It’s been three and a half weeks since 20th Century Fox revealed the Deadpool trailer at their panel at Comic-Con to roaring applause and tangible excitement. Three weeks since a puny little phone camera version was leaked on the Internet and the viral response to it showed just how much audiences have been waiting for this. First revealed in The New Mutants #98 in 1991, and first played by Ryan Reynolds in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, this wise cracking anti-hero has been aching to make it to the big screen and it’s finally here. In a world where superheroes eat daisies for breakfast and poop rainbows and polish their halos every night before bed, Deadpool promises the first of a new kind of hero. As he so aptly says in the trailer, “Daddy needs to express some rage.”

So without further ado, you’ve waited long enough. Coming out on February 12, 2016, be sure to watch the newly released trailer for Deadpool.

As the first panel on the third day of Comic-Con, Warner Brothers Productions had some big acts to follow – and try to overshadow, in a room full of 6500 zombie-like attendees just waiting to be impressed.

And overshadow they did.

In the war between DC and Marvel movies, Marvel has been the main act lately; churning out action packed superhero blockbusters like they were going out of style. And even amid talks that they may have been, Warner Brothers brought to the table a new set of heroes they’ve been holding in their back pockets. Waiting for when the time was right. And apparently the time is now.

They began the morning with some decent looking but not so heavy hitting upcoming films.

Guy Ritchie sent a video clip from a mystery film set to announce a new trailer for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. starring Armie Hammer and Henry Cavill as Cold War era special agents from opposite sides reluctantly teaming up to save the world. Though not as anticipated as some of the bigger films, we will see Hammer undertaking a heavy Russian accent for which he studied over many months with a dialect coach.

Director Joe Wright, Levi Miller, Garrett Hedland (Tron), and Hugh Jackman showed up for the Pan panel. It’s a reframing of the origin story of how Peter became Pan. Wright stated he wanted to make the film as dark as he could to show every kid that no matter how dark it got, they can overcome. And it certainly promises to be dark. Wright insisted the move back from green screen and CGI promising that every Neverland set was built, the biggest practical set being the forest, and with more than 150 extras on the set every day, we can expect more than an immersive experience.

Hugh Jackman declared, “This is one of the most fun movies I’ve ever made, by the way we had 4 pirate ships fully built.”

They shared exclusive new footage from the film of the introduction of Blackbeard, who is basically the original leader and recruiter of the Lost Boys. A Fagin type who brings down and out orphans to Neverland with promises of freedom and sweets, so long as they obey his every order with no hesitation. Joe Wright was mainly inspired by the sense of strangeness in the original J.M. Barrie book in which the children’s characters were never underestimated, and the  complexity of every single persona present was distinct, diverse, and equally duplicitous.

After these two stand-alone films, Warner Brothers brought out the big guns in machine style with a non-stop series of huge announcements.

Beginning with Suicide Squad, director David Ayer announced they would be all about canon and faithful to the source material proclaiming, “You are going to freaking get it with this show; it’s time for bad vs. evil. And who’s got the best bad guys ever? DC Comics.” Also showing up was the entire cast of Suicide Squad, minus Jared Leto (the Joker), including Margot Robbie and Will Smith.

Everyone showed up for Batman vs. Superman including Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot (the new Wonder Woman) and a morose looking Ben Affleck (no conjecture about the reason here). Though pitting heroes against heroes is all over comic culture, this particular clash is not in any current canon, especially to this extent. Director Zack Snyder declared there was one big rule bent in putting Gotham and Metropolis as sister cities geographically, sitting opposite from each other across a bay.

Ben Affleck shared a story of going to a costume store with his son who wanted a Batman costume for Halloween and happened to run into Christian Bale who was there for the same purpose. When seeking advice as to playing the Batman, Bale responded with “Make sure you can piss in that suit.” Noted.

Opening March 25th, 2016, here is the new trailer:

It’s common knowledge that AMC’s The Walking Dead spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead will be set in Los Angeles. The SDCC panel proved to be quite informative, however.

From the sounds of it, Fear the Walking Dead will be very distinctive show that should be set apart from the original. Even in the setting, a tropical former paradise, is as far removed from The Walking Dead’s rural Georgia as you can get. It is part of the same universe, so for those that know The Walking Dead we know all too well what’s in store—watching the characters come to understand what is happening, and how they will deal with it. And survive.

Here are a few things we learned at the panel:

It is covering the 4-5 weeks (loosely set during Rick Grimes’ coma) leading up to the apocalypse—when cell phones still work and people still show up to their jobs. Even by the end of this season we are not necessarily caught up to where The Walking Dead began.

It’s not a duplicated Walking Dead. It’s purposefully different. They don’t get to full on apocalypse mode until the end of the season, starting instead as a family drama and developing into gruesome chaos as everyone watches the fall of LA.

The blended family is highly dysfunctional, including new and ex-wives, children and step-children, all trying to keep it together when everything goes to hell. Who will survive? A random group of survivors ride out the peak of collision between the living the dead, and must figure out where they stand once the fires burn everything down.

There are no plans to conflate the two shows ever, though no one confirmed that it would never happen. There was confirmation, however, that the Staples Center remains untouched. At least for now.

According to writer and co-creator Dave Erickson, societal and gender norms will get turned on their heads right out of the gate. In such a multi-layered city the focus, for now, is mostly in East LA, and the responses of each diverse neighborhood in the city is vastly different.

“What’s great is they’re completely unprepared, he doesn’t have any specific set of skills to give them a boost, it’s not like he’s a cop. So there’s a humanity there.” -Cliff Curtis

Frank Dillane plays Nick, the eldest teenage son of Madison whose dad died a while ago, is dealing with his own monsters when he comes face to face with a new set of them. Named as a sort of prophet in this new world being the first to come face to face with a walker, the question is whether or not those issues will help or hinder his survival.

As far as the crafting of the new walkers, they will look vastly different than the fairly rotted living corpses in The Walking Dead. There will be less decomposition, so their humanity still appears to be there. There’s still a little light in their eyes that inspire some hesitation as to how one might react when approached by one.

We see exactly what each character, all along the age spectrum, loses when their entire lives unravel. Characters will start learning what to choose, prioritizing tragedies in a way that might cause people to question their potential overreaction to comparatively mundane heartaches.

The cast, including Grammy-winner Ruben Blades, only met each other on the day of the table read.

The differences from The Walking Dead don’t just come from a change in location, as this new batch of characters differ significantly from Rick and his group. It’s easy to envision Rick Grimes, former deputy, as a leader, but here we follow an English teacher and a guidance counselor barely hanging on in a fully functioning world, before they’re suddenly thrust into a world that’s dissipating rapidly.

As producer David Alpert so eloquently sums up, the question from all of us is, “Who from coal becomes a diamond and who crumples into dust.” And therein lies the common fascination for both The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead fans, as we question who we will identify with, good or bad.

The biggest question for all will be if Chris Hardwick ever cameos as a walker, which was neither confirmed nor denied during the panel, though Hardwick declared both his hesitation and his openness to the idea.

Fear the Walking Dead will premiering on August 23rd at 9pm (EST) internationally on AMC global at the exact same time. This will thankfully negate the need to avoid social media spoilers. And fans of Chris Hardwick will be happy to learn that he will cover the series on The Talking Dead.

Thursday’s Comic-Con panels in Hall H included sneak peeks of the final installment of the Hunger Games collective. Fans were chomping at the bit and several Katniss lookalikes were tightening their bows. Based on the initial cheers, a large portion of the audience likely waited all night on the cold sidewalk for any small taste of how the popular series would end.

The Lionsgate panel was preceded by a white-vested marching band. Because High School. And of course the battle drums leading to the final showdown. Next up: a video message straight from District 13.

The first teaser was an ROTC-style choreographed video of the soldiers of District 13 prepping for battle. #Unite

Then in walked Conan O’Brien—who has been filming his show from various parts of Comic-Con—as moderator of the panel. Just to clarify, he announced that he is NOT in the Hunger Games films but he IS Team Josh (Hutcherson that is, who plays Peeta for those not immersed in the Panem universe.)

Questions posed included one towards producer Nina Jacobson about how she came to her decisions in bringing this franchise to a close. She gave most of the credit to Suzanne Collins’ incredible ability to bring this epic commentary on our society and politics through her books. Emotions were high as the cast begins their final press engagements and saying their goodbyes to each other and their well beloved characters. Jacobson spoke of her desire to deliver to the fans, who have delivered so much back to them.

Director Francis Lawrence spoke on what we could expect, and though he slipped a little with Katniss’s final decisions in the movie’s end (not the least of a few accidental spoilers mentioned in the panel that book readers will be well aware of including the epilogue), he mentions Katniss will be brought out from the sidelines she resided in in the first installment of Mockingjay.

Then what the people came for: the first full trailer for the film. Where weapons are finally aimed on the Capitol, and on Snow. Ending to thunderous applause, those faithful to the book will see visual proof that there will be many, many scenes honored and uncut from the book, as is so often feared with adaptations. Later in the panel, Francis Lawrence shared that the ending will be just like the book.

Jennifer Lawrence was asked about her favorite Katniss moment from all of the movies. She stumbled with memory recall and overwhelmed by the broadness of the question (and amid shouts of “I love you Jennifer!”) but Willow Shields (Primrose Everdeen) bailed her out by declaring that of course it had to be when she volunteered as tribute. But Lawrence did say that her favorite moment will be in the last movie and she didn’t want to spoil it.

Joshua Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark) was asked about where we will pick up with Peeta after the traumatic place we left off with him (trying to choke the life out of Katniss). Just as well-spoken as his character, he shared that it’s a long road to recovery. And of course Jennifer Lawrence reminds him Peeta couldn’t stay away long, euphemisms intended.

For Gale’s part, Liam Hemsworth spoke about how the stakes are raised again for him in this last movie. The friendly dynamic between Hemsworth, Lawrence, and Hutcherson was by far the most amusing part of the panel.

Asked what they are most excited to see resolved in this final film, Francis Lawrence replied he is excited for everyone to finally have closure and to experience the way it ends.

When asked what they hope fans will take away from this last film, Jennifer Lawrence responded with, “the power of our future is in our own hands.” Recalling how at the beginning of the movies it is just one girl against everything and though the book condenses world issues into one continent, they are very real. Lawrence also appeared slightly emotional when asked how she bid goodbye to Katniss, declaring that it hasn’t happened yet and the changes made in her through the movies are so permanent they will never leave her.

Set to come to theaters November 20th, the new trailer features plenty of action and what looks to be a satisfying ending to what has been a true-to-the-books adapted series.

The A.V. Club released a video this week with Wil Wheaton sharing his own personal journey through suffering with chronic depression and generalized anxiety disorder in an effort to spread awareness about mental health issues. With the main tagline, “You are ok”, Wheaton and the founders of UROK hope to help teens identify with their mental health difficulties and give them the hope and support they need to get through it.

Known for her work with CollegeHumor, Jenny Jaffe founded the mental health non-profit, UROK, in April of 2015 to be the resource she never had as a teen struggling through her own mental health issues. With America’s Next Top Model Cycle 9 contestant and stand up comedian, Sarah Hartshorne. as Vice President and Production Coordinator, its mission is to create funny and meaningful videos that are designed to help teens dealing with every type of mental health issue to know that they are not alone. The project encourages teens to post their own videos to the site as a way to build up the community.

Also posted this week was a video by Mara Wilson, known for Matilda, who is now a New York based writer and performer.

Released in Los Angeles on June 19th and being released in theaters on July 3rd in San Francisco, I Believe in Unicorns follows the drastic highs and lows of a dangerous young love. Award winning student director Leah Meyerhoff uses magical realism to weave the tale through teenage angst in a love gone bad.

Told from the fantastical and imaginative perspective of 16-year-old Davina (Natalia Dyer), who longs to escape from her role as sole caretaker of her disabled mother when she falls in love with an older boy named Sterling (Peter Vack). I Believe in Unicorns offers a complex look into troubled young love.

Making the official selection for the 2014 SXSW and Edinburgh Film Festivals, the film was also the Grand Jury Prize Winner at the 2014 Atlanta Film Festival and won for Best Original Song at the 2014 Nashville Film Festival. I Believe in Unicorns is currently available on Vimeo On Demand. Also, check out the film’s Facebook page and the official trailer.

Exclusive Behind the Scenes Clip of I Believe in Unicorns

I Believe in Unicorns Movie Poster

As we’ve said, we are really excited about the Dreaming In Technicolor film showcase at the TIFF Bell Lightbox this year.

Among the films being shown are three musical spectaculars: Singin’ in the Rain on June 19th, Meet Me In St. Louis on June 21st, and The Wizard of Oz on June 27th. All three will be presented in 35mm, with The Wizard of Oz screening on an archival print.

Besides being innovative change-makers in the film industry through their use of Technicolor and their musicality, they each hold one very valuable characteristic in common: Arthur Freed.

Though best known and recognized for his hand in An American In Paris and Gigi, Arthur Freed wet his feet with MGM as an uncredited associate producer of The Wizard of Oz in 1939. Known for his memorable lyrics, he wrote most of the songs for Singin’ in the Rain and several for Meet Me in St. Louis. After The Wizard of Oz, MGM created for him his own “Freed Unit” of producers. They developed a large portion of the mainstay films within the musical collective that emerged from their heyday, making MGM the lead developer of film musicals.

