderbergh is probably fine with it.

You can watch Steven Soderbergh's latest film, Logan Lucky, in theaters right now. For more big releases dropping throughout the rest of the year, make sure to pay a visit to our 2017 movie release schedule to plan out all your theater trips for the rest of the year.

Steven Soderbergh came out of retirement to helm Logan Lucky, and the moment should have been met with some more fanfare than what we got this past weekend. Anyone who knows the story of Logan Lucky's production knows that this was an odd duck of a film in terms of how it got made. Even more absurd is the fact that the bar the film had to theoretically cross to become a success was absurdly low. So why the hell is Logan Lucky's supposed failure so upsetting, and why is it such an important hill to fight on? Quite simply, because it signals some grim stuff for the future of Hollywood, now that we see the results of Soderbergh's experiment.

This ode to Americana, NASCAR, and thievery was supposed to represent "getting it right," and proving that if a filmmaker who's versed in what they're doing has top-to-bottom control of the machine, it'll produce something fans are more likely to see. By making a movie that isn't tampered with by studio hands at all, and by someone who's been proven to please the masses (see Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's trilogy as an example), this was to be the future for auteurs who want to step outside of the tentpole factory and make something personal. (Read this piece in the L.A. Times for more details on how Soderbergh circumvented the Studio System in getting Logan Lucky into theaters.) In turn, this could have inspired other projects that would push the boundaries of independent filmmaking, and create a more diversified portfolio of films that play like a blockbuster, but are made for so much less.

But, with no one showing up for Logan Lucky on opening weekend, the question left lingering in the air is, "Why bother with an experiment like Logan Lucky if nobody will see it?" While there's no sleep to be lost over losing money, as Soderbergh made similar deals that Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets had with shoring up its production costs ahead of time, it's the lack of profit that will undoubtedly put future _Logan Lucky-_type projects on the "maybe" pile. Let's face it, despite franchise tankers like Transformers: The Last Knight and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the tentpole business is still healthy and kicking. Wonder Woman proved that, and even before the summer had begun, Disney cashed a huge check named Beauty and the Beast, which happens to still be the top-grossing film of the year. So if you want to keep seeing remakes and sequels, you're fine. But if you want to see filmmakers let loose like they did in Logan Lucky, you're probably going to have to wait for a little.

Surely, Steven Soderbergh won't let it push him off course, as he's only in it to make his own movies the way he wants to, and sell them the way he feels they should be sold. But there's one big problem: who's going to distribute the films for him? Bleecker Street is a smaller studio, and while they surely have no problem releasing smaller films, if they don't see a healthy enough return to entice them to come back, that's more money that Soderbergh will have to shell out to distribute. This could lead to smaller distribution next time out, which will only kill the chances of making a profit even further. If Logan Lucky was deemed a failure, then anything less than that will surely be seen as abysmal, confining Steven Soderbergh to a reputation of indie flops.

It's hard not to think that thanks to the third place finish for Logan Lucky, there's a chance we'll lose Steven Soderbergh to retirement again. Even worse, we'll probably be seeing less risky films of its ilk. Movies come and go, but voices like the one that brought us sex, lies and videotape, The Limey, and Ocean's Eleven, are hard to come by. To movie fans who wanted to see this film succeed, bringing more vibrant and out-there films to the multiplex, this is frustrating as anything. But to the studios that are more concerned with bringing in record-breaking profit drivers, this news couldn't be better. Which is a real shame, because if a major studio was partnered with Soderbergh, with even just a slightly higher profile ad campaign throughout the summer, this could have been a more successful film that could have helped the studio system reform their image. Everyone could have won, and now, that possibility feels even further from our collective grasp.

What can you, the potential fans of truly independent filmmaking, do? Well, you can go see Logan Lucky in theaters now, and throw some dough to the good ol' boys trying to knock over the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Or, you could see anything else, and just try to block out how a really fun flick with Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, and an assortment of other fine folks may have died on the vine. It's all up to you, folks.

This poll is no longer available.

Though it feels like it only just started, summer 2017 has finally begun to draw to a close. The last three months saw a wave of movies debut in theaters, and now that the dust has settled, we can finally see which films emerged victorious and which films fell flat. On that note, we have gone through this summer's offerings to make sense of the winners and losers. Take a look at our compilation, and make sure to let us know what lessons Hollywood can glean from this season in the comments section below!

