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Another year, another blah Oscars program, complete with all the trappings, clichés, and safe musical numbers. Most of which you'll be ignoring as you scroll on your phone. About the only thing that has made the show watchable in the last three decades is backstage blunders and that one time a WWE fight broke out. We didn't know how good we had it. Back in the late '80s, the Oscar producers were aware of precisely this problem. In what was a lavish, high-concept gamble, they sought to inject new ideas into a stale format.

But they were wise to play it safe all those decades prior. At the 61st Academy Awards ceremony, the Oscar planners found out that lesson the hard way. For those wondering why the Oscars are excruciatingly dull, one watershed moment in 1989 is to blame. 36 years later, the taint remains, the event compared to a “gay...

Three years ago, the world of comedy lost a true original. Gilbert Gottfried may have been best known for playing the parrot Iago in Aladdin — and for the dirty jokes he spouted in the last two decades of his career — but his style of comedy was entirely his own. His stand-up material, which he began performing at age 15, was a surreal experience filled with obscure — often, even, unknowable — pop-culture references combined with bizarre rants about aliens and Nazis.

He hit the mainstream with a one-year stint on Saturday Night Live before appearing in films like Problem Child and Beverly Hills Cop II as well lending his voice to hundreds of cartoons. He never stopped doing stand-up either, as he was a fixture in comedy clubs and a frequent panelist at Friars Club and Comedy Central roasts. Just weeks after the terrorist attacks in 2001, he famously bombed with a 9/11 joke at a Hugh Hefner roast,...

We’re celebrating 50 years of “Saturday Night Live”! All this week, we’re digging into the late-night comedy institution with new stories, including lists, essays, interviews, and more.

In 8th grade there was a popular kid, I’ll call him Tim. Tim was 6-feet tall and he had a cool haircut. Tim was either good-looking or he was good-looking for the ’90s, I really can’t remember. Either way, let’s say he was at least contextually attractive, tall, and had a haircut — more than enough to be the big kid in middle school. But Tim thought he had another quality that he most certainly did not have: Tim thought he was funny.

Why did Tim think he was funny? Well, a cool thing happens in 8th grade when the cool kid makes a joke — even a lame joke — the other kids laugh. The masses laughing at Tim’s bad jokes never bothered me.

A Star Wars film based on Daisy Ridley’s character, Rey, tentatively titled Star Wars: New Jedi Order, seems to be up in the air, but Ridley has shared some good news on the project. Per Screen Rant, via an interview with City Am, Ridley said she has been talking with Lucasfilm about the movie.

Ridley’s return to the Star Wars franchise was first announced at last year’s Star Wars Celebration, but since that time, New Jedi Order has lost its screenwriter, Steven Wright, and a new one has not officially been named. “I’ve been over all of the developments, so I feel more consciously involved (than before) but I remember various things either J.J. (Abrams) or Rian (Johnson) told me, so I was always really made to feel involved," she said.

Related 2 of Star Wars' Most Important Characters Have a Secret Connection Most Fans Missed...

A new trailer just dropped for A Complete Unknown, director James Mangold’s highly anticipated biopic about the legendary Bob Dylan starring Timothée Chalamet. The story ends around 1965, meaning that we won’t get a scene in which Chalamet bangs a tiny Ikea wrench against a microphone while wearing old age makeup.

A Complete Unknown looks like a boilerplate Hollywood music biopic, full of eye-rollingly obvious moments. And it’s nearly impossible to accept these types of formulaic music biopics, not just because Hollywood has practically run the genre into the ground at this point, but because they were so perfectly parodied in 2007’s Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

Mangold has admitted to enjoying Walk Hard, which was primarily a send-up of his previous music biopic effort, Walk the Line. But for some reason, he seems to be leaning into those Dewey Cox-esque elements again, rather than avoiding them.

Thirty years ago, it was a given that if you saw Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in theaters, you eventually bought the soundtrack. From the music to the dialogue snippets to Uma Thurman’s seductive pose on the cover, the triple platinum-selling soundtrack was a cool, take-home companion piece, something...

The Emoji Movie is as bad as everyone says cynical, lazy, and full of product placement. The recent success on streaming platforms like Netflix highlights the resiliency of the animation industry. While children's entertainment remains a strong market, The Emoji Movie is still not worth revisiting.

