News

Going Dutch (Again)

The International Film Festival Rotterdam has appointed Marten Rabarts to the position of head of IFFR Pro, its market strand, effective immediately. Recently, Rabarts served as festival director at the New Zealand International Film Festival. His extensive global career also has significant legacy in the Netherlands, both as head of Eye International (now SeeNL) – where he was responsible for the promotion of Dutch film and film culture worldwide for four years and as artistic director of the Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam for 12 years. Rabarts will work closely with IFFR’s festival director, Vanja Kaludjercic, and report into chief of content, Melissa van der Schoor.

The IFFR Pro remit covers the co-production market CineMart, Pro Hub and talent development programs, including Rotterdam Lab. The festival regards it as nurturing talent and providing them with the tools and networks to develop projects and careers.

The 54th edition of IFFR will take place from Jan.

Ed O’Neill has been cast in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming Hulu drama series “All’s Fair” in a recurring role, Variety has learned.

O’Neill joins previously announced cast members Kim Kardashian, Glenn Close, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash, Sarah Paulson, Teyana Taylor, and Matthew Noszka. Variety previously reported that Halle Berry, who was previously attached to star, had dropped out of the series back in July.

Exact plot and character details are being kept under wraps, but it was previously reported that the show will follow a divorce lawyer at an all-female law firm in Los Angeles.

O’Neill is known for his starring roles in the long-running sitcoms “Married…With Children” and “Modern Family.” Both shows ran for 11 seasons, with the former on Fox and the latter on ABC. O’Neill received three Emmy nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy for his work on “Modern Family.” Most recently, O...

Exclusive: Fox’s new comedy series Going Dutch has added 5 new cast members joining previously announced star Denis Leary.

Taylor Misiak (Dave), Danny Pudi, Laci Mosely and Hal Cumpston have been set as series regulars with Dempsey Bryk (Willow) will heavily recur.

The single-cam comedy Going Dutch follows arrogant loudmouth U.S. Army “Colonel Patrick Quinn” (Leary), who after an epically unfiltered rant, is reassigned to the Netherlands, where he is punished with a command position at the least important army base in the world. After serving with distinction in every warzone of the last three decades, he now finds himself in charge of a base with no guns, no weapons, and no tactical purpose.

Instead, it has a Michelin-star level commissary, top notch bowling alley, and the best (and only) fromagerie in the U.S.

The entire schedule of the San Diego Comic-Con (Sdcc), possibly the biggest comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event, has recently been released on their official site. While fans of every genre, art form, and franchise are excited to see the panels of their favorite TV show, one panel seems to be missing from the schedule.

Dragon Ball Daima | Toei Animation

This panel belongs to Dragon Ball, especially Dragon Ball Daima, which was also announced by the creators of the series a few days ago. Dragon Ball Daima, which is the fifth anime installment in the Dragon Ball franchise, was much awaited by fans for a long time, and they were supposed to reveal new information about the series at Sdcc.

However, after the release of their entire schedule, Dragon Ball fans are furious that Daima’s panel has not been mentioned anywhere. Many believe that Toei Animation, the studio that created Dragon Ball,...

Unlike the big screen adaptation of Lee Child’s acclaimed novel, which saw Tom Cruise playing the titular character, the Amazon adaptation found a book-accurate actor for the series. Considering Jack Reacher’s 6.5 ft height is one of his most recognizable features from the books, Alan Ritchson, who stands at 6.3 ft, successfully embodied the intimidating nature of the character.

But despite being huge in size, in the upcoming season, it seems Jack Reacher is finally set to be humbled by Olivier Richters, who perfectly embodies Lee Child’s idea of Paulie in the books.

The Dutch Giant Olivier Richters Will Go Toe to Toe With Alan Ritchson in Reacher S3

Alan Ritchson | Reacher (via Amazon Prime Video)

With the Reacher series not looking to stop anytime soon, the third season is set to be based on Persuader, the seventh novel in Lee Child’s series. And for the third season,...

North.Five.Six has come on to handle international sales of “Dutch & Razzlekahn” and will introduce the project to buyers at Cannes later this month. CAA Media Finance will represent domestic rights.

BAFTA-nominated Jon S. Baird will direct from a screenplay by Logan Miller and Noah Miller. Chloë Grace Moretz, Lewis Pullman and Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose will star.

Andrew Lazar’s Mad Chance Productions is producing, with Michael Rothstein and Samuel Hall from North.Five.Six executive producing. Production is scheduled to begin this summer.

Based on the 2022 Business Insider article “The $4.5 Billion Question” by Rob Price and Becky Peterson, “Dutch & Razzlekahn” tells the true story of the most expensive heist in history, with Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan (Moretz) and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein (Pullman), relentlessly pursued by the FBI and blackmailed master hacker Carla Vargas (DeBose).

DeBose, who won an Oscar for her role as Anita in “West Side Story,” is...

