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Searchlight Pictures has slated Jay Roach’s new comedy The Roses for an August 29th release. Based on the novel by Warren Adler, the film boasts an all-star cast which includes Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman.

The official synopsis for The Roses reads: “Life seems easy for picture-perfect couple Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch): successful careers, a loving marriage, great kids. But beneath the façade of their supposed ideal life, a storm is brewing – as Theo’s career nosedives while Ivy’s own ambitions take off, a tinderbox of fierce competition and hidden resentment ignites.” The film also stars Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoë Chao, Belinda Bromilow, and Kate McKinnon. Tony McNamara (Poor Things) wrote the script. We may see the first trailer dropped during CinemaCon next week.

The Roses will have a little competition on its chosen release date, with Darren Aronofsky...

The War of the Roses remake starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman as a warring married couple will be released nationwide on Aug. 29 via Searchlight Pictures, the studio announced Tuesday.

Jay Roach directs The Roses from a script by Poor Things and The Favourite writer Tony McNamara, which is based on the novel published in 1981 by Warren Adler. The Adler novel was made into the 1989 dark comedy from Danny DeVito and starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

The official synopsis for the film reads: “Life seems easy for picture-perfect couple Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch): successful careers, a loving marriage, great kids. But beneath the façade of their supposed ideal life, a storm is brewing – as Theo’s career nosedives while Ivy’s own ambitions take off, a tinderbox of fierce competition and hidden resentment ignites.”

Joining Colman and Cumberbatch is an onscreen ensemble that includes Andy Samberg,...

Labor Day weekend this year won’t be sleepy. Searchlight is jumping into the mix on Aug. 29 with their Jay Roach-directed comedy The Roses starring Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, Oscar winner Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Oscar winner Allison Janney, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoë Chao, Belinda Bromilow and Kate McKinnon.

In the screenplay from 2x Oscar nominee Tony McNamara, life seems easy for picture-perfect couple Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch): successful careers, a loving marriage, great kids. But beneath the façade of their supposed ideal life, a storm is brewing – as Theo’s career nosedives while Ivy’s own ambitions take off, a tinderbox of fierce competition and hidden resentment ignites.

The Roses is inspired by the 1989 Danny DeVito-directed, Michael Leeson-scripted movie The War of the Roses starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, based on the novel by Warren Adler.

Producers on The Roses are Roach,...

There’s no doubt Hayao Miyazaki and Makoto Shinkai have made banger movies that took anime films’ popularity to a global level, and they do get a lot of love for that. But how can we forget there was another genius in the Japanese anime film industry that even Japanese people don’t talk about much nowadays? It’s none other than Satoshi Kon!

Satoshi Kon’s last film Paprika | Credit: Studio Madhouse

His movies are truly one-of-a-kind, blending psychology, social commentary, and stunning visuals in a way that’s still hard to replicate. From the mind-bending surrealism of Paprika to the eerie social commentary of Perfect Blue, each and every Kon’s films is extremely thought-provoking and also visually stunning.

Recently, industry insiders like Mappa founder Masao Maruyama and anime critic Ryusuke Hikawa shared the same feeling of losing sight of Kon’s contributions. They also believe this is...

“Holding Liat,” the Darren Aronofsky-produced film which recently won the best documentary feature award at the Berlinale, has been acquired by MetFilm Sales for worldwide sales.

Directed by Brandon Kramer, the film — which now qualifies for consideration at the 2026 Oscars for best documentary feature after its win in Berlin — follows in the footsteps of “No Other Land,” which claimed the Berlinale’s top doc honor in 2024 and would go on to win the Academy Award earlier this year.

“Holding Liat” follows in real-time the story of an Israeli-American family fighting for the release of their loved ones from captivity in Gaza after the October 7 attacks, surfacing questions about each family member’s identity and their relationships with one another.

The Berlinale jury said the film “creates a space where the complexity of violence and justice and the contractions of history are not silenced, but brought forward.”

“We are truly...

Tufts of Hair and Skin.

Trace and I are firmly in the thick of Doppelgängers and Deception month. We began with Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (listen) before heading into the world of sex work with Daniel Goldhaber’s Cam (listen). Now we’re up to Philip Kaufman‘s 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers Aka one of the greatest horror remakes of all time.

In the film, Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) initially discounts Elizabeth (Brooke Adams)’s observations that her partner Geoffrey (Art Hindle) is behaving oddly. As identical reports surface, however, Matthew recruits his writer friend Jack Bellicec (Jeff Goldblum), Jack’s wife Nancy (Veronica Cartwright) and therapist Dr. Kibner (Leonard Nimoy) to investigate. They quickly discover that a nefarious plot is in motion to replace people with emotionless automatons…and anyone who falls asleep is at risk.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday.

A24’s upcoming espionage thriller Enemies, said to be filming this summer, lands Austin Butler and Jeremy Allen White in its lead roles.