Before breaking through with the Spider-Verse films, Sony Pictures Animation was not widely known for its quality seal of approval. On the contrary, outside Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, the underrated Surfs Up, and the first Hotel Transylvania, their early resume leaves much to be desired. Yet nothing theyve made has come even close to the level of infamy that The Emoji Movie hit instantly upon its release in 2017. To this day, it remains the only animated film to win a Razzie Award for Worst Picture, and its almost unanimously regarded as one of the worst in the medium ever. On Rotten Tomatoes,...

It's officially August 2024, and Netflix has already released many new shows and movies on its platform this month. At the top of the month, the streamer released several family movies. We're talking new and old, licensed and original. These movies are perfect to watch when you want to spend quality time with the family.

If you and your family are having a hard time figuring out what to watch on movie night, you don't have to struggle any longer because we shared a list below of six family movies on Netflix that we believe the whole family will enjoy! Five of the films we're about to list were released on Netflix at the very beginning of August, while the last one is set to hit Netflix later this month.

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024)

Texas-loving squirrel scientist Sandy Cheeks finally got her own movie! In Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie,...

At The Streamable, we love to spotlight great deals on video streaming services. But as we head into the end of summer, we just discovered a deal on streaming audio that was too good not to share. You can grab 3 months of SiriusXM for Free.

How to Get SiriusXM for Free Click here to activate the deal. If you have a SiriusXM-capable radio in your car, you can fill in the Radio ID/Vin. Otherwise, click “No radio? Get a SiriusXM app subscription” Provide your information and you’re ready to go!

The in-car subscription includes many more channels. It also includes app access.

If you choose the app-only version, you could play it through your car’s stereo via your phone, but your data cap may feel the burn. We recommend the app version if you’ll have Wi-Fi access for most of your listening (or an unlimited...

At The Streamable, we love to spotlight great deals on video streaming services. But as we head into the end of summer, we just discovered a deal on streaming audio that was too good not to share. You can grab 3 months of SiriusXM for Free.

How to Get SiriusXM for Free Click here to activate the deal. If you have a SiriusXM-capable radio in your car, you can fill in the Radio ID/Vin. Otherwise, click “No radio? Get a SiriusXM app subscription” Provide your information and you’re ready to go!

The in-car subscription includes many more channels. It also includes app access.

If you choose the app-only version, you could play it through your car’s stereo via your phone, but your data cap may feel the burn. We recommend the app version if you’ll have Wi-Fi access for most of your listening (or an unlimited...

Exclusive: Prime Video UK & Ireland has boarded a pair of British true-crime series — one about the infamous Moors Murderer Ian Brady.

Murder in the Red Light will launch on the Amazon streamer on April 19, with Becoming Ian Brady following on May 10 after Prime Video licensed them from distributor Abacus Media Rights. Both shows are from UK unscripted indie Woodcut Media.

This marks the latest time Prime Video has boarded a Woodcut show that Abacus sells globally. In October, we told you Amazon had boarded The Murder of Meredith, a doc about the horrific killing of British student Meredith Kercher, and in January about Patrick Mackay feature Confessions of a Psycho Killer.

The three-part Murder in the Red Light looks into the decades of murder cases of vulnerable sex workers that rarely made the headlines in the UK and were not police priorities. However, the discovery of five women’s bodies...

1978's "Superman" has always been revered, but over successive sequels, the franchise slowly made a joke out of its source material. And even though star Christopher Reeve wasn't too happy with the way the saga developed, his one and only "Saturday Night Live" appearance in 1985 proved he not only had a sense of humor but that he remained a star even as his career-making franchise deteriorated.

Richard Donner's original Superman film feels just as relevant today as it did back in the late '70s. James Gunn is currently working on his upcoming Superman movie, which, in the post-Snyderverse era, will hopefully re-establish the character as an upstanding paragon of morality, just as Donner's movie did back in the '70s. Back when the director was first contacted by producer Alexander Salkind, he would have to salvage a truly disastrous first script before coming on board. Forty-five years later,...

To mark the Blu-ray release of Desperately Seeking Susan on 21st November, we’ve been given a copy of the boxset to give away on Blu-ray.

Rosanna Arquette (“The Aviator”) is irresistible in her first starring role and pop star Madonna (“Body of Evidence”) gives a marvelously comic performance in this delightful madcap comedy about mistaken identity. Bored New Jersey housewife Roberta (Arquette) fills her days by reading the personals and following an ongoing romance between “Jim” and “Susan” (Madonna), mysterious drifters who appears to lead the kind of free-spirited lives she can only dream about. And dream she does, until the day she actually shows up at the couple’s pre-arranged rendezvous in New York City… and after a bump on the head, a bout of amnesia turns her into Susan and opens the door to intrigue, laughter and love! Directed by Susan Seidelman (“Making Mr. Right”) with a...

