The Crawley Family Returns in First Official Downton Abbey Trailer

The first official trailer for Downton Abbey is here. The big-screen extension of the most nominated television show (not produced in the U.S.) in the history of the Emmys looks just as lush and finely appointed as it did on TV. The year here is 1927, and most of the Crawley family and their servants are back, reigniting the delicious upstairs/downstairs drama and romance that made the excellent series so irresistibly engaging. Directed by Michael Engler and written by series creator Julian Fellowes

By Bryan Abrams  |  May 21, 2019
The Moment in Game of Thrones When Jaime Lannister Predicted his Fate

*This post reveals details from Game of Thrones’ finale and penultimate episode. 

Now that Game of Thrones has come to an end (and broke some long-standing records along the way), interviews with reflective cast members are popping up left and right. One such interview was with Emilia Clarke, who spoke to both The New Yorker and Entertainment Weekly about Daenerys Targaryen’s long,

By The Credits  |  May 21, 2019
Stranger Things Season 3 Clip Takes you to the Pool

We’ve got a fresh Stranger Things season three clip, which reveals that terrifying monster from season 2—Billy Hargrove (Darce Montgomery). Last season’s ruthless bully is yet another Stranger Things character with a cool new summer job. While Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) is working at the mall, Billy’s doing the very Billy thing and spending his time at the local pool, nominally as a lifeguard (can you really imagine him saving anybody?).

By The Credits  |  May 21, 2019
Game of Thrones Finale Breaks Long-Standing HBO Record

*This post reveals details from Game of Thrones’ finale and penultimate episode. Read no further if you’re not caught up.

It was only last week when Game of Thrones beat its own record. The penultimate episode “The Bells” hauled in a record 18.4 million viewers across all HBO platforms, topping the record it had previously set with the Battle of Winterfell episode “

By Bryan Abrams  |  May 21, 2019
Emilia Clarke on Daenerys’ arc in Game of Thrones

*The following contains spoilers for Game of Thrones. If you’re not caught up all the way through the finale, read no more.*

Now that Game of Thrones has finally ended, there will be much rumination on what the show meant. To those of us (and we are legion, of course) who watched every episode and spent as much time, if not more, debating the series various merits, deficits, and many,

By The Credits  |  May 20, 2019

Interview

Director

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum Director on the Film’s Epic Stunts & Real Dogs

Chad Stahelski started out as a kick-boxer, served as Keanu Reeve‘s stunt double in The Matrix and rose through the ranks as a stunt choreographer with his own 87eleven Action Design before co-launching the John Wick franchise in 2014. Directing Reeves as an indomitable assassin, Stahelski has staged most of the 54-year-old actor’s action sequences “in camera,” minimizing digital effects in favor of physical performance. The old school approach has wowed fans to the tune of $261 million in world wide box office,

By Hugh Hart  |  May 20, 2019
Westworld‘s Surprising Season 3 Trailer Hints at Totally Different Show

When we heard that Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul was joining Westworld for season three, we had no idea he would be doing so in a completely different looking show. if you were one of the millions of people hunkering down for Game of Thrones‘ series finale last night, you likely caught the trailer for Westworld season 3, without realizing it was a trailer for Westworld season 3 until the very end.

By Bryan Abrams  |  May 20, 2019
Cruel Catharsis in Game of Thrones Finale “The Iron Throne”

*This is a recap of the finale of Game of Thrones, spoiling said finale if you haven’t seen it.*

Jon Snow, Queenslayer. Bran Stark (now somewhat rudely dubbed Bran the Broken), Ruler of the Six Kingdoms. Bronn of High Garden, Master of Coin (!?). The series finale of Game of Thrones bestowed old friends with new titles, altered lives, and the suddenly unavoidable (and largely predictable) downfall of Daenerys Targaryen.

By Bryan Abrams  |  May 20, 2019

Interview

Composer

Composer Herdis Stefansdottir on her Intimate score for The Sun is Also a Star

Herdis Stefansdottir, scoring artist for the new release The Sun is Also a Star, is a rare example of a female composer working on a major studio film. She was hired when she was 7 months pregnant, and says that had a major impact on the creation of her emotional, often intimate score.

The film follows the college-bound romantic Daniel (Charles Melton) and a Jamaica-born pragmatist Natasha (Yara Shahidi) who meet—and fall in love—over one momentous day in New York City.

By Leslie Combemale  |  May 17, 2019
The Batman has Found Its Caped Crusader—Robert Pattinson

There you have it, folks. The man who became a star playing a teenage vampire in the Twilight series, Robert Pattinson, will be your next Batman. Variety‘s Justin Kroll reports that Pattison is close to closing a deal to star in Matt Reeves The Batman, playing Gotham’s dark knight in the hotly anticipated reboot. The film is slated to begin filming this summer.

