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The “Lawrence of Arabia” of half-assed Adam Sandler comedies, “Sandy Wexler” is an epic period piece that spans 10 years and 131 minutes of mildly amusing mediocrity before climaxing with a Rob Schneider cameo where he plays a Middle Eastern man in full brownface — it’s awful, and yet it’s almost objectively Sandler’s best movie since “Funny People.”

Of course, quality has never been a very useful metric for measuring Sandler’s work, and that’s especially true now that we’re knee-deep in an eight-picture Netflix deal which guarantees that, for the foreseeable future, we can expect new Sandler films to arrive with all the predictably of seasonal allergies. Once upon a time, he was a cottage industry — now, he’s an assembly line.

But if “Sandy Wexler” is only the slightest bit funnier than “The Do-Over” or “The Ridiculous Six,” the third of Sandler’s streaming offerings is...

Amazon is officially taking Jack Ryan back to the beginning.

The streaming video service announced Tuesday that it has ordered Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, a drama focusing on the author’s CIA-analyst character at the start of his career. (If that sounds familiar to you, it’s because news of the straight-to-series order first broke in September.)

RelatedTransparent Season 3, High Castle Season 2, Woody Allen Comedy and Others Get Amazon Premiere Dates

As previously reported, The Office‘s John Krasinski will play the titular hero in the drama, which, per the logline, “follows an up-and-coming CIA analyst thrust into a...

We’re still all awaiting Nicolas Winding Refn’s highly anticipated female-centric horror thriller The Neon Demon with bated breath, but he’s already gearing up for his next movie, which will reportedly have an Asian setting, and feature action and thriller elements. Details are skim, but it’s also been reported that Refn will be teaming up with the primary screenwriters of the last five James Bond films – Neal Purvis and Robert wade. Who knows? Maybe this could just be the ramp-up to an announcement that this will be the next Bond film, or it could be his long-rumored The Avenging Silence.

After last year’s frenetic Run All Night, star Liam Neeson and director Jaume Collet-Serra are already reuniting for another movie – their fourth collaboration. Collet-Serra will begin work on The Commuter, an action thriller following a businessman who becomes tangled in a criminal conspiracy on his daily commute,...

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From Thomas F Wilson in Back To The Future to Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in Face/Off - when actors play multiple roles...

The dramatic use of actors playing multiple characters is a bold and rather theatrical device that has its ups and downs. It goes at least as far back as Captain Hook being played by the same actor who plays the Darling children's father in stage productions of Peter Pan, a technique largely adopted in film adaptations of the story, too (hello to Jason Isaacs).

It's used a lot in cinema too. Done well, it's impressive, but when it's bad, it's Jack & Jill. Whether used in comedy or drama or outright horror, there are countless examples of actors delivering terrific performances in more than one role at once, and that's before we even get past Cloud Atlas. Still, we've had a go at totting up 25 of the best.

Sean Penn: Honorary César goes Hollywood – again (photo: Sean Penn in '21 Grams') Sean Penn, 54, will receive the 2015 Honorary César (César d'Honneur), the French Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Crafts has announced. That means the French Academy's powers-that-be are once again trying to make the Prix César ceremony relevant to the American media. Their tactic is to hand out the career award to a widely known and relatively young – i.e., media friendly – Hollywood celebrity. (Scroll down for more such examples.) In the words of the French Academy, Honorary César 2015 recipient Sean Penn is a "living legend" and "a stand-alone icon in American cinema." It has also hailed the two-time Best Actor Oscar winner as a "mythical actor, a politically active personality and an exceptional director." Penn will be honored at the César Awards ceremony on Feb. 20, 2015. Sean Penn movies Sean Penn movies range from the teen comedy...

The 51-year-old actor adds another flop to his already long streak, but other actors aren’t betting their careers on only box-office bankability

Johnny Depp could be considered one of Hollywood’s biggest stars on the planet, but he hasn’t had a hit at the box office in ages and “Mortdecai” has just been added to the list of bombs.

The actor plays the Wolf in Disney’s ensemble musical “Into the Woods,” but his last leading man hit was 2011’s installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Last year’s “Transcendence” fizzled, as did 2013’s “The Lone Ranger” and...

The stars of film and TV gathered in Hollywood for the first big awards ceremony of the season, presented by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. From the gongs to the glamour, this is how the action unfolded

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That’s it for tonight, everyone. Thanks for keeping us company while we watched North Korean jokes, grumpy Harrison Ford, and Tina and Amy slay for the third year in a row. It’s a night we’ll never forget. At least until next year.