Charli Xcx has confirmed that her new album, Brat, will arrive on June 7th. What’s more, following the lead single “Von dutch,” the UK pop singer has unveiled two more teaser tracks from the album in the form of “Club classics” and “B2b.” Both tracks are streaming below. Additionally, Charli has revealed the 15-song tracklist for Brat.

Charli released her last album, Crash, in March 2022. To support the release of Brat, she has confirmed an initial run of tour dates that include shows in Barcelona, London, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and São Paulo, along with a new UK run stopping in London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow. See the full itinerary below.

Get Charli Xcx Tickets Here

Tickets for the UK tour dates go on sale beginning Friday, April 12th via Ticketmaster.

Fans can look for tickets to sold-out shows via StubHub. For international concerts, grab your seats through viagogo.

Exclusive: Natasha Marc will reprise her role as Cherry in Season 3 of Paramount+’s Mayor of Kingstown. Marc made her last appearance in the ninth episode of Season 1 titled “The Lie of the Truth.”

Co-created by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon, Mayor of Kingstown follows the McLusky family, power brokers in Kingstown, Michigan, where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry. Tackling themes of systemic racism, corruption and inequality, the series provides a stark look at their attempt to bring order and justice to a town that has neither.

In Season 3, a series of explosions rock Kingstown and its citizens, as a new face of the Russian mob sets up shop in the city, and a drug war rages inside and outside prison walls. The pressure is on Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner) to end the war but things get complicated when a familiar face from his...

The Unnamed Footage Festival has announced the first wave of films for this year’s 7th edition of the Found Footage Horror, First Person Pov, and Faux Doc film festival.

The team previews, “Every year, our programmers scour the globe for the greatest, weirdest, and most obscure films in the In-World camera genre, and this year is shaping up to be our best and biggest year yet, complete with cryptids, liminal horror, possession and live streaming.

“UFF7 will feature two nights of pre-fest events. On Tuesday March 26th, Uff will present a 10th Anniversary screening of As Above So Below at Terror Tuesday in collaboration with the Alamo Drafthouse at their New Mission location. Wednesday March 27th will be our first ever badgeholder-only pre-festival event & mixer at the Artists’ Television Access in the Mission district, with details to be announced soon.

“Our annual Recalibration Party kicks off opening night on Thursday March 28th,...

In the upcoming episode, “Trick or Treat,” on “Restaurant: Impossible,” airing at 8:00 Pm on Sunday, November 19, 2023, on Dfc, the Dutch Treat in Franconia, N.H., faces a challenging situation. The owner, having lost the drive to sustain the family restaurant, is at a crossroads. Despite the willingness of his wife to assist, the Dutch Treat’s survival hinges on the crucial need for a capable manager. Renowned chef Robert Irvine steps in to address the restaurant’s issues, striving to revitalize the establishment. The episode explores the family dynamics and business challenges that threaten the Dutch Treat, emphasizing the importance of effective management in the competitive restaurant industry.

Tune in to Dfc at 8:00 Pm for an insightful look into the efforts to rescue the Dutch Treat on Season 21, Episode 14 of “Restaurant: Impossible.”

Release Date & Time: 8:00 Pm Sunday 19 November 2023 on Dfc

Restaurant: Impossible Trick or Treat Cast – Season...

On Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 9:00 Pm, National Geographic will air Season 2, Episode 8 of “Dutch Caribbean Coastguards” titled “Lost at Sea.” In this episode, the Dutch Caribbean Coastguard faces two distinct challenges.

First, the Coastguard inspects a suspicious Colombian ship that raises concerns due to a concealed hatch on board. Second, the Metal Shark team is called in to rescue a Swedish sailboat that had gone missing.

Release Date & Time: 9:00 Pm Saturday 16 September 2023 on National Geographic

Dutch Caribbean Coastguards Lost at Sea Cast – Season 2 Episode 8 Main Cast...

Spooky season is upon us and Max is getting in on the action.

New to the streamer in September are “Annabelle” (2014), “Annabelle: Creation” (2017) and “Annabelle Comes Home” (2019), as well as “The Curse of La Llorona” (2019) — all spin-offs from “The Conjuring” universe.

Other horror entries include “It” (2017), “It: Chapter Two” (2019), eight “Friday the 13th” films (from the 1980 cult classic to 1989’s “Jason Takes Manhattan”) and six “Children of the Corn” sequels.

As previously reported, over 200 episodes of AMC Networks’ television series are coming to Max in September at no additional cost to subscribers, spreading their availability beyond AMC+. Shows that are part of the partnership include “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire” Season 1; ”Dark Winds” Season 1; “Gangs of London” Seasons 1 and 2; “Fear the Walking Dead” Seasons 1-7; “Killing Eve” Seasons 1-4; “A Discovery of Witches” Seasons 1-3; and “Ride with Norman Reedus” Seasons 1-5.

If fright flicks aren’t your thing,...

