Author: Hollyood rep

Ted Kotcheff, the unheralded Canadian moviemaker who moved gracefully among genres to direct such notable films as The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, First Blood and Weekend at Bernie’s, has died. He was 94.  Kotcheff, who went on to spend 13 seasons as an executive producer on the gritty Dick Wolf series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, died Thursday, The Globe and Mail newspaper reported. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), starring Richard Dreyfuss as a young hustler, is widely considered to be among the finest Canadian films ever made, and Kotcheff also directed a feature very high of the…

Anyone who watched the series premiere of 1923 in December 2022 knew right away that movie stardom was an inevitability for Brandon Sklenar. His war hero and big-game hunter character, Spencer Dutton, instantly made him a popular choice among fancasters to lead any number of action and superhero franchises (more on this later). The Taylor Sheridan-penned Western drama series also made a point to give the actor plenty of dramatic and romantic material, opening the door to a trio of films with thematic connections. Last year, Sklenar played Atlas Corrigan in the box office hit, It Ends with Us, and…

The star of early-’70s action pictures stopped by the ‘It Happened in Hollywood’ podcast to discuss movie history and the making of 1997’s ‘Jackie Brown.’

Robert Pattinson may give Timothée Chalamet a hard time in Legendary’s upcoming Dune: Messiah. Sources say the actor has been circling the role of the chief villain in the film, one that is possibly Scytale from Frank Herbert’s books. No offer has been made to Pattinson, whose call sheet includes starring in The Batman sequel for Matt Reeves, and appearing in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Like Nolan, Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is known for attracting the world’s top talent eager for a chance to work with the director. Dune and Dune: Part Two featured an all-star cast that included names…

Jenna Ortega is addressing why she exited the Scream franchise amid the firing of her co-star Melissa Barrera. In a cover story for The Cut published Monday, the Death of a Unicorn star reflected on leaving the rebooted Scream franchise, in which she and Barrera starred as the Carpenter sisters. After Spyglass Media Group announced in November 2023 that Barrera had been fired from the forthcoming seventh installment for remarks she made about the Israel-Hamas war on Instagram, it was also announced a day later that Ortega was departing the film as well. It was speculated her exit was due…

Two decades before viewers began booking time with The White Lotus, series creator Mike White struck a chord with the movie School of Rock. White wrote and co-stars in director Richard Linklater’s comedy that features Jack Black as Dewey Finn, an aimless musician turned substitute teacher at a tony elementary school who convinces students to form a band. White penned the lead role for former neighbor Black after taking inspiration from a 1976 album that a Canadian teacher had recorded of his students’ cover songs. “I don’t think I would have ever come up with this idea if I hadn’t…

Just two days after the teaser for Tron: Ares debuted at CinemaCon, an official trailer has now dropped. Disney’s Tron: Ares, the long-awaited sequel to 2010’s Tron: Legacy, released the first trailer on Saturday, which sees Jared Leto “who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings,” reads the logline. Jeff Bridges, who starred as Kevin Flynn in the original 1982 film, says in the voiceover: “Ready? Because there’s no going back.” Evan Peters also appears in the trailer, looking up at the sky, which has no shortage of…

Up, up and “Aarrrrrrrrrrrrh!!“? Footage of DC Studios’ highly-anticipated revival of Superman is dividing fans of the iconic DC Comics character after a five-minute clip from the upcoming film (below) was released Thursday. The video depicted a suffering Man of Steel being assisted by his dog and a squadron of robots. The film from writer-director James Gunn — who is also co-chief of DC Studios — is considered a critical make-or-break movie for the studio, which is heavily relying on the July 11 release to help launch a new generation of superhero titles. Some degree of social media snark about…

Laurence Fishburne wanted to be a part of the fourth film in The Matrix franchise, but the team behind the project wasn’t on the same page.  “I offered my services to the fourth Matrix, and they didn’t respond well to that,” Fishburne said during a Thursday appearance on The View. “It’s not like I didn’t say, ‘I’d like to offer my services.’ I did.” After being asked if he’d be interested in being a part of the franchise’s upcoming fifth film, the Oscar nominee didn’t entirely write off appearing in the sequel, but he did note that his casting would…

In a tumultuous Hollywood age of corporate takeovers and executive turnovers, Richard Brener is a rarity of the business. The tall, soft-spoken president and CCO of New Line has been at company for 30, yes, you read that right, 30 years come May 1. He started as a temp in Los Angeles, working in every conceivable department. Then, when a story editor position opened up, applied for the job. That gig instead went to a woman named Donna Langley, now the chairman and CCO of NBCUniversal, but then an executive’s assistant. “That was smart of them because she’s obviously done…