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In HBO’s two-part documentary George Carlin’s American Dream, directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio chart the distinctive career of the bombastic iconoclast whose material frequently challenged the establishment and inspired generations of comedians who came up after him. From his early days as a straitlaced funnyman to his later years as a cantankerous observer of modern culture, Carlin’s comedy career is like no other. The directors spoke to THR about getting his family’s seal of approval, the treasure trove of archives at their disposal and why Carlin remains such a powerful voice 14 years after his death.

When did you first encounter George Carlin, and what did you think of his material?

Judd Apatow I started listening to him when I was 9 or 10 years old. It was mind-blowing as a little kid, because so much of it was about questioning authority.

The TV academy has honored voice-only performances since 1992, when six cast members from “The Simpsons” collectively became the first actors to receive Emmys for such work. The Best Voice-Over Performance category became an official non-juried one in 2009 and was then split into two categories in 2014: Best Character Voice-Over and Best Narrator. Jeremy Irons (“Game of Lions”) made history as the latter category’s first champion, having been awarded once before for “The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century: War Without End” in 1997.

The 2022 Best Narrator ballot list below consists of 33 performances. Seeking a fourth victory is David Attenborough (“The Mating Game”), whose three-year streak was broken last year by Sterling K. Brown (“Lincoln: Divided We Stand”). Also in the mix are former winners Peter Coyote (“Benjamin Franklin”) and Keith David (“Muhammad Ali”).

Unlike the live action and fictional program nominees, which are chosen by all 22,000 plus academy members,...

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Multiple documentary Emmy contenders this season turn their focus on the people who have made us laugh — and the complicated legacies of their place in comedy history. Four doc titles examine the careers and controversies of stand-ups George Carlin and Bill Cosby, Canadian sketch troupe the Kids in the Hall and I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Here’s what The Hollywood Reporter’s critics had to say about each.

George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)

George Carlin both transcended and changed the parameters of his chosen profession. It’s been nearly 14 years since Carlin died, but based on his continued social media ubiquity, his words have lived on and remained crazily specific, as if every unanticipatable catastrophe of human culture was somehow anticipated by only one man. On any given day, whether the trending topic relates to reproductive rights...

Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio have created the extreme fan-boy documentary of counterculture comedian George Carlin’s life, times and personal struggles. It’s jam-packed with juicy bits, particularly highlights of Carlin’s memorable routines like his timeless riff on environmental doomsayers: for decades, he joked that “the planet is fine,” people not so much (“the planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas”). Hilarious, driven, able to change with the times, obscene, the wiry Irish Catholic New Yorker appeared 130 times on Johnny Carson over a fifty year career, and inspired comedians from Chris Rock to Stephen Colbert – and, of course, Apatow.

Born in Manhattan in 1937 and dead from long-term cardiac problems in Hollywood in 2008, Carlin gets the behind-the-music treatment. His heavy-handed father was a loquacious drunk. The W.C. Fields lookalike beat George’s older brother Patrick (also featured in the doc); their battered mother stole...

George Carlin’s American Dream presents George Carlin as standup comedy’s greatest wordsmith. Seven of these words made him infamous and earned him a place in legal history. Directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio’s two-part documentary highlights how Carlin’s brain-droppings started conversations which carry on today.

The “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” bit defines Carlin in ways which go beyond comedy routines. The documentary shows how language, subterfuge, and identity are chosen, carefully selected to create a body of work which defies classification. Carlin had an elastic face and a knack for funny noises, but words are at the bottom of it all. When Carlin was a young comedian, he couldn’t embrace the counterculture commentator lurking beneath the surface on television. The documentary points out how he had to use code words. The Hippy Dippy Weatherman didn’t only forecast darkness at night,...

Peaky Blinders will end after season six—but it's going out with a bang. The crime drama, which stars Cillian Murphy as gangster boss Tommy Shelby, is currently airing its sixth and final season on BBC. The episodes will hit Netflix on June 10. While the end is on the horizon, creator Steven Wright is promising fans that things will go out in cinematic style. He revealed the series finale will be 81 minutes long—basically a short movie! "It feels very, very different to the rest of the season," he told RadioTimes.com. "It feels very, very different to anything we've done before. It's very epic in scope. It feels like a film—it's a kind of dry run for the...