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Boyhood is great. Richard Linklater is great. Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke & Ellar Coltrane are great. But how bout a shoutout to the secret weapon of that film: Lorelei Linklater. -Jh

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Meryl Streep’s dress looks like a Franz Kline painting. -Jh

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Boyhood! See it only takes 12 years to make a great movie.

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When this is over there’s...

Golden Globes 2015 winners here live: Julianne Moore in the running for 'Still Alice,' 'Maps to the Stars' (photo: Julianne Moore in 'Still Alice') The 2015 Golden Globes Winners will be posted here as they are announced on Sunday, January 11, 2015. Once again, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be hosting the awards ceremony. (Scroll down for the full list of Golden Globes 2015 nominations.) Now, following a snafu on the Golden Globes' website, some have been betting on Ava DuVernay's Selma for Best Picture - Drama and Rob Marshall's Into the Woods for Best Picture - Comedy or Musical. Even though the tech company handling the site's graphics has taken full responsibility for the error, asserting that the 2015 "winners" were chosen randomly from the pool of Golden Globe nominees; they just weren't supposed to go live. Those with short memories – and that's most people and...

A great sports movie should also appeal to those who have no particular interest in sports. Accordingly, some of the best baseball movies could just as easily slot into other genres – they're comedies like The Bad News Bears, historical dramas like Eight Men Out, weepies, biopics, coming-of-age dramas and everything in between.

With this week's release of based-on-a-true-story feel-good drama Million Dollar Arm, Digital Spy takes a look at the ten best baseball movies.

1. Eight Men Out (1988)

John Sayles' 1988 drama tackles Major League Baseball's Black Sox scandal, in which eight underpaid members of the Chicago White Sox (including 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson) conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series. Sayles' terrific script perfectly captures the time and place and does a superb job of dramatising several elements of a complex story, with impressive attention to detail.

Very much an ensemble piece, the eclectic cast includes John Cusack (as...

Seth MacFarlane's mock-Western movie A Million Ways to Die in the West has received dire reviews from disappointed critics ahead of its release today (May 30).

Not even Neil Patrick Harris's comically camp performance (or his pooing twice inside a hat) could salvage the film, which was summed up by Digital Spy as "a giant tumbleweed of a comedy drifting aimlessly through a laugh-free desert".

From Jonah Hex and Wild Wild West - we name eight other modern Westerns firing blanks below

1. Jonah Hex (2010)

This fantasy Western blockbuster derived from a DC Comics character fell flat on its (criminally disfigured) face upon its release, making a measly $10 million at the box office before sinking without trace. Despite Josh Brolin's best efforts as the lead and Michael Fassbender's brilliantly terrifying bowler-hat-wearing brute Burke, the movie was criticised for being edited within an inch of its short life, so...

Saturday Night Live this weekend was hosted by Girls star Lena Dunham, who used her TV persona to provide some laughs for the sketch show – particularly when it came to doing a parody of her hit HBO show.

Girls Parody

Dunham and Tarran Killam played the Bible’s Adam and Eve, debating their lives while naked in the Garden of Eden. Channeling Hannah Horvath, Dunham’s Eve pressed Adam to define their relationship and displayed some feminist outrage when he suggested that God made her from his rib. Vanessa Bayer as Soshanna was the snake – convincing Eve to eat the apple. Eve, when confronted by God, wasn’t having it.

“Can you please not apple shame me right now?” said Eve. “Seriously, I know I committed original sin, but at least it’s original.”

Cold Open

Jay Pharoah did his best Barack Obama impersonation to reimagine the president’s verbal...

Well, this should be interesting. Not “Saturday Night Live” itself, which I imagine will rebound quite nicely from last week’s fairly disastrous show. Rather, I mean reaction to Lena Dunham, who inspires more conversation than almost anyone else on television, all of which can be accurately described as “passionate.” Dunham, and her HBO “Girls,” seems to touch a nerve unlike anything else in current popular culture, to the point where any rationale online discussion of either seems as likely as my mother waking up tomorrow and suddenly understanding the concept of cloud computing. We’ll see how much “SNL” leans into this whirlwind surrounding Dunham, and how much both the show and the actress try to move away from Hannah Horvath and into other comedic avenues. Jim Parsons declared he was “Not That Guy” in last week’s monologue, but then deployed a bunch of Sheldon Cooper-lite characters throughout the show.

