Matthew Monagle
Billie Lourd Originally Auditioned for Rey in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
We’re only months away from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and already, it’s beginning to feel like a film that will be unbearably sad for all the wrong reasons. The loss of Carrie Fisher will be made fresh by her appearance in the upcoming film, and seeing her alongside Mark Hamill for the last time — one assumes, anyways — will be a touching moment for any fans of the Star Wars franchise. No less touching will be the opportunity for Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd to share the screen with her one last time. All in all, The Last Jedi will be the ultimate Star Wars family reunion, biological and otherwise.
The First ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ Teaser Promises Wedding Bells and Whips
Oh, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. When are those two crazy kids ever going to get together? There’s is a love story we can all relate to: she, the inexperienced college student and would-be journalist, and he, the millionaire Seattle playboy, willing to teach her in the practice of love. Would their shared appreciation for BDSM be enough to overcome their differences and help them find true love? I don’t know for sure, but based on this first teaser trailer for Fifty Shades Freed, I’m going to venture that the answer to that question is yes.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘It’ Breaks a Whole Slew of Box Office Records
As we head deeper into September, two things have become pretty clear about 2017 box office numbers: one, Hollywood desperately needs to bounce back a little bit from the doldrums of August, and two, whoever decided to hedge their studio’s bets with a September release date for a movie about a killer clown is looking like a [profanity] genius right about now. We’ll get to all of that in a moment, but first, here are the box office numbers as of Sunday afternoon:
Even Ice Cream Companies Are Trying Their Hand at Weird, Dystopian Cinema
If you’ve never had the pleasure of encountering Halo Top ice scream, I’ve got some world-changing news for you: no longer will you need to feel bad for eating ice cream by the pint! The California ice cream company, which recently passed Ben & Jerry’s and Häagen-Dazs to become the highest-selling ice cream in grocery stores, is the current zeitgeist of low-calorie sweets. Sure, maybe the flavor is a little more bland than you’d prefer, and sure, maybe eating ice cream by the pint — regardless of its constitution — is probably not the best idea, but at only 240 calories a pop? You could do a lot worse with your stress-eating.
‘One of Us’ Trailer Exposes the Dark Side of Modern Ultra-Orthodox Religions
With the Toronto International Film Festival in full swing this weekend, studios are giving us our first good look at a handful of films and documentaries due to hit theaters this fall. One such film is One of Us, a new documentary from the filmmakers of Jesus Camp that also tries to expose the way a community’s religious requirements affect believers and non-believers alike. And if the film is anything like its first trailer, it’s not going to be a particularly easy watch.
Weekend Box Office Report: Weirdest. Labor Day Weekend. Ever.
In a weekend where no new releases cracked the Top 10 and six movies maintained their exact spot in the rankings, you’d think there would be less news worth sharing. That isn’t quite the case. Sure, as sites like Box Office Mojo have noted, this is a historically bad Labor Day Weekend for movies in theaters, but it’s also a uniquely static weekend for releases, one that even required me to create a second chart just to capture all the data points. Let’s start as we always do, with the box office grosses as of Sunday afternoon:
BB-9E and BB-8 Face Off in This Adorable ‘Star Wars’ Animated Short
Here’s a fun question for you: how many evil droids have there been in the Star Wars universe? There was the interrogation droid that tortured Dr. Leia in the original Star Wars; IG-88 and the jet-black C-3PO unit in The Empire Strikes Back; and a handful of trade federation robots in the Star Wars prequels, as well as K-2SO (sorta) in Rogue One. Come to think of it, while both Death Stars have always had a bunch of R2 and MSE units wandering around in the background, the Star Wars series has always been a little short on recognizable droid baddies.
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: ‘Annabelle: Creation’ Scares Up a Big Opening
We’ve reached the doldrums of August, where studios release the titles not marketable enough for the summer movie season and not quality enough for serious award consideration. That means an odd mixture of horror films, formerly prestigious movies that have lost a little bit of their luster, and absolute junk just looking for a few screens to dominate for a couple of weeks. Oh, and what do you know? That perfectly describes this weekend’s new releases! Gee!
Wait, Leia Organa Got Her Ph.D. When She Was 19?
Decades after the release of the original Star Wars films, it’s a testament to the power of the franchise that we’re still capable of discovering new things about some of our favorite characters. Take Leia Organa, for example. Fans who have rooted for her based on the events the original three films have found a whole new reason to root for her as the leader of a Star Wars anti-terrorism unit, but now we’ve learned something new about her character: she’s also one of the most learned characters in the entire Star Wars universe, and has been for a very, very long time.