A report has popped up at Reel Chicago claiming that the city will play host to the production of Enemies, A24’s planned espionage thriller that is set to go before cameras this summer. Currently, the final few episodes of The Bear are shooting in and around Chicago, and the story suggests that lots of the same crew will be moving straight onto Enemies once work on the prestige drama is wrapped up.

One familiar face who looks set to join them is Jeremy Allen White, the series’ co-lead. White plays Carmy, the demanding head chef in the critically-acclaimed FX series about a Chicago sandwich shop that retools itself as a high-end restaurant. According to the report, White will play one half of the titular ‘enemies’ in...

The vain pursuit of perfection is a part of what makes us all human, just as much as the eventual hard realization that such pursuits can never be fulfilled. Some of us come to this truth with greater difficulty than others—the airbrushed posters of our heroes simply too tempting as roadmaps to a future we believe is possible with enough discipline—but Elijah Bynum shows just how damaging this path can be when one’s focus is so narrow that they refuse to engage with the outside world.

I am, of course, referring to how Magazine Dreams (2025) comes across as a film, rather than what it’s about; textually, Bynum’s second feature is also about such fruitless ambitions, but he does a far better job of demonstrating the failure of blind ambition through his stumblings as a storyteller than through the cartoonish spiraling of his onscreen subject. Much like that subject,...

Darren Aronofsky and Mark Heyman have worked together several times over the years. Heyman was Aronofsky’s assistant when he made The Fountain, then he was the co-producer on The Wrestler, a writer on Black Swan, and an executive producer on Mother! So now that Heyman is set to make his feature directorial debut with the horror film Pendulum, it’s good to see that Aronofsky is there to back him up, producing the film through his company Protozoa. Back in October, we heard that Joseph Gordon-Levitt of The Dark Knight Rises and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F had signed on to star in the film. Now, Deadline reports that Phoebe Dynevor of Bridgerton and Fair Play has joined Gordon-Levitt in the cast.

Described as a “terrifying new genre film,” Pendulum will tell the following story: Young couple Patrick (Gordon-Levitt) and Abigail (Dynevor) journey to a new-age retreat in New Mexico,...

Black Swan, Natalie Portman's psychological horror film directed by Darren Aronofsky, will soon have a new streaming home. The movie will be available on Hulu from April 1.

Black Swan sees Portman starring as Nina Sayers, a committed ballerina for the New York City Ballet company's production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. As she finds herself struggling to achieve perfection with the leading role as Odette, Nina begins to suffer from stress and soon finds herself losing her grip on reality. Mila Kunis starred opposite Portman as Lily, the Black Swan Odile -- an experienced ballerina who transferred in, with Nina viewing her as an extreme threat.

Other Black Swan cast members include Winona Ryder as a star prima ballerina forced to retire, Sebastian Stan as Andrew and Barbara Hershey as Nina's overprotective mother. The psychological thriller chronicled Nina's instability as she dealt with being on the brink of stardom, with Aronofsky exploring themes of perfectionism,...

Phoebe Dynevor is to star alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt in new movie 'Pendulum'. The motion picture, which will be produced by Darren Aronofsky and directed by 'Black Swan' writer Mark Heyman, is a "terrifying new genre film", according to Deadline. 'Bridgerton' actress Dynevor and Gordon-Levitt will play young couple Abigail and Patrick, who head to a retreat in New Mexico following a traumatic event. However, things take a turn for the worst when Abigail falls under the spell of the new-age retreat's leader.It's one of many upcoming films for Dynevor, who will appear in thriller 'Beneath the Storm' later this year, and she is to star opposite Diane Lane in thriller 'Anniversary'. What's more, the 'Fair Play' actress recently wrapped on another thriller movie, 'Famous', which will see her star opposite Zac Efron, and she has joined the...

Stephen King’s Cujo is set to be adapted by Netflix, potentially with Darren Aronofsky as the director. The 1981 novel tells a chilling story about a mother and her son surrounded by horror, with their chances of survival growing dim as the plot unfolds. With Aronofsky in discussions with Netflix, this classic tale will soon come to life on screen.

A still from Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! | Paramount Pictures

Aronofsky’s knack for crafting psychological thrillers throughout his career and Netflix’s obsession with adapting Stephen King’s work sound like a match made in heaven. For those who have been waiting for a horror tale, Cujo will serve it right into their plates, evoking all sorts of harrowing emotions one might not be prepared for. This will also mark Aronofsky’s first feature on a streaming platform.

Stephen King’s 1981 classic Cujo will soon be renewed by Netflix Stephen...

Pendulum, a new horror movie from producer Darren Aronofsky and Black Swan writer Mark Heyman, has cast its co-lead. The filmis set to begin principal photography in New Mexico this month.