The Wizard of Oz, released in the U.S. on August 25th, 1939, was directed by Victor Fleming and adapted to the screen from Frank L. Baum’s book by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf. It starred Judy Garland in her first major role as hapless and innocent Dorothy Gale, who travels by way of twister to the land of Oz where she meets the confused scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the stiff Tin Man (Jack Haley), and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr). To get home, and to get each those parts of themselves they feel they are lost without, they set off to find the great wizard, played by Frank Morgan. Though gifted with the magical ruby-red slippers by Glinda the Good Witch (Billy Burke), along the way they are beset with many obstacles wrought by the Wicked Witch of the West, played by Margaret Hamilton.

One of the major changes from the book was altering Dorothy’s originally silver shoes to their now iconic ruby-red. This was done to take advantage of the new Technicolor process, which was also the reason behind their showing Dorothy’s farm life in classic black and white and only alternating to color when she arrived in Oz. Technicolor productions required a greater amount of lighting than their black and white counterparts. Often the studio lights on the set of The Wizard of Oz exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Several of the cast members, in heavy costume and make-up, required extra measures taken to keep from over-heating, and some even suffered permanent eye damage from the bright lights. This was one thing that added a significant amount to the overall budget for a movie filmed in Technicolor. The estimated budget for The Wizard of Oz was $2,777,000. Second only to Going My Way, it was one of the highest-grossing films of the year.

Roger Ebert said of the film that “the switch from black and white to color would have had a special resonance in 1939, when the movie was made. Almost all films were still being made in black and white, and the cumbersome new color cameras came with a ‘Technicolor consultant’ from the factory, who stood next to the cinematographer and officiously suggested higher light levels. Shooting in color might have been indicated because the film was MGM’s response to the huge success of Disney’s pioneering 1937 color animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.”

The Wizard of Oz won two Oscars that year. One for Best Original Song with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and the other for Best Original Score. It was nominated for four more Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Special Effects. Judy Garland was also awarded a Juvenile Academy Award for her work in both this and Babes in Arms, which was released that same year and was Arthur Freed’s first solo project.

It was selected by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for its cultural significance in 1989.

Five years after working with Judy Garland for The Wizard of Oz and Babes in Arms, Arthur and his “Freed Unit” produced Meet Me in St. Louis, written by Irving Brecher and Fred Finklehoffe, which premiered November 22, 1944 in St. Louis, Missouri. Directed by Vincente Minelli who would meet Judy Garland for the first time on this set and marry her just a year later, this was only Garland’s second color film after The Wizard of Oz. It also starred child star Margaret O’Brien who would receive a Juvenile Academy Award for her work in this picture, though it was stolen from her and lost for nearly 50 years before collectors found it at a swap meet and returned it. Cast alongside Garland and O’Brien were Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, and Tom Drake.

Based on a series of short stories titled “5135 Kensington” by Sally Benson and published in The New Yorker magazine, Meet Me in St. Louis was nominated for four Oscars in 1944 including Best Screenplay, Best Color Cinematography, Best Musical Score, and Best Original Song for “The Trolley Song,” and was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for its cultural significance in 1994. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” won an ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for Most Performed Feature Films Standard in 1989.

Time magazine is quoted as calling it “one of the year’s prettiest pictures” saying, “Technicolor has seldom been more affectionately used than in its registrations of the sober mahoganies and tender muslins and benign gaslights of the period. Now and then, too, the film gets well beyond the charm of mere tableau for short flights in the empyrean of genuine domestic poetry. These triumphs are creditable mainly to the intensity and grace of Margaret O’Brien and to the ability of director Minnelli and Co. to get the best out of her.”

Arthur Freed’s voice can actually be heard on the film as he dubbed the voice for Leon Ames in the song “You and I,” written by Freed and Nacio Herb Brown.

The last of this magical, musical trifecta was a crowning point in Freed’s career and MGM’s musical history. Singin’ in The Rain was released in the U.S. on April 11th, 1952, and starred Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds as silent actors trying to transition to “talkies” in 1920s Hollywood. Directed and choreographed by Kelly and Stanley Donen, it was nominated for two Oscars that year including one for Jean Hagen for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lena Lamont, and one for Lennie Hayton for Best Music and Score in a Musical. Donald O’Connor won a Golden Globe for playing accompanist and self-proclaimed funnyman Cosmo Brown. This topped the most successful of all of the “Freed Unit” musical spectaculars churned out by MGM, the brainchild of producer Arthur Freed.

There is much about this beloved classic that is not commonly known. For example, while most of us recognize all of the songs only from Singin’ in the Rain, and probably assume they were written specifically for this movie, all but one song, “Moses Supposes”, was an original at the time of the movie’s release. Its namesake song, for example, was featured in 1929’s Hollywood Revue of 1929, and the famous “Good Morning,” which outed Lina Lamont as a terrible voice, was from 1939’s Babes in Arms.

Most have heard that the iconic scene with Gene Kelly’s Don Lockwood splashing through puddles while singing in the rain was filmed over the course of three days, and Kelly was running a high fever the whole time, but not many would guess that Debbie Reynolds, playing Kathy Seldon, didn’t have much dancing experience before Singin’ in the Rain, and was even criticized to the point of tears by Gene Kelly. Rumor has it Fred Astaire found her off-set crying and began tutoring her. It might explain why her feet were bleeding at the end of the shooting of the “Good Morning” dance scene.

TIFF has truly picked some gems to showcase in their Dreaming in Technicolor series, but these three are not only masterful in their cinematic scope. They are also wonderfully told stories, with beautifully sung songs, and feature some of film’s most talented treasures. These movies are essential viewing to anyone interested in mastering their understanding of the movie musical oeuvre.

MGM and Arthur Freed had a period in film history, and our history, that colored the big screen with light, paint and spectacular music. Through World War and famine and stark reality, they made something wonderful beyond escapism, and to this day have provided us worlds we can escape to.

We’re shaking with excitement. For those, like us, who can’t get enough of any type of Walking Dead, Feared or otherwise, any morsel of what’s in store for us in the future gets us all geared up and ready to take on the apocalyptic world. So we’re sharing it with you.

The Fear the Walking Dead clip posted by Variety just this morning really puts the “tease” in teaser. It doesn’t give away much. Except that there will be a lot of…fear. No smidgen of a zombie is seen, but rumor has it they will have quite a different look from the current zombie type in Walking Dead as they will be a bit, well, more fresh. The trailer is titled “Nick’s Escape” so we’re guessing this is a character who might get more than a quick grisly death. IMDB credits a “Nick,” played by Frank Dillane, with six episodes in the series so we’ll see.

Also starring Ruben Blades, Mercedes Mason, Cliff Curtis, and Kim Dickens, to name a few, Fear the Walking Dead is set in Los Angeles at the very start of the walker outbreak. Or whatever we’re now calling it. Walking Dead fans may get a little bit more information on all that led up to where they started out back in 2010, but no one’s promising anything.

Check back with us in July when we cover the San Diego Comic-Con as both shows will be there along with Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick.

Fear the Walking Dead is set to premiere in August on AMC in what is as yet a two-season commitment.

The sad news has now surely reached all that the irreplaceable Sir Christopher Lee has died at the age of 93 on Sunday, June 7th.

Most millennials would easily recall Lee as Count Dooku from the apocryphal prequel episodes of Star Wars or the crooked white wizard, Saruman, in Peter Jackson’s first Lord of the Rings trilogy. Those slightly older probably know him best as Dracula from the Hammer Horror series, or Bond villain Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (coincidentally, he was step-cousin to Ian Fleming through his mother’s second marriage). With over 280 acting credits to his name, Lee was one of the most prolific actors of all time. He was close friends with Hammer Horror co-star Peter Cushing, with whom he shared a May 27th birthday

But everyone, young and old, knows him as an ultimate evil persona. Because that’s what he did best over the course of his 70-year acting career.

With his piercing eyes, eyebrows we’d swear were alive, and snarling, spider-esque fingers, the towering 6’5″ Lee was in step with the likes of Vincent Price, Lon Chaney, and Bela Lugosi in his ability to crawl into creepy characters of cunning and dastardly intentions. We relished in his rich and bellowing operatic vocal tones, for which he was classically trained and even graced the track of many a heavy metal album including Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010 as well as Charlemagne: The Omens of Death in 2013. Knighted in 2009 for his service to drama and charity, he received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and the BFI Fellowship in 2013 as well. Most stunning to some might be that, in his passing, he leaves behind his wife of 53 years, Gitte Lee.

There will never be another Sir Christopher Lee, but his legacy of villainy reaching over three generations while he was living will reach countless more. If only we do our due diligence. He cannot be forgotten.

Sir Christopher Lee as “Francisco Scaramanga” in The Man with the Golden Gun.

Celebrities have taken to Twitter today to share their thoughts and remembrances of this great actor:

An extraordinary man and life lead, Sir Christopher Lee. You were an icon, and a towering human being with stories for days. We'll miss you.

— Elijah Wood (@woodelijah) June 11, 2015

I wish I'd met Sir Christopher Lee. I was so lucky & proud to have had him play the Earl in @BBCRadio4 Neverwhere. Great actor, great loss.

— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) June 11, 2015

So so sorry to hear that #christopherlee has passed away. He was a fascinating person. Threw a bic pen into a tree in front of me. #legend

— Dominic Monaghan (@DomsWildThings) June 11, 2015

It’s here. In anticipation for the culmination of the Hunger Games franchise, Katniss and Krew are taking on the Capital in full force. Peeta seems like he’s mentally back…fortunately for the sanity of us all; that might have been the pinnacle of tension to see him flip out on Katniss in the movie prior.

Getting a glimpse of some of his final cinematic scenes, seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman won’t be easy for anyone and will add what can only be a sense of very real tragedy to what looks to be an already tragic final episode. For those that have read the books (we highly suggest you do) we know that there is going to be an overflow of impending bloodshed in store for many a beloved character.

With filming of the battle scenes in France and the Capitol in Berlin, Germany, we’re looking forward to more Natalie Dormer who, according to IMDB, has top billing in this film. However, it looks like Johanna Mason, played by Jena Malone, will officially have the most screen time with Jennifer Lawrence. And we are actually going to be introduced to some new characters in this final call including another familiar face from Game of Thrones, Gwendoline Christie, as Commander Lyme.

Look for the 2D and 3D versions (this is a first for the series) both set for November 19th.

A favorite ’80s movie-mother, Mary Ellen Trainor has died of complications from pancreatic cancer on May 20th at the young age of 62 in Montecito, California according to The Hollywood Reporter and her close friend Kathleen Kennedy.

She may have never been a Hollywood big shot or superstar, but many will find her face quite recognizable. Mostly, in memory, framed by a halo of wispy blonde feathered hair. Probably because we all mainly know her from movies that made it big during the ’80s and ’90s, beginning by playing the flighty kidnapped sister of Kathleen Turner in the 1984 film Romancing the Stone or the Spanish-deficient mother of Mikey and Brand Walsh in The Goonies. Married to Robert Zemeckis from 1980 to 2000, she also appeared in a few of his movies, one of which was Romancing the Stone of course, but also included bit roles in Back to the Future II, Death Becomes Her, and Forrest Gump.

She’s played aside Bill Murray in Scrooged, Bruce Willis in Die Hard, and Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in all four Lethal Weapons, being a close friend of Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner.

Some other movies from which she might be recognized would be Ghostbusters II, Congo, and Little Giants.

We are sorry to see her gone. We know she will live on through her presence in so many memorable films from our childhood. Rest in Peace, Ms. Trainor.

Children might already be counting down the days until Christmas, but Star Wars fans everywhere are counting the days until the release of Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

There are 246 by the way.

That’s how many days until the December 17th midnight premiere of what will bring back the cast from the original, and some say only, Star Wars trilogy that whet the appetites of science fiction aficionados.

And the trailer that was just released is only doing more to get everyone excited. Especially since this one has a glimpse of Han and Chewie and the voice of Mark Hamill narrating.

Be sure to watch the trailer below. And get ready to start getting visions of sugar plums and storm troopers.

It’s going to be a happy Christmas indeed.

Star Wars Episode VII Trailer #2

The buzz around what could potentially be the first good Adam Sandler film in a while (sorry The Cobbler, but no) has finally culminated in a first trailer for Pixels.

In 1982 the world sends out a capsule to the universe as a peaceful token of our openness to communication. With clips of President Reagan and Rubik’s Cubes and…Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. Only the aliens take it the wrong way. They interpret the pixellated muncher and the patience-challenged gorilla as a threat to their existence so they build weapons to match. When they begin attacking the planet Earth, U.S. President Will Cooper, played by Kevin James, and his First Lady, played by Jane Krakowski, know to look for one man: his childhood best friend and ’80s video game champion Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler). Along with a team of old school gamers including Peter Dinklage and Josh Gad they will have to figure out how to beat the ultimate arcade challenge. And the stakes are high.

Directed by Chris Columbus, the screenplay was written by Timothy Dowling whose past credits include Role Models and Just Go With It.

Rounding out the cast is Sean Bean, Michelle Monaghan, and Pretty Little Liar’s Ashley Benson.

Pixels is the eighth time Adam Sandler and Kevin James are partnering up in a comedy. The release date is set for July 24th, 2015.

We all know the drill, March 17th comes around and everyone is poring over their family trees trying to find one Irish branch, somewhere, that justifies them joining in the St. Paddy’s Day festivities. There is nothing to say one shouldn’t be proud of any ounce of Irish heritage in a family’s history, but using that ounce as an excuse to carry on embarrassing Americanized behavior is, to say the least, embarrassing. But ‘Kiss Me I’m Irish’ T-shirts and getting plastered on American water-beer and Irish Car Bombs (yes it’s offensive) aren’t the only sins that have been committed on this sacred feast day.

