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Sad news made its way online over the weekend, as Lori Cardille, the star of writer/director George A. Romero’s 1985 zombie classic Day of the Dead, took to social media to confirm that her co-star Anthony Dileo Jr., known to his friends as Tim, passed away on Friday night. In Day of the Dead, Dileo played the character Miguel Salazar, who has a mental breakdown as the story plays out and, in the end, opens the gates to the underground bunker he and the other characters have been hiding out in, allowing the living dead to feast on fresh meat.

On Saturday, Cardille wrote, “It is with great sadness that I let you all know that my dear friend and colleague Anthony Dileo passed away last night from Covid. Tim was filled with love for nature, his beloved animals, family and friends and fans. He made me laugh every...

The Sticky has finally been released on Amazon Prime Video, and here is a full breakdown of the cast and characters from the show. The Sticky is full of fantastic character actors that bring the world of the Canadian story to life, with many of them being seen in all kinds of other fantastic projects. So, here is who viewers can expect to see in The Sticky's heist television story and who they are playing.

Amazon Prime Video's The Sticky is a 2024 crime comedy series, with it being inspired by the real-life Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist. The hilarious heist series follows three unlikely thieves who come together in Canada to steal millions of dollars worth of maple syrup from under the noses of its owners. Throughout the six-episode series, all kinds of unique characters can be met, and here is a full breakdown of each one.

Actor

Role...

George Miller gets biblical in the opening of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the fifth installment in his postapocalyptic action franchise. The young Furiosa (Alyla Browne) picks a ripe piece of fruit from a tree growing at the edge of a verdant forest. “We’ve come too far,” says her companion, emphasizing the forbidden nature of the act with the perfect amount of allegorical on-the-noseness. What happens next certainly has the aura of divine punishment, as Furiosa is whisked away from her home (“the Green Place” first mentioned in Mad Max: Fury Road) by a masked group of motor bikers.

She’s no helpless waif, mind you, and with her steadfast mother, Mary Jo Bassa (Charlee Fraser), in hot pursuit, Furiosa gives as good as any of the lecherous brutes tormenting her. But the fates, not to mention the narrative dictates of an origin story with an already fixed outcome,...

Film critic Andrew Sarris changed his profession forever when he introduced, to English-speaking cinephiles at least, the concept of “auteur theory.” The general conceit is that some rarified directors are so gifted, or commanding, in their control over the process of film production that they alone can give a film a “personal or unique stamp.” They are the ones who become the author of the movie you’re watching. If anyone. It’s a seductive theory which encourages the critic to look for points of narrative, visual, or thematic similarity between a filmmaker’s work. The more ideas or images that rhyme, the potentially more impressive the auteur’s command over the medium becomes.

However, while it is hard to dispute the existence of auteurs, the concept at times devalues the contributions of a film’s many other collaborators—especially if they’re, say, editors, production designers, or cinematographers a...

World-renowned auteur George Miller has been a major force in international cinema for 45 years. A seminal figure of the Australian New Wave film movement, Miller ironically began his career as a doctor before transitioning to feature filmmaking in the late 1970s. Miller, along with his contemporaries Peter Weir, Gillian Armstrong, and Bruce Beresford, helped usher in an unprecedented era of economic prosperity and critical acclaim for Australian cinema between 1970 and 1990.

Starting his feature film career in 1979, Miller made his cinematic debut directing Mad Max, commencing one of the greatest action franchises in movie history. A filmmaker of immense range, Miller has worked in a vast array of genres that include action, science fiction, animation, fantasy, comedy, and biographical drama. Throughout his career, Miller has earned six Academy Award nominations, winning once for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. In addition to the Mad Max franchise, Happy Feet, Lorenzo's Oil,...

One of George Miller's films, "Lorenzo's Oil," opens with an epigram reading as follows: "Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods ... so let us celebrate the struggle!" Celebrating the struggle may seem paradoxical in life or in cinema, but that concept runs through just about every one of Miller's films, created over the course of four decades. From post-apocalyptic action fantasies to deliriously twisted family fare, Miller has never been too boxed in with the films he's made. Through his filmography, George Miller has done everything from introducing one of cinema's biggest action stars to depicting a sea of penguins dancing to pop music. As weird as those extremes may be, it somehow all makes sense. With the arrival of Miller's latest entry in the "Mad Max" franchise, "Furiosa," in theaters now, let's rank all of Miller's films.

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(from left) Three Thousand Years Of Longing (Metro Goldwyn Mayer); Mad Max: Fury Road (Warner Bros.); Lorenzo’s Oil (Universal Pictures); Happy Feet (Warner Bros.).Image: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures; Warner Bros.; Universal Pictures; Warner Bros.