Per Deadline, Phoebe Dynevor will star with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the film, which Heyman is also directing. Black Bear has international rights to the movie, and UTA Independent Film Group, CAA Media Finance, and WME Independent have domestic rights.

Described as a “terrifying new genre film,”Pendulum follows young couple Patrick and Abigail, played by Gordon-Levitt and Dynevor, respectively, as they set out for a new-age retreat in New Mexico after a traumatic event. Patrick will do anything to help his wife but starts to doubt things and becomes distrustful of the retreat’s leader as Abigail falls under her spell. Becoming more and more paranoid, Abigail and Patrick have to figure out if the group’s strange spiritual...

Netflix picked up the rights to Stephen King's 1981 novel Cujo and is currently developing a new adaptation. Now, The Hollywood Reporter says acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky—best known for Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan, Mother!, and The Whale—is circling the project.

The 1983 version directed by Lewis Teague was a modest box office success despite garnering mixed reviews. In the decades since, Cujo has become a cult classic, with many praising the central performance from Dee Wallace who plays a desperate mother trying to protect her son from Cujo's wrath.

The poor St. Bernard starts out as your typical happy-go-lucky dog until he gets bitten by a rabid bat and turns feral. One of the film's most famous scenes is the climactic car showdown toward the end, when Cujo is frantically trying to break into Donna's (Wallace) vehicle as she hides inside it with her son. As...

Less than a week after it was announced that Phoebe Dynevor will star with Jake Gyllenhaal in M. Night Shyamalan‘s upcoming next film, the “Bridgerton” actress is adding another genre project to her resume.

Deadline reports that Dynevor will star opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Pendulum from producer Darren Aronofsky.

Black Swan and The Boogeyman screenwriter Mark Heyman will make his feature directorial debut from his own script.

Described as a “terrifying new genre film,” Pendulum follows young couple Patrick and Abigail on a journey to a new-age retreat in New Mexico, drawn by the possibility of healing after a traumatic event.

Patrick is willing to do anything to help his wife but becomes distrustful of the retreat’s enigmatic leader even as Abigail falls under her spell. As paranoia builds, the couple must determine if the group’s unconventional spiritual practices offer genuine healing – or mask a terrifying truth...

After dealing with whales and black swans and two of every creature on Noah’s Ark, Darren Aronofsky is going back to the animal kingdom for his next film.

Aronofsky is circling a new adaptation of Stephen King’s “Cujo,” the horror story about a friendly St. Bernard dog that turns killer and unleashes havoc on a small town. The project is in development at Netflix, and according to THR, which first reported the news, the project could be on the fast track after news of an adaptation was reported just last week.

Aronofsky would direct the film should a deal materialize, but no writer is attached. Roy Lee — who has most recently produced “Companion” but is also behind adaptations of other King projects such as “Salem’s Lot,” the “It” films, and Francis Lawrence’s upcoming “The Long Walk” — is attached to produce.

“Cujo” was a 1981 King novel and was...

Exclusive: Phoebe Dynevor is set to star opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Pendulum, which Darren Aronofsky is producing and Black Swan scribe Mark Heyman is directing. Aronofsky will produce through his Protozoa outfit.

Also joining as producers are Jacob Jaffke (MaXXXine, Dream Scenario, Bodies Bodies Bodies) for Motel Mojave and Dave Caplan (Longlegs) for C2, which will also fully finance.

The film will start principal photography in this month in New Mexico. Black Bear is repping international rights on the film. UTA Independent Film Group, CAA Media Finance, and WME Independent hold domestic rights.

Described as a “terrifying new genre film,” Pendulum follows young couple Patrick (Gordon-Levitt) and Abigail (Dynevor) on a journey to a new-age retreat in New Mexico, drawn by the possibility of healing after a traumatic event. Patrick is willing to do anything to help his wife but becomes distrustful of the retreat’s enigmatic leader even as Abigail falls under her spell.

There has been quite a resurgence in the genre of biblical stories in film and television. With streaming and the movie industry adapting to an evolving taste in storytelling, many studios are looking to particular genres that have been consistent hits with audiences. One area that has been pretty consistent has been biblical stories, whether it be Noah's Ark or the origins of Jesus Christ. Some favorite biblical adaptations in film and television include Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, 1956's The Ten Commandments, The Prince of Egypt, The Nativity Story, VeggieTales, and Darren Aronofsky's Noah.

Adapting biblical stories to the small or big screen has proved an arduous endeavor, as the controversy surrounding the projects is usually inevitable. However, seeming inaccuracies aside, a few storytellers have been able to adapt certain stories and have found much success with the outcomes. For example, The Chosen has become a consistent hit on streaming,...

Darren Aronofsky is circling to direct Netflix’s Cujo film, based on the novel by Stephen King.

Deadline first reported the news of the film adaptation , with Roy Lee attached to produce in the deal made last week.

