Director Christopher Nolan is the rare unicorn filmmaker who can draw audiences to the theater and bring in the kind of box office numbers that every major movie studio dreams of. Seeing a Nolan movie feels like special event viewing, partly because audiences go see his films with a level of anticipation and excitement that only comes with not having many details and never fully knowing what to expect. And, apparently, the head of Universal had an even more unique experience when Nolan pitched her The Odyssey.

There is a level of secrecy surrounding the Oppenheimer director’s projects, though I'm only now finding out that it carries over to even the Chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, Donna Langley. During an interview with Maria Sharapova for Pretty Tough, Universal’s Head Honcho described her experience with reading Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey, which sounds a bit like its own spy thriller. She revealed this about the IMAX savant's method, which includes his wife and producing partner, Emma Thomas:

Not only does that sound intimidating and terrifying, I can’t imagine what would happen if you had a negative reaction while you were sitting in the home of the filmmaker responsible for writing it. Granted, Nolan is considered to be one of the best filmmakers in the entire world, but even the best at something has a bad day (or project) every once in a while, don’t they?

What strikes me as particularly interesting is the fact that even the biggest of big wigs at Universal doesn’t get to know ahead of time what she’s going to read when she knocks on Nolan’s door. I can’t imagine the level of heightened emotions that one experiences when reading a script from such an expert storyteller for the first time, as everything unfolds. But according to Langley, the pitch experience for this book-to-screen adaptation doesn’t just end there:

It would probably be hilarious to watch the facial expressions of someone as they read a Christopher Nolan script. Especially someone so high up at the studio, as they realize what kind of budget they’ll need to do the story justice when it’s a story as epic as The Odyssey, one of the biggest blockbusters from the 2026 movie schedule. But knowing that, once finished, the Memento director and Thomas, will return to chat about it seems even more daunting. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to hear everything that they talked about once Donna Langley finished reading the Odyssey script. Langley added:

I have to admit, there is something really cool about making everyone involved with getting a movie into production feel like they’re a part of a private little club of people let in on a secret that the world is not yet ready for. It’s an old-school approach, keeping technology out of it, and that tracks for Nolan, given he doesn't even own a smartphone. However, I understand how exhilarating it must be to be a part of the cool club. And Langley said that the scripts for The Odyssey and Oppenheimer were both brilliant and easy to talk about once she finished them.

The Odyssey's reviews were largely positive from general audiences and critics alike, even if some did point out historical inaccuracies and that side character problem. This historical epic lit up the 2026 box office in a big way, proving that if you release a movie people want to see, they will go see it, likely over and over again. Now, I'm just wondering when Nolan and Thomas might reach out to Langley with another script that would lead them to repeat their unique process.

Celebrity couples have always captured the public's attention, from the golden Hollywood days to modern pairs like Zendaya and Tom Holland or Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Lately rumors have been swirling about Dakota Johnson and Machine Gun Kelly, with folks curious about what's happening behind the scenes. Recently an alleged insider made a claim about what the Fifty Shades actress "respects" most about the Grammy-nominated recording artist.

Chatter about MGK and Johnson has been happening for weeks, with the pair of stars spotted together a number of times. Alleged insiders claim they have a common sense of humor, and a new report by InTouchWeekly made some more claims about what's been happening with this burgeoning pair. An alleged insider was quoted saying:

Authenticity is very attractive, so if this report is to be believed it would make a great deal of sense. Especially considering Johnson is a Hollywood actor, a place where people can sometimes be fake in order to move their career forward. Machine Gun Kelly is known for his outrageous personality, and it seems like the Madame Web actress appreciates that he's the same person 24/7.

The same source also spoke more about how Dakota Johnson is approaching her budding relationship with MGK. They allege she's trying to keep things casual, with the report claiming:

This report comes in stark juxtaposition to MGK's dating history. Namely because he spent years making headlines thanks to his previous relationship with Megan Fox. The former pair were known for the wild ways they expressed affection for each other, including drinking each other's blood. Now they're strictly coparents, opening up Machine Gun Kelly to date Dakota Johnson.

The alleged insider made one final claim in the same report, specifically related to the reported relationship dynamic between this pair of celebs. They said:

Good for you, girlie. We'll just have to wait and see if the pair end up confirming their relationship, and if things end up progressing. If this insider is to be believed, that'll be up to Johnson.

Professionally both Machine Gun Kelly and Dakota Johnson continue to thrive, with the actress recently celebrating the release of Verity as part of the 2026 movie release list. She's got more projects coming down the line, so we'll have to see if she ends up taking MGK on the red carpet with her.

This weekend Bill Hader is the voice of the animated The Cat In The Hat movie on the 2026 release schedule. But did you know that over a decade ago he totally dressed up as the beloved Dr. Seuss character for a Saturday Night Live sketch? When we chatted with the SNL alum, I had to ask about the memories of playing the role IRL.

Of course, Mike Myers famously took the live-action approach for the 2003 book-to-screen adaptation. In our interview, Hader seems to counts himself lucky to have just lent the voice to the character after spending a day in the literal paws of the character way back when. In his words:

Myers' own process took two and a half hours and was very hot to act in a yak-hair suit all day. Jim Carrey had it even worse as The Grinch. He had to go through such a grueling process a specialist in torture was hired to help him withstand the eight-hour get ready time. In our interview above, you can see Quinta Brunson school Hader on what happened and watch his real-time reaction.

Instead of going through all that makeup time for months, it was just for one night. He played the character on October 11, 2014 in an episode he hosted in the season right after his exit from the show following an eight-year run. You can check out the sketch below:

It’s such a funny spin on the classic children’s book. When two sibling children are bored on a rainy day, they conjure up The Cat in the Hat, but something unexpected happens: he’s already acquainted with their mom, Linda. Playtime with the whimsical figure turns into an awkward reunion between The Cat and Linda. The best line has to be when Linda says: “He’s reliable. I don’t have to say a rhyme to make him come home.” ‘

And then, Linda’s husband ends up being Thing 2, who goes by Jona-Thing now. He comes home disappointed to see The Cat In The Hat with his wife and kids. The sketch hilariously ends with The Cat In The Hat saying “But oh, the places she let me go!” as he leaves them, which is obviously a NSFW reference to another Dr. Seuss book.

When CinemaBlend also spoke to the movie’s writer/directors Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni, we had to ask if the SNL sketch was involved at all with casting Hader. Here’s what Rivinoja told us:

Hader’s animated version of The Cat in the Hat is much different than SNL because it isn’t a parody like his first run as the character was. It’s a more family-friendly retelling of the picture book with an expanded story about where The Cat comes from, and involves an imaginative plot line that’s perfect for the medium of animation. It hits theaters this Friday, November 6.

Hailey Bieber had a big October. She knows it too, posting a full thread to Instagram at the end of the month simply captioned “Thanks October” and featuring her in an angel Halloween costume. But before the Internet got that post, she actually channeled Angelina Jolie in a daring Mr and Mrs. Smith fit. Looks like latex is back in, baby.

You remember the scene. In Mr and Mrs Smith, Jolie’s “Jane Smith” is out on assignment and shows up in a full bondage outfit complete with tall boots, a spandex dress and mesh elbow gloves with confusing purpose. Bieber wore a similar look for Halloween this year, and was photographed by portrait photographer Amber Asaly, who admitted she hasn’t seen the Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt classic. (A classic that might be more infamous for the two getting together and leading to Pitt divorcing Aniston, anyway.)

Separately, Hailey and Justin Bieber also dressed in couples angel and devil costumes for the popular holiday. It’s her channeling Angelina Jolie that’s really sticking with me, however. That movie and scene were super popular 20 years ago, but it's been a while since I've seen someone create a costume based on it. It was unexpected for the Rhode founder, and a fun movie-oriented fit.

Halloween is a time to play around and take risks, and we saw some cool and outlandish celebrity fashion looks this year. Heidi Klum went as a severed hand. JLo channeled her monster-in-law co-star Jane Fonda and dressed as Barbarella. Zendaya looked so good as Halle Berry some people thought it was a literal throwback photo of Halle Berry. My personal favorite inspiration though? DWTS pro Witney Carson is pregnant, and used her belly to dress as the MCU’s “fat Thor.” Perfection.

Bieber’s been taking risks on the fashion realm lately outside of the week leading up to and encompassing Halloween. She also posed for Brazilian Magazine ICE Lately, showing off her bikini tan line. Outside of the sheer dress she wore to see Wuthering Heights, I do typically think of Bieber as being relatively understated when it comes to her fashion, so it’s nice to see her doing something a little more outside the box. I guess that's EXACTLY what Halloween is for!

Disney has always been known for its animated blockbusters, but Frozen (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription) became a full-blown sensation upon its release in 2013. Its sequel Frozen II crushed at the box office, and two more sequels were quickly announced. Although the studios' Head of Animation recently revealed a big change coming to the next two installments of the franchisee

The first Frozen III footage debuted at D23 over the summer, so anticipation for the threequel is steadily building. While we'll have to wait another year until it arrives in November of 2027, Disney's Jared Bush spoke to Collider about how the studio is approaching the next two movies. He revealed that they're putting a full emphasis on the third movie, rather than trying to put out 3 and 4 in quick succession. In his words:

Rather than trying to produce a third and fourth Frozen movie as a cash grab (although they're sure to rake in the bucks), it sounds like the powers that be at Disney are putting story first. This is sure to be a relief for fans who might be worried about the property's legacy being soiled by the next two installments.

Fans are excited for Anna and Kristoff's wedding in the threequel, and to reportedly see Olaf get a love interest. Although we shouldn't expect Frozen III to do a bunch of set up for the developing fourth movie. As Bush went on to say:

Honestly, I love this strategy. Rather than getting too big picture about the Frozen franchise as a whole, it sounds like the next two installments will tell independent, fully formed stories. So we shouldn't expect any MCU-esque credits scene that help to set up the fourth movie once Frozen III hits theaters next year.

Sometimes thinking too far ahead can frustrate moviegoers when it comes to franchise films. For instance, Halloween Kills got some backlash upon its release for keeping Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode in the background and set up her role in the threequel. Luckily the third Frozen movie won't be doing that, and will instead tell its own complete narrative.

All will be revealed when Frozen III hits theaters November 24th, 2027. Since its not on the 2026 movie release list, we'll have to practice patience until footage get its wide release.

It's still early days for Warner Bros' new DC universe headed James Gunn and Peter Safran, but we just got one exciting update on one of the upcoming DC movies on the way. Dynamic Duo will officially star Mason Thames as Dick Grayson/Robin. It's perfect casting, especially since the actor once told us himself how much the character means to him.

In a new interview with Collider, Safran confirmed Thames casting, which has been rumored for awhile. Here's what he said about the 19-year-old from How To Train Your Dragon and The Black Phone movies earning the role.

When Mason Thames stopped by San Diego Comic-Con's suite back in July, he gushed with us about his deep love for the character. As he shared with us at the time:

This new role for Mason Thames is absolutely deserved because he truly knows his stuff. In between chatting with him, I could see how genuinely stoked he was to be at his first San Diego Comic Con. He was asking me about all the tips to best enjoy the experience, and was hyped to walk the floor and get the full SDCC experience. He really and truly is one of us. Here's the video:

DC's Dynamic Duo movie is set to have Thames' Dick Grayson working together with another Robin iteration, Jason Todd. Grayson grew up in a family of circus performers, but had to watch his parents fall to their deaths while trying to be complete one trick (after the act was sabotaged). He becomes Batman's first sidekick. Jason Todd, on the other hand, is a character who grew up on the streets of Gotham to a petty thief and a drug addict for parents before being taken in by Batman.

When the movie was announced it on X in October 2024, Gunn revealed it'd be "a mix of animation, puppetry, and CGI," making it a rather unique take on the characters. While Thames is presumably just taking on the voice role for Robin in this movie, Gunn has previously said this in 2023, per IGN:

While we should keep in mind these comments are on the older side, Mason Thames looks absolutely ready to play Robin as is in live-action. And, I hope Dynamic Duo is the start of a long journey of the actor playing the role across a variety of mediums.

It's also worth nothing the movie is also produced by Matt Reeves, who's been the filmmaker behind The Batman films with Robert Pattinson. I wonder if we could see a version of his Dick Grayson in his universe? Dynamic Duo is set to hit theaters on September 22, 2028 following the release of Man of Tomorrow and The Batman: Part II next year. Congrats to Mason Thames on manifesting a dream role of his!

Mckenna Grace has been working since she was a little kid, and at 20 years old, it feels like she’s done a bit of everything. She’s done drama, action, horror, romance and more, and in her next project, the book-to-screen adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping, she’ll play out a deeply intense tragedy that also features massive action. However, while it’s clear she’s open to many kinds of projects and work, there is one thing she says no to: nudity. Surprisingly, her reasoning has to do with Disney.

As I said, when it comes to Grace's career, she's explored lots of different genres, which have put her in many different situations. I mean, in the last year alone, she’s worked on Regretting You, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Scream 7, PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie, The Last Kiss, Nimrods and Sunrise on the Reaping. Those are all very different movies, and during an interview with Cosmopolitan, she was asked if there are any kinds of roles she’d say no to. Here’s how she responded, and how nudity and Disney came into the conversation:

See, it’s obvious from her explanation that she has nothing against intimacy or nudity. And it seems like she has a lot of respect for actors who do work on projects that require it or very sexual sequences, like Off Campus, for example. However, it’s not her cup of tea, and I do see why.

As she said, she wants to be a Disney princess someday. If you’ve seen the best Disney movies, you know there’s a certain level of wholesomeness involved. That’s not to say an actor who participates in a project that involves sex scenes or nudity wouldn’t get a role as a Disney princess or prince. However, it’s clear Grace is trying to create an image for herself that makes her an unquestionable fit for one of these very wholesome roles.

I think she’s doing a good job at that too. I mean, before Teagan Croft and Milo Manheim were cast as Rapunzel and Flynn Rider for the live-action Tangled, Mckenna Grace and Mason Thames were popular fan casts for the parts. She legitimately looks like a princess, and her bubbly and bright personality fits right in with that kind of character too.

Now, getting back to what she said, she made it clear she’s not only going to do wholesome roles, and her work on the 2026 movie schedule clearly showcases that. I mean, Scream 7 is a horror movie, and as she said, she gets brutally murdered in it. Also, Sunrise on the Reaping is not for the faint of heart. As a fan of the book, I know how brutal the story is, and I know we’ll see Grace acting out some truly violent and intense moments.

However, while she’s willing to do work like that, she does have boundaries she does not want to cross. That means she’ll say no to projects that are hypersexual or involve nudity, which is totally respectable.

