News

Natalie Portman has had a successful career spanning over 30 years, starring in nearly 70 films and TV series. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress and has been nominated for other prestigious awards. Portman has worked with renowned directors such as Terrence Malick, Darren Aronofsky, Luc Besson, and George Lucas, showcasing her range in a variety of genres and roles. Some of Portman's most notable performances include her roles in "Closer," "V for Vendetta," "Black Swan," and "Jackie," where she portrayed complex and emotionally challenging characters.

Natalie Portman has starred in nearly 70 feature films and television series throughout her 30+ year career as a professional actor. The acclaimed actor graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Harvard University in 2003 after making her future film debut at the age of 13 in 1994. Portman has won an Academy Award for Best Actress and was the first person born in the 1980s to do so.

It's been 45 years since anyone watched Philip Marlowe solve crimes in a movie, and now Neil Jordan's Marlowe places Liam Neeson among a unique cohort of actors who have played the famous literary detective, from the Golden Age of Hollywood to the gritty '70s. Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe is considered one of the most well-known antiheroes in crime fiction, beginning with the hard-boiled variety that rose to prominence in the '20s. Characteristic of protagonists in the genre, Marlowe is an honest gumshoe operating in a corrupt world, often seen as naive and chaste by those around him but a dogged pursuer of the truth no matter the personal cost.

Marlowe uses Chandler's beloved private eye but takes its plot from another author's book "The Black-Eyed Blonde," a 2015 novel by John Banville that focuses on the sudden disappearance of sordid raconteur Niko Peterson. Unlike film noir movie flop Nightmare Alley,...

Exclusive: UTA has signed actor Josiah Cross, a breakout of the Focus Features drama A Thousand and One, which recently world premiered to critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival. The leading global talent, entertainment and sports company will represent Cross in all areas, helping him to secure new opportunities across film, television, theater and more.

Related Story ‘Workaholics’ Alum Blake Anderson Signs With CAA Related Story NY1 'On Stage' Host Frank Dilella Signs With UTA Related Story UTA: Details Emerge About Agents Impacted By Layoffs

Marking the feature debut of writer-director A.V. Rockwell, A Thousand and One tells the story of the unapologetic and free-spirited Ines (Teyana Taylor), who convinced that it is one last, necessary crime on the path to redemption, kidnaps six-year-old Terry (Aaron Kingsley Adetola) from the foster care system. Holding onto their secret and each other, mother and son set out to reclaim their home,...

The key to understanding the new Philip Marlowe film is being aware that it’s not based on an actual novel by Raymond Chandler but a 2014 exercise by Irish mystery writer John Banville to replicate the style of that legendary author. This picture, somewhat of a beguiling genre experiment that seemingly nobody asked for, initially seems like a bad throwback, but in its game of telephone through adaptation ends up, actually, something of a moderately funny joke.

It’s hard to totally pin down Marlowe’s reason for being; a post-modern Irish exile from Hollywood movies (sinister backlot goings-on supporting this reading) or maybe some kind of elaborate tax shelter plot? It’s as if director Neil Jordan and star Liam Neeson committed to making a noir throwback right after L.A. Confidential came out 25 years ago, realized they forgot to ever go through with it and, coming on the...

The Quebecois director Jean-Marc Vallée is being remembered by the entertainment industry, with heartfelt tributes emerging from the late filmmaker’s peers and collaborators.

Vallée, who directed films such as “Dallas Buyers Club” and “Wild” and helmed TV projects including “Big Little Lies” and “Sharp Objects,” died suddenly at his cabin outside Quebec City, Canada on Saturday. He was 58 years old.

“I am in shock. Complete and utter shock,” “Big Little Lies” actress Shailene Woodley wrote in an Instagram story. “I guess somehow I know you will turn it into a grand adventure and one of the books, one I can’t wait to read and watch when my time comes. It doesn’t make sense though, dude. It doesn’t make sense. Maybe when we wake up tomorrow you’ll be there laughing saying it was just a satirical short film you made. That it’s not real.”

Canadian...

Sony Pictures Television has confirmed the long-rumored acquisition of U.K. independent production outfit Bad Wolf.

Bad Wolf’s credits include “His Dark Materials,” “Industry,” “The Night Of,” “A Discovery of Witches” and “I Hate Suzie.”

