Despite having received major love from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, Sean Penn has some choice words about the Oscars.
Sean Penn would like to thank the Academy…for nothing. Despite two Best Actor Oscars — putting him in the company of Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper — Sean Penn is calling out AMPAS for their lack of risk taking.
It’s been more than 15 years since Sean Penn won his last Oscar (for Milk; he won his first for Mystic River), but he keeps himself in the loop enough to have some thoughts on how simple the Academy can be in their choices. “The Academy have exercised really extraordinary cowardice when it comes to being part of the bigger world of expression, and in fact, have largely been part of limiting the imagination and very limiting of different cultural expressions.”
So what does Sean Penn hope to see at this year’s Oscars? Surprisingly, he has some high expectations with what is currently projected to score some major nominations. “I don’t I get very excited about what we’ll call the Academy Awards [except for] when a film like ‘The Florida Project,’ or ‘I’m Still Here,’ or, you know, ‘Emilia Pérez,’ of the things that are likely to happen this year.” Right now, Emilia Pérez is poised to land a slew of nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director (Jacques Audiard) and Best Actress (Karla Sofía Gascón), with Zoe Saldana possibly even looking at a Best Supporting Actress win (yeah, there’s a little bit of category controversy there…). Speaking of The Florida Project, Sean Baker’s latest film, Anora, is also shaping up to capitalize on its Palme d’Or win. You can read our 9/10 review here.
Sean Penn also took the stance that the Oscars should be seen as a “television show first”, suggesting winning a statue doesn’t have the prestige that most think it does. Penn might have a point overall, as a lot of people tend to think that there is still so much campaigning and “buying” of votes that it complicates the whole scene, while there’s also the argument of how you can compare one performance to another. But it’s hard to deny that the Academy Award is still — and always will be — seen as the highest accolade in cinema.
Nomination for the 97th Academy Awards will be announced on January 17th, while the ceremony itself takes place on March 2nd, with Conan O’Brien as host. Just like Sean Penn said: television show first!
What do you make of Sean Penn’s comments about the Oscars?
Tim Burton has ruled out the possibility of sequels to Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas
It took thirty-six years, but director Tim Burton finally got around to making a sequel to his 1988 hit Beetlejuice – and with that sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, having made over $450 million at the global box office, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that Warner Bros. wants another sequel. Burton has said not to expect Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice from him… but perhaps he could be persuaded. We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, Burton has completely ruled out the idea of making sequels to two other films on his résumé, Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Speaking with IndieWire, Burton said, “There are certain films I don’t want to make a sequel to. I didn’t want to make a sequel to (Edward Scissorhands) because it felt like a one-off thing. I didn’t want to have a sequel for The Nightmare Before Christmas because it also felt like a one-off thing. Certain things are best left on their own and that for me is one of them.“
Burton directed the 1990 film Edward Scissorhands from a script he crafted with novelist Caroline Thompson. The synopsis: A scientist builds an animated human being, the gentle Edward, but dies before he can finish assembling him. This leaves the young man with a freakish appearance accentuated by the scissor blades he has instead of hands. Loving suburban saleswoman Peg discovers Edward and takes him home, where he falls for Peg’s teen daughter. However, despite his kindness and artistic talent, Edward’s hands make him an outcast. The film stars Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker, Vincent Price, and Alan Arkin.
Although The Nightmare Before Christmas is often mistakenly referred to as one of Burton’s directorial efforts, the stop-motion animated movie was actually directed by Henry Selick. Burton produced it and came up with the story, which was then fleshed out by writers Michael McDowell (who also worked on Beetlejuice) and Caroline Thompson. The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the “real world.” When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life. He plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry. Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens, Ken Page, Ed Ivory, and Joe Ranft provided the vocal performances.
Burton passionately spoke out against the idea of any further stories being told in the world of The Nightmare Before Christmaslast year, despite the fact that Selick and Sarandon have both expressed interest in making a prequel.