For the uninitiated, it would be easy to look over the filmography of Australian director...

Imagine a kindly grandfather-type figure sitting by an open hotel window, staring out at the sea on the French Riviera. The early sun hits his shock of gray hair in a way that almost makes it look like there’s a halo above it. The black-on-black ensemble suggests he’s arrived in France for an undertaker’s convention. The glasses make him look slightly owl-like. As he leans forward, ready to launch into an anecdote, you feel like he’s about to wax poetic about some long-ago vacation he took...

George Miller gets biblical in the opening moments of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the fifth installment in his postapocalyptic action franchise. The young Furiosa, played by Alyla Browne, picks a ripe piece of fruit from a tree growing at the edge of a verdant forest. “We’ve come too far,” says her companion, emphasizing the forbidden nature of the act with the perfect amount of allegorical on-the-noseness. What happens next certainly has the aura of divine punishment, as Furiosa is whisked away from her home (“the Green Place” first mentioned in Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road) by a masked group of motor bikers.

She’s no helpless waif, mind you, and with her steadfast mother, Mary Jo Bassa (Charlee Fraser), in hot pursuit, Furiosa gives as good as any of the lecherous brutes tormenting her. But the fates, not to mention the narrative dictates of an origin story with an already fixed outcome,...

The max in “Mad Max” stands for maximizing profit potential?

George Miller, the maverick 79-year-old Australian director, brought the fifth entry into his dystopian action franchise, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” to the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival this week.

While it’s been nearly a decade since “Mad Max: Fury Road” – the film that introduced the one-armed automotive avenger Imperator Furiosa, initially played by Charlize Theron but Anya Taylor-Joy in the prequel – Miller says he may not be done with stories set in the “guzzoline”-obsessed Wasteland.

“There are certainly other stories there. Mainly because in order to tell the story of ‘Fury Road’, we had to know the backstory of Furiosa and Max in the year before,” Miller said, revving up the engines of devoted fans. “That was a tool for the cast and crew. We know the Max story from the year before. I’ll definitely wait...

If you want to become a dystopian feminist warrior, you’re not going to get much sleep. That was one of the first things Anya Taylor-Joy learned on the set of George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel “Furiosa.” Under heavy coats of makeup, shooting in the Australian winter when daylight was scarce, Taylor-Joy wished she could have stayed in bed at least through the crack of dawn. Instead, she’d rise up in the middle of the night, ready to do battle.

“I had the earliest call time of my life: 1:45 a.m.,” the 28-year-old actress says on a recent Los Angeles afternoon. “I’d be like, ‘I just wrapped! What do you mean?! It’s a mistake!’” Taylor-Joy recalls the painful mornings now with a gleeful theater-kid energy. She chronicled her entire transformation as Furiosa, and took photos of her various makeup tests. She flips through her phone to show me.

Before Focus Features released Edgar Wright’s neo-noir thriller Last Night in Soho in October 2021, the filmmaker showed a cut to pal George Miller. The Australian director was so struck by star Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance that he went back to Wright with an idea.

“I said, ‘Gee, she’d be good for…,’” detailed Miller, who then said Wright interjected before he could finish the thought. “[He said], ‘Do it, do it. She’s great.’” Miller took Wright’s concise advice and cast Taylor-Joy in the title role of Warner Bros. Pictures’ Furiosa, the newest installment of his blockbuster Mad Max franchise. She plays a young woman in a dystopian universe who was snatched from home only to fall into the hands of the great Biker Horde led by the Warlord of Dementus, played by Chris Hemsworth. Furiosa is then forced to withstand many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

As the rollout of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga revs up, filmmaker George Miller will be heading to Las Vegas.

CinemaCon announced Tuesday morning that the Australian filmmaker has been selected to receive an international career achievement in filmmaking award during the annual convention put on by the National Association of Theatre Owners. Miller will be presented with the prize during a lunch ceremony at Caesars Palace on April 8.

“George Miller, an archetypal storyteller, has transformed the imaginations of moviegoers worldwide, forever altering the cinematic landscape,” said CinemaCon managing director Mitch Neuhauser. “His filmmaking serves as a testament to his enduring impact and inspiration.”

Warner Bros. Pictures will release Furiosa on May 24, following the film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, Furiosa finds Miller returning to the dystopian world he created more than 30 years ago. It follows a young Furiosa after...

Austin, TX – One thing that SXSW attracts are movie stars. With the big premieres headquartered at the famous art deco Paramount Theatre in Austin, audiences were treated to appearances by the legendary Susan Sarandon (“Gutter”), a reunited Cheech & Chong, and for the creme de la creme we were in the “Cage.” The great Nicolas Cage appeared on behalf of “Arcadian.”