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The 2014 Oscars have come and gone, but lucky for us we have Instagram snapshots to last a lifetime. 12 Years a Slave‘s Lupita Nyong’o has been living a Cinderella-like fairy tale over the last few weeks, charming award show audiences with her poise and stealing the spotlight on red carpets with her stunning style choices. The whirlwind continued over Oscar weekend, where she schmoozed with some of Hollywood’s elite and even made a new friend. Hint: he’s gold and his name is Oscar.

The 86th annual Academy Awards was full of wonderful and weird moments, including Ellen DeGeneres‘ massive celebrity selfie and gigantic mid-show pizza order. If you were one of the concerned Oscar viewers worried that Ellen had missed Kerry Washington‘s request for a slice (it’s hard when Harrison Ford cuts the line), rest assured that Olivia Pope handled her hunger with some gluten-free ‘za backstage.

The Academy Awards are not just a chance to praise those who have excelled in the field of filmmaking over the past year.

They're also an excuse for multi-millionaires to throw some of the most glamorous parties the world has ever seen (they can come with some bizarre goody bag inclusions too - vaginal rejuvenation, anyone?

From ex-Presidents to global movie icons, here's how the stars will be celebrating before, during and after 2014's Oscars ceremony...

1. unite4:humanity

When & where?: Late afternoon on Thursday at Sony Studios

Who?: Bill Clinton, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Jackman, Matt Damon, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Martin Scorsese, Harrison Ford, Alicia Keys, Forest Whitaker, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Hollywood's suavest man George Clooney and a former Us president in the shape of Bill Clinton are among those expected to celebrate philanthropic achievements of the stars in this extravagant bit of celebrity backslapping.

The Academy Awards are not just a chance to praise those who have excelled in the field of filmmaking over the past year, oh no - it's also an excuse to party like mad!

Digital Spy lets you into the world of Oscar week parties, revealing how the stars will be celebrating before, during and after this year's ceremony...

unite4:humanity

When & where?: Late afternoon on Thursday at Sony Studios

Who?: Bill Clinton, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Jackman, Matt Damon, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Martin Scorsese, Harrison Ford, Alicia Keys, Forest Whitaker, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Hollywood's suavest man George Clooney and a freakin' former Us president in the shape of Bill Clinton are among those expected to celebrate philanthropic achievements of the stars in this extravagant bit of celebrity backslapping.

Selena Gomez will pick up the prestigious Young Humanitarian award, while Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese...

The Academy Awards are not just a chance to celebrate those who have excelled in the field of filmmaking over the past year, oh no - it's also an excuse to party like mad!

Digital Spy lets you into the world of Oscar week parties, revealing how the stars will be celebrating before, during and after this year's ceremony...

unite4:humanity

When & where?: Late afternoon on Thursday at Sony Studios

Who?: Bill Clinton, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Jackman, Matt Damon, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Martin Scorsese, Harrison Ford, Alicia Keys, Forest Whitaker, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Hollywood's suavest man George Clooney and a freakin' former Us president in the shape of Bill Clinton are among those expected to celebrate philanthropic achievements of the stars in this extravagant bit of celebrity backslapping.

Selena Gomez will pick up the prestigious Young Humanitarian award, while Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese...

Quentin Tarantino ‘The Hateful Eight’ screenplay leak Quentin Tarantino will no longer be making the Western The Hateful Eight. Why not? Well, Tarantino claims he sent out the film’s screenplay to a group of six people, one of whom allegedly showed it to his agent, who then showed it to other agents, who then began calling Tarantino’s agent Mike Simpson, asking him to cast their clients in the film. (Photo: The Hateful Eight screenwriter Quentin Tarantino.) “I’m very, very depressed,” Tarantino was quoted as saying at Deadline.com, which first broke The Hateful Eight Screenplay Leak story on Tuesday, January 21, 2014. “I finished a script, a first draft, and I didn’t mean to shoot it until next winter, a year from now. I gave it to six people, and apparently it’s gotten out today.” Now, before they begin flailing and wailing, Quentin Tarantino fans should be...

