Britt Hayes is a writer, movie lover, and sensible sweater enthusiast living in Austin, Texas. She watches too much TV and never eats her vegetables.
Britt Hayes
‘Jackie’ Puts Natalie Portman in the Oscar Race With December Release
Glowing reviews of Jackie have been pouring in from TIFF, where Pablo Larrain debuted his biopic about the eponymous First Lady, starring Natalie Portman in a role that will undoubtedly secure the actress an Oscar nomination — if Jackie hits theaters in time. And it looks like it will, as Fox Searchlight has secured the distribution rights to the buzzy biopic, with plans to release Jackie this December, right in the middle of awards season.
Jennifer Lawrence Is the Highest-Paid Actress in the World, Still Earns Less Than the Highest-Paid Actor
For the second year in a row, Jennifer Lawrence tops the list of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, while the impressively prolific Dwayne Johnson has unseated Robert Downey Jr. as the highest-paid actor. Unfortunately, the highest-paid actors still earn millions more than their female counterparts, proving that Hollywood’s gender disparity problem still needs some fixing.
Stan Lee Responds to That ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Mary Jane Rumor
Late last week a pretty substantial rumor surfaced suggesting that Zenadaya’s secret role in Spider-Man: Homecoming is actually Mary Jane Watson. While neither Marvel nor Sony have confirmed or even responded to those rumors, it elicited an unfortunately predictable reaction from several fans who were unhappy that a woman of color would be playing a character traditionally depicted as a white redhead. James Gunn already weighed in with his thoughts, and our own Matt Singer wrote an excellent piece on the matter, and now Stan Lee himself has offered his reaction to the recent casting rumor.
‘Birth of a Nation’ Still Scheduled For October Release Despite Controversy
Fox Searchlight’s awards season plans for The Birth of a Nation have grown increasingly complicated in recent weeks, as reports surfaced revealing that the director and star of the historical drama has a troubled history of his own. Although details of Nate Parker’s alleged involvement and subsequent acquittal in a 1999 sexual assault was available to the public (it’s on his Wikipedia page) before the studio acquired the rights to distribute the Sundance hit, it was only recently that the case became a point of controversy. Despite all of this, according to Fox Searchlight, their plans to release the film in October have not changed.
New Movie Releases: August 2016
After a pretty disappointing summer, our hopes are high (but not, like, too high) for August to swoop in and deliver at least one or two entertaining blockbusters before the season ends. Fueling that optimism is the release of Suicide Squad, David Ayer’s comic book villain team-up that promises to inject a little fun in the DC movie universe. Next month also brings a new stop-motion adventure from Laika, an R-rated animated movie about talking food (you know, for the grown-ups) and Meryl Streep’s latest Oscars power play. Read on for our complete guide to next month’s new movie releases.
Mel Gibson Is Planning a ‘Passion of the Christ’ Sequel
Faith-based films have been riding a wildly successful wave for several years now, only recently stumbling a bit with the underwhelming box office returns for God’s Not Dead 2. And while that seemed to indicate that faithful audiences might not be too keen on sequels, Mel Gibson may very well prove that theory wrong as the actor and director is apparently plotting a sequel to The Passion of the Christ.
Are You Ready For a ‘Benji’ Reboot? Good, Because You’re Getting One
If studio developments in recent years have taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected when it comes to reboots and adaptations. From upcoming movies based on video games like Centipede and Tetris to the Jumanji reboot, it’s as if studios are plucking titles from the Least Likely pile (where is my Easy Bake Oven movie already?). The latest movie to get the unexpected reboot treatment is Benji — you know, the feel-good doggy adventure movie from 1974, which many of you probably remember best from its near-constant presence on The Disney Channel in the ’80s and early ’90s.
New Movie Releases: June 2016
In case you didn’t get enough inspiration from our list of the 20 films you absolutely must see this summer, then perhaps our guide to June’s new movie releases will give you a few more ideas. Next months brings sequels to Independence Day, The Conjuring and Now You See Me, a new Pixar film, and a comedy from the Lonely Island trio. And that’s only half of it. Did we mention Daniel Radcliffe’s magical farting corpse? That’s something you definitely do not want to miss (and we say that sincerely).
CBS Passes on ‘Nancy Drew’ Series Because It’s ‘Too Female’
Just take a moment to really soak in that headline. CBS, a major network in the United States, reportedly passed on a new Nancy Drew series because it was “too female.” Wow. In a country where women make up 51 percent of the population, it would just be totally crazy to green light a show about us. Thankfully, the contemporary update on the classic detective character is being shopped elsewhere, so hopefully they’ll find another network that doesn’t cringe at the thought of all this lady stuff.
New DVD and Blu-ray Releases: May 2016
Sure, you have plenty of movie options in theaters next month, with Captain America: Civil War, X-Men: Apocalypse and everything in between (High-Rise. Go see High-Rise), but if you're looking to stay home there's lots of new stuff for you to check out. Whether you're looking to rent or add to your collection, read on for our guide to the new DVD and Blu-ray releases arriving in May.