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‘Hamilton’ Review: Filmed Version Of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Musical Is Somehow Both Miraculous And Slightly Underwhelming By Ben Pearson/June 30, 2020 7:00 am EST Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical Hamilton is an unqualified masterpiece: a once-in-a-generation combination of brilliant writing, indelible performances, and spectacular music that became a genuine pop culture phenomenon and crossed over into the mainstream. So it feels strange to say that director Thomas Kail’s filmed version of Hamilton, which was shot with the original cast at the height of the show’s fame in 2016 and which debuts on Disney+ this Friday, left me slightly underwhelmed....

‘His Dark Materials’ Unlocks “The Daemon-Cages” In A Thrilling Prison Break By Hoai-Tran Bui/Dec. 10, 2019 7:00 am EST His Dark Materials gives us our most action-packed episode yet, but one that may not be totally emotionally satisfying to longtime book readers. After ramping up the stakes in last week’s episode, where we saw the horrifying consequences of a child being cut from his daemon, the season-long conflict wraps up a little too neatly in “The Daemon-Cages....

‘John Wick 3’ Featurettes Show Keanu Reeves Gleefully Learning How To Ride A Horse By Chris Evangelista/Aug. 27, 2019 5:00 pm EST We may have our differences, but as a society, we’ve all come together to agree on one thing: our undying love for Keanu Reeves. We love to watch him work, and we love to watch him enjoy his work. And two new John Wick 3 featurettes give us both of those opportunities....

‘Living With Yourself’ First Look Photos Have Double The Pleasure, Double The Paul Rudd By Ethan Anderton/Aug. 22, 2019 1:00 pm EST You can already get a healthy dose of Paul Rudd on Netflix thanks to Wet Hot American Summer and the prequel and sequel shows that Netflix delivered about a decade and a half after the indie comedy’s debut. Plus, he can also be seen in Duncan Jones’ sci-fi movie Mute....

‘Passenger List’ Podcast Being Turned Into A TV Series, But Podcast Star Kelly Marie Tran Won’t Be Involved By Chris Evangelista/Oct. 7, 2020 4:00 pm EST Passenger List, a podcast that features Kelly Marie Tran, is headed to TV. It doesn’t sound like Tran is going to appear on the show, however – but the podcast will be back for a second season as well, with the Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker actress returning as “Kaitlin Le, a college student whose twin brother vanished with Atlantic Flight 702 along with 256 passengers on board....

‘Saturday Night Live’ Turns David Harbour Into A Gritty Oscar The Grouch In A Mildly Amusing Episode By Ethan Anderton/Oct. 13, 2019 11:00 am EST Based on David Harbour’s general enthusiasm in any given situation, we knew that he would have plenty of fun hosting Saturday Night Live. Unfortunately, it seems like the writers might have been tired in their third episode in a row, because the sketches were rather middling in their comedy....

‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ Series From David E. Kelley And Starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo Pulls Up At Netflix By Hoai-Tran Bui/Jan. 11, 2021 5:00 pm EST Netflix is taking the wheel on a new The Lincoln Lawyer series. The streaming giant announced a series order for The Lincoln Lawyer series adaptation from executive producer and writer David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies), who will be penning the Manuel Garcia-Rulfo-starring series with showrunner Ted Humphrey (Wisdom of the Crowd)....

‘The Mystery Of D.B. Cooper’ Trailer: HBO Documentary Tries To Identify The Notorious Air Pirate By Ben Pearson/Nov. 11, 2020 5:30 pm EST In 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper hijacked a 727 airplane, stole $200,000, and parachuted out of the sky. Where he landed, no one knows: he was never seen or heard from again. But he certainly landed in the annals of folkloric history as a man who envisioned an audacious robbery and actually got away with it....

‘The Wolf Of Snow Hollow’ Trailer: Robert Forster Hunts A Werewolf In His Final Feature Role By Hoai-Tran Bui/Sept. 17, 2020 2:30 pm EST Jim Cummings made quite a splash in 2018 when the writer-filmmaker-star made his feature directorial debut with Thunder Road, a microbudget indie comedy that won the Grand Jury prize at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival. It earned him enough buzz that he was able to score Oscar nominee Robert Forster for his follow-up film, The Wolf of Snow Hollow, in what would be — in a bittersweet turn of events — Forster’s final feature film role....

All Shots Of Leia In ‘Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ Were Pulled From ‘Star Wars’ Movies (Including ‘Return Of The Jedi’) By Hoai-Tran Bui/Dec. 31, 2019 1:00 pm EST Director and writer J.J. Abrams and his co-writer Chris Terrio had a major obstacle for them going into Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: the deeply felt absence of star Carrie Fisher, who passed away in 2016. The solution to use already-shot footage of Fisher from Star Wars: The Force Awakens was met with some skepticism, but ultimately respect for honoring her memory by not creating a new CGI version of her for the film....