Hollywood is no stranger to jumping on bandwagons to make a quick buck and they make no exception when capitalizing on Irish history and culture; from their penchant for getting Scottish actors to play the Irish (the accent is close enough right?) to perpetuating the old Irish stereotypes with big, poor, Irish families or fighting Irish drunks. For those of us that aren’t Irish, let’s at least re-educate ourselves and blow the lid off of some of these movies that you might otherwise have been tempted to pull out to celebrate ol’ Padraig. We have to admit to having a couple of favorites on the list, so we’re not perfect either. But we’re all in this together, eh?

Nine Times Hollywood Tried to Be Irish…and Failed

P.S. I Love You

This one is just a painful disappointment all around. We have Gerard Butler, ye olde Scottish dude, trying and failing for that Irish brogue for which he publicly apologized afterward. On top of that, there are so many awkward acting moments between Butler and Swank riddled throughout that we lost count. The ineffable Kathy Bates couldn’t even save this one. What makes it more of a shame is that it’s based on a book by Irish author Cecelia Ahern, so while much of it might have actually been a beautiful tribute to the emerald isle, the two main actors playing Irishmen are not, in fact, Irish. Which seems sacrilegious. One of the more grating traits of Butler’s character, Gerry, is that “loveable Irish scoundrel” thing he’s going for – you can almost see him pop a blood vessel trying to force a twinkle to come to his eye. Granted a lot of rom-coms, Irish or not, could be accused of such tactics, but we raise an eyebrow at any silly rom-com girl so easily swept off her feet by a complete stranger conning her for a kiss.[Scarlet]

The Jackal

Bruce Willis’s horrid moustache (and other various costume changes) and Diane Venora’s over-the-top Russian accent make this film one of the silliest action thrillers made. Pretty-boy Richard Gere as an ex-IRA sniper with an iffy accent really rounds out the circus that is The Jackal quite nicely though. Gere seems to insert a fair amount of charm into all his characters—the man’s just charismatic—but where his usual gleam-of-the-eye plays out as endearing, here it translates roughly to the equivalent of an action movie version of the Lucky Charms mascot. It’s not really his fault. In the ’90s the Irish and Russians were just the en vogue badasses and villains of the time. It’s not like we could have expected Hollywood to cast actual Irish or Russian actors. Oh, the horror. [Ananda]

Gangs of New York

A lot is wrong with Scorsese’s epic letdown Gangs of New York, but few bother me more than the casting of Cameron Diaz. A fantastic Daniel Day-Lewis as well as some fine supporting performances from Brendan Gleeson and John C. Reilly are not enough to make up for a sub-par DiCaprio and flat-out awful Diaz. Like a poor cutaway joke from Family Guy, you can just picture Diaz looking in the mirror after putting on a curly, red-haired wig before doing a vaguely Irish accent and exclaiming “nailed it!” It’s a shame Scorsese (due to studio pressure) was unable to cast his first choice of Sarah Polley. [Ryan]

Far and Away 

Tom Cruise, more often than not, plays Tom Cruise. From time to time, this Cruise version of Cruise is pretty fun (i.e. the Mission: Impossible series), and other times it’s almost impossible not to laugh out loud. Odds are when Far And Away was released back in ‘92, people hadn’t yet grown weary of his trademark grin and boundless energy (this is way before his couch jumping days), but now, in retrospect, this little gem of a film is mostly a bad accent contest between him and costar/chemistry-less wife, Nicole Kidman. Here Cruise plays a sometimes-Irish-Cruise fighting to make it in America, his accent slipping off and on in the space between words, and even at its best sounds more like a harsh whisper. So, if you are looking to laugh at some Americans acting like Irishmen coming to America, this film might be perfect for your St. Paddy’s day—even if it’s only real joy is its kickass Super 65mm format (the same as The Master). [Gary]

The Quiet Man

There are many things to love about John Ford’s The Quiet Man. For instance, it is one of the few Hollywood movies where the Irish language can be heard, being that many of the extras were actually from the countryside of County Galway and County Mayo where the movie was mainly filmed. Its scenic landscapes make it an especially exquisite painting of Ireland in Technicolor, which was rare for Republic pictures. It is not without its faults, however. Though it garnered substantial financial success with both American and British audiences, it was not well received in Ireland when it was first released; especially in Mayo and Galway by those native to the counties. Most significantly were the negative reactions to the scenes that are the most controversial today: John Wayne dragging Maureen O’Hara across the hills in a mare-breaking sort of way or the time he’s offered a stick by a neighbor with which to beat her. But there is also the purposeful re-imagining of an Ireland untouched by the garish obscenities brought about by the violent oppression of British rule and Ford, perhaps naively, paints a picture of a lovingly tolerant community with no divisions or hints at political unrest, except maybe that which occurs between a husband and wife. This idyllic conjuring could be upsetting to those who would see it less as a true to life telling and more as America turning a blind eye to their very real plight. [Scarlet]

Michael Collins

Here we have Hollywood taking an actual Irish historical legend in Michael Collins and giving it a good shakedown. A noble subject and an intense period of Irish history that everyone should be familiar with, actual historical inaccuracies do abound within the film, which offer a tainted view of what actually happened. There are also many poor accents here as well, most notably that of Hollywood favorite, Julia Roberts. Liam Neeson is Irish-born and gives an impassioned performance even though it’s never easy for a 44 year old man to pass off as 25. We’ll give Aidan Quinn an out since he has some Irish ancestry as well, and we could never fault a movie for casting Alan Rickman, non-Irishman though he may be and though his accent received much criticism as well. It is considered perhaps an essential watch if one were to need to freshen up on a vague sense of Irish history before traveling to said country, and it’s really hard to knock it when it was written and directed by Bligo-born Neil Jordan. However, it was one of the most successful films ever released in Ireland, herself, so it wouldn’t be too off color to watch on this day…with an actual history book by your side as a supplement. [Scarlet]

Darby O’Gill and The Little People

One of the first times Hollywood hijacked and bastardized the traditional legend of the Irish leprechaun via this Disney classic, it’s also another perpetrator of the time-honored tradition of the Scotsman-playing-Irish debacle. Sean Connery is always lovely to look at and equally lovely to listen to (except maybe whilst singing) and I’m sure Disney was banking on that goodness to distract everyone from his unfortunate attempt at the brogue. We won’t say you can’t still indulge in this fanciful twisting of Irish culture and folklore, but know that it hardly qualifies as authentic. [Scarlet]

Leprechaun

While Warwick Davis is one of our absolute favorites, and one can’t help but be impressed that he has held on for so long to this steadfast addition to the horror franchise collective, Davis’ Irish accent leaves one less than impressed. Not to mention the fact that the entire premise of the films center around a flagrant disregard for the actual historical mythical tradition surrounding the leprechaun. The first film for both Jennifer Aniston and Trimark, the video of it has sold less than 100,000 copies. The series in general still tends to be well watched for Halloween and St. Paddy’s day which only goes to show our never-quenched thirst for camp in this country. It’s not something we would promote, however, except maybe after several pints of the black stuff. Sláinte!  [Scarlet]

Leap Year

This movie received several poor reviews for its pat stereotypes and rom-com clichés, despite the endearing appeal of its ever charming star, Amy Adams. A.O. Scott of The New York Times is quoted as saying it was, “witless, charmless, and unimaginative” while Richard Roeper said it had a “recycled plot, lame sight gags, [and] leprechaun-like stock characters.” With several geographical inaccuracies throughout, they couldn’t have been expecting viewers to ever have been to Ireland in real life. Most damning of all the evidence against this film, however, is the review given by Donald Clarke of the Irish Times who said, following his viewing, that “Hollywood is incapable of seeing the Irish as anything but IRA men or twinkly rural imbeciles” and described it as “offensive, reactionary, patronising filth”. And this was only made five years ago! We would say that you could watch this one only in the dark recesses of your own home with all of the doors and windows locked and covered – and tell no one. [Scarlet]

Just so we’re not raining on everyone’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, we do have a few movies you COULD unashamedly watch on March 17th without feeling the need to refrain from posting it as your Facebook status:

The Commitments
Bloody Sunday
The Guard
My Left Foot
Once
The Snapper
Waking Ned Devine
In the Name of the Father
Netflix’s Peaky Blinders

Éirinn go Brách!

Disney dropped two major announcements on Thursday at their annual meeting of shareholders.

First, that the release date for Star Wars: Episode VIII has been set for May 26, 2017. They also shared that there will be a stand alone movie, Rogue One, set in the Star Wars universe that will be out on December 16, 2016 and (as we already know) directed by Gareth Edwards.

Also confirmed will be the official making of a sequel to Frozen, although they have yet to announce a release date or any other production details. All that’s known is that the first film’s directors, Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck are working on the project with producer Peter Del Vecho. The announcement of a sequel is no real surprise knowing the success of the original Oscar Award-winning film, but it’s good news for Frozen fans nonetheless.

On another note, shareholders had the opportunity to propose new policies and ideas to Disney’s CEO Bob Iger who responded to one such question that he will ban smoking from films marketed to kids…sad, maybe, that that needed to be stated. However, he won’t necessarily lobby for other production companies to follow suit.

All in all, it seemed to be a pretty productive meeting.

We’ll just leave you with this tweet from Kristen Bell:

Dreams really do come 2!!! #FROZEN2 #itsofficial pic.twitter.com/qF6qTQlnqi

— Kristen Bell (@IMKristenBell) March 12, 2015

With Disney bringing to life Maleficent in 2014, Cinderella in 2015, and all of Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass, The Jungle Book, and Beauty and the Beast set for 2016, one might wonder what other tricks they might have up their sleeve—and the answer would be…a live-action Dumbo?

Of the classic Disney cartoons, Dumbo might be the strangest one of them all, and the most intriguing as to how exactly they are going to do it. Who else to bring on board, in that case, then the ever-odd master-of-the-strange Tim Burton himself? Having collaborated for Alice in Wonderland in 2010, this will definitely be an intriguing pairing.

Known best for the highly popular but always divisive Transformers franchise, screenwriter Ehren Kruger has already written the script and will be producing it with Justin Springer, who was behind Tron: Legacy and Oblivion.

It’s hard not to picture that poor little elephant flying through a lot of futuristic explosions with those two at the helm, but we’re excited for what’s to come! Though, it’s a little strange to consider what Burton could do with that childhood-scarring, acid-trip of a dancing elephant scene.

Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller made a guest appearance during Paris Fashion Week on the Valentino runway to announce the return of the ridiculously good-looking duo, Hansel and Derek Zoolander, in Zoolander 2.

The original movie is about the vapid but good-hearted male models that are hooked into a ploy to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia (or the slightly less offensive Micronesia as it’s stated in the edited movies released in Malaysia and Singapore). With a cast including Milla Jovovich, Jerry Stiller, David Duchovny, Jon Voight, and Vince Vaughn, there were also waves of cameos in the first film such as Donald Trump, Victoria Beckham, David Bowie, and Billy Zane.

Talks of a sequel have been in the works since at least 2008 but things are finally starting to look solid. It will be written and directed by Justin Theroux who is known for his writing credits on Tropic Thunder, Iron Man 2, and Rock of Ages, and he also played the Evil DJ in the first movie. So far, it looks as if Will Ferrell and Christine Taylor will be returning to reprise their roles. Penelope Cruz is also confirmed to be signed on for the film.

Filming will begin in Rome at Cinecitta Studios this Spring and will be released on February 12th, 2016.

Watch Derek and Hansel at Paris Fashion Week below.

We are not going to stop celebrating our Anniversary. And you can’t make us. On that note, we are still not done ecstatically bragging about all of our favorite movies that share 2015 as a big year. It’s like celebrating an Anniversary Spectacular with all of our friends! If you want more, see 8 Movies That Turn 50 and 17 Movies That Turn 25.

Now we’re moving on to the Old Timers club, and as young as we are, we respect our elders. Here are the films turning 75 this year.

1940 Highlights

Within the span of a year, Soviets had bombed cities in Finland and taken Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Germany occupies Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, and Italy declared war on Britain and France and invade Egypt and Greece. Both the Olympics and Wimbledon are cancelled due to World War II. Winston Churchill succeeded Neville Chamberlain as the British Prime Minister and Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected as U.S. President for his third term. McDonald’s opens its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California. The first helicopter flight is made in Stratford, Connecticut, and Billboard publishes its first singles record chart and the #1 song is “I’ll Never Smile Again” by Tommy Dorsey. Bugs Bunny makes his debut in “Wild Hare.” California opens its first freeway, Arroyo Seco Parkway and the first demonstration of color television is done in New York by CBS.

The Shop Around the Corner

Release Date: January 12, 1940
Starring: James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, and Frank Morgan
Directed By: Ernst Lubitsch
Tagline: James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan find their hearts desire in The Shop Around the Corner.

Coming out just a year after his Oscar nominated performance in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Jimmy Stewart returned for The Shop Around the Corner with Margaret Sullavan. They would return to the screen together the next year in The Mortal Storm. It was selected to be preserved in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry for its cultural significance. Produced and Directed by Ernst Lubitsch who made it at as a tribute to the long vanished clothing firm his father owned in Berlin and he considered it one of the best pictures he ever made in his life. Determined to have both James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan as part of the cast, he held off on the movie and in his downtime he made a little film called Ninotchka, making 1940 the year for The Shop Around the Corner. Also starring Frank Morgan, who is mostly known for his role as the wizard in The Wizard of Oz. Remade at least five times in the last 75 years, the most memorable remakes were 1949’s In the Good Old Summertime with Judy Garland and Van Johnson and 1998’s You’ve Got Mail with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.

