Happy Friday, folks!

On Wednesday night, I started watching Margo’s Got Money Troubles, which is under embargo until mid-April, but which I nonetheless plan to finish this weekend.

Last night, I went to the Grove to see Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! and I could barely believe my eyes — the movie was atrocious. No wonder WB’s Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy kicked that $90 million can down the road as far as they could. Another year of post-production wouldn’t be enough time to fix all the problems in this movie, which is not only obnoxious but stunningly inept.

Gyllenhaal should be able to rebound from this, but she’ll have to do so with a low-budget indie movie, as I can’t imagine she’ll see a budget the size of The Bride!’s again anytime soon.

Jessie Buckley should thank her lucky stars this movie is opening after the close of Oscar voting, as it might have been enough to bring down her entire Best Actress campaign for Hamnet. She’s unhinged in The Bride! — and not in a good way!

The Bride! is shaping up to be DOA at the box office, where it’ll be lucky to open to double digits. It’s going to be crushed by Pixar’s Hoppers, which is slated to open north of $40 million. And you can expect a big drop of at least 60% for Scream 7 due to terrible word of mouth.

Meanwhile, are you watching my incredible podcast, The Hot Mic? Not only did I tip the news that Parker Finn probably won’t be back for Smile 3, which is nonetheless in the works at Paramount, but I also hinted that the new Lord of the Rings movie is expected to launch a trilogy at New Line. I also reported that the animated Ghostbusters movie is expected to be called Ecto, and it’ll be told from the perspective of a ghost, while the animated Ghostbusters series takes place in the early 90s as the dastardly Walter Peck runs for mayor. Pretty interesting, huh?

Regarding the week in AI, Netflix spent untold millions to acquire Ben Affleck’s AI company InterPositive, which is aimed at helping filmmakers save time and money on VFX and post-production — typically 20-25% of a project’s budget.

Aakash Gupta gave the streamer credit for walking away from an $83 billion deal for Warner Bros. (a legacy media company) to invest in technology that could save them $400 million to $700 million a year, if InterPositive can save Netflix just 10-15% on the $4-5 billion it spends on VFX and post-production each year, based on the idea that the streamer’s annual content budget is $20 billion. Such an acquisition changes the math on every piece of content Netflix produces going forward.

Meanwhile, across town, Seth MacFarlane is using AI to turn himself into Bill Clinton and call someone a “dog’s vagina.” As disturbing as this deep fake is, I’ll admit, I laughed…

Anyway, tonight’s top story concerns Glen Powell’s production company, Barnstorm, and a handful of new projects it has in the works around town. Juicy stuff here, trust me…

There are also items about Daisy Edgar-Jones’ new video game movie, Chris Pine’s new survival thriller, Jake Gyllenhaal’s latest Amazon MGM project, the supporting cast of the new Exorcist movie, the new lifeguards of Baywatch 2.0, the streaming release date for the Melania documentary, and a look at the trailer for HBO’s new DC series, Lanterns, starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre.

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Happy Wednesday, folks!

On Monday night, I watched The Bluff, and I have to say, I totally bought Priyanka Chopra-Jonas as a badass pirate, and part of me thinks she’d make a great Wonder Woman. Or perhaps Storm in Marvel’s new X-Men movie.

On Tuesday, I binge-watched HBO Max’s upcoming docuseries Born to Bowl, which follows an eccentric group of professional bowlers. I don’t know what I’m allowed to say at this point, but it’s comedy gold, and you can click here to watch the trailer. Hopefully, I’ll score an interview with the directors. Stay tuned on that front…

Tonight’s top story concerns the Jason Bourne franchise at Universal, though I also offer my thoughts on the PGA Awards and SAG Awards that were handed out last weekend. One Battle After Another and Sinners split the top prizes, but we already had a legitimate Best Picture race on our hands, to be honest.

And yes, just as I refuse to call Twitter “X,” I’m refusing to call the SAG Awards “The Actor Awards.” Sorry!

There are also items about WB’s Game of Thrones movie, Sandra Bullock’s return to Sony, Paramount’s decision to take on Amazon MGM’s He-Man movie, the latest addition to the Exorcist franchise, the latest director to exit the Ocean’s 11 franchise, and a look at Vince Vaughn’s new time-traveling action comedy.

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Happy Monday, folks!

Of course, today brought some sad news, as my family was forced to say goodbye to our beloved dog, Honey, who has been by my brother Jon’s side for the past 15 and a half years. She was the best dog ever, and we’ll all miss her terribly.

Over the weekend, I watched Maxime Giroux’s textured crime movie In Cold Light, which I liked despite its frustrating, anticlimactic conclusion. I think Maika Monroe has grown into a really talented actress, and she’s convincingly gritty in this indie, which co-stars Oscar winner Troy Kotsur (CODA) as her father, a rodeo rider.

I do wish In Cold Light were a bit better, but as it stands, I’d still recommend it to fans of indie crime movies, as it has style to spare, the performances are strong, and the emotion is recognizably human. In that way, it kind of reminded me of a cross between Guillaume Canet’s 2013 crime thriller Blood Ties and Nia DaCosta’s thriller Little Woods.

I also watched Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie host Saturday Night Live, and I thought he did a pretty good job. As someone who still hasn’t seen Heated Rivalry, Storrie’s SNL episode made me want to see more from the rising young star.

Finally, I binge-watched Season 2 of Jon Hamm’s Apple TV series Your Friends & Neighbors, which returns on April 3. I’ll be able to write about that one closer to release.