Winner: Patty Jenkins

In terms of accolades and box office staying power, this summer almost certainly belongs to Wonder Woman's Patty Jenkins. Diana Prince's solo movie has made historic amounts of money, and many people are even calling for Jenkins to get Oscar recognition when awards season rolls around. That is pretty good when we consider how heavily the odds seemed stacked against Wonder Woman and the DCEU before Jenkins' film debuted. Beyond that, she proved herself as a shrewd negotiator in her deal to direct Wonder Woman 2, which will ultimately see her become the most highly paid female director in Hollywood.

Loser: Steven Soderberg

Steven Soderbergh completely shattered the mold and threw out the pieces with the Southern-themed heist romp Logan Lucky. The film was a creative gamble at almost every step, as Soderbergh sidestepped the traditional studio and distribution model to release the movie almost completely independently -- which required his A-list cast to take fairly substantial pay cuts just to make the film work. Alas, if we are to go by the movie's opening weekend, it does not look like the gamble paid off, as Logan Lucky ultimately disappointed when it finally made its debut in theaters.

Winner: DC

Although DC only released one movie this summer (compared to Marvel's two), it was a doozy. Wonder Woman came in like a wrecking ball when it premiered on June 9, and the film has made an astonishing amount of money throughout its theatrical run -- to say nothing of its widespread critical accolades. However, Wonder Woman isn't the only reason why DC has had a great summer; the DC slate unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con came packed to the brim with great projects (such as The Flash: Flashpoint), and it shows that the DCEU seems to be moving in a solid direction.

Loser: Phil Lord And Chris Miller

Although Lucasfilm didn't release a Star Wars movie this summer, there's still been some turbulence in the galaxy far, far away. The issues began earlier this summer when Phil Lord and Chris Miller stepped down as the directors of the Han Solo movie, which reportedly stemmed from their heavy emphasis on improv on the set, and an overly comedic tone that didn't mesh with Lucasfilm's vision for the project. The project itself seems to be back on track with Ron Howard in charge, but this has handily turned into one of the summer's biggest debacles.

Winner: Diversity

The concept of diversity in film has existed as a hot button issue for years, but this summer showed how studios could embrace representation and monetize it for some serious success. Although comedies generally didn't perform all that well this summer, the two standouts were How To Be A Latin Lover (which, as the title suggests, centers on a Latino lead), and Girls Trip (which stars a predominately black female cast). Couple that with the success of Wonder Woman, a female-drive superhero movie, and it makes a compelling case for the success of diverse ensembles and protagonists on film.

Loser: Movie Stars

Big names will almost always carry box office clout, but summer 2017 was not a great time for actors that we traditionally associate with the phrase "movie star." Big name stars like Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise and Dwayne Johnson all found themselves at the forefront of some serious financial duds (at the domestic box office, at least) while films with newer faces like Gal Gadot and Tom Holland made some significant money with American audiences. It could just be an off year, but it certainly raises a debate over whether or not a name alone can still sell a film in the United States.

Winner: Self-Contained Stories

Despite the fact that cinematic universes continue to thrive and create some truly fantastic stories, summer 2017 saw a huge boom in the success of self-contained stories -- which seems like a continuation of Logan's success earlier this year. Movies like Wonder Woman and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 take place in existing cinematic universes, but directors Patty Jenkins and James Gunn both kept their films at arm's length from the DCEU and Marvel Cinematic Universe, respectively. The distance seems to have paid off, and it's becoming clear that audiences still like stories with real beginnings, middles and endings.

Loser: Franchise Starters

While self-contained stories saw a big boom in summer 2017, potential franchise starters mostly fell flat. That trend kicked off early with King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and then truly showed itself with the release (and domestic failure) of The Mummy. While we are still going to get more films out of the Dark Universe, the critical misstep of Alex Kurtzman's monster movie appears to have shown us the very real folly of trying to lay too much groundwork in an unestablished universe before fans have even really demonstrated that they want it to become a reality.

Winner: Superhero Movies

We basically had to see this one coming. It's been well over a decade since Nolan reinvigorated the comic book movie genre with Batman Begins, and the adventures of Marvel and DC heroes continue to reign supreme as Hollywood's top cash cow. Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming all made commendable money this summer, and trailers dropped for upcoming projects (like Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League) that only continue to promise great things for the future of silver screen superheroes. People often talk about fatigue in this genre, but we don't see too many signs of it yet.