The 1981 novel was originally adapted into a thriller film in 1983 starring Dee Wallace as a mother protecting her sone from a 200-pound St. Bernard that turned rabid after being bit by a bat. The formerly friendly hound transformed into one of cold calculation that left a trail of bodies in its wake.

The climactic scene in that film took place when Wallace’s mother and her son face the difficult decision of battling heatstroke in a car that won’t start or confronting the big, rabid dog waiting for them outside the small vehicle.

Aronofsky’s more recent projects include Postcard from Earth (2023) and The Whale (2022) starring Brendan Fraser...

We found out last week that a new take on Stephen King's killer dog novel, Cujo, is in the works for Netflix, and the project may have nabbed a somewhat surprising director.

According to Jeff Sneider in his latest newsletter (and since backed up by THR), Darren Aronofsky is in negotiations to helm the movie.

Though some would consider this the filmmaker's first foray into the horror genre, that's certainly debatable. Aronofsky has included horror elements in a number of his previous films, and many would view the likes of Mother!, Black Swan, and even Requiem for a Dream to be full-on horror movies.

King's novel focuses on a mother and her young seizer-prone son being terrorized by a huge St. Bernard who becomes a rabid killing machine after being bitten by a bat. 

Cujo was previously adapted for the big screen back in 1983, with Lewis Teague directing from...

Streaming giant Netflix is behind a new remake of the dog-centric horror flick “Cujo” based on the 1981 Stephen King novel and has quite an ambitious director circling the feature film project.

A report from TheInSneider backed up by The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (“The Whale”) is being courted to helm the horror pic that was previously adapted for the big screen in 1983 and featured a lovely St.

Continue reading ‘Cujo’: Darren Aronofsky In The Mix To Direct Remake Of Stephen King’s Monsterous Cainie Flick At Netflix at The Playlist.

In a bit of unexpected news, Darren Aronofsky is headed to the world of Stephen King. Yes, the man behind everything from "Requiem for a Dream" to "Mother!" has been tapped to direct Netflix's upcoming film version of "Cujo," King's 1981 novel that previously inspired a big screen adaptation in 1983. Now, Aronosky will be afforded the chance to put his own stamp on the material.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Aronofsky has signed on to direct the adaptation, which is being produced by Roy Lee. There is still no word on who is penning the screenplay, but the filmmaker is expected to be meeting with candidates soon. This is all pretty surprising, as Netflix's "Cujo" was only revealed to be in development very recently. It seems this one won't be languishing in development hell.

Aronofsky is coming off his hit "The Whale," which ultimately netted Brendan Fraser an Oscar. He...

Netflix's adaptation of Stephen King's Cujo takes another step forward, with an Oscar-nominated director reportedly a top contender to helm the upcoming film. Released in 1981, King's novel of the same tells the story of a sweet St. Bernard family pet who becomes a violent killing machine after contracting rabies from a bat, trapping a mother and her son inside a broken-down vehicle outside a mechanic's shop. Cujo was adapted into a movie in 1983 from director Lewis Teague, and it was announced last week that another take on the novel is now in the works at Netflix.

THR now reports that Darren Aronofsky is in talks to direct Cujo for Netflix, with Roy Lee producing. Lee is a King veteran, having produced both It movies, Salem's Lot (2024), and Francis Lawrence's upcoming The Long Walk. There's currently no writer attached to the Cujo adaptation, but Aronofsky will reportedly be...

It was reported last week that Netflix closed a deal with producer Roy Lee to bring a new adaptation of Stephen King's 1981 novel Cujo to life, and now it appears as if a director not named Mike Flanagan is close to signing a deal to helm the project. Cujo is, of course, the beloved survival horror novel about a rabid St. Bernard that goes on a terror through the town of Castle Rock, focusing mainly on a woman and her son who are trapped in a car under the blazing hot sun.

Per The InSneider, Requiem for a Dream director Darren Aronofsky is in negotiations to close a deal that will see him direct the new Netflix adaptation of Cuju. Aronosfky's previous work not only includes the aforementioned psychological drama, but the Academy Award-winning films Black Swan and The Whale, as well as the sci-fi romance The Fountain, and 2008's The Wrestler,...

Stephen King’s killer dog classic Cujo is headed back to the screen with a new adaptation in the works from Netflix, we learned last week, and the film’s director may have been found.

The Hollywood Reporter confirms a scoop from Jeff Sneider this week, reporting that Oscar-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky is in talks to direct Stephen King’s Cujo for Netflix.

THR notes in their report this afternoon, “The feature project was only revealed last week but it’s clearly further along than known or moving on the fast track.”

Stay tuned for more as we learn it.

Roy Lee (It) is producing the new adaptation of Cujo for the streamer.

Stephen King’s horror novel Cujo was originally published in 1981, with director Lewis Teague’s classic horror movie adaptation being unleashed just two years later in 1983. Dee Wallace, Ed Lauter, Daniel Hugh Kelly, and Danny Pintauro starred...

