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The worst thing that ever happened to M. Night Shyamalan's was the August 5, 2002 cover of Newsweek magazine. The filmmaker was red hot coming off the surprise box office success of "The Sixth Sense" and a solid double of a hit in "Unbreakable," and about to pack theaters once again with his blockbuster sci-fi/horror opus "Signs." He was the toast of Hollywood, seemingly on the cusp of becoming a smash-crafting industry unto himself. It was a lot for one guy to deal with before the then prominent publication got completely carried away and declared the then 32-year-old director "The Next Steven Spielberg." Afterwards? It dogged him like a curse.

Shyamalan didn't handle this particularly well. Leaving aside how you feel about M. Night's movies, he followed up the mild disappointment of "The Village" with the strangely hostile "Lady in the Water,...

It’s a surprise to find out that director Audrey Diwan had never seen the original Emmanuelle — a gauzy soft-porn feature that got la toute France hot and bothered when it was allowed to be shown in normal cinemas in 1974 — before she was approached to do this remake, which opens the San Sebastian Film Festival in Competition. In its day, Emmanuelle spawned a string of sequels, each reputedly worse than its predecessors, while star Sylvia Kristel became so immediately famous for taking off her clothes that the expectation blighted her entire career. It also made a huge amount of money.

But what’s most surprising about the fact that Diwan — who made The Happening, which won the Golden Lion in Venice three years ago — had not seen Just Jaeckin’s then-so-scandalous film is that this one seems to be constructed as an answer to it. Both are based on Emmanuelle Arsan’s pseudonymous 1967 novel,...

Even if you’re not a Halloween person, October means spooky season. It feels like every brand, store, — and yes, every streamer, finds ways to incorporate themes of haunting and horror. Disney+ started early, with the September premiere of “Agatha All Along,” which will air new episodes for the next several weeks. In October, the streamer will debut “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” an expansion of the popular Disney Channel series “Wizards of Waverly Place” which aired from 2007 to 2012.

And of course Hulu has “Huluween,” a celebration of the scariest titles either premiering on the streamer for the first time or simply highlighted from its existing library. That includes films like “Late Night with the Devil,” the series “Reginald the Vampire,” FX’s “American Horror Stories”, a Halloween specials from “Family Guy” and “Solar Opposites,” a docuseries on witch hunting, and much more.

Top Pick: “What We Do in the Shadows...

This spooky season, Disney+ and Hulu are conjuring up an exciting blend of scares for every Halloween enthusiast as the comprehensive streaming homes of Halloween with a thrilling variety of spine-tingling premieres, nostalgic classics, and heart-pounding horror for every family member and fan.

Agatha All Along Huluween On Hulu

Huluween returns this October with a fresh selection of frightening content that guarantees to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Whether preparing for a horror-filled binge or seeking thrills for a Halloween watch party, Hulu has assembled a month of chilling entertainment.

Hulu’s standout offerings include the debut of FX’s Grotesquerie, a sinister crime series that blurs the line between horror and psychological thriller, brand new Halloween specials from fan-favorite animated series Solar Opposites and Family Guy, as well as five all-new scary tales from FX’s American Horror Stories, the final season of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows...

Poster for Hulu’s Huluween 2024

Hulu’s set its annual Huluween lineup, which will include Ryan Murphy’s latest FX series Grotesquerie starring Niecy Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance, and Travis Kelce. The Halloween celebration features a new season of American Horror Stories and Halloween specials from Solar Opposites and Family Guy.

The final season of What We Do in the Shadows and Reginald the Vampire season two join Hulu’s lineup, along with Hold Your Breath starring Sarah Paulson. Plus, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, Signs, The Happening, and Unbreakable bring the chills during this year’s Huluween event.

Huluween 2024 on Hulu

FX’s Grotesquerie – September 26, streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for Bundle subscribers

In FX’s Grotesquerie, a series of heinous crimes have unsettled a small community. Detective Lois Tryon feels these crimes are eerily personal, as if someone—or something—is taunting her.

Back in early 2023, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan told Collider, “I have three movie ideas. I even have the structure of all three to some extent. And so it’s a very weird and interesting situation I’m feeling. I wish I could tell them faster. I wish I could get there faster, but there is no shortcut. I have to spend the six to nine months to write it. I have to storyboard for three months, and then we have pre-production, and then shooting it, and edit for as long as I can get every single second.“ Soon after, it was announced that he had secured a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. – and he immediately went to work on his recent thriller Trap. Now that Trap has made its way out into the world, it’s time for Shyamalan to start putting the second of those three movie ideas he said he had,...

After making thin air terrifying again with 2020’s atmospheric and chilling horror film The Invisible Man, Leigh Whannell is taking another bite out of the Universal Monsters rogue’s gallery with Wolf Man. Before everyone logs off for the weekend, Whannell and Blumhouse hit horror fans with a Wolf Man teaser trailer, previewing the filmmaker’s latest bone-chilling horror film.