What do you think of Tim Burton ruling out any sort of follow-ups to Edward Scissorhands or The Nightmare Before Christmas? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
When Thor: Ragnarok came out, it reinvigorated the Thor franchise after The Dark World and Taika thought the bar was already low for him.
Taika Waititi‘s resume before Thor: Ragnarok doesn’t suggest he would ever be put on the path to helm a multi-million dollar franchise as part of a multi-billion dollar universe in Hollywood. The New Zealand director was famous for his quirky comedies like HBO’s Flight of the Conchords, What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. He brought a lot of his signature dry humor to Ragnarok with great acclaim, then a whiplash in reception would seem to happen when the consensus was that he brought too much of it for the follow-up Thor: Love and Thunder.
Entertainment Weekly recently sat down with Waititi for a retrospective of his career and he would reflect on the initial reaction that he was going to ruin the Thor franchise. Waititi remembered, “That really propelled me into the nerdosphere, if you will. I was living a really lovely, peaceful life, and as soon as I did this, well boy, did the nerds come for me. They said, ‘This guy’s gonna ruin this. He’s gonna ruin Thor!’” He, then, took a job at the least well-received entry at the time, Thor: The Dark World, “It’s like, ‘What, you mean again?’ And they were like, ‘He’s gonna ruin this for everyone, Thor’s so cool!’ And I said to them on Twitter — before I left Twitter — I said, ‘You don’t know what you want until I give it to you.’”
While Waititi wouldn’t go into depth about what he thought about Love and Thunder, he did run down a list of the things from that entry that he was fond of, “Look how jacked Chris got. One of my favorite things about this is that I so love Natalie [Portman]. Also, Christian Bale. I mean, it’s Christian Bale. Also, Guns N’ Roses, a lot of the songs. I did meet Axl Rose once, actually. He had a lot of stories to tell, which I will not share.”
Last year, Taika would get candid about his real reasoning for joining the MCU as he hadn’t aspired to become a big Hollywood director, but he needed the money. He explained, “You know what? I had no interest in doing one of those films. It wasn’t on my plan for my career as an auteur. But I was poor and I’d just had a second child, and I thought, ‘You know what, this would be a great opportunity to feed these children.’” Waititi added, “And Thor, let’s face it — it was probably the least popular franchise. I never read Thor comics as a kid. That was the comic I’d pick up and be like ‘Ugh.’ And then I did some research on it, and I read one Thor comic or 18 pages, or however long they are.” However, he did find it to be a valuable experience, “But I love Marvel, I love working with them. I love Chris [Hemsworth]. We’re in an open relationship and it’s like, if they want to see other people I’m happy for that. I’d still get back into bed with them one day.”
This morning saw the announcements of the 40th edition of the Film Independent Spirit Awards. The big picture nominees include titles like the film festival darling The Substance, as well as Anora, which is getting high accolades for Mikey Madison‘s performance and Sean Baker’s writing and direction. A24 would naturally snag a ton of nominations that total a whopping 19. This beats last year’s 11-nomination count.
The Independent Spirit Awards will be taking place on Saturday, February 22, 2025, and is set to be held at Santa Monica beach. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Aidy Bryant will return as the host. The in-person ceremony will be available to stream live on IMDb and Film Independent YouTube channels, and across other social platforms. You can find the full list of nominations, courtesy of Deadline, below.