There’s an interesting experiment going on over at Max in September, as from the first of the month you’ll be able to find seven AMC+ series streaming for 60 days on the service. If you’ve been dying to check out some of their best shows but just haven’t had access to them, now’s your chance! Max will be streaming Fear the Walking Dead seasons 1-7, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire season one, Dark Winds season one, Gangs of London seasons 1-2, Ride with Norman Reedus seasons 1-5, A Discovery of Witches seasons 1-3, and Killing Eve seasons 1-4.

Also on Max this September is the original animated series Young Love, a Matthew A. Cherry project which seeks to expand on the critically acclaimed short film, Hair Love. Sam Jay has a new stand-up special on HBO, too. Sam Jay: Salute or Shoot Me will...

The summer is nearly over! September has arrived, and for many in the United States that means a much-needed break from hot temperatures and sticky humidity.

There are a wealth of new titles coming to Max to celebrate the advent of fall this month. One of the splashiest Max-related news stories of the past month broke just this week, when it was announced that seven AMC titles were coming to the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer on Sept. 1.

That’s not all that’s coming to Max by a long shot this month, so check out The Streamable’s list of top shows and movies coming to the service, along with all the other titles that will soon be available with a Max subscription!

7-Day Free Trial $9.99+ / month Max via amazon.com

Get 20% Off Your Next Year of Max When Pre-Paid Annually

What Are the Five Best Shows and Movies Coming to...

Comedian Trevor Noah, the former host of “The Daily Show,” has won the prestigious Dutch Erasmus Prize, becoming the first humorist awarded the honor since Charlie Chaplin in 1965, the foundation that selects the winner announced Thursday.

The award is named for Dutch philosopher and humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus, who lived from 1466 to 1536.

The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation said in a statement that Noah, 39, was receiving the prize “for his inspired contribution to the theme ‘In Praise of Folly,’ named after Erasmus’s most famous book, which is filled with humor, social criticism and political satire.”

Read More: + Add Shortcut Beyoncé’s ‘Break My Soul’ Helped Trevor Noah Transition Into Life Without ‘The Daily Show’

The foundation added: “With his sharp-minded, mocking yet inclusive political comedy, Noah, in the eyes of the jury, upholds the ‘Erasmian Spirit.’”

Noah, who rose to prominence as a stand-up comic in his native South Africa, announced...

Ed O’Neill is set to play Donald Sterling in the upcoming FX limited series “The Sterling Affairs,” Variety has learned.

The show was picked up to series at FX back in April. It is based on the ESPN 30 for 30 podcast of the same name. O’Neill joins previously announced stars Laurence Fishburne and Jacki Weaver.

The six-episode series tells the behind the scenes story of Doc Rivers (Fishburne) and the Los Angeles Clippers’ quest to bring a championship to one of the historically worst franchises in all of sports during the impending downfall of the team’s owner, Donald Sterling (O’Neill), whose notoriously racist behavior is brought to light amid the power struggle between his wife of 60+ years, Shelly Sterling (Weaver), and his mistress, V. Stiviano.

This will mark O’Neill’s first TV role since the finale of “Modern Family” in 2020. O’Neill starred on the single-cam sitcom...

Exclusive: Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries), Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four) and singer and actress Macy Gray (Change In The Air) are set to star in romance-thriller Forget To Remember.

Filmmaker Michael Dinh (Prodigal)’s feature, currently in pre-production, will follow an emotionally vulnerable young man who gets tricked into fulfilling a mysterious young woman’s dying wish by taking her on a cross-country road trip.

Dinh scripted with Audrey Easton from a story by Yahkaeem Jasper Thos.

Beverly Hills-based sales firm Motus Studios has acquired worldwide rights and is also co-producing. It is being produced and financed by 444 Film Group and Go Media Productions. Shoot is scheduled for January 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Vampire Diaries actress Graham has most recently starred in Netflix rom-com Operation Christmas Drop, RZA’s Cut Throat City, and Civil War drama Emperor.

As we revealed last week, I Am Number Four and Endless Love star Pettyfer will direct,...

Carol Arthur, an actress best known for her several collaborations with Mel Brooks including “Blazing Saddles,” has died, Variety has confirmed. She was 85.

Arthur died on Sunday at the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s Mary Pickford House in Woodland Hills, Calif.

She appeared in the 1974 comedy “Blazing Saddles,” directed by Brooks, as the schoolmistress Harriett Johnson. Arthur also held roles in three more films helmed by Brooks: 1976’s “Silent Movie,” “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” in 1993 and 1995’s “Dracula: Dead and Loving It.”

Born on Aug. 4, 1935 in in Hackensack, N.J., Arthur first met her husband-to-be, actor Dom DeLuise, in 1964 while working on theater productions. The two married a year later and shared three sons: Peter, Michael and David, who all pursued careers in acting as well.

Arthur’s first acting appearances were as herself on 10 episodes of “The Dom DeLuise Show” in 1968 and five episodes of “It Takes Two...

Actress Tina Ahuja, daughter of Bollywood star Govinda, is excited about her upcoming short film, Driving Me Crazy. The film also features television actor Mudit Nayar.