Today’s Wolf Man teaser trailer begins with footage of a praying mantis stalking an unsuspecting lunch, striking with lightning-fast speed as the meal feels fangs piercing its exterior. As the words Wolf Man steadily slash onto the screen, the footage shows a remote house in Oregon where a mysterious animal waits in the woods. While trying to adjust to their new lives, Christopher Abbott is attacked by what he says is a ferocious wolf-like creature standing on two legs. As the lycanthropy surges through his system, he changes, leaving...

As one of the foremost defenders of oft-maligned films like "Grease 2" or M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening," I've gotten pretty comfortable living on Subjective Film Opinion Island, even if sometimes I'm living alone. While "Alien" and "Aliens" are rightfully considered classics by, well, everyone, the general consensus on the rest of the franchise isn't as predictable. Films like "Alien 3" and even "Alien: Resurrection" have had their reassessments over the years, and "Alien: Covenant" has rightfully taken the crown as the franchise's most misunderstood and underrated.

However, Ridley Scott's first film of his prequel duology, "Prometheus," arguably remains the series' most controversial. When it debuted in 2012, critic Germain Lussier wrote for /Film that the film "ends up feeling like a hundred people tried to shove their own ideas into a single movie." Five years later, Matt Monagle wrote an impassioned defense of the film, declaring it "one...

In 2005, an episode of Adult Swim animated series “Robot Chicken” featured a segment parodying the films of M. Night Shyamalan, who had then just released critical failure “The Village” the previous year. Titled “The Twist,” the sketch depicts Shyamalan as a screeching jokester with a heavy Indian accent who reacts to everything that happens to him and his family by turning to the camera and exclaiming “What a twist!”

For many people, that sketch sums up Shyamalan’s public persona: He’s a man who loves his twist endings. Born in India and raised in Philadelphia, Shyamalan directed a handful of films before 1999’s “The Sixth Sense,” but it was that cultural phenomenon — and the now legendary twist ending that closes it — that introduced him into the popular consciousness. A macabre drama starring Bruce Willis as a child psychologist working with a young boy (played by Haley Joel Osment) who can communicate with the dead,...

The life story behind writer/director M. Night Shyamalan is unlike that of any other major filmmaker working today. Born in India but brought to the United States when he was only six weeks old, Shyamalan wanted to become a filmmaker ever since he got his first Super 8 camera as a child. He had released two little-seen features when in 1999, he made “The Sixth Sense,” a psychological thriller that was successful beyond his wildest dreams, earning over $672 million and bringing him critical acclaim, including nominations from BAFTA, the Golden Globes, Writers Guild, Directors Guild, as well as two Academy Award nominations.

Shyamalan’s box office roll continued with his next two films, 2000’s “Unbreakable” and “Signs” in 2002. But with 2004’s “The Village,” critics began to turn on the filmmaker, citing their disappointment with his plot twist in that movie, a discontent that continued through 2006’s “Lady in the Water” and 2008’s “The Happening.

The life story behind writer/director M. Night Shyamalan is unlike that of any other major filmmaker working today. Born in India but brought to the United States when he was only six weeks old, Shyamalan wanted to become a filmmaker ever since he got his first Super 8 camera as a child. He had released two little-seen features when in 1999, he made “The Sixth Sense,” a psychological thriller that was successful beyond his wildest dreams, earning over $672 million and bringing him critical acclaim, including nominations from BAFTA, the Golden Globes, Writers Guild, Directors Guild, as well as two Academy Award nominations.

Shyamalan’s box office roll continued with his next two films, 2000’s “Unbreakable” and “Signs” in 2002. But with 2004’s “The Village,” critics began to turn on the filmmaker, citing their disappointment with his plot twist in that movie, a discontent that continued through 2006’s “Lady in the Water” and 2008’s “The Happening.

This article contains light spoilers for Trap.

It’s no spoiler to say that M. Night Shyamalan makes a cameo appearance in his latest movie Trap. After all, Shyamalan shows up in all of his movies, a tribute to his hero Alfred Hitchcock. But as much as he wants to follow in the footsteps of the master of suspense, Shyamalan has the heart of an ’80s schlockmeister.

For evidence, look no further than Trap. Yes, the film has a Hitchcock-worthy premise, in which suburban dad Cooper (Josh Hartnett) finds the pop concert he’s attending with his pre-teen daughter interrupted by police hunting a serial killer called the Butcher. The problem? Cooper is the Butcher, which audiences learn when he checks in on one of his victims via remote camera.

Trap has its tense moments, but its real fun comes from trashier bits, elements that feel straight out of...