Benioff And Weiss May Not Write Scripts For All Of Their New ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy By Ben Pearson/Aug. 15, 2019 1:00 pm EST A new piece at The Hollywood Reporter wonders if it was wise for Netflix to lock down Benioff and Weiss for a huge five-year, $250 million development deal, and within that article, there’s a fascinating piece of information about their work on the Star Wars franchise: Again, since the initial announcement from Lucasfilm said the pair would be writing and producing each movie in their “series,” this is the first time we’ve heard that Benioff and Weiss are writing a treatment for three films and may not actually write the scripts for all three entries....

Disney Takes Interest In ‘Children Of Blood And Bone’, May Become A Lucasfilm Project By Ethan Anderton/Aug. 7, 2019 11:30 am EST We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Deadline has word that This Is Us writer Kay Oyegun is in the midst of making a deal to write a new script adapting Children of Blood and Bone. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is interested in possibly turning the adaptation into the first project they produce under the Disney banner that isn’t a Star Wars or Indiana Jones movie....

Jon Favreau On ‘The Mandalorian’ Pilot’s Final Reveal: “This Is An Important Character” By Ben Pearson/Nov. 14, 2019 2:30 pm EST While doing press for last night’s world premiere of The Mandalorian, which showcased the first three episodes of the Disney+ series, showrunner/creator Jon Favreau addressed the pilot episode’s shocking ending. Read his comments below, but beware of spoilers if you haven’t seen the first episode yet. Collider transcribed the following quote from Favreau’s red carpet interview with Variety for last night’s premiere....

Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi’ Halts Production As Director Destin Daniel Crettin Self-Isolates By Hoai-Tran Bui/March 13, 2020 7:30 am EST Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is shutting down production due to coronavirus concerns. Director Destin Daniel Cretton has gone into self-isolation under the recommendation of a doctor and is currently awaiting results after being tested for coronavirus (aka COVID-19). Marvel and Disney have decided to suspend first unit production until Cretton’s results come back....

Monster Movie ‘Don’t Go In The Water’ Coming From ‘Watchmen’ Director Stephen Williams By Chris Evangelista/April 1, 2020 3:00 pm EST Stephen Williams, whose directing credits include episodes of Watchmen, The Walking Dead, Lost, and more, is set to helm Universal’s new monster movie Don’t Go in the Water. There are zero plot details at the moment, but it’s safe to assume from the monster movie distinction and the title that this is going to be some sort of aquatic horror movie – and we could always use more of those....

Never-Before-Released PaleyFest Panels For ‘The Office’, ‘Supernatural,’ ‘The Walking Dead’, And More Hit YouTube For A Limited Time This Week By Ben Pearson/March 23, 2020 1:00 pm EST Under normal conditions, PaleyFest LA 2020 would have gone off without a hitch this past week at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, featuring screenings and panel discussions with the stars and creators of some of your favorite television shows. Of course, the event was postponed due to the coronavirus, but the folks who run PaleyFest want to help spread a little joy during these isolated times....

Star Wars: John Williams Thought Luke And Leia Would Have Kids, Says ‘Rise Of Skywalker’ Marks “End Of A Sort Of Thematic Flow” By Hoai-Tran Bui/Sept. 26, 2019 8:30 am EST Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker marks the end of an era, not just for the Skywalker Saga, but for the franchise’s longtime composer, John Williams. The famed composer has composed the score for every main Star Wars film since 1977’s A New Hope, but will soon be retiring from the series that helped elevate him to the status of Hollywood legend....

Superhero Bits: ‘Falcon And The Winter Soldier’ Cancels Puerto Rico Shoot, ‘Green Arrow And The Canaries’ First Look & More By Ethan Anderton/Jan. 14, 2020 6:00 pm EST Why has Falcon and the Winter Soldier canceled their planned shoot in Puerto Rico? What would the Crisis on Infinite Earths comic writers change if they could do it all over again? Would you believe a classic Superman comic predicted the return of white nationalism in 2020?...

The Quarantine Stream: Watch ‘Shaun Of The Dead’ And Wait For All This To Blow Over By Hoai-Tran Bui/April 8, 2020 7:00 am EST (Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)The Movie: Shaun of the DeadWhere You Can Stream It: Hulu, with a Starz add-onThe Pitch: Longtime slacker Shaun (Simon Pegg) is forced to fend for his life and protect his friends and family, all the while making his way to his favorite pub amid an undead outbreak in Edgar Wright’s classic zombie comedy....

Theme Park Bits: New Six Flags Rides, Galaxy’s Edge Droid Policies, And More By Josh Spiegel/Sept. 7, 2019 11:00 am EST In this edition of Theme Park Bits: Mickey’s PhilHarMagic at DCA has a new marquee. Six Flags has announced its new rides for 2020. Droid policies have changed at Galaxy’s Edge. And more! Over at Disney California Adventure, Mickey’s PhilHarMagic is a fairly new addition (and it’s a generally wonderful show if you haven’t seen it)....