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The Simpsons has crossed over with a number of other TV shows over the years, including Futurama, Family Guy and The X-Files. It’s happened so many times at this point that it’s hard to believe that the mere suggestion of inviting Jay Sherman from The Critic onto an episode was the subject of a major behind-the-scenes controversy. Side note: How can anyone be mad at an episode that gave us “Man Getting Hit by Football?”

Well, now The Simpsons gang are once again co-mingling with another popular show that falls under the Disney corporate umbrella: ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

According to Disney, the December 9th game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Dallas Cowboys will be presented in traditional fashion, but it will also be available to stream in a version set in the world of Springfield.

Yes, in the “Funday Football” stream, the Bengals will be coached by Bart,...

John Trafford-Owen, former executive at Studiocanal and Paramount Pictures, has joinedZygi Kamasa’s True Brit Entertainment as head of theatrical sales.

Trafford-Owen was previously head of theatrical distribution at Studiocanal UK as well as sales director for the UK and Ireland at Paramount Pictures International and United International Pictures UK. More recently, Trafford-Owen has worked withGower Street Analytics, Anton Capital,RealD, Dolby Cinema and IMAX.

True Brit has also hired Kate Willoughby as its senior marketing manager and Rob Barnes as head of home entertainment.

Willoughby began her career at Momentum Pictures and went on to work with distributors including Universal Pictures,...

Anand Tucker’s The Critic is a crime drama that shifts gears a little too soon. Jimmy Erskine, played by Ian McKellen, was known for his blatant savage commentary, and while some relished his harsh criticism, thespians dreaded him. The first half dealt with Erskine’s self-obsession and compulsive need to feel powerful and validated, but it soon escalated into something a little too dark for the premise to handle. Jimmy Erskine felt threatened after the new editor-in-chief, Viscount Brooke, warned him to tone down his criticism. This was perhaps the first time anyone had dared to question Erskine’s style, and he did not know how to react to it. He refused to live in constant fear of losing his job, and at the same time, he was hellbent on sticking to his style. It was the 1930s, and homosexuality was considered a crime. One night, Erskine was drunk...

The general consensus on "The Simpsons" is that it started to go downhill somewhere between seasons 7 and 10. Some fans will argue that the first ten years are the real golden age, while others will point to season 3 to 7 as the real sweet spot. Either way, almost all fans will surely agree that "The Simpsons" stopped being good at some point.

For those superfans who remember buying the DVD box sets just to listen intently to the commentary tracks (this writer may or may not be included in that group), you might recall the season 10 episode "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" as a real hinge moment for the series. I distinctly remember then-showrunner Mike Scully having to sweat through the commentary track while a palpable sense of disappointment slowly built. This was, after all, the episode where Mr. Burns travels to Scotland and actually captures the Loch Ness monster, bringing the...

RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Oct 4-6)Total gross to dateWeek 1. Joker: Folie à Deux (Warner Bros) £5.7m £5.7m 1 2. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros) £1.1m £22.8m 5 3. Speak No Evil (Universal) £408,214 £4.8m 4 4. The Substance (Mubi) £358,000 £2.2m 3 5. The Outrun (Studiocanal) £319,542 £1.1m 2

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.31

Warner Bros blockbuster Joker: Folie à Deux topped the UK-Ireland box office on its opening weekend; but its £5.7m start was 54.9% down on the £12.6m opening of the 2019 first film.

Folie à Deux took an £7,826 average from 725 cinemas – also down 58.2% on the £18,734 average from 671 sites of Joker.

A potential yardstick for Folie à Deux’s performance is 2021 comic...

A decent September saw the UK-Ireland box office reduce its year-on-year deficit from -15% at the start of August 2024, to -10% by the end of September.

Although still down on last year at this stage, the four weeks in September 2024 brought in £60.1m, up 21% on the equivalent weeks of September 2023.

UK-Ireland top 10 titles September 2024 Rank Title Distributor September gross Total gross Release date 1 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Warner Bros £21.6m £21.6m 06/09/24 2 Speak No Evil Universal £4.4m £4.4m 13/09/24 3 Lee Studiocanal £3.1m £3.1m 13/09/24 4 Prima Facie - Nt Live 2022 (2024 re-issue) National Theatre Live £2.6m £2.6m 06/09/24 5 Deadpool & Wolverine Disney £2.1m £57.4m 26/07/24 6 It Ends With Us...

Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (Sep 27-29) Total gross to date Week 1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros) £1.8m £21m 4 2. Speak No Evil (Universal) £641,119 £4m 3 3. The Substance (Mubi) £420,495 £1.5m 2 4. Lee (Studiocanal) £400,612 £2.8m 3 5. The Outrun (Studiocanal) £397,526 £449,025 1

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.34

Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun scored a top five spot on its opening weekend at the UK-Ireland box office; as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice held top spot for a fourth successive weekend, and Megalopolis opened outside the top five.

Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice added £1.8m – a slim drop of just 27.2%, that brings it to just shy of £21m. It is now the eighth-highest-grossing 2024 release,...

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” continues to dominate the U.K. and Ireland box office, maintaining its top position for the third consecutive week. The Warner Bros. sequel generated £2.4 million ($3.2 million) over the weekend, bringing its total to £18.2 million ($24.4 million), per numbers from Comscore.

Universal’s “Speak No Evil” held steady in second place, earning £813,890 in its sophomore frame for a cumulative £2.8 million. Mubi’s new release “The Substance” debuted in third with £591,247. Studiocanal’s “Lee” moved down to fourth place in its second week, adding £556,465 for a £1.8 million total.

There was a tie for the fifth spot. The 10th-anniversary re-release of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” from Warner Bros. opened with £453,921, while Universal’s”Despicable Me 4″ continued its strong run, tying “Interstellar” with £453,921 for the weekend and pushing its 11-week total to £46.6 million.

Signature Entertainment’s “200% Wolf” debuted at seventh place with £237,037. Long-running hits “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “It Ends With Us...

Sir Ian McKellen ain’t one to take a bad review lying down, especially if he knows it’s completely off the mark. After all, being a knight of the realm and a legend on stage and screen doesn’t mean you have to quietly nod along when a critic tears into your performance. McKellen firmly believes that actors have every right to push back if a review feels unfair or unearned.

Sir Ian McKellen l Image by Gage Skidmore, licensed under Cc By-sa 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

With decades of acting prowess under his belt, he knows when a critique is off-target. For him, standing up against a bad review isn’t about vanity—it’s about defending the craft. McKellen’s stance? Sometimes, critics need to be reminded that even they aren’t beyond reproach.

Sir Ian McKellen Fights Back Against Critics in The Critic—At 85, He’s Not Holding Back!

RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Sep 13-15)Total gross to dateWeek 1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros) £2.5m £18.2m 3 2. Speak No Evil (Universal) £813,979 £3m 2 3. Lee (Studiocanal) £555,529 £1.8m 2 4. The Substance (Mubi) £519,668 £591,322 1 5. Despicable Me 4 (Universal) £369,840 £46.7m 11

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.32

Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice continued its reign at the UK and Ireland box office this weekend as it crossed the £18m mark while Mubi body horror The Substance opened in fourth place.

The Beetlejuice sequel dropped 42% in its third week to bring in £2.5m and push its total up to £18.2m. It will likely enter the UK top 10 highest-grossing films of 2024 within the next week.

Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” held the lead at the U.K. and Ireland box office for a second consecutive weekend, earning £4.2 million ($5.6 million) for a cumulative total of £14.4 million ($19 million), according to numbers from Comscore.

Universal’s newcomer “Speak No Evil” secured the second position with a £1.4 million debut, while Studiocanal’s “Lee” entered the chart at number three with £705,643.

The National Theatre’s re-release of filmed play “Prima Facie – Nt Live 2022” landed in fourth place, adding £556,470 to its total of £1.4 million. Universal’s “Despicable Me 4” continues its strong run in fifth place, earning £389,929 in its 10th week for a total of £46.2 million.

Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” follows in sixth, adding £359,588 for a cumulative £56.6 million over eight weeks. Lionsgate U.K.’s new entry “The Critic” debuted at number seven with £353,075. Sony Pictures’ “It Ends With Us” placed eighth, earning £327,196 for a total of £20.8 million, while Disney’s...

There wasn’t much of a chance that any of the new movies would give Tim Burton and Michael Keaton‘s reunion for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” a run for the top spot. Read on for the weekend box office report.

Sure enough, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” was the number-one movie for a second weekend in a row with $51.6 million, down 54% from its opening weekend, bringing its domestic total to $188 million in North America. Overseas, it added another $28.7 million, which helped bring its international total to $76.3 million and worldwide box office to $264.3 million. We’re definitely going to have to wait to see how well this holds up against upcoming movies like “Transformers One.”

James McAvoy starred in the Blumhouse remake of the Danish horror film “Speak No Evil,” which Universal released into 3,375 theaters with strong reviews, currently at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite a strong premise, the latest Blumhouse only brought in $1.3 million in...

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.) had an unexpectedly strong second weekend. With just under $52 million, it fell 54 percent (quite decent from a $111 million start), and a domestic total of $188 million in just 10 days.