His Girl Friday

Release Date: January 18, 1940
Starring: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Bellamy
Directed By: Howard Hawks
Tagline: She learned about men from him!

Quentin Tarantino considers His Girl Friday one of his favorite films. Rosalind Russell was never really considered for the part of Hildy and was only cast after a long list of female actresses including Margaret Sullavan, Jean Arthur, Katherine Hepburn, Claudette Colbert, and Irene Dunne rejected the part. Miffed and a little sullen that her character had such weak lines compared to Grant’s, Russell hired her own writer to amp them up. Since improvisation was encouraged especially with the novel rapid-fire delivery that was expected on this set, no one seemed to notice except Cary Grant. This film, too, was selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry for its historical and cultural significance. The only music in the entire film is in the first and last two minutes with the credits being shown over newspaper print.

Pinocchio

Release Date: February 23, 1940
Starring: Mel Blanc, Frankie Darro, Cliff Edwards, Dickie Jones
Directed By: Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts
Tagline: The Wonder Tale The Whole World Loves!

Winner of two Oscars for Best Original Song, “When You Wish Upon A Star,” and Best Original Score, when Pinocchio was first released it actually experienced a loss financially. This was probably due to World War II limiting its international release and the fact that this was the first time an animated film had used celebrities for the voices of its characters, upping the budget to $2.8 million making it one of the most expensive movie productions at the time. However, it was re-issued four times before 1973 earning $13 million back and much wider acclaim. It has since been released several more times but went back into the Disney vault in 2011. It is generally considered by critics to be the best animated film of all time both technically and artistically.

The Great Dictator

Release Date: March 7, 1940
Starring: Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard
Directed By: Charlie Chaplin
Tagline: Once again – the whole world laughs!

Though this film was banned by Hitler in Germany and all Nazi-occupied countries, he did have a print brought to him and he apparently screened it twice though no one recorded his reaction. Charlie Chaplin would always wonder what he had thought of it. The ban stayed through the end of World War II and into 1958. Chaplin was one of Hitler’s favorite actors even though he had thought he was Jewish. This was Chaplin’s first full talking film with sound. He funded it entirely himself and ended up being the most financially successful of all of his films and it was the last in which he would be seen with the iconic bowler hat and walking cane. It was nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Score. Since the U.S. was still formally at peace with Germany and the atrocities that were actually being committed against the Jews were largely unknown at the time (there were a few comedic satires made about the Nazis including The Three Stooges’ You Nazty Spy!) Chaplin had maintained that if he had truly known what was going on, especially concerning the horrors of the concentration camps, he would have never made the film.

The Grapes of Wrath

Release Date: March 15, 1940
Starring: Henry Fonda and John Carradine
Directed by: John Ford
Tagline: The thousands who have read this book will know why WE WILL NOT SELL ANY CHILDREN’S TICKETS to see the picture!

Another controversial film, The Grapes of Wrath was banned by Stalin in the Soviet Union because it showed that even the most impoverished in the U.S. could own a car. Darryl F. Zanuck had some doubts about Steinbeck’s portrayal of the migrant camps and sent investigators to see how much of the story had been exaggerated. As it turned out, the actual conditions of the camps were much worse than Steinbeck had illustrated in the novel. A month and a half after the movie’s release in theaters, Steinbeck would be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for this book. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won two: John Ford for Best Director and Jane Darwell for Best Supporting Actress. Also selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. As a matter of fact, it was one of the first to be voted into it. Henry Fonda kept the hat he wore in the movie for the rest of his life.

Rebecca

Release Date: April 12, 1940
Starring: Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Tagline: The shadow of this woman darkened their love.

Based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier, this was Alfred Hitchcock’s first American project and the first time being produced by David O. Selznick. This gothic tale starred Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine as his haunted second wife. Olivier campaigned to get his then girlfriend, Vivien Leigh, cast for the lead role and when she didn’t get it he supposedly made Joan Fontaine feel very unwanted. Hitchcock used that to his advantage to make her character seem legitimately unsure of herself. Winning two Oscars for Best Picture and Best Cinematography, it was nominated for NINE more including Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director. This was the only Hitchcock film that ever won an Oscar for Best Picture. It was shown at the very first Berlin International Film Festival in 1951.

My Favorite Wife

Release Date: May 17, 1940
Starring: Irene Dunne and Cary Grant
Directed By: Garson Kanin
Tagline: The funniest, fastest honeymoon ever screened!

Inspired by Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem, Enoch Arden, My Favorite Wife was nominated for three Oscars including Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, and Best Original Score. Initially going to be remade in 1962 as Something’s Got To Give with Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin, and Cyd Charisse, they experienced multiple problems as Monroe kept failing to appear for work. She was fired and then rehired but died before filming could be completed. Ultimately the project was re-cast and re-done with Doris Day and James Garner in 1963’s Move Over Darling. Lux Radio Theater broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on December 9, 1940 with Gail Patrick reprising her film role.

Boom Town

Release Date: August 30, 1940
Starring: Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Claudette Colbert and Hedy Lamarr
Directed By: Jack Conway
Tagline: Where men are rough and tough…and like their women the same way!

Boom Town was nominated for two Oscars for Best Cinematography and Best Special Effects. Clark Gable’s father was an oil driller in Oklahoma and Gable worked with him as a teen providing some insight into the subject of the film and his character. Lifelong friends, this was the third and final film that Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy would do together. Spencer Tracy contracted afterwards that any other films made later would give him equal billing with Gable. As MGM wasn’t sure how to handle this, they never again did a movie together. It was also the last film that Gable would do with Claudette Colbert, the only other one being It Happened One Night which was released six years before. It was one of Clark Gable’s most successful films at the Box Office second only to Gone With The Wind.

The Philadelphia Story

Release Date: December 26, 1940
Starring: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart
Director: George Cukor
Tagline: Broadway’s howling year-run comedy hit of the snooty society beauty who slipped and fell – IN LOVE!

Jimmy Stewart won the Best Actor Oscar for his role in The Philadelphia Story. The movie also won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for four more. Cary Grant donated his entire salary to the British War Relief Society. The playwright Philip Barry wrote the play for Broadway specifically for Katharine Hepburn. Howard Hughes bought the film rights and gave them to Hepburn with her forgoing a salary for a percentage of the profits. This was Hepburn’s attempt to recover from her rumored curse as “Box Office Poison” so when Cary Grant demanded top billing, no one argued. In 1995 it was selected to be preserved in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress for its cultural and historical significance. The film was remade in 1956 as High Society with Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra.

It’s our five-year anniversary this week! And to continue with the theme, we are sharing movies that share this year with us as a landmark! We’ve already done 8 Movies That Turn 50 in 2015. The following films came out in 1990 so this year they will celebrate their 25th Anniversary.

1990 Highlights

Big things were going down in the world when these movies came out in theaters. In February alone, the Communist Party relinquished sole power in the Soviet Government leading to the dissolution of the USSR and Nelson Mandela is released from prison after 27 1/2 years of incarceration in South Africa. The Western Alliance ends the Cold War and East and West Germany are reunited. Not all is happy, however, as the Persian Gulf War begins in August when Iraqi troops invade Kuwait and Margaret Thatcher resigns as the British Prime Minister in November. As far as history being made in the entertainment arena, the X-Rating is replaced by NC-17, The Simpsons debuts on FOX to instant acclaim, and Seinfeld debuts on NBC. This is the same year that Milli Vanilli owns up to lip-synching and has their Grammy revoked and the Hubble Space Telescope is launched.

The Grifters

Release Date: January 4, 1990
Starring: Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening
Directed By: Stephen Frears
Tagline: Seduction. Betrayal. Murder. Who’s conning who?

Based on Jim Thompson’s pulp novel of the same name, John Cusack loved the book so much that he wanted to option it in high school. When he was cast he accepted much less than was his going rate at the time. Produced by Martin Scorsese, he called in Stephen Frears who had just finished directing Dangerous Liaisons. It was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The last scenes were so intense for Anjelica Huston that it took hours to emotionally recover after filming it and she spent the night throwing up.

Tremors

Release Date: January 19, 1990
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire
Directed By: Ron Underwood
Tagline: They say there’s nothing new under the sun. But under the ground…

This was the first film in which Reba McEntire acted. Filming for Michael Gross began the day after the final episode of Family Ties. Tremors was not a box office smash in theaters but became a cult hit once it went to VHS, making back three times its budget. There have been three direct-to-video sequels and one attempt at a television series that lasted from March to August of 2003. Tremors 5: Bloodline with Jamie Kennedy is set to be released in October of this year. Michael Gross is the only actor to have appeared in all five movies and star in the short-lived TV series.

The Hunt For Red October

Release Date: March 2, 1990
Starring: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, Sam Neill
Directed By: John McTiernan
Tagline: Invisible. Silent. Stolen

Based on Tom Clancy’s 1984 debut novel, it is the first to feature the character of Jack Ryan, ex-Marine turned CIA analyst. It won the Academy Award for sound editing. It is rumored that they spent $20,000 on a hairpiece for Sean Connery. John McTiernan has a penchant for missing directorial opportunities for sequels; because of filming conflicts with The Hunt for Red October, he was unable to direct Die Hard 2. And he also was not able to direct the sequel to The Hunt for Red October because he was directing The Medicine Man (also with Sean Connery). There is also a bit of an easter egg in The Hunt For Red October. At the end Jack Ryan brings a teddy bear home—it is the same teddy bear John McClane arrives with in Die Hard.

Pretty Woman

Release Date: March 23, 1990
Starring: Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Jason Alexander
Directed By: Garry Marshall
Tagline: Who knew it was so much fun to be a hooker?

Set in Los Angeles, this would be Ralph Bellamy’s final performance. It was also one of the highest grossing films in 1990, the highest ever for a romantic comedy. Julia Roberts won a Golden Globe for Best Actress and received an Academy Award nomination in the same category. It is still one of the most financially successful romantic comedies of all time. Along with When Harry Met Sally, it served to reincarnate the genre on the whole seeing as Hollywood hadn’t churned out any that would fit that specific bill since the Doris Day/Rock Hudson days. The soundtrack was released on Valentine’s Day in 1990 and went platinum three times.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Release Date: March 30, 1990
Starring: Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, Josh Pais
Directed By: Steve Barron
Tagline: Lean, green, and on the screen!

Featuring Corey Feldman as the voice of Donatello and a very young Sam Rockwell as “Head Thug,” this was the first film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. It serves as an origin story, mainly, with the introduction of April O’Neill and Casey Jones to the teen reptiles. It is still the second highest grossing independent film of all time and was the ninth highest grossing film of the year. The turtles were created in Jim Henson’s Creature Shop in London and at the time he said they were the most advanced thing he had ever worked with. Many major production companies including Disney and Warner Bros. turned down the film but it finally found distribution through the then-small New Line Cinema. The sequel released also achieved success however the third installment released in 1993 was a flop. Another attempt to bring another sequel in, this time with CGI turtles, was released in 2007. In 2014 they rebooted the franchise starring Will Arnett and Megan Fox.

Total Recall

Release Date: June 1st, 1990
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside
Directed By: Paul Verhoeven
Tagline: They stole his mind, now he wants it back.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had a huge role in having this film finally developed. It had been in the writing stages for 16 years before he picked it up. One of the most expensive films ever made for that time period, it is loosely based on the story “We Can Remember It For You Whole Sale” by Philip K. Dick. The original score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith and won the BMI Film Music Award. Piers Anthony did a novelization of the film that corresponded pretty well with it. 2002’s Minority Report originated as a sequel to Total Recall, however it was put on the back burner and once it finally did get picked up it got re-written so many times and it was produced as a completely independent film. It was remade in 2012 with Colin Ferrell and Kate Beckinsale.

Ghost

Release Date: July 13th, 1990
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg
Directed By: Jerry Zucker
Tagline: Before Sam was murdered, he told Molly he’d love and protect her forever.

Whoopi Goldberg won both an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her role as a begrudgingly helpful psychic in Ghost. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards and besides Best Supporting Actress, Bruce Joel Rubin took home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. It was a huge financial success and was the highest grossing film of 1990. Sandwiched between Road House and Point Break, this was quite a serious turn for Patrick Swayze’s acting skills and he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.

Problem Child

Release Date: July 27, 1990
Starring: Michael Oliver, John Ritter, Jack Warden
Directed By: Dennis Dugan
Tagline: Attila the Hun. Ivan the Terrible. Al Capone. They were all seven once.

This was not the movie that Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski wanted to write. They had initially intended for it to go along the lines of the many grown up films starring kids such as Mr. Mom and Kindergarten Cop. It had been inspired by a real life news article of a couple who sued an orphanage for not disclosing the issues that they had been having with their adopted son who had already been returned to the orphanage for his behavior problems multiple times. Alexander and Karaszewski imagined something dark and satirical. Universal Pictures, however, demanded that it be rewritten as a children’s movie. Anticipating a huge flop, they were surprised to find that it was met with a successful release. It inspired one theatrical sequel and one TV movie sequel as well as a cartoon. Just a side note, the day this movie released, Zsa Zsa Gabor began her three day jail sentence for slapping a cop.

The Witches

Release Date: August 24, 1990
Starring: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Rowan Atkinson
Directed By: Nicolas Roeg
Tagline: Saving the world from witches is a tall order for a boy they’ve turned into a mouse!

Based on the book by Roald Dahl, Jim Henson Productions took this movie on. This would be the last movie distinct with Henson’s personal touch before he died and the last movie based on one of Dahl’s books made while the author was still alive. Though it didn’t do well in the box office, it has since been very well-regarded. It has a very rare Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%. Generally it is seen as a vehicle by which we can enjoy a unique and incredible performance by Anjelica Huston. Cher was originally thought of for the casting of the Grand High Witch but she was busy filming Mermaids.