Sony has taken a majority stake in the company, which includes buying out the minority stakes held in Bad Wolf by Sky/HBO and Access Entertainment. The deal also includes the Wolf Studios Wales sound stage facility in Cardiff, Wales and Bad Wolf’s 30% stake in Bad Wolf America LLC.

While Sony declined to comment on the financial value of the deal, Variety understands that it is in the region of £60 million ($80 million).

Bad Wolf was launched in 2015 by Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, the former BBC executives responsible for “Doctor Who,” “Torchwood” and “Da Vinci’s Demons,” to produce high-end TV and film for the global television market. The duo were at the helm...

Written by Various | Art by Various | Published by DC Comics

You know the score by now with these 100 page anniversary specials. They are a celebration of some of the most iconic characters DC has on their roster, with a nice blend of multiple covers by great artists, around a dozen stories by different writers and artists and some bonus pin-ups. Pricey, but usually worth the money. Aquaman is certainly worthy of celebration, reaching 80 years in print is no mean feat after all, though he’s not always been such a celebrated character. Often the focus of ridicule in fact, despite being one of the longest serving members of the Justice League. I always liked the classic Aquaman personally, not so much the post-Peter David version, hook for hand and all. To each their own though. Which is lucky, as you can choose from the following 11 stories and eras. Let’s take a look.

Julie Ann Emery has been cast in Apple’s upcoming Hurricane Katrina series, “Five Days at Memorial.”

The series is based on the Sheri Fink novel of the same name. It chronicles the first five days in a New Orleans, LA, hospital after Hurricane Katrina made landfall. When the floodwaters rose, the power failed, and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers were forced to make life-and-death decisions that haunted them for years to come.

Emery will play the role of Diane Robichaux, an assistant administrator for LifeCare, who finds herself deeply involved in the events following the hurricane. She joins previously announced cast members Vera Farmiga, Adepero Oduye and Cornelius Smith Jr.

Emery’s recent TV credits include the Amazon series “Bosch” and the AMC series “Preacher.” She also recently starred in the “Catch-22” series at Hulu. Prior to that, she appeared on shows like “Better Call Saul,” “Major Crimes,” “Fargo,...

“Big Little Lies” and “Sharp Objects” director Jean-Marc Vallée and his producing partner Nathan Ross have signed a three-year, first-look deal with HBO and HBO Max, the WarnerMedia-owned platforms announced Tuesday.

Under the pact, the duo will executive produce “Gorilla and the Bird,” a limited series based on the memoir by Zack McDermott, which Vallée will also direct, for HBO and “The Players Table,” starring Sydney Sweeney and Halsey, which will be directed by Annabelle Attanasio, for HBO Max.

Crazyrose will also continue its relationship with Endeavor Content by extending its first-look film and forming a second-look television deal with the company, with projects including “Lady in the Lake” and “The Players Table.”

Vallée and Ross have executive produced HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” which won eight Emmys during its first season including one for Vallée as Best Director. They also executive produced “Sharp Objects” for HBO, which was nominated for eight Emmys.

“Big Little Lies” director Jean-Marc Vallée and producing partner Nathan Ross have set a first-look deal with HBO Max and HBO, where the pair are shepherding the limited series “The Gorilla and the Bird.”

The three-year pact calls for Vallée and Ross to executive produce “Gorilla” through their Crazyrose banner. Vallée will direct the drama based on the memoir by Zack McDermott about a mother’s unconditional love for her bipolar adult son. The Crazyrose partners will also executive produce another HBO limited series, “The Players Table,” to be directed by Annabelle Attanasio.

“We’ve had the incredible fortune to collaborate with Jean-Marc and Nathan for several years now and have witnessed first-hand their brilliant instincts for what resonates with audiences,” said Francesca Orsi, HBO’s executive VP of programming. “As a director, Jean-Marc has an undeniable, distinct, and visceral sensibility which masterfully elevates everything he touches. We could not...

Jean-Marc Vallée and Nathan Ross, the Emmy-winning producers behind HBO’s Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects, have entered into a three-year first-look deal with HBO and HBO Max via their Crazyrose production company. Under the deal, Vallée and Ross will executive produce both Gorilla and the Bird, a limited series based on the memoir by Zack McDermott which Vallée will also direct, and The Players Table, starring Sydney Sweeney and Halsey to be directed by Annabelle Attanasio.