Film directors acting in the films they make is neither rare nor new. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were doing it during the silent era, and as more artists like Orson Wells, Ida Lupino, John Cassavetes, and now Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper got into the act (literally), it's hardly surprising for audiences to see a movie written by, directed by, and starring the same person.

However, there also exists the parallel concept of the director's cameo, which is distinguished from the acting directors because the concept of a cameo itself is an elastic idea — ranging from a brief, non-verbal appearance to an entire supporting role. Unlike a filmmaker playing the lead or a co-lead in their own feature, a director making a cameo appearance in their own film tends to have a meta aspect to it: they know you know who they are, so their appearance in and of...

Few directors inspire more ire than M. Night Shyamalan. Famed for his twists and turns, Shyamalan’s meteoric rise can only be matched by his shocking fall. There was a moment when he was framed as the next Steven Spielberg. Unfortunately, a string of poor movies left many unwilling to engage with his future hits. Whether he’s inconsistent or very particular, Shyamalan has survived in Hollywood, with Trap becoming movie number 16 in his storied career. We’re ranking his movies with Trap‘s release, and helping put your expectations in check.

16. The Last Airbender (2010)

One of the most frustrating blockbusters of the last thirty years, Shyamalan proved the wrong choice from the jump. He tried to put his stamp on the series, and failed in pretty much every way. Poor visuals and poor acting (aside from Asiv Mandvi & Dev Patel) killed any chance of a franchise. Beyond that, the...

As a filmmaker, M. Night Shyamalan has been a household name for 25 years, starting in 1999, when he ruled the end of the summer with “The Sixth Sense.” You can basically divide the Shyamalan oeuvre into four periods. There was the era when he was an A-list visionary who some compared to Spielberg. There was the era when he began to lapse into self-parody, and when the whole notion of the Shyamalan twist ending became less an entertainer’s trademark than a sign of the rut he was in.

There was the period when he left all that behind to reinvent himself as an anonymous sci-fi craftsman. And then there was the comeback era that began with “Split” (2016), his big hit featuring James McAvoy as a chatterbox psycho with multiple-annoying-personality disorder. From that point on, the Shyamalan brand regained a kind of parody of its former luster. People were coming out to see his films again,...

Likely the burden of precedent never lifts from M. Night Shyamalan, whose name became noun, adjective, and verb more-or-less the moment The Sixth Sense landed with shockwaves a quarter-century ago. As certain narratives about his career waned, others emerged: a has-been for whom more than one obituary was penned with delight; a gradual return through better-than-expected genre fare; now a full-blown second act as the rare, maybe-single-digit American filmmaker producing original material (basically) geared towards adult sensibilities. And still explaining to friends my being especially excited for Trap has yielded questions, perplexed looks, slight disdain. (I’m hardly so efficient at summarizing plots as a studio-cut trailer.) If “the beach that makes you old” was the perfect film-as-meme to reintroduce us to cinemas post-covid, whatever strange powers were offered by the work itself fell on fewer ears and sparser attentions.

Far be it from me to say Shyamalan needs further...

A new episode of the Awfully Good Horror Movies video series has just been released, and with this one we’ve decided to take a look at the M. Night Shyamalan misstep known as The Happening (watch it Here). You can hear all about it in the video embedded above!

Written and directed by Shyamalan, who also produced the film alongside Sam Mercer and Barry Mendel, The Happening has the following synopsis: An apocalyptic threat to humanity arrives out of the clear blue sky with a series of violent, inexplicable deaths spreading across the country. The cause of the terrifying phenomenon remains unknown, prompting science teacher Elliot Moore, his wife Alma, and his colleague Julian to try to elude the invisible killer in Pennsylvania’s farmland. Soon it becomes clear that no one is safe.

The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley, Ashlyn Sanchez, Frank Collison,...

As a guy from Philadelphia, I've always felt a kinship with M. Night Shyamalan. The filmmaker who made plot twists hip again is a Philly guy, and a large chunk of his movies are set in the City of Brotherly Love. As a result, when I watch an M. Night movie, I often spot locations that are overly familiar to me. This turns me into the "pointing Leo" meme, and I sit up, point at the screen, and say "Hey, I know where that is!" It's like a little treat. But beyond Shyamalan's penchant for using Philadelphia as a setting, I also just really enjoy his films. I'm proud to say that I stuck with the filmmaker while others turned on him, and I was thrilled when he began what is considered his big comeback starting with "The Visit" and continuing with "Split." After being written off by many critics and moviegoers,...

Rarely does a filmmaker require so little introduction as M. Night Shyamalan, whose name essentially became noun, adjective, and verb the moment “The Sixth Sense” landed with shockwaves a quarter-century ago. Though it’s standard operating procedure to note the strange arc of his career — delirious successes, mid-career work treated by the general public as follies that nevertheless earned cult-like acclaim, and a years-long “comeback” finally turned to revived mainstream acceptance — that trajectory’s only emboldened with “Trap,” which, more than a gangbusters thriller, is perhaps his purest piece of entertainment in decades.