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer)
Anora Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan
I Saw the TV Glow Producers: Ali Herting, Sam Intili, Dave McCary, Emma Stone, Sarah Winshall
Nickel Boys Producers: Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine
Sing Sing Producers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Monique Walton
The Substance Producers: Tim Bevan, Coralie Fargeat, Eric Fellner
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer)
Dìdi Director/Producer: Sean Wang Producers: Valerie Bush, Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters
In the Summers Director: Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio Producers: Janek Ambros, Lynette Coll, Alexander Dinelaris, Cynthia Fernandez De La Cruz, Cristóbal Güell, Sergio Alberto Lira, Rob Quadrino, Jan Suter, Daniel Tantalean, Nando Vila, Slava Vladimirov, Stephanie Yankwitt
Janet Planet Director/Producer: Annie Baker Producers: Andrew Goldman, Dan Janvey, Derrick Tseng
The Piano Lesson Director: Malcolm Washington Producers: Todd Black, Denzel Washington
Problemista Director/Producer: Julio Torres Producers: Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Emma Stone
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000. (Award given to the writer, director, and producer)
Big Boys Writer/Director/Producer: Corey Sherman Producer: Allison Tate
Ghostlight Writer/Director: Kelly O’Sullivan Director/Producer: Alex Thompson Producers: Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Chelsea Krant, Eddie Linker, Alex Wilson
Girls Will Be Girls Writer/Director/Producer: Shuchi Talati Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne
Jazzy Writer/Director/Producer: Morrisa Maltz Writer/Producer: Lainey Shangreaux Writers: Andrew Hajek, Vanara Taing Producers: Miranda Bailey, Tommy Heitkamp, John Way, Natalie Whalen, Elliott Whitton
The People’s Joker Writer/Director: Vera Drew Writer: Bri LeRose Producer: Joey Lyons
BEST DIRECTOR
Ali Abbasi The Apprentice
Sean Baker Anora
Brady Corbet The Brutalist
Alonso Ruizpalacios La Cocina
Jane Schoenbrun I Saw the TV Glow
BEST SCREENPLAY
Scott Beck, Bryan Woods Heretic
Jesse Eisenberg A Real Pain
Megan Park My Old Ass
Aaron Schimberg A Different Man
Jane Schoenbrun I Saw the TV Glow
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Joanna Arnow The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
Annie Baker Janet Planet
India Donaldson Good One
Julio Torres Problemista
Sean Wang Dìdi
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
Amy Adams Nightbitch
Ryan Destiny The Fire Inside
Colman Domingo Sing Sing
Keith Kupferer Ghostlight
Mikey Madison Anora
Demi Moore The Substance
Hunter Schafer Cuckoo
Justice Smith I Saw the TV Glow
June Squibb Thelma
Sebastian Stan The Apprentice
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Yura Borisov Anora
Joan Chen Dìdi
Kieran Culkin A Real Pain
Danielle Deadwyler The Piano Lesson
Carol Kane Between the Temples
Karren Karagulian Anora
Kani Kusruti Girls Will Be Girls
Brigette Lundy-Paine I Saw the TV Glow
Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin Sing Sing
Adam Pearson A Different Man
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Isaac Krasner Big Boys
Katy O’Brian Love Lies Bleeding
Mason Alexander Park National Anthem
René Pérez Joglar In the Summers
Maisy Stella My Old Ass
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Dinh Duy Hung Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
Jomo Fray Nickel Boys
Maria von Hausswolff Janet Planet
Juan Pablo Ramírez La Cocina
Rina Yang The Fire Inside
BEST EDITING
Laura Colwell, Vanara Taing Jazzy
Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm The Apprentice
Anne McCabe Nightbitch
Hansjörg Weissbrich September 5
Arielle Zakowski Dìdi
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast
His Three Daughters Director: Azazel Jacobs Casting Director: Nicole Arbusto Ensemble Cast: Jovan Adepo, Jasmine Bracey, Carrie Coon, Jose Febus, Rudy Galvan, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Randy Ramos Jr., Jay O. Sanders
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
Gaucho Gaucho Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw Producers: Christos Konstantakopoulos, Cameron O’Reilly, Matthew Perniciaro
Hummingbirds Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras Co-Directors/Producers: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger Producers: Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow
No Other Land Directors/Producers: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor Producers: Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning
Patrice: The Movie Director: Ted Passon Producers: Kyla Harris, Innbo Shim, Emily Spivack
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat Director: Johan Grimonprez Producers: Rémi Grellety, Daan Milius
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
All We Imagine as Light France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg Director: Payal Kapadia
Black Dog China Director: Guan Hu
Flow Latvia, France, Belgium Director: Gints Zilbalodis
Green Border Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium Director: Agnieszka Holland
Hard Truths United Kingdom Director: Mike Leigh
PRODUCERS AWARD – The Producers Award, now in its 28th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films.