Dammit Janet …

Susan Sarandon @SXSW for ‘Gutter’

Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

Susan Sarandon is an Oscar Winning (“Dead Man Walking”) and ultimate cult actress (the legendary Janet in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”). She made her inauspicious debut in the (naturally) cult hippie film “Joe” and has had memorable roles in “Pretty Baby,” “Atlantic City,” “The Hunger,” “Bull Durham,” “Thelma and Louise,” “Lorenzo’s Oil” “Robot & Frank” and most recently as the voice of Dr. Wong in “Rick and Morty.” She represented her latest star turn...

The second episode of Mysteries of the Faith focuses on the testimonies of people in Manoppello, Italy, and the importance of religious relics. The importance of the face of Jesus and the Holy Grail has been highlighted. The different theories associated with the Holy Grail discussed by various historians have been brought out in the mini-docu-series. The grace of God bestowed upon the people through the various relics and how the miracles have affected the lives of many have been explored. Streaming on Netflix, the series will appeal to believers in faith and end with the message of the importance of preserving the old relics that have a direct connection with the Lord himself. Will the real placement of the Holy Grail be revealed to the world through the episode? Let us find out!

Spoilers Ahead

How Did The Holy Face Protect Rocco Rulli’s Family?

Rocco Rulli, who has been a resident of Manoppello,...

Susan Sarandon has had a long and illustrious career in both film and television, earning multiple Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. She is a versatile actor who has worked in various genres, including horror, crime thriller, drama, and comedy, showcasing her range and talent. Some of her notable films include "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," "Lorenzo's Oil," "Little Women," "Bull Durham," and "Thelma & Louise," where she delivered powerful performances and left a lasting impact on audiences.

Susan Sarandon has amassed a celebrated filmography of prominent works in both film and television. After launching her decades-spanning career with a supporting role in the 1970 film Joe, Sarandon has since become one of the more notable female actors in modern cinematic history. Nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards and six Academy Awards including one win for Best Actress, the 77-year-old Sarandon continues to work in major Hollywood films and television series...

Susan Sarandon's best film is argued to be Bull Durham from 1988, where she delivers a captivating performance as Annie Savoy. "Bull Durham" is a quintessential baseball movie, evoking the magic of a small-town ballpark and featuring a strong ensemble cast. Sarandon's chemistry with Kevin Costner in the film is electric, and her portrayal of Annie showcases her talent for being sexy, funny, and powerful simultaneously.

One of the most interesting actors of her generation, Susan Sarandon, has been in so many blockbusters that it is hard to even keep count. Even now, she is making quality movies that people are clamoring to see. However, the debate rages as to which is her best film.

Even as she continues to leave her mark on Hollywood, her early work may be the best representation of her star power. One of her forgotten movies, Bull Durham, is still her best.

How Do I Know Susan Sarandon?...

Dylan Sprouse and Barbara Palvin have officially tied the knot.

The actor and model got married on Saturday in Hungary, where Palvin was born and raised, according to Vogue Weddings. The ceremony took place on her parents’ property, Harlekin Birtok, which is also an event venue, surrounded by friends and family.

“[This past weekend] was supposed to be an intimate event,” Palvin told the outlet. “But we ended up having 115 guests, because there are a lot of people we care about and we wanted them all to be there.”

As for her wardrobe on her special day, Palvin opted for a custom strapless dress from the fashion house of Vivienne Westwood for her first look. For her second dress, she chose a shorter style by Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini. And to keep with a Hungarian tradition and “wear a red dress after midnight,” she chose Hungarian designer Mero to create her third look,...

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Fortnite, Chapter 4 Season 3, has introduced a brand-new Fortnite Battle Pass with the usual array of new character outfits, emotes, stacks of V-Bucks, and more. Each season, Fortnite players can play matches and complete challenges to gain Xp and level up, earning Battle Stars that can be spent on new battle pass rewards. This season, Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise leads a battle pass filled with new and original Fortnite characters.

Every time players level up in Fortnite, they earn five Battle Stars, which they can spend on any of the rewards found in the new battle pass. The battle pass has a few...

Nothing can look pretty gorgeous in widescreen, and there was quite a lot of it in the Australian New Wave of the '70s. The daunting expanse of the Outback provided the canvas for several classic films of the period, such as two masterpieces that were roughly analogous to the folk horror genre emerging in Britain around the same time: Nicholas Roeg's "Walkabout" and Ted Kotcheff's controversial "Wake in Fright." In these movies, the stark setting created a dislocating sense that white settlers don't belong in such a harsh and humbling environment, adding to their aura of unease.

Most of the notable films of the Aussie New Wave were set in the past or present but, as the '80s beckoned, the biggest hit of the bunch looked to the future in George Miller's "Mad Max." Unlike "Walkabout" and "Wake in Fright," which were both shot in the heart of the Outback,...