Also, as much as I love my apartment, I’m trying to move out of Koreatown, so if all you unpaid subscribers could sign up for a premium subscription for a month, just so my rental application doesn’t get rejected based on my bank account, that’d be great. Thanks!

Tonight, it’s an all-Paramount newsletter, as I offer my thoughts on the shocking Paramount-WB merger, the equally shocking success (and failure) of Scream 7, Paramount’s decision to hire Max Landis to revive the G.I. Joe franchise, and the first teaser for the studio’s raunchy comedy Scary Movie. Plus, a casting scoop about Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise

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Happy Friday, folks — er, sort of.

I’ll be writing about the shocking Paramount-WB merger shortly (I already sent my pal Jamie Williams a draft), as well as Paramount’s decision to hire Max Landis to write a new G.I. Joe movie — two hot topics I’ll discuss in detail on The Hot Mic at 4 p.m.

But first, I’ve got a hot Jason Reitman scoop burning a hole in my pocket, so, without further ado, “Let’s Rocket!”

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Happy Thursday, folks!

I’m flying back to Los Angeles tonight, but before I take to the skies, my brothers wanted you to know the context in which we watched The Insider — on vacation. And I get it… Maybe it's not a great vacation movie. They wanted something a little more upbeat, like a comedy or an action movie, though I maintain that Hard Rain wasn’t the answer. My brothers won’t get me to budge on that one.

They also exhibited pretty good taste on the plane, as one brother watched Bugonia and Weapons, while the other watched Predator: Badlands, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and Friday Night Lights. That’s a pretty good assortment… so I can’t be too hard on them. Perhaps I raised ‘em right after all as their big bro and movie guru.

Personally, I was too busy doing something called reading — and watching the Season 2 finale of Beast Games, which is probably the best show you’re not watching. It’s absolutely incredible. I cried while watching Mr. Beast give someone $5 million dollars for being able to kick a soccer ball or guess a random number.

It’s a wild show… and I’d love to be on it (cough, cough).

Anyway, no airplane movie reviews from me today, but I’ll be back with a brand new episode of The Hot Mic on Friday at 4 p.m. (PST). For now, here’s a hot scoop about the up-and-coming Scream 7 actor who’s joining Taylor Sheridan’s new Paramount+ series.

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Happy Wednesday, folks!

I’ve been on vacation with my family in Florida the last couple of days, but I’m making my way back to Boston today — and Los Angeles tomorrow night — so bear with me.

I received a few red-hot tips earlier this week, and I was ready to pull the trigger on one on Monday, but the studio issued a last-second denial, making it difficult to publish. But don’t worry, that scoop is still very much brewing in the lab.

I’ve got more than a few thoughts on the whole BAFTA controversy, but I’m not sure I wish to address it in print, for who am I to write about how it feels to be called the N-word? I’m sure I’ll discuss it on The Hot Mic this week, but for now, I suggest reading Clayton Davis’ thoughts on the matter in Variety.

Last night, I showed my family Michael Mann’s 1999 masterpiece The Insider, and my brothers thought it was “slow and boring.” One of them said, “We should’ve watched Project X.” So, I had no choice but to disown them this morning and search for new siblings. Sorry, but them’s the breaks…

I’ll be working on a full newsletter on the plane, but for now, here’s a little scoop about the great John Turturro to tide you over.

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Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Over the weekend, I binged HBO’s new docuseries Neighbors from creators/directors Harrison Fishman and Dylan Redford and their fellow EPs Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein.

The six-episode series follows disputes between neighbors in various parts of the country, and while some are funnier than others, the most interesting, by far, is the season finale, which follows a 71-year-old man who insists on exercising in his driveway while wearing nothing but a tiny yellow Speedo.

Naturally, his neighbors can’t stand him and think he’s creepy — especially the neighbors who have kids — so he decides to visit a nudist colony and see what that way of life is all about. There, he meets a young woman looking for a sugar daddy to fund her music career.

This episode is must-watch television, and it made me think that a feature about a nude community would be fascinating and potentially lucrative. If it happened to be based on this 30-minute episode of television, I wouldn’t complain, as it’s as good an entry point as any. You’d just have to find older actors brave enough to show some skin, but they’re out there! Emma Thompson and Kathy Bates both dared to disrobe after age 50…

Meanwhile, in Box Office Land, analysts tried to spin Wuthering Heights ($37 million domestic) and Crime 101 ($17.7 million) as withering disappointments, but I think both represent decent hauls for these movies.

Wuthering Heights has limited appeal to men, and it’s based on an ancient novel by Emily Brontë. It’s also been done 30 times before. I’d say this is a pretty solid number for a director whose prior films, Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, grossed $6.5 million and 11.5 millon domestic in total.

Plus, when you consider that Margot Robbie‘s last big-screen romance, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, bombed spectacularly, this is a solid debut, even though I feel like Jacob Elordi’s fanbase is the most responsible for its success.

I’d also look at Chris Hemsworth’s track record and call Crime 101’s opening pretty solid for an original movie. It’s not Hemsworth’s problem that Amazon spent too much money on the film, which should’ve cost $45 million, or $60 million tops. OK, $75 million if you’re feeling bullish. But $93 million? That’s insane! It’s simply too much for this kind of thing… but the film’s performance is nothing to sneeze at, as there are alternate realities where it opens to more like $10-12 million, like Amazon’s recent Chris Pratt movie, Mercy.

The real story at the box office this weekend was the .9% drop for Sam Raimi’s survival thriller Send Help, which is the best movie I’ve seen all year (remember, Pillion is a 2025 release in my book). I can’t wait to see what Rachel McAdams does next, because the offers should be pouring in…

Tonight, I come bearing gifts — updates on the Avengers and Batman sequels, plus the search for James Bond, the future of the Mission: Impossible franchise, and Sony’s latest Charlie’s Angels movie.