Alex Coco Sarah Winshall Zoë Worth
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 31st year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
Nicholas Colia Director of Griffin in Summer
Sarah Friedland Director of Familiar Touch
Pham Thien An Director of Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 30th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.
Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie Directors of Sugarcane
Carla Gutiérrez Director of Frida
Rachel Elizabeth Seed Director of A Photographic Memory
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer)
Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color Executive Producers: Idris Elba, Johanna Woolford Gibbon, Jamilla Dumbuya, Jos Cushing, Khaled Gad, Matt Robins, Chris Muckle, Sean David Johnson, Simon Raikes Co-Executive Producer: Annabel Hobley
Hollywood Black Executive Producers: Shayla Harris, Dave Sirulnick, Stacey Reiss, Jon Kamen, Justin Simien, Kyle Laursen, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jeffrey Schwarz, Amy Goodman Kass, Michael Wright, Jill Burkhart Co-Executive Producers: David C. Brown, Laurens Grant
Photographer Executive Producers: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Pagan Harleman, Betsy Forhan Co-Executive Producers: Anna Barnes, Brent Kunkle
Ren Faire Executive Producers: Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Dani Bernfeld, Lance Oppenheim, David Gauvey Herbert, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez Co-Executive Producers: Abigail Rowe, Christian Vasquez, Max Allman
Social Studies Creator/Executive Producer: Lauren Greenfield Executive Producers: Wallis Annenberg, Regina K. Scully, Andrea van Beuren, Frank Evers, Caryn Capotosto
BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer) Baby Reindeer Creator/Executive Producer: Richard Gadd Executive Producers: Wim De Greef, Petra Fried, Matt Jarvis, Ed Macdonald
Diarra From Detroit Creator/Executive Producer: Diarra Kilpatrick Executive Producers: Kenya Barris, Miles Orion Feldsott, Darren Goldberg Co-Executive Producers: Ester Lou, Mark Ganek
English Teacher Creator/Executive Producer: Brian Jordan Alvarez Executive Producers: Paul Simms, Jonathan Krisel, Dave King Co-Executive Producers: Kathryn Dean, Jake Bender, Zach Dunn
Fantasmas Creator/Executive Producer: Julio Torres Executive Producers: Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Olivia Gerke, Alex Bach, Daniel Powell Co-Executive Producer: Ali Herting
Shōgun Creators/Executive Producers: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks Executive Producers: Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca, Michaela Clavell Co-Executive Producers: Shannon Goss, Andrew Macdonald, Allon ReichBEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES Brian Jordan Alvarez English Teacher
Richard Gadd Baby Reindeer
Lily Gladstone Under the Bridge
Kathryn Hahn Agatha All Along
Cristin Milioti The Penguin
Julianne Moore Mary & George
Hiroyuki Sanada Shōgun
Anna Sawai Shōgun
Andrew Scott Ripley
Julio Torres Fantasmas
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES Tadanobu Asano Shōgun
Enrico Colantoni English Teacher
Betty Gilpin Three Women
Chloe Guidry Under the Bridge
Moeka Hoshi Shōgun
Stephanie Koenig English Teacher
Patti LuPone Agatha All Along
Nava Mau Baby Reindeer
Ruth Negga Presumed Innocent
Brian Tee Expats
BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES Jessica Gunning Baby Reindeer
Diarra Kilpatrick Diarra From Detroit
Joe Locke Agatha All Along
Megan Stott Penelope
Hoa Xuande The Sympathizer
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES How to Die Alone Ensemble Cast: Melissa DuPrey, Jaylee Hamidi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Arkie Kandola, Elle Lorraine, Michelle McLeod, Chris “CP” Powell, Conrad Ricamora, Natasha Rothwell, Jocko Sims
Filmmaker Josh Ruben shares his pitch for a Darkman legacy sequel, drawing inspiration from A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Invisible Man
Last month, the directing duo of Adam Schindler and Brian Netto, who worked with the legendary Sam Raimi on episodes of the Raimi-produced anthology series 50 States of Fright and on the thriller Don’t Move, said that they would like to revive Darkman, the superhero action franchise that Raimi started with his 1990 film of the same name. I said at the time that if Schindler and Netto want to make a Darkman movie, they might have to duel Scare Me and Werewolves Within director Josh Ruben over the project, as Ruben is such a Darkman superfan that he even recorded a fan commentary for a Scream Factory 4K and Blu-ray release… and now, Ruben has taken to social media to share his pitch for a Darkman legacy sequel.