Exclusive: Golden Boys? Three decades after Golden Girls‘ successful 173-episode run on NBC, ABC is developing an ensemble comedy about people in retirement age, this time on the male side. The project, from The Neighbors creator Dan Fogelman and The George Lopez Show co-creator Robert Borden, revolves around three long-lost basketball teammates who reconnect in their 60s and discover they still have a lot to learn about love and friendship. Borden is writing and will executive produce with Fogelman through Fogelman’s Rhode Island Ave. Prods and ABC Studios. It is good timing for the project, coming on the heels of a weekend where three opening movies featured stars over 60: Fogelman-penned comedy Last Vegas (Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas and Kevin Kline) and dramas Ender’s Game (Harrison Ford) and All Is Lost (Robert Redford). With the baby boomers entering retirement, there is a growing audience for entertainment featuring more mature stars,...

Jimmy Fallon just got his ear pierced ... on TV ... by Harrison Ford.

On Friday night's Late Night, Fallon told the audience that he wanted to be just like the Indiana Jones actor and so he was having him pierce his left ear.

Video: Lindsay Lohan channels Mean Girls for Late Night skit

"What's the worst that could happen, I could get an infection?" Fallon asked. "Nah. You could bleed to death," Ford responded.

As Fallon squirmed in his chair, Ford put on his gloves and proceeded to do the job. Did Fallon pass out? Watch below (only if you're not squeamish):

Read More >...

The A-listers came out Monday night for the 17th Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Sandra Bullock was presented the Hollywood Actress Award for her work in "Gravity" by Oscar winner and "A Time to Kill" co-star Octavia Spencer. Sandy was looking sexy (again!) for the ceremony, stunning in a hot Lbd. Jake Gyllenhaal showed off his newly-gaunt physique, accepting the Hollywood Supporting Actor Award for his work in "Prisoners." The 32-year-old actor's body transformation is for his new role in "Nightcrawler," which is shooting in Los Angeles right now. Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, Harrison Ford and Jared Leto were also honored at the ceremony. And some of their famous friends – Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn, Jane Fonda – helped present their awards. Kanye West presented Steve McQueen with the Hollywood Breakout Director Award for "12 Years a Slave" -- before high-tailing it to San Francisco to propose to Kim Kardashian!

The Lone Ranger weekend box office: Bigger flop than early estimates indicated? (Photo: Johnny Depp as Tonto, Armie Hammer as The Lone Ranger) The Pirates of the Caribbean team is back with The Lone Ranger: that’s producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Gore Verbinski, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, actor Johnny Depp, and distributor Disney. But whereas Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the White Pearl, co-starring Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, and Orlando Bloom, was a major domestic box-office hit, opening with $46.63 million at 3,269 locations in early July 2003 (approximately $61 million today) and going on to gross $305.41 million in North America (approximately $402 million today), The Lone Ranger is bound to become one of the biggest domestic box-office flops of 2013 in relation to its exorbitant $215 million production budget, alongside several other costly underperformers at the North American box office: M. Night Shyamalan / Will Smith’s After Earth, Roland Emmerich’s White House Down,...

The Lone Ranger 2013 box office: $200 million Western flops (photo: Johnny Depp as Tonto, Armie Hammer as The Lone Ranger) The best thing that can be said about Disney spending $200+ million on the 2013 movie The Lone Ranger — not including another $100 million or so in marketing / distribution costs — is that the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced, Gore Verbinski-directed comic Western starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer didn’t cost $250 million like the studio’s 2012 box-office bomb John Carter. (Update: The Lone Ranger weekend box-office: A bigger flop than originally thought?) Currently with a dismal 11% approval rating and 4.2/10 average among Rotten Tomatoes‘ top critics, The Lone Ranger collected an abysmal — in relation to its exorbitant costs — $9.65 million on opening day, Wednesday, July 3, at 3,904 North American locations, in addition to another $9.85 million on the July 4 holiday according to Box Office Mojo. The Lone Ranger‘s two-day total is $19.5 million, which will, according to early, rough Friday estimates found at Deadline.

Feature Simon Brew 28 Jun 2013 - 07:11

Ever watched a big movie, and stopped with a jolt when a star of a British sitcom pops up? Us too...

This feature is all the fault of the late Richard Marner. As the incompetent Colonel in 'Allo 'Allo, he built a performance that was indelible in our eyes. Thus, when he turned up in a big Hollywood thriller as the President of Russia, we unsuccessfully stifled a guffaw. A big guffaw.

And it got us thinking: what other times has a British sitcom star appeared out of the blue in a big movie, causing a sedentary double take from the comfort of our local Odeon? Glad you asked.

Two things. Firstly, this isn't designed to be a complete list, and also, we've covered films made after the actor or actress confirmed rose to prominence in a sitcom. Oh, and another thing: none of...