With that said, hopefully someday she’ll get her wish of being a Disney princess. While we wait for that to happen (because I do feel like it’s inevitable), you can catch Mckenna Grace in Sunrise on the Reaping on November 20.

I've been watching the early numbers for Avengers: Doomsday with some curiosity, especially after all the continued talk of superhero fatigue (honestly, at this point, I have "superhero fatigue talk" fatigue). The Marvel movie doesn't arrive on the 2026 movie schedule until December, but it's already putting up numbers that would make plenty of released films jealous. According to a new report, it's collected $125 million in worldwide advance ticket sales. Compared with how DC's Supergirl performed this summer, things get pretty uncomfortable for the Girl of Steel.

Forbes reported the $125 million figure on Oct. 31, with roughly seven weeks still separating the movie from its Dec. 18 theatrical release. That's a huge amount of money for tickets to a movie that hasn't even opened yet. It's also strikingly close to the $126.5 million Supergirl earned during its entire worldwide theatrical run, according to Box Office Mojo. That's about a difference of about $1.5 million. Yikes.

Now, before anyone declares Marvel the winner of the latest comic-book movie showdown, there's an important distinction. Doomsday's number reflects tickets sold in advance for future screenings, not the final gross of a movie that's finished playing. The $125 million worldwide figure is also a reported estimate, not a total Disney has publicly confirmed. Still, having that many people commit to seats well before opening weekend is encouraging.

This isn't the first time the movie's advance sales have drawn attention. In September, according to The Wrap, Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston revealed that Doomsday had already passed $50 million in domestic pre-sales three months before release. The latest worldwide figure covers additional markets, but both milestones show how early the rush began. I've covered the unusually early ticket rollout before, and there were already signs of serious demand when general sales opened in August.

Meanwhile, Supergirl's numbers paint a much rougher picture. Craig Gillespie's film, starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, opened in June and ultimately earned about $72.4 million domestically and $54.1 million internationally. It's a disappointing result for a major new DC release, even if box office numbers don't tell you whether it's worth watching. I know some fans enjoyed it, and they aren't suddenly wrong just because Marvel fans bought a bunch of tickets.

Of course, Doomsday has some advantages that Supergirl never had. Robert Downey Jr. is back in the MCU, this time playing Doctor Doom, and Anthony and Joe Russo are returning to direct an Avengers crossover packed with familiar faces. The combination of returning heroes and the promise of a major multiverse showdown was always going to attract attention. It's also following a massive year for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which gave Marvel another enormous theatrical hit.

There's another interesting wrinkle: Doomsday opens opposite Dune: Part Three on Dec. 18. I've already written about the so-called "Dunesday" clash and the fight for premium screens, and advance demand for both movies suggests moviegoers could have a very busy holiday weekend. Those early tickets don't tell us which film will ultimately have the longer legs.

For now, I wouldn't call $125 million a guaranteed blockbuster, but it's hard not to be impressed. Supergirl spent its whole theatrical run reaching roughly the same number. Doomsday still has more than six weeks left before it opens. That's one heck of a head start.

Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on Dec 18. As for Supergirl, if you haven't had a chance to see it yet, it's streaming with an HBO Max subscription.

The saga of It Ends With Us has lasted for years, with the two leads becoming synonymous with the book to screen adaptation and their long legal battle. Namely Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who have been battling in court due to allegations made about about the film (which is streaming with a Hulu subscription). The saga has taken another twist, as Baldoni reportedly sold his LA home in the wake of all the drama.

Blake Lively's complaints against Wayfarer Studios started a years-long legal battle between her and Justin Baldoni, who also directed and starred in It Ends With Us. Despite the pair issuing a joint statement and settling, the drama hasn't slowed down much. The latest update comes to us from Page Six, which claims that Baldoni sold his home in Los Angeles for over $2 million, after moving to Nashville in the midst of the drama with Lively.

The outlet claims that he sold the house back in August, and ended up making a profit of around one million dollars. Considering how wildly expensive lawyers fees were for both Lively and Baldoni, perhaps this sum will help to settle up with his representation.

The report also clarifies that the actor/producer/director still has a home on Ojai, so there are still some roots in California. Although it seems like his primary residence will be in Tennessee, where he'll presumably be able to operate with more anonymity than staying in California... especially as the It Ends With Us drama continues to make headlines.

As previously mentioned, the legal drama surrounding It Ends With Us has been going on for years, starting shortly after the movie arrived in theaters back in 2024. After his co-star's complaint Justin Baldoni filed his own defamation case, naming both Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in the process. Both of the movie's stars made allegations about what the other did on set, with the Jane the Virgin star claiming that Lively tried to take control of the movie. What's more, he also claimed that used famous friends like Taylor Swift to try and intimidate him in the midst of their drama.

The saga definitely captured the attention of fans, with the court of public opinion making their own judgements. It also seems to have negatively affect both of its stars' careers. For his part, Baldoni largely hasn't been working while dealing with his legal battle again Lively. Luckily for him that's about to change, as his company Wayfarer Studios will produce Gina Rodriguez's upcoming directorial debut. We'll just have to see if/when he gets in front of the camera again.

It Ends With Us is streaming now on Hulu. Baldoni didn't have projects on the 2026 movie release list, but maybe that'll change now that the drama is settling.

In the weeks since You Can See Everything hit the 2026 movie schedule and started tearing up the box office, it's no surprise that some of those tickets have been sold to former Theranos employees. Whistleblower Tyler Schultz spoke out shortly after the Nathan Fielder/Lance Oppenheim-directed documentary about the company’s founder, Elizabeth Holmes, was released, and now more employees are speaking out about their takeaways from the movie. Two of them recently spoke to The Times about it. Here’s what they have to say.

THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS BELOW!

According to the article, former Theranos creative director Gage Clegg and former chief creative officer Patrick O’Neill saw the movie together, and they described their complicated feelings to the paper. O’Neill is glad that people are finally seeing the real Holmes, in his estimation, telling the paper:

Much has been said of Holmes’ ability to manipulate people, and some have said Fielder fell under her spell while living with her and her partner, Billy Evans, while he and Oppenheim shot the movie. Personally, I’m not sure he did, but it's easy to see how people fall for it when watching You Can See Everything. Clegg was more direct, saying the documentary:

As to whether or not they think people should believe the Holmes they saw in the movie, Clegg’s answer was clear: No. He told the paper:

Clegg and O’Neill were not alone in pointing out both the deception and the role-playing they see in Holmes. A former in-house lawyer for Theranos (yikes!), Brad Arington, summed up seeing the movie the same way.

Whether or not Fielder fell under Holmes’ spell is one of the big questions the movie leaves audiences wondering. It’s even brought up in the movie itself when he is questioned by another star in the movie over whether he’d gotten too close to his subject.

In fact, the last scene in the movie, with Fielder and Holmes swimming together in the ocean, harkens back to an earlier scene when Holmes tried to convince Fielder to go on a swim with her. Fielder demurs, saying he doesn’t want to, but obviously did swim with her at some point. Was that Fielder reinforcing the notion that Holmes can sell anything to anyone? The film doesn’t answer that for us.

Like so much in the movie, we’re really just stuck asking more questions than getting answers, and for me, that is part of what makes the movie an Oscar contender, and one of the best movies of the year.

I’ve been thriving off Marvel nostalgia thanks to repeated trips back to the age of Iron Man. First with VisionQuest, and now with some hilarious trivia. I’m always up for some fun BTS stories about the shared universe, but even I couldn’t have predicted how the MCU connects to spy guinea pigs. Yes, you read that correctly. So imagine my reaction when I heard the wild (guinea pig-related) story behind Jon Favreau casting one star for Iron Man 2.

Turns out, we have a family-friendly spy movie to thank for Sam Rockwell’s role as Justin Hammer. For those of you who don’t remember (or hasn’t strayed from the MCU re-watch list for Doomsday), back in 2010 Tony Stark dealt with two villains: Ivan Vanko (played by Mickey Rourke) and Hammer who was Vanko’s benefactor in his crusade against Iron Man. While the second movie doesn’t get as much love, it’s clear that the Galaxy Quest actor enjoyed playing the cheeky bad guy, and even has a connection to Justin Theroux who penned the script. He dished to Esquire on the unique way he landed the part while sharing BTS stories behind some of his popular roles:

While he’s not involved in any upcoming Marvel projects, I’m glad he got to live out his dream. Not only did he get a part in the movie, he also got to play a bad guy. Justin Hammer has everything you love about Bond villains (plus Sam Rockwell’s cheekiness), and was the perfect charismatic foil to play off of Robert Downey Jr. Though what exactly do guinea pigs have to do with him landing the role? Well, Rockwell explains:

I shouldn’t be surprised by this story and yet I didn’t expect the two to connect while pretending to be guinea pigs. Am I the only one who can’t stop picturing Happy and Hammer running around pretending to be adorable rodents? Though Favreau has a gift when it comes to picking actors, as he ignored the pushback against RDJ and chose to back him as Iron Man anyway. At the time, he explained that he “just saw it” regarding RDJ in what would be his most famous role. Clearly something about Rockwell’s performance as Darwin (the no-nonsense leader of G-Force) that was perfect to play Hammer.

The actor gave a shout out to a memorable moment. Before you guess, it’s not when he’s fine-dining while interviewing Vanko. Turns out, when Hammer gave the gun demonstration, the actor had to use an earwig as they changed up the props right before filming. What apparently stood out most in the interview was Rockwell’s willingness to return to the MCU if asked. He’s just waiting to get the call. Although Hammer’s return would be the least surprising thing after VisionQuest Episode 6 blasted us back to 2008 with Faran Tahir reprising his Iron Man 1 character. Somehow I missed that casting news prior to watching.

At this point, Justin Hammer could easily come out of the wood works, and I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that he escaped from prison. This would be relatively simple to achieve, especially since our characters keep making trips to the island of Madripoor and it’d be believable that he’d hide out there. Plus, Tony’s rival would easily fit in with the lawless chaos.

So why not include a Benefactor that can face off against the Power Broker?

One of Natalie Portman’s most iconic roles, even twenty years later, is V For Vendetta. How can one forget how great she looked with a shaved head? She just shared her personal takes on what it was like to be without hair for awhile, I didn’t see this recommendation coming from her.

Portman first rocked a buzzcut in 2005 at the premiere of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith at Cannes Film Festival. It had been freshly shaven on set when she hopped on a plane to go to the glitzy event in between filming. As she recalled about attending the event with the fresh cut in her words:

Wow, what a glowing review from Natalie Portman about shaving one’s head! While speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, the actress suggested that “every woman” give it a try at some point in their life. She loved it because it felt amazing to feel the rain on her head – which funny enough is the same thing Millie Bobby Brown pointed out about going bald for Stranger Things. Portman had a really positive review for shaving her head, but there is something she didn’t like so much:

Another solid point. I guess there’s always a baseball cap for those awkward growing pains? In V for Vendetta, Portman’s character of Evey has her head shaved against her will when she’s captured, imprisoned and tortured in the dystopian thriller. The moment when her head was shaved off had to be captured in one take with three cameras at once. During rehearsals for the scene, Portman said a bunch of men on the crew offered to have their heads shaved in order for it to be tested and ready for Portman.

Portman is one of quite a few actors who’ve left their hair behind for a while for a role. Emma Stone is the most recent example for her film Bugonia, but in her case, she made her director Yorgos Lanthimos do so too “in solidarity”. Though, the pact wasn’t as satisfying as Stone thought it would be. Florence Pugh also shaved her head for We Live In Time, and has talked about how she was worried she might look like “an egg” before officially committing to it, and embracing the haircut wholeheartedly.

You can check out Natalie Portman in V For Vendetta with a Paramount+ subscription. It’s still arguably one of her best movies, so her bold haircut was absolutely worth it.

I have an annual tradition of watching the best horror movies, and given that Backrooms was so buzzed about earlier this year, I streamed it with my HBO Max subscription. I'd heard some people who saw it found it boring, and while I disagree on that front, I do think it isn't really scary.

The concept of "the backrooms" has existed on the internet for a long time, and I've seen it portrayed across many short films, video games, and horror stories. I wouldn't say I went into this movie with high expectations, but I certainly went in feeling like I'd leave feeling more scared than I was.

Backrooms Is Thrilling And Weird, But I Wouldn't Say It's Scary

The problem, I think, is that I went into Backrooms expecting it to be a horror movie. As mentioned, people generally tackle this premise with a horror bent, typically with weird, deformed monsters and jump scares. This movie has zero jump scares, which bucks the trend of many modern horror movies, but I think it did it no favors.

All this to say, Backrooms is a fascinating thriller, and I really enjoyed the movie. Once I set aside the fact that I expected it to frighten me, I genuinely enjoyed the film and look forward to any future installments. In that way, it reminds me of The Silence Of The Lambs, which is another movie I'd associate with Halloween that isn't really that scary.

Could A Sequel Be Much Scarier?

A sequel to Backrooms could, and certainly should, be much scarier. Now that the mainstream gets the general idea of how it all works, this is the time for director Kane Parsons to really flesh out how horrifying that concept is and what oddities can come from this space.

As I mentioned before, we've already seen a lot of other works do this. A lot of what Parsons would need to add to a sequel is sitting there on the internet, and he has the power to make the mythology around it even scarier. It's what made it disappointing that the movie itself was more about being surreal rather than scary.

Without jump scares, Backrooms had me wondering how many people younger than me are genuinely terrified of a generic office layout from the 1990s. Or furniture that's clipped into walls and doors? We saw that all the time in video games growing up! That's not scary to me, that's bad graphics!

The good news is the movie did well and crushed it on streaming, so I think we're going to see the concept further evolve in the coming years. I'm fully on board with showing up for a sequel, but if this next one isn't scary, I don't think I'll stick around for the ride.

At this point, I've accepted that Taylor Swift operates on an entirely different creative clock than the rest of us. Of all the behind-the-scenes stories to come out of the 2026 movie schedule, I wasn't prepared for what Toy Story 5 director Andrew Stanton had to say about how quickly she wrote "I Knew It, I Knew You" after seeing the Pixar sequel. The guy has spent decades making some of animation's most beloved films, but apparently even he couldn't keep his language family-friendly when he heard what she'd done. Here’s his NOT PG reaction after Swift wrote the song in less than a day.