Goodfellas

Release Date: September 21, 1990
Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Tagline: Shooting people was ‘no big deal’.

Joe Pesci won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in this film but it was nominated for five more including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also won the BAFTA awards for Best Screenplay, Best Direction, and Best Film. Based on Nicholas Pileggi’s Book “Wise Guys” about the real life of mobster Henry Hill, Martin Scorsese cold called Pileggi to ask if he could adapt it into a film, he was that impressed. It is also preserved in the film registry of the Library of Congress based on its cultural significance.

Home Alone

Release Date: November 16, 1990
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara
Directed By: Chris Columbus
Tagline: A family comedy. Without the family.

Written and produced by John Hughes, this was the second movie to be released starring Joe Pesci in 1990. With an original score by John Williams, its music was nominated for two Oscars. The idyllic, and very large, McCallister Home (seriously, what DID those parents do for a living?) is in Winnetka, Illinois. The film was so financially successful in the box office that by the time its theater run was over it was the third highest grossing film of all time, and the highest grossing comedy ever. Two years later it would release a well received sequel with all of the original cast returning. There was a third sequel that had all different actors but it wasn’t nearly as successful as either of the others. The fourth movie was only made for TV and was the only one John Hughes did not write the screenplay for.

Dances With Wolves

Release Date: November 21, 1990
Starring: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene
Directed By: Kevin Costner
Tagline: Lt. John Dunbar is about to discover the frontier…within himself.

Almost sweeping the Oscars with seven wins, Dances With Wolves won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score as well as Golden Globes for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Score, by John Barry. This was the first movie that Kevin Costner would produce and direct as well as star in and it was selected to be preserved in the Library of Congress’ Film Registry for its cultural significance. The dialogue spoken in the film is largely Lakota with English subtitles. Its positive characterization of Native Americans resulted in Costner being adopted into the Sioux Nation as an honorary member, though it is not without its historical inaccuracies as is to be expected.

Misery

Release Date: November 30, 1990
Starring: James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Lauren Bacall
Directed By: Rob Reiner
Tagline: This Christmas there will be…Misery.

Stephen King’s novel comes to life through Kathy Bates’ psychopath, Annie Wilkes, for which she won the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Actress. She was the first woman to receive a Best Acting Academy Award for a horror or thriller. It’s the only Stephen King film to win an Academy Award. William Goldman adapted it to the stage as well and it premiered in 2012 at Bucks County Playhouse.

Edward Scissorhands

Release Date: December 14, 1990
Starring: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall
Directed By: Tim Burton
Tagline: His story will touch you, even though he can’t.

Tim Burton hand-picked Caroline Thompson to write the screenplay for this film after he read one of her short stories. The concept of Edward Scissorhands’ character came about from a sketch Tim Burton had done in high school. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup and a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical. The role of the inventor was written with Vincent Price in mind. His unfinished product, Edward, played by Johnny Depp, is left with scissors for hands when the inventor dies unexpectedly. It was the fourth time Burton would work with Danny Elfman for the original score. Close friends for a long time, their professional collaboration has spanned 30 years.

Mermaids

Release Date: December 14, 1990
Starring: Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci
Directed By: Richard Benjamin
Tagline: This is our mother. Pray for us.

Released on the same day as Edward Scissorhands, in which she also starred, Winona Ryder was nominated for a Supporting Actress Golden Globe after her performance in Mermaids. Though she was a blonde in Edward Scissorhands, Mermaids had her in her natural brunette. Cher plays her non-traditional mom going it alone in the early 1960’s. Christina Ricci makes her feature film debut as Ryder’s young sister. It’s based on a novel of the same name by Patty Dann that had been published four years earlier in 1986.

Hamlet

Release Date: December 19, 1990
Starring: Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Helena Bonham Carter
Directed By: Franco Zeffirelli
Tagline: The extraordinary telling of a classic tale.

It is the first film produced by Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions which Gibson founded because no other production company had wanted to take on a Shakespearean film. Hamlet received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. This was Glenn Close’s only attempt at a Shakespearean role either on stage or on-screen. Meanwhile, Gibson had already played Juliet in an all male production of Romeo and Juliet in Australia.

Awakenings

Release Date: December 22, 1990
Starring: Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner
Directed By: Penny Marshall
Tagline: There’s no such thing as a simple miracle.

Based on Oliver Sacks’ 1973 memoir around his work with encephalitis patients and the successful usage of L-Dopa medication. It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor (Robert De Niro) and Robin Williams was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. Vin Diesel debuts his acting skills as an uncredited orderly. Opening to a limited release in December qualified it for that years Academy Awards. Its wider release didn’t occur until January of 1991, however.

We at Way Too Indie aren’t the only ones to be celebrating a milestone anniversary in 2015. This year is perfect for a retrospective of influential films that are coming upon their 25, 50, and 75 year anniversaries. We’ll showcase all these time-tested films this week starting with the 50th anniversary films. Mostly because today The Sound of Music turns 50 and we can hardly wait to give it some much deserved love.

1965 Highlights

A little context around what was happening 50 years ago. This was the year the U.S. combat troops would arrive in Vietnam, numbering 190,000 American soldiers by year’s end. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be arrested along with 2,600 other protestors in Selma on February 1st and Malcolm X would be shot and killed at Harlem rally on February 21st. That year the world would lose Winston Churchill, Nat King Cole, T.S. Eliot, and Adlai Stevenson. The LA Dodgers would defeat Minnesota 4-3 in the World Series and Boston would defeat the LA Lakers in the NBA Championship. This is also the year that the (not so notorious then) Bill Cosby would be the first African-American to headline a TV show in I Spy. Throughout everything, the shows went on and the following films would be released in 1965.

The Sound of Music

Release Date: March 2, 1965
Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer
Directed By: Robert Wise
Tagline: …the more you see it, the more it becomes one of your favorite things.

Based on the real life book the Story of the Von Trapp Singers by Maria Von Trapp, the movie contained songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It won five Academy Awards that year including Best Picture and Best Director and it’s soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy. The United States Library of Congress selected The Sound of Music to be preserved in the National Film Registry in 2001 for it’s cultural and historical significance. Julie Andrews learned to play the guitar just for this movie. If we were to adjust for inflation this would be the third highest grossing film and highest grossing musical of all time, and after it went to video it remained on the charts for five years.

Beach Blanket Bingo

Release Date: April 14, 1965
Starring: Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Deborah Walley
Directed By: William Asher
Tagline: It’s the wettest, wildest game in town!

The fifth of the series of Beach Party movies, this one starred the hit movie couple, Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. It was playing on a drive-in movie screen in the 1983 movie, The Outsiders, which was set in the 1960’s. It was also featured for a few brief moments, though dubbed in Vietnamese, in Good Morning Vietnam.
What else was happening in the world the day this movie was released in theaters? Perry E. Smith and Robert E. Hickok, the American murderers that were written about in In Cold Blood, were hanged.

For A Few Dollars More

Release Date: May 10, 1965
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volonte
Directed By: Sergio Leone
Tagline: Clint Eastwood is back, and he’s burning at both ends – if you can take it!

The second part of the Italian spaghetti western Dollars trilogy, it follows A Fistful of Dollars and precedes The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and Ennio Morricone returned to compose the now famous soundtrack for this film as well. Sergio Leone hadn’t planned to direct a sequel to A Fistful of Dollars, but the production company withheld his earnings from that movie unless he did. This was Lee Van Cleef’s first major role in a movie.

Shenandoah

Release Date: June 3, 1965
Starring: James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett
Directed By: Andrew V. McLaglen
Tagline: SHAKES THE SCREEN LIKE CANNON THUNDER!!

Nominated for an Oscar that year for Best Sound, it broke box office records in Virginia where the story takes place. This film is set during the American Civil War and follows the Anderson family, most notably the patriarch played by James Stewart, in their attempts to stick to themselves and avoid all of the violence. This would resonate with audiences more and more in the years following as feelings towards the Vietnam War shifted. It was turned into a Broadway musical in 1975 for which John Cullum won his first Tony Award for Best Actor. A portion of the film’s music played before the Frontierland sequence in Disneyland’s 50th fireworks show, “Remember, Dreams Come True”.

Help!

Release Date: August 25, 1965
Starring: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
Directed By: Richard Lester
Tagline: The colorful adventures of the Beatles are more colorful than ever…in color!

This was the second feature film with The Beatles and sets them comically up against an evil cult. The Beatles said at the time that it was inspired by The Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup and was satirizing the James Bond series. The soundtrack was released as an album of the same name. Given a much larger budget than the successful A Hard Day’s Night, it was given a fuller soundtrack and had multiple exotic locations in which to film. Several of the Beatles have maintained that much of this movie was filmed under the influence of marijuana, though if anyone is surprised at that, we’d in turn be surprised. It was nominated for two BAFTA awards and one Grammy for Original Score.

That Darn Cat!

Release Date: December 2, 1965
Starring: Hayley Mills, Dean Jones, Dorothy Provine, Roddy McDowall
Directed By: Robert Stevenson
Tagline: They’ll crack this case by a whisker!

Following the misadventures of the wily DC (short for Darn Cat) and his two adorable sister-owners as they help to rescue a kidnapped woman, this was the last of six films that Hayley Mills would make with Walt Disney Productions but it was the first for Dean Jones who plays deathly allergic FBI agent, Zeke Kelso. Based on the book Undercover Cat by Gordon and Mildred Gordon, the title song was written by The Sherman Brothers and sung by Bobby Darin. A remake was made in 1997 starring Christina Ricci.

Thunderball

Release Date: December 22, 1965
Starring: Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi
Directed By: Terence Young
Tagline: Look here! For the Biggest Bond of All!

The fourth Bond film, Thunderball won an Oscar for Best Visual and Special Effects. Frustrated with the press, at the time of filming Sean Connery avoided all journalists and photographers and gave only one interview—to Playboy. Adjusting for inflation, it was the highest grossing film of the series. One of the scenes has James Bond swimming with sharks. Though there was a plastic partition in the pool to separate them, one got loose and Sean Connery was seconds away from being attacked before he jumped out to safety. On the day this was released in theaters, Great Britain set its national maximum speed limit at 70 miles per hour. Coincidence?

Doctor Zhivago

Release Date: December 31, 1965
Starring: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin
Directed By: David Lean
Tagline: A love caught in the fire of revolution!

Loosely based on Boris Pasternak’s novel, it won Five Oscars that year: Best Writing, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Music Score. Set in Russia before the Russian Civil War, it was banned by the Soviet Union at the time and thus couldn’t film on location. Instead it was filmed in Spain, mostly. Though at its release it wasn’t received well by critics who mainly complained about its excessive length (being over three hours) over the years it’s adulation has grown to be considered one of the best films of all time. By the way, on this exact date the American author, Nicholas Sparks, was born. He’s got romance in his stars.

I am too young to have seen the original series of Star Trek live on television, but my dad made sure that we grew up with them as he had. I was in Middle School when he ordered the entire series on VHS from Columbia House. As all of us broke off to our rooms after school to do homework or talk with our friends on the phone or play on the computer, there was one sound that would have us all peeking out of the gaping holes of our sullen aloneness: those operatic opening notes of the now oh so familiar theme. My dad knew what could bring us all together to the TV room: Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones. This was my dad’s childhood he was sharing with us. The miracle of another world that could come through a 10-year-old child’s television set to make him forget for a moment his dad’s drunken outbursts. Or his mom’s confusing detachment. I will forever be grateful that he held onto that and wanted to gift it to us.

And now my heart is breaking as I am writing about the passing of yet another of that iconic crew which stood for so many groundbreaking moments and ideals of peace and dream seeking in such a turbulent era. Leonard Nimoy was 83 years old. His wife of 26 years, Susan Bay, confirmed that the cause was indeed end stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He had announced the diagnosis last year and attributed it to his many years of smoking. He was a vocal advocate for quitting the habit after he himself quit 30 years ago, not getting lost in the realization of his own doom but still reaching out to possibly save others from that same fate. I will call him a hero.

Leonard Nimoy is most well-known and well-loved for how he developed and portrayed the stone faced, brow-furrowing, logic-professing Mr. Spock of the U.S.S. Enterprise for three seasons between 1966-1967 (for which he was nominated for three Emmy’s) and eight of the Star Trek movies. His image will be indelibly stamped on many a sci-fi fan’s most prized possessions, that famed salute to ‘live long and prosper’ reaching out across generations. But it was only the start to a career that held him up as a towering figure of respect and admiration.

There are so many things that make him a man we can be proud to associate with the human race. Growing up as the son of immigrant Jewish parents, his dad owned a barbershop in the Mattapan section of Boston and he began acting at eight years old in his community’s children’s theatre. He took a few drama classes at Boston College but didn’t finish his studies there.

Nimoy served as a sergeant in the United States Army from 1953-1955 (he also played an uncredited Army Sergeant in Them! in 1954). Honorably discharged from the military, he jumped into television and has played roles in Dragnet, Perry Mason, and Bonanza. He’s also appeared in episodes of Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, and Rawhide. After Star Trek he immediately joined the cast of Mission Impossible and stayed for 49 episodes. He appeared on-stage many times in plays such as Fiddler on the Roof, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and The King and I.