By Bryan Abrams  |  May 17, 2019
Chris Rock is Rebooting the Saw Franchise

Nobody saw this one coming. Yet once you think about it for a second, it’s both exciting and intriguing. Chris Rock, arguably the greatest comedian of his generation and a serious filmmaker as well, is rebooting the Saw franchise. Bloody Disgusting reports that Rock came up with a new story for the famously brutal franchise, which was turned into a script by Jigsaw writers Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg.

By The Credits  |  May 16, 2019

Interview

Director

Trial by Fire Director Edward Zwick on Revisiting a Heartbreaking Story

Cameron Todd Willingham, who’s played by British actor Jack O’Connell in director Edward Zwick‘s Trial by Fire, was not an exemplary character. But he almost certainly didn’t set the 1991 blaze that killed his three young daughters, an alleged crime for which he was executed by the state of Texas in 2004. The fire was likely accidental, as was demonstrated by the evidence presented in David Grann’s 2009 New Yorker piece and Incendiary: The Willingham Case,

By Mark Jenkins  |  May 16, 2019
Put up Your Dukes for Black Mirror‘s Season 5 Trailer

One of the best shows on TV is back. Black Mirror has released the first trailer for season 5, and it’s as cryptic and unsettling as you’d expect. It’s not a stretch to say that Black Mirror has been one of the most consistently excellent, boundary-pushing series on television since it first aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom back in 2011. Since moving to its new home at Netflix,

By Bryan Abrams  |  May 16, 2019
Game of Thrones Finale Images Tease the Mad Queen

How do we know that HBO wants to keep whatever secrets are left in Game of Thrones as secret as possible? Usually, they release about a half dozen (or more) photos for the upcoming episode—for the finale, they’ve given us but two. The first and most potent is the featured image of Daenerys Targaryen looking down upon her victorious army and the smoldering ruins of King’s Landing. It’s safe to say that last Sunday’s episodes “

By Bryan Abrams  |  May 16, 2019
Did Game of Thrones Tease Dany’s Fate With Green Fire?

This post contains spoilers for those of you not caught up to last Sunday’s episode “The Bells.” Apparently, you weren’t one of the 18.4 million people who watched it.

At the end of Game of Thrones gut-punch of a penultimate episode, “The Bells,” there were several blasts of mysterious green fire. You might have missed them in all the death and destruction Daenerys Targaryen was raining down on King’s Landing.

By Bryan Abrams  |  May 15, 2019

Interview

Editor

How Avengers: Endgame‘s Editor Handled Time Traveling Twists & Turns

SPOILER ALERT: This story reveals plot points seen in Avengers: Endgame and other Marvel films.

Even before Avengers: Infinity War was completed editors Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt were already working on what they were calling Avengers 4 in April of last year. The project, shrouded in secrecy, was to be a culmination of 10+ years and 22 films in the making cleverly dubbed Avengers: Endgame.

By Daron James  |  May 15, 2019

Interview

Special/Visual Effects

Avengers: Endgame Visual Effects Supervisor on Happy Hulk, Lebowski Thor & More

Spoiler alert for those of you who still haven’t seen Avengers: Endgame. 

The Marvel universe’s supersized super-villain Thanos (Josh Brolin, plus CG) last year dealt a heavy hand to overpopulation in Avengers: Infinity War, wiping out half of humanity with a snap of his fingers warmed by his Infinity Stone encrusted gauntlet. Five years onward the Avengers are looking stuck, with those remaining still in mourning and low on solutions.

By Susannah Edelbaum  |  May 15, 2019

Interview

Costume Designer

Costume Designer Jennifer Rogien on Outfitting Netflix’s Brilliant Russian Doll

As Nadia, Russian Doll’s wise-cracking heroine who dies repeatedly only to be reborn in the bathroom of her birthday party, Natasha Lyonne looks the part of the quintessential New York woman (which, in real life, she is), her all-black ensemble from boots to blouse easily complementing the withering energy with which she confronts her friends, ex, the homeless guy on the corner, and assorted other compatriots. In contrast, the only other soul in the world who understands her plight because he,

By Susannah Edelbaum  |  May 15, 2019
Game of Thrones “The Bells” Breaks Series Record for Viewership

Divisive, devastating, and now, historic. Game of Thrones’ penultimate episode “The Bells” broke the series record for viewership this past Sunday. The episode in which Daenerys Targaryen turned King’s Landing into a hellscape hauled in a record 18.4 million viewers across HBO’s platforms. This topped the previous record holder, “The Long Night,” which aired a mere two weeks ago. It’s not terribly surprising that the series’

By Bryan Abrams  |  May 14, 2019
Disney Confirms Next Star Wars Film Coming From Game of Thrones Co-Creators

Game of Thrones is currently the most talked about piece of pop culture entertainment in the world. Especially now that Avengers: Endgame has been out for a while, everybody is either talking about Game of Thrones or complaining about how much people are talking about Game of ThronesThat won’t change for at least another week, with the finale coming this Sunday,

By The Credits  |  May 14, 2019