Demi Moore joined several Oscar-winning Hollywood stars at AFI's Night at the Movies event in NYC last night. She wore a sheer jumpsuit as she mingled with stars like Harrison Ford, Sally Field, and Cher, who were all at the event to introduce one of their classic movies during the film-lovers bash. Demi presented Ghost, her 1990 film with Patrick Swayze, while Cher introduced Moonstruck and Sally chatted about Norma Rae. This was a rare red carpet appearance for Demi, whose last public event was to check out Ferragamo's Spring runway collection alongside Nicole Richie and Rachel Zoe back in January. She didn't make it to the Sundance Film Festival this year, but her new film with Elizabeth Olsen and Dakota Fanning, Very Good Girls, did premiere to decent reviews at the annual event. View Slideshow ›...

• Are you ready for Sunday? [Hollywood Crush]

• MTV Movie Awards: 9 totally made-up categories that should probably exist for real. [Hollywire]

• Name That Movie: Harrison Ford Edition. [BuzzSugar]

• 24 unofficial movie posters that are better than the real posters. [BuzzFeed]

• What's Your Poison? A brief history of drinking in the movies. [Film.com]

• The 17 weirdest movie siblings. Weird, brothers n' sisters. [Moviefone]

• "X-Men: Days of Future Past": Hello Cerebro! [Splash Page]

• New "Star Trek Into Darkness" poster unleashes hell on the Enterprise. [ScreenCrush]

• The MTV Movie Awards: Why do we keep doing this to ourselves? Because it's awesome. [Hypable]

• Girls on Film: 11 female athletes who deserve their own sports biopic. [The Week]

• "Scary Movie 5" and the Death of the Movie Spoof. [FilmDrunk]

• 10 childhood television shows that sound insane when you try to explain them. [Death and Taxes]...

Kevin O'Connor of PBS' "This Old House" and "Ask This Old House" -- the venerable Diy show's Q&A spin-off -- savors the view from the roof deck of "Toh's" current project house, in Cambridge, Mass.

"It's kind of a dense downtown neighborhood," he tells Zap2it, "so I'm seeing a lot of rooftops, but the city looks pretty good."

In the "Ask This Old House" episode airing on Friday, Nov. 9 (check local listings; the show airs weekends in some markets), O'Connor and his team head to an even denser neighborhood, New York City's Times Square, to visit with a celebrity pal.

The host of NBC's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" is a longtime "Toh" and "Atoh" fan, having outed himself on Twitter a couple of years ago. The "Atoh" crew -- O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, landscape contractor Roger Cook and plumbing-and-heating expert Richard Trethewey -- has made a...

A visit to the V&A's Hollywood Costume exhibition reminds me why films have always influenced my fashion sense

When was the last time you were on your feet for five hours, in heels, and didn't notice your toes go numb? That was me, when I went to the press preview of Hollywood Costume at the V&A. For once the word "awesome" is fully justified – more than 130 instantly recognisable costumes from over a century of cinema and so cleverly put together that by the time you emerge you feel as though you've just staggered out of the biggest and best Oscars party ever.

I was chuffed to little mint balls to be within stroking distance of Scarlett O'Hara's green velvet gown, Holly Golightly's little black Givenchy number and Marlene Dietrich's foxy top-hat-and-tails combo. The exhibition is packed with iconic pieces of cinematic history, such as Marilyn Monroe's...

Exclusive: Albert Nobbs helmer Rodrigo Garcia will direct We’re Just Married, a David Rabe-scripted film. Lily Rabe will play one of the leads and she will also be a producer on the project. Rabe, best known for American Horror Story, is the daughter of David Rabe and the late Jill Clayburgh. “I’m ecstatic to be in the Rabe business with David and Lily,” Garcia said. “This script is a perfect portrait of a highly complicated, emotionally charged, and painfully funny romantic triangle. And, like all of David Rabe’s works, it is a gift to writers and directors.” Lynn Hendee and Robert Chartoff are producing with Lily Rabe. Hendee and Chartoff are currently co-producing the Gavin Hood-directed Ender’s Game, which stars Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield and Hailee Steinfeld. Lily Rabe is repped by ICM Partners.

By Rachel Bennett

Television Editor & Columnist

***

Last week, it was announced that Patton Oswalt, who hass appeared on such series as CBS’s Two and a Half Men, Fox’s Raising Hope and Showtime’s United States of Tara, will guest star on the upcoming season of FX’s Justified. He will play a former high school classmate of Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant).