“We’ve had the incredible fortune to collaborate with Jean-Marc and Nathan for several years now and have witnessed first-hand their brilliant instincts for what resonates with audiences,” said Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO Programming. “As a director, Jean-Marc has an undeniable, distinct, and visceral sensibility which masterfully elevates everything he touches. We could not be more ecstatic to expand our partnership with Crazyrose, and we can’t wait for the stories we will tell with them.

Vera Farmiga has been cast in a lead role of the Apple drama series “Five Days at Memorial,” Variety has learned.

The series is based on the Sheri Fink novel of the same name. It chronicles the first five days in a New Orleans, LA, hospital after Hurricane Katrina made landfall. When the floodwaters rose, the power failed, and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers were forced to make life-and-death decisions that haunted them for years to come. Farmiga will star in the role of Dr. Anna Pou.

Farmiga was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe for her role in “Up in the Air,” with other feature credits like “The Departed,” “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” and “Orphan.” She will also be seen in the upcoming feature “The Many Saints of Newark.” On the TV side, she has starred in shows like “When They See Us” and “Bates Motel.” Variety...

Maya Rudolph and the minds behind her one-and-done Amazon dramedy Forever are teaming up once again, this time for an Apple TV+ comedy in which Rudolph will star.

Ordered straight to series on Thursday, the still-untitled project will star Rudolph as Molly, a woman whose seemingly perfect life is upended when her husband leaves her with nothing… except $87 billion.

More from TVLineTed Lasso Season 2 Adds Team ShrinkCentral Park Snags Early Season 3 Renewal at Apple TV+Natalie Portman, Lupita Nyong'o Lead Apple's Lady in the Lake Adaptation

Rudolph will also exec-produce with Forever‘s Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard, who...

Natalie Portman and Sophie Mas’ MountainA production company has set a first-look TV deal at Apple.

News of the deal comes a week after it was reported that Portman had signed on to star in the Apple series “Lady in the Lake” with Lupita Nyong’o. Portman is also an executive producer on the series, as is Mas via MountainA. The show also represents Portman’s first television starring role.

“We launched MountainA to support meaningful, timely projects and we couldn’t imagine a better partner to start this adventure with than the fantastic team at Apple, who in only a short time already have a track record of working with some of the world’s most inspiring filmmakers,” Portman and Mas said in a joint statement. “We are excited to create and develop daring stories together.”

Under the multi-year agreement, Apple will have a first look on television projects to...

Word recently broke that Natalie Portman would be headed to Apple TV+ with the limited series Lady in the Lake, which also stars Lupita Nyong’o. Now it looks like Lady in the Lake is just the beginning of Portman’s relationship with Apple, as Portman has signed a first-look TV deal with Apple along with her producing partner Sophie […]

The post Natalie Portman Signs First-Look TV Deal With Apple TV+ appeared first on /Film.

Apple has signed a first-look TV deal with Natalie Portman and her producing partner Sophie Mas under their newly launched production company MountainA, the company announced Wednesday.

The new deal follows the series order earlier this month for Apple TV+’s “Lady in the Lake,” which Portman will executive produce and star in alongside Lupita Nyong’o.

“We launched MountainA to support meaningful, timely projects and we couldn’t imagine a better partner to start this adventure with than the fantastic team at Apple, who in only a short time already have a track record of working with some of the world’s most inspiring filmmakers,” Portman and Mas said in a joint statement shared to their social media channels on Wednesday. “We are excited to create and develop daring stories together.”

“Lady in the Lake,” a limited series from “Honey Boy” director Alma Har’el and writer Dre Ryan, is an...

Exclusive: Oscar winner Natalie Portman and producing partner Sophie Mas have inked a first-look deal with Apple. Under the multi-year agreement, Apple TV+ will have a first look on television projects to be developed and produced by Portman and Mas through their newly formed production company MountainA. This marks the first producing deal for the pair.

The TV deal makes sense for all parties as Portman, Mas and Apple worked together on the recently announced Apple Original limited series Lady in the Lake, which marked Portman’s TV acting debut. She is co-starring with Lupita Nyong’o on the series, directed and co-written by Alma Har’el. All three women serve as executive producers along with Dre Ryan, who will co-create and co-write the series with Har’el, who will write the pilot. Portman and Mas will serve as executive producers through MountainA.