Its take made up just over half of the U.S./Canada estimated gross of $95 million. That’s up 50 percent from last year, with year to date totals now 12 percent below last year.

The “Beetlejuice” 36 years-later sequel now looks certain to top the original film’s grosses, adjusted to current ticket prices. “Twisters” (Universal), released earlier this summer, was a similar legacy project, though with a different cast. As big as it was ($266 million domestic so far), that’s about half of the adjusted total for the 1996 original.

“Beetlejuice,” however, is faring similarly to “Twisters” overseas. With the film open around most of the world, its foreign take so far is only $76 million, a smaller gross compared to domestic.

Gemma Arterton and Ian McKellen in The Critic

Director Anand Tucker and screenwriter Patrick Marber's 1930s period drama The Critic, sees Sir Ian McKellen step into the shoes of Jimmy Erskine, the chief theatre critic of the Daily Chronicle newspaper. The most feared critic of his time, he seeks to entertain his readers with scathingly witty takedowns of any actor or production that fails to meet his standards.

After the death of his father, David Brooke (Mark Strong) takes over the Chronicle. He and Erskine immediately clash as he tries to make it a family-friendly newspaper. He lets go of some of the old guard writers, and makes a simple request of Erskine: "Be kinder." The veteran critic can't abide it and, after being arrested for homosexual transgressions, he loses his job. In order to take back power from Brooke, he makes a deal with actress Nina Land (Gemma...

Jimmy Erskine (Ian McKellen) has never minced words in his decades-spanning career as the poison-quilled theater critic for London’s Daily Chronicle. When a maligned actress, Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), confronts her nemesis in the street, demanding to know whether she’s really as “appalling” on stage as he’s alleged in print, he responds, with a half-apologetic look of disgust as he recalls her past performances, “I’m afraid so.” Could she have expected mercy? This is, after all, the man who wrote of her on-stage death scene that “when Miss Land finally, blessedly, expires, her death is akin to a deflated dirigible.”

So, let’s take a tip from Jimmy and speak plainly: Despite its perfect grenades of one-liner takedowns, Anand Tucker’s The Critic is nothing short of a mess. It’s only the winking malice of Sir Ian’s title character that prevents it from imploding entirely,...

Directed by Anand Tucker and written by Patrick Marber, The Critic is a period thriller film adapted from Anthony Quinn’s 2015 novel Curtain Call. The film features an outstanding cast, including legendary stage and screen actor Ian McKellen as the notorious theatre critic Jimmy Erskine, while Gemma Arterton stars as the beleaguered actress Nina Land. Mark Strong is David Brooke, the son of a newspaper proprietor while Lesley Manville portrays Nina’s mother, Annabel Land.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year. Following its initial screenings, the film underwent some reshoots and tweaks after festival audiences found the original cut too dark in tone, leading to a slightly lighter version being released.

The film is set in the cutthroat world of 1930s London theatre, where Jimmy Erskine reigns supreme as the most feared and respected critic. His acerbic reviews are known to make or break careers,...

Warner Bros.’ “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” conjured a dominating £7.3 million ($9.6 million) opening weekend in the U.K. and Ireland, easily claiming the top spot at the box office, according to numbers from Comscore.

Ahimsa Entertainment’s Tamil-language film “The Greatest Of All Time” (“Goat”), starring Vijay, debuted in second place with £768,842.

Sony’s “It Ends With Us” held strong in its fifth week, landing at number three with £668,902, pushing its total to £20.1 million. Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” continued to perform well in its seventh frame, adding £661,592 for a £55.9 million cume.

Rounding out the top five, Disney’s “Alien: Romulus” scared up another £570,708 in its fourth weekend, bringing its total to £12.1 million.

Universal’s “Despicable Me 4” showed staying power in sixth place, collecting £543,555 in its ninth week for a £45.7 million total. Warner Bros.’ “Blink Twice” landed in seventh with £331,425 in its third weekend, accumulating £2.62 million overall.

Disney’s “Inside Out 2” took the eighth spot,...

Gemma Arterton has revealed that she once had to resist pressure from an unnamed director to film a sex scene that was written to take place off-camera.

Arterton, who has performed alongside Daniel Craig in James Bond movie Quantum of Solace and is currently starring in The Critic, said she “flat out” rejected the director’s demand.

In an interview with The Radio Times, the actress said: “I remember being on a set once and the director said, ‘You’re going to shag on the bed.’ And I said, ‘No, this scene was written for us to be off-screen, so you just hear the noises. I’d never have accepted the role if it was going to be filmed.’

“He put pressure on us on the day. The other actor, God bless him, was mortified. There were very high-profile people there.”

Arterton said she only felt able to push back...

