Back to the Future, Pretty in Pink, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Back to the Future turns 35 this year. To celebrate, Amblin Entertainment is releasing a new box set sporting a 4K restoration with a number of goodies and pinball machine parts. One of the big sells to the set, however, is never-before-seen footage featuring the likes of Ben Stiller and Jon Cryer auditioning to play Marty McFly. Yeah, this is definitely heavy stuff. So heavy that news of the footage has since caught the attention of Stiller and Cryer. Stiller humbly admitted that Michael J. Fox was “never in jeopardy”, ultimately contending that he “blocked out this memory.” However, Cryer’s reaction was a little different; in fact, he hit 88 miles per hour on his own memory banks, detailing an earlier ...
“Cool.” “Riveting.” “Gripping.” “High-Octane Thrill Ride!” All cliches of film criticism and yet all feelings we’ve experienced while watching a crackerjack summer blockbuster. Oops, there we go again. All things considered, any moviegoer can speak to the divine feeling of sitting in a cool, packed theater in the heat of the summer and being united by narrative. Not just united, but hypnotized, mentally convinced that the fate of the world is before your eyes, and there is nothing more important in that very moment. It’s escapism. It’s popcorn. It’s Chinatown. But also, it’s the power of spectacle. Over the years, Hollywood has certainly run that concept through the ringer, having turned what used to be a summer blockbuster season into, well, an entire calendar year. Now, all those aforeme...
Some movie theaters across the US have begun the process of reopening, face masks required. However, as new titles, like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, aren’t out until the end of July, cinemas are opting to screen old summer classics as a way to lure back potential moviegoers. It made for a big weekend for Steven Spielberg. The legendary director found himself with both the first and second highest-grossing movies of the weekend in the form of Jurassic Park and Jaws, notes The Hollywood Reporter. Spielberg’s 1993 Jurassic Park earned an estimated $517,642 from 230 locations. Following close behind was Jaws, Spielberg’s 1975 hit, which brought in $516,366 from 187 locations. A handful of Spielberg’s other movies also raked in a sizable amount this past weekend, including E.T. Th...
“I love the idea that you can go into a house and your grip on reality starts to loosen,” says director and screenwriter David Koepp, who confesses, “I feel like I’ve been telling that story for 25 years, but what can you do? You like what you like.” Over Zoom, the Hollywood veteran weighs in on the parallels between his latest film You Should Have Left and his previous directorial efforts, particularly 1999’s Stir of Echoes and 2004’s Secret Window. He’s not wrong: All three films revolve around troubled male protagonists left to their own devices as they dig deeper holes for themselves. But Koepp is also being modest. After all, you don’t become one of the most successful screenwriters of all time by telling the same damn story again and again — and, to be frank, he hasn’t. For 30 years ...