Loser: Most Other Franchises

Franchises inspired by the world of comic books may have done very well this summer, but most other tentpole film series didn't fare so well. From Transformers: The Last Knight to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the critical or commercial (and sometimes both) performances of these blockbuster franchises seems to point to a growing sense of stagnation. We don't anticipate franchises going anywhere anytime soon (they've been a Hollywood staple since the earliest days of Star Wars), but it looks like we may be seeing a fundamental shift in audience preferences and tastes.

Winner: Indie Films

Although some moviegoers have lamented the apparent decline of the small to medium-sized movie in recent years, summer 2017 seemed to show that the small-scale indie still has plenty of gas left in the tank. Movies like The Big Sick and Baby Driver premiered to widespread critical acclaim, and both films made handsome sums of money relative to their scope. Even in a world where Batman and Iron Man continue to dominate the overall zeitgeist, this summer made it fairly clear that intimate stories can still survive (and sometimes thrive) when handled correctly on the silver screen.

Loser: Animation

We all knew that 2016 would be a tough act to follow in the realm of animated movies, but nobody could've anticipated how weak summer 2017 would be when the rubber hit the road. From Cars 3 to Despicable Me 3 (and even some movies that weren't threequels), the animated genre seldom found any real opportunities to wow us this summer, and the positively reviewed films (such as Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie) didn't live up to the standard of last year's standouts like Finding Dory. Hope remains high for fall and winter to deliver, but summer was a letdown.

Winner: Horror Movies

Horror movies have generally been on a massive upward swing over the course of the last few years, and this summer really drove that idea home. Between the critical success of art-house thriller It Comes At Night, the amazing financial strength of shark thriller 47 Meters Down and the out and out blockbuster opening of David F. Sandberg's Annabelle: Creation, the world of monsters, demons and serial killers has proven incredibly fruitful for Hollywood this year. If you're one of those people who likes to get scared, then there doesn't seem to be any reason to worry.

Loser: Comedies

In stark contrast to the success of the horror genre in summer 2017, many of the comedies released within the last few months have not necessarily lived up to their star power. Films like Baywatch, Rough Night and Snatched all made money, but they barely cleared their budgets at the domestic box office -- which is not something that we expect from films driven by Dwayne Johnson, Scarlett Johansson and Amy Schumer. Last year provided moviegoers with the unexpected blockbuster success of Bad Moms, but arguably no broad appeal comedy released this summer has managed to match that level of fanfare.

For a man that was supposed to have retired back in 2013, Steven Soderbergh took his sweet time breaking the vow everyone knew he'd eventually go back on making. Part of his vow to retire from filmmaking sounds like it was due, in part, to how major studios run their production and marketing operations. With his first film back, Logan Lucky, it sounds like his return was made on a pretty big condition that he's held to throughout the film's production: he's making and marketing the movie his way.

While a major studio would typically spend a certain amount of money producing, marketing, and distributing a film like Logan Lucky, Soderbergh has taken it upon himself to make all of those moves himself, and with select partners involved in each step of the way. The particularly ingenious move on his part is, of course, taking over the film's marketing campaign. Specifically, Steven Soderbergh is spending his marketing budget on a smaller, more targeted scale, in order to give himself more bang for the buck.

The Ocean's Eleven director has restricted his _Logan Lucky _marketing approach in ways other studios would tend to go bigger. The billboards for the film are focused on certain regions of the country, and TV ads for the film won't aggressively kick in until right before the film's about to be released. But the biggest piece of genius is the fact that the trailer to the film wasn't even tested with a focus group.

As everyone knows, focus groups are used by big studios to not only change what a film like Logan Lucky will end up being in its final form, but they also effect how that film is sold to the public at large. Without this testing being carried out during Soderbergh's process, both products are pure examples of what the director is trying to present to the world as his return to the movie business. So not only is this an exercise in spending less money on the marketing end of things, it's also a good example of how Steven Soderbergh is taking the movie making process back for the director who wants to truly control their product.