The U.K. and Ireland box office reached £120.2 million ($158.2 million) in August, marking the highest monthly total since July 2023’s £160 million ($210.5 million) “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, per numbers from Comscore. Year-to-date figures now trail 2023 by 12%, an improvement from the 15% deficit at the month’s start.

Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” dominated with £29.7 million, pushing its total to £55.3 million. The sequel now ranks as the third-highest grossing 15-rated release, behind only Warner Bros.’ “Joker” (£58.2 million) and Universal’s “Oppenheimer” (£59.7 million).

Sony’s “It Ends With Us” secured the second spot with £19.4 million, becoming 2024’s seventh-highest grosser. The romantic drama marks Blake Lively’s biggest U.K. release to date. Universal’s “Despicable Me 4” claimed third place, adding £16.9 million for a £45.2 million cume. The animated sequel is tracking close to its predecessors’ lifetime totals.

Disney’s “Alien: Romulus” debuted at fourth with £11.5 million, becoming director Fede Alvarez’s top-grossing film and 2024’s highest-earning horror release.

“I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide.”

The immortal words spoken by Gandalf the White in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as he returns to his friends in the Fellowship.

And it seems that Sir Ian McKellen could be coming back to his beloved role as J.R.R. Tolkien’s wizard after revealing that he had been approached about featuring in the new Lord of the Rings films.

McKellen told The Big Issue: “Enthusiasm for The Lord of the Rings shows no sign of abating … I can’t tell you any more than that. I’ve just been told there are going to be more films and Gandalf will be involved and they hope that I’ll be playing him.”

The 85-year-old actor, who is recovering from falling off stage in Player Kings in London’s West End, added: “When? I don’t know.

Maybe Matt Groening was saying “boo-urns.”

Back in the 1990s, comedy shows collaborating to make crowd-pleasing crossover episodes was all the rage. Friends and Mad About You connected their comedy universes via Phoebe’s twin sister Ursula. Steve Urkel from Family Matters crashed the Tanner household in a Full House episode. The Jeffersons appeared on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air twice — that’s double the visits of Will’s dad. While these kinds of very special episodes may not have been the most artistically inspired publicity stunts, these marketing department’s delights certainly weren’t anything worthy of shame or derision, let alone a full-scale press tour from either show’s creator as they disowned the project like it’s a nefarious failson who committed treason against the crown. That is, unless you ask Groening.

Leading up to the airing of the iconic Season Six Simpsons episode “A Star Is Burns,...

The Simpsons Golden Age is generally considered to have lasted from the show’s first episode all the way to sometime around Season 10, but the peak of Simpsons animation barely lasted longer than Homer’s studies at Springfield A&m.

The Simpsons Season Five came during a period of major change for the franchise that would survive another 30-plus years without freshening up the formula too much. David Mirkin stepped into the role of showrunner after the former Simpsons co-heads Al Jean and Mike Reiss left to produce their own series, The Critic, a show that would famously cross-over with The Simpsons a season later. In fact, following the finale of Season Four with the klassic episode “Krusty Gets Kancelled,” much of the show’s original writing staff left to work on other projects, and The Simpsons would lose yet another comedy powerhouse halfway through production on Season Five when...

Sir Ian McKellen is now the most feared drama critic on the West End thanks to his turn in “The Critic.”

McKellen leads the adaptation of Anthony Quinn’s 2015 novel “Curtain Call,” which centers on an aging — but iconic — journalist who teams up with an actress (Gemma Arterton) to exact revenge on his newspaper’s new owner (Mark Strong). The film is set in 1934 London.

“The Critic” is written by Academy Award nominee Patrick Marber and is directed by Anand Tucker (“Hilary and Jackie,” “Shopgirl”).

The official synopsis reads: “Jimmy Erskine (McKellen) is the most feared theatre critic of the age. He lives as flamboyantly as he writes and takes pleasure in savagely taking down any actor who fails to meet his standards. When the owner of the Daily Chronicle newspaper dies, and his son David Brooke (Strong) takes over, Jimmy quickly finds himself at odds with his new boss and his position under threat.

“The Critic” is a 2023 Brit-produced period thriller, directed by Anand Tucker, based on the book “Curtain Call” by Anthony Quinn, starring Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Lesley Manville, Romola Garain and Ben Barnes, releasing September 14, 2024 in theaters:

“…in 1934 London, an actress finds herself in a dark situation…

“… involving a theatre critic…

“…and his paper's editor…”

Click the images to enlarge..

Have you ever noticed how Tommy from Rugrats sounds just like one of the Powerpuff Girls? Or that Scooby-Doo and Astro from The Jetsons speak very similar dog languages?