During a recent Q&A with Swift, Stanton recalled how the singer ended up contributing a song to the film. Swift's brother Austin had urged her to watch an early cut while she was exhausted from the Eras Tour, and she finally agreed once she'd recovered. She immediately connected with Jessie, the cowgirl at the center of the sequel, and called Stanton from the screening room that afternoon. Hours later, Disney's music team called him again, this time with news he couldn't quite believe:

I love that Stanton's first instinct was to end the call before the “Shake it Off” performer could reconsider. Getting her to agree to write the song was already a pretty big deal, but he had no idea just how quickly things were about to move. He continued:

I kind of love that his first assumption was that Swift must have quietly pulled an old song off the shelf and given it a Toy Story label. He seemed genuinely baffled that someone could watch a movie in the morning and have a song ready before dinner. Apparently Stanton wasn't the only Toy Story veteran surprised by the music icon's involvement.

Stanton's day somehow got weirder. Around 9 that evening, he got another FaceTime call, this time from Disney CEO Bob Iger, who stood beside Swift and raved about the track. Stanton recalled asking the music A-lister if she'd really written it before calling her "a beast." The director didn't hear the finished song in person until several days later, when he flew to Los Angeles. He added:

That's serious praise, especially coming from someone who helped shape Pixar's original era. Newman's "You've Got a Friend in Me" remains one of the most recognizable movie songs of all time, and Swift has said she didn't want her contribution to feel out of place. She wrote and produced "I Knew It, I Knew You" with longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, drawing on her country roots and Jessie's complicated history of being left behind.

While the song came together ridiculously fast, Stanton offered a beautiful explanation: Swift's lifelong connection to Toy Story prepared her for it. The filmmaker said the tune really took "a lifetime" to write, starting with her watching the films as a kid. I think that's a much sweeter explanation than the one he gave on that first phone call.

Toy Story 5 is now streaming with a Disney+ subscription, with the Taylor Swift and Antonoff track playing over the end credits. And if you need a reason to revisit the flick, picture Stanton losing his mind and dropping F-bombs on FaceTime over the song.

Joseph Zada may be the star tribute of Sunrise on the Reaping, but Mckenna Grace is absolutely the victor of the movie's press tour. Lately, she's been wearing a ton of amazing Hunger Games fashion, often inspired by Jennifer Lawrence, but I think she just stepped out in the best one yet on this Monday.

Grace went to the Berlin premiere of The Hunger Games prequel in an incredible reference to the best movie of the franchise. Check it out:

My jaw dropped when I saw this on Visit Berlin. Obviously, she's paying tribute to Jennifer Lawrence's fire-catching The Hunger Games: Catching Fire dress. Who can forget the moment when Katniss and Peeta turn up at the Tribute Parade in matching flaming outfits that takes the breath away of Panem? It's a key piece from the movie franchise, and I'm so happy Mckenna Grace decided to put her own spin on it.

I'll never forget the first time this dress came on screen in Catching Fire, and this tribute to it is just expertly executed. Bravo to Grace, and her team led by stylist Molly Dickson. She really is Mckenna's own Cinna.

I mean, it's moments like this what reminds me why I love celebrity fashion!This has to be a custom dress, right? It recaptures the dress from the movie SO WELL, from the halter top to the flames all over it. I especially love how the top of it is shimmery and how the bottom is completely red. It's as if the dress is completely engulfed in flames at its ends. Grace also wore a similar headpiece to the one J-Law's Katniss wears in the movie and had her hair styled in curls.

This is just one of many Hunger Games references Grace has been doing while promoting the 2026 movie release. Last month she also wore a dress very similar to Katniss's white gown and another one that referenced Rue's interview dress. Last week, she also turned up in an ensemble that looked just like the Hunger Games arena in her movie.

It's actually quite perfect for Grace to channel J-Law's Hunger Games fashion because in Sunrise on the Reaping, her character of Maysilee inspires Katniss. She's the first tribute in the games to wear the mockingjay pin. .

Sunrise on the Reaping takes place during the 25th Hunger Games when Haymitch Abernathy is chosen to compete at the age of 16. Since it's the first Quarter Quell, double the amount of tributes are chosen, which means there's four from each District chosen. It doesn't come out until November 20, but the first reactions came in last week, and the prequel is already being called "a near perfect Hunger Games movie".

As excited as I am, I'm also over here on the edge of my seat over what Grace do next as the movie's press tour continues!

Johnny Depp is an accomplished character actor with a long and wildly successful career. Arguably one of Depp's best roles is as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which are streaming in their entirety with a Disney+ subscription. I didn't expect the 63 year-old to have jokes when talking about possibly returning to the franchise alongside Orlando Bloom's Will Turner.

While Depp will return to theaters in Ebenezer this month, some moviegoers are hoping to see him return in a future Pirates of the Caribbean movie. During a recent interview with People, the Edward Scissorhands actor was asked about possibly returning to the beloved franchise, and responded with:

Shots fired. Despite having facial hair in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, it turns out that neither Johnny Depp nor Orlando Bloom can actually grow a beard. While sidestepping whether or not he'd be down to return as Jack Sparrow, the Sweeney Todd actor was sure to poke fun at both himself, and his famous co-star.

Ebenezer marks Depp's first real return to a big Hollywood movie since the verdict of his defamation trial with Amber Heard was revealed. He spent a few years living abroad and getting out of the spotlight, but he's back playing the title role of Ti West's forthcoming holiday movie. Only time will tell if the upcoming book to screen adaptation ends up being considered one of the best Christmas movies of all time, but it seems like a game changer for the actor.

There's been chatter about more Pirates movies for a few years. At one point multiple movies were in development, including one that would star Margot Robbie. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any concrete updates about one of these projects moving forward in the development process. Although with Johnny Depp returning to the big screen, I have to assume that the chatter surrounding the franchise, and his possible return as Captain Jack Sparrow, will get louder.

Depp starred as the protagonist in all five of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which ran in theaters from 2003 to 2017. The same can't be said for Orlando Bloom, who was absent for On Stranger Tides. He ended up returning in Dead Men Tell No Tales, which is the most recent installment in the action/adventure property.

All five of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are streaming now on Disney+. Only time will tell if a sixth movie ends up being green lit by the powers that be at Disney, but there does seem to be a ton of chatter about that possibility online.

The 2026 movie schedule has marked the releases of plenty of high-profile titles, but it could be argued that few have sparked as many discussions as Digger has. Directed by Alejandro Iñárritu, the Tom Cruise-fronted film mixes satire with a significant helping of social commentary to create a bold swing. Early reactions to Cruise and Iñárritu’s film were tepid, and it eventually flopped at the box office as well. Now, one of the film’s cast members, John Goodman, is opening up about the film being “killed” before it could even reach theaters.

Digger was released in early October, and the first reactions began to hit social media after its UK premiere in late October. Goodman sat down for an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, which was recorded on October 5th (right after the movie’s opening weekend). Both Goodman and host Josh Horowitz got real about the reception to the Iñárritu flick, with Horowitz emphasizing how the film really has people “talking.” The Argo alum didn’t disagree but also got candid about how the reception was affecting him:

Digger heavily focuses on the story of oil tycoon Digger Rockwell (Cruise), who finds himself in the position of having to save the planet from an environmental catastrophe he caused. Ultimately, it’s a comedy of errors that has a lot to say about the state of the world, particularly our feelings towards climate change. There’s also a big twist in the film, which is so massive that I’m still not keen on spoiling it for readers here.

Ultimately, the full reviews of the black comedy weren’t strong, and they earned Cruise his worst Rotten Tomatoes score for a film in nearly a decade. (As of this writing, the film has a critics rating of 53% on RT and an audience rating of 77%.) The reception actually became so hard to ignore that the marketing team even addressed the polarizing reviews head on in a TV spot. From a financial perspective, the film has reportedly earned $49 million worldwide against a reported production budget between $125 and $180 million.

With all that said, Digger does have its share of defenders, with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro emerging as a champion for it along with the likes of Ben Affleck, Anna Hathaway, Glen Powell and Bill Burr. Tom Cruise himself has also expressed his appreciation for the cast and crew amid the tepid responses. Likewise, John Goodman – who broke his hip amid production – feels fortunate to have been a part of the massive movie:

To that point, there are indeed films that prove to have staying power if they’re initially polarizing or not well received upon their releases. Goodman even made a good point in that a number of his collaborations with the Coen brothers initially generated lukewarm receptions before finding major followings later. (And, believe it or not, that includes The Big Lebowski.) So, while Goodman may have been “hurt” by responses to his latest movie, he’s still of the belief that it’ll have quite the shelf life.

Digger is still playing in some theaters, meaning anyone who wants to see it for themselves still has the time to do so.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly growing, thanks to exciting new projects arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans have a number of upcoming Marvel movies to look forward to, but the hype around Avengers: Doomsday is at a fever pitch. Folks are looking for any clues about what The Russo Brothers have up their sleeve, and there's a new reasons why fans (including me) think that Tom Holland's Spider-Man might end up having a surprise appearance.

What we know about Avengers: Doomsday is very limited, which is why moviegoers have been filling in the blanks with rumors and theories. The Doomsday cast list is a huge one, but Kevin Feige confirmed that more surprise appearances will be included as well. Merch for the movie has been rolling out, including a collaboration with Ray-Ban inspired by a number of heroes. Namely Captain America, Doctor Doom, Deadpool and (you guessed it) Spider-Man.

Some fans thought this might indicate that Deadpool is in Doomsday, and the concept of Spider-Man popping up seems even more likely. After all, Brand New Day and the next Avengers movie filmed at the time in Pinewood Studios in England. So it wouldn't take much more than some clever scheduling for Tom Holland to run over to the other end of the studio and shoot some footage as Peter Parker. Plus, he's one of the most popular characters in the entire shared universe.

The credits scene from Spider-Man: Brand New Day seemed to tease the web slinger popping up in either Doomsday or its sequel Secret Wars. Specifically the latter, as it showed a Spider-Man being spotted in space. Still, the Spidey Ray-Bans have other moviegoers crossing their fingers that Tom Holland's beloved hero will get to join the forthcoming battle again Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day became the highest grossing movie of all time upon its release, so it's clear that folks are invested in Tom Holland's ongoing tenure as the web swinger. As such, it seems like a no-brainer that The Russos and Marvel would want him included in the shared universe's next big crossover moments. We'll just have to see whether or not this theory ends up coming to fruition.

Deadpool & Wolverine also broke records at the box office, so it's possible that Ray-Ban was simply releasing new Marvel merch based on its most popular characters. Although since Deadpool and Spider-Man haven't been officially confirmed for Doomsday yet, the new sunglasses have set the internet ablaze. Clearly the Marvel fandom is invested in the next Avengers movie, and it should be fascinating to see which characters actually appear.

All will be revealed when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Fingers crossed we see Spider-Man pop up throughout it mysterious runtime.

I love action movies with a Christmas theme. There aren’t many, but we’re adding one to the list this year: The Man with the Bag. Prime has finally dropped the first trailer, and we get to see the magic between the two stars, Alan Ritchson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie will be available with a Prime subscription on December 2nd, and I’m already getting in a holiday mood.

The Trailer Looks So Fun!

A couple of years ago, Amazon MGM produced Red One as a Christmas action movie with Dwayne Johnson, and, well, it bombed. I actually secretly loved it, though. I even watched it again last Christmas. This one feels very much in the same vein, which may turn people off, but surely people are excited to see Schwarzenegger pass the torch of the biggest action star in the world (literally and figuratively) to Ritchson in this upcoming Christmas movie? Ritchson is a natural inheritor of action roles Schwarzenegger took on at the peak of his career. Everyone wants to see Ritchson play the Terminator! I sure do.

The Man with the Bag, at least from the trailer, does feel like a handoff. Schwarzenegger plays Santa, and he’s looking for a traitorous elf played by Akwafina who’s stolen his bag of presents. He enlists a thief (Ritchson) to help him recover the bag and save Christmas. It’s not exactly the most complicated plot, but Christmas shouldn’t be complicated. It’s family-friendly and fun. That’s what makes for Christmas movies that you want to watch year after year. Jingle All the Way, also starring Schwarzenegger, is certainly one of those movies. This looks like it could be too.

Few movie franchises have had the cultural impact of the James Bond movies. Generations grew up watching 007 on the big screen (with the movies currently streaming with an Amazon Prime subscription), and all eyes are on what Denis Villeneuve will do with the developing 26th film. Specifically, who will play James. There are a number of names being tossed around online, and someone recently asked Jack Lowden about taking up the martini and pistol as the beloved MI6 agent.

No Time To Die's tragic ending brought an end to Daniel Craig's Bond movies, opening the door for someone else to take the mantle. Folks have been taking bets on who might play Bond next, and Lowden is just one such choice. In an interview with GQ he was asked about the online discourse, saying:

While he's not adding his own commentary to the situation, it sounds like Lowden has seen Gary Oldman's comments that he's on the shortlist to play 007. He seems to appreciate anyone considering him for a major role, yet alone something as big as James Bond. We'll just have to see who ends up playing that iconic character next, and whether or not it's the Slow Horses star.

Later in the same interview, Jack Lowden spoke more about his career, and aging in the entertainment industry. The actor, who is now 36 years old, spoke about his age changes the way people perceive him. When asked by the journalist about reaching the era when "You either become a leading man or you don't," Lowden said this:

Luckily that process has opened him up to new roles, and now he's a popular choice online to replace Daniel Craig as 007. Whether or not he actually get passed the baton remains to be seen, but the fact that he's allegedly on the short list is a testament to his talent and starpower.

As a reminder, Oldman's comments about Lowden came from an appearance on Global TV’s The Morning Show . He gushed about his Slow Horses co-star possibly getting the role saying:

Clearly Lowden has Oldman's endorsement. Now that I think of it, it's surprising that the Oppenheimer actor never actually appeared in a Bond movie. I feel like he would have been a great antagonist for 007, especially considering his villainous roles in projects like Lost in Space and (especially) Air Force One. My FOMO is through the roof.

While we wait for Bond 26 casting news, folks can watch Slow Horses on Apple TV as part of the 2026 TV schedule. We'll just have to see if Oldman gets his wish and his co-star gets to land the career-changing role.

While I don’t expect Inde Navarrette to stop talking about her breakout role in Obsession anytime soon, one role is starting to become a big topic for her. Navarrette has been cast as Rogue in the upcoming X-Men reboot, and naturally, a lot of people want to know what’s going on with that high-profile film. Obviously, the actress can't answer a lot of what people want to know right now. On that note, I can’t give over how she decided to get out of a question about playing the famed mutant by going full Nikki!

