Movie News

Sylvester Stallone became a star playing Rocky Balboa, but did you know that United Artists wanted to buy Stallone’s script for Rocky and cast another actor in the title role? Before they finally agreed to let Stallone have the part, they tried to cast actors like Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, and James Caan. That’s just one of the facts crammed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which goes the distance on the original 1976 classic, Rocky.

Walker’s daughter Meadow filed a lawsuit against Porsche under the banner of “wrongful death,” attributing her father’s untimely death to numerous defects in the car’s design. Industry trade papers are now reporting that officials from Porsche have handed down a response to the lawsuit, claiming that the accident and any injuries sustained therein were ultimately Walker and Rodas’ “own comparative fault.”

If you were interested in movies back in the year 2000 and you didn’t have some kind of brain-destroying amnesiac condition, you remember Memento. The second feature by a British filmmaker named Christopher Nolan, Memento became a breakthrough in American cinemas (the indie made an impressive $25 million in U.S. theaters) and Nolan’s calling card in Hollywood, where he went on to become one of the most important and interesting filmmakers of his generation.

In a development likely to give Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan some sense of relief, Universal has officially decided to shoot Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed back to back, giving its actors a chance to fulfill their commitments to the troubled franchise in one fell swoop. In addition, the studio has confirmed James Foley to direct both sequels, with author E.L. James’ husband Niall Leonard adapting both stories for the big screen.

You see, when a male Xenomorph and a Queen Xenomorph love each other very, very much… Hopefully Ridley Scott will have a more eloquent explanation for the origins of the terrifying aliens designed by H.R. Giger, as the director has revealed that his Prometheus sequels will shine some light on where the mysterious creatures come from. Scott will have some additional assistance in that regard, as Spectre writer John Logan has come aboard to revise the screenplay for the sequel.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Finding Nemo didn’t really need a sequel. It was a completely charming, yet contained adventure, wrapped up pretty neatly. But, it was a very, very successful Pixar movie and, these days, that means sequel. Of the first seven Pixar movies, only Finding Nemo and A Bug’s Life (which has seemed to be almost ret-conned out of existence in the Pixar universe) hadn’t yet had sequels, but that’s about to change next summer as Finding Dory opens in theaters.

Back in October, Ashley Fleetwood, the wife of Daniel Fleetwood, a terminally ill Star Wars fan, started the #ForceForDaniel campaign to help her husband see Star Wars: The Force Awakens before he died. Daniel, a lifelong fan who camped out for tickets to see the prequel trilogy, was given only two months to live in July and both he and his wife knew he wasn’t going to be able to make it until opening day. On November 5, Disney, Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams made Daniel’s dying wish come true by bringing Star Wars: The Force Awakens to his home in Spring, Texas. Daniel Fleetwood died last night, just five days after his Star Wars screening, at the age of 32.

Gunnar Hansen played the iconic Leatherface in the 1974 classic.

Disney and Lucasfilm are trying very hard to preserve the secrets of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There are reports that the film won’t screen for critics until the day before it opens in theaters. And there are rumors that not only will there be no more trailers, but that the TV spots that run won’t use any new footage and everything you’ve seen so far, is all you’re going to get. But, even as they try to keep a carbonite fist on spoilers, J.J. Abrams has to leave his house. As much as Disney would like, they can’t keep him chained up in a Rancor pit until December 17. The dude has to go out in public. And that he did just the other day, and as people shouted at him “LUKE!!! WHERE’S LUKE!!!!” he was obliged to answer.

The 2016 awards season is already filled with nostalgia. The Oscars announced the return of former host Chris Rock for the upcoming Academy Awards, and now previous Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais is returning to the stage.