Great guest spots are one of my favorite aspects of television. The occurrence can combine an actor and a show that are perfect for one another — even if it’s just temporarily. It can also draw viewers to a show they haven’t checked out yet, possibly giving a struggling series a boost in ratings. Some of my favorite recent moments on series have incorporated fantastic guest stars, including Parker Posey on FX’s Louie and Fox’s New Girl, Giancarlo Esposito on NBC’s Community and...

Tags: Morning BrewAmber HeardGLAADThe New NormalChristina WilsonHell's KitchenThe VoiceDe'Borah GarnerIMDb

Good morning all! I'm back from Las Vegas and have so many goodies to share with you. But first, I'd like to pay tribute to the lesbian victims of 9/11. Never let them be forgotten.

Today we remember Renee Barrett, survived by her partner Enez Cooper and her son Eddie; Pamela Boyce, survived by partner Catherine Anello; Carol Flyzik, survived by partner Nancy Walsh; Sheila Hein, survived by partner Peggy Neff; Patricia McAneney, survived by partner Margaret Cruz; and Catherine Smith, survived by partner Elba Cedeno. May they rest in peace.

Elba holds a photo of Catherine at the 9/11 Memorial on September 11, 2011

Photo by Stan Honda/Afp/Getty Images

On last night's The Voice, De'Borah Garner made me like a Train song. That's not so easy to do. I'm still mad the DJ played this song at my wedding. I digress.

"What If?" has been the overriding theory of Seth Grahame-Smith's career. We've read the answers to "What If Zombies Attacked Elizabeth Bennet?" in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and "What If The 16th President Secretly Fought Fanged Foes?" in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Seth's latest endeavor asks, "What If The Three Wise Men Weren't As Holy As We Thought?"

Hence, Unholy Night -- a new novel that expands the biblical backstory given to that iconic trio. Although after a little digging, Seth realized just how little was truly known about the mystery men, allowing him to create a lush, fascinating and utterly compelling tale of intrigue and faith.

While a cinematic adaptation of Unholy Night is in the works, the big screen is already bracing for a pair of projects written by Seth: May's Dark Shadows and June's 3D adaptation of his book, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I caught up with the endlessly inventive author to find...

We’ve got some release updates today, as studios have pushed back their films (one major delay and one minor) and one entirely new date. First up Paramount has slightly delayed Sacha Baron Cohen‘s latest comedy The Dictator. Instead of arriving on May 11th with Tim Burton‘s Dark Shadows, they’ve set a May 16th Wednesday bow, which now puts it right on the heels of Universal’s Battleship. While no one quite knew the tone of the Johnny Depp film, the first trailer revealed more comedy than expected, hence the distancing. [Deadline]

Also being pushed back is Gavin Hood‘s adaptation of the Orson Scott Card novel Ender’s Game. Instead of a March 2013 bow, Summit Entertainment has set a more confident November 1st, 2013 release for the film starring Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin and Viola Davis. Currently set against Roland Emmerich‘s Singularity,...

Yesterday I mentioned how fans were up in arms over Michael Bay saying the new adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles he's producing would paint the turtles as "an alien race". Well, today he took to his message board and writes, "Fans need to take a breath, and chill. They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world." [source] Parker from director Taylor Hackford and starring Jason Statham and Jennifer Lopez will now hit theaters on January 25, 2013 instead of October 12, 2012. Relativity has also moved Safe Haven, based on the latest novel from best-selling author Nicholas Sparks, directed by Lasse Hallstrom and rumored to be starring Keira Knightley from...

Be it for money, bargaining purposes, or strictly out of necessity, movie characters have been getting kidnapped since silent-era evildoers began the mini industry of tying women to train tracks.

Not all kidnappers are mustache-twirling villains, though. In fact, many of them have a darn good reason and are pretty nice folks once you're forced at gunpoint to get to know them. Amanda Seyfried could sure use some do's and dont's in the new kidnap thriller "Gone," but if you ever do get kidnapped in a film, we have a few rules to live by so you don't wind up on a milk carton … or in a wood chipper.

Follow the Kidnapper's Instructions

Evidence: "Fargo," "Ransom," "Misery," "Alpha Dog," "Silence of the Lambs"

As a result of William H. Macy's greed in scheming an inside-kidnapping job with a skeevy Steve Buscemi in "Fargo," about a dozen people lost their lives.

