Mike Sampson is the Editor-in-Chief of ScreenCrush. He studied to become a lawyer and worked as an architectural planner after graduating college but neither of these professions afforded him the opportunity to watch movies and TV for a living. He previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of JoBlo.com for 10 years. He lives in New Jersey and probably spends too much time playing video games and overthinking things.
Mike Sampson
Why the ‘Ghostbusters’ Trailer Is the Most ‘Disliked’ Movie Trailer in YouTube History
The first trailer for Paul Feig’s female-led Ghostbusters remake arrived in March of this year and the reaction was almost immediately disappointing. Even among those, like us, who are excited for the Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig film, it was a poorly put together trailer that did little to inspire confidence in the finished product...
‘Legend of Tarzan’ Trailer: Welcome to the Jungle
Edgar Rice Burroughs published the first Tarzan story back in 1912 with “Tarzan of the Apes”. Over the years, the character has appeared in more than two dozen books, comics, films and TV shows. IMDb lists over 200 titles for Tarzan, the most recent in 2013 with Kellan Lutz though that film was never released in the United States...
‘Ghostbusters’ Trailer: These Women Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost
Ever since the Ghostbusters reboot has been announced (with an all-female cast) the film has been harshly judged, sight unseen. Today, director Paul Feig has officially revealed the Ghostbusters trailer, so now we can judge the film on its own merits...
‘Finding Dory’ Trailer: You Can Go Home Again
Pixar has settled into a rhythm of releasing both sequels to huge hits and new, original movies in theaters. 2015 was home to two original Pixar movies — the Oscar-winning Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur — which means now it’s time for another sequel...
Ben Affleck Reportedly Rewrote ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Script Every Day…in Costume
One of the stipulations when Ben Affleck signed on to star in Batman vs. Superman was that his Argo writer, Chris Terrio, would come aboard to help fix the script. Though Terrio was indeed brought in to rewrite the script (originally written by David Goyer), it seems Affleck still was not happy with it. According to a recent report, Affleck spent each day rewriting that day’s scenes until they were up to snuff. Oh, and he did it dressed as Batman.
A Yoda Cameo Was Cut From ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
Though Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place over 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, director J.J. Abrams still found a way to work on some classic characters who had long since passed on. Kylo Ren has a conversation with Darth Vader’s helmet. Obi-Wan speaks to Rey during her Force vision. And, there was one additional cameo that ultimately was cut from the film: Yoda.
Counterpoint: Scooby-Doo Is Not Dumb
My colleague, “esteemed” film critic Matt Singer, thinks Scooby-Doo is dumb. I know this because he wrote an article about it. You can read that article here, though I suggest you don’t — you’ll just be wasting your time, because Scooby-Doo is not dumb...
Has the ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Mystery Villain Been Revealed?
Batman vs. Superman director Zack Snyder has been very defensive over his decision to reveal Doomsday in the most recent trailer. While many fans have felt that the trailer gave away too much information, Snyder says it doesn’t actually give away as much as you might think and that Doomsday, while an important part of the film, isn’t alone. In fact, “there’s a bigger enemy” to fight. We know, Lex Luthor and Doomsday will cause problems for our heroic triumvirate of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, but who is this mysterious DC villain that could cause even bigger problems?
Marvel Wanted David Bowie to Appear in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’
As the world collectively struggles to find a way to cope with the loss of the incredible being that was David Bowie, many have taken to the internet to share their thoughts and remembrances of The Great White Duke. One of those people is Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, who included Bowie’s hit “Moonage Daydream” on the soundtrack to the first film...
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Now Has an Official Music Video and It’s Horrible
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has dominated almost the entire world at this point with over $1.5 billion at the worldwide box-office after just 20 days. But, there’s still one country where the film has yet to open: China. To “help” celebrate the release of the film, Lucasfilm has named LuHan, a former boy-band singer from Beijing, as the “official China Ambassador for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” This means LuHan, a self-described “social media star,” has recorded a brand new Star Wars theme song with the requisite music video, complete with cameos by R2-D2 and BB-8.