Even more than “Old” or “Knock at the Cabin,” “Trap” finds Shyamalan in full-tilt thriller mode—certainly to the greatest extent since 2017’s “Split” at the least, this time (wisely) free from much of that film’s psychology or pathos. Burdens of expectation will never escape the writer-director, but even by this metric “Trap” offers the distinct...

Betty Buckley, the Tony-winning and Grammy-nominated actor and singer, has signed with Sugar23.

Best known for her performances in on stage, particularly for her soaring rendition of “Memory” in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats,” Buckley has also been active in television, film and as a concert performer. Next up, Buckley will star in A24’s “Eternity” opposite Miles Teller and Elizabeth Olsen. She also is the creator, writer and star of the short animated film “The Mayfly,” which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival.

Sugar23 was founded in 2017 by Michael Sugar, an Oscar-winning manager-producer who has helped bring the likes of “Spotlight,” “Dickinson,” and “13 Reasons” to screens.

Other theater roles include Buckley’s Olivier-nominated performance as Norma Desmond in the West End production of “Sunset Boulevard” (she later played the part on Broadway). She also starred in the original Broadway production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” as well as in the cult musical “Carrie.

When it came to reworking the horror genre with a modern twist, M. Night Shyamalan achieved great success with his breakthrough film in Hollywood, The Sixth Sense. He followed up this Oscar-nominated effort with the equally impressive Unbreakable in 2000, and Signs in 2002, which further cemented his place as filmmaker with a niche approach to horror and supernatural narratives.

Hollywood filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan (image credit: Gage Skidmore/Cc By-sa 2.0/Wikimedia Commons)

As the law of averages always dictates, his subsequent efforts in The Village and The Happening did not garner the kind of responses he had would have hoped for. Despite these films crashing at the box office, fans still remember many of his iconic scenes from his early films. One particular scene in Signs still makes viewers’ blood curdle even after 22 years of its release.

This Scene From Signs Is Still As Chilling As Ever

For jumps scares in...

At the start of 2023, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan secured a multi-year deal with Warner Bros., and soon after that deal was made, we heard that his first movie for Warner Bros. would be Trap, a “psychological thriller set at a concert”. That project made its way through production toward the end of last year, with lead roles going to Josh Hartnett, fresh off his appearance in Oppenheimer, and Shyamalan’s daughter Saleka. The film is now set to receive an international release on July 31st, with its domestic release to follow on August 2nd – and with those dates right around the corner, the Motion Picture Association ratings board has revealed the rating for the film. While Shyamalan describes the film as “What if The Silence of the Lambs happened at a Taylor Swift concert?”, we now know that the movie won’t be quite as hard-edged as The Silence of the Lambs was,...

Known as the master of twists, M. Night Shyamalan is now one of the most recognized horror filmmakers, and we bet you have seen at least one of his scary flicks, including Signs (2002), The Happening (2008), Split (2016) and Knock at the Cabin (2023).

Shyamalan’s upcoming Trap is already considered one of the best movies of 2024, even though it’ll be aired only in August. However, while we’re waiting for it, it’d be curious to revise one of his creepiest horrors that is now climbing HBO’s global top.

Its plot revolves around teen siblings Becca and Tyler, who are sent to their maternal grandparents’ remote farm to meet them for the first time and have a weeklong rest.

The more time they spend with the couple, the more disturbing behavior they face from them. It turns out that the grandparents hold a number of shocking secrets that will keep...

Leading French production company Rectangle Productions, whose credits include Audrey Diwan’s Golden Lion-winning The Happening and upcoming San Sebastian opener Emmanuelle, has started legal proceedings to enter into a potential partnership with finance and sales company Goodfellas, in the latest evidence of consolidation in the European production sector.

Rectangle said the aim of the legal initiative is “to preserve the integrity of the Rectangle brand and its production savoir-faire, while resolving its current financial difficulties, notably linked to the Covid impact”.

Company founder Edouard Weil told Screen the measures are “technical” as the company continues “advanced discussions” with Goodfellas.

Director M. Night Shyamalan has earned quite a reputation as both a visionary filmmaker and the king of twist endings, and oh- how could I forget that he also makes some very whack movies? It’s interesting to think that the same genius who made The Sixth Sense also made The Happening. However, one thing that cannot be debated is that this man has also made some extremely awesome movies. One of those movies has been begging for a breakdown of this show since the very beginning. An unmistakable classic that unknowingly started a trilogy and uprooted comic book cinema in a very unexpected way. Today, we’re talking about Unbreakable.