Hollywood icon Susan Sarandon arrested in New York during wage protest.

Per Entertainment Tonight, the Academy Award winner was arrested alongside Ana Maria Archila and other demonstrators who turned up to protest for full minimum wages for mothers who are tipped workers. The protest was headed up by the nonprofit One Fair Wage. Many states allow such workers to be paid as little as $2.13 per hour. During the protest, Sarandon could be seen chanting "one fair wage" along with other protesters. Neither Sarandon nor her representatives have yet to issue an official statement on her arrest, which reportedly amounted to Sarandon being handcuffed and processed before being issued a citation for an impending court appearance and subsequently released.

Related: CBS Unveils 2023 Fall Schedule, Matlock Trailer, During Ongoing Writers Strike

Sarandon, whose career began in 1970 with roles in the feature drama Joe and soap opera A World Apart, rose to prominence...

Russell Crowe is on the brink of 60, and appears to be taking a let-'er-rip approach to acting. The three-time Academy Award nominee (and winner of one) is no longer being precious about his role choices. After hamming it up alongside RZA in the Wu-Tang Clan founder's unabashedly gory martial arts epic "The Man with the Iron Fists," Crowe eagerly sought out parts in genre flicks that were highly unlikely to bring him more Oscar glory. Though he hasn't completely cut prestige pictures out of his cinematic diet, his best performance of the last decade was as a Yoo-hoo-obsessed detective in Shane Black's brilliant buddy comedy "The Nice Guys."

Crowe threw an extra layer of glaze on the ham as the Greek god Zeus in Taika Waititi's "Thor: Love and Thunder." It's a disappointingly uneven MCU installment, but Crowe's thick, Zorba-like accent is a hoot. While Crowe's broadly comedic...

Rick And Morty have had many impressive guest stars, including some notable Oscar winners. Just like with South Park or The Simpsons, it didn't take long for celebrities to realize Rick And Morty was the hot new animated show they needed to cameo on. The first season had some cool guest stars like Alfred Molina or Wayne's World star Dana Carvey playing Jerry's father, but later series saw a notable uptick in major actors making appearances. Some of the biggest include Sam Neill, Timothy Olyphant, Werner Herzog, Christina Ricci, Peter Dinklage and many more who popped up in recent years.

Season 4 of Rick And Morty featured guests like Elon Musk and even Jesus Christ - as voiced by Christopher Meloni. Unlike The Simpsons or South Park, Rick And Morty tend to create characters for their celebrity cameos. Over the years, the animated comedy has also lured some Academy Award-winning performers onto the show,...

From left: Richard Gere, Diane Keaton, William H. Macy, Susan Sarandon in Maybe I Do Photo: Endeavor Content Veteran TV writer/director Michael Jacobs makes his feature debut with Maybe I Do, a purported rom-com about marriage and the intertwined relationships among three couples or, more accurately, couplings. At first,...

Photo: ‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’ The Director’s Past Works Throughout his career, filmmaker George Miller will always be recognized as the man who directed the ‘Mad Max Trilogy.’ However, he has experimented with other genres by making films that are outside his comfort zone from the action genre that he is known for. In his past filmography, George Miller has contributed to a segment in ‘Twilight Zone: The Movie.’ He dabbled with the fantasy genre by making ‘The Witches of Eastwick,’ which tells the tale of three single women who have their wishes permitted with a price when an enigmatic man meets them. After the film, he made the biographic film ‘Lorenzo’s Oil,’ a true story about Lorenzo Odone, a -five-year-old Virginian boy who is diagnosed with an incurable and degenerative brain disease called adrenoleukodystrophy (Ald). Related article: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase: “The Importance...

On a trip to Istanbul for a conference, Alithea Binnie, a scholar of narrative and myth, finds herself swept up into a mythic story of her own. Alithea, played by Tilda Swinton, buys a bottle from an old shop, a cultural token for her travels, only to find that it is apparently home to a genie. One moment, she’s rinsing the bottle off in her hotel sink. The next, a giant Idris Elba, speaking another language and flowing with colorful undercurrents of fire and electricity beneath his skin, has...

John Seale was considering retirement a decade ago — then fellow Australian George Miller convinced the cinematographer to shoot “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Now, their partnership continues with the fantastical romance “Three Thousand Years of Longing.”

During production, Seale decided the two-hander, starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, would be a “fascinating” film to cap his career, electing against reuniting with Miller for “Furiosa,” the filmmaker’s upcoming “Fury Road” prequel, which is currently in production.