Darren Aronofsky is circling Netflix’s “Cujo,” a remake of Stephen King’s horror novel about a bloodthirsty St. Bernard.

“Cujo” remains in early stages of development and Aronofsky has yet to have a creative meeting with Netflix, according to sources familiar with the project. Should the deal close, the film would mark Aronofsky’s first feature for a streaming service.

Although occasionally courted by Hollywood (he was an early contender to reboot “Batman” before Christopher Nolan took over), Aronofsky has mostly stayed true to his indie roots. The filmmaker has directed such films as psychological drama “Requiem for a Dream,” psychological thriller “Black Swan,” psychological horror allegory “Mother!” and psychological case study “The Whale.” He’s currently putting the finishing touches on Sony’s “Caught Stealing,” a crime drama with Austin Butler and Zoe Kravitz that opens in theaters this August.

Roy Lee (“Barbarian”) will produce the “Cujo” reboot,...

Darren Aronofsky is going to the dogs. Or maybe just one particular dog.

The acclaimed filmmaker, whose resume ranges from Requiem for a Dream to Black Swan to The Whale, is in talks to direct Netflix’s adaptation of Stephen King novel Cujo.

The feature project was only revealed last week, but it’s clearly further along than known or moving on the fast track.

Roy Lee, who established his King bonafides with the two It movies, Salem’s Lot, and the upcoming dystopian thriller The Long Walk, is producing. There is no writer yet on the project, but Aronofsky is expected to meet with candidates soon.

The 1981 novel of the same name told of a lovable St. Bernard named Cujo who, after being bitten by a bat, becomes a mouth-foaming killer. The central focus of a mother and her seizure-prone son trapped in a busted-down car outside a service garage...

Netflix is aiming high for its take on Cujo. An Oscar-nominated filmmaker is reportedly in negotiations to direct the upcoming film adaptation of the Stephen King classic.

According to trusted insider Jeff Sneider via his TheInSneider newsletter, Darren Aronofsky is in talks to direct Cujo for Netflix, which would mark his first movie for a streaming service. Aronofsky is an acclaimed filmmaker who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for his work on the 2010 psychological drama Black Swan. His other notable directorial credits include his debut feature Pi (1998), the psychological drama Requiem for a Dream (2000), the sports drama The Wrestler (2008), the biblical epic Noah (2014), and the drama The Whale (2022), the latter of which earned Brendan Fraser a long-awaited comeback in Hollywood as well as an Oscar for Best Actor.

Published in 1981 by Viking Press, Cujo is a horror novel following a mother and son who are trapped...

There have been rumblings of a remake of the classic Stephen King adaptation Cujo for a long time – in fact, one was officially announced way back in 2013. In 2015, we heard that the remake had taken an unexpected turn, reimagining the name Cujo as an acronym that stood for Canine Unit Joint Operations. That project seemed to be scrapped when King got the rights to the story back in 2017… But last week, we learned that the Cujo remake has found a new home: the Netflix streaming service. And now, industry scooper Jeff Sneider of The InSneider reports that a director might be close to signing on to the project, as Darren Aronofsky is said to be in negotiations to take the helm.

Aronofsky’s previous directorial efforts include Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan, Noah, mother!, and The Whale.

As we heard last week, Netflix secured...

In surprising news, Netflix’s recently announced take on Stephen King’s killer dog story Cujo looks to have attracted Darren Aronofsky.

Well, it’s good to know that film news still has the capacity to surprise us. According to a report at The InSneider, Darren Aronofsky is said to be in line to direct the freshly announced Cujo remake at Netflix. The director of films such as Black Swan and Requiem For A Dream is a master at depicting psychological torment, and the tale of a rabid killer dog attacking a woman and her young son as they’re trapped in a car certainly has the kind of narrative set-up that will allow Aronofsky to deploy tricks of his trade.

After all, this is the filmmaker that gave us the delightfully bonkers mother!, which put Jennifer Lawrence through some of the strangest psychological horror we can remember seeing in some time.

Brendan Fraser has had a bit of a renaissance in his film career over the past several years, notably resulting in winning his first Academy Award for his role in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale. The film also starred Sadie Sink, who played his daughter, and she will forever consider the experience to be a career highlight.

Sink discussed her role in The Whale during a new interview with Josh Horowitz for the Happy Sad Confused podcast. She touched on working with Fraser, sharing how watching him in action helped encourage her to do her best with her own performance. She also described her co-star as so kind and genuine in a way that she says is "rare" in show business.

"That emotional stamina from Brendan, also seeing that, was super encouraging, and just feeding off of that was so helpful. He gave such an incredible performance," she said. "It's the best [seeing Fraser revered]. He's so amazing,...

