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Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

Today we gush (and hush) over Gwyneth Paltrow with our past, present, and future guest Cory Everett, creator of Cinephile: A Card Game and the ever-expanding My First Movie books!

Our B-Sides today are: Flesh and Bone, Hard Eight, Hush, and Sliding Doors. The main focus revolves around her banner year of 1998. Paltrow had Five films released in ‘98, including Shakespeare in Love, which won her an Oscar.

We talk about her superb SNL opening monologue from 1999 (and her cameo in Ben Affleck’s monologue the next year), her deep cultural resonance at the time (some credit her for bringing the color pink back into fashion), the films she made before and after Emma, and her waning movie star era after...

Gwyneth Paltrow is making a rare acting foray and has joined Timothée Chalamet on Josh Safdie’s upcoming Marty Supreme at A24.

The original film follows the career of an exceptional American table tennis player. Safdie directs from an original screenplay he co-wrote with Ronald Bronstein.

Eli Bush, Anthony Katagas, Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Chalamet and A24 are producing.

Josh and Benny Safdie directed Uncut Gems and Good Times for A24, both of which Bronstein co-wrote.

In recent years Paltrow, who launched the wellness and lifestyle Goop brand in 2008 and has written cookbooks, has largely withdrawn from acting.

She won the...

Gwyneth Paltrow is back.

The Oscar winner and Goop mastermind is joining Timothée Chalamet in Josh Safdie’s ping pong movie “Marty Supreme.” The project marks Paltrow’s first on-screen movie role since 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”

No information was given about Paltrow’s role.

Plot details for “Marty Supreme” are kept under wraps, but studio A24 posted an image of a table tennis ball with the words “coming soon” after Variety broke news of the project in July.

Paltrow, one of the most acclaimed and commercially successful actors since the 1990s, has been largely absent from the big screen since acting opposite Robert Downey Jr. in the “Iron Man” and “Avengers” movies. Best known for her Academy Award-winning role in “Shakespeare in Love,” as well as “Sliding Doors,” “Emma,” “Se7en,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Proof” and “The Royal Tenenbaums,” Paltrow has lately devoted much of her time to the lifestyle brand Goop,...

After a few years away from the big screen, Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love) is back, as we’ve learned that she’s set to star opposite Timothée Chalamet in A24’s new film Marty Supreme directed by Josh Safdie.

The project will feature her first substantial film role since Avengers: Endgame back in 2019.

While plot details are being kept under wraps, the pic has been reported as being loosely inspired by pro ping pong player Marty Reisman. At the same time, sources close to the production stress that it’s a fictionalized original, rather than a biopic. It’s unclear for the moment who Paltrow will be playing.

Safdie and Ronald Bronstein penned the script and will produce alongside Eli Bush, Anthony Katagas, Chalamet and A24.

For Safdie, who saw A24 produce and/or distribute his and brother Benny’s acclaimed films Uncut Gems and Good Time,...

Shakespeare in Love Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow is returning to the big screen.

The Goop founder will join Timothée Chalamet in A24’s Marty Supreme, to be directed by Josh Safdie from an original screenplay he co-wrote with Ronald Bronstein. Plot details remain under wraps, but while it was previously rumored to be loosely inspired by a pro ping-pong player, the movie is said to be a fictionalized original film.

Paltrow’s most recent movie credit was five years ago in Avengers: Endgame, and she’s also starred in Sliding Doors, Proof, Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums, Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, David Fincher’s Seven, the Farrelly brothers’ Shallow Hal and Alfonso Cuarón’s Great Expectations during her long career.

Marty Supreme will be produced by Eli Bush, Anthony Katagas, Bronstein, Safdie, Chalamet and A24. The project reunites Safdie with A24 after the company produced his two most recent films,...

Gwyneth Paltrow is taking a brief respite from hawking infrared hair dryers and vagina-scented candles to dabble in some ping pong wizardry. That is a bit of a twist, although not a huge one considering the actor's incredibly stacked resume. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paltrow has signed on to...