Lady In the Lake is an adaptation of Laura Lippman...

Dakota Fanning is set to star alongside Andrew Scott in the upcoming series adaptation ‘Ripley’ for Showtime.

The series focuses on Tom Ripley (Scott), a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York. He is hired by a wealthy businessman to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit. Fanning will take on the role of Marge Sherwood an American living in Italy who suspects darker motives underlie Tom’s affability.

Fanning also joins the previously cast Johnny Flynn.

Based on the Tom Ripley novels from Patricia Highsmith, Gwyneth Paltrow played the same role in ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’.

Also in news – Lupita Nyong’o and Natalie Portman to star in Apple series ‘Lady in the Lake’

Scribe Steven Zaillian is attached to write and direct the entire first season...

‘WandaVision’ star Paul Bettany and ‘The Crown’ actress are set to star in the BBC One and Amazon Studios’ ‘A Very British Scandal’.

From the makers behind ‘A Very English Scandal’ which starred Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw, the three-hour-long episodes focus on the divorce of the Duke (Paul Bettany) and Duchess of Argyll (Claire Foy), one of the most notorious, extraordinary and brutal legal cases of the 20th century.

Famed for her charisma, beauty and style, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, dominated the front pages as a divorce featuring accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery and an explicit polaroid picture – all played out in the white-hot glare of the 1960s media.

A series will turn this scandal inside out in order to explore the social and political climate of post-war Britain, looking at attitudes towards women, and asking whether institutional misogyny was widespread at the time. As her contemporaries,...

Lupita Nyong’o and Natalie Portman have both signed up to star in the Apple series ‘Lady in the Lake’ an adaptation of the Laura Lipman novel.

The limited series takes place in 1960s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz (Portman) to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist and sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood (Nyong’o), a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.

Alma Har’el and Dre Ryan will co-write the series which will also see Har’el writing the pilot and directing. Nyong’o and Portman will also executive produce alongside Ryan and Har’el. Crazyrose’s Jean-Marc Vallée and Nathan Ross will also serve as executive producers, along with Julie Gardner for Bad Wolf America. Lipmman is also an executive producer on the project.

Also in news – Elle Fanning...

Portman and Nyong’o will star in the adaptation of a novel about a murder case in sixties Baltimore.

Natalie Portman and director Alma Har’el are set to make their TV debuts on Lady In The Lake, a limited series given a straight-to-series order by Apple TV+. Lupita Nyong’o will co-star.

Jean-Marc Vallee’s Crazyrose and Bad Wolf America, US branch of Jane Tranter’s UK company Bad Wolf, are producing, with Endeavor Content serving as the studio.

Har’el and Dre Ryan will co-create and co-write the series, adapted from Laura Lippman’s 2019 novel about a murder case in...

Portman will star in the adaptation of a novel about a murder case in sixties Baltimore.

Natalie Portman and director Alma Har’el are set to make their TV debuts on Lady In The Lake, a limited series given a straight-to-series order by Apple TV+.

Jean-Marc Vallee’s Crazyrose and Bad Wolf America, US branch of Jane Tranter’s UK company Bad Wolf, are producing, with Endeavor Content serving as the studio. Lupita Nyong’o will co-star with Portman.

Har’el and Dre Ryan will co-create and co-write the series, adapted from Laura Lippman’s 2019 novel about a murder case in 1960s...

Portman will star in the adaptation of a novel about a murder case in sixties Baltimore.

Natalie Portman and director Alma Har’el are set to make their TV debuts on Lady In The Lake, a limited series given a straight-to-series order by Apple TV+.

Jean-Marc Vallee’s Crazyrose and Bad Wolf America, US branch of Jane Tranter’s UK company Bad Wolf, are producing, with Endeavor Content serving as the studio. Lupita Nyong’o will co-star with Portman.

Har’el and Dre Ryan will co-create and co-write the series, adapted from Laura Lippman’s 2019 novel about a murder case in 1960s...

Apple has given a straight-to-series order for “Lady in the Lake,” a new limited series directed and co-written by Alma Har’el that will co-star Academy Award winners Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o. All three women will serve as executive producers along with Dre Ryan, who will co-create and co-write the series with Har’el, who will […]

The post Academy Award Winners Natalie Portman & Lupita Nyong’o To Star In A Limited Series For Apple TV+ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Months before its second season is set to bow, Apple TV+’s animated comedy-musical Central Park has been renewed for Season 3.