“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Seale recalled. “George said, ‘Well, I’m not going to ask you to do it.’ I thought to myself, ‘Ah great, now I don’t have to go through it all.’ Then he said, ‘I’m going to invite you.’ That one word — ‘invite’ — changed the whole thing and made it even harder.”

Seale has been a studio filmmaking staple since the 1980s. He...

It’s been almost a decade since George Miller, a then 70-year-old, Australian filmmaker some dismissed as either washed or well past his prime, proved doubters spectacularly wrong, writing and directing the best action film of the last quarter century, Mad Max: Fury Road. Miller brought an audacious blend of ambition, verve, and craftsmanship to the long-delayed, at one time apocryphal, fourth entry in the Mad Max series that began cinematic life as a modest, low-budget effort in 1979 with a young, pre-controversial Mel Gibson in the title role. While Miller subsequently mooted a Mad Max prequel/spin-off centered on a significantly younger version of Charlize Theron’s character, Furiosa (it’s currently in production with Anya Taylor-Joy...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Plot: A lonely woman discovers a Djinn locked away in his bottle. He offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.

Review: George Miller is a filmmaker who continues to impress. It’s impossible not to connect the man to the brilliant franchise around Mad Max. Yet people sometimes forget the variety in Miller’s work. The director has given us a heart with Babe: Pig in the City and heartbreak with Lorenzo’s Oil. And he even made a dancing penguin super sweet in Happy Feet. And now, Miller’s latest takes on another fantastical element, a genie in a bottle. Three Thousand Years of Longing is a fantasy starring Tilda Swinton as a lonely art scholar who finds an old bottle, one that holds a Djinn (Idris Elba). It’s a weird and slightly wild tale of two lonely souls discovering each other through magic.

Tilda Swinton is Alithea,...

Miller has made a dazzling variety of films in his 50 year career and his latest, featuring Elba as a djinn alongside Tilda Swinton, is as strange as any of them. But would he rather have stayed a doctor?

Stop me if I’m rambling, says the director George Miller, perched on his stool like some saloon-bar raconteur, half-drunk on the joys of film history and lit theory. He has covered Buster Keaton and Joseph Campbell, Indigenous art and the Queen of Sheba. He says we don’t even know whether the Queen of Sheba was real, but she’s real in the legends and what’s more real than a tale? “We’re creatures of story, we’re hardwired for story. That’s how we make sense of the world.”

Miller – soft-spoken and stocky; 77 as of last March – is best known for his dystopian Mad Max pictures, but his CV...

Below is Toby Emmerich’s departure note to staff at Warner Bros on Wednesday. As we reported this morning, the chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group is segueing to a lucrative five-year production deal on the lot, so he’s not going far. He apparently was offered to stay, but would have had to cede oversee on Warner Bros. Animation and DC, an option the former New Line President didn’t want.

Word is that former MGM film bosses Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy will arrive at Warners on August 1. As Emmerich points out here, in the interim, DC features head Walter Hamada, COO Carolyn Blackwood, Warner President of Production Courtenay Valenti and New Line head Richard Brener will continue to report to Emmerich.

Even with De Luca coming in, should Brener and Blackwood opt to stay, it’s the New Line gang back together. It’s an interesting...

Susan Sarandon and Fat Joe are set to lead the voice cast of the animated comedy series “The Movers” in development at Fox, Variety has learned exclusively.

The series is based on an original idea by Sarandon, her son Jack Henry Robbins, and Danielle Uhlarik. All three are credited as co-creators and executive producers, with Robbins and Uhlarik writing the script. Fat Joe will also executive produce in addition to starring. Fox’s Bento Box Enteratinment will produce.

“The Movers” is described as a half-hour workplace comedy that explores New York City through the dysfunctional employees of the 78th ranked moving company in Manhattan.

This is the second Fox project to which Sarandon is attached. She will next be seen in the Fox country music drama “Monarch” in one of the lead roles. The show was originally meant to debut in January but will now bow in the fall.

Sarandon is an Academy Award winner,...

Cannes likes George Miller, and he likes Cannes. It’s where he debuted “Mad Max: Fury Road” in 2015, and made his third Competition jury appearance the following year, this time as its president. Now his latest film, “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” has an out-of-competition slot with an epic and gorgeously wrought fairy-tale romance between a Djinn eager for freedom (Idris Elba) and a successful but lonely academic who studies storytelling. He tells her a bang of a tale; she makes wishes. They negotiate the terms in an Istanbul hotel room. Is love a wish fulfilled?

For all its epic scope, it’s a smaller-scale drama dominated by dialogue and reviews are mixed. That’s unsurprising; this movie is like nothing you have seen, and critics don’t know what to make of it. Although crammed with ingenious magical creatures and VFX, it’s not an action movie. Its two 50-ish leads are romantic,...