Sadie Sink reflects on performing with Brendan Fraser inThe Whale.The Whaleis a 2022 Darren Aronofsky drama about a man named Charlie who struggles to manage his weight, career, sense of self-worth, and relationships with his friends and family members.Sink plays his teenage daughter Ellie in the film, who resents her father. In addition to Fraser and Sink,The Whale's small ensemble cast included Hong Chau, Ty Simpkins, Samantha Morton, and Sathya Sridharan. The film was nominated for three Oscars and ended up winning two of them, for Best Makeup and Hairstyling andBest Actor for Fraser.

Speaking with Josh Horowitz on Happy Sad Confused, Sink reflects on her time working with Fraser on The Whale. Sink was asked to speak on the challenge of accessing the level of emotional potency in The Whale. The actor describes the three-day shoot experience as "a lot," as she had to "sustain that...

Sex Work.

After kicking off our themed Doppelgängers and Deception month of March with a look at Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, we’re now heading into the world of sex work with a discussion of Daniel Goldhaber‘s 2018 film Cam, which was written by former cam girl Isa Mazzei.

In the film, cam girl Alice is working her way up to the Top 50 of her camming website. When she does finally move up the ranks, her account is stolen by another girl who looks just like her. Locked out of her account and on a desperate quest to reclaim her agency, Alice sets out to unmask the mysterious woman and get her identity back.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, and RSS.

Episode 325: Cam (2018)

Finish that...

Exclusive: Together Films has acquired international sales rights to Lowland Kids, a documentary produced by Darren Aronofsky about America’s first climate refugees, ahead of the film’s world premiere at Cph:dox in Copenhagen.

Danish-born filmmaker Sandra Winther directed the feature which “follows two teenagers [Howard and Juliette] and their uncle [Chris] – on Louisiana’s rapidly disappearing Isle de Jean Charles. They face an uncertain future as the U.S. government makes an unprecedented effort to resettle their entire community before the island succumbs to the sea.”

Lowland Kids is a co-production of Protozoa, Real Lava, Misfits Entertainment, Passion Pictures, and Mbk, in association with Minderoo Pictures, Evoke Media, and RandomGood Films. Along with Oscar nominee Aronofsky, founder of Protozoa, the film is produced by Lizzie Gillett (Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story) of Misfits Entertainment; Oscar nominee Sigrid Jonsson Dyekjær of Real Lava; Protozoa’s Brendan Naylor; William Crouse...

Deadline reports that Sadie Sink has joined the cast of Tom Holland's upcoming fourth Spider-Man film. Sink is a rising star, having broke out with her role as Max Mayfield on "Stranger Things." She's since gone on to make notable appearances in the "Fear Street" films and play a supporting part in Darren Aronofsky's Brendan Fraser comeback vehicle, "The Whale."

The report does not say which character Sink is playing, and it may be more complicated than it appears. Now, Sink's red hair should set off all of your spider-senses. The obvious conclusion is that she'll be playing Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker's famously red-haired girlfriend. But doesn't Tom Holland's Peter already have an Mj?

In the Jon Watts-directed "Spider-Man" trilogy, Holland's Peter Parker got together with Michelle "Mj" Jones (Zendaya). Now, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" ended with Mj losing her memories of Peter, and he...

Lezzy Wet Dream.

After a February spent looking at Mitchell Lichtenstein’s horror comedy Teeth (listen), one of the “good” Amityville entries – that would be Amityville 1992: It’s About Time (listen) – and Robert Weine’s classic silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), we’re kicking off a themed month of ‘Doppelgängers and Deception’ with a fresh look at Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan (2010).

P.S. We previously covered the film as part of our editorial series. Read the article here.

In the film, sexually repressed ballet dancer Nina (an Oscar winning Natalie Portman) struggles to convince company director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) that she can handle the emotional complexity of playing the dual lead roles in a new production of Swan Lake.

Her overprotective mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) worries about Nina’s ability to handle the stress, which isn’t helped by the arrival of a new rival named...

Whatever you think the world is heading for ultimate peril or not, maybe a rock opera set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland is just the cure-all you need to remind you that things could be worse. Following her feisty turn in Darren Aronofsky's Oscar-winning film The Whale, Sadie Sink now leads a uniquely dark musical dropping on Hulu this week, which her fans can enjoy until the highly anticipated fifth season of Stranger Things begins streaming on Netflix. Aided by at least three other big-name performers, O’Dessa — titled in honor of Sink's eponymous heroine — is bound to garner a cult following, with a few catchy musical numbers to boost the formulaic storyline. And it helps that writer-director Geremy Jasper (Patti Cake$) proves his chops with world-building in this latest production.

Sadie Sink at Her Very Best

It should come as no surprise that a rock opera that ultimately...

Slippery Somnambulist.

After closing out February with discussions of Mitchell Lichtenstein’s vagina dentata-centered horror comedy Teeth (listen) and one of the “good” Amityville franchise entries in Amityville 1992: It’s About Time (listen), we’re taking a look at the oldest film we’ve ever covered in Robert Weine‘s classic silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)!