Films are filled with obvious explicit messages and more hidden implicit messages that you must look a little deeper to find. Then you have the "Easter egg." The phrase itself is shrouded in mystery as it relates to media. One theory is that it has roots in Atari and the video game world, coined by one of two Atari software developers, either Steven Wright or Warren Robinett. Another is that the actual egg hunt in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" inspired the expression. The term alludes to needing to dig around quite a bit to find a hidden surprise, purposely left...

The post The Apocalypse Now Easter Egg in Goodwill Hunting You May Not Have Noticed appeared first on /Film.

Since 2009, three longtime friends — rapper Alec “Despot” Reinstein, comedian Ashok “Dap” Kondabolu, and rapper Aleksey “Lakutis” Weintraub — have brought the sensibility of Howard Stern to covering emerging hip-hop. Like Stern’s iconic radio program, their long-running underground radio show Chillin Island is hard to describe if you aren’t already a listener. It’s chaotic, nonsensical, and sometimes a tad problematic. In a culture that feels overwhelmingly polished, it’s also one of the more essential cultural products of the past decade. Which probably explains why HBO is turning Chillin Island into a TV show,...

The Critics Choice Association (Cca) announced that Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer will co-host the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards, which air on The CW and TBS on Jan. 9, 2022 at 7 p.m.

Diggs is known for starring as Sam Bennett in the ABC medical drama “Private Practice.” Other prominent credits include appearing in the film “Brown Sugar” and the original Broadway production of “Rent.” Currently, he stars on The CW drama “All American.”

Byer first broke out with her appearance on MTV’s “Girl Code” and has since become known for hosting the competition series “Nailed It!” and “Wiped Out!,” the podcast “Why Won’t You Date Me?,” and appearing in supporting and recurring roles in comedy series such as “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Tuca & Berie.” Most recently, she debuted her Netflix comedy special “Nicole Byer: Bbw (Big Beautiful Weirdo).” Up next, she stars on NBC’s “Grand Crew.”

“This is...

A group of rappers are heading into the deserts and swamps of nature in a new unscripted series for HBO.

The network has ordered Chillin Island, which is exec produced by Uncut Gems director Josh Safdie and his production partner Sebastian Bear-McClard as well as DreamCrew, the management company and entertainment group set up by Drake and Adel Future Nur.

The series is based on a radio show, described as “Howard Stern if he was on K” and variety web series set up by Alec Reinstein, otherwise known as Despot, Aleksey Weintraub, otherwise known as Lakutis and Ashok Kondabolu of Das Racist.

It will launch on December 17.

The six-part series sees the trio invite their friends to join them at the edge of nature. To commune in deserts and swamps in a valiant effort to reveal unknowable truths from the dreamstate of the shared human existence. The series features music industry icons including Young Thug,...

Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard are all but upstaged by their puppet child in this tragicomic pop opera

Carlo Collodi’s 19th-century tale The Adventures of Pinocchio has cast a long shadow over cinema, inspiring everything from a 1911 Italian live-action silent to Matteo Garrone’s 2019 Pinocchio, via such diverse fare as Disney’s 1940 animation and Spielberg’s futuristic 2001 sci-fi AI: Artificial Intelligence. A Guillermo del Toro stop-motion adaptation is also forthcoming. In the meantime we have this tragicomic musical fantasy from Cannes best director winner Leos Carax and American pop maestros Sparks, in which a starry cast is augmented – and arguably upstaged – by a puppet in the title role.

With a rise-and-fall nod towards A Star Is Born, Annette follows the operatic misfortunes of dyspeptic comedian Henry McHenry (Adam Driver) and beloved soprano Ann Defrasnoux (Marion Cotillard), a couple whose celebrity marriage provokes a media frenzy. Henry (whose Ape of...

Walter C. Miller, a five-time Emmy-winner best known for producing or directing the Grammys, Tonys and CMA Awards in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, died on Friday evening, the Country Music Association confirmed to Variety. He was 94.

“Walter was an absolute television legend,” said CMA chief executive officer Sarah Trahern in a statement. “When you worked with him, you instantly knew you were in the presence of greatness. He brought so much innovation and brilliance to the CMA Awards over the 40 years he worked with the organization.”