Hollywood’s voice-acting community is full of really talented people who can churn out a bunch of different voices, but that doesn’t mean they don’t occasionally have characters that end up sounding exactly alike (it doesn’t help that this group of performers is relatively small).

To that end, here are 10 sets of cartoon characters whose voices are practically interchangeable…

10 Scooby-Doo and Astro

The Jetsons, which debuted as a prime-time show in 1962, is considered a classic today, but it didn’t gain that status until the 1980s when it re-debuted on Saturday mornings with new episodes. And so, when Scooby-Doo came along in 1969, six years after The Jetsons was canceled, voice actor Don Messick thought nothing of re-using Astro...

Transmission Films has released an international trailer for The Critic, which is an adaptation of Anthony Quinn’s novel Curtain Call.

An official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023, The Critic centers on Jimmy Erskine (Ian McKellen), the Daily Chronicle‘s most famous and featured theatre critic of the age; David Brooke (Mark Strong), with whom he clashes after recently inheriting the paper; and a young actress, Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), who is devastated by Jimmy’s recent negative review of her.

As the three become entangled in a whodunnit wrapped in a Faustian pact, their strange triangle winds tighter and tighter to devastating effect for all those caught in the deadly web of blackmail and betrayal.

The cast includes Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Ben Barnes, Alfred Enoch, Romola Garai, and Lesley Manville.

The Critic was directed by Arnand Tucker from a script by Patrick Marbert.

Exclusive: With Ian McKellen on the mend after wrist and neck injuries he suffered when he fell from the stage during a performance of swashbuckling Shakespearean drama Player Kings in London’s West End, the beloved star is eying a return to work.

No, the knighted thespian won’t be treading the boards anytime soon, but Deadline can reveal that the actor will do some last-minute “danger free“ post-production voice work for murder mystery movie The Critic in which McKellen stars as Jimmy Esrkine, a puffed up, once great first-night drama reviewer. McKellen stars alongside Gemma Arterton as Nina Land, a struggling West End ingénue who witnesses something she shouldn’t have seen.

Mark Strong, Alfred Enoch, Lesley Manville, Ben Barnes and Romona Garai co-star.

Lionsgate UK struck a distribution deal with Zygi Kamasa’s True Brit Entertainment to...

Netflix has debuted the trailer for the highly anticipated sixth and final season of ‘Cobra Kai.’

With Cobra Kai eliminated from the Valley, our senseis and students must decide if and how they will compete in the Sekai Taikai — the world championships of karate.

(L to R) Peyton List as Tory Nichols, Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz, Mary Mouser as Samantha Larusso, Griffin Santopeitro as Anthony Larusso. Cr. Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix © 2024 (L to R) Tanner Buchanan as Robby Keene, Peyton List as Tory Nichols, Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz, Mary Mouser as Samantha Larusso. Cr. Curtis Bonds Baker/Netflix © 2024

Season 6 stars Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Martin Kove, Xolo Maridueña, Jacob Bertrand, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Peyton List, Gianni DeCenzo, Courtney Henggeler, Vanessa Rubio, Dallas Dupree Young, Yuji Okumoto, Alicia Hannah-Kim, Griffin Santopietro, Oona O’Brien.

(L to R) Nathaniel Oh as Nate, Mary Mouser as Samantha Larusso, Dallas Dupree Young as Kenny,...

"You're a maniac with a death wish!" "I'm a critic! I have power and influence." True Brit Ent. has revealed an official trailer for an intricate, indie thriller titled The Critic, made by filmmaker Anand Tucker. Not to be confused with Tarantino's project also titled The Critic, which is no longer in development anyway. This film first premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival and it also played at the British Film Festival. It's now set for its UK debut in September. The Critic is a deliciously dark & sharp-witted thriller, written by Patrick Marber and featuring an all-star British cast including Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Ben Barnes, Alfred Enoch, Romola Garai, and Lesley Manville. Wow. Set in 1930s London, revolves around a feared theatre critic named Jimmy Erskine, his loyal assistant, a newspaper owner who wants to get rid of the critic and an actress who has been...

True Brit Entertainment has debuted the trailer for the British film ‘The Critic’

Based on Anthony Quinn’s novel Curtain Call, the movie tells the story of Jimmy Erskine (Ian McKellen), the most feared and famous theatre critic in 1930s London, saving his most savage takedowns for Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), an already unsure leading lady.

London, 1934. When the most feared and vicious theatre critic in town Jimmy Erskine (McKellen), finds himself suddenly in the cross hairs of the Daily Chronicle’s new owner David Brooke (Strong), he strikes a Faustian pact with struggling actress Nina Land (Arterton) who is desperate to win his favour.

