Jacob Hall
‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ Star James Best Dead at 88
Prolific character actor James Best, most known for playing the bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard, has passed away from complications following a battle with pneumonia. He was 88 years old.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Furious 7’ Smashes April Records
The early estimates for the opening weekend gross of Furious 7 are all over the place and we probably won’t have a definitive number until tomorrow, when the dust finally settles and everyone gets a chance to breathe. However, this one thing we know for sure: the seventh film in the Fast and Furious series didn’t just shatter in-franchise records, it shattered records for any April release.
The Next ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ Trailer Will Premiere at Star Wars Celebration
Since Star Wars: Episode 7 is probably the most anticipated movie of the past decade or so, Disney and Lucasfilm were wise to turn the premiere of the first trailer into a bonafide event. Fans flocked to theaters early in the morning just to catch a glimpse of the first footage from the film. Some crazy people (including yours truly) went to a special event where it was screened 40 times in a row. So how do you follow that up? By premiering the next trailer at the world’s biggest Star Wars fan convention and then attaching the preview to the second most anticipated movie of the year.
Weekend Box Office Report: The Box Office Goes ‘Home’
In one of the strongest box office weekends of 2015 so far, both Home and Get Hard opened strong while Insurgent and Cinderella continued to perform well. This was the rare weekend that literally offered something for everyone, with R-rated comedies and animated family fare exceeding expectations.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Insurgent’ Can’t Beat ‘Divergent’ Opening
What does a movie studio want out of its sequels? Is a sequel a failure if it simply matches its predecessor or does it need to make more money? That’s the big question that’s swirling around Insurgent, which made almost exactly as much as Divergent did one year ago. Seriously: there’s only a $500,000 difference in their opening weekends. So is Insurgent a success or a disappointment?
‘Mission: Impossible 5’ Trailer: Tom Cruise Battles a Rogue Nation
The first Mission: Impossible 5 trailer has arrived and it contains all of the high-flying derring-do you’ve come to expect from this series. It also reveals the actual title of the movie: Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, which is almost as good as Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol in the “awesomely silly spy title” category.
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Cinderella’ Reigns Supreme as Liam Neeson Turns Into a Pumpkin
Suddenly, Disney’s upcoming live action version of Beauty and the Beast is looking like a very wise move. After all, their new take on Cinderella shook the box office out of the doldrums, launching with numbers that feel more at home with the summer than March. Yes, it even took down that might spring movie season titan Liam Neeson.
20 New ‘Star Wars’ Books Will Bridge the Gap Between ‘The Force Awakens’ and ‘Return of the Jedi’
With Star Wars: Episode 7 less than a year away, Disney and Lucasfilm are facing a conundrum: just how many billions do they want to make from ancillary merchandise? Get ready for Star Wars bedsheets and Star Wars lunch boxes and, of course, countless new Star Wars action figures. You will be able to fight other adults in the toy aisle at Target like never before! However, Star Wars aficionados hoping to celebrate their fandom in a quieter way will also have their fair share of options, namely 20 new books bridging the 30-year gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
Read Zachary Quinto’s Heartbreaking Tribute to Leonard Nimoy
When he passed away last week at the age of 83, Leonard Nimoy was mourned by actors, artists, politicians, scientists, engineers, astronauts and even the President of the United States. That should tell you something. Few characters have had such a seismic impact on popular culture as Star Trek’s Spock and countless people all over the world felt like they had lost a friend. Amidst the countless tributes, there is now one that stands out: a brief but powerful remembrance from Zachary Quinto, who picked up the Spock mantle in 2009’s Star Trek and its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.
‘Ghostbusters 3’ Can Still Happen, According to Dan Aykroyd
When it was revealed that director Paul Feig was going to reboot Ghostbusters with an all-female cast, the general assumption was that Ghostbusters 3 was dead and buried. Gone forever. Kaput. Never to be mentioned again. But, Dan Aykroyd never got that memo. Aykroyd, who co-wrote and starred in the original films, has spent years talking up Ghostbusters 3 and he’s not going to let silly little things like an actual, official, studio-sanctioned remake with a cast and release date get in the way.
The Wrap Up: ‘Frozen’ is Officially Becoming a Broadway Musical
ScreenCrush wraps up the latest in movies and TV you might have missed. Today, Frozen finally makes its move to Broadway, a Space Invaders movie (!) gets a writer, and a ranking of all of Djimon Hounsou’s sidekick roles.
New Study Says Binge Watching is For the Sad and Lonely
In news that should surprise approximately no one, a new study from the University of Texas at Austin has discovered that “binge-watching” has been linked to depression, loneliness, and the inability to make wise decisions, like getting off the couch and doing anything else. Researchers Wei-Na Lee, Yoon Hi Sung and Eun Yeon Kang surveyed 316 people between the ages of 18 and 29, asking them about their mental and emotional states while they marathoned TV shows on Netflix (the study defined binge-watching as at least three episodes in a row).