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If you watch a lot of Hallmark holiday movies, you'll notice faces that reappear over and over again. Hallmark is nothing if not reliant on safe, predictable storytelling, and this tendency extends to the people they hire to act in their made-for-tv films -- once you've proven that you can provide a stable, likable presence in a lead role, they'll keep on booking you. 

But while Hallmark male stars need to personify whatever romantic fantasy Hallmark is selling -- whether that's sensitive, or caring, or supporting, or rugged, or good at fighting fires -- their actresses have an altogether different responsibility. Since a large portion of the Hallmark viewership is made up of women, these actresses need to be aspirational and, above all else, relatable. We need to be able to see ourselves in them, which isn't as easy a task as it sounds. So when they find a performer who can do it well,...

Christmas bargain shopping usually doesn’t start until December 26. But this week’s Video on Demand top 10 lists suggest the sales started early. And once again this year, Ron Howard’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (Universal) leads the way.

Overall, nine different holiday-related movies charted either at iTunes or Fandango (as VOD) or among the current top 10 movies streaming on Netflix. For the latter, that includes their original thriller “Carry-On,” with the Christmas Eve-set movie starring Tagon Egerton and Jason Bateman #1 for the second straight week.

It’s an odd year for VOD, with fewer than usual top recent films getting a pre-holiday release with potential digital gift ability. None of November’s four biggest hits, “Gladiator II” will go digital after its fifth weekend in theaters. It is likely to lead VOD activity both because of its strengths and the lack of competition during this period.

‘The Six...

’Twas the weekend before Christmas… With the holiday season upon us, many of us are starting to revisit some of our of Christmas favourites. I actually went to see a 4K re-release of the original Black Christmas last night here in Montreal. There’s something comforting upon returning to our old favourites every year, whether they be traditional Christmas classics, or perhaps something a little more modern, like Die Hard, which, despite many claiming otherwise, has totally established itself as a Christmas classic over the years.

Whatever the case, there are certainly Loads of Christmas movies, with everything from old-time classics like It’s A Wonderful Life or some of the many versions of A Christmas Carol (the Alistair Sim version is the best Imo), or something like Love Actually, which is virtually inescapable at this time of the year.

With that in mind, we’d love to figure out just...

As you know, Netflix is currently the biggest player in the streaming market, and while viewers often pick the categories that they prefer over some new ones, Netflix is known for having a rich and diverse library of movies and TV series, so everyone can find something to their liking.

In this report, seeing how Christmas is very near, we are going to focus on the Christmas-y content provided by Netflix, as we are going to deliver a list of the ten best Christmas movies currently on Netflix, which will be listed here and described, as per the fans on Ranker.

You are going to find out some basic plot elements about each movie and why these movies are among the best ones that you can currently see on the streaming platform. Of course, Netflix has a much bigger library of Christmas movies that you can enjoy, but these are...

“Wednesday” super fans have something extra to be thankful for this morning — even if Wednesday herself is none-too-pleased.

Netflix is putting Wednesday Addams in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which actually streams live on Peacock, not on Netflix.

The new “Wednesday” float will be “accompanied by an army of lookalike Wednesdays” and “a special performance” of “Paint It Black” by indie-pop star Bishop Briggs. We guess the Rolling Stones, who wrote and recorded “Paint It Black” in 1966 were unavailable… for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Wednesday, played by Jenna Ortega in Netflix’s smash-hit series, famously hates the Thanksgiving holiday — especially since she started working at the fictitious Pilgrim World tourist attraction.

“Netflix has tapped into Wednesday’s apathy and bold nature to create a float and a moment within the historic parade to delight fans as they await Season 2,” per the press release.

Anyway, Float Wednesday is...

The first horror family to attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade may have been “The Munsters” back in 1964, but The Addams Family eventually caught up a few decades later.

It was in 1991 that the Charles Addams-created Addams Family debuted at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, taking over the short-lived “European Village” float in celebration of that year’s live action movie. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, the live action movie had just arrived in theaters on November 22 of that year, a mere six days before the November 28, 1991 airing of the 65th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And the cast of the film even showed up in full costume, including Christina Ricci (Wednesday), Jimmy Workman (Pugsley), Judith Malina (Grandmama), and Carel Struycken (Lurch), joined by Cousin Itt.

The Addams Family float at the 1991 parade was paired up with the Cultural Dance Ensemble of Camden High School in New Jersey,...

Deadpool & Wolverine broke box office records this summer and star Ryan Reynolds has now found his next comic book movie project. According to Variety, Paramount Animation has tapped Reynolds' production company, Maximum Effort Productions, to develop a Mighty Mouse feature.