After surviving a freakish train crash- David (played by the great Bruce Willis) seems to be the only person who wasn’t killed. In fact, he wasn’t even hurt in this horrendous wreck. Now, David is a pretty normal guy.

Mark Wahlberg had a lot of regret in terms of movie projects he made in the past, but nothing as embarrassing as his streak of flop films. The actor notably starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening in 2008, which of course, failed critically.

Mark Wahlberg in Max Payne / 20th Century Studios

He booked another project that he thought would finally save his career, but John Moore’s Max Payne only worsened his bad luck. The movie also tanked miserably both at the box office and critic reviews.

Mark Wahlberg Thought Max Payne Will Save His Career

During his interview with Hollywood.com at the 2008 Comic-Con, actor Mark Wahlberg raved about his new Max Payne film after suffering from the failure that was M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening. He indirectly slammed the movie by claiming Max Payne saved him from utter embarrassment.

I remember The Happening had just come out,...

Early in Faye, Laurent Bouzereau’s entertaining portrait for HBO of screen legend Faye Dunaway, Bette Davis in a Johnny Carson clip names her without hesitation as the one star with whom she would never work again. Considering this is clearly a very authorized and deeply respectful bio-doc, it’s surprising how candidly it digs into the star’s reputation for being temperamental and demanding. Dunaway even plays into it herself — the first words we hear are her impatiently nudging the director to roll cameras on the present-day interview that binds the many recollections and self-reflections together.

“We need to shoot; I’m here now, come on,” says an exasperated Dunaway. Seated on a comfortable-looking sofa in an airy New York apartment living room, she huffs, “This is the worst seat in the world. I’m not happy with anything here.” But when she then snaps, “I need a glass of water,...

Prior to 1999, the phrase "sixth sense" typically referred to a keen sense of intuition, often so powerful as to be considered a supernatural power. The definition, however, was broad, and people could be said to have "a sixth sense" about, say, predicting horse races. Since the release of M. Night Shyamalan's 1999 ghost story "The Sixth Sense," however, the phrase now more commonly refers to one's ability to see and communicate with the dead. The film was that popular. At any rate, that's the superpower possessed by the young Cole (Haley Joel Osment), something that causes a great deal of consternation to his psychologist Malcolm (Bruce Willis). How can one treat a child when mutilated ghosts are randomly appearing to him?

"The Sixth Sense" also boasted a notorious twist ending wherein it was revealed that [Redacted] was [Redacted]. It was a shocking twist that few might have predicted. Luckily, "The Sixth Sense...

Late in the highly entertaining and enlightening new HBO Documentary Films movie on the life and career of Faye Dunaway we learn how much this iconic star just loves coming to the Cannes Film Festival. “Just about every year,” she says — not only for the world’s best films but also to immerse herself in all aspects of filmmaking. I have seen her many times just soaking it all up cinematically both here in Cannes and Telluride, to name two fests.

So it seems appropriate that the Cannes Classics section would be the place for the World Premiere Wednesday night — in the presence of Dunaway as the French like to call it — of this terrific new docu in which Dunaway pretty much tells it all straight about her life, loves, desires, ambitions, movies, co-stars, depression, controversies, family and hopes for the future in a profession she says she can’t imagine not working in.

10. Remember Me (2010)

Robert Pattinson’s Remember Me remains a serious romance drama for the vast majority of its duration. A troubled rich kid falls in love with a NYPD Detective’s daughter; they go through a lot together and admit their feelings to each other… And then, out of absolutely nowhere, he dies in the 9/11 attack. The end. Seriously?

9. Lucy (2014)

Scarlett Johansson's Lucy explores the classic “people are only using 10% of their brains” scenario. Thanks to the experimental drug, a drug mule gains access to many skills and knowledge… Fast-forward: she evaporates, meets the first human, sees the Big Bang, and stores All Knowledge Ever on a bloody Usb, of all things.

8. The Happening (2008)

Mark Wahlberg’s The Happening has an interesting approach to the apocalypse: all over the world, people start killing themselves. The situation looks serious, more and more people die by their own hands… As it turns out,...

Eco-horror isn’t a sub-genre that gets talked about a ton unfortunately. It can be anything from animals attacking due to their sudden craving of human flesh like Grizzly or even just due to man not putting enough respect on the name of nature like in Long Weekend. The hey day of these is undoubtedly the 70s with things like Prophecy, The Swarm, Piranha, Phase 4, and a few other standouts. While the output certainly slowed down, there are more than a few standouts in the late 90s and even 21st century. We can’t seem to stop screwing up the planet and as we do, we get reminded that the planet may just fight back in ways like what is shown in Day After Tomorrow or to a hilarious degree in The Happening. A unique one that failed to make its budget back, even with good reviews and scores, is...