"Driving Me Crazy is about the online dating world. Youngsters these days are hooked to such apps in a quest to find love, which they seldom find. I am sure the audiences will be able to relate to the content and love it," Tina said about the film directed by Purnima Lamchhane.

"Purnima knew what she wanted right from the beginning and hence the work of actors became easy. Mudit Nayar is an awesome actor and is fast and accurate. I wish that we as a team do more projects together soon," added Tina.

The film releases on Zee5 on October 29.  --ians/aru/vnc...

Thanksgiving is all about the buildup.

You wait for it, that long weekend that you know will include family, maybe some football, plenty of food, and then leftovers and sales the day after that. Everything looks great in those weeks leading up to the fourth Thursday in November, until it all goes to hell, with that long drive probably filled with holiday traffic and the drunk relatives whose opinions you really don't care to hear about. The anticipation of the holiday is fun. The drama that ensues during it is not.

Thanksgiving. After the past year of tumult, anger and divisiveness we’ve experienced in this country and around the world, to say nothing of the past couple of weeks, the concepts of thankfulness and appreciation may seem somewhat more distant and difficult to access than they might otherwise normally be. At any rate, Thanksgiving Day itself seems of late to be more about gorging on gigantic meals and, more distressingly, rampant consumerism, as Black Friday ever threatens to overtake the spirit of the day, and even the day itself—how many more seasons before it officially becomes Black Thursday? Yet here we are, a few days before that very American occasion inspired by the desire to show our gratitude for our many blessings. So in the hope of reclaiming some of the original intent of our national holiday, I’d like to send out some brief thoughts on a few...

Exclusive: Deals in Germany, Latin American, more for Austerlitz director’s next film; producers secure France deal.

Wild Bunch has concluded a string of pre-sales on Sergei Loznitsa’s new drama A Gentle Creature, which recently wrapped shoot in Eastern Europe and is set for a 2017 release.

The feature — loosely inspired by a Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1876 short story (which has already prompted films by Alexander Borisov, Robert Bresson, Mani Kaul and Raphael Nadjari) - charts the story of a woman who travels from the outskirts of Russia to a mysterious prison in order to find out what has happened to her incarcerated husband.

Grand Film, which previously bought the director’s documentaries Maidan and The Event, will release in Germany, Palmera International will distribute in Latin and Central America, Fabula in Turkey, Against Gravity in Poland, Seven in Greece, Alambique in Portugal, McF in former Yugoslavia, Vertigo in Hungary, Film Europe in Czech Republic and Encore for Airlines...

Jurassic World is fine. Massive blockbuster earnings aside, it’s neither contrived enough to feel like another lesser sequel nor original enough to stray too far from Spielberg’s 1993 original. That uneasy cradle — between ingenuity and brand loyalty — is where tentpole franchises and their music have come to rest. With Furious 7, Atlantic Records threw dub step and electro-house music onto another collection of so-so promotional hip-hop. Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson only squeak out brief homages to John Barry rather than admit how indebted to Roger Moore Bond Kingsman: The Secret Service really is. Even Danny Elfman and Brian Tyler never stray far from Alan Silvestri’s original “Transformers meets Mission Impossible” theme in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Blockbuster movie composition is, like the studio system in 2015, sturdy, safe and kinda boring. Michael Giacchino’s score for Jurassic World is the latest to fit the mold. Like the movie itself,...

On the eve of its 40th anniversary special (though the anniversary itself isn't until October), what is left to say about "Saturday Night Live"? There have been multiple books written about the show, several documentaries, countless essays — riding the never-ending roller-coaster between "Saturday Night Dead" and "Saturday Night Lives Again!" — best-ofs, worst-ofs, and every other kind of list you can think of. I don't know that anything I write over the next few pages will provide new insight into one of the most influential comedy shows ever made, but I wondered if you could tell the story of the show — through good times and bad, through revolutions and evolutions and retrenchments — by looking at its sketches. I wound up picking 21 in all: some among the show's most famous, some obscure but important. These aren't meant as a definitive breakdown of the best "SNL" ever had to offer, but as a...

After the marching bands and giants balloon characters parade by on TV… After all the college and NFL football games are played out… After the plates are cleaned of the last turkey drumstick and final piece of pumpkin pie… what better than to cuddle up with our loved ones and watch some good, wholesome family favorites on Thanksgiving!

In honor of the holiday and before you head out the door to catch all the Black Friday sales, check out Wamg’s list of some of our favorite family-friendly movies to watch on Thanksgiving Day.

Wizard Of Oz

For many years this 1939 masterpiece was truly event television. Before home video and cable TV, the only way to see this (outside of revival movie theatres and colleges), was once a year (usually on CBS). Families would gather around the tube for a chance to visit that magical enchanted land (just think of...