Matt Lieberman, who worked with Reynolds on 2021's Free Guy, will write the screenplay. He's previously penned movies like The Christmas Chronicles, Rumble, Scoob!, and The Addams Family.

It's unclear what role Reynolds will play in Mighty Mouse beyond being a producer, though we'd be shocked if he doesn't end up lending his voice to the title character. As far as we're aware, this isn't the mystery project he, Hugh Jackman, and Shawn Levy are set to reunite for.

Mighty Mouse was introduced way back in 1942 by animator Terrytoons. The character was initially meant to be a parody of Superman and debuted in a short titled The Mouse of Tomorrow.

Paramount Animation is enlisting some A-list talent in its long-running efforts to finally bring “Mighty Mouse” to the big screen.

The studio has tapped Maximum Effort Productions, Ryan Reynolds’ production company, to produce a feature adaptation of the popular cartoon as part of their first-look deal with the studio. In addition, Paramount Animation has also hired Matt Lieberman, who worked with Reynolds on the 2021 fantasy-adventure “Free Guy,” to pen the script.

Mighty Mouse has been around since 1942, with the pint-sized superhero making his debut in a short film entitled, “The Mouse of Tomorrow.” He’d go on to star in dozens of other shorts over the ensuing decades, as well as a Saturday morning cartoon, which was responsible for “Mighty Mouse Theme (Here I Come to Save the Day),” an earworm of an opener if ever there was one. Mighty Mouse would be reimagined and rebooted several times, but more...

Zendaya and Tom Holland might have become Hollywood’s favorite duo both on and off-screen, with fans swooning over every movie they do together. And now, they’re apparently setting their sights on a five-film record, even making some waves with rumors about joining forces in a Christopher Nolan flick. Pretty impressive, right?

Tom Holland and Zendaya in Spiderman: Homecoming | Credits: Marvel Studios

But here’s the twist: the lovebirds still have a few miles to go before they can dethrone the ultimate power couple of cinema. There’s a Hollywood pair who’s taken co-starring to a whole new level, already clocking in more than five films together. Sorry, Holland and Zendaya, but the reigning champs aren’t ready to pass the baton just yet!

Hollywood’s Power Duos: Zendaya & Tom Holland Near Record, But Kurt Russell & Goldie Hawn Hold the Crown Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem in Loving Pablo...

It’s not every day that one comes across long-lasting marriages and relationships between celebrities from Hollywood’s entertainment industry. That’s one of the biggest reasons why Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell are two of the most widely shipped couples of all time by fans, considering how they have managed to stay together for more than four decades.

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. | Credits: The Christmas Chronicles/Netflix.

Both actors with a tremendous number of masterpieces, star-studded roles, and major awards to their names, the pair have previously been married to other partners, though none could last longer than a few years – less than even a decade. That said, there’s a secret to the couple being able to make this relationship work this long, and according to Hawn, it’s healthy intimacy.

The Secret to Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell’s Relationship is Healthy Intimacy

Goldie Hawn, 78, has...

A couple years ago, Spider One – the frontman of Powerman 5000 and the brother of fellow musician/filmmaker Rob Zombie – made his feature directorial debut with the horror anthology Allegoria. Last year, his second feature – a horror film called Bury the Bride – was released through the Tubi streaming service. His third film, which is called Little Bites, recently secured a worldwide distribution deal through Rlje Films and the Shudder streaming service, and Rlje Films will be giving the film a theatrical and VOD release on October 4th. Its streaming debut on Shudder will follow at a later date. With the theatrical and VOD release date swiftly approaching, a trailer for Little Bites has now arrived online and can be seen in the embed above.

Written and directed by Spider One, Little Bites centers on Mindy, a young widow and mother who tries to protect her daughter Alice from a flesh eating monster named Agyar.

When Disney released its new version of “The Lion King” in 2019, the company was quick to describe it as the live-action version of the beloved 1994 original.

Director Jon Favreau, who made a Christmas classic in “Elf” and jumpstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe with “Iron Man,” was covered by the Directors Guild of America, which afforded him insurance and incentives, along with profit participation. One reported estimate had the director earning $60 million from his involvement in the film, which grossed $1.66 billion worldwide.

But this version of “The Lion King” wasn’t live-action — it was fully animated. And directors of animated films are not traditionally covered by the DGA, hence the push to categorize this feature as “live-action.”

The DGA has long kept animation directors out of the guild. And the chasm between the benefits afforded to live-action directors and animation directors is a growing source of frustration within the filmmaking community.