I also pay tribute to the legendary Robert Duvall, who died on Monday at 95, and weigh in on this year’s lackluster Indie Spirit Awards.

There are also items about Netflix’s live-action riff on Scooby-Doo, Bill Hader’s follow-up to Barry, Daniel Kaluuya’s new A24 movie, Anderson Cooper’s exit from 60 Minutes, and the acquisition of Channing Tatum’s Sundance winner. Plus, a look at the trailer for Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir series, which debuts in May on Prime Video.

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Happy Monday, folks. I hope all the lovers out there had a Happy Valentine’s Day.

Last week, I watched Andrzej Zulawski’s 1981 genre movie Possession for the first time, and it was a little too… everything… for my taste, though I’m down to check out Parker Finn’s upcoming remake, which is poised to star Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley.

I also watched Fred Schepisi’s 1978 revenge film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, which was excellent, and potentially ripe for a remake.

Over the weekend, I saw a Bloomberg report that Warner Bros. “may” reopen sale negotiations with Paramount. Um… WB’s Board is considering it because they have to consider it, legally. There’s no way Paramount winds up with Warner Bros. Trust me, it’s much more likely that Warner Bros. doesn’t sell at all than it is that Paramount will get its hands on the studio. I still expect the Netflix deal to proceed, as the streaming giant has a binding deal and can match any offer that Paramount’s David Ellison makes.

Another yawn of a news story that crossed my feed was Ted Levine apologizing for his role as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs, calling the film’s depiction of the vicious "transgender” killer as “fucking wrong.” I find this apology to be incredibly performative. Granted, Levine may actually still feel bad 35 years later, looking at his performance through a modern lens, but The Silence of the Lambs is a perfect film, and no one associated with it should be apologizing for anything.

Not only are there trans psychopaths, just as there are male psychopaths, female psychopaths, white psychopaths, Black psychopaths, Latino psychopaths, and Asian psychopaths, but as Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) himself says, it’s not even clear whether Buffalo Bill, aka Jame Gumb, was really even transgender.

Lecter says that Gumb has “tried to be a lot of things,” and the killer was caught because he was turned down for sexual reassignment surgery based on a mental examination, which no doubt probed his motivations.

It’s unclear whether Gumb wanted to “be” a woman or “possess” them, and I’ve always preferred to think of him — Gumb answered his front door as a man, and I doubt he used female pronouns — as a serial killer more than a “trans serial killer.” I don’t think Jame Gumb speaks for an entire community — he’s more like an aberration.

Levine did a brilliant job playing the character, and he should be holding his head high, not hanging it in shame.

Speaking of sex symbols-cum-serial killers, I saw Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights this weekend and plan to write about it soon, and I’ll pen a tribute to Robert Duvall later this week, too. I’ve found it hard to write the last few posthumous tributes, abandoning several in my drafts, but Duvall demands a few well-considered words, as he was one of the greats.

Today, I’ve got my thoughts on the still-uncast role of Christopher Dent in The Batman Part II, a review of the new Chris Hemsworth movie Crime 101, a tribute to James Van Der Beek, and a look at the teaser for David Fincher’s follow-up to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

I also owe you a huge “Thank You” for all the kind birthday wishes last week, as they made the day feel extra special.

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Happy Friday, folks!

I have a special treat for you this afternoon, as I’m joined by Matt Johnson, the writer-director-producer-actor extraordinaire who is perhaps best known for directing and starring in the acclaimed indie BlackBerry.

I’ve followed Johnson’s career since its early days at the Sundance Film Festival, where he premiered The Dirties and Project Avalanche. Through it all, he’s also been one half of the fictional “Nirvanna the Band” alongside his best friend, Jay McCarroll.

The Canadian duo met in high school in Mississauga and have been working together ever since, starting with the 2007 web series Nirvana the Band the Show, which became a TV show (with a third ’n’) a decade later after it was picked up for a two-season run on Viceland.

A third season remains unfinished, but it could be released if Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is successful in theaters this weekend. The film is full of hilarious visual gags and the kind of winning chemistry between best friends that powered movies like Clerks and Good Will Hunting. If you’re still on the fence after those comps, then I urge you to read my interview with Johnson below.

As with all interviews here at The InSneider, this one is not behind a paywall, so if you’re an unpaid subscriber who digs it, I sure would appreciate it if you made the leap to premium for a month and placed a modest bet on yours truly. Your patronage allows me to continue doing these interviews and making them available for free.

Without further ado, here’s Matt Johnson…

Matt Johnson on Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, His Anthony Bourdain Biopic, and Making Magic

Matt Johnson was the only director with two films on my Most Anticipated Movies of 2026 list.

Matt Johnson is “one of us” — a dyed-in-the-wool film geek who loves Magic: The Gathering and Back to the Future. The difference between Johnson and the rest of “us,” of course, is that he’s been working in the industry for nearly half his life as a writer, director, producer, and actor.

He didn’t just talk about loving movies; he channeled that love into actually making them.

Not only has Johnson become a talented storyteller since starting out in 2007, but I think he has developed into a uniquely compelling screen presence with an expressive face beneath his wild mop of hair. Said presence is key to the success of his new film, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, as he’s the comic engine who powers its madcap hijinks.

The entire story seems to run off Matt's chaotic energy, which is balanced by that of his better half, if you will, Jay McCarroll, who is typically called upon to serve as the straight man of the duo.

In Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, Matt and Jay use a magical Orbitz bottle to time-travel back to 2008, when movie audiences had a very different sense of humor, and some of our most beloved celebrities were hiding dark secrets.

The movie is frequently hilarious, especially as it establishes its kooky premise, while a pulse-pounding parachute jump off Toronto’s CN Tower had my palms sweating as I laughed at the sheer balls of the scrappy indie production.

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is destined to be a cult classic comedy — the kind that plays at midnight at rep houses across the country. It’s sweet, it’s funny, and it’s under 100 minutes. What’s not to like?

Below, Johnson talks about the reception of BlackBerry, the distinct sense of humor behind Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, whether it’s the most Canadian film ever made, the comic books he’d love to see adapted, and his upcoming Anthony Bourdain biopic, which is expected to be released in theaters later this year by A24. Enjoy!

So take me back to the days after BlackBerry, which earned great reviews. Who are you most surprised to hear from in the wake of its success? What kinds of offers materialized from Hollywood? And why did you ultimately decide to go back to your roots to make this movie with Jay?

Matt Johnson: Interesting… Well, my life definitely changed. I couldn't believe the response that BlackBerry got, especially in Los Angeles.

The craziest opportunity that I got was making the Magic card movie, which I’m still directing. I had written a Magic: The Gathering movie a decade ago and tried to pitch it in Hollywood, but of course, nobody would even listen to me. And so that was definitely the biggest change, because that’s a lifelong dream of mine.

But to answer your question as to why I immediately went and made an even smaller Canadian independent film, it’s because the system works in my country. We have this amazing arts funding for movies called Telefilm Canada, which produced BlackBerry.

And because that film was such a success, I realized I had a very small window where, before I went off to make another movie that was kind of the same size as BlackBerry or bigger, I could do something very quickly with my friends, and the Canadian government would finance it. We wouldn't need anybody else's help. I could just make something really small, really fast.

And that turned into a 200-day shoot that took me two years to finish. So, in true Nirvanna the Band fashion, Matt had this really great idea that was going to go so well until it just kept blowing up thanks to disaster after disaster. In the end, it just kind of squeaked across the finish line in flames.

Jay McCarroll plays the straight man to Matt Johnson’s clown, and it works like a charm…

Do you think that U.S. filmmakers would benefit from some kind of government arts council similar to Telefilm? I'm just curious what your take is on the current state of indie cinema and whether we're doomed or whether it's a great time to be an indie filmmaker. 

Johnson: This question has honestly been asked since I was in film school. It's hard for me to give an opinion on the state of the industry or whether or not I think the American versus the Canadian system is, quote-unquote, “better” because we're in an ecosystem where we're all interacting.

So, do I think that arts funding in America would be better? I don't know. Your country's so big, and you have so much free-floating, for lack of a better term, venture capital that is financing so many projects every single year that we just don’t have in the rest of the world, that you have to wonder if adding a government tendril to that would be useful or if the system would just be gamed?

I could see it being a net negative in my country. I mean, how many Canadian films can you name? Right? It's not like the arts funding has been a roaring success. In some ways, it's a program that is used to maintain an industry and just allow artists to work, period, for very, very small audiences. And that is not the intention of the American Hollywood system.

You guys make movies for everybody in the world to see. Even the smallest indie movie, if it blows up at Sundance, is not meant for a small audience. Those films are meant for world audiences.

And so, I think our models are very different. That said, I think there's never been a better time for independent filmmakers, mostly because the tools are so cheap. In some ways, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is a how-to guide for film students on how to make a movie.

Not that you would make a movie like that, but the only thing stopping you is the will to go out and shoot something — as we're seeing more and more with YouTubers, etc., all making movies.

Do you think Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is the most distinctly Canadian film ever made?

Johnson: Canada struggles with a lack of cultural identity. So, to say that something is the most Canadian is hard, because what defines being Canadian?

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which is an American movie directed by Brit and starring a Canadian, has always been seen as the most Canadian movie ever, because at the opening of the movie, they have a chyron that says, “In Toronto, Canada…” and the movie talks about being Canadian.

But to be totally honest, it's not for me to say. I make movies in my country, in my city, about Canadians, and I view it from a very Canadian lens, but I'm in the water, so I can't see what I'm doing.

Matt Johnson is all smiles as he shoots his latest movie in Toronto.

Why do you think audiences are laughing at some of the visual gags about Bill Cosby and Jared Fogel? Is it a way of forgiving ourselves for having been duped back then? 

Johnson: No, I don't think forgiveness has anything to do with it. I think that when you tickle somebody in a place they haven't been tickled in a long time, you get a real reaction. So I think that collectively, it’s so exciting to revisit anything from the past that is now taboo, simply because we can collectively go, “Ah, yes, there it is — the taboo.”

I'm always attracted to things that are considered taboo because “taboo” is close to the “sacred,” right? If something is taboo, then it has a kind of magic around it, and so I don't think it's as simple as saying that “That’s a collective mea culpa” by putting them on screen. I think there's something else going on there.

Who is the below-the-line collaborator who was the most key to making this movie happen? 

Johnson: To be totally honest, we're all below-the-line on this movie. It was such a grimy production that everybody was doing everything. But I will answer your question sincerely, as I think that the person who will never get enough credit for this movie is our production designer, Kerry Noonan.

He's the guy who, along with his team, built the year 2008. He rebuilt Queen Street in 2008. He built that RV piece by piece. He built the apartment that the guys live in, and the old apartment, too. So much of his work is so good that it's invisible.