Miller also served at the helm of other awards shows, as well, including the Emmys, People’s Choice Awards and Latin Grammys.

Miller was nominated for 19 prime-time Emmy Awards, taking home five trophies between 1972 and 1999 — four of them from directing the Tony Awards. He was also nominated for two daytime Emmys. Miller was a three-time Directors Guild of America winner. In 1993, he won...

"She's a human, and you're a dog! You're not right for Ellie, dude." Freestyle Digital Media has unveiled an official trailer for an indie comedy titled Allan the Dog, about a hand puppet dog that acts like a real-life talking dog. We've seen an R-rated Muppets movie and a movie about a talking beaver hand puppet, so this seems like the next evolution in wacky hand puppet storytelling. Sam Daly stars as Matt, Allan's owner and "roommate", and Steven Wright (who also wrote the script) voices Allan the Dog. They're supposed to be different characters, not all the same. Their lives get all twisted when they both fall for the same girl. The cast includes Alison Haislip, Gwen Hollander, and Steven Weber. This sounds and looks as awkward and as quirky as expected, which is good and bad. Maybe there's some charm to this? Worth a look at least. Here's...

A sequel to the 1998 stoner comedy movie Half Baked is apparently in the works, as comedian Justin Hires has announced he is writing the screenplay for the project. An actor, musician, and comedian, Hires is perhaps best known for his starring role on MacGyver, though his interest in writing has also led him to penning Half Baked 2. "Excited to announce I'll be writing the sequel to Half Baked," Hires says on his Instagram account, confirming reported rumors of his involvement. He adds: "Yes I know the original is a classic and yes this sequel will be [fire] because I'm writing it. Oh yeah, I write screenplays too."

On his Instagram post, Justin Hires links to a story from Comedy Hype reporting on Hires' involvement with Half Baked 2. This seems to confirm there's some truth to the rumored storyline details from that article, giving us an idea of how the planned sequel will play out.

As Saturday Night Live heads into its holiday stretch of episodes, it hit its first speed bump of the season this week. This has nothing to do with host Harry Styles, who gamely led the proceedings with all the aplomb one would expect. Instead, this was a simple case of many ideas not working out as expected. Other than the atrociously long cold open, nothing about the show was particularly bad. It was just…there. Overt successes are as easy to write about as overt failures. With a middling episode like this,...

Craig Carton, a figure of some New York renown who used to host a popular morning show on Wfan and CBS Sports Network, was sentenced to 42 months in prison by a federal judge Friday for perpetrating a massive ticket fraud.

Facing millions in gambling debts, which he blamed on an addiction to betting, Carton took part in a scheme that defrauded ticket buyers of $7 million. He had promised victims VIP tickets to sporting events and concerts. Instead of making good on the ducats, he used the proceeds to pay his debts and personal expenses. After his arrest in 2017, he resigned from Wfan. After initially insisting he was innocent of all charges and pleading not guilty, he was convicted last fall.

Prosecutors had recommended a prison term of five to seven years, while Carton pushed for leniency and no prison time. According to a Law360 report from the courtroom, Carton told U.

Tony Sokol Mar 6, 2019

Mad About You revival will air on Spectrum Originals. Helen Hunt will direct the premiere episode.

The Mad About You revival will air on Charter Communications’ premium content platform, Spectrum Originals, according to Variety. Nineteen years after Paul and Jamie’s 23-year-old daughter Mabel made a documentary about the Buchman family history, Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt will reunite to push Mad About You past its final frontier. Hunt will direct the first episode,

Rescue Me creator Peter Tolan (The Jim Gaffigan Show) will serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the show, which is being produced by Sony Pictures Television in association with Comedy Dynamics.

“We are so excited to finally be doing this and thrilled to have Peter Tolan as our fearless captain,” Reiser and Hunt said in a joint statement. “We promise you the same funny and heartwarming show – as soon as we...

Boston Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright was arrested this weekend after he got into an altercation with his spouse, according to local media outlets. NBC Sports Boston reports that the starting righty got busted Friday at his home in Tennessee for an incident involving his wife, which resulted in him being arrested and booked for domestic assault. Steven Wright arrested on domestic assault charges pic.twitter.com/5oVvwRmLoB — Rob Bradford (@bradfo) December 11, 2017 His lawyer released...

Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and/or own this week via various Digital HD providers such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical The Emoji Movie (animated comedy; voices: T.J. Miller, Rachael Ray, Jeff Ross, Jake T. Austin, Tati Gabrielle, Patrick Stewart, Jude Kouyate, James Corden, Maya Rudolph, Steven Wright, Jennifer Coolidge, Christina Aguilera, Sofia Vergara, Sean Hayes, Hunter March; bonus featurette available; rated PG) War for the Planet of the Apes (action-adventure sequel; Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Amiah Miller, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Judy Greer, Gabriel Chavarria, Chad Rook; rated...

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“For so many people, learning is a chore, but laughing is not. If we can combine learning with laughing, you can teach anybody, anything,” says famed American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who does exactly that as host of the National Geographic talk show StarTalk, which returns on Sunday, Oct. 1 with a new season of facts, laughs and plenty of A-list guests.

While the show regularly features scientific commentary and cosmic queries, it’s all delivered with a comedic punch. And in today’s polarizing political climate, Tyson says “it’s a comedian’s obligation to challenge social, cultural and political norms.” If they are not, then no one is being challenged to think, he adds.

So it makes sense then that so many funny people, including Ben Stiller, Jay Leno, Larry Wilmore and Whoopi Goldberg, have stopped by the show. “When a comedian is on the show as a guest, I don't seek...

Can you build a whole animated feature about emojis living inside the smartphone of a teen named Alex (Jake T. Austin)? It's a stretch. But The Emoji Movie, expected to kill at the box-office and be killed by critics, has a few tricks up its animated sleeve. Before the jacked-up antics get to be too much, director Tony Leondis and co-writers Erich Siegel and Mike White get in a few satiric licks at a technology we've all come to call home.

The plot? It spins around Gene (voiced with twisted...

“The Emoji Movie” might seem like a brazenly cynical cash grab that only exists because a Hollywood studio saw an opportunity to brand the most universal human language since the invention of math (apologies to Esperanto), but Sony Pictures Animation’s big new blockbuster has represented something very positive since the start of this summer movie season: hope. Specifically, the hope that — for 90 beautiful minutes — Hollywood would spirit us away to a cinematic world that was somehow actually worse than real life. What a gift it would be in July 2017 to leave the multiplex and actually come up on our way back to reality, to feel the faint nausea of ascension for the first time all year and be reminded that it’s still possible for things to get better. Alas, blind optimism is a dangerous game in this day and age, and there is no such respite to be found here.

2017-07-27T06:44:36-07:00Can 'The Emoji Movie' Beat 'Dunkirk'?

If moviegoers ever wanted to hear Sir Patrick Stewart voice the poop emoji, they are about to get their chance.

This weekend, Sony Pictures Animation unfurls The Emoji Movie, based on the popular ideograms that have become their own, popular language. But it remains to be seen whether The Emoji Movie can pass up Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, which opened to $50.3 million last weekend, and win the weekend.

The Emoji Movie is tracking to debut in the $25 million-$27 million, although Sony is being more conservative in suggesting $20 million.

Tony Leondis directed the original film, about an emoji named Gene who, unlike the other inhabitants of the city Textpolis, has multiple expressions. Determined to be normal, he and his pals embark on an adventure to find the code that will fix Gene, only to...

In celebration of the fourth annual World Emoji Day (@WorldEmojiDay) on Monday, July 17, audiences can get excited for the film by getting their tickets early – and Sony Pictures Animation is joining the fun by orchestrating a series of events and appearances as we all salute to the emoji, the means of communication that crosses borders and language.

On World Emoji Day, tickets will go on sale for The Emoji Movie. MovieTickets.com continues their multi-picture partnership with Sony with a site-wide takeover for the film, announcing the start of advance ticketing on the site, newsletter and social media. Advance tickets will also be available on Fandango and Atom Tickets.

Commenting on the announcement, Tony Leondis, co-writer/director of The Emoji Movie, said, “Emojis help us express ourselves in ways we don’t have time to express, or don’t have the forethought to express, or are afraid to express – or...

A few months ago, Sony Pictures had an early press presentation for The Emoji Movie. Tony Leondis (Igor, Lilo and Stitch 2), the film's writer and director, introduced the characters, explained the basic premise, and showed us several extended clips of the film. The Emoji Movie stars comedian T.J. Miller as Gene. He's supposed to be a "meh" Emoji, but can't control himself to be just one thing. Gene lives in the smartphone of Alex (Jake Austen), a fifteen year old teenager. When Gene has issues being just "meh", he's forced to go on the run with Jailbreak (Anna Faris). They navigate the wild and varied world of apps to find Gene's true personality.