On top of the marketing coup that Steven Soderbergh has scored with Logan Lucky, he's also teamed with indie studio Bleeker Street to distribute the film, and according to the further coverage of The New York Times, he's pre-sold certain back-end rights like streaming up front. Much like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Steven Soderbergh has shored up his already limited investment of roughly $29 million in production costs. If the Channing Tatum/ Adam Driver starring film's trailer is are any indication, the low-ball figure of $15 million should be easy enough to cross, giving all involved an easy win.

Should this new strategy pan out, we'll be seeing a lot of ads for Logan Lucky just before races into theaters, on the back of its own custom built marketing machine, on August 18th.

There's no getting around it; Steven Soderbergh made a permanent mark on the heist genre with his three Ocean's films. After leaving such an impact in the realm of silver screen grand larceny with Ocean's 11 (and 12 and 13), one would think that he would want move on from the genre altogether. However, Soderbergh recently opened up about his decision to step behind the camera for his upcoming heist dramedy Logan Lucky, explaining that the project's fundamental differences from the Ocean's movies were what drew him to the job. Soderbergh elaborated:

The fact that Logan Lucky doesn't feel like an extension of the Ocean's 11 universe ultimately seems to be the biggest draw for Steven Soderbergh. On paper, the film maintains numerous similarities to the type of movie that the Ocean's 11 director has already shot in his career, but the film's tone, style, and core themes feel wholly different. It's not a story about white-collar gentlemen criminals taking on a casino in Las Vegas; it's a distinctly blue-collar story that depicts a decidedly different world.

On that note, Logan Lucky's basic premise feels like the traditional Soderbergh-esque heist formula with a dash of The Coen Brothers thrown in for good measure. Centering on two down-on-their-luck brothers (Channing Tatum and Adam Driver) the film tells the story of their mission to steal $14 million from a major NASCAR event. This brings them into contact with a deranged criminal demolitions expert named Joe Bang (a delightfully absurd Daniel Craig), and as you would likely expect: everything that can go wrong eventually does go wrong.

Check out the recently released trailer for Logan Lucky below to see how Steven Soderbergh's latest film is so stylistically different from his Ocean's 11 movies:

In the end, it's probably for the best that Steven Soderbergh has opted to move on from the world of Danny Ocean to try his hand at directing such a fundamentally different heist-themed project. His former franchise will continue to live on anyway, as Ocean's 8 (which features an all-female cast including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, and Rihanna) will finally debut next year. Soderbergh is also attached to that project as its producer, but he has opted to hand off directing duties to The Hunger Games director Gary Ross. It's different -- as the director made abundantly clear in his comments to ABC News -- but it's similar enough that he understands the landscape.

Logan Lucky will officially debut in theaters at the end of the summer on August 18. Considering everything we have seen from the movie so far, I think it's safe to say that it's going to make off with quite a bit of our money in the process.

We can all agree that remaking Ocean's 11 again doesn't really sounds like a good idea. That having been said, it's a good time for director Gary Ross to define what exactly we should expect from the rapidly developing project that started its life sounding like a remake. Good news: it's starting to sound like it's not a complete remake, but a sort of continuation of the original series, with a look and sound clearly defined by the previous entries.

During a conversation with /Film, the Seabiscuit and The Hunger Games director described the approach for Ocean's Eight with the following caveats:

So according to the remarks above, Ocean's Eight is being heavily modeled after the original trilogy of reboots Steven Soderbergh had made between 2001 and 2007. Whether that extension vibe applies only to the tone of the project, or if it encompasses the actual thematic content, is yet to be seen. But at the very least, the same breezy cool mix of comedy and heist work should still apply to the new, female-centric approach to the star-studded crime caper.

It should also be noted that none of the supposed cast members for Ocean's Eight have been confirmed by Gary Ross at this moment. So while we're expecting Sandra Bullock to lead Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Elizabeth Banks, and Helena Bonham Carter all into acts of thievery and theatrics, that line-up isn't written in stone just yet. Hopefully, the final cast list won't be too far off from the actors that we've been promised, as the mix of snark and slick seems like a good approach for the cast that's been rumored to be in play.

With the right approach, and the right collaborators in the mix, Gary Ross's Ocean's Eight could be better than anyone had anticipated. And with Steven Soderbergh serving as an inspiration / good friend to Ross's work on the film, even if this does turn out to be a remake of Ocean's Eleven, at the very least it sounds like it will be one that's not too far off from what we'd expect. We'll find out soon enough which direction this film is moving in, as well as the cast that will be driving those efforts home, as the project continues to move forward.