Kerry’s name rarely comes up, but he absolutely deserves more credit than he gets because he was a key collaborator on this film.

You've been in this business for nearly 20 years now, so looking back, do you have any regrets, and is there anything that you would have done differently?

Johnson: It's a great question. Like, if I had a time machine, what would I do? It's hard because I am myself, and so for me to go back and change something, I have no idea what that would do. I can only say this — well, two things.

I wish I had worked harder, and I wish that I had found a way to always be slightly nicer. And that doesn't mean that I don't think back to the way that I was, or even the way that I am now, and think, “Oh, I was particularly short-tempered.” But when I think back to the hard struggles that you go through with every movie — even this movie, we're currently working on the DVD, so I'm getting to watch a bunch of the behind-the-scenes stuff from it — and the frustration that you feel when things aren’t coming together, in retrospect, you laugh at it.

It's like, “Well, who cares that this was so hard? It’s done.” So, yeah, I always think that I could have worked way, way harder, and that I could have had a better attitude.

Do you feel like success has changed you at all? 

Johnson: I have not experienced success, so we'll see.

TFW you get the chance to realize a childhood dream and direct a ‘Magic: The Gathering’ movie.

As far as the Anthony Bourdain biopic coming up, what can you tell us about the period of his life that it's going to cover, and when can we expect to see it? Are you aiming for a TIFF debut? Is there a release date in mind? 

Johnson: I mean, the release date is completely up to A24. I believe it's going to be this year, but outside of that, I don't know.

But the entire movie takes place specifically in the summer of 1975. I had funneled everything I read, and everything that I heard from the people in his life who are still alive — a lot of them in Provincetown — and all of that got siphoned into this one summer. So it draws on things that happened before and things that happened after.

It unites a lot of Anthony Bourdain's early stories into one summer, so we’re playing some games that way. But that is the trick of the movie — you're watching one summer of this kid's life.

Why did Bourdain’s story appeal to you, and why was Dominic Sessa from The Holdovers the right guy to play him?

Johnson: You just answered the first question with the second, which is that I sat down and met with Dominic, since I didn't know him, and this was before I was even interested in making a movie about Anthony Bourdain.

He and I started talking, and talking about New Jersey and him as a hockey player, and what his life was like going to this private school. And it's like my mind just lit up with all of these connections.

You know what I love? There's this concept that Carl Jung has, where the fictional world touches the real world. I forget the term he uses for it; it might even be “synchronicity.” But it's like these few moments where something real touches something fictional, and there's a magic to that that you cannot describe. I think he actually uses Jesus Christ as an example of this, where a fictional character ^enters the real world.

And whether it happened or not, it doesn't matter. It has a power to it. And I viewed this as that, where I was meeting this young man who seemed as though he'd lived the same life [as Tony’s] in so many different ways, even though they're totally different people, living in totally different times. And I was just so drawn to that.

I’m told you’re a huge comic book collector, so is there a comic book that you'd want to maybe adapt one day, or at least see adapted?

Johnson: You know what? Yes. There are a lot, so I'll just say two examples.

First, I think there are a lot of people who think that The Invisibles basically got chewed apart by The Matrix, and it could never be turned into a movie now, but I disagree. I think that The Invisibles is timeless, and yes, The Matrix ripped it off up and down, and The Umbrella Academy ripped off the other half of it, but given the times we're living in, I think The Invisibles would be an amazing movie or series.

It's so evil what's been done to Grant Morrison. But I don't know that The Invisibles would necessarily be my first answer because that would be extremely complicated.

I think that you could make an amazing, almost, like, grounded but surreal TV series based on 100 Bullets that would blow people's minds. I think the world-building in that around Virginia, the original colony, and “Croatoan…” there's enough American history in that comic book series, even though it's just seen as, like, violent mayhem, that I think people would go crazy. I'm shocked that it hasn't been adapted yet.

That's a great answer. Before I let you go, when can fans expect to see the final season of Nirvanna the Band the Show? 

Johnson: Let's see how the movie does first. I'm hoping that Neon has the rights to our entire TV show, because my dream, as everybody knows, has always been to release a third season. I thought I could do it by making Blackberry, but then I realized, no, Blackberry's only going to allow me to make a Nirvanna the Band movie, and maybe that will allow me to release Season 3 of the show.

And before I let you go, I have to compliment you on your framed art. Everything is so up my alley — literally every piece. This is unbelievable. You have an excellent collection.

Well, we’re roughly the same age and have similar tastes, but thank you very much for that compliment. I appreciate it. And thank you for taking the time to chat with me today, Matt. Good luck with the movie!

Johnson: Thank you, and it was great to finally meet you, Jeff!

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is now playing in theaters nationwide.

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Happy Tuesday, folks!

Today, I turn 42 years old, and in lieu of birthday presents, I’m asking you unpaid subscribers to sign up for a premium subscription for a month, out of the kindness of your hearts, and so the IRS doesn’t drag me to jail come tax time in April.

Reflecting on my life thus far, since I suppose I’m middle-aged now, I’m incredibly grateful to be able to write about film and television for a living. I don’t know what I’d do without my paying subscribers — probably get a job at McDonald’s or something. But thank you to everyone who reads this newsletter, even if it’s just the free portion at the top, as I could not do what I do without your support. It means the world to me.

While film is my main expertise, and I’ll be writing about Crime 101 later this week, I watch a ridiculous amount of television each year, so today, I bring you The Television Issue, an issue entirely devoted to — you guessed it — television!

Not only do I have a list of my Top 25 TV Shows of 2025 and my Top 40 Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2026, but I also mention the notable shows that I missed last year, as well as the ones I started watching but never quite finished — and why.