There is not a more divisive filmmaker working today than M. Night Shyamalan. Everyone can basically agree that his 1999 breakthrough "The Sixth Sense" is a supernatural classic, but after that? Slip on the brass knuckles and get ready to rumble. Shyamalan's early 2000s hits "Unbreakable" and "Signs," along with his 2017 comeback "Split," generate the least amount of friction, but aside from those three, it's so very on. You'll hear reasonable defenses for just about all of his films (save for the singularly atrocious "The Last Airbender"). While it's hard to sway folks on a movie as wackadoodle as "The Happening," it is only a good thing to have a major filmmaker knocking out provocative original movies for major studios.

Shyamalan's latest provocation, "Trap," will be his first project under his first-look deal with Warner Bros., and as is typically the case with a new Shyamalan movie, we know next to nothing about it.

Santa Monica, CA – Keep your new best friend forever when Imaginary arrives on Electronic Sell-Through May 7 and Blu-ray™ (+ DVD and Digital), and DVD from Lionsgate. Imaginary stars Chauncey the Bear, Blumhouse’s latest horror icon, now ready to play in your imagination at home! But remember, Chauncey is not imaginary, and not your friend. Alongside Chauncey are his human castmates DeWanda Wise (Jurassic World Dominion), Tom Payne (“The Walking Dead”), Taegen Burns (“The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers”), Pyper Braun (Desperation Road), Betty Buckley (Carrie), Matthew Sato (“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”), and Veronica Falcón (“Ozark”).

When Jessica moves back into her childhood home with her family, her youngest stepdaughter, Alice, finds a stuffed bear named Chauncey. As Alice’s behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica intervenes only to realize that Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be.

Lionsgate and Blumhouse...

Something is going Bump at Warner Bros. Animation, with President Bill Damaschke looking to turn the studio’s reputation around with an exciting announcement. A new animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat wants to play at WB, and cast members are already creating chaos and giving nervous fish a panic attack. Saturday Night Live and Barry star Bill Hader plays the Cat, with Quinta Brunson, Bowen Yang, Xochitl Gomez, Matt Berry and Paula Pell starring as primary cast members.

Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja direct the new feature version of The Cat in the Hat from a script they wrote. Hoping to cause family-friendly havoc in theaters on March 6, 2026, The Cat in the Hat focuses on an imaginative cat trying to cheer up a pair of siblings who’ve moved to a new town. As the adventure unfolds, the Cat introduces the children to his friends,...

Oscar-nominated Greek director and filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos is certainly keeping busy. With last year’s Poor Things starring Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe winning multiple Academy Awards, and his next film Kinds of Kindness, also starring Stone, Dafoe, and Jesse Plemons, releasing later this year, the Greek filmmaker is already working on his next project, a remake of the 2003 award-winning South Korean sci-fi comedy, Save the Green Planet!.

The original movie was written and directed by Jang Joon-hwan and tells the story of a man called Lee Byeong-gu, who kidnaps another man convinced that he is actually an alien. The movie won numerous awards in Asia and the world back in 2003, although it never became a global hit due to the fact that Korean cinematography was not as popular back then as it is now. The remake of the movie will be directed by Lanthimos and produced by fellow director Ari Aster,...

Sam Mercer, producer on several M. Night Shyamalan movies and former head of Ilm, died Feb. 12 of younger onset Alzheimer’s in South Pasadena. He was 69.

Raised in Weston, Mass., he attended Occidental College and then started working as a location manager on 1980s classics including “Stripes,” “The Escape Artist,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Swing Shift,” “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “The Witches of Eastwick.”

He joined the Walt Disney Company as a production executive, supervising films including “Good Morning Vietnam,” “Three Fugitives” and “Dead Poets Society.” He then became VP of motion picture production at Hollywood Pictures, where he oversaw releases including “Quiz Show,” “The Joy Luck Club,” “Born Yesterday,” “Swing Kids,” “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” and “Arachnophobia.”

Mercer then worked as an independent producer, starting with “Congo,” “The Relic” and “Mission to Mars.” After working with Shyamalan on “The Sixth Sense,” then went on...

Sam Mercer, who produced eight M. Night Shyamalan films starting with the spooky blockbuster The Sixth Sense, has died. He was 69.

Mercer died Feb. 12 at his home in South Pasadena after a battle with younger-onset Alzheimer’s, his wife, Tegan Jones, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Mercer was seen as an out-of-the-box hire when he joined Industrial Light & Magic in September 2015 to oversee and coordinate activities of the VFX giant’s studios in San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Singapore. However, he left the next year after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Mercer began his career as a location manager on films including Stripes (1981), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987).

He joined Disney and was a production executive on such features as Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and Dead Poets Society (1989), and as a production vp at Hollywood Pictures, he oversaw the release of films...