The next X-Men movie is one of the biggest titles on the schedule of upcoming Marvel movies and is set to hit theaters in May 2028. And that means that it won’t be long before Navarrette is shooting the movie alongside her castmates like Adam Driver, Sadie Sink, Samara Weaving, Christopher Abbott and Kit Connor. For now, though check out what happened when someone asked about the status of her prep:

Oh my goodness, the way I was just transported back to my first viewing of Obsession! Navarrette perfectly recreated her Nikki scene, which has made her into a meme. During the interview with Entertainment Weekly, she was asked if X-Men training had begun. She went right into the “No, no, no, don’t do that” moment from the horror hit before saying she “thought we were having a nice interview!” in between playful laughter.

During the moment, she was paired with Obsession writer/director Curry Barker, and therefore clearly trying to continue to promote her breakout hit as they start their awards season campaigning. I especially like how quoting her own character from the movie led her to geek out over her love of Nikki directly after.

Later, she did, however, end up sharing some thoughts on her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, but she kept things super vague. In her words:

It sounds like we can expect Navarrette to pay attention to Rogue’s inner workings above all else, which is honestly the most important thing, anyways. She also brought up a “transformation” in regards to her portrayal, and it definitely has me curious. Oh, and when she hosted SNL over the weekend, she mentioned hitting the gym more. But that was also specifically said as a shot at Shane Gillis’ controversial comments, which he made on the sketch show a few weeks ago.

Obviously, now that she’s on the Marvel team, Navarrette is sworn to secrecy on all things X-Men, and I expect her to remain pretty tight-lipped. In recent months, however, she has talked a bit about Rogue’s iconic accent. The 25-year-old said she does want to “go there” in regards to doing justice to the character’s Mississippi roots.

Of course, Inde Navarrette and Marvel Studios want to keep us surprised with all the fine details, and she's doing a good job of keeping things under wraps. And, hey, now we know she can expertly dodge questions by simply channeling Nikki!

I know that sometimes taking a hard stance against a beloved movie like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is always risky, but this is one that I've held for a long time, and I’m comfortable if the comments about this take aim at me. I simply don’t like the movie. Weirdly, I don’t have a problem with the Oscars it won (and it won a lot in one of the best Oscar races ever), and I don’t dislike anything about the production of the movie. The Cuckoo’s Nest cast and their performances are fantastic, the directing from Miloš Forman is top-notch, and the dialogue is spot on. There is a fundamental flaw with this book-to-screen adaptation, and that is the reduction of the most important character in the book, Chief Bromden, into something way less than he should have been.

Chief Bromden Is The Heart And Soul Of The Book

I love the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. When people ask me what my favorite book ever is, I usually answer with the 1962 novel that helped define a generation. I’ve read the book four times over the years, and every time I read it, I get something new out of it. When I first read it, sometime in high school in the early ‘90s, I focused on what the movie focuses on: R.P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson in the movie, in one of his best roles) and his exploits in the ward of the mental hospital.

I was taken by McMurphy. His anti-authoritarian posturing was perfect for an anxious wanna-be rebellious teenager. He is loud and brash, and lives life his own way. It’s basically any 15-year-old’s dream. Minus the getting locked up part, obviously. I also loved the stories of the other guys in the ward, like Billy, Martini, and Harding. They all get their own glory in the movie. However, in each of my subsequent readings, it’s always been about Bromden. The story is told through his eyes, and it’s his thoughts that continue to stick with me.

Bromden Is Basically A Side Character In The Movie

Here’s the problem with the movie: Bromden is more or less irrelevant to the story. Sure, he gets his big moment at the end, just as in the book, but it feels so much less deserved in the movie. He’s basically a tall Native American that McMurphy needs for his basketball team in the movie. Gone from the movie are his thoughts on the ward and society as a whole. His backstory–his father being cheated by the United States and Bromden’s retreat into himself, landing him on the ward–is erased from the character.

He’s a side character who befriends McMurphy because McMurphy treats him like a regular guy. He’s not the center of the story, as he is in the book, he’s barely a character at all. Some may disagree with me, but I don’t like that Bromden has his revelation at the end of the movie and decides to smother McMurphy after the latter is lobotomized, basically because McMurphy gave him a piece of Juicy Fruit. His motivations in the book are far bigger.

Eliminating Bromden’s Omniscience Misses The Whole Point

In the book, Bromden tells the story of McMurphy’s battle against Nurse Ratched on the ward of the hospital. He’s not an unreliable narrator, though. He’s telling the reader what he’s observing on the ward. He’s mixing that in with memories of his childhood and of his father, and weaving that into a larger narrative about “The Combine.” The Combine is society, trying to get everyone to follow the rules, and breaking down those who refuse to play ball.

Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher in the movie) represents the Combine in Bromden’s small world in the hospital. She is at war with McMurphy, who is refusing to play by the rules of the ward, goading everyone else to join him in his defiance. To Bromden, McMurphy is a hero, fighting societal norms and yearning to break free of The Combine. Indeed, to destroy the whole machine itself. None of that is part of the movie, at least not in any real way. Yeah, McMurphy is a rebel, but he’s just a criminal. He’s not representative of anything bigger, as he’s meant to be in the book. Even by the filmmakers’ account, they were just looking to cast an Indian who was tall and big. He was really seen as nothing more than a side character at best.

That really irks me when I watch the movie, as I did just recently for the first time in a couple of decades. It didn’t change my opinion, overall. The story is about mental illness, yes, but it’s about so much more.

By The Way, Ken Kesey Agreed With Me

The author of Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey, agreed with his assessment. Though he loved the play that was adapted from the book a decade before the movie (as do I), he didn’t like the movie for the same reasons I don’t. Ratched isn’t the villain in the book, as Kesey has pointed out. The villain is the Combine, and Big Nurse was only a cog in the machine. She is representative of the Combine, but the machine is way bigger than her. In a documentary called Completely Cuckoo, which is an extra on the digital download I bought with my Apple subscription, Kesey says:

There's something in the American soul. We're going to take this monster with a tail and throw it over its back and whip it. This is the Combine, and this is the Murphy. 
The villain in Cuckoo’s Nest is the Combine. It's not the nurse. When you drop it down to being the nurse, you're back into melodrama.

Kesey claimed in later interviews that he’d never seen the movie, and never intended to. While he was initially hired by the producers (which included Michael Douglas) to write a screenplay, they rejected it because he wanted the film to be more like the book, trippy and psychedelic, with a bigger concept than what he called a Hogan’s Heroes-style melodrama. The screenplay, which won an Oscar, is great, but it’s not the Cuckoo’s Nest I love, and that is a flaw I’ll never be able to get over.

November is Native American Heritage Month, which is what inspired me to revisit the movie. After watching the movie again and realizing that I’m never going to see it as the book’s equal, I really can’t wait to read it again.

Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet and Florence Pugh have spent enough time promoting the Dune franchise together that you would think they have the group-photo routine down by now. Apparently, all it takes is one camera, one slightly cramped set, and Zendaya trying to maneuver everybody into position to throw that theory out the window. The entire Dune Part 3 cast reunited to celebrate Denis Villeneuve's first two Dune movies heading back to theaters, and the resulting video is wonderfully awkward.

In the video, posted by the official Dune movie Instagram account, Zendaya directly addresses a social media user's question about the first two installments possibly heading back to theaters. In the process, the actres nearly loses control of the whole operation, backs straight into Pugh and somehow leaves Chalamet looking like the guy who accidentally wandered into someone else's photo. Seriously, check out the post below, because you barely get a glimpse of the lead actor's eye, let alone his whole face:

The clip -- which also features Robert Pattinson, Jason Momoa and Anya Taylor-Joy -- starts simply enough, with Zendaya trying to pull everyone together for the shot. Then she backs up, bumps into Pugh, and has to readjust while laughing through it all. Meanwhile, Chalamet is practically being edited out of his own franchise reunion. It's incredibly silly, especially given how serious these three usually look in the movies.

Of course, the timing makes sense, though. Dune and Dune: Part Two return to IMAX this month ahead of Dune: Part Three's release. IMAX has formally announced that fans can catch both movies as a double feature on November 13, followed by individual screenings from November 14 through November 18. That's already a pretty good excuse to spend nearly six hours back on Arrakis. So Warner Bros. is sweetening the deal considerably.

Every screening will include exclusive footage from Dune: Part Three, which hits the 2026 movie calendar on December 18. That makes the re-release considerably more interesting for fans who have already seen the first two movies. And, if that footage is just nearly as impressive as what's been screened thus far, fans will have more incentive to grab their tickets and sandworm popcorn buckets for the threequel.

Villeneuve's latest film is a book-to-screen adaptation of the second novel in Frank Herbert's series, Dune Messiah, and brings Chalamet, Zendaya, and Pugh back as Paul Atreides, Chani, and Princess Irulan. The cast also includes the aforementioned Momoa, Pattinson and Taylor-Joy along with Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem and franchise newcomer Robert Pattinson.

We've already gotten some tantalizing information about the movie, including Chalamet saying he approached playing Paul differently this time around. The actor previously explained that while filming his final Dune movie, he dug deeper into tiny details of Paul's world than in the previous installments.

There are also plenty of reasons to keep an eye on Chani and Irulan. Zendaya became much more central to the story in Dune: Part Two, while Pugh's Princess Irulan should have considerably more to do as the story moves into Messiah. The third entry is set to be the final movie in Denis Villeneuve's critically acclaimed sci-fi trilogy, so we can probably expect one heck of an ending. Let's hope the film concludes a lot less awkwardly than this Instagram video.

But, before we get to the finale, audiences get another chance to see the first two movies in IMAX, plus a preview of what's coming next. While we wait, you can also revisit the first two Dune movies at home with an HBO Max subscription.

Sydney Sweeney has gone into business in a big way, thanks to her lingerie brand, SYRN, and she's been making a lot of headlines because of it. Right off the bat, a wild bra stunt on the Hollywood sign proved controversial. However, the first line sold out in a matter of hours, So, how’s it really doing? In a new twist, a report claims the haters aren’t actually prevailing over SYRN.

Over the years, Sweeney has been the center of a ton of backlash for business-related moves. That includes selling her “bathwater” as soap, taking part in the viral “good jeans” campaign for American Eagle ad and most recently, for wearing nothing but footballs for her viral campaign with Novig. We can’t speak to how those ads are driving sales, but allegedly her work on her lingerie brand is really paying off.

This news comes months after reports of SYRN supposedly becoming a "disaster" after its launch, that said her "saleability is waning rapidly". But, a new report from Page Six, says something different. SYRN’s third quarter sales were reportedly double of the previous one. If this info is to be believed, the lingerie brand’s huge uptick in sales seems to be thanks to Sydney Sweeney’s Birthday Boobs collection, which launched on September 1. The big seller was her Blue Ditsy bra and panty set, which initially sold out on the first day it was launched.

Apparently, the ad for the bra and panty set was viewed by over 40 million people on Instagram alone! On paper, that's quite a marketing feat. Also, Sweeney’s Birthday Boobs collection, which is currently back on the website, reportedly generated over $2 million in sales.

While speaking about her brand, Sweeney previously said she made SYRN with the idea that everyone’s bodies are “different”, and should be served accordingly as far as lingerie goes. Sweeney’s campaigns, including those form SYRN, have received hate for catering to the “male gaze” over women, but the numbers suggest the ads seem to be leading to sales.

The A-lister herself has consistently propped up her brand, with social media serving as a prime forum for her to do so. From using socials to model her lingerie and to show off a SYRN-themed saloon, Sweeney hasn't held back with these marketing plugs. Check out one of her past posts from her Instagram stories below:

I also looked on a Reddit thread revolving around the quality of SYRN itself, and there seem to be quite a few positive comments on the pieces themselves. One person says they find them to be “the most flattering, prettiest, and best fitting” even against higher end brand pieces they own. Another person says the brand’s lace is “soft” and has “lasted in the wash”. Not everyone is satisfied, though, as one user says the “fit is awkward” and “scratchy and thin”.

SYRN is allegedly on track to have had an increase of 20 percent from October sales. That trend could continue to go upward considering Sweeney just launched her holiday shop with a viral ad where she channels Home Alone’s Kevin McAllister. And, ahead of that, her company dropped an ad that showed her channeling Cindy Lou Who. The new collection hasn’t quite done the Instagram viewing stats of her best-selling collection, but it certainly features a ton of seductive pieces, both on the lingerie front and for those looking for more cozy vibes, such as cable knit sweater sets, as holiday gifts.

With these recent updates in mind, Sydney Sweeney’s marketing style is apparently working. It'll be intriguing to see if SYRN continues to thrive into next year and become a beloved lingerie brand or not.

Rosario Dawson and Hayden Christensen know exactly how to get Star Wars fans worked up. Put them together, add a little Anakin-and-Ahsoka nostalgia, and people are already paying attention. Wrap both actors in sheer blue fabric so they look suspiciously like Force ghosts, and suddenly everyone starts wondering whether Dave Filoni is trying to tell us something about an upcoming movie release or another new Star Wars project. That is exactly what happened after Dawson shared a photo with Christensen that put a very funny spin on their Ahsoka connection.

In an Instagram post, the two Star Wars mainstays are not actually dressed as Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker. Christensen appears to be wearing regular clothes under a layer of translucent blue layer, while Dawson wears what looks more like a medieval or fantasy costume. If anything, the dress gives off a little Princess Fiona energy. See for yourself in her post below:

Dawson made the joke even more obvious with her caption: “MAY THE FORCE GHOSTS BE WITH YOU 👻👻.”

The costumes are goofy, simple and immediately recognizable. Christensen looking like a Force ghost is also perfectly reasonable within Star Wars movie canon. Dawson getting the same treatment, however, is where fans started getting nervous. Because, uh… Why is Rosario Dawson a Force ghost?

To be clear, nobody at Lucasfilm announced the death of Ahsoka Tano's death through an Instagram costume photo. Dawson is not dressed as Ahsoka here, and there is no reason to think she casually spoiled one of the biggest possible developments in Ahsoka Season 2. That didn't stop fans from noticing the implication and asking a ton of questions.

Fans Immediately Had Questions About The Costumes

Comments under the Clerks 2 actress's post quickly filled with people who remembered that becoming a Force ghost usually requires a fairly serious prerequisite. Fans wrote:

• @tara.stepro: “Why is Ahsoka a force ghost? Anakin!?!?! Why is AHSOKA A FORCE GHOST?!?!”
• @kybercreations_: “Tell me this isn’t foreshadowing”
• @jeremiahlburns: “But Ahsoka isn't de— OH MY GOD NO!”
• @bad_wolf_quincy: “Wait...are you confirming that Ahsoka is NOT immortal??”
• @l_enfente: “Better not mean what I think it means for Auntie Soka”
• @rr_.sofff: “Is that a spoiler alert?”
• @aigienus: "If that's a spoiler for the new season, I don't want it."