Plus, I’ve got a hot Apple TV scoop about Jennifer Connelly, and a look at the trailer for Steve Carell’s new HBO series Rooster.

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Happy Friday, folks!

I’m trying to sneak this one just under the wire, before the clock strikes midnight on the East Coast, but you may have to spot me a few minutes.

Tonight, I’ve got two scoops — one about the animated Ghostbusters movie that is in the works at Sony, the other about the great Jennifer Jason Leigh joining a certain ABC series.

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Happy Thursday, folks!

I’m still working on some longer newsletters for y’all, but I wanted to share some breaking news out of Paramount, where Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg has just signed a first-look deal.

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Happy Wednesday, folks!

Apologies for the delay, but I’ve been busy prepping a few different newsletters for you guys, including a massive TV-themed issue and an interview with writer-director Matt Johnson. I’ve also got a bunch of irons in the fire as far as scoops go, so after an off-week, it’s safe to say that I’m back in the game and holding a hot hand!

Over the weekend, I caught up with Send Help, which was an absolute blast from Sam Raimi, who delivers his best movie in more than 20 years — sorry, Drag Me to Hell fans! Rachel McAdams is fantastic in this clever, gory survival thriller, and I’m hearing she’s in high demand all over town following the film’s $20 million domestic opening.

It was actually a wild weekend at the box office, where Iron Lung, an indie horror movie from YouTube sensation Markiplier (aka Mark Fischbach), grossed nearly $18 million, which is an astounding figure for a self-distributed genre film. It speaks to how YouTube stars can be the new movie stars — if they know what they’re doing.

It’s unclear if anyone knew what they were doing on the Melania documentary, though it’s possible that everyone knew exactly what they were doing. Reviews for the “propaganda film” came in, predictably, at 5 percent fresh from terribly biased critics, while the audience score was 99 percent. Go figure! It seems everyone played their role perfectly…

Frankly, I got a kick out of the debate surrounding the film’s box office coverage. A $7 million debut for any documentary is impressive, yet viewed against Amazon’s $75 million total spend — a $40 million bribe/budget, plus $35 million for marketing — Melania is an undeniable failure. Or is it?

The dirty little secret that I didn’t see a single box office writer address is that Melania was never supposed to make money. It’s very clearly a vanity project that was meant to serve as a bribe from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to President Trump. This was basically a gift from Amazon to the White House, only it cost $75 million — no free shipping this time.

It’s an embarrassment all around — for Amazon, embattled director Brett Ratner, his acclaimed DPs, and the box office writers who couldn’t hide their seething contempt for this administration for one weekend — but for Melania herself, it’s a win, as she got to play Movie Star for a few months and distract herself from her real role as Eva Braun.

And that’s enough about Melania. Let’s hope I never have to sully the pages of this newsletter with her name ever again, all due respect to our beautiful First Lady.

Last night, I began watching DTF St. Louis, the upcoming HBO series starring Jason Bateman and David Harbour. I’m also eager to dive into screeners for Season 2 of Jon Hamm’s Apple TV series Your Friends and Neighbors. And I plan to check out Reality Check, Netflix’s three-part docuseries about America’s Next Top Model.

Tonight, I weigh in on the week’s biggest story — the Disney succession saga — and throw a little fuel on the fire with a hot scoop that could force Dana Walden to make one of her first big decisions as the head of Disney’s film studio.

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Happy Thursday, folks!

The day is already off to a hot start, as not only did HBO finally confirm my late December scoop about Damon Lindelof boarding The Chain, but we also received our first look at Sam Mendes’ take on The Beatles. At first glance, I think Paul Mescal looks the best as Paul McCartney, but it’s hard to really tell from these leaked, grainy images.

Elsewhere, World of Reel reports that Brady Corbet’s next film is currently titled The Origin of the World, and that S. Craig Zahler’s indie The Bookie and the Bruiser is, at long last, finally gearing up for a March shoot. Let’s hope this isn’t another false alarm.

Last night, we saw Josh Safdie drop out of a planned Q&A for Marty Supreme following the California Post’s recent story, while Marty Supreme actress Odessa A’zion dropped out of the A24 movie Deep Cuts following public outcry about taking on a whitewashed role.

A’zion explained that she went in to read for the role of Percy, the lead, which ultimately went to Cailee Spaeny, and that she accepted the supporting role of Zoe without having read Holly Brickley’s novel.

In the book, Zoe is described as “half-Mexican, half-Jewish,” and I wish the casting director the best of luck finding that unique combination. Personally, I expect a Mexican actress to be cast, and when we learn she’s not Jewish, no one will care, which would be par for the course these days.

It’s a sad, mad world out there, folks, but that’s why we need Hollywood more than ever — to make people’s lives just a little bit brighter, and distract us from the world’s many miseries.

To that end, 2026 is shaping up to be a hell of a year for movies, and I figured it was high past time to reveal my Top 26 Most Anticipated Movies of 2026! I also throw in 74 bonus titles for good measure.

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Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Yesterday brought the BAFTA nominations, which shed some more light on the Oscar race, as well as the WGA nominations, which did not.

One Battle After Another led the way at the BAFTAs with one more nomination than Sinners, whose Delroy Lindo was snubbed, as was Amy Madigan, perhaps signaling that Teyana Taylor truly is the frontrunner in that category after all. Frankly, it was just nice to see Pillion score a little love, and there’s more love to come below, as you’ll see.