After a brief hiatus due to our live coverage of Comic-Con, we’re back with a double-sized edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting the recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes a new trailer for Come Back to Me and I Spill Your Guts 2, release details on Schism, Silent Retreat, and the Class of Nuke ‘Em High soundtrack, and much more:

Come Back to Me Trailer: “Sarah (Walder) and Josh McLaren (Passmore) are a young married couple living in suburban Las Vegas. Shortly after a car accident, Sarah begins to suffer a series of disturbing memory lapses and frequent blackouts that seem to be increasing in intensity. Unsure of what is happening, and feeling as though she is losing her mind, Sarah comes to learn she is pregnant. To add to her shock, she subsequently discovers that her husband is sterile. As her marriage and world begin to fall apart,...

Turn off that Abba CD, dig out your cheapest bottle of booze and prepare yourselves for some bearded drag queens, saucy Polish ladies and the most barking mad stage designs that Europe has to offer.

Eurovision, the nuttiest night of television every year, is back and this year promises to be an absolute corker.

Eurovision is no fun on your own, so we'll be here all evening live-blogging the best, the worst and the weirdest acts that those crazy Europeans have to offer.

23:30So, it's Austria 2015. Bring. It. On. We're off to tuck into a Curly Wurly cake. We hope you enjoyed the evening. See you next year.

23:29"We Are Unstoppable!" A lovely end to another crazy show from Eurovision as Conchita dedicates her award to everyone who wants peact. It all gets a bit political, but in a nice way. It's truly heartwarming stuff.

23:28But it's not about Molly tonight.

Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier has had a second stellar weekend at the box office.

That makes it two worldwide weekends in a row at over $100 million and nearly half a billion to date as it continues to draw audiences internationally and in North America. With the success of directors Joe and Anthony Russo’s sequel , Marvel/Disney have officially announced Captain America 3 will open on May 6, 2016.

About two years have passed since the alien invasion of New York was repulsed by Nick Fury’s special team – The Avengers. The world is now well aware that extra-terrestrials, godlike beings and monsters may be lurking in the cosmos and that Super Heroes walk among us. The demand for protection of the world’s citizenry has reached a zenith. In response to the world’s justifiable fears, S.H.I.E.L.D. has expanded its presence to enhance the security of Earth.

New Orleans, La. It's nearly noon on the set of "22 Jump Street" and the star of the scene is laying flattened on the turf at Tad Gormley Stadium just outside of New Orleans, immobile. Dozens of extras, clad in football uniforms, look away. A man in a Saints shirt hovers above the featured player, taking in the decapitation and the splattered insides with growing frustration. "Is there any way of making it so that it doesn't fall apart?" he laments. The man is a second [or possibly third] unit cinematographer and he's currently facing the difficult challenge of a thespian who clearly isn't ready for his close-up, in this case a roast beef sandwich that refuses to catch the light in the right way. Maybe it's the glare off the lettuce or maybe it's the lifeless meat, but effort is being put into capturing the fumbled sandwich just right. There's a stunt sandwich off to the side,...

Selection includes competition titles, a focus on Southeast Asia and a ‘Top 10’ compiled by director Rithy Panh.

The selection for the 26th Idfa (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) has been unveiled and includes 288 titles – selected from more than 3,000 submissions – of which 100 will receive their world premiere during the festival (Nov 20 – Dec 1).

There will be a strand dedicated to documentaries from Southeast Asia titled Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia.

This year’s Idfa Top 10 is compiled by Cambodian director Rithy Panh, and a retrospective of his work will be screening at the festival.

Panh, whose doc The Missing Picture won the Un Certain Regard strand at Cannes in May, has selected:

Alone

Wang Bing (Hong Kong/France, 2012)Don’t Look Back

D.A. Pennebaker (USA, 1967)Farrebique - The Four Seasons

Georges Rouquier (France, 1946)The Football Incident

Joris Ivens/Marceline Loridan-Ivens (France, 1976)I Am Cuba

Mikheil Kalatozishvili (Cuba/Russia, 1964)In Vanda’s Room

Pedro Costa (Portugal, 2000)A Man Vanishes...

The actor talks about her 'culturally spectacular upbringing', how she never refers to her children as stepchildren and the joy of being a grandmother

My grandfather, on my father's side, lived on the border of Poland and Russia. He came to London after escaping the pogroms when he was 14 and lived in the East End. He had no education and didn't speak any English. He began by selling razor blades, being a barber's assistant, and then manufacturing razor blades, until he eventually had his own company. My mother's father was the chief of police in Deventer, the Netherlands.

My mother, Mieke, came from Holland and went to live in Indonesia when she was 20. Her first marriage was terrible and they divorced. When the second world war broke out, she was incarcerated in a concentration camp. She didn't escape because her best friend was pregnant. She stayed with her friend and...