In the film, Franzis (Friedrich Feher) and his friend Alan (Hans Heinrich von Twardowski) encounter the crazed Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss), who has just opened up a sideshow featuring his somnambulist Cesare (Conrad Veidt), a hypnotized man who the doctor claims can see into the future. At the performance, Cesare predicts Alan’s death, and by morning his chilling prophecy has come true — making Cesare the prime suspect. Unfortunately for Franzis, Caligari has set his sights on his fiancé Jane (Lil Dagover) next, and it’s only a matter of time...

Antonio Banderas and Karl Urban's 2017 action/thriller movie, Acts of Vengeance, is now streaming for free. The film is available on Tubi.

Acts of Vengeance was directed by Isaac Florentine and stars Banderas as Frank Valera, a lawyer who goes on a mission to avenge the death of his wife and daughter. Frank soon takes a vow of silence, which will not be broken until he finds who killed his family and gets his vengeance. The film also features Karl Urban as Officer Hank Strode, a Pittsburgh Police officer who rescues Frank early in the film. Paz Vega and Cristina Serafini also have supporting roles in the film.

RelatedDarren Aronofsky's Oscar-Nominated Wrestling Drama With 99% Rt Score Gets New Streaming Home

Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei were both nominated for acting Oscars for their roles in the acclaimed Darren Aronofsky flm.

Acts of Vengeance was released in select theaters worldwide...

For nearly a century, the Academy Award for Best Actor has been one of Hollywood’s highest honors. Year after year, this award has recognized actors who’ve completely lost themselves in their roles. This stage brings powerful performances, unforgettable characters, and raw emotions to the big screen.

From amazing biopics to heart-wrenching dramas, these wins don’t just celebrate talent; they show the evolving stories, themes, and performances that are loved by audiences and critics alike.

But beyond the golden trophy, there’s something else that always steals the spotlight—the acceptance speeches. Whether emotional, inspiring, or deeply personal, these moments give us a rare glimpse into an actor’s journey, struggles, and the gratitude he feels. So, here’s a look at the Best Actor winners from the last fifteen years and the words they shared when they took home Hollywood’s biggest prize.

15. Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer...

Released in 2008, Darren Aronofsky'sThe Wrestler garnered heavy acclaim upon release, going on to garner several prestigious award nominations. 17 years later, the film can be revisited at its new streaming home.

As of March 1,The Wrestler is available for streaming on Hulu. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, the film explores the life of a former pro wrestling superstar whose glory days in the spotlight are long behind him. Mickey Rourke starred as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a washed up wrestler hoping to find love with a stripper (Marisa Tomei) while mending the fractured relationship he has with his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). The film also featured Mark Margolis, Todd Barry, and Judah Friedlander, with appearances from real-life pro wrestlers like Ernest Miller, Jay Lethal, Austin Aries, Necro Butcher, and The Blue Meanie.

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Dwayne Johnson's cousin,...

In the world of anime filmmaking, two names stand as titans for their craft: Hayao Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon. Though their creations are as varied as they can be in terms of tone, theme, and style, they share an undeniable mastery of storytelling that has left a lasting impact on both Japanese and international anime fans.

A still from Spirited Away. | Credit: Studio Ghibli

Miyazaki is famous for his whimsical, dreamlike tales that most often revolve around adventure, childhood, and environmental themes. Whereas Kon established a niche for grown-up, psychological fiction that blur the line between fantasy and reality. In many ways, Satoshi Kon was the perfect parallel to Hayao Miyazaki, a peer force whose brilliance existed in striking contrast to the Ghibli master’s warmth and accessibility.

Satoshi Kon and Hayao Miyazaki: Two masters of different dreams

Hayao Miyazaki is often regarded as an escapist filmmaker. His movies allows...

Sean Durkin is swapping wrestling for romance. The “Iron Claw” director is set to write and helm the feature adaptation of novel “Deep Cuts.” Saoirse Ronan and Austin Butler will co-lead the film that centers on a love story between two music-obsessed twenty-somethings as they navigate the messy realities of ambition, belonging, and adulthood in the 2000s. Both Ronan and Butler are Academy Award-nominated actors.

IndieWire can confirm the feature. Deadline first reported the project.

“Deep Cuts” is Holly Brickley’s debut novel, and was just published earlier this week, on February 25. Durkin will both direct and adapt the book, with co-lead star Ronan producing. Central’s Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, and Josh Safdie are also producing the A24. Durkin’s “The Iron Claw” was among the highest grossing A24 films of 2023.

“Deep Cuts” isn’t Durkin’s first foray into music-centric features: The “Martha Marcy May Marlene” filmmaker was...