Sam Mercer, who produced seven M. Night Shyamalan films including The Sixth Sense, headed Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic and was location manager on several classic 1980s pics, has died. He was 69.

His wife Tegan Jones told Deadline that Mercer died February 12 of younger-onset Alzheimer’s.

“He was the best big brother I could have hoped for,” Shyamalan said in a statement. “He made every movie a family, and I’ve tried to emulate that in every film since.”

Mercer moved to Los Angeles from Weston, Ma, to work in the movie industry. He began his career as a location manager on such 1980s gems as Stripes, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Peggy Sue Got Married and The Witches of Eastwick before moving to Walt Disney Studios.

Paul Reubens in ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ (1985)

There he worked as a production executive, supervising movies including Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society,...

Following the success of Poor Things, Emma Stone is set for her next movie. This shows her career is going strong, with her getting important roles in big projects back to back. She is once again collaborating with Yorgos Lanthimos—marking their fifth project together.

Emma Stone as Bella Baxter in Poor Things

It’s been recently confirmed that Stone and Lanthimos will team up for his next film Kinds of Kindness. That’s not all. The actress has also agreed to star in Lanthimos’ remake of the South Korean fantasy comedy Save the Green Planet.

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Emma Stone Lands Yet Another Role in a Yorgos Lanthimos Film

Emma Stone is discussing starring in Yorgos Lanthimos’ remake of South Korean fantasy comedy Save the Green Planet.

A still from...

Emma Stone, who just won a BAFTA for her performance in “Poor Things” and is nominated for an Oscar, is in talks to reunite with Yorgos Lanthimos on his remake of South Korean fantasy comedy “Save the Green Planet.”

The project, which is expected to start shooting in the summer in the U.K. and New York, has been in the works for several years. Jang Joon-hwan, who directed the original South Korean movie, was previously attached to helm the English-language remake, based on a screenplay by Will Tracy, whose credits include HBO’s “Succession” and Searchlight’s “The Menu.”

An eccentric black comedy, the story of “Save the Green Planet” revolves around a disillusioned young man who captures and tortures a businessman whom he believes to be part of an alien invasion. A battle of wits ensues between the captor, his devoted girlfriend, the businessman and a private detective.

“Poor Things” director Yorgos Lanthimos will reteam with Element Pictures on a remake of South Korean fantasy comedy “Save the Green Planet,” Variety has learned.

Lanthimos — whose latest film, “Poor Things,” is nominated for 11 Oscars and just won five BAFTAs (including best actress for Emma Stone) — is expected to start shooting the movie in the U.K. and New York this summer. Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe at Element Pictures will produce the movie alongside Ari Aster’s Square Peg and Cj Enm (previously named Cj Entertainment). It will mark the sixth collaboration between Lanthimos and Element Pictures.

The long-gestated project, which seems to be a perfect Lanthimos vehicle, is an eccentric black comedy involving a disillusioned young man who captures and tortures a businessman whom he believes to be part of an alien invasion. A battle of wits ensues between the captor, his devoted girlfriend, the businessman and a private detective.

The Vanderpump Rules Season 10 finale, aptly titled “#Scandoval,” concluded with a dramatic exchange between Tom Sandoval, two-timing paragon of Angeleno scumbaggery whose five-percent ownership stake in one of West Hollywood’s seediest bars made him think he was the second coming of Steve Rubell, and Scheana Shay, an aspiring pop star/vlogger who will fall head over heels for you if you mount a TV in under seven minutes.

During this coda, we saw Scheana — tears streaming down her face, because of course — read Sandoval for filth over his clandestine...

Amazon MGM‘s Play Dirty is ready to announce its female lead for director Shane Black’s upcoming film. Joining Mark Wahlberg for Black’s crime thriller is Rosa Salazar. Lakeith Stanfield also stars, with a script written by Black, Anthony Bagarozzi, and Chuck Mondry.

According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, Play Dirty focuses on the “professional thief Parker (Wahlberg), who, after being double-crossed and left for dead, sees his hunt for revenge bring with it a shot at the biggest heist of his career. But even with the help of his partner, actor-slash-con artist Grofield (Stanfield), he’ll still need to outsmart a South American dictator, the New York mob, and the world’s richest man if he hopes to stay alive.”

Rosa Salazar’s Play Dirty role remains a mystery. However, the film is inspired by Donald E Westlake’s Parker crime novels, written under the pseudonym Richard Stark.

Elliot Silverstein, known for directing films such as “Cat Ballou” and “A Man Called Horse,” died on Nov. 24 in Los Angeles, his family confirmed via Legacy. He was 96.

After working on episodes of TV series like “The Twilight Zone,” “Naked City” and “Route 66,” Silverstein made his feature directorial debut in 1965 with “Cat Ballou,” which starred Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin. Silverstein suggested Marvin play Kid Shelleen when Kirk Douglas turned down the role in the Western comedy. When a producer wanted to replace Marvin with José Ferrer, Silverstein threatened to quit. Marvin ended up winning an Oscar for his role in the film.