Benjamin Millepied, Natalie Portman Natalie Portman, last year's Golden Globe winner for Best Actress – Drama and Best Actress Oscar winner for Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, arrives with husband Benjamin Millepied (who is also featured in Black Swan) at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA on Sunday, January 15, 2012. Portman presented the Best Actor – Drama Golden Globe to winner George Clooney for his role as a husband and father in Alexander Payne's The Descendants. Among the other presenters at the 2012 Golden Globes ceremony were Jessica Alba, Kate Beckinsale, Emily Blunt, Pierce Brosnan, Gerard Butler, George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Colin Firth, Jane Fonda, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Felicity Huffman, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Jane Lynch, Elle Macpherson, William H. Macy, and Ewan McGregor. Also: Debra Messing, Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore, Paula Patton, Piper Perabo, Brad Pitt, Seth Rogen, E.W. nominee and eventual winner Madonna,...

Getty Host Kaley Cuoco

The People’s Choice Awards 2012 is being held tonight on CBS and Speakeasy is live-blogging the show. The program is being hosted by Kaley Cuoco of “The Big Bang Theory” and features musical performances by Faith Hill and Demi Lovato.

Who will take home the most awards? Follow along and leave your thoughts in the comments.

10:59 pm

And we're done. What did you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

10:58 pm

Cuba Gooding Jr....

Shia Labeouf in Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon It's not often that you find a heavy family drama listed among the year's semi-finalists for the Best Visual Effects Academy Award. But that's the case of Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, which has been shortlisted along with nine other movies, including Martin Scorsese's period fantasy Hugo, David Yates/Daniel Radcliffe's blockbuster Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the Tom Cruise box-office hit Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and Johnny Depp's most recent pirate movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Below is the full list of semi-finalists, in alphabetical order: Captain America: The First Avenger Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Hugo Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Real Steel Rise of the Planet of the Apes Transformers: Dark of the Moon The Tree of Life...

It's been a hard road so far for "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," the live-action adaptation of the classic television show, but it may have found a new director. After George Clooney walked away from the film and director Steven Soderbergh, it's had a hard time holding onto anyone. Bradley Cooper left shortly after joining the film, and Soderbergh departed shortly afterward.

Now Deadline is reporting that Warner Bros. has brought on the director of "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," its big holiday relase, Guy Ritchie as a producer and probable director of the film.

Check out the rest of today's film news after the jump!

Keanu Reeves Is A Real Gentleman

Reeves seems to have earned the most attention in recent years for doing the most mundane things. First a picture of him eating a sandwich takes the internet by storm, and now a secretly filmed cellphone video of...

Harrison Ford must really like the way that cowboy hat felt on his head in Cowboys & Aliens because the former Indiana Jones and Han Solo is sticking with the action genre for a little bit longer. This time around, he’ll be Wyatt Earp… detective, in Black Hats.

Hollywood loves showing Wyatt Earp as the gun-slinging lawman cleaning up Dodge City and staring down the bad guys at the O.K. Corral, but there’s more to the western legend than that. There’s the life he lived after he put down the badge.

The movie, Black Hats, based on Max Allan Collins’ novel titled Black Hats: A Novel of Wyatt Earp, takes us through the life of Earp as a private investigator in 1920’s Los Angeles. Before you call Bs and start blaming theaters of riding the coattails of the upcoming Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the story...

So, my punning linguists, you know what a sucker I am for wordplay. You would think, then, that these "handeliers" (light fixtures made from sturdy rubber gloves) would be right up my alley. Wrong. This is some creepy Jean Cocteau-looking design and I am not a fan. (Design Milk)

While we're on the subject of gloves, however, what do we think of this "Throne of Games" image? Would Ned Stark be rocking a Power Glove? (Throne of Games)

I don't really know, I don't do video games. . .or sports for that matter. But, But, this cover article for "Out" magazine? I'm impressed. Here is Michael Irvin (who is, according to some more knowledgable sources, a total dillhole) being very cool about homosexuality. That's a rarity in his profession, so I salute him. He may be a dillhole, but he's a progressive one. Thanks, Kballs! (Yahoo)

Speaking of being progressive,...

Listen, 2011, you're really starting to piss me off, you know, movie-wise. It's one thing to bombard me with remakes of great movies (e.g. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Thing and Fright Night). I'm actually looking forward to all of those flicks. It's another thing to bore me with a series of (mostly) unnecessary reborquels (e.g. *deep breath* Hangover 2, Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon, Scre4m, Fast Five, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Rise Of The Planet Of The Preposition Of The Apes, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Thrones Shadows, Pirates Of the Caribbean: On Stranger Subtitles, and, most unnecessary of all, Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son). I'm sorry to lump Harry Potter in there. Honestly. I've got the shakes for that movie something fierce, but it is a ridiculously crowded year for sequels.