Predator

Directed by John McTiernan

Written by Jim Thomas & John Thomas

Us, 1987

It’s mostly the filmgoers who were the young action junkies who savored the excess of the 80’s who found a new lease of life upon news that Schwarzenegger was back. The Austrian bodybuilding dynamo’s return to film after ending his unlikely tenure as governor of California not only serves as a whimsically nostalgic callback to blockbusters of yesteryear, but also a sad indictment of the decline in quality of popcorn flicks of the modern era. Such talk, however, is hyperbolic, and there’s truth in the old adage that absence makes the heart grow fonder. While Schwarzenegger certainly brought a very different, very distinct and fun energy to Hollywoodland, its worth remembering that much of his curriculum vitae is substandard even by schlock ham values. For every Terminator there’s a Running Man, each Total Recall let down by Eraser.

"Miracle on 34th Street" (1947): Christmas is the holiday commonly associated with this classic, which actually is set in motion by the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, in which the man (Oscar winner Edmund Gwenn) playing Santa claims to be the real Kris Kringle.

"Alice's Restaurant" (1969): Arlo Guthrie adapts his classic song by playing himself as he visits eatery owner Alice (Patricia Quinn) at Thanksgiving ... and ends up in trouble with the law.

"Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986): One of Woody Allen's warmest comedies gathers an extended family for two Thanksgivings and boasts Oscar-honored performances by Dianne Wiest and Michael Caine.

"Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987): High on many lists of holiday humor, filmmaker John Hughes' tale makes mismatched traveling companions of Steve Martin and John Candy. How mismatched? Well, let's just say, "Those aren't pillows."

"Dutch" (1991): A man (Ed O'Neill) volunteers to bring his love interest's ill-mannered son (Ethan Randall,...

We’ve watched the marching bands and giants balloon characters parade by on TV, we’ve watched college football, we’ve had our fill of turkey and all the trimmings… now, what better than to cuddle up with our loved ones and watch some good, wholesome family favorites on Thanksgiving Day? After all, we need our rest so we can rise and shine before the sun comes up on Black Friday to catch all the sales. So, in honor of the holiday and as a way to give you a jump on your holiday viewing schedule, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite family-friendly movies to watch on Thanksgiving Day.

Wizard Of Oz

For many years this 1939 masterpiece was truly event television. Before home video and cable TV, the only way to see this (outside of revival movie theatres and colleges), was once a year (usually on...

To mark the launch of its new game, Stratego Sci-Fi has surveyed more than 2,000 Britons to chart the Stratego Sci-Fi 100 – the nation’s top 100 stars of the sci-fi world – as well as a separate poll charting the best sci-fi battles from the silver screen – and has crowned Superman the greatest sci-fi character of all time

Following up the Man of Steel in 2nd place in the Stratego Sci-Fi 100 was Harrison Ford’s gruff but lovable rogue Han Solo, with Frank Oz’s jedi master Yoda coming third, both representing Star Wars in the top three and rounding it out firmly in George Lucas’ favour. Steven Spielberg’s E.T may be one of the most lovable characters of all time, but only made it to fourth in the list, followed by Will Smith’s Agent Jay from the hugely popular Men in Black series at number five.

The Stratego Sci-fi...

Jeremy Jackson's exclusive interview continues as he answers questions about his plastic surgery, addictions and more.

Photo Courtesy: Jeremy Jackson: VH1 Shoot

Alexandra Holzer: In 2006, Vanity Fair's Hollywood March issue featured you. What a wonderful moment that must have been. However, it hasn't always been that way. Talk to me about your past drug addiction and methamphetamine in Hollywood. How did you turn it all around, and what advice would you give others?

Jeremy Jackson: Vanity Fair caught me at a very exciting time in my life filled with night clubs, international fashion shows, celebrities and lots of cash to go around. Sometimes things just fall into place. Vanity fair was one of those things.  As far as my former drug use... I was a young, famous, rich kid with a love for the "wild side." Oddly enough, I got sober before I was even at the legal drinking age.

Photo by Zachary Swickey

By Zachary Swickey

Los Angeles – Jack White already had two dates booked at La’s iconic venue The Wiltern for the end of May when he suddenly added a date at the Mayan Theater for April 30.

Hitting the stage in a jet black long-sleeve shirt and black jeans to match, White brought out a group of six females as his new backing band: a wild-looking drummer, a flapper-esque violinist, a stand-up bassist (who was pregnant), a Dutch slide guitarist, a ravishing backup singer who doubled as tambourine master, and finally a cute young woman on keyboards.

White wasted no time diving right into material from his brand-new debut solo effort, Blunderbuss, which is expected to take Billboard’s #1 spot when the charts are revealed tomorrow. Our first taste was the album’s opening track, “Missing Pieces,” which the crowd had clearly already memorized as they sang along to every word.

Rihanna debuted the visuals for "Where Have You Been" today, a lush music video featuring the singer climbing out of water and writhing around for a few minutes.

The track is off Talk That Talk, the album perhaps most known for "We Found Love." Though the video for "Where Have You Been" is not as intricate as the one for that lead single, RiRi generated a good deal of buzz by tweeting a topless photo of herself from the video shoot.