“Destined to become a cult classic” Variety “Jaw dropping” Bloody Disgusting “Epic performances” Dread Central “A clever modern throwback to the Grindhouse era” ★★★★ The Hollywood News

Critically acclaimed horror-thriller Strange Darling, from the producers of Late Night with the Devil and Barbarian, will have its European Premiere at FrightFest London on 24th August 2024, before releasing in UK cinemas from 20th September 2024 courtesy of Icon Film Distribution.

A clever and relentless thrill ride that defies audience expectation at every turn, in Strange Darling, nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.

A brand new horror-thriller from the producers of Late Night with the Devil and Barbarian, this flawlessly constructed, fresh take on the cat-and-mouse genre stars Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Ed Begley Jr. and Barbara Hershey.

Distributed by the UK and Ireland by Icon Film Distribution, Strange Darling is a Miramax and Spooky Pictures Production.

Gwyneth Paltrow is known for her role as Pepper Potts in the MCU and is an Academy Award-winning actress. She has played roles in acclaimed films such as Se7en, Shakespeare in Love, Emma, and The Royal Tenenbaums. The actress has also started her own business and is the head of the lifestyle company Goop.

Paltrow’s personal life over the years has also been highly publicized. Her relationships with Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck in the late ‘90s were huge topics of tabloid coverage. She was even engaged to Pitt for a while. While she and Affleck remained friends after their breakup, she reportedly had one request when she met him after he got engaged to Jennifer Lopez.

Gwyneth Paltrow Had One Request For Ben Affleck After His Engagement Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow starred in Bounce after their breakup | Credits: Miramax

Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck reportedly met...

Take a first peek at Sandokan, a new international adaptation of Emilio Salgari’s historic saga about the adventures of a titular pirate who, with his motley crew, fights against colonial powers in Southeast Asia. Scroll down for more.

Fremantle’s Lux Vide in collaboration with Rai Fiction have unveiled the first-look images, which show the various characters assembled for the TV series. Sandokan will air on Rai1 in Italy and be distributed internationally by Fremantle and in Spain by Mediterráneo Mediaset España Group.

Turkish actor Can Yaman (Dolunay, Violet Like the Sea) stars as the legendary pirate Sandokan, alongside British newcomer Alanah Bloor (Waves) as Lady Marianne, the spirited daughter of the British consul.

Sandokan is a pirate who lives by the day: he fights only for himself and his crew, including his trusted Yanez. But his life changes when during a raid he meets Marianne, the beautiful daughter...

Lana Parrilla and Branko Tomovic have joined the cast of Action Xtreme’s Pov action thriller “Bad Day at the Office” from writer-director Chee Keong Cheung.

The two join the previously announced cast of John Hannah, Radha Mitchell, Tamer Hassan, Roxanne Mckee (“Game of Thrones”) and Tim Fellingham (“Final Destination 5”).

Filmed entirely in the first-person perspective using GoPros, “Bad Day at the Office” follows Karl (Hannah) after he wakes up in a wrecked hotel room with no memory of what’s happened, where he is, or even who he is. When he discovers a dead body in the bathtub, it sets into motion a terrifying and explosive series of events that force Karl and hotel maid Molly (Mitchell) on a blind descent into a deceptive world of confusion and conspiracy.

Producers on “Bad Day at the Office,” which is currently shooting in several locations around London, include Andreas Roald,...

Nothing gold can stay, and to make room for everything new at Hulu in November, we have to say goodbye to dozens of the series and movies on the platform. The streamer will make room for its upcoming Christmas library by losing some of its horror-themed titles throughout the month, including “Stephen King's It,” most of its “Saw” franchise, and “Shaun Of The Dead.” Other major titles leaving the platform include Emma Stone’s breakthrough comedy “Easy A,” the Nora Ephron classic “Sleeping in Seattle,” and more.

Check out The Streamable’s top picks for what to catch this month on Hulu before they’re gone!

30-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month hulu.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Leaving Hulu in November 2023? “A Walk to Remember” | Friday, Nov. 3

Before “The Notebook,” “A Walk to Remember” was the go-to Nicholas Sparks coming-of-age schmaltz. Mandy Moore makes her film starring debut...

Mark Howard James, better known as the celebrated hip-hop DJ and producer the 45 King, who helped craft hits for Jay-Z, Eminem, and many more, died on Thursday. He was 62.