In making the pickup announcement, the streamer confirmed that the first three episodes of Season 2 will debut on June 25. It also unveiled an extended first look at one of the new season’s musical sequences; check out Daveed Diggs’s Helen proclaiming his love for his hometown of Weehawken in the clip below.

More from TVLineNatalie Portman, Lupita Nyong'o Lead Apple's Lady in the Lake AdaptationTed Lasso Season 2 Adds Team ShrinkNicole Kidman, Cynthia Erivo, Alison Brie and Merritt Wever...

Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o are both diving into TV. Streaming television has proved to be a great arena for established actresses to get some meaty roles and show off their acting chops (see: Nicole Kidman for the past five years), and it seems like Portman and Nyong’o have both gotten the memo, signing on […]

The post ‘Lady in the Lake’: Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o to Star in Apple TV+ Limited Crime Drama Series appeared first on /Film.

Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o will headline a limited series adaptation of Laura Lippman’s book “Lady in The Lake” for Apple TV+. To add to the excitement, the entire series will be directed by “Honey Boy” filmmaker Alma Har’el, who wrote the pilot and will co-write the rest of the series with Dre Ryan (“The Man in the High Castle”). “Lady in The Lake” is executive produced by Jean-Marc Vallée, whose “Big Little Lies” and “Sharp Objects” boosted the era of movie stars doing limited series to much acclaim. The series marks the first major TV project for both Oscar-winning actresses.

“Lady in the Lake” is a mystery set in 1960s Baltimore at the height of the civil rights movement. The story follows housewife-turned-reporter Maddie Schwartz (Portman) as she pursues the case of a missing woman named Cleo Sherwood (Nyong’o), whose body was found in a city park lake.

A decade ago, seeing an A-list film actor star in a TV series was practically unheard of. Nowadays, it’s just another day in Hollywood. And the latest A-listers to make the leap into the realm of small-screen entertainment are Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o, who are both set to star in the upcoming Apple TV+ series, “Lady in the Lake.”

Read More: Ramin Bahrani To Direct Samuel L.

Continue reading ‘Lady In The Lake’: Natalie Portman & Lupita Nyong’o Make The Leap To TV In Alma Har’el’s Apple Series at The Playlist.

Apple TV+ has given a straight-to-series order to a new limited series from “Honey Boy” director Alma Har’el starring Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o, the streamer announced Wednesday.

The series, titled “Lady in the Lake,” is an adaptation of the 2019 novel of the same name by Laura Lippman. Set in 1960s Baltimore, the series centers on Maddie Schwartz (Portman), a housewife and mother who is pushed by an unsolved murder to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist. The case sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood (Nyong’o), a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.

Har’el co-created the series with “The Man in the High Castle” alum Dre Ryan. Har’el will write the pilot and serve as director on the series.

“Lady in the Lake” marks the first foray into television for Portman and...

Academy Award winners Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o are set to star in an adaptation of Laura Lippman’s best-selling novel Lady in the Lake, which has received a straight-to-series order from Apple TV+.

Directed and co-written by Alma Har’el, the limited series takes place in 1960s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz (played by Portman) to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist and sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood (Nyong’o), a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.

More...

Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o are to star in a limited series adaptation of Laura Lippman’s book Lady In The Lake for Apple TV+.

The series will be directed by Honey Boy director Alma Har’el, who co-created and will co-write with Colony and The Man In The High Castle writer Dre Ryan. Lady In The Lake is produced by Jean-Marc Vallée’s Crazyrose and Bad Wolf America, the U.S. arm of the His Dark Materials producer. Endeavor Content is the studio. Har’el is writing the pilot episode.

The limited series takes place in 60s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother, Maddie Schwartz, played by Portman, to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist and sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood, played by Nyong’o, a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.

Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o will star in a series adaptation of the Laura Lipman novel “Lady in the Lake,” which has been ordered straight-to-series at Apple.

The series will be co-written by Alma Har’el and Dre Ryan, with Har’el writing the pilot and directing. Endeavor Content is the studio. Both Har’el and Ryan will executive produce, as will Portman and Nyong’o. Har’el executive produces along with Christopher Leggett via Zusa, with Portman’s producing partner Sophie Mas also executive producing. Crazyrose’s Jean-Marc Vallée and Nathan Ross will also serve as executive producers, along with Julie Gardner for Bad Wolf America. Lipmman is an executive producer on the project too.