I understand the reaction. Ahsoka has survived Order 66, Darth Vader, the World Between Worlds and enough lightsaber fights to make most Jedi reconsider the profession entirely. She has also spent years bouncing between animated and live-action Star Wars, becoming one of the franchise's most durable characters in the process.

Christensen as a Jedi specter has precedent. Anakin appeared as a Force ghost at the end of Ahsoka Season 1, and the original trilogy was later reworked to insert the actor into the old footage. Christensen is also returning for Season 2, with Anakin expected to remain part of Tano's story.

Dawson's Ahsoka, meanwhile, is still very much alive when Season 2 begins. She and Sabine Wren remain stranded beyond the known galaxy while Grand Admiral Thrawn has returned home and prepares for whatever comes next. So when the actress playing her suddenly appears next to Anakin's actor, both covered in ghostly blue fabric, fans will read into it.

For now, though, I am choosing the much less stressful explanation. They found some blue fabric, put it over their heads, and somebody took a photo. Nobody is dying. Probably.

Season 2 of Ahsoka hits the streaming calendar on January 20, 2027, for everyone with a Disney+ subscription. Fans can also stream all of the Star Wars movies -- including the prequels featuring Hayden Christensen -- using that same membership.

Nathan Fielder's You Can See Everything has been stirring up buzz and earning its fair share of money. However, one honor that had been alluding it was the No. 1 spot at the box office. Well, that's no longer the case, as the doc finally became the top movie in the United States this weekend. And regardless of whether that win can be attributed to people showing up because of all the Oscar buzz, or the scene that literally shows everything, it's also resulted in the documentary obtaining a very rare honor.

It should be mentioned that Fielder's film just barely won the top spot, as Warner Bros. and DC Studios' Clayface just missed winning Halloween weekend after its strong start by a little less than $200,000. Wildwood, which some are calling one of the best and scariest movies of the year, remains in third place this week, while steamy fantasy flick Wicker climbed another spot too. Check out the full breakdown below:

The No. 1 spot aside, this is a truly auspicious moment for You Can See Everything, because in a rare turn of events, it's now the fourth documentary ever to win a weekend box office. With that, it now joins Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Jackson's This Is It and Taylor Swift: The Official Release Of A Showgirl. That's a lineup even more wtf than some of the moments in the film. Nevertheless, this is quite the distinction for Fielder and co.

One way YCSE differentiates itself from this lineup, however, is by having a different path to this milestone. All three of the other movies managed to win the box office in their opening weekends. You Can See Everything opened at No. 2 at the box office weeks ago and held that spot last week before finally grabbing the top spot this week.

Whether Fielder's film will hold that spot again next week remains to be seen. Clayface is still sticking around, and it had about 200 more theaters screening the body horror thriller this weekend. That comic book film is already proving to be a solid win for DC, as it has grossed roughly $83 million worldwide against a reported budget between $30 and $44 million.

Plus, a new month means a new slate of films arriving on the 2026 movie schedule. The Cat in the Hat and Godzilla Minus Zero are among the titles arriving in a week's time, and there's always the chance that they could shake things up at the B.O. next week.

All this to say, I expect You Can See Everything to stick around the Top 10 for at least a few more weeks based on how it's trending. I'm very curious as to just how much longer it'll continue to haul in millions, as I don't know if anyone saw this run coming. I'm just hoping to hear that this means Nathan Fielder is going to get more documentaries in theaters, which I would absolutely love to see.

Celebrities brought their A-game this Halloween. From Megan Fox going full Twilight as a gothic vampire to Carmen Electra dressing as Catwoman, A-listers truly sought to lean on creativity and individuality when devising their looks for the holiday. As for Jennifer Lopez, she decided to go for a topless look to channel her Monster-In-Law co-star, Jane Fonda, while dressing as the powerful Barbarella.

Jennifer Lopez has proved time and again this year what a fashionista she is. Most recently, she looked dreamy and romantic at Paris Fashion Week wearing a sheer dress and brought fall vibes in a fur coat and sheer, luxe black dress. For Halloween, you couldn’t expect anything less, as her Barberella look was not only fierce but also served as a fitting tribute to one of Jane Fonda's most distinct movie roles. Check it out in the Instagram post below:

For those who don’t know, Barbarella is a campy cult classic that sees Fonda portraying a futuristic female astronaut who encounters strange planets while trying to locate Dr. Durand-Durand. One of the Roger Vadim-directed sci-fi flick’s most memorable qualities is the array of outlandish futuristic costumes that Fonda wears. With that in mind, Lopez couldn’t have picked a better movie to channel for her Halloween costume this year.

The Maid in Manhattan actress is showing the right to bear arms while wearing Barbarella’s mesh silver-laced dress with metallic boots. I’m also loving the white bodysuit with the black vertical stripes running down. The ‘60s blonde wig she’s wearing as the aforementioned character is such a nice nod to the decade and fictional space heroines in general.

And Lopez can’t celebrate the cult classic’s sexual liberation theme without taking a topless photo of herself, which sees her posing with blind angel Pylar. All in all, JLo looks like she’s having a lot of fun honoring her former co-star’s psychedelic movie.

With how on-point Jennifer Lopez looks as Barbarella, you’d think she was auditioning for the remake of the 1968 film. I mean, she’s wearing each outfit with such pizzazz and poise. However, Sydney Sweeney is set to “save the universe” as the film's lead. The actress seems like a great fit, and I'm confident she'll do a great job embodying the iconic space adventurer.

Per what's known about the remake, Edgar Wright has been in talks to direct, while Kingsman's Jane Goldman and Honey Ross have also been approached to write the screenplay. While the upcoming science-fiction movie is still in its development stages, it’s great that the “On the Floor” singer is already bringing the movie back into the general public's consciousness.

When it comes to the long line of costumes Jennifer Lopez has worn for Halloween over the years, these Barbarella looks may be amongst my favorites. If anything, now I'd like to know how Jane Fonda feels about her former co-star paying tribute to her and her character. In the meantime, anyone who's curious and wants to check out Barbarella can do so by watching the movie for free on Pluto TV.

It’s been years since I’ve watched Steven Seagal’s only masterpiece, Under Siege. Luckily, the 1992 classic will be available with a Netflix subscription on November 6, and I plan on watching ASAP. It’s the one and only Seagal movie that is truly worth appointment viewing, and that’s for quite a few reasons, like the bonkers cast, the really cool shooting location, and, of course, Seagal at his physical peak (he’s a long way from that today). It should be, in my opinion, considered one of the best action movies of the 1990s.

Start With The Cast

You really have to kick this conversation off with the incredible cast of Under Siege. It’s rare that there are any other stars in a Seagal movie other than Seagal himself. That’s not true here. Instead of a faceless villain, we get Tommy Lee Jones as William Strannix, a former CIA operative with a serious case of narcissism. Jones is amazing in the role, as he so often is as a bad guy. The scene with Strannix eating roast beef with a chef's knife is peak ‘90s cinema. Usually, Seagal’s foes are two-dimensional, but not here.

Playing Strannix's sidekick is none other than Gary Busey. Sure, Busey doesn’t exactly have the best reputation in 2026, but in 1992, he was still thought of as a great actor, and he’s great here. He’s weaselly and slimy, and so easy to hate. He’s more hateable than Jones, that’s for sure. He’s actually perfect for the role at this point in his career. He’s a little crazy, but not too crazy, and it pays off on screen.

The Movie Was Shot On The USS Alabama

One of the movie's coolest aspects is its setting. At its heart, Under Siege is a heist movie, and Strannix and his band of thieves are targeting missiles on the USS Missouri, intended for the black market, hoping to spark World War III. In that respect, Strannix is basically a Bond villain trying to pull off an audacious crime to set in motion huge global changes. While shooting on the actual USS Missouri, one of the most decorated battleships in US Naval history, would have been tough to set up, they did shoot much of the movie on the USS Alabama, a retired World War II ship.

The Alabama and the Missouri are different class battleships, but they were both built just before or during the war, and are pretty similar. In a normal Seagal movie, you’d expect the whole thing to be filmed on a soundstage in Burbank, but not this one. They used a real ship, and it makes all the difference in how the movie looks. You really feel like you’re on the Missouri in this, and you believe that Seagal’s character, Casey Ryback, is a former Navy SEAL.

Seagal is really at the peak of his powers in Under Siege. He was coming off a wildly successful string of lower-budget action movies in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and he was ready for a big-time movie. In a lot of his later films (including Under Siege 2), he’s simply not believable as an unstoppable force, but he is in Under Siege, for sure. Though he’s been out of the spotlight for a long time, I do love going back to those early movies and remembering why Seagal was great and considered one of the biggest action stars of the ‘90s. Under Siege is the number one reason for that.

There’s no denying that The Hunger Games films are some of Jennifer Lawrence’s best movies. Fans get to see her play the strong yet complex Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers to take her little sister’s place in a deadly, televised game show. While critics and audiences have long raved about Lawrence’s performance in the movie, her own mother had a savage take (and I was shook to learn about it).

Jennifer Lawrence’s performance as the District 12 tribute truly was groundbreaking for female action characters. In fact, Maya Hawke, who's playing a young Wiress in its film series' prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, spoke highly of Lawrence impacting the action genre. But, even with all of the praise the Oscar winner gets, Lawrence revealed on Call Her Daddy that her mother mainly noticed one thing while watching her on the big screen:

Wow, talk about embarrassing! I never could have imagined how savage Mrs. Lawrence could be in her critiques. I suppose, if anything, it proves she clearly knows her own daughter very well. Also, just for the sake of transparency, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to tell the Silver Linings Playbook actress was on her period in specific scenes.

Then again, I also had no idea Lawrence was on Ambien while filming the dancing scene she had with Plutarch in Catching Fire. And I imagine I also wasn't the only one who didn't know she surprisingly peed on the set of the first film. As wild as her mom's critique is, I’m curious as to which scenes led the matriarch to her brutally honest assessment.

Jennifer Lawrence’s mother may have had a bone to pick with her daughter’s Hunger Games performance, but it doesn’t mean she’s not a fan of the talented actress’s work as a whole. Lawrence had a lot of kind words to share about her mama, and they sound so relatable:

It's definitely on brand for a mother to overestimate her daughter’s good news! But it’s sweet to know that Lawrence has such a supportive mother that she can always come to when good things happen for her.

What I think this all speaks to is how parents can still keep us on our toes, no matter how old we get. And, in the case of Jennifer Lawrence, she's gone on to do exceptional work since the original Hunger Games series ended. I just wouldn't expect her to rewatch the films with her mom any time soon.

You can continue to give praise to the award-winning star by watching The Hunger Games movies with a Hulu subscription. You can also make sure to check out the 2026 movie release Sunrise on the Reaping, which hits theaters on November 20th and features Lawrence reprising Katniss.

When I think about the challenges that might come with filming sex scenes, the inherent awkwardness of acting out intimacy and wearing very little to no clothes come to mind. However, one of the primary hurdles Wicker dealt with had to do with…well…wicker. That became clear when the man behind the wicker, Alexander Skarsgård, spoke about what it was like shooting sex scenes for this project on the 2026 movie schedule.

As Olivia Colman described, her Wicker co-star, Skarsgård, was “wearing a basket” throughout the making of this film, and that made him less mobile. During an interview with EW, the beloved Wicker Husband actor explained how that restriction informed the intimate sequences they were filming:

No matter the circumstances, I’d imagine it’d be hard to get accustomed to performing while covered in wicker. The idea of shooting sex scenes becomes challenging too, because it sounds like the wicker totally changed how Skarsgård was able to move. So, as he and Colman worked through them, he was also figuring out how exactly he could move as the Wicker Husband.

However, it all worked out. The reviews about how horny Wicker is prove that. The chemistry between the two actors proves that too, as Colman noted that while she was embarrassed to be filming such intimate scenes, she also fully trusted Skarsgård, the directors, and the intimacy coordinator. And ultimately, the moments were “so much fun” to film.

Now, as when it comes to the wicker Skarsgård was working with (and yes, you do see all his wicker in this movie), it was designed by Wētā Workshop, and it took him about two hours in the makeup chair to get it on each day. According to him, it was constructed in a very specific way too:

I would imagine that, like the Wicker Husband, Skarsgård didn’t give anyone splinters with his costume. However, there’s no denying that there was a learning curve and some challenges when it came to moving around in all that wicker (and yes, that does include the movement required for his intimate scenes with the Fisherwoman).

Overall, Alexander Skarsgård did such a great job as the Wicker Husband, and it was very easy to fall head over heels for him. If you’d like to see him covered in wicker and falling for a Fisherwoman, you can catch Wicker in theaters now.

Halloween is this weekend, so plenty of folks will be re-watching the best horror movies to celebrate. My personal favorite of all time is Wes Craven's original Scream, which is streaming with a Paramount+ subscription and started one of the best horror franchises ever. I recently made my Gen Z friend watch it for the first time, and his reactions really cracked me up.

I'm currently in full spooky season mode, recently attending a Rocky Horror shadow cast. Afterward, my friend and I went back to my place, where I peer-pressured him into watching Scream for the first time. I thought the movie was basically monoculture, but he was delightfully clueless.

My Friend Being Clueless About Scream Killed Me (Pun Intended)

When I say my friend didn't know anything about Scream, I mean it. Not even those scenes that have pierced pop culture forever came across his desk, allowing him to have a fresh, unfiltered take when I pressed play. That includes Drew Barrymore's opening scene and the plot twist of her being the first victim. Just like the original audiences from the '90s, he was absolutely shocked when Casey was brutally killed by Ghostface before the movie's title even hit the screen.

He was also surprised by some of the other cast members that popped up throughout the movie's 111-minute runtime. He was shocked to see Courteney Cox as Gal Weathers, even though she is the only actor to appear in every single movie in the franchise. Despite the long career she's had, he was shocked to see Monica from Friends in an R-rated horror flick.

Another huge twist that got the best of my friend was the reveal that Ghostface was actually two different people: Matthew Lillard's Stu Macher and Skeet Ulrich's Billy Loomis. He agreed by the end that the two characters were gay-coded, but he was as shocked as Sidney at the reveal that two people had been under the killer's mask the whole time.

Given how much Scream had been parodied over the years, I assumed that even the most casual moviegoer would be spoiled on the movie's twists and turns. But some of the zoomers out there missed the memo, like my dear friend. So he got to watch the movie unbiased in a way I never got to. Despite it coming out in 1996, he was impressed with the dialogue and performances. What's more, he was taken by how the lack of cell phones raised the stakes of the film.

