Mike Sampson is the Editor-in-Chief of ScreenCrush. He studied to become a lawyer and worked as an architectural planner after graduating college but neither of these professions afforded him the opportunity to watch movies and TV for a living. He previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of JoBlo.com for 10 years. He lives in New Jersey and probably spends too much time playing video games and overthinking things.
Mike Sampson
‘Fast and Furious 8’ to Begin Filming Next Month in…Cleveland?
Los Angeles. Brazil. London. Abu Dhabi. Cleveland. According to new reports, Fast and Furious 8 is set to begin filming next month and following in a long line of exotic and beautiful locales, the new installment will make its way to C-Town...
‘Legend of Tarzan’ Trailer: Welcome to the Jungle
Edgar Rice Burroughs published the first Tarzan story back in 1912 with “Tarzan of the Apes”. Over the years, the character has appeared in more than two dozen books, comics, films and TV shows. IMDb lists over 200 titles for Tarzan, the most recent in 2013 with Kellan Lutz though that film was never released in the United States...
‘Justice League’ Casts J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon
Just last week Oscar winner J.K. Simmons commented on fans hoping he’d return as J. Jonah Jameson in Marvel’s new Spider-Man reboot. Simmons diplomatically said, “I’ll never close the door on anything.” Well, this may slam, lock and barricade that door. The Whiplash actor has just been cast as Commissioner Gordon in Warner Bros.’ two-part Justice League movie.
Over 20,000 Goobers Sign Petition to Get Deadpool to Host SNL
Deadpool made a ton of money this past weekend. At 84% on Rotten Tomatoes it’s been a success with critics too. It’s already influencing multiple future blockbusters. People love Deadpool. Apparently people love Deadpool so much they want him to host SNL. No, not Ryan Reynolds, he already hosted back in 2009 with musical guest Lady Gaga. Over 20,000 fans and counting want the character himself to host a full episode of SNL.
Disney to Face Criminal Charges Over Harrison Ford’s ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Injury
Back in June of last year, Harrison Ford was injured on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens when the door of the Millennium Falcon fell, dislocating his ankle and breaking his leg in two places. The production was put on hold for six months while Ford recuperated and director J.J. Abrams would later say of the incident, “Once we knew that Harrison was going to be okay, we all realized this was this greatest gift to the movie.” Abrams, and his bosses at Lucasfilm and Disney, may be disagreeing with that sentiment today as officials in London have brought four criminal charges against the Star Wars: The Force Awakens production company.
The 20 Worst Movies to Ever Have a Super Bowl Trailer
Everyone watching the Super Bowl last night may spend a lot of time getting excited about upcoming movies based on the trailers that ran during the big game. Their designed to wow and impress in just 30 seconds, getting people ready for appointment viewing in the theater. But for every big success, there are a lot of let downs. Not every trailer you saw last night is going to result in a great movie (we’re looking at you Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows). We know this because we looked back at the history of Super Bowl movie trailers and noticed that some very generous studios were willing to spend a lot of money on some really crappy movies.
‘Fast and Furious’ 9 and 10 Get Official Release Dates
Though Fast and Furious 7 seemed like an obvious, but tragic way to bring the franchise to a close, there was no way Universal Pictures was going to walk away from a franchise that was still bringing in over $350 million. So, Vin Diesel did what he does: he announced a new Fast and Furious trilogy last year that would end the franchise for good (and by “for good” we mean for a few years until they reboot it with a new cast). Fast and Furious 8 had already been scheduled for a April 14, 2017 release, but now Universal Pictures has given those last two Fast and Furious movies release dates as well.
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Passes ‘Avatar’ to Become Biggest Movie of All-Time
As was widely expected, Star Wars: The Force Awakens passed Avatar as the highest grossing movie of all-time on Wednesday morning. It was a record many, including George Lucas, thought would never be broken; The Force Awakens did it in just 20 da
‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’ Looking to Cast Kurt Russell as Peter Quill’s Father
After Matthew McConaughey reportedly turned down a major role in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Marvel and director James Gunn went back to the drawing board, looking to attract a big star for the upcoming sequel. It turns out they may have found their man...
Here’s Oscar Isaac Playing Bass in a Ska Band in 1996
Before he was Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Oscar Isaac was Oscar Hernandez, a high school kid growing up in Delray Beach, Florida who, like many high school kids, played in a local band. Being the mid-90s, ska-punk was making a resurgence (anyone remember Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake?) and Isaac, a singer, guitarist and bassist, was a big part of the local scene with his bands, The Worms and Blinking Underdogs. Whereas video of most of our crappy high school bands remains buried forever, Oscar Isaac is in the new Star Wars movie, so we did some digging and found video from 1996 of one of his sets at Ray’s Downtown Blues in West Palm Beac
‘Finding Dory’ Trailer: Pixar Returns With an Unforgettable Adventure
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.
Daniel Fleetwood, Terminally Ill ‘Star Wars’ Fan Behind #ForceForDaniel, Dies at Age 32
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.