Amazon and MGM may have completed their 8.5 billion merger in March, but don’t expect to see “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” the fantastical love story from director George Miller, streaming on Prime Video on Aug. 31 when the film opens.

Miller is a true believer in cinema and the movie theaters that house them. “It would be very painful to know that your movie will be first seen on streaming,” he tells Variety.

“There’s a commitment that they can’t change. MGM will release it at the end of August in 2,000 cinemas. There’s been no deal that MGM has made to stream the movie. At this moment, it will be a theatrical release. Seeing it in that cinema [the Palais], with that sound, that group of people, and knowing every little bit of work that we put into it, will be available to the audiences.”

The movie is adapted by...

Exclusive: George Miller is distracted. Five minutes into our meeting, he begs forgiveness to take a quick call. And then, on an iPad tilted in his direction, the filmmaker watches as a camera feed from the Australian outback offers him a live view of a pre-shoot for his next feature, Furiosa. His supervising stunt coordinator and second unit director, Guy Norris, whose work with Miller stretches back to 1981’s Mad Max sequel The Road Warrior, is already shooting sequences for the new film.

Set 15 years before the events of Mad Max: Fury Road, the film will tell the backstory of Charlize Theron’s enigmatic Furiosa, this time played by Anya Taylor-Joy. “Here I am doing an interview with you halfway across the world, and I’m able to look at this footage being shot far west from where I am and we’re discussing it as we go through the process,...

Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon has closed a deal to play villain Victoria Kord in “Blue Beetle,” DC Films’ first superhero movie starring a Latino character, TheWrap has exclusively learned. Victoria Kord is a new character created for the movie.

Sharon Stone was previously in talks for the role.

“Cobra Kai” breakout Xolo Maridueña is set to star in the lead role of Jaime Reyes in “Blue Beetle.” “Charm City Kings” director Angel Manuel Soto is set to direct. The screenplay is from Mexican writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, who wrote Universal’s “Scarface” remake and Sony’s “Miss Bala.” John Rickard is the producer.

Sarandon joins a cast which includes George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, Damián Alcázar, Belissa Escobedo, Bruna Marquezine and Harvey Guillén. Additionally, Raoul Max Trujillo (“Mayans M.C.”) will play Carapax the Indestructible Man.

“Blue Beetle” is set to be released theatrically on Aug. 18, 2023.

In DC Comics,...

Susan Sarandon and Anna Friel have been cast as the leads of Fox’s upcoming country music drama “Monarch,” the broadcast network said Tuesday.

Premiering at midseason, “Monarch” is described as “an epic, multigenerational musical drama about America’s first family of country music,” the fictional Romans.

Per Fox, “The Romans are headed by the insanely talented, but tough-as-nails Queen of Country Music Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon). Along with her beloved husband, Albie, Dottie has created a country music dynasty. But even though the Roman name is synonymous with authenticity, the very foundation of their success is a lie. And when their reign as country royalty is put in jeopardy, heir to the crown Nicolette “Nicky” Roman (Friel) will stop at nothing to protect her family’s legacy, while ensuring her own quest for stardom.”

Melissa London Hilfers (“Instinct”) serves as creator, writer and executive producer on “Monarch.” Michael Rauch...

Susan Sarandon and Anna Friel have been cast in the upcoming Fox country music drama series “Monarch,” Variety has learned.

In the series, the Romans are headed by the insanely talented, but tough as nails Queen of Country Music Dottie Cantrell Roman (Sarandon). Along with her beloved husband, Albie, Dottie has created a country music dynasty. But even though the Roman name is synonymous with authenticity, the very foundation of their success is a lie. And when their reign as country royalty is put in jeopardy, heir to the crown Nicolette “Nicky” Roman (Friel) will stop at nothing to protect her family’s legacy, while ensuring her own quest for stardom.

“Monarch” will debut midseason for Fox on Jan. 30 immediately after the NFC Championship game, with the show’s second episode airing on Feb. 1.

Sarandon is an Academy Award winner, taking home the statuette for best actress in 1996 for “Dead Man Walking.

The Toronto International Film Festival has revealed the slate of titles that will round out its contemporary world cinema and discovery programs.

Among the films playing in the contemporary world cinema lineup include director Wen Shipei’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” Lorenzo Vigas’ “The Box,” Manuel Martín Cuenca’s “The Daughter” and Bouli Lanners’ “Nobody Has to Know.” The discovery program will host Tea Lindeburg’s “As In Heaven,” filmmaker Hong Sung-eun’s “Aloners” and Anatolian Leopard from director Emre Kayış.