Silverstein went on to direct the Anthony Quinn-led “The Happening,” “A Man Called Horse,” starring Richard Harris, and the cult classic “The Car” with James Brolin. He was also integral in forming the Bill of Creative Rights for directors.

While working on his “Twilight Zone” episode “The Obsolete Man,...

M. Night Shyamalan's thirty-year-plus career has gone through many highs and lows — from rising to prominence as an innovative auteur to becoming a parody of himself with a string of unsuccessful studio sludge, then experiencing a comeback through the lo-fi horror genre. Whether he's viewed as a critical darling or a critical punching bag, Shyamalan continues to deliver suspenseful stories that delve into the darkest, most emotional corners of the human psyche.

After his masterpiece "The Sixth Sense" thrust him into the spotlight, Shyamalan became synonymous with supernatural thrillers that deliver a gobsmacking twist, turning the world of the film completely upside down. But soon these astonishing final revelations became an expectation that not every film was able to deliver, even becoming ridiculously absurd.

Watching all of Shyamalan's films makes it clear how he uses the paranormal to uncover the core of our humanity. These ghostly or science fiction...

Possession movies, much like zombie movies, are a dime a dozen. They follow most of the same tropes and aesthetics established in part by William Friedkin's "The Exorcist." This is to say, there are not many movies that can make the sub-genre feel fresh. 

"When Evil Lurks" is one such movie. Demián Rugna's follow-up to "Terrified" is a bigger, more ambitious movie, and one that is quite cruel and gory. Most impressively, the film has quite a robust worldbuilding that becomes more complex and terrifying as the film reveals more. There's not much in terms of exposition, but you know just enough about what is going on beyond our protagonist to be interested in learning about this messed-up, bleak, Fulci-esque nightmare world where no adult, child, or dog is safe.

Set in rural Argentina, "When Evil Lurks" follows two brothers (Ezequiel Rodriguez and Demián Salomon) who find a...

Hot on the heels of “vengeful orca summer” comes The Swarm, a new sci-fi drama that wonders — and then giddily illustrates — what would happen if all forms of marine life decided they had had enough of humans destroying their environment. It’s kind of like The Happening, minus the clueless lead, or Barry Levinson’s 2019 eco-horror film The Bay, which will absolutely ruin seafood for you.

The following contains major spoilers for both Bird Box: Barcelona and Bird Box.

Much to some viewers delight (and others’ annoyance), Netflix’s buzzy horror saga, which has grown out of a 2018 zeitgeist-y hit into a bonafide franchise via this weekend’s Bird Box: Barcelona, continues to take its cues from The Blair Witch Project. That is to say, they never show us the damn monster! Or in Bird Box’s case, monsters or creatures, plural.

This is of course thematically sound. The characters of both Bird Box (directed by Susanne Bier) and Bird Box: Barcelona (from writer-directors David Pastor and Alex Pastor) cannot gaze upon the creatures terrorizing them without being driven to suicide. So why would the movie show us? Netflix can’t have 45 million dead viewers on its hands after all!

But just because we never see the creatures, doesn’t mean we don’t learn anything about them.

Succession star Alan Ruck reveals in an exclusive with uInterview his thoughts on the show’s finale.

While he did enjoy acting on the show he noted that, “[creator] Jesse [Armstrong]’s right to end it now. I think we’ll go out on a real high. I think it’s the best season we’ve done, really, and then we’ve done some pretty good stuff, you know. But I think it’s our best season. I think he’s smart to end it now, we’ll go out on a high note. I’ll miss everybody but that’s how it goes.”

Ruck has played Connor Roy since the show started in 2018. His character is the eldest son of Logan Roy and Logan’s first wife, whom he divorced. Throughout the show, he and his siblings, Roman, Kendall and Shiv, fight for control of their father’s company, Waystar Royco.

Veteran actor George Maharis, known for roles in “Route 66” and “Fantasy Island”, has died at 94 years old.

Maharis’ longtime friend and caretaker, Marc Bahan, took to Facebook to announce his death, revealing the actor died on Wednesday, May 25.

“George Maharis passed away on Wednesday, May 25. George is well known for his stardom in route 66, stage productions, singing, artist, and above all a great guy would do anything for anyone. My dear friend, you’ll be terribly missed,” Bahan wrote.

In the 1960s drama series, “Route 66”, Mararis played the role of Buz Murdock. He starred in the production for its first three seasons and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Series.

“Route 66” – Martin Milner, George Maharis/Everett Collection

The actor, born and raised in Astoria, Queens, served 18 months with the U.S. Marines before pursuing a career in entertainment.