The limited series takes place in 1960s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz (Portman) to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist and sets her on a collision course with...

Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o will topline a limited series at Apple TV+.

The two will play leads in Lady in the Lake, based on the best-selling novel of the same title by Laura Lippman. Apple has given a straight to series order to the project, which marks Portman’s first regular TV role. It’s also the first American series for Nyong’o, who had been attached to Americanah at HBO Max before the project was scrapped due to a scheduling conflict.

Lady in the Lake is set in Baltimore in the 1960s, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife ...

Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o will topline a limited series at Apple TV+.

The two will play leads in Lady in the Lake, based on the best-selling novel of the same title by Laura Lippman. Apple has given a straight to series order to the project, which marks Portman’s first regular TV role. It’s also the first American series for Nyong’o, who had been attached to Americanah at HBO Max before the project was scrapped due to a scheduling conflict.

Lady in the Lake is set in Baltimore in the 1960s, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife ...

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

On this strangest of holiday seasons, Conor and I had a lovely conversation with filmmaker Deon Taylor, whose new thriller Fatale is now in theaters and available on demand beginning January 8. We chat about the genre flicks that Hollywood won’t make anymore and Taylor’s determination to keep making them. He talks about his hope for people to seek out Fatale in theaters where safe, his journey to directing stars like Hilary Swank and Michael Ealy, and the 90s thrillers he’s used as inspiration for his own pictures.

We also dive into some lesser-known, Christmas-set noirs from the 1940s: Christmas Holiday (written by Mank himself!) and Lady in the Lake, Robert Montgomery’s adaptation of the Raymond Chandler mystery.

Since JoAnn Romain’s “Lady in the Lake” episode of Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries Vol. 2” premiere in October, viewers have raised a lot of questions about her cousin, Tim Matouk, and his potential involvement in her mysterious death in 2010.

Among Matouk’s accusers are some of his own family members, including JoAnn’s daughter, Michelle Romain.

Matouk did not participate in his cousin’s episode of “Unsolved Mysteries,” but he vehemently denies the accusations — some of which hinge on a phone call he made to JoAnn a few weeks before her death. Michelle overheard the conversation and said that afterward her mother seemed afraid. She also said that her mother warned that if anything were to happen to her, she should look to Matouk.

“I do know that she has a fear of him, and now she’s gone,” Michelle said in the episode.

Now, Matouk is opening up about...

She would sleep. She would wake. And she would walk.  Those three lines were used to tell the devastating tale of the Lady in the Lake at the center of Netflix's The Haunting of Bly Manor. If you're only a couple of episodes into director Mike Flanagan's follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House, be warned, this story is ripe with spoilers. But fans who've made it through the entire second season know that episode eight, titled "The Romance of Certain Old Clothes," is not only a spooky tear-jerker, but that it also provides answers to almost every question viewers had ahead of the gut-wrenching finale. As it turns out, the Lady in the Lake is played by Kate Siegel, who takes on...

(Warning: This story includes major spoilers for “The Haunting of Bly Manor” finale.)

The eighth episode of Netflix’s “The Haunting of Bly Manor” is a very different installment from the rest, shot almost entirely in black and white and told almost exclusively via the show’s nameless narrator, played by Carla Gugino. And the reason for such a drastic difference between this hour, the penultimate of the season, and those that came before it is because here is where we finally go back in time to learn the story of how Bly Manor became haunted in the first place. It’s a tale of two sisters, Viola (played by Kate Siegel) and Perdita (Katie Parker), and how their intense love for one another killed them both and turned Viola into the Lady in the Lake who haunts Bly Manor.

“It’s sort of experimental. And it takes you away from everybody you love,...

The Haunting of Bly Manor revolves around stories of love and loss, which can all be linked back to the Lady in the Lake, Viola Lloyd. On the Netflix series, the Lady of Bly Manor plagues the halls of her former home after being killed at her sister's hands, but it's an awful illness that weakens Viola in the first place. What is "the lung sickness" Viola suffers from, exactly? There's no clear-cut answer, but it's likely tuberculosis - an unforgiving infectious disease.