“TIFF Programmers continue discovering compelling and diverse stories from around the globe,” said Diana Sanchez, TIFF’s senior director of film. “With these two programmes, Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery, audiences can look forward to this stellar lineup to immerse themselves in. TIFF is dedicated to amplifying the voices of Black and Indigenous filmmakers and filmmakers of colour, emerging Canadian talent, and powerful storytellers who identify as women, and...

Oscar nominated screenwriter of One Night in Miami… and the writer/co-director of Pixar’s Soul, Kemp Powers discusses some of his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Innerspace (1987)

The Goonies (1985)

Animal House (1978)

Soul (2020)

One Night In Miami… (2020)

Munich (2005)

12 Angry Men (1957)

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)

Gremlins (1984)

About Schmidt (2002)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Little Women (2019)

Cornbread, Earl And Me (1975)

The Education Of Sonny Carson (1974)

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)

Point Break (1991)

Point Break (2015)

Ghost (1990)

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

Road House (1989)

Dirty Dancing (1987)

The Outsiders (1983)

Die Hard (1988)

Up (2009)

Monsters Inc. (2001)

Inside Out (2015)

Wall-e (2008)

Ratatouille (2007)

Van Nuys Blvd. (1979)

Mad Max (1979)

The Road Warrior (1981)

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Happy Feet (2006)

Babe (1995)

Lorenzo’s Oil (1992)

Unforgiven (1992)

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Tombstone (1993)

Invictus (2009)

Jersey Boys (2014)

Gran Torino...

Based on his novel of the same name, the film will be shot mainly in Trentino with actors Lorenzo Richelmy, Fabrizio Ferracane and Fabrizio Rongione. Writer Massimo Donati makes his feature film directorial debut with Diario di Spezie, adapted from his own 2013 novel of the same name and which started filming a few days ago. Already behind the camera for Fuoriscena, a documentary about the Accademia Teatro alla Scala co-directed with Alessandro Leone, Donati is directing in this new film Lorenzo Richelmy, Fabrizio Ferracane and Fabrizio Rongione. The film is produced by Master Five Cinematografica with Rai Cinema and Rodeo Drive, with the support of the Trentino Film Commission. Written for the big screen by Donati himself, Diario di spezie is...

Motion Picture Sound Editors (Mpse) will honour George Miller with its Filmmaker Award at the Mpse Golden Reel Awards in April.

The writer, director and producer receives the prize from the US society in recognition of “a career noteworthy for its incredibly broad scope and consistent excellence”.

“George Miller redefined the action genre through his Mad Max films, and he has been just as successful in bringing us such wonderfully different films as The Witches of Eastwick, Lorenzo’s Oil, Babe and Happy Feet,” said Mpse president Mark Lanza.

“He represents the art of filmmaking at its best. We are proud to present him with Mpse’s highest honor.”

Miller called the award “a lovely thing,” adding, “It’s a big pat on the back. I was originally drawn to film through the visual sense, but I learned to recognise sound, emphatically, as integral to the apprehension of the story. I...

The Motion Picture Sound Editors group will honor George Miller with its annual Filmmaker Award during its virtual 68th Mpse Golden Reel Awards.

The writer, director and producer made Mad Max, Mad Max 2: Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Mad Max: Fury Road — with Fury Road winning six Academy Awards including for sound editing and mixing. In 2007, he won the Academy Award for best animated feature for his movie Happy Feet. He earned additional Oscar nominations for Babe and Lorenzo’s Oil.

“George Miller redefined the action genre through his Mad Max films, and he has been just as successful in bringing ...

The Motion Picture Sound Editors group will honor George Miller with its annual Filmmaker Award during its virtual 68th Mpse Golden Reel Awards.

The writer, director and producer made Mad Max, Mad Max 2: Road Warrior, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and Mad Max: Fury Road — with Fury Road winning six Academy Awards including for sound editing and mixing. In 2007, he won the Academy Award for best animated feature for his movie Happy Feet. He earned additional Oscar nominations for Babe and Lorenzo’s Oil.

“George Miller redefined the action genre through his Mad Max films, and he has been just as successful in bringing ...

As with Jessica Lange, who recovered from her big screen debut in the flop remake of “King Kong” to become an awards darling, Michelle Pfeiffer has made us forget her first starring role in the tepid “Grease 2” in 1982. The following year she was paired with Al Pacino in the blockbuster crime drama “Scarface.” In the nearly four decades since, she has co-starred with some of the biggest names in Hollywood in such hits as “The Witches of Eastwick,” “Married to the Mob,” “Tequila Sunrise,” “The Russia House,” “Batman Returns,” “Dangerous Minds,” “Up Close & Personal,” “One Fine Day” and “What Lies Beneath.”

Oscar buzz is building for her critically acclaimed performance in the upcoming Sony Pictures Classics release “French Exit” (due out February 12). That got has us reminiscing about her trio of previous bids. Let’s take a look back at Pfeiffer’s first three Oscar-nominated performances.