A man of many passions and talents, in the ’70s he studied photography at UCLA and received an MA in Education from Antioch College. He’s also received an honorary doctorate from Antioch University in Ohio as well as an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Boston College. He has had several showcases for his black and white photography and is well-regarded in that sphere. He’s released five albums of vocal recordings on Dot Records and has written two volumes of autobiography, “I Am Not Spock” (1975), and “I Am Spock” (1995) along with publishing several books of poetry along many of his original photographs.

Nimoy had directed a few Star Trek episodes back in the day, but his film directing started in the ’80s. He directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in 1984 as well as 1986’s Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home which would turn out to be the most successful film in the franchise until 2009’s Star Trek. In 1987 he became a star director with the year’s highest grossing film, Three Men and A Baby. But after that he was done.

Leonard Nimoy did a lot of voice over work in the ’90s and returned as Spock in the newest installments of the Star Trek franchise in 2009. He was most recently known for playing a recurring small role in the sci-fi show, Fringe for which he received a Saturn Award nomination. He was also rumored to have been returning, along with William Shatner, in the next Star Trek installment.

Living a life so fruitful that there is not enough room to go on, he even made an appearance on one of my first dates with my now-husband to the Griffith Observatory where we watched him narrate the “Once and Future Griffith Observatory” film that plays in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon presentation theater named so for the generous contribution of Leonard and Susan Nimoy. Supporting this effort was important to him as he said “By observing the sky and pondering our place in the universe, people gain a new perspective on their daily lives.”

Though he was so professionally productive in life, some of the moments he is most remembered for were those seconds of interaction he took the time to share with those that admired and loved him, those fans known as Trekkies and Trekkers, who’ve been showing up to Sci-Fi conventions since at least 1967. Though he retired from convention appearances in 2011, he had been a consistent hub in the circuit for decades. He perhaps felt a sense of camaraderie with the people that looked at the characters as friends. He too was known to say, “Spock is definitely one of my best friends. When I put on those ears, it’s not like just another day. When I become Spock, that day becomes something special.”

In his last words to the Twitter Universe, he said, “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP”

And that is how you boldly go.

So this is our final farewell to you, Mr. Nimoy. Thank you. You have lived long and you have prospered.

And you have, and always shall be, our friend.

What do we know about the sequel to arguably last year’s best animated film (no thanks to you, Mr. Oscar)?

As of now, the release date for this highly anticipated nugget of gold has been pushed to 2018 due, in part, to the releases of two spin-off movies, Ninjago (2016) and The Lego Batman Movie (2017), as well as avoiding competition with other big animated features set to be released in 2017, Despicable Me 3 and Toy Story 4.

The most recently announced news is that the Masterbuilder…er, Director, will be Rob Schrab. While this will be his feature directorial début, he is known for lending his directing talents to shows like The Sarah Silverman Program, The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation, and Community. He has also written for the 81st Academy Awards for which he won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. So maybe they’ll have a fighting chance this time (ahem).

The original directors of The Lego Movie, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, will be back to write and produce The Lego Movie 2 screenplay along with fellow writers Michelle Morgan and Jared Stern.

Needless to say, the next few years are looking good for animated releases. What we mean to say is, our “kids” will be pleased…

Remember the old question, “If an alien landed on Earth, how would you explain America to him?” The answer is: Sean Astin. He is the embodiment of so much of what has shaped our cinematic history. From cult classics to box office blockbusters, child actor to leading man, the movies he has been such a memorable part of are staples for any avid movie buff’s collection and his public life has been something to be proud of as well.

Here are 15 reasons we love Sean Astin in honor of his 44th year.

That was his feature DEBUT. What were you doing at that age?

In 1991, he played rebellious bad boy Billy Tepper in Toy Soldiers alongside Will Wheaton as Joey Trotta, two teens who take on a criminal trying to hold their school hostage.

In 1992, he was Dave in Encino Man, who with his friend Stoney Brown (Pauly Shore) befriended newly unfrozen caveman Link, Brendan Fraser.

You know, from the Patty Duke Show? How could this not make someone instantly awesome? Not to say it’s all rainbows and butterflies. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982 and together they have been active in promoting public awareness for mental health issues.

He calls 3 other men ‘father’ as well: his biological father, Michael Tell, the man thought to be his biological father for the early years of his life, Desi Arnaz, Jr. and his mother’s current husband of 29 years, Michael Pearce. However, John Astin is the one he most associates with that title.

In 1992, Astin married Christine Harrell. They will celebrate their 23rd anniversary on July 11th this year and have 3 daughters. His eldest, Alexandra, also played his onscreen daughter, Elanor, in one of his last scenes in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

With Astin capturing the soul of this true story about a kid with not much going for him but incredible heart whose dream in life was to play football for Notre Dame, this was also the first movie Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn would share a scene in. That’s history, folks.

He would reprise his role twice more in 2002 and 2003 with The Two Towers and Return of the King.

He’s inked with the number ‘9’ in Tengwar script, the language of the Elves of Middle Earth. John Rhys-Davies is the only one of the nine without out it, though his body double got inked with it!

Co-written with Joe Layden, it focuses on his cinematic career with emphasis on his experience in Lord of the Rings.

He’s had major roles in both 50 First Dates (2004) and Click (2006).

Astin had to gain 35 to 40 pounds to play the role of the very round but dependable hobbit. This was an issue, however, because Sean Astin has been an avid long distance runner since he was a teen and has since completed 9 marathons and even more half-marathons, 10k and 5k runs. He basically had to cool it on the running so he wouldn’t lose the weight. He is also a spokesperson for RunDisney and in 2012 he created the Twitter movement and running group #Run3rd.

He’s served on two presidential campaigns, two non-partisan Presidential committees, and was a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army from 1995 to 2005. He is the host of Vox Populi Radio a non-partisan platform to discuss politics and current issues.

Slated to be released this year, it brings attention to one of the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history.

And that’s the long and short of it!

“Your wish is granted. Long live Jambi!”

There is a new Pee-Wee Herman film in the works being produced by Judd Apatow and Netflix just announced that it will be picking it up to release through its online streaming service worldwide. Paul Reubens will be back to recreate that lovably strange character that pulled us in as children in the 1986 CBS TV series Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, the Tim Burton produced film Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985) and Randal Kleiser’s Big-Top Pee-Wee, all of which can be enjoyed through Netflix’s service.

Co-Written by Paul Reubens and Paul Rust from Comedy Bang! Bang!, this movie is four years in the works and is a long time vision of Ruebens and Apatow. Paul Reubens first reawakened this Herman back in 2011 in a Saturday Night Live sketch with Andy Samberg and has since leant his voice to cartoon representations of said character with the intent of also then reawakening a new (and some old) fan base. John Lee, known from his directing of Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer, will be directing.

Though some might liken Netflix to “Direct to DVD” movies from days old, we shall see just how well they do when it comes to releasing their own movies. They have seen tremendous success with their original TV shows such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. They also have a four movie deal with Adam Sandler which will include The Ridiculous Six and have contracted with Weinstein Co. to release the sequel to Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. That’s kind of a big deal.

Needless to say, those of us with vague, and sometimes confusing, memories of this child-like, bow-tied persona, will be anxiously awaiting this long last recreation, especially seeing it through Judd Apatow’s eyes.

This bit of news has us screaming for ore.

According to Deadline Hollywood, Gail Katz has acquired the TV and film rights to this popular strategy board game, which may be even more exciting than acquiring the longest road. Katz, who is known for producing such movies as Air Force One and The Perfect Storm, was introduced to the game by her kids who are currently in college.

Settlers of Catan, created by Klaus Teuber, was first released in Germany in 1995. Since then it has been published in 30 languages with over 15 million games being sold internationally and has been adapted into several video games. It’s branched out into four different official game base expansions and it is also available as an app for Apple and Android.

Though attempts to transition boards games have been hit (Clue) or miss (Battleship), it’s safe to say that if this were to be adapted into a movie, gamers all over the world will be giddy.

See Will Wheaton, Jane Espenson, James Kyson, and Neil Grayston play it below.

The new promo for the 2015 MTV Movie Awards has us rolling in the movie theater aisles. Just when you thought you’ve achieved the zen pinnacle of wisdom for peace in all things according to your childhood tee-ball coach, Bill Hader and Amy Schumer have arrived on scene to deliver the ultimate reality check. Of course winning is everything.

That is the theme of their campaign to have us all tuning in to the MTV Movie Awards on April 12th hosted by Amy Schumer which is traditionally filmed at the Nokia Theater and known for breaking all sorts of awards season rules. Judging by Schumer’s particular shade of humor, this year is sure to hold a few comedic shockers.

Amy Schumer participated in the reality show Last Comic Standing on NBC and came in fourth place in their fifth season. She also came in second in Comedy Central’s Reality Bites Back. She currently stars in her own show Inside Amy Schumer on Comedy Central.

Though Amy Schumer is starting to get quite a footing as a comedian in Hollywood, audiences are still on the fence. This will be her first foray into the world of hosting and she has some big shoes to fill. Last year’s host was Conan O’Brien.

She also wrote and is starring opposite Bill Hader in the movie Trainwreck which is set to be released in July 2015. It looks like we will all be starting to see a lot more of Amy Schumer.

Be sure to catch the MTV Movie Awards with Amy Schumer on Sunday, April 12th at 8/7c and see Hader and Schumer destroy a movie theater below.

If you are anywhere in the vicinity of the millennial generation, you are familiar with the face and name of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. For those of us at all aware of popular culture growing up, Gordon-Levitt has been on the forefront of some of the things that could be considered keystones of our childhood, adolescence, and almost-there adulthood (hey, we’re millennials, after all).

Born on February 17th, 1981, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is turning 34 years old today and while most of us in our late 20’s/early 30’s may only now be coming to terms with our life goals and careers, Gordon-Levitt has had a grip on his from the beginning. We might say it was hereditary—his parents were only in radio but he does have family in the industry. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s grandfather directed Doris Day and Rock Hudson in the iconic Pillow Talk.

Come with us as we travel down memory lane to celebrate the life of Joseph Gordon-Levitt from child star to accomplished director and producer. We all may be aware that to survive childhood fame and even thrive in the entertainment business is no small feat. Here are ten things you may not know about growing up with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

#1. One of his earliest roles was in 1988 as the 7-year-old bully, Dougie, in Family Ties. And yet he is still so adorable.

#2. Gordon-Levitt has been a part of some of pop culture’s cult hits since his earliest years. In 1991 when he was 10 years old, he played creepy David Collins in Dark Shadows.

#3. In 1992, at 11, he played young Norman in A River Runs Through It.

#4. And who among us could forget that adorable 13-year-old foster kid, Roger, who tugged at our heartstrings in 1994 opposite Christopher Lloyd and Danny Glover in Angels in the Outfield?

#5. Remember Roseanne? Joseph Gordon-Levitt played ultra-boring neighbor, George who terrorized the family with his cute monotony from 1993 to 1995.

#6. In 1996, when he was 15, Gordon-Levitt played information officer alien turned long-haired teenage boy, Tommy Solomon, in the wacky and unforgettable 3rd Rock From the Sun.

#7. And of course we have to include when, at 18, he played the darling Cameron James in 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You. What’s not to love?

#8. While he took a small break to attend Columbia, he dropped out in 2004 to continue acting. In 2005 he played Brendan in Rian Johnson’s Brick and regained his footing as an adult actor.

#9. His popularity and credibility grew in 2009 when he was 28, with (500) Days of Summer opposite Zooey Deschanel.

#10. Joseph Gordon-Levitt achieved a career-defining role as Arthur in 2010’s Inception second to Leonardo Dicaprio making him prime a-list material.

#11. More recently, he captured our hearts playing a cancer survivor in the indie film 50/50 alongside Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick.

Since then, he made his directorial début in the well-regarded Don Jon in 2013 and is behind the collaborative production company HitRecord as an avenue for artists all over the world to contribute to creating and inspiring music, books, and film.

It’s wonderful to know that the child we grew up seeing on tv and film has flourished professionally and creatively. What’s even more remarkable is when they grow up to be someone we can admire on a personal level. Feminists everywhere fell in love with the person of Joseph Gordon-Levitt when he appeared on Ellen in 2014 and expressed his views on women as influenced by one of the most important women in his life, his mom.

We are looking forward to see him playing Edward Snowden, yet another iconic figure, in the film Snowden set to release in 2016.

And with that, we wish Joseph Gordon-Levitt the happiest of birthdays!

It’s a man’s man’s man’s world. At least in Hollywood.

Current conversations on women in “the industry” are getting a lot of attention at the moment, and here’s why. A newly published study of 100 of the top films produced in 2014, “It’s A Man’s (Celluloid) World” done by Martha M. Lauzen, Ph.D., indicates that there has been a drop in the already small percentage of representation of women in the entertainment industry both on-screen and off. These are the most scandalous of the findings as reported in Lauzen’s study:

According to the findings:

• Only 12% of all clearly identifiable protagonists were female in 2014. This represents a decrease of 3 percentage points from 2013 and a decrease of 4 percentage points from 2002. In 2014, 75% of protagonists were male, and 13% were male/female ensembles. For the purposes of this study, protagonists are the characters from whose perspective the story is told.

• Male characters were more likely than females to be identified only by a work-related role, such as doctor or business executive (61% of males vs. 34% of females). In contrast, female characters were more likely than males to be identified only by a personal life-related role such as wife or mother (58% of females vs. 31% of males). Male and female characters were equally likely to be identified in dual work-related and personal life-related roles (8% of females and males).

• Overall, 13% of characters were leaders. For the purposes of this study, leaders were those individuals occupying a formal leadership position in an organization, government or group and whose instructions and/or behaviors were followed by two or more other characters. Of those characters, a larger proportion of male characters (16%) than female characters (5%) were portrayed as leaders.