After his brutally piercing trio of features thus far with Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Nest, and The Iron Claw, director Sean Durkin is looking to lighten the mood. He’s set to write and direct an adaptation of Holly Brickley’s debut novel Deep Cuts, which just arrived on bookshelves this week and tells a love story of two music-obsessed twenty-somethings in the 2000s.

Deadline reports Saoirse Ronan and Austin Butler will star in the feature, which is set up at A24 with Ronan also on board as a producer, alongside Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, and Josh Safdie. Ronan will next be seen in Jonatan Etzler’s Bad Apples while Butler is gearing up for a big summer with Ari Aster’s Eddington and Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing.

Check out an interview with Holly Brickley below about her novel, as well as an official synopsis from Amazon and...

Exclusive: Following the success of The Iron Claw, director Sean Durkin and A24 have found their next project to team up on and have assembled some serious star power to lead it. Sources tell Deadline Saoirse Ronan and Austin Butler are set to star in A24’s adaptation of Deep Cuts, a project based on the highly anticipated debut novel of Holly Brickley. Durkin is on board to direct and adapt. Ronan is also on board to produce.

Set in the 2000s, Deep Cuts is a love story about two music-obsessed twenty-somethings navigating the messy realities of ambition, belonging and adulthood over the course of an era-defining decade.

Produced by Ronan and Central’s Ronald Bronstein, as well Eli Bush and Josh Safdie. The novel was published on February 25.

Durkin’s most recent film The Iron Claw starring Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White was not only a critical darling...

The world of entertainment has long caught on to the fact that biblical stories are epic in nature and, therefore, make for compelling productions. Cinema brought viewers ambitious undertakings like Charlton Heston's The Ten Commandments and Darren Aronofsky's Noah, both of which proved that you don't even have to be a Christian to enjoy stories adapted from the Bible. Now, the new Prime Video series House of David brings the epic scale of the silver screen into a series format – and proves once again that there are still a lot of biblical stories that can be retold in compelling ways.

While he is celebrated as Edward Cullen, Robert Pattinson’s filmography as an actor is manifold. This is true for his roles in The King and Good Time where he nailed the accents and mannerisms. The same goes for his upcoming movie which is promising in terms of its premise and its inspiration.

Robert Pattinson in a still from Mickey 17 | Credit: A-24

Pattinson, in an interview, opened up about the influences behind the upcoming movie Mickey 17. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, the film draws influences and quirks from anime as revealed by the actor. This also, ties in well with the Japanese animation industry’s impact on Hollywood.

Robert Pattinson’s inspiration for Mickey 17

Robert Pattinson is a seasoned actor known for his roles in Twilight and Batman. Yet, the actor has a diverse roster of filmography that showcases his versatility. The Lighthouse and The Devil All The Time...

Channing Tatum's Gambit solo movie would have reportedly been unlike anything else fans had seen before in 20th Century Fox's X-Men Universe. Lizzy Caplan, who was attached to the scrapped X-Men spinoff, recently revealed the unique story idea for Gambit.

Speaking with Business Insider (via Variety), Caplan reflected on the canceled Gambit movie, revealing that there was a "really cool idea" for the spinoff. "It’s kind of odd that it got scrapped. Those movies don’t seem to ever get scrapped, but it did," she said. "We got down the road, we were gonna shoot it. I think there was a start date. I had had meetings with Channing, and there were a couple different… we had a director, then we didn’t, but I had multiple meetings with Channing and the other producers. They wanted to do, like, a ’30s kind of screwball romantic comedy set in that world,...

The 75th anniversary edition of the Berlin Film Festival — and the first under the leadership of its new chief, Tricia Tuttle — drew to a close Saturday night, as the jury awarded the Golden Bear to Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams (Sex Love).”

There’s a special poetry in giving this film — the portrait of a teenage girl with a passionate imagination who pours her intense feelings toward a teacher into a transformative personal essay — the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival. The film represents the third installment in the Norwegian writer-director’s “Dream Sex Love” trilogy. The first, “Sex,” premiered a year earlier in the Panorama section of the 2024 Berlin Film Fest, while “Love” debuted in competition at Venice late last summer.

“The film is called ‘Drømmer’ — it’s Norwegian for ‘dreams’ — and this was beyond my wildest dreams really,” said Haugerud, in accepting the prize from jury president Todd Haynes.

This article contains discussions of sensitive topics such as suicide.

One of the most crucial elements of a movie is making the audience feel affected by its ending. The best conclusions in cinema are the ones that have a grand sense of ambiguity, or the idea that things are left open to further interpretation. While movies traditionally leave things on closed notes, many have taken risks and given viewers endings that either don't completely answer everything or end things abruptly in a good way.

These movie endings have become legendary because of their shocking cuts to black, haunting final shots, or other factors that cause audiences to become speechless. Even though many questions are raised, viewers get the chance to piece things together and find an understanding of what the ending means. Between Inception,American Psycho, and The Thing, these movies and their final moments are made better by the ambiguity applied to them.