Scripted by Sam Raimi with Chuck Pfarrer, Ivan Raimi, Daniel Goldin, and Joshua Goldin, the original Darkman has the following synopsis: When the laboratory of Dr. Peyton Westlake is blown up by gangsters, he is burned beyond recognition. Altered by an experimental medical procedure, he assumes alternate identities in his quest for revenge. Liam Neeson starred in the original film (and would be interested in returning for a legacy sequel), then the title role was taken over by Arnold Vosloo for two direct-to-video sequels. Raimi has said that Universal has been talking about making another sequel.
Over the course of several posts, Ruben revealed that his approach to telling a new Darkman story would be very different than I ever would have expected, drawing inspiration from the likes of A Nightmare on Elm Street and the recent update of The Invisible Man. He wrote, “I wanted to make a legacy sequel (OK, not that original, but there’s more). I wanted to start this… reimagining? like something else. Darkman is a wild concept and we need a reset, a fresh (new) way in. So… I wanted to position this movie like a paranoid thriller about a sweet young woman tortured by recurring nightmares of a disfigured man. She gradually grows convinced that her nightmares may be manifesting into her real life. (It would be) nightmarish, trippy, colorful, fun, weird. Thing is, our lead is going to find out that her nightmare doesn’t just live in her head. She’s drawing on the real thing. Something tied to her childhood. Her mom tells her all about a paranoid era from her formative years. Kinda like the Summer of Sam. Satanic Panic. The “Stranger Danger” epidemic.
Mom tells her all about the dark figure rumored to be a thing of myth – an anti-hero who did exist to wreak havoc; who terrorized unsavory types, brutalized criminals and such (Raimi did create Darkman after not being able to secure Batman rights after all). The one time Darkman was caught on camera was news footage back in 1990. He ostensibly threw an innocent businessman to his death. I compared his being run out of town like Frankenstein by an angry mob. The businessman? Louis Strack. Mom is rehashing this urban myth is because “The Dark Man” has ostensibly emerged from hiding and he’s killing again. There are witnesses. It hits a city-wide nerve of paranoia. Especially because this guy creates skin-real masks and can look like anyone. How awfully triggering for our hero… …but none more triggering than the nightmare coming home. Darkman (conveniently) kills her sweet mother. Our lead gets a brief, shadowy look at him. And our soft-spoken lead (who I loved imagining as a Kindergarten teacher) SNAPS. She vows vengeance. SHE. IS GOING. TO KILL. DARKMAN. I loved the idea of our lead having a suppressed temper and w/ it a character arc adjacent to Westlake’s in the original. The explosion broke him, made him mad. Here, tragedy breaks her. She’s no longer afraid. She’s gonna go head to head with her nightmare. A fun, mad opportunity for our actress…
The order of events that follow are such that — our hero’s fury gets her into danger. She’s rescued by the REAL Darkman. Think “Scary Logan.” He’s gone gradually mad living underground all these years. He promises he didn’t kill anyone. He didn’t kill her mother. Why would he kill the woman he loves? The real Darkman is Peyton Westlake. Our hero is his daughter. They’ve never met. Julie would never put her child in that kind of danger. What starts as a stalking horror turns into a Universal monsters-esque father daughter love story… And then, a dark superhero film. Scary Batman. The snakes come out of the grass. The WORST level of villains emerge to find and kill the real Darkman – and the only thing he has left. His kid. The Darkman copycat is the daughter of Louis Strack. She works in a burn unit. He’s been providing her burn unit synthetic skin to help patients. He confided in her. Who he is and his only family left. Big mistake.“
What do you think of Josh Ruben’s Darkman legacy sequel pitch? Would you like to see his story brought to the screen, or do you think the Darkman revival should take a different approach? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The stars and director discuss the white supremacist thriller based on the shocking true story.