• In films with at least one woman director and/or writer, females comprised 37% of all speaking characters. In films with exclusively male directors and writers, females accounted for 28% of all speaking characters.

• In films with at least one woman director and/or writer, females comprised 39% of protagonists, males 35% of protagonists, and male/female ensembles 26% of protagonists. In films with exclusively male directors and writers, females accounted for 4% of protagonists, males 87% of protagonists, and male/female ensembles 9% of protagonists.

• A higher proportion of male than female characters had an identifiable occupational status. 85% of male characters but only 75% of female characters had an identifiable job/occupation.

• A substantially larger portion of male than female characters were seen in their work setting actually working (59% vs. 41%).

This news should be particularly disturbing once we hear that, according to a study on 2012 MPAA Global Movie Going Statistics, 18% of film goers, 15 million people, were between the ages of 12-24. One can’t help but be concerned as to what they could possibly be taking away from that.

This all seems especially timely in light of President Obama’s comments on Equal Pay in his 2014 State of the Union Address when he said, “A woman deserves equal pay for equal work…It’s time to do away with workplace policies in a Mad Men episode.” According to the Women’s Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor, the ration of women’s earnings to men’s has only risen by 16.7 percent since 1980 from 64.2% to 80.9% average women’s pay compared to men’s in 2012.

And there’s always the oft discussed fact that the U.S. is the only developed nation in the world without federally mandated paid maternity leave.

The 2010 Census told us a lot about how the U.S. Labor Force has changed since 1940. According to the Women’s Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor, the percentage of women in every major occupation has jumped drastically since just 1985, the peak of the Women’s Liberation Movement. For instance in the 25 years since 1985 we have seen a jump in women lawyers by more than 30%, women chemists by 20%, and women architects by 10%. As of 2010, 80% of Social Workers, 70% percent of Medical and Health Managers, and over 60% of Accountants and Auditors in the labor force were women.

If numbers in the real world seem to be indicative of a powerful increase of women in the workforce, how is Hollywood getting things so backwards?

Since it has sparked such a vigorous discussion in the online sphere, hopefully this is a sign that it has been a rude awakening for many who might think that there is no more need for feminism or women have obtained a completely equal footing in the U.S. Is it enough that the entertainment industry is receiving a public shaming via online news sources and publications? Will they listen?

Here is hoping that 2015-2016 shows a significant change in the representation of women in the film industry, both on and off. Even if it is left up to the independent film world and the few brave souls who dare to take on this challenge.

What if we took a love triangle between Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, and Rachel McAdams, threw in some John Krasinski, and then situated everything on the island of Hawaii?

Could it indeed get any better than this? The new trailer for Cameron Crowe’s Aloha has just been released and we say, actually, yes. Yes it does. And their names are Bill Murray and Alec Baldwin.

Bradley Cooper plays a disgraced weapons consultant who is called in for a special operation in Hawaii, giving him a chance for redemption, new (or old?) love, and reclaiming the name he had once made for himself there. Emma Stone is the soldier assigned to guide and guard him (from himself, mainly) and Rachel McAdams plays the love-torn ex trying to find contentment in her own reclaimed life as wife of John Krasinski and mother of 2. Bill Murray and Alec Baldwin are the two opposing bosses of said military and contracting companies with vastly dissimilar leadership tactics.

Columbia Pictures’ Aloha is set to be released in theaters on May 29, 2015.

What’s in store for the fantastical world of Tim Burton?

Aside from the incredible confirmation that he will be directing Beetlejuice 2 which is rumored to be in the works for 2016 and includes a screenplay by original screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith (and for which Michael Keaton has expressed deep enthusiasm for reprising his role as the title character) he is in post-production right now for Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass, that is also set for 2016.

Burton has also been slowly but surely adding to the cast of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Based on the 2011 YA novel of the same name, the freshman work of author Ransom Riggs, it follows the story of tragedy-stricken 16-year-old Jacob, who Asa Butterfield has been cast to play. He discerns that there are clues in his grandfather’s old photographs—which, in the book, are actual professional photographs picked from archives. He is led to a former home for special children that is no longer occupied… or is it? And said former occupants might have a lot more to them than meets the eye. The book was a New York Times Bestseller and was #1 on the list for children’s chapter books for 45 weeks.

Along with Butterfield, the newly announced cast includes Burton favorite Eva Green as Miss Peregrine and the great Samuel L. Jackson as Barron.

It seems the sort of work written especially for the unusual and strange talents of Tim Burton. According to IMDB, the film is slated for an early 2016 release as well. Is there really a possibility for three movies from Tim Burton in one year? Our hearts can barely sustain it. What can we say? It sounds like it is going to be a mystical Burtonesque 2016! All we have to say is, Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!!

Lionsgate has just announced that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 will be released in IMAX 3D. And that’s not all that they want to be bigger and better. Following the models of the likes of the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises, they too chose to extend the life of their box office income.

As if splitting the last book into two movies wasn’t enough, it sounds like they are dabbling with the idea of developing potential prequels and sequels just to keep the lucrative juices flowing. Nothing has been set in stone, but it comes as no surprise to those of us who, in spite of the best principles, still spend our hard earned cash buying three tickets instead of one for a beloved story about a hobbit, for instance.

They know what they’re doing, and who can blame them? Since 2012, The Hunger Games franchise has grossed $1,167,937,153 and that’s just at the box office. Not to mention despite being only half a film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 was last year’s highest grossing film. Who would want to stop there?

Considering the book series is over at this point, we’re curious what the plot of future films will be, and no word of yet on whether author Suzanne Collins will help in that department.

They’re heeerrree… and some of us may need to go check our underpants. Check out the new trailer for Sam Raimi’s Poltergeist reboot with Sam Rockwell.

Directed by Gil Kenan, who’s known for Monster House and City of Ember, this doesn’t look like any cheesy two-bit horror remake. Kenan and Raimi appear to give the original classic its due while putting a modern twist (with modern horrors) on this tale of terror. Though we’re happy to see they kept the iconic clown doll scene, even if it is something we’re still working through in therapy since the first film.

Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt, along with Mad Men’s Jared Harris, make up the most recognizable of the cast. Though, casting unknowns sometimes makes for a more horrifying thriller when nary a face is recognizable enough to shake our suspension of disbelief. They have managed to cast a young girl, Kennedi Clements, that gives Heather O’Rourke a run for her money in the creepiness category. Quite the feat.

The film is slated for a July release.

This announcement might cause quite a stir among Anime-niacs! It has just been announced that Australia’s Animal Logic and Japan’s Tezuka Productions will be teaming up to make 1952’s Anime robot hero, Astro Boy, into a live action film produced by Zareh Nalbandian. Nalbandian is known for his visual effects work on The Matrix, Happy Feet, and The Great Gatsby.

The original Manga (known in Japan as Mighty Atom) was written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka and went on from 1952-1968. It evolved into the first successful animated Japanese television series. In a world where robots and humans exist side by side, the premise involves a respected scientist, Dr. Tenma, creating a robot to replace his dead son—(Nationwide is on your side?)—who in turn becomes a superhero.

A computer animated version of Astro Boy was released in 2009 with Nicolas Cage voicing Dr. Tenma and Freddie Highmore voicing Astro Boy.

There is no director as yet and no casting announcements or timeline has been announced. The producers will begin looking for writers very soon.

The Holidays will be quite happening this year as the new Rocky spinoff, Creed, starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone, where we see an aged Rocky Balboa training the grandson of his former opponent, Apollo, is set to open this Thanksgiving.

Also, the remake of 1991 cult classic Point Break has been moved to Christmas Day taking the abandoned place left by Mission Impossible:5 after being scared off by Star Wars: Episode 7 taking the weekend before. Oh, that’s right, The Force Awakens is set to open December 18th.

It’s loads of news to look forward to this year for those of us that file ourselves in the nerd category. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Today we celebrate Warwick Davis’ 45th birthday! Anyone who considers themselves a proper fan of Fantasy and Sci-Fi knows that we owe many of our most beloved characters to the endearing talent of this charming man.

Davis has played titular roles in some of the most famous movie and television series of our time. He has left an indelible mark in pop culture and cinematic history. With a career spanning 32 years, let’s give this man his due today as he celebrates being 45! In case we’re ever in doubt about just how little we’ve accomplished in our lives, we have only to look to him to confirm it.

And with that, here are some fun facts about Warwick Davis to shed some light on just how incredible a life can be in the short span of 45 years:

#1. He started playing the Ewok, Wicket, (beginning with Star Wars: Return of the Jedi) when he was just 11 years old. Originally cast as an extra, he moved up in the world when the actor previously planned to play Wicket fell ill.

#2. He must have made quite an impression on George Lucas who wrote this next movie with Davis in mind for the leading role. Perhaps a bit overshadowed by Val Kilmer’s flamboyantly delightful Madmartigan, Warwick Davis played the title character of that unforgettable and courageous Nelwyn in Willow.

#3. Harry Potter spotlighted the talents of almost every well known contemporary British actor and Davis was no exception. He played both Professor Filius Flitwick as well as Griphook.

#4. One of Jennifer Aniston’s first leading men, Warwick (pronounced Warrick) haunted us as that horrifying fantastical menace, Leprechaun. Six times.

#5. He played Nikabrik in Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. (He had played Reepicheep in the BBC version in 1989).

#6. Perhaps the character everyone most looked forward to in Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy, Marvin the Paranoid Android, was brought to life in 2005 by Davis, at least physically (the voice was provided by Alan Rickman).

#7. He was a part of the Goblin Corps in Jim Henson’s Labyrinth.

#8. In 2013, he starred in an episode of Doctor Who opposite the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith.

#9. Remember that fantasy TV mini-series, The Tenth Kingdom, that tugged at our adolescent heartstrings in the year 2000? He played Acorn, the Dwarf!

#10. Has both a daughter and a son with his wife, Samantha. His son’s name? Harrison.

#11. In 2011, he published his Autobiography, “Size Matters Not: The Extraordinary Life and Career of Warwick Davis”. It’s available to order on Amazon. In pretty much every format you could want.

We are in awe of your life, Mr. Davis! Have a wonderful Birthday!

So the groundhog saw his shadow, got scared, and scurried back into his silly little hole declaring that the rest of us miserable creatures need to just deal with the fact that in early February there will just always be at least 6 more weeks of winter. Thank you global warming.

And honestly, who gets scared of their shadow? Do groundhog’s not cast shadows at other times of the year? Are they just perpetually freaked out? So many questions.

At any rate, we’re not afraid of shadows over here at Way Too Indie. In fact, we rather appreciate them.

We can’t do anything about winter lasting as long as it does, but we can certainly counter the bad rep that groundhog is giving shadows. Here’s our list of the Top 8 Movie Shadows. Now if we can get the rodent to watch them, he might chillax and stop hiding.

Nosferatu

Perhaps one of the most ingrained shadows in cinematic history, who could forget the looming shade cast by the vampire Count Orlok? With iffy prosthethics in the early days of cinema who can blame filmmaker F.W. Murnau for utilizing the ever-creepy image cast by the night-dwelling creature? We admit, this one may not help the groundhog with his fears.

Citizen Kane

Orson Welles filled in quite a few chapters of the “How to Make a Great Film” book with his film Citizen Kane but his use of shadow throughout the film is one of the its defining features. Single light sources and half-darkened faces set the mood and give insight into characters. Dark shadows tell the tale in this classic film experience.

Harvey

I’m not admitting anything, but rare is the person who has not jumped at their own shadow now and then. Or thought their shadow might be in fact a man size rabbit with worldly advice and good humor. If only we could glean universal wisdom from all dark corners of the world.

Peter Pan

How many of us can say that we have a shadow with a mind of his own? Not many, I say. Peter Pan, however, has one hell of a spunky character for a dark follower. The groundhog might try and lose his shadow the same way Pan does and stop torturing us all with cold weather.

Jurassic Park

There are a few great shadowy moments in Jurassic Park. One of the most spine tingling moments of the movie, and certainly featuring the most jiggly of jellies, is seeing the raptor’s shadow through the construction screen as the thought-they-were-safe children indulge in some much-deserved sweets. I will never take the safety of an abandoned buffet at face value again.

The Shadow

These people knew what they were doing. They may have been poking fun at the shadows of the noir films of the early ’30s, but this would be a great place to look if one did want to find any of a number of completely good shadows this Groundhog’s day. Spring is practically already here.

Batman Begins

Quite the shadowy figure himself, Batman has never wanted for a shaded companion. Cloaked in darkness already, the man is only ever seen at night for the most part. Heck, he’s a bat. He lives for the night.

Killer Klowns From Outer Space

Shadows are one thing. But shadow puppets that eat their real life victims? There could only be one place these might come from and that’s outer space. We hope the groundhog has enough humor to see these shadowy clowns are way more hilarious than scary.

There are few movie franchises that have the gall (or the resources) to throw their hat in the ring with all of the other Super Bowl Ad contenders. But Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard had their mugs seen by possibly more people than will actually end up seeing their movie. Around 112 million people tuned in for the Big Game, a new record. Of course, it makes sense, as the premise is about a pool of egomaniacal and naive tycoons looking to make a million bucks by commanding nature to bend to their whims.And of course the disaster that follows. Any excuse to hear Chris Pratt say “I told you so” and then lead his team of velociraptors toward saving an island full of unsuspecting dino-food.

Enjoy the full trailer for that ever enticing Park to entertain us.

Coming June 12th, 2015.