Paul Thomas Anderson is a shoo-in to win the WGA Award for One Battle After Another, which also won the USC Scripter Award, bolstering its Oscar chances — if you believe in the power of such precursors.

Meanwhile, Sinners will surely win the WGA Award for original screenplay over Black Bag, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Weapons, and certainly Marty Supreme, following the California Post’s recent story about Josh Safdie, as recycled as it may have been.

In Box Office Land, Chris Pratt‘s screenlife movie Mercy dethroned Avatar: Fire and Ash, but it still seemed to underperform with just $10.8 million for the weekend. The film has been getting brutal reviews, and I just don’t think people are into AI Villains as a concept… even if they look like Rebecca Ferguson.

Oh, and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple sank like a stone at the box office. Let’s face it, this is a dead franchise, and not even Cillian Murphy is going to be able to resurrect it. I mean, how many people watched Steve on Netflix?

Speaking of which, Sony has a deal with Netflix, which streams its movies following their theatrical runs. It’s entirely possible that Sony could ask Netflix to co-finance the third film in Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s proposed trilogy, and that film could become a Netflix exclusive. That would allow Boyle and Garland to complete their vision while mitigating the growing financial risk for Sony.

And for the record, I didn’t really buy a ticket to Brett Ratner’s propaganda-ish documentary Melania, which I expect to outperform its tiny estimates, as tracking “red-state movies” is a notorious blind spot for some of these services, and I do believe that Trump’s wacky base will rally behind the First Lady.

Later this week, I hope to publish a TV-centric newsletter featuring 2025 in review, a preview of what’s to come in 2026, and reviews of The Pitt Season 2, Hijack Season 2, The Beauty, and Wonder Man.

I’ll also have a review of Good Luck, Don’t Die, Have Fun, which I saw on Monday night as part of AMC’s Screen Unseen program. Suffice to say, despite a 95 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, that film is going to be a tough sell for Briarcliff when it hits theaters next month, though it’s apparently popular with the TikTok crowd.

Tonight’s newsletter brings my annual If I Had an Oscar Ballot feature, which I cribbed from the great Kris Tapley, though I’ve been doing it for nearly as long at this point.

Of course, I don’t actually have an Oscar ballot — or any awards ballot, for that matter — so I really have to make this one count.

I also weigh in on the sleepy sales market at the final Sundance Film Festival in Park City, where Olivia Wilde is heating up the mountain, and Searchlight has gone ice cold.

There are also items about Halle Berry’s development slate, Justine Triet’s follow-up to Anatomy of a Fall, Sydney Sweeney’s new movie, Mark Wahlberg’s reunion with Baltasar Kormakur, Lionsgate’s Dirty Dancing sequel, CAA’s signing spree, and the release date of Henry Cavill’s “new” movie, which has been sitting on a shelf for years. Plus, a look at the trailer for Boots Riley’s colorful new film, I Love Boosters, which features one hell of a cool cast.

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Happy Thursday, folks!

Sundance is now underway, but so far, things have been quiet in Park City… unlike the Justin Baldoni-Blake Lively saga, which is somehow still going a year later. Everyone looks awful, from the two chuckleheads at the center of this circus to their lawyers, publicists, and even several Sony execs who found themselves dragged into the muck this week. This is a lose-lose for everyone involved. Just a big “yikes” all around…

On the bright side, I’ve been telling my friends who are looking to cast indie films to consider Lively, whose brand is toxic right now — meaning they should be able to get her on the cheap! After all, she just needs to focus on getting back to work, and I don’t see any studios lining up for her services.

Tonight’s newsletter takes a look at this morning’s Oscar nominations and offers a juicy scoop about a hot spec script that Apple just acquired — with an Oscar winner attached to direct!

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‘Twas the night before Oscar noms
When all through the house
Film Twitter was preparing to bitch, moan, and grouse

About Sinners and Hamnet and Marty Supreme
Plus, Frankenstein, Bugonia, and probably Train Dreams
Leo vs. Timmy, Jessie vs. Rose
And the Oscar goes to… no one yet knows!

Could the Smokestack twins sink their teeth into the gold?
An MBJ victory sure would be bold!
Perhaps Hamnet will pull off the first upset in years
Having plucked your heartstrings and elicited tears

One category after another
It’s a Battle for all
And once all the dust settles
The winners will stand tall

So good luck to the contenders
The big and the small
I can’t wait to see
Who’s nominated alongside Ryan and Paul…

It’s Wednesday night, and Oscar nominations arrive in the morning. The show barely has a pulse these days, but nonetheless, a lot of work went into shaping the playing field this season, and tensions are high around town as that field is narrowed down.

On the opposite end of the quality spectrum, the Razzie nominations are out, and clearly, this is an awards show that has lost its way, with multiple nods for VOD movies like Alarum (starring Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone) and Gunslingers (featuring Oscar winner Nicolas Cage), which shouldn’t even be on voters’ radars. The Razzies should be about beating up on terrible blockbusters like Snow White and The Electric State, and even worse vanity projects like Hurry Up Tomorrow — not low-budget indies. Shame on their choices this year!

Having said that, I’m glad that the Razzies still exist, as Hollywood needs to be taken down a peg around this time of year, and I disagree with filmmakers like Scott Derrickson (whom I personally like) who think there should be no place for Worst of the Year lists. Praise means nothing without criticism, and the Oscars are properly balanced by the Razzies. Deal with it…

Meanwhile, next year’s Oscar season kicks off tomorrow night with the start of the Sundance Film Festival, which I simply don’t have the bandwidth (or funds) to cover this year — not that the lineup looks all that great. Once again, SXSW seems to have staked out the good stuff first, leaving Sundance with titles like Josephine (featuring Channing Tatum) and Union County (starring Will Poulter), both of which I’m looking forward to, but unwilling to spend $35 to watch online.