From Sony Pictures, The Emoji Movie is packed with symbolism and wicked double entendres. Each Emoji has a distinct personality that fuels their dialogue. Patrick Stewart costars as Poop, everything he says and does has a scatalogical bend.

You know casting is not the problem of The Emoji Movie. With Tj Miller as the star, Steven Wright as Meh, and of course Patrick Stewart as Poo, casting has been pretty good on this film. Not sure if the story or characters are as good, but at least they got something right. So here's a teaser that showcases more of Patrick Stewart's Poo Daddy (which sounds like a site that will definitely give you a... Read More...

Beef up for Canada's 150th birthday with these movies set north of the border!Beef up for Canada's 150th birthday with these movies set north of the border!Zachary Dent6/30/2017 10:01:00 Am

Canada Day only comes once a year and what better way to appreciate this northern paradise than with a movie that takes place within our borders. After all the eating, drinking, barbecuing, and partying, it's nice to kick back, relax, and take in a Canadian classic. We've got a list of some pretty great ones! So take a gander below and check out a few movies that take place close to home.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Based on Canadian Bryan Lee O'Malley's popular graphic novel series, director Edgar Wright condensed a seven-part saga into one epic, Toronto-set film. From notable places like Casa Loma, concert venues like Lee's Palace, and famous intersections like Bloor and...

The first trailer for The Emoji Movie is here, and it's about what you'd expect. To be honest, the whole trailer felt like I was watching a trailer for the first Wreck-It Ralph! Of course, it's a kids movie, it's not like it's supposed to be Oscar worthy or anything, but I guess I expected a bit more considering the great cast that it has.

The Emoji Movie unlocks the never-before-seen secret world inside your smartphone. Hidden within the messaging app is Textopolis, a bustling city where all your favorite emojis live, hoping to be selected by the phone’s user. In this world, each emoji has only one facial expression – except for Gene (T.J. Miller), an exuberant emoji who was born without a filter and is bursting with multiple expressions. Determined to become “normal” like the other emojis, Gene enlists the help of his handy best friend Hi-5 (James Corden...

The first full-length Emoji Movie trailer is here and it's real. Sony has made a movie about emojis starring the voice talents of T. J. Miller (Silicon Valley, Deadpool) as the "meh" face named Gene while Sir Patrick Stewart (X-men, Logan) is portraying the poop emoji. The premise of the movie is that each emoji is living and that they are only allowed to have their specified facial expression. Miller's character Gene is "unfiltered," but wants to be "normal" like the other emojis so he and some friends go on a cross-app adventure or "app-venture" (seriously?) to help Gene. Of course that's not all, while on the "app-venture" something dangerous happens and the fate of all emojis is in Gene's hands.

The story seems kind of familiar, almost like Wreck It Ralph that that toothache of a Trolls movie, but with emojis and probably not as good. While the idea...

Chicago – In all film festivals, the real hidden talent can often be found in the Short Films Program. This is the beginning for many great filmmakers, and it is up to the film reporters and programmers to unearth these creative jewels. Film Critic and Writer Collin Souter is the Short Films Programmer for the Chicago Critics Film Festival (Ccff), and the fest will be presenting two separate programs on May 13th and 14th, 2017, during the run of the festival, which takes place from May 12th through May 18th at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre (details below).

Collin Souter has been reviewing films for 17 years in and around the scene in Chicago… he has a weekly radio gig on Wgn 720Am for the Nick Digilio show, and a monthly one on Whpk 88.5Fm. He has written for eFilmcritic.com, and has a monthly column at RogerEbert.com called “Short Films in Focus.

Sofia Vergara is breathing life into everyone’s favorite party-girl emoji, voicing the Flamenco Dancer in the upcoming The Emoji Movie.

Her character, debuted exclusively on People, is a take on the familiar dancing woman in the red dress from your keyboard, updated with Vergara’s animated likeness. The Vergara version of the emoji sports a black dress and a clenches a red rose between her teeth.

“I play the Flamenco Dancer,” Vergara tells People of her character, who is the life of the party in the movie. “And she is always doing the Flamenco. She does it in the morning when she gets up,...

Sir Patrick Stewart explained on Thursday's Conan that voicing Poop in the upcoming Emoji Movie is part of his "philosophy of finding diversity."