DJ Premier first announced James’ death on Instagram, noting his death came three days after his 62nd birthday. Paul Martinez, a spokesperson for the producer, confirmed James’ death to Rolling Stone but did not specify a cause.

“His sound was unlike any other from his heavy drums and his horns were so distinct on every production,” Premier wrote. “His vinyl releases...

Sliding Doors: Your Story is based on the success of the podcast Sliding Doors which delves into ‘what if’ moments that build lives. Host Jennie Becker interviews people in the public eye to chat about their three Sliding Doors moments. The new mini-series features interviews with seven ‘everyday people’ talking about their one extraordinary Sliding Doors moment, with incredible ‘what if’ stories of finding love, saving lives and changing their lives path forever.

Earlier this year, Max announced it would be housing over 200 episodes of AMC Networks’ television at no additional cost to subscribers beginning in September.

That two-month window is coming to an end, so you’ll want to catch up on “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire” Season 1; “Dark Winds” Season 1; “Gangs of London” Seasons 1 and 2; “Fear the Walking Dead” Seasons 1-7; “Killing Eve” Seasons 1-4; “A Discovery of Witches” Seasons 1-3; and “Ride with Norman Reedus” Seasons 1-5 while you still can.

A number of great horror titles are leaving at the end of October as well, including: “A Cabin in the Woods,” “Beetlejuice,” “Eight Legged Freaks,” “From Hell,” “It” and “It: Chapter 2,” and several more. They’ll be great to put on while you host your Halloween bash.

Here’s everything leaving Max in October 2023.

October 3

Rx Early Detection: A Cancer Journey with Sandra Lee (2018) (HBO)

October...

As the old adage goes, when one door closes, another opens. Gwyneth Paltrow can attest to that (for any kids in the audience, we’re referring to 1998 rom-com Sliding Doors). As can Amanda Collin.

The Danish actress was in South Africa shooting the second season of HBO Max’s Ridley Scott-produced sci-fi Raised By Wolves (she played the lead, the war android Mother) when she was first contacted about Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land, screening in both Venice and Toronto. Arcel, as it happens, had written the screenplay to her first feature, 2016 crime thriller A Conspiracy of Faith. “I was in my trailer in my latex suit and Nikolaj called me up about this period drama. I was like, I’m in,” Collin explains.

The second season of Raised By Wolves would ultimately be its last, the show — despite critical acclaim and a growing following (and a few...

Those six fateful words — “You skiied into my effing back” — are set to be immortalized on the small screen thanks to a new documentary about Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash lawsuit.

Production company Optomen are continuing their “Vs” series for Discovery+ with a doc about the “Sliding Doors” star’s legal woes. The civil trial earlier this year saw Paltrow sued by – and then counter-sue – retired optometrist Terry Sanders, after the duo collided on a Utah ski slope in 2016.

Sanders claimed his entanglement with the “Goop” founder caused him to suffer physical injuries and emotional distress while Paltrow, for her part, lost half a day of skiing.

The two-part doc will drop later this year.

Also in the “Vs” series is “Peltz-Beckham vs The Wedding Planners,” which will show how Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz’s Palm Beach wedding of the year ended in tears, at least for Nelson Peltz,...

It's easy to forget, what with all the recent hype about it, but as far as movies are concerned the concept of a "multiverse" is anything but new. Gwyneth Paltrow was starring in rom-coms about alternate realities 25 years ago, with the groundbreaking "Sliding Doors," and just a few years later Jet Li tried to kill every other version of himself across alternate realities in the action-thriller "The One."

But a few things have certainly changed. Audiences seem to grasp the concept pretty clearly now — making weird and complex films that would have probably struggled to find mainstream acceptance years ago into massive Oscar-winning crossover hits — and so do motion picture studios. Thanks to multiverses, studios can now create movies and shows where every iteration of their intellectual property can exist simultaneously, making the nostalgic seem new and the fan service seem poignant.

And for whatever reason, the focal point of...

Exclusive: Suzy Eddie Izzard, Antonia Thomas and John Hannah have joined Emile Hirsch in the psychological thriller Past Life, from director and Grimmfest head Simeon Halligan.