For the last couple of seasons, The Knick has garnered critical acclaim and a niche audience over at Cinemax. However, the show’s large cliffhanger at the end of Season 2 (no spoilers yet!) left many wondering whether or not The Knick would return for a third season. While Cinemax has stayed mum regarding whether or not the subscription cable channel wants the show back for another round, new reports indicate that The Knick will probably get a big Season 3 renewal, but with one change: Steven Soderbergh will be out.

The Season 2 finale was planned out from the time The Knick was coming together over at Cinemax. With the story arc of Doctor John Thackery presumably finished, Indiewire is now reporting The Knick is also looking for a new director for future seasons. Here’s what Soderbergh had to say:

It’s hard to imagine The Knick would have a shelf life that would allow it to extend beyond four seasons. Hell, it’s hard to understand where The Knick could even go from here. Spoilers from this point on. In the Season 2 finale, we saw Clive Owen’s surgeon character decide to perform surgery on himself. Unfortunately, he seemingly succumbed to his wounds as the episode was ending, leaving The Knick in an odd place. Will it hop back into the past? Will it continue with a new lead protagonist? Is the death actually a fakeout? The latter is seemingly a no, as Soderbergh also said this:

Yet, despite having to find a new director to replace Soderbergh, The Knick seems to be moving forward. In addition to the new report, a few days ago, we learned that Cinemax has also ordered a script for the first episode of Season 3. Jack Amiel and Michael Begler will also continue as showrunners moving forward. So, if you are keeping tabs on the series, you can probably breathe easy.

We’ll hopefully get official confirmation regarding The Knick Season 3 soon, but for now, you can up on the series over at Cinemax. Or see what else the networks have coming up this winter with our midseason TV premiere schedule.

It’s starting to look like Ghostbusters won’t be the only property that gets the gender-swap treatment. A new report making the rounds indicates that Sandra Bullock may front an all-female Ocean’s Eleven spinoff. She did take over George Clooney’s role in Our Brand is Crisis, now she’s stepping in and taking over one of his entire franchises.

Sources close to the project told The Playlist that a new Ocean’s movie is in fact in the works. Though there aren’t many specific details to be had at the present time, Bullock will reportedly lead what is sure to be an ensemble cast, The Hunger Games director Gary Ross will helm the picture, and Olivia Milch (Little Women) will handle the writing duties and has even already turned in a draft of the script. And don’t worry that Clooney might be cut out of the loop, he’ll serve as a producer.

This idea was reportedly mentioned in some of the leaked Sony emails last year, and the idea of another female-driven ensemble reboot may have even got then-studio-head Amy Pascal to light a fire under Ghostbusters. According to the sources, however, the project really got moving when Clooney, original Ocean’s mastermind Steven Soderbergh, and legendary producer Jerry Weintraub, who produced the 2001 film—itself a remake—got together last year.

One thing that’s not clear at the moment is how exactly this fits into the larger Ocean’s universe. Whether this is a remake, sequel, reboot, spinoff, of some other type of reimagining remains to be seen, though there is reportedly a chance that George Clooney could dust of his heisting pants and cameo as the smooth-talking Danny Ocean.

This does, of course, fit in with the present trend in Hollywood. We’ve got a team of female Ghostbusters on the way in Paul Feig’s reboot next year; Ronda Rousey is playing the character originally inhabited by Patrick Swayze in a Road House remake; Tilda Swinton’s character in Doctor Strange, the Ancient One, is traditionally portrayed as a man; and Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was originally written for a man. And then there’s Bullock taking over a role originally earmarked for Clooney.

Though there were rumblings that this could happen, many assumed the project hit a speed bump last summer with the passing of Jerry Weintraub. All of the primary players were at his memorial, and apparently this is still in the works. Weintraub, Clooney, and Soderbergh got together around the Ocean’s trilogy, Ross has been friend of Soderbergh for some time, and Clooney and Bullock have been close since they took that trip to space together in Gravity.

There is no word on when this new, female-led Ocean’s Eleven reboot will get going, but it is expected to be Gary Ross’ next movie. His The Free State of Jones, starring Matthew McConaughey, was recently given a May 13, 2016 release date, so it’s possible we could see more movement on this soon.