“Dangerous Liaisons...

The American Film Institute said Friday that it has established the Thomas P. Pollock Endowed Scholarship Fund in memory of Tom Pollock, the famed Hollywood attorney, Universal Pictures chairman and producer who died last month at age 77. The scholarship, which is being supported by a who’s who of Hollywood, will be awarded annually to promising producers from underrepresented communities.

This year’s first recipients are Haley Beasley and Nagee Brown, both in the Producing track and in the class of 2022.

“Tom championed AFI and the power of great stories – and he believed in the mission of the Conservatory to inspire and educate diverse voices,” Kathleen Kennedy, chair of the AFI Board of Trustees, said today in announcing the scholarship. “Through this endowed scholarship fund, made possible by the goodwill and admiration he created during his lifetime, his legacy will live on in the next generation of storytellers.”

The scholarship...

Updated with George Lucas statement: George Lucas honored Tom Pollock, who brokered the deal granting the Star Wars boss rights to the iconic Hollywood franchise, on Monday with a tribute:

“Tom Pollock was pivotal in my development as both a filmmaker and businessman from the get-go. He was there at the very beginning when I was fresh out of USC film school and throughout the unexpected successes that transformed our lives and careers. He helped in the creation of Lucasfilm along with American Graffiti and Star Wars, and stood firm and unrelenting by those he believed in. A champion of creativity, Tom was a good friend and will be missed by all of us who were lucky to know him.”

Updated Monday, August 3, 8:49 Am : Spike Lee sent this tribute to Tom Pollock, who presided over and stood firm during the launch of Lee’s provocative 1989 film Do The Right Thing...

Tom Pollock was not your ordinary studio chief. Trained as a lawyer, Pollock chaired Universal Pictures for nine years (1986 to 1996) and went on to partner with Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Picture Company, chair the Board of Trustees at the American Film Institute, and teach at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Pollock steered Universal through a rich and storied period, and took risks that many studio chiefs would not. He died of a heart attack on August 1.

At the studio, Pollock worked with many of the top directors in Hollywood: Steven Spielberg (“Jurassic Park”), Robert Zemeckis (the “Back to the Future” trilogy), Ron Howard, Ivan Reitman, Martin Scorsese, and George Miller (“Lorenzo’s Oil”).

During Pollock’s Universal tenure, the studio garnered seven Academy Award Best Picture nominations, including winner Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” Miller’s “Babe,” Howard’s “Apollo 13,” Phil Alden Robinson’s “Field of Dreams,” Oliver Stone’s...

Tom Pollock was not your ordinary studio chief. Trained as a lawyer, Pollock chaired Universal Pictures for nine years (1986 to 1996) and went on to partner with Ivan Reitman’s Montecito Picture Company, chair the Board of Trustees at the American Film Institute, and teach at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Pollock steered Universal through a rich and storied period, and took risks that many studio chiefs would not. He died of a heart attack on August 1.

At the studio, Pollock worked with many of the top directors in Hollywood: Steven Spielberg (“Jurassic Park”), Robert Zemeckis (the “Back to the Future” trilogy), Ron Howard, Ivan Reitman, Martin Scorsese, and George Miller (“Lorenzo’s Oil”).

During Pollock’s Universal tenure, the studio garnered seven Academy Award Best Picture nominations, including winner Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” Miller’s “Babe,” Howard’s “Apollo 13,” Phil Alden Robinson’s “Field of Dreams,” Oliver Stone’s...

The writer/director of Tigers Are Not Afraid takes us through some of her most formative cinematic experiences.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

The Innocents (1961)

Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)

The Goonies (1985)

Gremlins (1984)

Ghostbusters (1984)

Ravenous (1999)

Raw (2016)

T2 Trainspotting (2017)

Macario (1960)

Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

The Lady From Shanghai (1947)

Lake Mungo (2008)

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Happy Feet (2006)

Lorenzo’s Oil (1992)

Babe (1995)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2014)

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

Blade Runner (1982)

Casablanca (1942)

Gone With The Wind (1939)

Fanny and Alexander (1982)

Terrified a.k.a. Aterrados (2017)

Terrified (1963)

Gates of the Night (1946)

Other Notable Items

Rome TV series (2005-2007)

Jack Clayton

Ray Bradbury

Jonathan Pryce

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney

Shudder

Richard Donner

Steven Spielberg

The Donner Party

Antonia Bird

Guy Pearce

Robert Carlyle

Once Upon A Time TV series (2011-2018)

Julia Ducournau

Roberto Gavaldón

Gabriel Figueroa

The Criterion Channel

“The Third Guest” short story by B. Traven (1953)

The Haunting of Hill House...