Matthew Monagle
Legendary Comedian Jerry Lewis Dies at 91
Today the world of comedy lost one of its brightest stars. Jerry Lewis was no stranger to controversy during his decades-long career, but his impact on both Hollywood and comedy in general cannot be denied. From his early days as Dean Martin’s partner-in-crime to his career-capping turn in Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy — and countless box office success in the interim — Lewis’s impact on Hollywood will be a source of much discussion for years to come.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Cars 3’ Dethrones ‘Wonder Woman’
It’s a pleasant Sunday afternoon in the world, which means it’s time for your weekend box office updates! While this was a disappointing weekend overall for a handful of new releases, there’s good news to be had: after a disappointing $144 million total gross last weekend, the box office bounced back to $187 million total over the past few days. That takes some of the pressure off Wonder Woman to, you know, save the summer blockbuster as we know it. Here’s the totals as of Sunday afternoon:
Bill Paxton, Star of ‘Aliens’ and ‘Twister,’ Passes Away at 61
As a teenager in the ’90s, no actor better represented blockbuster movies than Bill Paxton. Although Paxton wasn’t typically a leading man in those movies — he would often play the brother, the second-in-command, or the comic relief — he served as a kind of talisman of quality. If you saw Paxton’s name in the opening credits of a movie, you knew that the film was going to be better for it.
No One Woos Like Gaston in This New ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Photo
I’d be hard-pressed to name a Disney villain I like as much as Beauty and the Beast’s Gaston. In addition to being a Sondheim-esque twist on the traditional idea of a fairy tale prince — vain, violent, and eager to confuse chivalry with misogyny — the character of Gaston has also become something of a method actor’s dream for Disney theme park employees. Remember the time that Gaston challenged a kid to a push-up contest? Or how about the time that Gaston got shouted down by a young girl? It turns out that no one goes viral like Gaston, either.
‘Jurassic World 2’ Will Start Filming Next March
One of the peculiarities of the modern studio system is that we often know the date a movie will be released long before we know the date when a movie will actually go into production. For example, we’ve known since last year that Jurassic World 2 would be released in June of 2018, but here it is, the end of 2016, and we’re just now learning the timeline to actually make the darn thing. Production schedules, like box office gross, sometimes have a logic all their own.
Anna Kendrick Interested in a ‘Squirrel Girl’ Movie
Nothing like a fresh, piping hot superhero rumor on a long weekend, am I right? Earlier this week, Net-A-Porter (via /Film) took the opportunity to ask Anna Kendrick which superhero she could see herself playing. She admitted that her brother had sent her a Squirrel Girl comic and that Kendrick could see herself playing the character. So if we’re being honest here, a more accurate headline would probably, ‘Anna Kendrick’s Brother Interested in Anna Kendrick Being Interested in a Squirrel Girl Movie’, but my goodness, that’s practically illegible, isn’t it?
Matthew McConaughey to teach University Film Class
Remember those days in high school where your regular history teacher would call in sick and some anonymous substitute would just put on a VHS of Glory or Gettysburg and call it a day? It turns out that practice is still alive and well at universities across the country, with one small difference: instead of some random recent college graduate as a substitute teacher, these students will be visited by Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey.
Pixar Has No More Sequels Planned After ‘The Incredibles 2’
With Finding Dory breaking all kinds of box office records, fans are understandably excited to see which of their favorite franchises Pixar will bring back to multiplexes. And the answer is, it kind of depends. If you’re a fan of Cars, Toy Story, and The Incredibles, you’ll be able to revisit your favorite Pixar characters no later than 2019. And if you’re a fan of Wall-E, Ratatouille, or Inside Out... well, we hope you’re OK with waiting for the next decade or so.