Directed by Anand Tucker, the movie stars Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Ben Barnes, Alfred Enoch, Romola Garai and Lesley Manville.

Also in trailers – “Hope you like flying…” Trailer drops for ‘Flight Risk’

The movie hits cinemas on September 13th.

The post “Watch your backs…...

We tend to get a lot of spurious news stories claiming that The Simpsons somehow prophesied major events. Which is obviously ridiculous. If the makers of The Simpsons were able to see into the future, they probably would have handled the Apu controversy differently and just might have reconsidered the episode predicated on the idea that it would be fun to watch Bart palling around with Michael Jackson.

But now the predictors have become the predicted: Some news outlets, including The New York Post and People, are reporting that Marge Simpson’s image has been discovered on the lid of an ancient coffin.

Which sure sounds like a bullshit story designed to lure you into clicking on an article full of ads for boner pills, but it’s kind of true. Experts found a significant historical find, but everyone on the internet just sees Marge Simpson. Yeah, that’s totally Marge Simpson.

If there is anything that history has taught us, it is that talent is often stalked by doubt. It is as though the world desperately seeks a layer of falsity when someone is really good at something. They want the satisfaction of being able to say, ‘I knew it was a ruse!’ Unfortunately, Martin Scorsese is no stranger to such questions.

Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas | Warner Bros Pictures

Even though he has been regarded as one of the greatest talents of all time, many overly analyze his poor decisions of the past as proof that what is raw talent, is just a clever con. However, one of the most infamous instances of such questioning crossed several lines.

So much so, that beloved director, Guillermo del Toro, felt the need to speak out in support of Scorsese.

Lines Were Cross and Martin Scorsese Became...

So far, 2024 has been much better for television than expected, given the impact of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023. However, there was one genre that viewers were desperate to see more of, and that was period dramas. Aside from Bridgerton, there weren't too many premieres to be excited about in the first half of the year.

The second half, however, has some very interesting titles that you might want to check out. Here are 8 of the most promising period drama premieres to look forward to in the coming months of 2024.

Winter Palace

A co-production of Switzerland's RTS1, Play Suisse and Netflix, Winter Palace takes viewers to the snowy mountains and luxurious hotel of the early 1900s. The show lands in a sweet spot between a typical period drama and the modernity of The White Lotus, offering a different take on the aristocracy of the time.

The show was scheduled...

Lionsgate UK has struck a distribution deal with Zygi Kamasa’s True Brit Entertainment to release Anand Tucker’s The Critic in the UK and Ireland.

Set in 1930s London, the film stars Ian McKellen as a vicious theatre critic who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actress, played by Gemma Arterton. Mark Strong, Ben Barnes and Lesley Manville co-star.

It will be released in theatres on September 13.

The Critic premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 and was acquired by True Brit for the UK on the condition the film was re-edited and key cast were brought back...

Lionsgate and True Brit Entertainment will bring Ian McKellen’s The Critic to UK cinemas this September. More on the story below.

Lionsgate and True Brit have partnered up to release The Critic, director Anand Tucker’s new film, in UK cinemas, according to Deadline.

The film follows Ian McKellen’s ruthless theatre critic and the cast also includes Gemma Arteron, Mark Strong, Alfred Enoch, Romola Garai and Lesley Manville. The script was penned by Patrick Marber, based on Anthony Quinn’s novel.

Screen Daily reported in early 2024 that The Critic would be True Brit Entertainment’s first UK film release as a distributor, but it seems that the company has now joined forces with Lionsgate for The Critic’s release.

The Critic had its world premiere at Toronto Film Festival in 2023, where it received mixed reviews (though McKellen’s performance was well received).

“This taut and gripping thriller, led...

Lionsgate UK has locked a deal with Zygi Kamasa’s True Brit Entertainment to release the Ian McKellen pic The Critic.

The studio will release the feature in UK and Irish cinemas on Friday 13 September.

The film stars McKellen alongside Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong, Alfred Enoch, Romola Garai, Ben Barnes (Shadow and Bone) and Lesley Manville.

Set in 1930s London, the pic is described as “a thrilling tale of ambition, blackmail, and desire with a dazzling anti-hero at its heart.” The synopsis reads: When the most feared and vicious theatre critic in town Jimmy Erskine (Mckellen), finds himself suddenly in the cross hairs of the Daily Chronicle’s new owner David Brooke (Strong), he strikes...

Although "The Simpsons" has a reputation as a show that's been dragged out long beyond its natural life span (never mind that it's still given us some banger episodes in recent seasons), it's worth noting that Fox easily could've milked the franchise way more than it has. As the show itself parodied in season 8's "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase," there were all sorts of shameless spinoff ideas Fox easily might've tried. Why not attempt its own "Frasier" or "Better Call Saul" or "Young Sheldon"? With such a massive hit as "The Simpsons" on its hands, why was the 2007 movie the most ambitious thing we ever got?