Rihanna doesn't normally do extended dance scenes, so it's interesting to see the singer go the path of the Britneys and Christinas before her and delve into some deeper choreography. In a behind-the-scenes video, Rihanna revealed that famed choreographer Hi-Hat ("Step Up 3") was helping her create a routine.

The video seems to have a tribal theme, though the scenes centered around the breakdowns of the track have a bit...

Our critics' picks of this week's openings, plus your last chance to see and what to book now

• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below

Opening this weekTheatre

Enquirer

The Guardian's Deborah Orr is one of a team conducting the interviews with journalists for this timely site-specific verbatim piece about the media. Andrew O'Hagan co-edits a project directed and edited by Vicky Featherstone and John Tiffany. The Hub, Glasgow (0141-429 0022), 19 April to 13 May.

A History of Everything

The controversial Ghent-based company Ontroerend Goed returns to the UK with a show that offers a history of everything, from now back to the Big Bang. No small undertaking from a company that has delighted and challenged spectators with previous shows including the outrageous Audience. Drum, Plymouth (01752 267222), until 28 April.

Film

The Cabin in the Woods (dir. Drew Goddard)

A bunch of great-looking teens take a...

The Anchor Bay Entertainment re-release of director Peter Faiman's 1991 comedy-drama "Dutch", is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

From writer/producer John Hughes, "Dutch" stars Ethan Randall, Ed O'Neill and JoBeth Williams, with a cameo appearance by golfer Arnold Palmer :

"...'Dutch Dooley' (O'Neill) attends a ritzy party with his girlfriend, 'Natalie Standish' (Williams), standing out terribly among the upper-class aristocrats -- wearing a cheap suit and telling boorish anecdotes.

"While there, he meets Natalie's snobbish, wealthy ex-husband 'Reed' (Christopher McDonald), who tells Natalie that he will have to break his Thanksgiving plans with their son 'Doyle' (Randall) for an unexpected business trip to London. He also threatens to strip Natalie of her custody of Doyle.

"Dutch overhears this in the background and subsequently looks out for both Natalie and Doyle..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Dutch"...

If you didn’t know that the legendary Johnny Cash dabbled in acting while he was still alive, it’s okay — I wasn’t aware, either. All blatant ignorance aside, Deadline reports that Dutch filmmaker Jan de Bont will direct a remake of Cash‘s 1961 film Five Minutes to Live.

Both the original and this remake are based on a story by Palmer Thompson; the new film, written by Raul Inglis (Transparency), centers on “two men as they execute a terrifying bank robbery. One guys holds the bank manager’s wife hostage and the other tells the manager she’ll be killed in five minutes unless he transfers money to an account of their choosing.” The Cash-starrer was also director Bill Karn‘s final film. No one has yet been found to replace the beloved musician, but casting will soon begin, under financiers Nasser Entertainment and Nasser Group North.

Jason Reitman will be staging a live reading of John Hughes's The Breakfast Club (1985) tonight at Lacma. The full cast, reading through the screenplay together for the first time, won't be known until they appear on stage at 7:30 pm. Update: At Vulture, Margaret Lyons notes that Reitman has tweeted the names of the cast. "Michael Chiklis will play the principal, Jennifer Garner will play the Molly Ringwald character of Claire, and Aaron Paul will play Judd Nelson's character, Bender. Aaron Paul! As Judd Nelson! They join Mindy Kaling (Ally Sheedy), James Van Der Beek (Emilio Estevez), Patton Oswalt (Anthony Michael Hall), and Jk Simmons (the janitor)."

"18 years after the sudden death of actor River Phoenix, Dutch director George Sluizer says he will finish Dark Blood, the 1993 drama that Phoenix was shooting when he died of a heart attack on Halloween night outside the Viper Room in Los Angeles.

By Piya Sinha-Roy

Los Angeles (Reuters) - Ryan Gosling may be one of Hollywood's hottest leading men and a heartthrob at that, but he doesn't shy away from tough-guy violence. In fact, he finds it suits him sometimes as in his newest film, "Drive."

In the film that opens in theaters on Friday, Gosling plays a Hollywood stuntman who becomes embroiled in a heist gone wrong. The high-octane thriller also has a John Hughes-inspired, sentimental young romance between Gosling and his co-star, Carey Mulligan.

"I always wanted to make a violent John Hughes movie. I love John Hughes movies, I love "Pretty in Pink" but I always thought if there were head-smashing in it, it'd be the perfect movie," Gosling told Reuters.

The 30 year-old actor was nominated for an Oscar in 2007's "Half Nelson" playing a drug-addicted school teacher, and he has won over critics, fans and Hollywood players...

Netflix has revolutionized the home viewing market for movies with their instant streaming service. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about films of all genres worth holding a spot on your instant viewing queue. (Release dates are subject to change.)