Since it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September, The Order has been at the top of many lists for contenders this awards season. From director Justin Kurzel (Macbeth, Nitram), The Order boasts stellar performances from Jude Law, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, and Jurnee Smollett. Tackling a true story that occurred in 1983 and 1984, which general audiences may not be familiar with, The Order is a stark and gritty thriller with a mesmerizing performance by Jude Law. Our own Chris Bumbray gave it a solid review, which you can read here.
The Order tells the story of the police officers and FBI agents tracking down a splinter group from the Aryan Nation led by Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult). Mathew’s group, known as The Order, follows a novel that claims to outline the six steps needed to cleanse the United States of minorities and take down the federal government. Terry Husk (Jude Law), a veteran FBI agent with personal demons, partners with a local deputy named Jamie Bowen (Tye Sheridan) to find and stop Mathews as his crew robs banks and denotes explosives across the Pacific Northwest.
I got the chance to talk about The Order with the stars and director of the film. Tye Sheridan talked about playing a small-town deputy and how fun Justin Kurzel was off-camera. Jude Law discussed inhabiting the fictional Terry Husk and why screenwriter Zach Baylin elected to composite the law enforcement characters rather than use the real figures. Director Justin Kurzel talked about the visual approach to telling this story and how the shocking story is more relevant today than ever. Check out the full interviews in the embed above.
The Order opens in theaters on December 6th.
About the Author
Alex Maidy has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of Chicago Indie Critics, Alex has been JoBlo.com’s primary TV critic and ran columns including Top Ten and The UnPopular Opinion. When not riling up fans with his hot takes, Alex is an avid reader and aspiring novelist.
We look at plot elements, rumors, cast announcements for the third and fourth season of Taylor Sheridan’s Oklahoma-set crime drama.
What Do We Know About the upcoming third season of Tulsa King? More than you may think. The Taylor Sheridan-produced series has been a hit for Paramount+, and with Yellowstone ending, the Oklahoma-set Tulsa King returning for a third year is good news. So, let’s dive in and take a look at what Sylvester Stallone and his crime crew will be coming up with this year.
Sylvester Stallone has “confirmed” Season 3.
Usually, we kick off articles like this once a series has been officially greenlit. Still, it seems almost sure that Tulsa King will return for a third season, thanks to star Sylvester Stallone bragging about it on social media. With the record-breaking premiere numbers for season two, Stallone took to Instagram where he wrote, “I am elated and so proud of our cast because our show has gone up 75% over last year, which is unheard of, and Season 2 got 100% on ROTTEN TOMATOES!” Stallone said. “Als,o it’s the Second most popular show in the WORLD across all streaming services! Thank you so much. We are working on the third season at the moment.”
Stallone is working on a two-season deal with Paramount.
Deadline reported in November 2024 that the Tulsa King star was negotiating for a new contract extension that would put the Rocky and Rambo icon back in Tulsa as Dwight Manfredi. The deal reportedly includes a pay bump for the Italian Stallion that would double his per-episode pay from $750,000 to $1.5 million. That equates to about fifteen million per season if they keep the ten-episode count that comprised the second season.