Hey Boys & Girls, A third TV spot for Jon Faverau's Cowboys & Aliens is now online. Check it out below! In 1873 Arizona, a loner named Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) awakens with no memory of his past and a mysterious shackle around his wrist. He enters the town of Absolution where he learns that he is a notorious criminal wanted by many people, including Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), who rules the town with an iron fist. But Absolution soon faces an even greater threat when alien spaceships attack the town. While his shackle holds the key to defeating the aliens, Lonergan must ally with Dolarhyde and other former enemies to make a stand against them. Cowboys & Aliens will hit cinemas July 29, 2011.

Sex And The City. Mamma Mia. Beaches. The first Harry Potter. Our writers have been watching the movies they’d otherwise had crossed the street to avoid…

We set our writers a challenge. We're all likely to have films that we turn our nose up at every time we come to watch a movie. The task our writers faced was this: locate that movie, watch it, and see if it was as scary as you feared. Obviously, the choice of film was a personal one - some of us would leap at Timecop, for instance - but every film here has been avoided by the writer concerned for one reason or another. And now it was time to face those fears head on.

Here's how they got on...

Mamma Mia

Duncan Bowles

I'm really not a fan of Abba. The closest contact I have with their music is normally at work Christmas parties,...

This week brings an interesting clash between wide and limited releases. For example, Paul Bettany stars in both a studio and an independent release. And the former involves a religious figure, the archangel Michael, and the Biblical Apocalypse, while the latter involves a scientist whose work has long been in conflict with religious teachings. Surely the two films would make for a great double feature.

Or, maybe you'd like to pair up another one of this week's wide releases with another one of its limited releases. A studio film starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser attempting to save kids' lives through medicine with a low-budget film about saving kids' lives through friendship. A lowbrow studio film starring Dwayne Johnson as an imaginary creature with a highbrow foreign film about an imagined crime?

If only these three films were opening everywhere this weekend so everyone could enjoy such wacky match-ups.

"Creation...

Filmmaker Agnès Varda and friend.

Editor's note: "The Beaches of Agnes" opens in a limited run in New York and L.A. this week for Academy Award consideration. If you reside on either coast, do yourself a favor and run, don't walk, to "Beaches."

Agnès Varda Hits the Beach

By

Alex Simon

Born in Belgium in 1928, Agnès Varda is renowned for being the only female member of France’s legendary “Nouvelle Vague” (which also includes such luminaries as Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and Varda’s late husband, Jacques Demy) school of filmmaking when, in 1954, she formed a film company called Cine-Tamaris for her first feature, La Pointe Courte. It earned her the title of “Grand Mother of the French New Wave,” at the tender age of 26.

Varda has made 33 films since then, alternating between shorts and features, fiction and documentaries. Some of her most famous titles include Cleo from 5 to 7...

The Birthday Boys and Girls of 11/11

1821 Fyodor Dostoevsky, legendary Russian author of Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov fame. So many movies inspired by his work. But he's not the legendary Russian author that'll be getting all the press this next couple of months. That'd be Leo Tolstoy, soon to be chattered about when The Last Station emerges as an Oscar contender.

1887 Roland Young, popular 30s and 40s character actor (Topper, The Philadelphia Story, Ruggles of Red Gap)

1898 René Clair, (pictured left), wonderful French writer/director. If you've never seen Le Million I urge you to rent it maintenant. His Oscar nominated films include The Gates of Paris (1957) and À nous la liberté (1931)

1899 Pat O'Brien --Ewwww, not that one people -- the actor! whose film career stretches alllllll the way from the 1931 classic The Front Page to 1981's Ragtime.

1901 Sam Spiegel, powerful producer. Boy was he on fire in...

• Are Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart on the verge of finally tying the knot? Perhaps they've even done so already. Either way, congratulations on keeping it together so long, you two! • Angelina Jolie is searching for a $20 million, Jennifer Aniston-repellent necklace to wear to the Academy Awards. • Whatever Madonna wears to the Vanity Fair Oscars party will feature the hottest accessory of the season—Jesus Luz. No word yet on what her shoes will be. • Victoria Beckham's denim line is going out of style. • Lady GaGa before the glowing microphone. • Dear Jon Hamm: You cook, too?! Seriously, it's not even fair. Love, Rise...