As Sundance embarks on its final festival in Utah, I’m going to miss everyone — and the movies, of course — but I’ll be there in spirit. Literally, apparently, as my tweets still haunt past Sundance filmmakers, according to THR’s excellent oral history of the fest.

Finally, in case you spent the day living under a rock, you likely saw that last night’s scoop about Christina Hodson writing DC’s Brave and the Bold movie was confirmed by the trades, much to the DCU subreddit’s chagrin.

In its write-up of the news, THR noted that in addition to writing The Flash and Birds of Prey, Hodson also penned an unmade Batman Beyond script that earned her fans inside the studio.

Reaction was largely mixed online, but if you think I’m putting any stock in what Twitter thinks, think again. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met some great folks on Twitter, but it’s also full of the dumbest people on the planet. If only my former bosses over the years felt similarly…

Tonight’s newsletter features my final, last-minute Oscar predictions. Don’t blame me if you make a bad bet on Kalshi or Polymarket! But feel free to yell at me at 11 a.m. PST tomorrow morning, which brings a brand new episode of For Your Consideration, where I’ll examine all of the snubs, surprises, and pronunciation snafus with my Sundance-bound co-hosts Perri Nemiroff and Scott Mantz.

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Happy Tuesday, folks!

Last night, I had myself a little horror movie marathon, as I watched the 2022 genre flick Influencer, followed by last year’s sequel, Influencers — two fun flicks that certainly mark Kurtis David Harder as a director to watch.

After those two films, I watched Bone Lake, which I had written off last year, for some reason. Now that it’s on Netflix, I finally gave it a chance and came away pleasantly surprised. I’m definitely curious what director Mercedes Bryce Morgan and writer Joshua Friedlander do next, and if I were Netflix, I’d make a move to pick up their next movie or hire them to direct something in development.

Tonight, I guess I’m going to start watching the upcoming Apple series Imperfect Women starring Elisabeth Moss and Kerry Washington, or maybe Ryan Murphy’s new FX series The Beauty, as my screener pile has thinned out in recent weeks. Of course, if you’re a publicist representing some cool Sundance titles, you’re welcome to hit me up with links! I abide by all embargoes that are clearly communicated…

I’ll be back tomorrow with my annual If I Had an Oscar Ballot features, as well as my Final Oscar Nomination Predictions.

But first, tonight’s top story answers the mystery — who is writing the Batman movie known as The Brave and the Bold for DC Studios?

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Happy Monday, folks!

Today is, of course, MLK Day, so out of respect for the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., allow me to steer you to his “I Have a Dream” speech, which remains timeless all these decades later. We need to hear and heed MLK’s words now more than ever, when all kinds of unseen forces set out to divide us.

Having said that… tonight’s scoop is about three white guys — womp, womp!

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Happy Saturday, folks!

In case you missed it, here’s the first look at Jude Law and Andrew Garfield as Las Vegas showmen Siegfried and Roy in Apple’s upcoming limited series Wild Things.

Elsewhere on Twitter, David Fincher has wrapped The Adventures of Cliff Booth, and Quentin Tarantino is calling his script a “teleplay” rather than a screenplay, for what it’s worth. The film is a follow-up to Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and it still doesn’t have an official release date on Netflix.

Speaking of release dates, Warner Bros. announced a slew of release dates this morning, highlighted by Sam Esmail’s Panic Carefully moving to February 2027, and The Conjuring: First Communion dated for Sept. 2027. The Conjuring prequel wasn’t the only horror movie to be dated on Friday, as Universal revealed that Mike Flanagan’s Exorcist reboot will arrive on March 12, 2027. Scarlett Johansson and Jacobi Jupe (Hamnet) will star in the film, which is described as a “radical redo” of the franchise.

One movie that doesn’t seem like it’ll hit theaters is Tommy Wirkola’s untitled shark movie starring Phoebe Dynevor and Whitney Peak. Netflix has picked up the movie from Sony, which no doubt preferred to take a guaranteed profit than have to market the film as a theatrical release and risk a loss, given how crowded the year is with genre films. The movie had been known as Shiver, but Warner Bros. just announced a 2027 release date for another film titled Shiver starring Keanu Reeves. Tim Miller (Deadpool) will direct that one, which is described as a time loop movie in the vein of Edge of Tomorrow, but with sharks.

Elsewhere, 28 Years. Later: The Bone Temple is tracking to open to just $17 million over the four-day weekend (yikes!), while The Housemaid has grossed $200 million worldwide, but somehow, Lionsgate didn’t have a sequel option on Sydney Sweeney, whose reps are now said to have the studio over a barrel, per Puck.

Finally, at long last, the trades confirmed my late December scoop about the reality competition series Fallout Shelter. Let’s just say that if Amazon locked me and my fellow trade reporters into a Vault, I would definitely dominate the competition and emerge victorious. Let me at ‘em!

Tonight’s top story is about Kathleen Kennedy’s exit from Lucasfilm, which has been a long time coming, though the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of Alderaan.

There are also items about two new Glen Powell movies, Gracie Abrams’ acting debut, Anne Hathaway’s serial killer series, Adria Arjona’s erotic thriller, the latest additions to Season 4 of The White Lotus, Scott Cooper’s new UFO movie, Brian Robbins’ new first-look deal, and the open casting call for Baywatch. Plus, a look at the trailer for Season 3 of Euphoria, which returns to HBO this spring.

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