The series could conclude with Season 4. Or Not.
You may wonder if the two-season contract means that Tulsa King will conclude with season four. The answer is…maybe. With the recent high-profile production issues on Yellowstone that led to the fifth season becoming the final for the Montana cowboy drama, Taylor Sheridan and Paramount could be preparing their endgame for Tulsa King. Or, they could take it two years at a time and revisit Sylvester Stallone’s contract. The actor would be over 80 years old by the fourth season of Tulsa King and may not want to continue leading a series, so the plan could present an opportunity to set up spin-offs or expansions of the series beyond Stallone’s involvement.
The series will have many plots to build on from the Season Two finale.
The second season of Tulsa King ended on November 17, 2024, with some big plot threads wrapped up and other cliffhangers dangling. In the finale, Dwight had a final showdown with nemesis Cal Thresher (Neal McDonough) but let his adversary live. After Cal attempted to destroy Dwight by fixing his trial or attacking his wind farm, it was an intriguing development for the mobster to let his foe stay alive. It also was a wise decision as the death of a prominent businessman would not have been easy to hide. With his Kansas City for Bill Bevilacqua (Frank Grillo), another enemy he needed to face off with, Dwight found an unexpected ally as Bill killed Dwight’s boss, Chickie Invernizzi. It was a shocking twist, but it was one that set up some more great interaction between Dwight and Bill in the third season. That leads us to the biggest question of all.
Who kidnapped Dwight?
In the final moments of the finale, Dwight is ambushed when a team of mercenaries descends upon Margaret Deveraux’s (Dana Delaney) home and kidnaps Dwight. Sitting at an interrogation table, the unseen kidnappers tell Dwight that he works for them now without revealing their identities. Could this be another crime syndicate? Could it be the US Government led by Dwight’s former lover? Or could it be Bill and the Kansas City Mafia? This will be the biggest question leading into Season 3.
Who is returning for Season 3, and who is joining the cast?
We can expect most of the cast to return, including Garrett Hedlund as Mitch Keller, Andrea Savage as Stacy Beale, Jay Will as Tyson, Martin Starr as Bodhi, Max Casella as Armand Truisi, Dana Delaney as Margaret, along with Frank Grillo and Neal McDonough. Season two saw Annabella Sciorra and Tatiana Zappardino in more substantial roles, which could continue in season three. Which new actors could join the cast remains to be seen.
A Spin-off is already in development.
While Dwight has been trying to fix his past mistakes over the first two seasons and has vowed to go legit leading into season three, the end of the series may be coming sooner rather than later. A key line of dialogue in the second season claimed that Dwight and Bill could franchise their gangs to other states, leading to all sorts of spin-offs. This could also be the direction that writer Terence Winter teased when he mentioned a potential New Orleans-set spin-off. Could there be a Louisiana King coming soon?
When will we see it?
Production on the second season of Tulsa King began in April 2024, and the season premiered in September. If Taylor Sheridan and Paramount want to shrink our two-year window between the first and second seasons, the earliest they could begin production would be the middle of 2025, giving a potential fall premiere date some credibility. I would say it is more likely we will see the third season in 2026. The production could also film seasons three and four back to back to limit downtime for Sylvester Stallone and the cast and spread the two seasons over the next couple of years, but stay tuned as we hear more in the months to come.
Stay tuned to JoBlo.com as we learn more about the third season of Tulsa King and all of your other favorite shows. What do you expect to see in the upcoming Tulsa King season? Let us know in the comments, click like, and subscribe to follow all of our latest original videos.
Ben Schwartz and Sam Rockwell join forces with The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone for the upcoming Searchlight comedy DNA
The Lonely Island‘s Jorma Taccone is in good company for his next directorial project as Ben Schwartz (Sonic the Hedgehog, Parks and Recreation) and Sam Rockwell (Moon, The Green Mile) board the upcoming Searchlight comedy DNA. News about Taccone joining DNA as the film’s director and producer comes after he recently launched production in Finland for The Trip, an upcoming thriller starring Jason Segel (Shrinking, Freaks and Geeks) and Samara Weaving (Ready or Not, Guns Akimbo).