007 Heaven…

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Streaming Available: 09/01/2011

Synopsis: When he discovers that his evil nemesis, Blofeld (Charles Gray), is stockpiling the world’s supply of diamonds to use in a deadly laser satellite, secret agent James Bond (Sean Connery) sets out to stop the madman, with the help of beautiful smuggler Tiffany Case (Jill St. John). Connery’s final turn as Bond (until 1983′s unofficial outing, Never Say Never Again) boasts the gadgets, gunplay and girls that symbolize the heyday of the 007 series.

Average Netflix Rating: 3.8

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Streaming Available: 09/01/2011

Synopsis: In the 12th film in the series based on Ian Fleming’s short stories, British...

Hey gang! Here's a great collection of artwork that was inspired by the film of John Hughes. There's currently a new art show going on at Gallery 1988 in Venice CA called The Road To Shermer, a tribute to John Hughes. The show opened up on Febuard 11th and will run through March 4th so if you're in the area and looking for something to do you might want to check this out.

We've posted a few of these art pieces below already but the majority of them are new to me. For those of you who are for some reason not familiar with Hughes, he's created films such as National Lampoon’s Vacation, Sixteen Candles, Mr. Mom, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Plaines Trains & Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, Dutch, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

I hope you enjoy the artwork below!

Some prints and original...

[1] Our friends at Gallery 1988 in Venice, CA have a new art exhibition, "The Road To Shermer, a tribute to John Hughes". The show opening on February 11th and runs until March 4th, 2011. As you know, John Hughes is the writer/director responsible for some of our most beloved teen films of the 1980s: National Lampoon's Vacation, Sixteen Candles, Mr. Mom, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Plaines Trains & Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, Dutch, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and many others. After the jump you can find a gallery of the best artwork from the show (in my opinion). [gallery order="Desc" columns="2" orderby="ID"] Some prints and original artwork is still available for purchase at the gallery or on their website [2]. Gallery 1988 Venice is located on 214 Pier Avenue in Santa Monica, CA 90405. Hours: Wed - Sun: 11 Am - 6 Pm, Mon & Tues: Closed.  Phone: (424) 238-5988 [1] http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/ZZ50436AF3.jpg [2] http://nineteeneightyeight.

Encino, CA - While Charles Nelson Reilly is beloved for his time on Match Game, there’s more to this actor than Dumb Dora answers. He was the toast of Broadway with roles in Hello Dolly and Bye, Bye, Birdie and won the Tony for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Later in life he directed several plays on the Great White Way. While many actors sum up their lives in thick tomes, Charles created a one-man show. He was a stage performer so this was the best way to distill his experiences for an audience. The Life of Reilly captures his final performance before his passing in 2007.

After playing the festival circuit and a limited theatrical release, Life of Reilly is finally out on DVD, Blu-ray and iTunes. You can take Charles every where. In edition to the feature film, there’s tons of bonus features including...

The Hangover: Part Two

Opens: May 26th 2011

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifinakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong

Director: Todd Phillips

Summary: Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug travel to exotic Thailand for Stu’s wedding. After the unforgettable bachelor party in Las Vegas, Stu is taking no chances and has opted for a safe, subdued pre-wedding brunch. However, things don’t always go as planned.

Analysis: It really wasn't until about three months before its release that Warner Brothers realised "The Hangover" was going to be a hit. Test screening response was through the roof, while the trailer had great reaction after premiering at ShoWest and online. About that time they commissioned director Todd Phillips, along with his "Old School" and "Road Trip" scribe Scot Armstrong, to pen a sequel. Yet they still waited to see how the first one went before fully committing to the follow-up.

The wait didn't last long.

Whether it's Thanksgiving, Christmas, or simply trying to have a family vacation, John Hughes knows a thing or two about spending quality time on that good ol' Holiday Road. Fresh from my own 17 hour, multiple layover, rain to ungodly cold holiday jaunt, here's a few helpful holiday tips for travel we've learned from John Hughes movies.

1. A prompt and orderly schedule will prevent most of the mishaps of the season.

"We Slept In Again!" - Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Scrambling around at the last minute is bound to happen -- with the chaotic nature of the holidays, something is bound to go awry. But avoiding dashering and dancering about can ally such traumatic experiences like leaving on an oven and causing potential fires, forgetting to lock a door to allow burglars easy access to your goods, or leaving your youngest child to fend for themselves while being pursued by vengeful psychopaths.

 Well hello everyone! Sorry for my unexpected time off but sometimes life just throws you a curve ball so to speak. Anyways, there's tons of shows coming out this week and all of them I love! Let's get to it!

 

Modern Family: Season 1

Who better to document the 21st-century American family than a Dutch film crew capturing the clan's antics for a reality show in the Netherlands? That's the conceit of this Emmy-winning mockumentary comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan. Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara and Ty Burrell star as members of the multinational, multisexual and exceedingly complicated Pritchett-Delgado-Dunphy tribe.

Cast: Julie Bowen, Sofía Vergara

Director: Jason Winer

Love this show! It's hilarious!

 

Community: Season 1

When times get tough, the tough go back to college. This is what lawyer Jeff Winger decides to do when his degree is suddenly revoked. Now a Greendale Community College student,...