In many ways, it felt like my Zoomer friend responded to the same things that shook '90s audiences when Scream first hit theaters. I loved seeing these parallels, and thought this proved yet again why Wes Craven's slasher flick continues to be so timeless decades later.

The entire Scream franchise is streaming now on Paramount+, including the seventh movie that arrived earlier this year as part of the 2026 movie release list. Now I just have to convince my friend to watch the sequels and rate them. Hey, a guy can dream.

Alden Ehrenreich has had a pretty impressive career, and he's only 36. Between playing a young Han Solo to working with the likes of the Coen Brothers, Christopher Nolan, Woody Allen and Francis Ford Coppola, a lot has gone right for him. However, I just found out he also went up for Spider-Man way back when. This week he recalled his audition story, and why he thinks he “blew” it. All I have to say is: oof!

So often we hear about the success stories of Hollywood, so honestly this is sort of a refreshing story to hear. As Ehrenreich remembers it:

That would have been around 2010, when Ehrenreich had just started his career in Hollywood. From what we’ve heard from the auditions for The Amazing Spider-Man in the past, it featured some stiff competition. Josh Hutcherson was in the mix, along with Logan Lerman reportedly being on the shortlist. Joe Jonas has also talked about auditioning for the movie, too. Ultimately, though, it was Garfield who landed his dream role.

When Ehrenreich shared the audition story with Josh Horowitz, he admitted he didn’t really want to play Peter Parker because of where he was at “internally” at the time. He also said that at the time he was auditioning for it, it seemed to be “the same story” as Tobey Maguire’s version to him. Here’s what he said about the audition itself:

When the Weapons actor reflects on the audition, he doesn’t sound regretful, though. He pointed out that getting really famous at the age of 22 “would have been a really bad idea.” He has much preferred having a “very gradual” rise to fame instead. As he added:

Instead, Ehrenreich went on to do movies like Beautiful Creatures, Blue Jasmine and Hail, Caesar! in his early twenties. 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story was the big moment when he became more recognizable, and he was 26 at the time. And he did actually join the MCU for Ironheart last year!

As of late, the actor has been on a winning streak of movies as well. He was in Best Picture winner Oppenheimer, arguably the best horror movie of last year, Weapons, and his new movie now in theaters, A Talent For Murder, has him working with Helen Mirren. Plus, as we look to the future, he’s going to be in Miami Vice ‘85 with Michael B. Jordan, Austin Butler, Danny Ramirez, John Leguizamo, Walton Goggins and Haley Lu Richardson.

While it may look like Alden Ehrenreich missed out by not being prepared for his Spider-Man audition on paper, it sounds like it all worked out as it should, and he’s perhaps even grateful he didn’t get it.

For quite some time now, there have been rumors swirling about the "flirt fest" allegedly going on between Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein. Before their movie Office Romance even came out, that was happening, and now, in the months since its release on the 2026 movie schedule, it's been reported that they're casually dating. New claims even allege that things are getting serious too...however, let's not get too caught up in all this just yet.

A year after Lopez’s divorce from Ben Affleck, a source said the singer/actress was reportedly “happy and content” with work and her kids. However, she and Brett Goldstein’s alleged on-set “flirt fest” inspired dating rumors. Now, after it was claimed that one of JLo's friends was concerned she was moving too fast with her Office Romance co-star, a source told Us Weekly that things are still very casual between the pair:

It’s interesting how, one minute, we learn from one source that Jennifer Lopez is allegedly rushing with the Ted Lasso actor, only for another to say she’s reportedly keeping it chill. If the Us source is right, the “Jenny From the Block” singer may be looking to have fun with someone rather than wanting anything serious.

After Lopez and Affleck’s divorce was finalized, the Selena actress didn’t hold back about not wanting a new romance to ruin her happiness. She gushed about being single, but said she's open to meeting the right man down the line.

At this point, her relationship with Goldstein is not confirmed. However, if it is real, they are reportedly enjoying their time together without getting too serious.

The insider claimed that so far, the British actor has reportedly met the Maid in Manhattan actress’s two kids, and he allegedly visits her in Los Angeles when he’s in town. A different source also told the publication what the supposed relationship between Lopez and Goldstein is like:

There’s no denying the two co-stars were electric in Office Romance. But there’s no word yet on whether the two have taken things outside the office set. Lopez did deny on Today that she and Goldstein were dating. However, that was back in June, which makes inquiring minds curious what’s going on between the two now. I guess only time will tell where they stand.

If Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein are allegedly keeping things cas’, they’re certainly not making it easy for fans to know what’s really happening. While the two were looking pretty steamy in their rom-com, neither has offered any official sign that their connection goes beyond sharing screen time. For now, fans will have to wait to see if the rumored casual pair will ever turn into something more.

Until then, you can see Lopez and Goldstein as a couple in Office Romance, which is available to stream with a Netflix subscription.

Has anyone in Hollywood seen a bigger and quicker rise to fame this year than Obsession’s Inde Navarrette? I sincerely don’t think so. The 25-year-old not only starred in one of the best 2026 movies, but she’s also been cast in the MCU, is the latest SNL host and is now heavily predicted to be an Oscar nominee this awards season. Amid all that, she just talked about how she’s coping with her sudden fame, and her name-dropping Twilight is so relatable to me.

When the things around me are full of uncertainty and change, I often go back to familiar movies and TV I love. And that’s exactly what Navarrette is doing. In her words:

Absolutely. I know exactly what she’s talking about. There’s something so cozy and rewatchable about the Twilight movies, and I constantly find myself returning to them all the time. There’s something about them coming into my life at a very pivotal time in my upbringing that makes it so when I turn it on, it calms me down, and always brings me joy.

From what we’ve heard about fame from other celebrities, it really has a dark power to change one’s life in potentially negative ways. But Navarrette sounds like she’s putting energy into remaining rooted in herself.

In the interview with People, she also said she spent most of the summer with her longtime friends going to the beach and playing pool at the “same dive bar.” She said they did “the same thing over and over again.” I imagine that was comforting for the star as she continues to catapult in popularity to the height of even being a meme and a Halloween costume.

After Navarrette hosts SNL, she has a long awards season campaign going with Obsession. The movie is campaigning for her to get Best Actress, along with Michael Johnston for Best Actor, and Curry Barker for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing. We also expect she’ll be filming her role as Rogue in the new X-Men movie next year ahead of its release date on May 5, 2028. She’s got a movie with Apple called The Waffle House Index, too, and has already filmed a thriller called Invertigo.

If you’re looking to rewatch the Twilight movies as Navarrette has just in time for hoa-hoa season, they are currently all available to stream with a Netflix subscription.

When Coraline came out back in 2009, it not only became one of the best stop-motion movies ever, but also the first of Laika films using the impressive medium. Since the studio’s latest movie, Wildwood, has been in the works for just as long as Coraline has been a movie, I love that they snuck in a bunch of easter eggs to pay tribute to what started it all for the studio. Let’s break down some of the ones I found out about when I scoured the internet.

How You Can Find Coraline In Wildwood

First off is Coraline herself. Early in the movie, when Prue takes Mac on a fun ride through Portland, Oregon, a woman with blue hair and a yellow coat can be seen in the background, sitting under a tree. Check it out:

It’s a very brief easter egg, but it can be seen when Prue is passing a grassy park, and the shot goes to her smiling as she rides her bike. On Reddit, people also found a missing cat poster around town that looks very similar to the black cat in Coraline, too.

There Are Tons Of References In Prue’s Room

One scene in Wildwood I can’t wait to pause and look around in is at the beginning, when we're in Prue’s room. Her walls are filled with easter eggs! One that a lot of people have been noticing is that Coraline’s squid is on Prue’s shelf.

I don’t know if this one’s an Easter egg or not, but right below the squid is a little teddy bear that looks similar to Coraline’s own sleeping buddy. What do you think?

That one might be a stretch, but there are plenty more confirmed easter eggs to find in Prue’s room. Someone on Instagram confirmed there are also posters with Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and another one advertising Mr. Bobinsky’s circus mice. Also, if you look over to Prue’s laptop in the movie, apparently she’s actually watching the earlier movie there, too.

And, for the Kubo and the Two Strings fans, there's also a section of Prue's room with a poster with a beetle on it, strings of origami and a painting of a boat on it that's clearly referencing the Laika film.

And A Deep Cut For Other Mother, Too

One more that I definitely didn’t notice when I was watching, but saw in a video on Facebook pointing another one out: when Mac is kidnapped by a murder of crows, they are in a park, and one of the animal rockers is a chicken. This is a reference to Coraline because Other Mother famously uses chicken mitts. Plus, later in the movie, Other Wybie wears a chicken mask to rescue Coraline.

Thematically, it also makes sense for the chicken to show up here, because the chicken came up in Coraline when the character was being captured. In Wildwood it’s the scene where Mac is taken away, too.

I’m sure there are a ton more people will be finding as Wildwood continues to play in theaters. In the meantime, you can rewatch Coraline with a Disney+ subscription. I know I’ll be marathoning these movies in many upcoming spooky seasons to come. Also, check out our Wildwood interview to learn more about the amazing BTS about the film.

The story surrounding 2014's Seth Rogen-fronted comedy, The Interview, remains one of the strangest and craziest stories in movie history. Rogen's edgy comedy -- which centers on a plot to killing North Korea’s president, Kim Jung Un -- created a major global incident. It was a massive problem for Columbia Pictures, and then-President Barack Obama had to address said film in regard to the protection of free speech. While I knew all that, I wasn't aware that Martin Scorsese ended up having one of his own projects squashed as a result.

Scorsese recently sat down with his daughter, Francesca Scorsese, to talk about his creative process, ideas he wants to explore and some of his biggest cinematic influences. During the interview. the director revealed that he actually planned on making a Cleopatra movie. However, after The Interview created chaos at the studio, Columbia (a subsidiary of Sony), they ended up dropping the project. He told Tribeca:

This is such a major bummer, and a crazy way for a movie to get squashed. For more context, after The Interview was announced by Sony and given a release date, North Korea was upset about the implications of the film. It was the North Korean government's belief that the movie represented an act of terrorism and, in time, there were threats of violent retaliation if the film wasn’t pulled.

A month before Rogen and Evan Goldberg's movie came out, the now-infamous Sony hack occurred and thousands of confidential information and correspondence was leaked. The FBI concluded that North Korea intiated the attack, despite the country denying responsibility.

Based on what Martin Scorsese's comments, Sony may have been trying to do damage control after the hack, and Cleopatra was collateral damage. This truly is unfortunate, because it seems like the cameras were close to rolling on the historical epic. The Oscar winner said they even had a script worked out and a major actress was also attached:

I’m so saddened to hear this, given how cool the idea seems, and I would've loved to have seen this on the big screen. Scorsese only jokingly blamed Seth Rogen for the situation, though. At the end of the day, and I think Scorsese would agree, Rogen made a movie that was provocative, and it led to an extreme reaction. Later in the interview, Scorsese even mused that the issue stemmed from North Korea not having a sense of humor. Since the controversy went down Rogen has admitted to being traumatized by the situation, but ultimately, his country backed his right to free speech.

While Cleopatra didn't see the light of day, Scorsese went on to make incredible work instead of the biopic. He directed both Silence and The Irishman in the years that immediately followed, which may or may not have happened if he was busy with Cleopatra. Ultimately, it may have been for the best, and who knows, maybe another studio will revive that 2014 script in the future.

Martin Scorsese fans can check out his latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon, which is currently streaming with an Apple TV+ subscription. You can also now revisit the hoopla-causing comedy, The Interview, which is available to rent on Prime Video.

The next live-action remake among Disney's upcoming movies is Tangled, and we just got an exciting update about where the production is at: shooting has officially wrapped! While the movie still has a long way to go before it hits theaters, the milestone is absolutely worth celebrating. Anyone up for kicking it at The Snuggly Duckling later?

The news was revealed by the movie’s co-writer Michael Montemayor. Check out his celebratory post:

I’m sure the whole cast and crew felt just like Rapunzel on the day she stepped out of her tower after the massive accomplishment. It’s wild that we started this year learning that Milo Manheim and Teagan Croft were cast as Flynn and Rapunzel, and now they’ve completed their journey bringing these beloved characters to life.

CinemaBlend had a chance to talk to Manheim prior to filming, and he told us he was most excited for the “I Have A Dream” sequence. Now, we’re curious what scene ended up being a highlight for everyone.

Another very exciting actor in the cast is Kathryn Hahn, and she'll be playing Mother Gothel, which fans “manifested” for her before it became a reality. Rogue One’s Diego Luna is also in the cast as a new character, and Outlander’s Caitríona Balfe is set to play Rapunzel’s mom alongside Elliot Cowan, who’s playing Corona’s king. It is being directed by Michael Gracey, who famously helmed The Greatest Showman.

During D23's Entertainment Showcase, a first look was shown. Check it out below:

We also know that both animal sidekicks will be adapted for the live-action movie. The last slide of Montemayor's post shows a funny little green stand-in for the chameleon they must have used on set before the VFX team adds Pascal in. We’ve also seen glimpses of Maximus on the set, too.

The live-action Tangled has been filming primarily in multiple locations around Spain for the past five months. The production also reportedly went to Gironde, France – where it is rumored that they filmed the “I See The Light” sequence at the Château de la Brede castle, per a post on X.

Since they’ve been filming a lot on practical sets, there have been some leaks about how the production is looking that show that the live-action adaptation is really aiming to make us feel like we’re watching the animated movie.

The new Tangled cast has also been given a lot of support by some of the original cast members from the animated movie. Flynn actor Zachary Levi, for example, said he was “stoked” for everyone involved in the live-action movie and is rooting for it “to be great”. The original Mother Gothel voice actress, Donna Murphy, also commented that she thinks Hahn is “going to kill it” (complimentary) in the villainous role.

The live-action Tangled is set to come to theaters on March 31, 2028, which is over 500 days from now. Thankfully, the movie is very much on schedule, and we can’t wait to see what they shot.

Considering the year Zendaya is having, it feels inevitable that her roles in various projects on the 2026 movie schedule will inspire Halloween costumes. However, when it comes to her own costume, she’s dressing up as another iconic actress: Halle Berry. In fact, she channeled her so well that I actually thought she was Halle Berry for a second.