Bly Manor's second-to-last episode provides a look into Viola's demise. Her happy life with her husband, sister, and young daughter comes to a sudden halt with one cough. As often happens when an onscreen character falls ill, warning bells start to go off when she coughs blood into a handkerchief. A doctor confirms Viola doesn't have the plague, but reveals she has "the lung." Although her condition is never specified,...

(Warning: This post contains major spoilers for the finale of “The Haunting of Bly Manor.”)

In Netflix’s “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” Mike Flanagan’s followup to his 2018 hit “The Haunting of Hill House,” young teacher Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti) comes to Bly Manor to become a nanny to the peculiar but precious Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) and Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), totally unaware of the actual job she’s taking on. And with that job at a very haunted house comes big sacrifices Dani will end up making as a result of her commitment to both the children and Jamie (Amelia Eve), the estate’s groundskeeper, who she ends up falling in love with.

At the start of the season finale, “The Beast in the Jungle,” Dani runs after the Lady in the Lake/Viola (Kate Siegel), a ghost who has been haunting Bly for centuries and has scooped up Flora,...

The first thing you might notice in Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries Volume 2 trailer is the music. The familiar theme of the original, classic series, has been twisted into a cross between the themes to the film Halloween and The Exorcist. We can still make out the melody, but it is far more haunting in its new mix. The same can be said of the show.

The new iteration Unsolved Mysteries is haunting and serious, avoiding some of the cheesier aspects which endeared viewers to the original, which began airing in 1987. Unsolved Mysteries Volume 1 featured six episodes which began streaming in July. Unsolved Mysteries Volume 2’s second set of sixes premieres on Oct. 19. With only one more 6 to make it a devilish enumeration, it is a perfect way to celebrate Halloween.

“In six new episodes, Unsolved Mysteries profiles more unexplained disappearances, tragic events, and bizarre occurrences,” according to the official logline.

The official trailer for Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries Vol. 2” is out, and it features “haunting” footage from real-life cases that is sure to give you goosebumps.

The second installment of Netflix’s reboot of the classic mystery TV series comes out Oct. 19, featuring six all-new stories that have left investigators scratching their heads for years.

As always, the show’s goal is to generate new information from viewers that could lead to a break in each case.

“Somebody out there knows something,” a voice says in the trailer, which you can watch above and on YouTube.

From the murder of a Washington insider to a case of stolen children, Volume 2 “profiles more unexplained disappearances, tragic events, and bizarre occurrences,” according to Netflix.

The series comes from the original creators, Terry Meurer and John Cosgrove, who also executive produce with Robert M. Wise. Shawn Levy and Josh Barry executive produce for 21 Laps Entertainment,...

As Disney quietly disappears huge swathes of film history into its vaults, I'm going to spend 2020 celebrating Twentieth Century Fox and the Fox Film Corporation's films, what one might call their output if only someone were putting it out.And now they've quietly disappeared William Fox's name from the company: guilty by association with Rupert Murdoch, even though he never associated with him.***Two of the 1940s Raymond Chandler adaptations, Howard Hawks' The Big Sleep (1946) and Edward Dmytryk's Murder, My Sweet (1944), are rightly considered classics. Hawks identified the key challenge of the first-person detective story: find a leading man interesting enough that the audience doesn't get bored of seeing him in every scene. Hawks hired Bogart.Dmytryk was lumbered with Dick Powell, but Powell stretched himself and Dmytryk did everything to make the surroundings interesting, even nightmarish.The third movie from the third major studio is Robert Montgomery...

Berlin — Robert Montgomery’s “Lady in the Lake” posed the question of whether it’s possible to make a complete film from one Pov and yet create a true emotional connection with an audience if it doesn’t have a face to connect with. “Saudi Runaway” delivers a haunting Pov experience via the hands of a woman, most of the times hidden behind a burka, and her willingness to record with her phone the situation that thousands of other women live in Saudi Arabia.

This is the story of Muna, a young designer, whose life has been controlled and determined by a state that gives very few rights to women. When forced into an arranged marriage, she decides to escape. Using her phone as testimony of an archaic and violent patriarchy, Muna and director Susanne Regina Meures create an intuitive and immensely emotional documentary.

Produced by Christian Frei Filmproductions in...