A couple years ago, Spider One – the frontman of Powerman 5000 and the brother of fellow musician/filmmaker Rob Zombie – made his feature directorial debut with the horror anthology Allegoria. Last year, his second feature – a horror film called Bury the Bride – was released through the Tubi streaming service. Now Deadline has broken the news that his third film, which is called Little Bites, has secured a worldwide distribution deal through Rlje Films and the Shudder streaming service! Rlje Films will be giving the film a theatrical release on October 4th, with its streaming debut on Shudder to follow at a later date.

Written and directed by Spider One, Little Bites centers on Mindy, a young widow and mother who tries to protect her daughter Alice from a flesh eating monster named Agyar. Mindy has been secretly sacrificing her own life by allowing the creature to feast on her body as...

Is there an issue more contentious in Hollywood than facial hair? Frankly, yes. But it's still fun to talk about. Throughout the history of the industry, stars' choice of facial adornment have caused no end of issues for studio executives. Such was the case with Gregory Peck and 1950's "The Gunfighter," in which he donned a majestic mustache that then-20th Century Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck claimed he would have paid $25K to shave. Sadly, however, Zanuck was out of the country when the film shot, and only discovered the offending stache upon his return. According to the exec, it was this precise element that was to blame for the film failing to meet box office expectations.

This is but one facial hair-related debacle in the annals of Hollywood lore. What about when some sort of facial fuzz is actually required for a role? Well, in the '90s,...

Clay Kaytis' 2018 family film "The Christmas Chronicles" has a pretty typical plot for a Christmas movie. A pair of mischievous kids (Judah Lewis and Darby Camp) catch Santa Claus (Kurt Russell) delivering gifts on Christmas Eve, and stow away on his sleigh. Their subterfuge, however, causes the sleigh to crash, scattering Santa's ephemera across Chicago. Santa and the two kids will have to work overtime to retrieve Santa's magical belongings -- his reindeer, his hat, and his gift bag -- so that he may deliver all his gifts by Christmas morning. Like in many kids' movies, the kids are mourning the loss of a parent, so "Chronicles" is also about regaining hope and realizing that childhood magic still exists in a world of grief. 

The film was such a hit, a sequel, "The Christmas Chronicles 2" was released in 2020. Kurt Russell's real-life long-term sweetheart Goldie Hawn played Mrs. Claus in both films,...

Back at the start of May, the Netflix streaming service unveiled their 2024 Summer Movie slate, and in the process they revealed that an action comedy called The Union, which stars Mark Wahlberg (The Family Plan) and Halle Berry (The Call), has a release date of August 16th. With that date just seven weeks away, a trailer for the film has arrived online, and you can check it out in the embed above.

Directed by prolific television director Julian Farino, who was also at the helm of the 2011 dramedy The Oranges, The Union has the following synopsis: Mike (Mark Wahlberg) is happy living a simple life as a construction worker in his native New Jersey – until his long-lost high school sweetheart, Roxanne (Halle Berry), shows up with more on her mind than romance. Knowing he’s the right man for the job, she recruits Mike on a dangerous intelligence mission in...

Goldie Hawn wants to work with her famous family on a project and recently revealed she has some ideas about how to make it happen.

In a new interview, the Overboard actress expressed her desire to work with family members like her husband, Kurt Russell, and her kids, Kate Hudson, Oliver Hudson, and Wyatt Russell.

“What I would love, actually — before we all get too old — [it] would be so great to do a movie together,” Hawn said during an appearance on the Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa podcast. “Wouldn’t it? It would be so fun and so crazy and oh, my God.”

Hawn brought up the idea after podcast host Ripa suggested she and her family should star in a reality show.

“We might do something with Oliver that is a cartoon, so in other words, we would all be the voices of that,” Hawn said.

Last year, the Godzilla and King Kong MonsterVerse came to the small screen with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Monarch is the organization that fans learned in Godzilla movies was keeping tabs on all the monsters for many years behind the scenes. Kurt Russell and his son Wyatt Russell took the lead in the Apple TV+ series that traced the organization’s history.

Now, Kurt reveals if his son might be the only Russell family member to take part in the series. Here is what you need to know.

Kurt Russell On Family Members Joining Monarch

When Monarch: Legacy of Monsters hit Apple TV+ last year, it provided some history of the organization’s early days. However, it also had modern-day scenes that helped tie into what is happening in the movies, specifically between Godzilla V. Kong and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.

Wyatt Russell in Monarch Legacy of Monsters...

Method acting is a controversial topic, mostly due to the bad rep this kind of preparation has gotten due to the ridiculous things someone like Jared Leto does or the absurd physical transformations actors like Christian Bale go through. But not all extensive acting prep requires an actor living as their character. Sometimes, it's just weeks or months of research that get tossed out the window on a whim if the director has something different in mind.