Turns out, it wasn't for lack of trying. Fox was genuinely interested in cashing in even more on the success of "The Simpsons," and creator Matt Groening made at least some attempt to pitch them ideas. As "Simpsons" writer and former showrunner Mike Reiss...

Exclusive: Gersh has signed actor Ben Barnes for representation in all areas.

Barnes can be seen in BAFTA-winning director Anand Tucker’s crime drama The Critic, opposite Mark Strong, Ian McKellen, and Gemma Arterton, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival. It’s set for release in the UK on September 13.

Barnes is maybe best known for his lead role as General Kirigan in Eric Heisserer’s popular Netflix series Shadow and Bone, based on the bestselling novels by Leigh Bardugo.

Prior to Shadow and Bone, Barnes starred opposite Crispin Glover in a mind-bending episode of Guillermo Del Toro’s Emmy nominated anthology series, Cabinet of Curiosities and most recently played a lead role opposite Salma Hayek, Michael Cera, and Himesh Patel in the latest season of the award-winning Netflix series Black Mirror. His other recent credits include the lead role of Benjamin Greene in the BBC limited series Gold Digger,...

Mel Brooks will receive this year’s Career Achievement Award at the 84th Peabody Awards, and Quinta will be honored with the Peabody Trailblazer Award. Both received a unanimous vote of the Peabody Board of Jurors and will be recognized at the June 9 awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

“Mel Brooks is not only one of the most beloved comedians of all time, but he literally set the standard for television comedy from its earliest days. Across TV, film, theater, and recordings, Mr. Brooks is in a league of his own. And Quinta Brunson has emerged as a refreshingly creative force in network television comedy,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody. “Peabody is proud to honor Mel and Quinta not only for their extraordinary contributions as storytellers, but particularly for their use of comedy to tell stories that matter, enriching the lives of so many.”

The Career Achievement Award is...

Gemma Arterton, the British stage and screen star perhaps best known for playing Bond girl Strawberry Fields in “Quantum of Solace,” is set to star in upcoming period adventure thriller “Storm Witch.”

The independent U.K./Ireland co-production, to be directed by David Blair (a BAFTA winner for “Taking Over the Asylum” and “The Street”) from a screenplay by Tristan de Vere Cole, is being launched at the Marche du Film in Cannes later this month, with Myriad Pictures handling pre-sales.

Arterton, who also starred in “The King’s Man” and recently appeared in the Toronto-bowing “The Critic,” will lead a cast that includes Chloe Pirrie (“The Queen’s Gambit”), Stuart Martin (“Army of Thieves”), Kate Dickie (“Prometheus”) Steven Cree (“Outlander”) and Kevin McKidd (“Grey’s Anatomy”). The film is set to be shot later this year, primarily in Ireland.

Set in the 17th century, “Storm Witch” centers on a small coastal community...

"The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour" is likely not remembered by many people, except for Billy Crystal himself. The variety/talk show ran from January 30 through February 27 in 1982, lasting a grand total of five episodes. Crystal was already a successful comedian and beloved figure in the industry thanks to the popularity of his 1970s stand-up work and his role in the 1977 sitcom "Soap," so he had connections. He was able to secure guest appearances from many of his famous comedian friends, including Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Robin Williams, and John Candy for the debut episode. Subsequent guests included Morgan Fairchild, the Manhattan Transfer, Nell Carter, Shelley Duvall, Cindy Williams, Al Jarreau, and Smokey Robinson. 

"The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour" fell right in between "Soap" and "Saturday Night Live" on Crystal's professional timeline, and it might be considered something of a dip in his career. The show was canceled after only two episodes aired,...

Chris Besseling, former marketing lead at eOne and Pathé UK, is joining Zygi Kamasa’s True Brit Entertainment as head of theatrical distribution, marketing and publicity.

Besseling is one of the distribution and financing outfit’s first major hires, with True Brit’s speedily expanding slate including Marching Powder, The Scurry, Giant, The Critic and Gurinder Chadha’s Christmas Karma.

He will be based in London and report to Kamasa.

Throughout his career Besseling has been responsible for launching over 200 films at the UK and Ireland box office. He has also held posts at Metrodome, the BFI, Optimum Releasing and consulted for Studiocanal.