Well, the Dude abides. And that old familiar chill demeanor seeps through Jeff Bridges’ newly released album through Squarespace. Featuring ambient sounds to help lull listeners to lethargy, Sleeping Tapes can be purchased on a varied array of mediums including vinyl and cassette tape, fittingly enough, and all proceeds go towards the charity Share Our Strengths No Kid Hungry campaign to end child hunger. Bridges’ worked with composer Keefus Ciancia to ensure all sounds will lead us to euphoric slumber. In addition to offering the album, Bridges is the lead in their ad campaign on building websites through Squarespace, below is his first commercial and he’ll be featured in an ad playing during the first half of the Superbowl.

Sport, sportster, sporterino. Listen to his music here and check out his Squarespace website.

If last week’s release of the new Jurassic Park trailer wasn’t enough to trigger some pleasant nostalgia, then the trailer for Alan Taylor’s Terminator: Genisys, the first of a new trilogy of Terminator films, should really cap off your Throwback Thursday. As if this jaunt down memory lane wasn’t exciting enough, Arnold Schwarzenegger is BACK, making good on that over-quoted promise, to reincarnate the much beloved cyborg hero.

This time, Skynet has it out for John Connor using both the past AND the future to stage the ultimate attack. So it’s a good thing Matt Smith is rumored to be among the cast as he does seem to have a penchant for time traveling gigs. No doubt John Connor, played by Jason Clarke, will be needing a Doctor over the course of this three film journey. Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke will be breathing new life into the indomitable character of Sarah Connor. Really, as if we needed another draw. With the usual exorbitant amount of explosions, gunfire, and car chases complete with air-flipping school buses, the release date for this robot reboot is set for July 1st, 2015.

The National Board of Review has put out the list of winners for their 2014 awards. They’ve named A Most Violent Year the Best Film of the Year. Starring the Board’s Best Supporting Actress winner Jessica Chastain and their pick for Best Actor Oscar Isaac, the film is set in the early ’80s in the belly of New York’s crime world. The Board’s picks come as somewhat of a surprise to many critics as Boyhood and Birdman have generally been two of the most talked about films this year and have been the first to pick up awards this week from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Gotham Awards.

Other Awards to be given at the Gala on January 6th, 2015 are to Julianne Moore for Best Actress in Still Alice where she plays a woman dealing with early onset Alzheimer’s disease and Clint Eastwood for Best Director for American Sniper.

Michael Keaton did end up tying with Oscar Isaac for Best Actor and Edward Norton for Best Supporting Actor for their performances in Birdman which so far has been incredibly well received.

All in all, the dissension among early awards just proves this could be an interesting and varied awards season.

Here is the full list of the National Board of Review Awards:

Best Film: A Most Violent Year
Best Director: Clint Eastwood (American Sniper)
Best Actor (TIE): Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year) and Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Best Actress: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton (Birdman)
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain (A Most Violent Year)
Best Original Screenplay: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice)
Best Animated Feature: How to Train Your Dragon 2
Breakthrough Performance: Jack O’Connell (Starred Up and Unbroken)
Best Directorial Debut: Gillian Robespierre (Obvious Child)
Best Foreign Language Film: Wild Tales
Best Documentary: Life Itself
William K. Everson Film History Award: Scott Eyman
Best Ensemble: Fury
Spotlight Award: Chris Rock for writing, directing, and starring in Top Five
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Rosewater
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Selma

Top 10 Films
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
Fury
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Lego Movie
Nightcrawler
Unbroken

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
Force Majeure
Gett: The Trial of Vivian Amsalem
Leviathan
Two Days, One Night
We Are the Best!

Top 5 Documentaries
“Art and Craft”
“Jodorowsky’s Dune”
“Keep On Keepin’ On”
“The Kill Team”
“Last Days in Vietnam”

Top 10 Independent Films
Blue Ruin
Locke
A Most Wanted Man
Mr. Turner
Obvious Child
The Skeleton Twins
Snowpiercer
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Starred Up
Still Alice

Michael Crichton’s characters are coming to life once again in 2015’s Jurassic World and the first trailer just made its way to the Internet. I didn’t get those all too recognizable chills, however, until the delicate notes of the familiar John Williams theme played over that now haunting skeletal logo.

This time there’s an entire theme park full of people on the run. Wary of the overly futuristic tones that the initial scenes in the preview were implying, I was ready to be in full on doubt over this 4th installment of dino-genetic chaos once again wreaking havoc on the Isla Nubar. After all, what’s a Jurassic World without Dr. Malcolm or Dr. Grant? Can Chris Pratt compare to that lovely British crooning game warden, Robert Muldoon? Can Bryce Dallas Howard pull off the wonderful naiveté of John Hammond? Has anyone noticed that everyone is pretending (perhaps justifiably) there was never a second or third movie?

It’s been 22 years since we were all blown away by the incredible effects and epic stylizations of Jurassic Park. In the trailer John Hammond’s dream has been realized and we are seeing, with a deep awareness of the inevitable disaster to come, the Park actualized. There seems to be a possibility for it to take a more overt comedic slant with top billing going to Chris Pratt, Judy Greer, and Jake Johnson. There is no question, however, that there will not be very many unforeseen plot twists in this new chapter, even with a brand spanking new super-intelligent dinosaur, as they know exactly what their audience wants: to see the catastrophic mess that occurs when a bunch of pseudo-scientists play god and try to tell nature how she should do things.

What I am looking forward to is the hint at the end of the trailer to an apparent alliance built with the new genetic reincarnations of everyone’s all-time favorites, the Velociraptors…clever girls that they are.

In the midst of Movember, there are a number of men doing their best to spread awareness of men’s health issues with their burgeoning bristles. We at Way Too Indie fully support this “mo”vement — especially if it means that we all get to bask in the glory of millions of moustaches walking around us every day for a whole month. Whether you’ve already got an illustrious comb or you’re just straining to sprout something from a few of your follicles, if you are among the bros striving to grow your own facial man stamp, here’s a list of some of the best moustaches in movie history to keep you in the mood to “mo.”

Groucho Marx, Duck Soup

Among the most famous of moustaches, no ‘Best Of’ list would be complete without Groucho Marx’s trademark broomstache. Shaded by two equally substantial eyebrows, Groucho’s (obviously fake) facial hair was the rimshot to his every fast-flowing joke. Indeed, all one has to do is pick up a pair of those trademark fake nose glasses with attached moustache and anyone can be just as funny as he was. Sort of. [Ananda]

Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times

So Hitler’s toothbrush moustache is a shining example of how one person can ruin a fashion trend (and for the record, even the people of his time hated his look calling it rotzbremse or “snot brake”), but anyone who’s anyone knows Charlie Chaplin had it first, and he made it adorable. Swishing his ‘stache like a broom, he swept up audience’s hearts. And never one to pass up on a comedic opportunity, he went on to parody Hitler in The Great Dictator shortly after. [Ananda]

Frederick Loren, House on Haunted Hill

Because it’s the classiest of classic moves to have at the heart of a haunted house flick a mustachioed and sinister host. Vincent Price combines his wonderful lip crown with a pair of incredibly expressive eyebrows to deliver this most delightful performance. It almost makes you giddy. Yes, even you. [Scarlet]

Rhett Butler, Gone With the Wind

You might have thought it was his sparkling eyes or his darling dimple. But, no, it was most obviously that clever little moustache that kept Scarlett hanging on. Maybe Clark Gable didn’t give a damn, but you wouldn’t think so with how much time and devotion he would need to have taken every morning to keep that well groomed look of his so, well, groomed. [Scarlet]

Sentenza, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Ah, Angel Eyes. Nothing like a good twirly, villainous mustache to bring them out, too. Lee Van Cleef was proud of those beady eyes, his main moneymaker. But what better accessory to pair them with than this wonderful example of a mighty moustache? [Scarlet]

Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather 

Marlon Brando is proof positive that there is no need for a dude to be able to nurture a full fledged Yosemite Sam ‘stache in order to illicit the fear of god into those he may need to intimidate. For a good cause of course. Or, at least, family. [Scarlet]

Bandit, Smokey and the Bandit

There are few faces in this world that look downright wrong without their trademark manhandle, and Burt Reynolds is among those people. The Bandit’s smile wouldn’t seem so pearlescent without the accent of a big dark ‘stache. What happens when Burt tries to shave? Deliverance. Enough said. [Ananda]

Peter Mitchell, Three Men and A Baby

Yeah, they were all pretty manly, but there’s a reason Tom Selleck was the Alpha Male of this trio. That facial badge of his just gives him straight up authority among men and they all knew it. Even the baby. [Scarlet]

Hook, Hook

It’s hard to say which is more impressive about Dustin Hoffman’s thin and well-waxed moustache in Hook, the precise way it contrasts under his huge nose or the amazing ability Hoffman had to make it move like its own limb. Never in a movie has a close up on a ticking moustache been so sinister. We’re still getting chills. Good form, old man, good form. [Ananda]

Wyatt and Virgil Earp, Tombstone

Virgil’s moustache is definitely the huskier of the two, but it’s Kurt Russell’s clear blue eyes that would make anyone swoon. And making them pop with that glorious face trophy? It doesn’t help that it’s a perfect replica of something that actually existed in history. #heartbreaker [Scarlet]

The Stranger, The Big Lebowski

As the seminal narrator of The Big Lebowski, Sam Elliott gets very little actual screen time in the film as The Stranger. Which is why it’s even more impressive he made our list. His wisdom for The Dude is added very real depth by the measure of the walrus whiskers accenting his words. The grayness of it has the Gandalf effect of adding poise, even as he mutters such things as “the Dude abides” and “got any more of that good sarsaparilla?” [Ananda]

Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, Gangs of New York

There are villains, and then there are villains with truly impressive facial hair. Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher was intimidating enough with his butcher knife and plaid pants, but he took it entirely next level by achieving that most rare of moustaches, what I call the full-bodied rounded point. Like a handlebar, but this version holds on to you. [Ananda]

Borat, Borat

While I would never really suggest anyone sitting through this movie, even for awareness’ sake, there is definitely something to be said for Sacha Baron Cohen’s heavy hitter of man-glory. This was a crowning achievement. How many words can I come up with for moustache? [Scarlet]

Jack, The Darjeeling Unlimited 

When it comes to hitting the facial follicle gene jackpot, Jason Schwartzman had all the right numbers. Jewish Italian pretty much guarantees him the ability to grow whatever kind of facial cover-up he desires. He may play the shortest and youngest of the three brothers, but his distinctive lip luggage gave him all the gravitas he needed.  [Ananda]

Walt Disney, Saving Mr. Banks

When it comes to thinner moustaches it’s (literally) a fine line between your John Waters pencil mark moustache, a pubescent boy’s first attempts at peach fuzz, and the charming subtlety of Walt Disney’s well-spaced bristle. But Tom Hanks definitely pulls it off (I mean, it’s Tom Hanks, he could probably pull off the toothbrush Hitler-look with his overabundance of radiating goodness). Maybe his magic came from the ‘stache? [Ananda]

Theodore, Her

We’re willing to give Joaquin Phoenix some credit and say that his piercing but sad eyes are what made his character so sympathizable in Her, but that common dude brostache added even more of a touch of the everyman. It’s only a shame the virtual Samantha never got to appreciate the comfort some solid lipholstery can bring.  [Ananda]

Charles Mortdecai, Mortdecai

And, coming in 2015, we will finally see Johnny Depp sporting the moustache he deserves.  As a redhead (can I say ginger?) no less.  But that’s your motivation for next year.  Stay strong, my friends. [Scarlet]

Want to contribute to the cause, or grow a ‘stache to support men’s health? Get involved and find details at the Movember website.

We have all seen the buzz in our news feeds. The new J.J. Abrams Star Wars baby has been dubbed Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Every bit of news learned about this upcoming foray into a much beloved world of science fiction is received with either dismay, or frothing, barely-tethered anticipation. But can we glean anything from the title for what we could expect to happen in Episode VII?

If the story lines from similarly titled movies can give us any clues, we might be able to deduct some potential plot themes here.

Since it is supposed to be set 30 years later it could be something like 1990’s Awakenings. In an abandoned Rebel Hospital, Old Luke stumbles upon a ward full of Jedi Knights, catatonic since Anakin “succumbed to his emotions,” and must use the force to slowly help them regain consciousness.  R2D2 and C-3PO serve as nurses in rehabilitating the Jedi. This might be where Andy Serkis comes in as the main comatose Jedi, naturally.

Of course, it might be something more akin to a Disney film — since they most definitely have their gloved hands deep in this mix — so we might see a Snow White or Sleeping Beauty reference with Leia finally tapping into the force and getting zapped into a deep sleep only to be awoken by her true love. Obviously after a failed first attempt by Luke, Han would do the honors, surrounded by a dozen Ewoks (Warwick Davis as Wicket, for one). Unless she’d just as soon kiss a Wookie. Since we know Peter Mayhew has signed on again as Chewy, that’s a distinct possibility.

It might also be feeling a little competitive with Amityville: The Awakening, set for 2015, in which case we could very well see our daring heroes trapped in the decrepit shell of a Death Star, haunted by past dead stormtroopers, with the Solo family experiencing spooky phenomena. Honestly, as long as they’re not planning on delving into any awkward sexual themes between the Solo children, as played by any of the numerous already cast young and beautiful Unknowns, and set on a deserted planet a la The Blue Lagoon: The Awakening (2012), I think we will all be somewhat contented campers.  Not that George Lucas hasn’t been known to cover that topic pretty thoroughly (we’re looking at you, Luke).

In any case, as always, both Abrams and Disney are forces to be reckoned with when it comes to turning old stories on their heads.  We might, as yet, know nothing.