Still, when you hear about the lengths an actor goes to in order to prepare for a role, you don't normally hear it being said about Santa Claus. It's true, though: Kurt Russell is so committed to the art of cinema he gives Santa the kind of preparation and research normally reserved for the work of William Shakespeare.

Speaking with Business Insider in 2020, "The Christmas Chronicles" director Chris Columbus said that Russell wrote...

Exclusive: The Onyx Collective’s UnPrisoned is rounding out the Season 2 cast with Brandee Evans (P-Valley) in a recurring role, as well as Oliver Hudson (The Cleaning Lady) and Jamie Chung (Lovecraft Country) in guest starring roles. Season 2 premieres Wednesday, July 17 on Hulu with all 8 episodes dropping at once.

Inspired by creator Tracy McMillan’s life, UnPrisoned follows a messy but perfectionist relationship therapist, social media influencer and single mom, Paige Alexander (Kerry Washington), whose life is turned right-side-up when her dad, Edwin Alexander (Delroy Lindo), gets out of prison and moves in with her and her teenage son Finn (Faly Rakotohavana).

In Season 2, the Alexander family is still a mess. Paige’s therapy practice is in trouble, Finn’s anxiety is through the roof, Edwin is still figuring out how to get his life together outside of prison, and their relationships are more complicated than ever. The family needs help,...

WME has hired Julie Haffner as its head of motion picture business affairs. In the new role, she will oversee motion picture client deals and serve as an advisor to WME agents, executives and clients on structuring and negotiating motion picture and talent deals, in addition to advising on overall strategies for navigating the ever-changing media landscape.

Prior to WME, Haffner served as senior director of business and legal affairs at Netflix, where she negotiated high-level deals for the original studio film group’s slate of motion pictures, and was responsible for projects including “Hillbilly Elegy,” “Yes Day,” “The Christmas Chronicles,” “Lift” and the upcoming projects “The Union” and “Back in Action.”

She also negotiated and managed overall deals for producers including 21 Laps (Shawn Levy), Hartbeat (Kevin Hart), Archewell (Harry and Meghan) and Wonderland (McG).

Haffner previously worked in the motion picture group at Paramount Pictures, and was VP of...

Every winter, the Netflix holiday universe expands exponentially, adding new stories of happenstance romance and mistletoe make-outs to its stable of original movies. There’s plenty of family-friendly fare, like Jingle Jangle or The Christmas Chronicles, and even more of the cozy Christmastime romantic comedies we all love to watch this time of year.

But which of said rom-coms is the most festive of them all? We decided to put that to the test, ranking all of our favorite festive romances using a very refined, calculated and specific evaluation process: snowiness, coziness, decor and grinchiness (Is someone a holiday...

Canada, the home of winter, looks to have no shortage of snowy inns set against fairytale-like landscapes with piles and piles of the white, fluffy stuff.

That’s because Hallmark, long a major producer of Christmas TV movies, shoots a lot of holiday flicks in Canada, even if the plotlines are set south of the border. So do a lot of other U.S. producers for whom British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario offer real snow, iconic mountains and other varied wintry locations to keep American producers in furry parkas coming north with their cameras and Hollywood stars.

In fact, there’s more to budget-friendly production tricks than fake snow on these TV movie shoots, as humble Canada stands in small-town America strung with colorful lights. Shooting north of the border allows producers to tap generous tax breaks and currency savings, seasoned local actors and crews and ample studios and costume...

The Christmas Chronicles – Picture: Netflix

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and if you’re wondering what Netflix’s most popular original Christmas movies and series have been, we’ve got the top 50 from the past few years.

All data below was provided to What’s on Netflix exclusively from the excellent team at FlixPatrol, with whom we’ve collaborated on a number of articles, and they also power our top 10 hub page.

We’re going to split this list into two parts. First, we’ll cover the Christmas movies, shows, and specials that have picked up the most points in the United States, and then we’ll move onto the global list. The global list collects the points for 80+ Netflix countries.

As a quick refresher, points are picked up every time a show or movie gets featured in the daily top 10. If you’re a movie that ranks #10 for one day,...

With Christmas just one week (and one day) away, we wanted to ask you, the people, what your favorite Christmas Movie is? It doesn’t have to be the movie you think is the best, just the one that you eagerly anticipate watching every year. Is it the timeless tale of an angel getting its wings in It’s A Wonderful Life? or perhaps the under-appreciated (and genuinely hilarious) R rated The Night Before is how you kick off your holiday season?