In an age of almost weekly action films that either star The Rock or tell the story of a randomly chosen comic book character, modern action cinema is in a relatively awkward state. While there are certainly independent and foreign releases that are in some fashion evolving the language of action film making, much of what is thrust into theaters across this country is cookie-cutter, paint by numbers studio trash that couldn’t describe an original thought if it hit them square in the face.

Thankfully, this final weekend of August is one of those eventful weekends where independent theater chains in larger markets (specifically NY and La this weekend, with more to come) finally get a hold of one of those above mentioned diamonds in the rough.

Entitled The Villainess, the film arrives in the dog days of summer as an absolute breath of fresh air that is at...

By David Kozlowski | 30 June 2017

Welcome to Issue #2 of The Lrm Weekend, a weekly column highlighting cool and unique videos about film, TV, comics, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, animation, and anime. We also want to hear from you, our awesome Lrm community! Share your favorite videos to: @LRM_Weekend and we'll post your Tweets below!

Last Issue: 6.23.17

Why do we love superheroes, martial arts, fantasy, and sci-fi? The big fight scenes, of course. Every week we'll bring you an epic brawl from the recent or distant past -- we want to hear from you, share your favorite fights with us!

Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris in Way of the Dragon (1972) Bonus: Chuck Norris Talks About Bruce Lee

The original movie poster from 1972!

What Is It?

If we're going to have a serious, weekly conversation about proper fight scenes, we have to go back to the source...The martial arts fight that...

“Being dead is not the same thing as not existing — many things exist that are dead. Indeed, I would argue that many of the greatest things that exist are dead and this is not necessarily a bad thing.” — James Schamus

In November of 2014, a little more than a year after he had been fired from his long-time job as the CEO of Focus Features, James Schamus was invited to the German Film Academy to give a speech about the future of cinema. Naturally, the underlying assumption of the event was that it had one.

The talk began on a routine note, as Schamus name-checked Theodor Adorno, bridged the gap between George Méliès and Christopher Nolan, and pushed through the obligatory references to the rise of Netflix and the fall of DVD. And then, reaching the fifth point of a lecture that he had split into 23 discrete fragments, Schamus reframed the conversation,...

For all his experience as a producer and writer — most notably as the head of Focus Features, and most specifically as a longtime associate of Ang Lee — it was an odd choice on James Schamus‘ part to make a directorial debut in his late ’50s — and especially by adapting Philip Roth, whose psychologically dense prose, to name but one thing, has stifled those attempting book-to-screen translations. But no matter the author’s typically precise and internalized perspective, the text in question, Indignation, should be an easier work to slide into, in some part because its ’50s-college setting creates an atmosphere that could easily be brought to cinema. Here’s the good news: to view Schamus’ own Indignation is to again witness an understanding of time and place.

Even better was the act of interviewing him. The extent of Schamus’ experience and knowledge — it’s only so often you interview someone...

By John M. Whalen

It’s night and a ship moves in the water through a dark curtain of fog. We see George Raft as Captain Johnny Angel on the bridge peering out into the pea soup as another vessel looms ahead suddenly in the darkness, abandoned and drifting in the water. Raft sounds the foghorn but there’s no response. He boards the derelict with several of his crew to search for clues as to what happened. They go below to the captain’s quarters and finds it wrecked. A picture lies on a desk in a shattered frame. Raft picks it up and we see it is a picture of him as a younger man standing next to an older one. A crew member enters the cabin and says there is blood below, and water in the hold, but no signs of life.

“Maybe your father’s okay,...

Bogie's back and Bacall's got him! Or, at least she's got his voice, and a bundle of bandages. A David Goodis hardboiled crime tale becomes an absurd pile of coincidences and accidental relationships, all wrapped up (literally) in a giant plastic-surgery gimmick. Bogart and his new bride Bacall are charming, but there's a show -stealer at large: the great Agnes Moorehead plays the most entertainingly horrible harpy in film history. Dark Passage Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 106 min. / Street Date May 17, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 16.59 Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Agnes Moorehead, Bruce Bennett, Tom D'Andrea, Clifton Young, Douglas Kennedy, Rory Mallinson, Houseley Stevenson Cinematography Sid Hickox Art Direction Charles H. Clarke Film Editor David Weisbart Original Music Franz Waxman Written by Delmer Daves from a novel by David Goodis Produced by Jerry Wald, Jack L. Warner Directed by Delmer Daves

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Dark Passage...