When Futurama premiered on Fox in March 1999, it did so almost a decade after Matt Groening had broken open the gates of modern mainstream TV animation with The Simpsons. The intervening 10 years had seen more mature animated fare on the small screen, from the edgy Ren and Stimpy to the cult favorite The Critic. Though The Critic was created by two longtime Simpsons writers (and led to a moderately controversial crossover between the two), Futurama marked Groening’s first new series since The Simpsons.

In George Lucas' 1977 sci-fi flick "Star Wars," there is a scene wherein a cadre of Nazi-like bad guys, in the employ of the evil Empire, gather around a boardroom table and mention that the mysterious off-screen Emperor has dissolved the senate and taken absolute control. The military generals are outraged, wondering how the Empire might survive without a bureaucracy in place. In Irvin Kirshner's 1980 sequel "The Empire Strikes Back," it's established that Darth Vader (David Prowse), a mysterious masked warlock, was actually the Emperor's right-hand man, indicating that the Emperor retains control of the Empire through the sheer force of his villainy.

In "The Empire Strikes Back," the Emperor appeared in holographic form to have a powwow with Darth Vader and plan his next move. In the original cut of the movie, the Emperor was played on screen by actress Marjorie Eaton, outfitted with eerie, alien eyeballs. Eaton was a long-working character performer in Hollywood,...

Zygi Kamasa’s True Brit Entertainment has acquired UK rights to Morgan Matthews’s 500 Miles starring Bill Nighy and Jojo Rabbit’s Roman Griffin Davis from Beta Cinema.

Billed as a road movie with heart, 500 Miles follows two young brothers running away from trouble at home in England to reach their estranged grandfather (Nighy) on Ireland’s wild west coast.

The film is being prepped to shoot in Kerry, Ireland in the summer.

Matthews, director of X+Y (A Brilliant Young Mind) and documentary Williams, will direct from a script by Malcolm Campbell, based on the novel Charlie And Me by Mark Lowery.

Production has begun in Sardinia on Italian director Louis Nero’s futuristic drama Milarepa, starring Harvey Keitel. The US’ Orwo Studios is handling sales to the film and talking to buyers at the EFM.

Keitel joins a cast that also includes F. Murray Abraham, Angela Molina, Iazua Larios, Al Yamagouchi, Michael Ronda and Bruno Bilotta.

Milarepa takes place in a ‘no tech’ future and follows the story of a young girl who must disguise herself as a boy in order to exact revenge on her father’s family for enslaving her and her mother. The story is inspired by a...

UK sales outfit Reason8 has added erotic sports drama Her Body to its European Film Market (EFM) slate, from Czech filmmaker Natalie Cisarovska.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia co-production is based on a true story, and follows a talented high diver, getting ready for the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, played by Slovakian star Natalia Germani. After suffering a serious vertebra injury, she is forced to end her sports career, and starts up a career in pornography.

Producers are Czech Republic’s Viktor Schwarcz and Slovakia’s Katarina Krnacova.

True Brit revamping ‘The Critic’ for UK release; Zygi Kamasa talks slate,...

Gilles Bourdos’ Cross Away, starring Vincent Lindon, a French remake of Steven Knight’s 2013 film Locke that starred Tom Hardy, is being launched at the EFM by Newen Connect.

Lindon plays the head of a construction company who takes a series of telephone calls in his car during one long night. The voices of his wife, his mistress, his boss and his co-worker and will be played by Micha Lescot, Pascale Arbillot, Gregory Gadebois, Brigitte Catillon and Cédric Kahn. Curiosa Films is producing.

Also in post for Newen is Marie-Hélène Roux’s second feature Mending Lives about real-life Congolese doctors Denis Mukwege,...

Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival has appointed Teresa Cavina as its artistic director.

Cavina joins with over twenty years of experience in programming and artistic roles at festivals including Locarno, El-Gouna, Rome, Venice and Abu Dhabi.

Mediterrane Film Festival’s second edition takes place from June 22-30 in Valletta.

The festival will have four programming strands: In Competition, featuring films from across the Mediterranean; Out of Competition, featuring films from the rest of the world; Mare Nostrum - ‘Our Sea’, showcasing narrative and documentary films dedicated to sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions - a selection of experimental VR projects.

US investment giant RedBird Imi has agreed a £1.2bn deal to buy super-indie All3Media.

The deal, announced today, will see the Jeff Zucker-led Red Bird Imi take ownership of the producer-distributor from current owners Warner Bros Discovery and Liberty Global for £1.15bn.

Redbird Imi, a joint-venture between RedBird Capital Partners and Abu Dhabi-based International Media Investments, will now have control over the London-based company which commands some 50 international production labels, including Studio Lambert, Raw TV, Two Brothers Pictures, Silverback Films and houses some of the biggest titles in global TV, such as The Traitors, Squid Game: The Challenge and The Tourist.