Do you look forward to seeing Jack Skellington discover the true meaning of Christmas in the Christmas Movie Classic The Nightmare Before Christmas or watching Kevin McCallister take down the Wet/ Sticky Bandits in Home Alone 1&2 or perhaps seeing Clark W. Griswold struggle to have the perfect family Christmas in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is more your speed? Whatever film fills you with yuletide glee, we would love...

(Clockwise from bottom left:) White Christmas (Paramount/Getty Images), Klaus (Netflix), The Christmas Chronicles (Netflix), Falling For Christmas (Netflix) Graphic: The A.V. Club What makes a classic holiday film? Browsing Netflix’s options, it seems a malleable term; 1954’s White Christmas is as classic as they come, but what...

(Clockwise from bottom left:) White Christmas (Paramount/Getty Images), Klaus (Netflix), The Christmas Chronicles (Netflix), Falling For Christmas (Netflix)Graphic: The A.V. Club

What makes a classic holiday film? Browsing Netflix’s options, it seems a malleable term; 1954’s White Christmas is as classic as they come, but what...

(Clockwise from bottom left) Elf (Courtesy New Line Cinema), It’s A Wonderful Life (Rko Radio Picture/Getty Images), A Christmas Story (Courtesy of MGM), Miracle On 34th Street (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)Graphic: The A.V. Club

After a long day of braving frigid temps and long queues—online or...

Have you seen "Triple Frontier"? In case you haven't watched this action-adventure on Netflix yet, now is the time! Released in 2019, "Triple Frontier" received mostly positive reviews from critics, who deemed it special enough to stand out in the oversaturated heist/thriller genre, despite sporting an uneven tone. So, why is this film suddenly making a resurgence 4 years later? This might have to do with the fact that the film stars the likes of Pedro Pascal, Ben Affleck, and Oscar Isaac — with anticipation surrounding Pascal's return in shows like "The Mandalorian" and "The Last of Us," coupled with the announcement that he's in the run to play Reed Richards in the upcoming "Fantastic Four." "Triple Frontier" has recently found a place in Netflix's Global Top 10 list.

"Triple Frontier" didn't quite get much attention when it was released in 2019, but there's good reason that audiences are revisiting the film due...

Netflix’s Top-10 Most-Viewed Films ( Photo Credit – Facebook; IMDb )

Netflix is a platform with some fantastic shows and series to binge-watch on. The popular Ott platform has given us many amazing web series and web films, and with the holiday month upon us and Christmas knocking at the door, most of us are getting ready to cozy up on our couch or bed to see some fantastic movies.

For the unversed, the streaming platform brings out a list of the most-watched films, and this week’s list is finally here. The list comprises ten movies, and as per the latest one, people have already started binging on Christmas notable titles. Keep scrolling to know the complete list of the most viewed films.

The animated musical Leo has again topped the list of Netflix’s Most-Viewed Films of the week. Besides that, movies like The Killer, The Super Mario Bros. Movie,...

Turns out, it wasn’t much of a challenge at all.

“Squid Game: The Challenge” dominated Netflix’s overall leaderboard in its debut week, when it drew 20.1 million views. The unscripted competition series picked up where the I.P. left off in 2021, bumping Part 1 of “The Crown’s” sixth season to second place (8.8 million views) for the week of November 20, 2023.

“Squid Game: The Challenge,” filmed in the UK, is an English-language series; Og “Squid Game” was a Korean-language series dubbed into local languages. As such, the scripted show technically rests atop Netflix’s “Non-English” list, though it blows away all the English-language stuff anyway.

“The Challenge” was so big it brought “Squid Game” back to the Global Top 10 for non-english series — at no. 6 with 1.6 million views — its 21st appearance. The scripted show hadn’t made the list since the week ending June 19, 2022. The long Thanksgiving holiday weekend sure helped the streams pile up.

Audiences have a renewed interest in Squid Game, thanks to the release of Netflix’s reality competition series based on the hit Korean series.

Squid Game: The Challenge debuted at No. 1 among the streamer’s English-language TV list for the week of November 20 to 26, with 20.1M views. That’s quite a big showing for a TV series in its first week, especially with only five episodes available. The remaining episodes are expected to roll out over the next two weeks.

The spinoff also boosted Squid Game back onto the Non-English TV list, where it landed at No. 6 with 1.6M views. Squid Game is currently Netflix’s most popular series of all time.

In second place on the English-language list was Part 1 of The Crown Season 6. The first four episodes managed 8.8M views in their first full week on Netflix after debuting on the streamer on November 16. The remaining episodes will...

In 2012, Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington teamed up for a commercially successful action/thriller in the form of "Safe House." While the film was met with mixed reviews from critics in its day, it was a sizable financial hit, taking in $208 million at the global box office, including more than $126 million domestically. The film has also remained a staple on cable TV and streaming in the years since its release. Perhaps not surprisingly, Universal Pictures was, at one point, developing a sequel.