Seeing as Zendaya has been rocking a pixie cut these days, she was already giving Halle Berry in the early 2000s vibes. So, for Halloween, she capitalized on that. In a post from her stylist, Law Roach, they showed how they recreated Berry’s look from the 2000 New York premiere of X-Men; take a look:

As you can see, the Spider-Man: Brand New Day star is rocking a matching yellow, silver, and white Lanvin set from 2000 that is made up of a triangle bikini top and low-rise bootcut pants. She’s also rocking a cute pair of sunglasses that scream early-2000s.

Seriously, she looks stunning, and honestly, exactly like Halle Berry! In fact, she looks so much like the X-Men actress that I thought it was her for a second. However, after a double take, I realized it was, in fact, Zendaya, and she just has a remarkable resemblance to the woman known for playing Storm, especially now that she has super short hair.

Berry was seriously impressed by this fit too, as she commented on Roach’s post:

Now, while this look and Zendaya’s resemblance to Berry in these photos came as a shock at first, upon some reflection, it’s really not surprising that she did this at all. The actresses are good friends, Berry has sung Zendaya’s praises on many occasions, and this is not the first time the Dune actress has created a major celebrity fashion moment inspired by the Monster’s Ball star.

In fact, she paid homage to Berry a month ago at the Emmys, as Law Roach told Refinery 29. In that instance, the 2026 Emmy nominee was rocking a beautiful custom dress by Prada that was covered in diamonds. It resembled the sparkling silver dress the Oscar winner wore to the premiere of Die Another Day in 2002, per People.

Well, now that Zendaya has shown she can perfectly channel Halle Berry on more than one occasion, I’d love to see the Crime 101 star recreate one of The Drama actress's iconic fashion moments. This year alone, The Odyssey star has shown off that she’s the master of method dressing on countless occasions as she’s promoted three movies. And she’ll do it again later this year in honor of the release of Dune: Part Three. So, there are plenty of moments to pull from if Berry is looking for a Halloween costume for next year.

However, for now, I’ll be admiring how Zendaya recreated a Halle Berry look so well that I actually thought she was Halle Berry for a second.

Is Jennifer Lawrence ever going to live down that moment when she tripped right before winning her first Oscar? I’d blame the dress, even though I loved the moment and thought it was so real. That’s not what the actress is doing. She just talked about her iconic 2013 fashion moment at the Academy Awards, and it wasn’t the gown’s puffy quality that she’s doubtful about all these years later.

J-Law Shares Her Thoughts On Her 2013 Oscars Dress Now

If you can believe it, it’s been over thirteen years since Lawrence accepted Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook at the age of 22. These days she’s 36, more seasoned and a mother of two kids. Here’s some of her thoughts on the gown now:

J-Law could be ungrateful for the dress after the drama it caused her. I mean once she even had to defend why the fall wasn’t fake, and has recalled an even cringier moment that happened that night. Although it was still clearly a very special moment for her, and there’s a lot she still loves about what she wore over a decade later. You can see her talking about it here:

It really was a wonderful Oscar dress. Again, I’d think J-Law would be complaining about the volume of the lower half of the dress, but something else came up for her.

It’s Not The Tripping Throwing Her Off Years Later

Honestly, I think it aged quite well. This is the one complaint she had about the dress:

The “backlace” is definitely a style that’s come and gone over the years (as most trends go). It most famously was a thing back in the 1920s and 1930s, but has been revived again and again by Old Hollywood, then Princess Diana in the 80s and this J-Law moment was part of a more recent uptick in it.

While J-Law wasn’t sure about it now, the backlace was all the rage on red carpets in 2025. W Magazine noticed the trend on the likes of Margaret Qualley, Michelle Yeoh and Sabrina Carpenter. Regardless, here’s a couple more critiques the actress had to say about that momentous night:

Fair advice from her older self! While she might be a tad critical of that night, I think she had one of the most memorable and fabulous Oscars ever. Goodness knows what I would have done if I was televised at 22 years old in a massive dress. You can see Lawrence next in the new Hunger Games movie, Sunrise on the Reaping, out November 20.

Much of the Hollywood community and the public at large have been mourning Patrick Stewart following his death at 86 due to Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. Stewart is set to appear in one more film, the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, in which he reprises his role as Professor Charles Xavier. The prospect of seeing the late British actor play the X-Men’s leader one more time is bittersweet. Earlier this year, co-star Anthony Mackie also opened up about working with Stewart and, now, those comments hit hard.

Like so many people, I grew up watching Stewart’s work in one form or another and, as a superhero fan, the X-Men movies were particularly formative for me. So it’s been heartwarming to see the sheer amount of tributes pouring in for Stewart. What I happened to find amid that was a snippet from an interview Mackie gave at San Diego Comic-Con this past summer. While speaking to USA Today (as seen on Instagram), he was asked about his favorite part of filming Doomsday, and Stewart and a few other legends came up:

Oh, to have been a fly on the walls of one of the massive sets the actors filmed on. I can’t even imagine getting to rub shoulders with the likes of Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen or Kelsey Grammer in any context let alone while they’re playing their beloved Marvel characters. Anthony Mackie’s comments are also completely understandable, given the magnitude of Stewart’s body of work. Sure, he headlined big movies and shows, but Stewart was also a classically trained stage actor who worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company. So, yeah, sharing the screen with an icon like him would certainly boost an actor’s confidence.

Patrick Stewart’s contributions to Star Trek, Marvel, Shakespearean drama and more cannot be understated and, in the wake of his passing, his skills as a performer are being praised. In hindsight, one of the A Christmas Carol star’s final interviews is quite bittersweet as well. Back in July, Stewart was asked about his career and how long he wanted to continue to act. He said, at the time, that he couldn’t imagine ever officially “retiring,” especially considering that he was still being offered interesting roles.

Professor X proved to be an intriguing and complex role for Stewart for over 25 years, and I’m glad he decided to reprise the character for Doomsday. It’s a somewhat poetic bookend to his career, and it’s even sweeter, given the other actors in the movie. Several other X-Men veterans are also in Avengers alongside Stewart including the aforementioned McKellen (a longtime friend of Stewart’s) and Grammer as well as James Marsden and Rebecca Romijn.

I’m envious of the fact that Anthony Mackie had a chance to share space with Stewart while making their upcoming Marvel movie. With Stewart no longer with us, I can imagine the experience now holding an even deeper place in Mackie’s heart as well. I’m going to have to prepare myself to see the late actor’s posthumous performance as the telepathic Xavier, but I’m also hopeful the film will serve as a fitting send-off for his character.

Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18 as part of the 2026 movie schedule. In the meantime, fans can check out Patrick Stewart’s work as Prof. X by streaming the X-Men movies with an Disney+ subscription.

One of the most exciting things about The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping movie is that the book-to-screen adaptation will feature a bunch of fan-favorite characters from the original trilogy. The movie follows a young Haymitch Abernathy during his own Hunger Games, which means there are a ton of other returning characters in the mix. Kieran Culkin, for example, portrays Caesar Flickerman. However, the Oscar winner just recalled his fears about taking over a role made iconic by Stanley Tucci.

Ever since Culkin was announced to be playing the Capitol’s Hunger Games host, fans like me have been stoked to see his take. Here’s what was going on in the actor’s mind when he was called about the role:

I can totally see where Culkin was coming from here. He didn’t want to simply come into work and try to replicate what Tucci did in the original Hunger Games movies, which left him unsure about what to do. Here’s what happened next:

Culkin then told Deadline that when he went in to meet Sunrise on the Reaping director, Francis Lawrence, he wanted to talk this plan out with him. However, before he even got to it, the filmmaker told him that he didn’t want him to “do anything Stanley did”. Here’s why, per the Succession star:

I love this. Of course, Caesar Flickerman isn’t going to be the same kind of guy when he started at the Capitol as he was when we first met him in the original Hunger Games movie. This eased Kieran Culkin’s fears about playing the role and allowed him to bring something new to the character rather than doing an impression of Stanley Tucci’s version of Caesar.

I know this story has me even more excited to see what Culkin does with Caesar, because I imagine his performance will surprise me in some way. In addition to the return of Caesar at a younger age, Joseph Zada is playing Haymitch, Elle Fanning is playing Effie Trinket, Ralph Fiennes is President Snow, Jesse Plemons is Plutarch Heavensbee, Kelvin Harrison Jr. is Beetee and Maya Hawke is Wiress. Plus, Jennifer Lawrence confirmed that her Katniss, Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta and Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch are in the movie as well.

We’ll have to wait and see how Kieran Culkin does as Caesar Flickerman when the new Hunger Games comes out next month. It’s on the 2026 movie schedule for November 20.

I never tire seeing actresses work it in their 50s (and 60s) with glamour, attitude, and beauty, and Gabrielle Union is continuing this fierce trend popularized by Halle Berry. Though I never expected the actor to do so by shouting out the teen movie she did in the ‘00s. I’m even more surprised to learn that folks said she wouldn’t look the same a 54 as she did in Bring It On. Wanna "bet"?

Clearly Union isn’t playing around, and I’m totally cheering her on as she shows off the elegance of being in your 50s. The actress posted on her Instagram a birthday video that showed screen shots from Bring It On, giving us all nostalgia, while pointing out that folks have told her she should enjoy it while it lasted. Then the video ends with a now shot of her that not only proves everyone wrong but shows she still has what it takes to wave some pompoms. Check it out:

Just recently Alicia Silverstone jumped on the bandwagon with an epic birthday shout out in Avant Garde, but Union definitely made it her own by shouting out one of her iconic roles. She gives total goddess vibes in the birthday post, while also giving me flashbacks to her time as Kristen Dunst’s fierce cheerleading rival. The actor simply captioned the post, “This is 54,” and succeeded in making everyone jealous in the comments.

Even some of her celebrity friends got in on the compliments, from Jenna Dewan’s “goals forever” to Ludacris giving Union a much-deserved crown. However, it was her longtime supporter Sophia Bush’s comment that caught my attention:

While Union and Bush haven’t starred together in a project, they’ve been longtime supporters of each other, making the comment extra special. Though I keep wondering if the choice to shout out Bring It On is a subtle way to stir up interest in a possible sequel. Afterall, Union has already pitched an idea. (If Clueless can do it…)

While Union has shared regrets about how she played her Bring It On character, she has zero regrets in owning her 50s. Plus, one thing's for sure, fans are overwhelmed by how amazing she looks:

• this IS the flex you think it is 🔥 - @peytonannice
• GIRL!!!!!!!! send a damn warning next time! Sheesh!! Happy birthday!! - @jovianzayne
• Just like a fine wine bby gyalll 😍 - @iamgenesisx
• Been about you, still about you! 😍 - @thebstinger

Maybe this fan buzz will help Union get a sequel in the works. After all, 2026 has been the time of the nostalgic sequel. We’ve already seen young Elle Woods and Alicia Silverstone is working on a return to Cher who once again is clueless. So why not bring Isis and Torrance back as competing cheer moms? Plus, this return will allow her to lean into traits she felt she kept "muzzled’"in Isis at the time. Not to mention, Union has already reunited with her 10 Things I Hate About You castmates during a Heath Ledger tribute (for Julia Stiles’ dedication dance).

Union is already embodying her inner Isis so why not set the stage for another reunion. I know I’m not ‘betting’ against her.

My journey with horror movies has been on the up and up in recent years. I loved Weapons last year, and Obsession was a standout on the 2026 movie schedule. However, this year, I realized one of the scariest films I’ve seen actually isn’t on the horror schedule. It’s the animated movie Wildwood. So, move over Backrooms (which was spooky), Resident Evil (which was surprisingly relatable) and Obsession (which really was scary), because this stop-motion film from Laika is nightmare-inducing in the best way.

For context, Wildwood is an incredibly impressive stop-motion book-to-screen adaptation of Colin Meloy’s novel. It follows Prue as she ventures into the woods to find her brother, who was taken by the Dowager Governess. While there, she must take on an army of coyotes and evil magic that threatens to steal her family and loved ones. It’s a dark and epic fairy tale of sorts, and it’s genuinely quite scary.

Spoilers for Wildwood are ahead! You can see the film in theaters now!

Wildwood Feels As Creepy As Fairy Tales Really Can Be

Now, when I think of an animated magical tale, movies that you can stream with a Disney+ subscription come to mind. We’re talking whimsical stories about princesses and princes that always have a happy ending. Buried in the movies are dark themes and some spooky elements. However, on the surface, they are not scary.

Wildwood is not that. It’s as creepy as the source material that so many fairy tales are based on, and it does not try to hide that fact.

From a full-on war between the cyotoes and everyone else to a horrific scene involving the death of a (mechanical) child, Wildwood does not pull its punches when it comes to violence. I mean, during the battle, someone literally gets beheaded…and you see said head fly through the frame.

This movie doesn’t want to sugarcoat the journey Prue is on, hence the PG-13 rating, and it makes it clear that the stakes are life-threateningly high. Speaking to that point, director Travis Knight told CinemaBlend:

I totally agree with him. The violence and the dark themes of this film are more impactful because they are portrayed without dulling the sheer intensity of the situation. I truly bought into the notion that if the Dowager Governess got her way, the world would fall apart and become a very scary place.

A Big Part Of This Movie Has To Do With Child Sacrifice

Speaking of the Dowager Governess and her mission, it involves child sacrifice, and that is also notably dark and scary. The movie is literally centered around Prue’s little brother being taken away to this world so he can be sacrificed, and the Governess can access a kind of magic that will help her find her dead son.

This film dives into themes of grief, motherhood, infertility, and more in very emotional and empathetic, yet intense ways. The kidnapping and near-sacrifice of Prue’s little brother is the primary way that happens, and while I hoped this movie would have a happy ending, I was very scared the little guy wouldn’t make it.

Overall, Wildwood is scary. It’s deep and dark, and if I had seen this as a kid, I would have had trouble sleeping at night. However, I think all this is what makes this film so impactful and moving.

It’s an especially interesting time to be following the MCU, because we don’t know much about what to expect from the upcoming Marvel movies. Sure, we know that Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will be massive team-up films, but the franchise could go in so many directions. One comic book writer just shared his thoughts on what Ghost Rider could do, and I think some excellent points were made.

Over the summer, it was announced that Ryan Gosling is the MCU’s Ghost Rider. Fresh off filming Star Wars: Starfighter with Deadpool vs. Wolverine director Shawn Levy, the actor/director duo will work together on Ghost Rider, which is already set to come out in 2028. Benjamin Percy, who’s written Ghost Rider comics before, had this to say about the new movie:

Absolutely! Horror has been having a fantastic moment right now, and Ghost Rider taking a more horror approach would be a great change of pace in the MCU. Benjamin Percy wrote a 2022 run of Ghost Rider comic books for Marvel that featured Johnny Blaze and a lot of bloody visions and nightmares. And Gosling just happens to be playing a new iteration of Johnny Blaze as well. Percy also had these ideas when talking to ComicBook:

Percy’s comments come just as DC Studios recently put out their own horror movie, Clayface, which opened No. 1 at the box office last weekend. You’ve probably seen the Marvel Cinematic Universe explore horror to some degree if you have a Disney+ subscription, since they’ve done so with Werewolf By Night and Marvel Zombies. But it’s yet to happen in a big way on the big screen.