Plot details for DNA remain a mystery, though we know Schwartz sold the concept to Searchlight in 2020. Schwartz wrote the script, while Ali Bell, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Taccone produced through their Party Over Here studio. Rockwell gets in on the action as an executive producer alongside Schwartz.
Taconne’s other directorial efforts include shorts and music videos for The Lonely Island, Parks and Recreation, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Miracle Workers, The Last O.G., and Paramount’s Knuckles series. His upcoming thriller, The Trip, revolves around a troubled couple who visit an isolated cabin. Both harbor hidden intentions to eliminate their partner, setting the stage for a thrilling and suspenseful showdown amidst the secluded wilderness. Juliette Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, and Karen Gillan also star in lead roles.
Taccone is also developing MacGruber 2, a sequel to the 2010 cult classic comedy starring Will Forte as MacGruber, a former special operative called back into action to take down his arch-enemy, Dieter Von Cunth, who has a nuclear warhead and is bent on destroying Washington, D.C.
On December 20th, Ben Schwartz races back into theaters as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog for Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The anticipated threequel finds Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunited to battle a powerful new adversary, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance.
Sam Rockwell is reprising his role as Mr. Wolf for The Bad Guys 2, a sequel to the criminally underrated 2022 animated heist comedy. In The Bad Guys 2, The Bad Guys are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys when they are pulled out of retirement and forced to do “one last job” by an all-female squad of criminals.
Will Ben Schwartz, Sam Rockwell, and Jorma Taccone strike comedy gold with DNA? What is the movie about? Do Schwartz and Rockwell play estranged brothers? I have no idea, but I hope we find out soon. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Is there still a chance Johnny Depp could mend fences with Disney and return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise?
Movies returned significantly throughout 2024, but few studios came as close to bringing the box office to its knees as Disney, with releases like Deadpool & Wolverine ($1.3B+), Inside Out 2 ($1.6B+), and the recently released Moana 2 ($404.6M and climbing). That’s a lot of coins for Mickey’s money bin, but could the release of Marc Webb’s Snow White halt the gravy train? Try as they might, promos for Snow White aren’t hitting as hard with fans as Disney would have hoped. Maybe the film lacks anticipation because of Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, Rachel Zegler’s political posts, or the terrifying dwarves. Who could say? Disney needs some guaranteed hits if they want to keep the fire stoked, and one franchise that’s always gone well for them is Pirates of the Caribbean. Still, can Pirates succeed without Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow? We might soon find out.
Speaking with Variety, a source close to the next Pirates movie said, “Nothing has been ruled out,” regarding Depp’s franchise return. Pirates producer Jerry Bruckheimer is developing two versions of the script for the next Pirates movie on parallel tracks, with one calling for Depp to reconcile with Disney. Depp’s Jack Sparrow is the anchor of the Pirates franchise, with many fans showing up for every sequel to see what he’ll do next. What is the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise without Jack Sparrow? It is a risk, to be sure.
If Depp fails to mend fences with Disney after the fallout from his domestic dispute case with ex-wife Amber Heard, the studio’s best option would be to reboot the franchise. Would lightning strike twice? Who could steer the next Pirates movie to the Seas of Success? We live in divided times, and Disney must figure out how to appeal to both sides of the aisle if they wish to remain a box office behemoth. While Snow White could cool the studio’s current hot streak, Mufasa: The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch, and a handful of animated sequels, including Toy Story 5, Zootopia 2, and Frozen 3, could remedy a live-action misstep.
Do you think Johnny Depp will return to the Disney kingdom for more Pirates movies? Should the franchise continue the story or reboot itself? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
About the Author
Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.