The follow-up was originally announced in late 2012 shortly after the film's successful theatrical run. At the time, it was reported that writer David Guggenheim would return to pen the screenplay. Now, here we are more than a decade later and next to nothing has been said officially regarding "Safe House 2." So, is the movie still happening? Would Washington or Reynolds return? We're here to break down everything we know.

Last year, Spider One – the frontman of Powerman 5000 and the brother of fellow musician/filmmaker Rob Zombie – made his feature directorial debut with the horror anthology Allegoria. In April, his second feature – a horror film called Bury the Bride – was released through the Tubi streaming service. Now The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Spider One is about to go into production on his third horror film… and this one, titled Little Bites, is being executive produced by Cher!

Written and directed by Spider One, Little Bites centers on Mindy, a young widow and mother who tries to protect her daughter Alice from a flesh eating monster named Agyar. Mindy has been secretly sacrificing her own life by allowing the creature to feast on her body as she keeps Alice hidden away at her grandmother’s house.

Krsy Fox of Allegoria and Bury the Bride is playing Mindy and is joined...

Pinewood Group, which runs Pinewood Studios in the U.K., has acquired full ownership of Pinewood Toronto Studios.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the UK-based group has purchased a film and TV studio in Toronto that has its name on the marquee due to a sales and management deal with the facility’s former Canadian stakeholders that began in 2009.

The deal follows majority owner Bell Media putting up for sale its majority stake in the marquee studio where the Star Trek: Discovery series and Guillermo del Toro shoot. The deal for full ownership of Pinewood Toronto Studios landing with the UK group also comes after long negotiations with the city of Toronto and Paul Bronfman, chairman and CEO of studio operator Comweb Corp. to follow suit and sell their minority stakes in the facility.

“We have worked with our partners for many years to create the city’s pre-eminent studio,...

The horror (fictional) podcast is something I haven’t fully got into yet. But that is not due to lack of quality. The few I have listened too I have very much enjoyed – Video Palace from Ben Rock and Bob Derosa is the first that springs to mind – but I just haven’t listened to enough. I could start to right that wrong with The Timekeeper.

The Timekeeper follows 17 year-old Charlie and his friends who after discovering a co-worker has died, get sucked into a video game that may have caused the death.

There’s something about a horror audio drama when it’s made well. Listening on headphones, feeling fully immersed into the story. The sound production on The Timekeeper is great. You’ll hear things from one ear to another, you think you heard something quietly in the background, voices overlap one another. There’s some cool little sound tricks on display.

It’s nearly Christmas, which means it’s time to watch Christmas movies, sip hot chocolate, and cosy up in the pleasant weather. From Scrooge: A Christmas Carol to The Christmas Chronicles 2 here are a list of fun titles on Netflix that are the perfect watch for the holiday season.

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without carol singing, right? Directed by Stephen Donnelly and starring Luke Evans, Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley in lead roles. Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is a Netflix musical animated movie. An adaptation of Charles Dickens novel Holiday Chestnut, the story centres around Ebenezer Scrooge, a selfish miser who is presented with an opportunity to fix his past mistakes and improve his future by an unexpected guest.

Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas

Netflix’s Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas is a lighthearted drama about an interior designer featuring Benjamin Bradley as Mr. Christmas.

Prior to 1989, actor Leslie Nielsen was still best known for playing heavies and villains. Even when he appeared in comedy classics like "Airplane!" in 1980 or "Police Squad!" in 1982, his comedic power was derived from his ability to stay stonefaced while absurdity explodes around him. 1989, however, saw the release of "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!" a film adaptation of the TV show. In that film, Nielsen played the role of Lt. Frank Drebin broadly, doing a lot of mugging and pratfalls. "The Naked Gun" was an enormous hit the year it was released, and Nielsen went full-bore into slapstick roles and spoof movies after that. 

During the 1990s, Nielsen appeared in a litany of gloriously silly flicks like "Spy Hard," "Wrongfully Accused," "Repossessed" (a classic), "Dracula: Dead and Loving It," two of the "Scary Movie" sequels, and many others. Not all of these films were good, but...

The spirit of Santa Claus has been uplifted through actors like Ed Asner ("Elf"), Kurt Russell ("The Christmas Chronicles"), and Tim Allen ("The Santa Clause"), but few come as close to capturing the inherent kindness of Edmund Gwenn in "Miracle on 34th Street." When talks of a "Miracle on 34th Street" remake were coming through the pipelines, I imagine it must have been near impossible to think of anyone who could recapture the same magic as Gwenn, especially since it landed the actor an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He even took part in the actual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1946.