"Thirty years ago, I probably wouldn't have accepted this role," the venerated actor admitted, emphasizing that the part is animated. "But I'm now honored and delighted to be playing the role of the emoji Poop."

Conan O'Brien, curious about all aspects of poop-playing, asked Stewart how he digested the news that he'd be voicing a piece of fecal matter. "I don't know how you're going to feel about this,...

Hacker emoji Jailbreak (Ilana Glazer), exuberant Gene (T.J. Miller) and his handy best friend Hi-5 (James Corden) embark on the app-venture of a lifetime in Sony Pictures Animation’s Emojimovie: Express Yourself, in theaters summer 2017.

Making good on the commitment to increase overall output while continuing to offer its distinctive mix of family films, Sony Pictures Animation today released the project details on its upcoming roster of titles through 2018, along with additional highly anticipated future feature film projects, including one from Pulitzer Prize-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Kristine Belson, President of Sony Pictures Animation, says, “We are proud of the artist-driven titles we have coming to the marketplace. The abundance, variety and quality of the features are a testament to the wealth of creative talents who call Sony Pictures Animation their home.”

Smurfs: The Lost Village (April 7, 2017 release)

Newly announced voice cast includes: Michelle Rodriguez (SmurfStorm), Ellie Kemper (SmurfBlossom), Ariel Winter (SmurfLily...

In March of last year, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer’s Comedy Central series “Broad City” aired an episode that featured a guest appearance by then candidate Hillary Clinton. Now, ten months later, Donald Trump has been elected the 45th President of the United States, and the two best friends are handling it like the impending apocalypse.

Read More: ‘Broad City’ Gets An Official Soundtrack That Would Make Anyone Scream ‘Yas Queen’

In their new web video “Inauguration Uncensored,” in which the only word that’s censored is the word “Trump,” Abbi is stuck in an elevator on election day while Ilana is holed up in her apartment prepared for the worst. Knowing that they won’t be next to each other when Trump is sworn in, they talk over FaceTime and share their fury and fear. When they finally get the push notification informing them that Trump is officially President,...

Sony recently released the first teaser trailer for The Emoji Movie, which is slated to come out later this year. While the reaction from many people online seemed to be that the movie is largely unnecessary, perhaps the cast may be able to change everyone's minds. As hard as it may be to believe, the studio has tapped Sir Patrick Stewart to voice the poop emoji in The Emoji Movie.

Sony made the announcement during a big event they held today called Sony Animation Day. The official Sony Pictures Twitter account made the news public, saying that Patrick Stewart would be voicing the character, simply named Poop. That may not make the prospect of The Emoji Movie as a whole seem more appealing, but the idea of hearing such a distinguished actor voicing an expressive pile of poop is definitely something to grab onto. Aside from his work as Professor...

Sir Patrick Stewart just landed a literal shit role: The dignified actor, best known for his trademark work in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the X-Men franchise, scooped up the part of Poop in the upcoming Emoji Movie, Sony Pictures announced Wednesday.

The company revealed the casting via Twitter, writing, "So excited to announce the distinguished @SirPatStew as Poop in the #EmojiMovie," along with a picture of Stewart's character, a charming pile of feces wearing a bow-tie.

He ain’t no...

Sony Pictures Animation unveiled its slate through 2018 on Wednesday including new voice cast on previously announced features.

Kicking off the roster on April 7 is Smurfs: The Lost Village with new voice cast members Julia Roberts, Michelle Rodriguez, Ellie Kemper and Ariel Winter.

Gordon Ramsay is among a line-up of cameo performers alongside Gabriel Iglesias, Tituss Burgess, Jeff Dunham, Jake Johnson and director Kelly Asbury.

Previously announced voice cast includes Demi Lovato, Rainn Wilson, Joe Manganiello, Jack McBrayer, Danny Pudi and Mandy Patinkin.

The Emoji Movie is scheduled to open on August 4 and features new voice cast members Jennifer Coolidge, Maya Rudolph, Jake T. Austin and Patrick Stewart.

Previously announced voice cast includes T.J. Miller (pictured), James Corden, Ilana Glazer and Steven Wright. Tony Leondis directs.

The Star is due to arrive on November 10 and includes voice talent by Steven Yeun, Kelly Clarkson, Aidy Bryant, Keegan-Michael Key, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Anderson, Gabriel Iglesias, [link...