How Johnny Blaze becomes Ghost Rider is quite ripe for an R-rated horror movie. Johnny is a motorcycle stunt performer who sells his soul to Mephisto in order to save his father figure, Crash Simpson, from dying of cancer. Crash’s cancer is cured, but he dies performing a stunt, and Johnny confronts Mephisto, who then bonds him with the demon Zarathos. This act turns Johnny into the Ghost Rider!

Certainly the origin story of Ghost Rider itself has horror elements, but the previous version of the movie starring Nicolas Cage opted for a more superhero action-style flick. I don’t know what the plans are for Ryan Gosling’s Ghost Rider (which apparently Gosling pitched to Kevin Feige himself), but I think Benjamin Percy has some great ideas for the film. I hope they see his comments and take inspiration from them (if it's not in the plans already).

WARNING: There are SPOILERS ahead for You Can See Everything, which is currently in theaters as part of the 2026 movie schedule.

In a movie full of WTF moments, one that definitely stands out in You Can See Everything is the full-frontal moment of Elizabeth Holmes’ partner, Billy Evans, in the shower. It really puts the “everything” in the title. Earlier this week, we reported that co-director Lance Oppenheim said in an interview that the scene was Evans’ idea. Now, People magazine is reporting that it wasn’t Evans’ idea at all, and, in fact, he felt violated by it. Let’s get into it.

One More Layer Of Deception?

For a movie that is all about what is true and what is manipulation, this dispute adds a post-release layer to the whole thing. One side says the idea to film Evans naked was his idea; the other side says it wasn’t. Like many of the questions raised in the movie, this might be impossible to settle.

After the interview with Oppenheim came out, a source close to Evans told People:

That is in direct contradiction with what Oppenheim told the interviewer. Oppenheim claimed the idea was Evans’ idea after Oppenheim told him that they would give Evans some time to shower after a trip to the gym, while Oppenheim and his co-director Nathan Fielder were staying with Holmes and Evans before the former Theranos CEO reported to prison in 2023 on fraud convictions.

According to Oppenheim:

So once again, as an audience, we are left trying to decipher the truth here. There are two sides to every story, but honestly, as with much of You Can See Everything, it seems like there is way more to every story in this movie. This one may be more cut and dry than whether Holmes is manipulating Fielder, or vice versa, but it's still impossible to really know just what the heck is going on here.

What isn’t questionable is just how big this movie has become. It’s not only one of the most successful documentaries at the box office of all time already, but it’s getting a lot of Oscar buzz, and people everywhere can’t stop talking about it (and calling it out, at times). You might be able to see everything in the movie (including all of Billy Evans), but you can’t trust anything.

I love book-to-screen adaptations because it’s always so interesting to see something I imagined in my head become realized. Much of the time it doesn’t live up to my experience with my nose in a book, but I’m optimistic about The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Especially after these first reactions dropped. I’m more hopeful than usual after one member of the cast in particular is getting all the buzz.

As if it’s not already very reassuring enough that the Hunger Games prequel has already kicked off its glamorous press tour and has been screened weeks before its release, the first social media posts from critics are overwhelmingly positive. Here’s one from @PNemiroff on X:

Joseph Zada is the actor behind young Haymitch, following a beloved performance by Woody Harrelson in the original movies. The 21-year-old was an unknown when his casting was announced early last year. Since then, he’s come out with a couple of great performances in We Were Liars and East of Eden, but I’m so happy to see he’s getting a lot of praise in this role. A similar sentiment was given to the Aussie, who had to change his accent for the role, by @griffschiller on X, with these words:

Whoa, am I right? I feel so assured I’m going to love this prequel, knowing Joseph Zada is a highlight, because the movie could have fallen apart if we didn’t believe he’s Haymitch. Here’s another thought from @laurenlamango on X:

This is also impressive to me because most of these reactions are small blurbs about the movie in a few sentences. The cast is stacked with a ton of established talent like Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, Maya Hawke, Jesse Plemons, Kieran Culkin and Glenn Close. But it's Zada who people are talking about the most. It’s an even bigger compliment to the actor that he can hold his own among them. Next, as @supergavigator on X wrote:

As someone who’s read the book, I know how good Sunrise on the Reaping could be. I think it’s easily one of the best of the series. And now, per these comments, the movie seems to live up to it. Here’s one more reaction from @DawsBear on X:

Sure, there’s absolutely going to be differences from the book to talk about. But right now I’m just over the moon about the first reactions to the new Hunger Games film. It’s about time I bought tickets for the release set to hit theaters on November 20.

SPOILERS are ahead for Digger, now in theaters.

The reactions to Digger may be all over the place, but if there’s one thing most of us can agree on, it’s that we didn’t see that twist coming. Now that this project on the 2026 movie schedule has been out for a while, I need to talk about it and what happened when I asked one cast member about keeping it a secret.

What Audiences Think About Digger’s Big Twist

About 20 minutes into Digger, the audience learns that Tom Cruise isn’t Digger Rockwell. He's actually an actor named Curtis who is portraying the titular oil tycoon. The events of Digger turn out to be a play that’s in technical rehearsals for most of the movie. I found the twist to be surprising and rather dynamic, but viewers have a lot of thoughts about it. Check out what some people are saying on X:

• “Digger is … fantastic. A twist allows the movie to seesaw between reality & artificiality, spectacle & deconstruction of spectacle, entertaining immersion & political critique. It does so much that it can’t be perfect. But it’s exhilarating. Cruise is terrific!” - @UnderstanderArt
• “Digger lost me at the twist then won me back at the twist on the twist.” - @VantheBrand
• “Digger initial thoughts (no overt spoilers): Iñárritu makes a huge risk by placing an incredibly derailing twist very early into a film which probably would have been well received without it. I believe the second plotline created by the twist eventually weaves itself back” - @meatfan35
• “I think the most interesting thing about Digger is that the initial twist is kind of stupid, but then the secondary twist manages to completely invert the first one and recontextualise the whole film” - @fuzzybluerain

Digger hasn’t been embraced by critics overall, but on the whole, general audiences have been into the satire. Respected filmmakers have also come to its defense, like Ron Howard, who called it “one of those rare ones,” and Guillermo del Toro, who described it as “daring, bold and cinematically complex”.

It seems like one’s reaction to the twist had a big effect on their overall thoughts on the movie. And a lot of reactions above were pleasantly intrigued by Digger actually being about a play. As many of them point out, there’s actually more than one twist in the film, and it really contributed to the ride of it all. Although I was curious: how the heck did they keep this twist a secret?

One Cast Member Told Me Their Take On It

During CinemaBlend’s interviews with the Digger cast, I had to ask about the twist, of course. Here’s what Riz Ahmed, who plays Dr. Nirav Ganesh, said about it when asked about keeping the big secret for all this time:

I know I’m happy I didn’t know going in, but maybe knowing where the film is going ahead of time may enrich their experience. Ahmed is right though; it’s not one twist. There are a few. The first one is the reveal of the movie taking place inside a play, but there's also the part where we learn that Jesse Plemons’ character, who funded the play, is the nephew of Digger Rockwell.

Then, there’s the one at the very end. This is where we find out the events of Fossil Fuels have not only happened, but have very much impacted the world as a whole.

I know I was pleasantly surprised by the unique framing of the movie, and Ahmed’s thoughts speak to the movie itself being full of surprises rather than leaning on one big one. I'll be curious to know how the twists sit with audiences as more people check it out.

Back in 2024, the internet exploded when Dune: Part Two's popcorn bucket was revealed, with some fans thinking that they actually looked like sex toys. The NSFW Dune buckets quickly went viral, eventually getting their own spoof on Saturday Night Live (which is streaming with a Peacock subscription). The buckets for Dune 3 are also wild, and I can't get over there being two Sandworm holes. Apparently neither can star Timothée Chalamet.

Chalamet played protagonist Paul Atreides in the first two Dune movies (which are streaming with an HBO Max subscription), and will once again reprise his role in Part Three. He recently shared the new two-holed popcorn bucket on his Instagram Story, including his emoji reaction. Check it out below:

Clearly, the Call Me By Your Name actor is tickled by the newest Dune popcorn bucket. While I prefer the option with the working thumper, Chalamet seems to think the one with two different Sandworm heads is hilarious. This design should make sharing popcorn with a friend much easier, although some folks online still maintain that it looks like a sex toy. There's plenty of discourse about the receptacle, with folks responding with more than just a single emoji.

This isn't the first time the Wonka actor has addressed the Dune merch. Timothée Chalamet brought up the popcorn buckets while promoting his role in Marty Supreme, so clearly the 30-year-old actor has seen all the discourse online. As such, fans loved it when he took to Instagram to respond to the ones that will be released for Denis Villeneuve's third book-to-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert's work.

I have to assume that the team behind the Dune 2 popcorn buckets didn't anticipate the merch going so viral, with the discourse online getting loud enough that it ended up on Saturday Night Live. I have to say that I love that the folks at AMC leaned in when it came to tie-ins for Dune: Part Three. As a reminder, you can see all the new merch in the announcement video below:

Timothée Chalamet had an emoji response to the bucket with two different Sandworm holes, but I'm still obsessed with the option that has one giant Sandworm and the thumper that's used to summon the giant creatures on Arrakis. I just love that tiny detail, and the fact that the device itself goes up and down just like thumpers on the big screen.

The pressure is on for Denis Villeneuve and company to deliver with the third movie, especially after the first two got Oscar nominations and crushed at the box office.

Dune: Part Three will hit theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see how many fans buy the new viral popcorn buckets to enjoy their snacks with.

There are movies that feel like they were made to be experienced in 4DX, like 2024’s tornado-chasing action flick Twisters. Then there are movies that are shockingly and hilariously perfect for the format, like Wicker. Yes, the romance on the 2026 movie schedule about a fisherwoman who falls in love with a wicker man can be viewed in 4DX, and the internet has some absolutely wild thoughts about it.

As is to be expected with a movie that has reviews that highlight how horny it is, the theater was rocking – literally speaking – throughout Wicker's runtime. It also snowed at one point in the TikTok posted by Tia. Now, I’m trying to imagine the smells that were being released in the room, and I can’t help but think about how much water was involved with this experience. Clearly, others are having reactions like this too; however, their thoughts are much funnier than mine. Take a look:

• YO EVERYONE GETTING ROCKED 😭😭😭😭- asdfghjk
• …does this count as a body - lauren
• Omg everyone’s getting cracked too?$/?-!?/ I’M ON MY WAY - jello
• Done turned that theatre into a water park 😂😂😂 - Aaron Joyner615
• Omg it snowed on you guys??? It didn’t snow on me!! It just shook me around and sprayed wicker scent at my husband (I turned the water stuff off) 😂 - Scary
• Straightened her right up, my husband was in shock. I had a great time🤣🤣🤣 - ScandalFan
• I told my husband I’m taking him to this and he's not allowed to see any trailers or sneak peeks of it! i want him SHOCKED😂 - Natasha

Listen, the Wicker Husband and the Fisherwoman, who are played by Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Colman, respectively, break their bed on more than one occasion. So, yeah, the 4DX audience was bound to get shaken around. In fact, you can see Skarsgård imitating how the theater chairs might move during these spicy moments in the video below:

In the clip, he also talks about how the directors had a note that they wanted the audience to get wet when the Fisherwoman throws a bucket of pee out during the 4DX screenings. I, personally, would not want to experience that. However, I do think the idea of it is hilarious and totally adds to the glorious absurdity of seeing Wicker in 4DX.

All around, the effort the Wicker team is putting into its theatrical experience is incredible. You can get a popcorn bucket that looks like the Wicker Husband’s torso, and Alexander Skarsgård was mesmerized by it. The poster for the film looks like a Harlequin romance novel. Oh, and at my local AMC, there was a life-size cardboard cutout of the Wicker Husband above the doorway that was both greeting and maybe scaring people as they walked in and out of the theater.

I think all this is indicative of the care and creativity that went into Wicker, too. It truly is a heartfelt and horny romance that’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And I bet the 4DX experience makes it even better. Now, if you’d like to see (and feel) Wicker in all its glory, you can catch it in 4DX and other formats in theaters now.

The superhero genre continues to be popular, with both the MCU and DCU competing at the box office. DCU co-CEO James Gunn regularly addresses fan questions on social media, and he took it one step further by doing an entire podcast about what is and isn't canon in the shared universe. The filmmaker clarified the state of both Batman and Joker in the shared universe, and I've got one big question in response.

Fans who spent years watching the DC movies in order watched as the DCEU ended and the newly formed DCU took shape. The first slate of projects is titled Gods and Monsters, and fans are wondering which upcoming DC movies will bring The Dark Knight into the fold. During the Suicide Squad: Is It Canon? podcast, James Gunn spoke about whether or not Batman and the Joker exist in the current universe, offering:

Points were made. Some folks might not remember that the animated series Creature Commandos (which is streaming with an HBO Max subscription) featured a brief cameo by Batman. It's a quick moment, but it confirmed that the beloved comic book hero does indeed exist in the DCU. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for The Joker... yet. For those who need a reminder, below is the shot of Gotham's Protector from the show:

This moment happens in the show's sixth episode, and was a brief but thrilling moment for hardcore DC fans out there. Batman's appearance is left rather ambiguous; we don't see what his face or suit really look like. So the door is open for whoever eventually gets cast to play Bruce Wayne in the shared universe.

Which leads me to the question I can't stop thinking about: exactly when will Batman finally get introduced in the DCU? When the shared universe's first slate of projects was announced, it looked like Andy Muschietti's The Brave and The Bold would be the first movie to star a new Bruce Wayne (and his son Damian). Unfortunately, development on that title has been slow going, and Gunn put doubt on whether or not the movie would still include Robin.

Given how Batman was one of the first heroes in the previous shared universe, it's wild that we don't know when The Dark Knight will get his grand entrance in the DCU. Hopefully some answers come sooner rather than later.

Clayface is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list, and the next DC movie hitting theaters is Man of Tomorrow on July 9th, 2027. Fingers crossed that we get an update about The Brave and The Bold sooner rather than later.