Against all odds, the John Hughes-produced reimagining of the classic story about a kind-hearted figure bringing cheer to a department store at Christmas couldn't have chosen a better successor than that of Sir Richard Attenborough. The 1994 film may not be as critically lauded, but it secured the...

You've seen Santa Claus stand as the epitome of seasonal goodwill in movies like "Miracle on 34th Street" and "The Christmas Chronicles." You've even seen Santa as a foul-mouthed drunk with "Bad Santa." But have you seen him stuff a grenade down someone's pants and watch him go kaboom? Well, it appears you're in luck, as director Tommy Wirkola's "Violent Night" sees David Harbour don the big red suit to take out a group of mercenaries holding a family hostage on Christmas Eve. Could you truly ask for anything more?

When it comes to Christmas movies that take a darker, bloodier path with the ultimate gift giver, there's no shortage of them. Genre flicks like "Santa's Slay," "Christmas Evil," and "Silent Night, Deadly Night" show Santa as a bloodthirsty maniac on a mission. Harbour's interpretation, however, does so not out of a homicidal urge to rack up a body count,...

Producer Ali Afshar and Esx Entertainment has become a big supplier of holiday movies for HBO Max with count ’em, three coming up: two on Thanksgiving — Holiday Harmony and A Christmas Mystery and one one on Dec. 1, A Hollywood Christmas.

Holiday Harmony follows singer/songwriter Gail (Annelise Cepero) who lands an opportunity to compete for a once-in-a-lifetime shot at the big time, and heads cross country—until she breaks down in Harmony Springs, Oklahoma. With just two weeks to get to the iHeartRadio Christmas Eve performance of her dreams, she takes the advice of local Jack-of-all-trades, Jeremy (Jeremy Sumpter), and takes on a group of misfit kids hoping to perform in a Christmas Eve Gala of their own. Gail and Jeremy grow close, but if she’s going to fulfill her lifelong dream, she may have to leave him and the town she’s grown to love behind. Brooke Shields...

‘Tis the season for Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, and Netflix.

The two basic-cable channels and the streaming giant notoriously go in on made-for-tv holiday movies, and this yuletide time will be no exception. But just how crucial to their respective (and very different) businesses is this type of programming, this time of year?

For Hallmark Channel, as is the case for its namesake greeting-card business, December is truly a time to be merry. This year’s “Countdown to Christmas” will premiere 31 new holiday films on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Hallmark Channel’s primetime viewership in the fourth quarter of 2021 was 54 percent higher than in Q3, 62 percent higher than Q2, and 27 percent higher than Q1, according to Nielsen data. The first quarter comes closest to the last for a few reasons: 1) Christmas-movie catch-up viewing, and 2) Another programming stunt: “New Year New Movies!”

For Lifetime, “It’s a...

You could be forgiven for thinking A Christmas Story Christmas is nothing more than a streaming service’s attempt to trade on nostalgia and pad out its offerings. Even its lazy title suggests that it exists solely so HBO Max can give viewers an easy piece of content to click over to after watching Bob Clark’s 1983 original A Christmas Story.

But in a minor Christmas miracle, Clay Kaytis’ sequel is a little more than a quick, cheap cash-in. While it’s not going to take its predecessor’s place on the holiday movie throne anytime soon, A Christmas Story Christmas has its own charms and a sweet spirit that makes it a welcome return to Cleveland Street.

Peter Billingsley returns as Ralphie Parker, now a 40-something adult living in Chicago with his wife, Sandy (Erinn Hayes), and their two kids. No longer a bright-eyed young kid dreaming of a Red Ryder Bb gun,...

Bruce Willis is back with Detective Knight: Redemption, the Christmas-themed sequel to Detective Knight: Rogue.

On Monday (7 November), Lionsgate released the trailer for the second chapter ofthe 67-year-old actor’s thriller trilogy.

The new trailer shows how Detective Knight (Willis) remains in custody after the first movie’s events where he chased a group of bank robbers that killed his partner on Halloween night.

When faced with the mastermind behind the bank robberies, Knight shoots the man and is arrested for murder right after.

As per the synopsis of the new film, Detective Knight: Redemption follows the story of “a jailbreak led by The Christmas Bomber, a brutal fanatic whose Santa Claus disciples are terrorising the city” and Detective Knight “strikes a deal to take out the terrorists in exchange for his reinstatement”.

The film is directed by Edward John Drake, from a screenplay by Drake and Corey Large, and produced by Large,...

Julian Dennison (Godzilla vs Kong), Minnie Driver, James Rolleston (The Dark Horse) and Erana James are set to star in New Zealand coming-of-age tale One Winter from directors Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett.

The title is based on a story by Middleditch, Keith Aberdein and Sonia Whiteman, with Bennett and Whiteman adapting the screenplay. Story is set in New Zealand in 1981 when the arrival of the South African rugby team sets off nationwide protests against apartheid and racism. Josh Waaka (Dennison), a 17-year-old boy of mixed race who has been a passive bystander all of his life, is suddenly forced to stand up for himself, his family and his future.

The film, which is set to begin shooting this summer in New Zealand, is produced by Emma Slade, Sandra Kailahi, Angela Cudd, Angela Sullivan and Alberto Marzan. Troy Lum is an exec producer. Blue Fox is launching international sales here in Cannes this week.

Exclusive: Vito Schnabel (Before Night Falls), Julia Fox (Uncut Gems) and Steven Van Zandt (The Sopranos) have signed on to star in the dark comedy The Trainer, which Tony Kaye (American History X) is directing from a script by Schnabel and Jeff Solomon.

In development for nearly a decade, The Trainer is based on an original story by Schnabel. The film unfolding over eight days of sleep-deprived chaos follows Jack (Schnabel), a down-on-his-luck fitness expert living with his mother in Los Angeles, who takes a maniacal swing at fame and fortune, trying to realize his version of the American dream.

Schnabel, Kaye and Jeremy Steckler are producing, with George Paaswell on board to exec produce. Production will kick off in Los Angeles in early April.

“The idea of the film came into my head about ten years...

Legendary and Warner Bros Pictures have closed deals for four original cast members of “A Christmas Story” — Ian Petrella (Randy), Zack Ward (Scut Farkus), Scott Schwartz (Flick), and R.D. Robb (Schwartz) — to join the sequel to the holiday classic, according to an individual with knowledge of the project. The film’s original child star Peter Billingsley is set to reprise his role as Ralphie in the film.

The new film, intended for HBO Max, is titled “A Christmas Story Christmas” and will take place in the 1970s, 30 years removed from the original film, which was set in the 1940s. It will see an adult Ralphie bringing his own kids to his home on Cleveland Street to give them the same Christmas he had growing up. The film will aim to have the same period attention to detail in re-creating the ’70s as the original film did with the 1940s, and...

Hold onto your leg lamps and protect them with your very life! Legendary and Warner Bros. are giving us a sequel to "A Christmas Story"! 

This is not a drill! The classic 1983 film which I absolutely watch every single year is getting a new chapter, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This film will be called "A Christmas Story Christmas," and a deal is reportedly closing for star of the original film, Peter Billingsley, to play the lead and produce. 

"A Christmas Story Christmas" will be directed by Clay Kaytis and the script comes to us from Nick...

The post A Christmas Story Is Getting A Sequel With Peter Billingsley Returning As Ralphie appeared first on /Film.

Nearly 40 years after it first debuted, the holiday movie classic “A Christmas Story” is finally getting a sequel, with original star Peter Billingsley set to reprise his role and produce. Warner Bros. and Legendary are backing the production.

“A Christmas Story Christmas” will be directed by Clay Kaytis (“The Christmas Chronicles”) from a script by Nick Schenk. Vince Vaughn is also producing, under the Wild West Picture Show Productions banner he runs with Billingsley.

A box office failure when it first premiered in 1983, “A Christmas Story” has become one of the most beloved holiday movies in cinema history. Much of the story’s appeal is its simple, nostalgic story about Ralphie (Billingsley), a 1940s kid who desperately wants a Red Ryder Bb rifle that everyone, including the local mall Santa, tells him will shoot his eyes out. The new film will take place in the 1970s, with the adult Ralphie...

“Lost in Space,” “Cocomelon,” “Home Alone” and “Hawkeye” dominate Nielsen’s SVOD Top 10 lists from Dec. 6-12, proving that family programming is mighty, especially during the holiday season.

Six out of the top 10 movies that week were Christmas-related, with Macaulay Culkin’s “Home Alone” topping the list, amassing 307 million viewing minutes. Its sequel clinched the No. 10 slot, with 184 million viewing minutes. The holiday comedy classic remained popular across generations, with age demographics 2-11, 18-34 and 35-49 each comprising a quarter of overall viewers. Other popular festive titles include Hulu’s “Elf” and Netflix’s “A Boy Called Christmas,” “The Christmas Chronicles” and “The Santa Clause.”

Another family-friendly program that performed well last month is “Lost in Space,” which continued its run as No. 1 in both Nielsen’s overall and original programming SVOD Top 10 lists. It was the only program that week with over 1 billion viewing minutes across its 28 episodes, with...