Written by Dean Lines and Ray Bogdanovich, the pic follows Jason Frey (Hirsch), an investigative reporter who reluctantly agrees to attend a hypnotism event with his pregnant wife Claira (Thomas). Under hypnosis, Jason witnesses a murder through the eyes of a killer. Haunted by what he has seen, Jason uses past live regression techniques to investigate a series of unsolved murders from the 1980s while unwittingly reawakening a psychopath’s killer tendencies.

Related: Cannes Film Festival Full Coverage

As Deadline previously reported, the film is produced by Rachel Richardson-Jones of Grimmfest Films (Habit), Pierre Romain and Susan Michels of Swe (Son of the South), and Michael Laundon of M2 Productions (Endless). Executive producers are Michael Bassick (Hacksaw Ridge), Sarada McDermott (Bridgerton...

All is not fair in “Shakespeare in Love” and Oscars war.

Gwyneth Paltrow is looking back on her 1999 Best Actress win for “Shakespeare in Love” and the icy reception to her beating out fellow nominees like Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett.

“Once I won the Oscar, it put me into a bit of an identity crisis because if you win the biggest prize, like, what are you supposed to do? And where are you supposed to go?” Paltrow said on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. “It was hard the amount of attention that you receive on a night like that and the weeks following, it’s so disorienting. And frankly, really unhealthy. I was like, ‘This is crazy. I don’t know what to do, I don’t know which way is up.’ It was a lot. Not that I would give it back or anything, it was an amazing experience,...

The Sliding Doors podcast is launching a new four-part mini-series to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the iconic 90s film. The podcast delves into those decisions and moments that change the course of our lives. The mini-series will celebrate the film with some exclusive, behind the scenes stories and audio footage. Guests including Laura Whitmore, Bradley Walsh, Rachel Stevens and Steven Bartlett will share their sliding doors moments and what the film means to them.

Exclusive: Rrr and Thor star Ray Stevenson has been set to lead cast in historical drama 1242: Gateway to the West, which is now filming in Budapest, Hungary.

Stevenson takes on the role initially due to be played by Kevin Spacey but the latter was removed from the project by producers last year following news of additional sexual assault charges against the actor.

Related Story Berlin Co-Heads Dissect 2023 Competition, U.S. Selections ‘Past Lives’, ‘Manodrome’; Absence of Arabic And African Contenders; And Festivals As A Lifeline For Indie Cinema Related Story Christoph Waltz To Lead Action-Comedy 'Old Guy' For 'Con Air' Director Simon West; Highland Film Group Launching For EFM Related Story International Insider: 'All Quiet' Makes Noise At BAFTAs; Clarkson's Bad Week; Italy Platforms Spacey; Fremantle's 270M Bet; Netanyahu Targets Israeli Creatives

Stevenson recently played lead antagonist in SS Rajamouli’s Oscar-nominated box office hit Rrr...

Film and documentary production company White Horse Pictures said Tuesday it is moving forward with a strategic reorganization to service growth at the company whose recent titles include Lucy and Desi and the Ron Howard pics The Beatles: Eight Days a Week and Pavarotti.

As part of the changes, Nicholas Ferrall, the company’s current president, takes on the role of chairman and CEO, previously held by founder Nigel Sinclair, overseeing all aspects of the company’s business, growth, and development. Sinclair will transition to become the company’s non-executive chairman, maintaining a role in the business while focusing on content creation.

Jeanne Elfant Festa and Cassidy Hartmann, two partners at the firm, take the role of co presidents, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s creative content, production, and development.

White Horse also has entered into a partnership with longtime collaborator Ben Murphy, of Whiskey Bear, to...

Gwyneth Paltrow is heading into the Shark Tank.

The actor and founder of Goop will join the ABC series as a guest shark for its 14th season. It marks the Shakespeare in Love star’s first appearance on the business format.

She will be joined by DoorDash CEO and co-founder Tony Xu as a guest shark alongside long-standing Sharks Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary.

Other guest sharks returning for the season are Emma Grede, founding partner of Skims, Peter Jones, a dragon on the BBC’s version, known as Dragon’s Den, Daniel Lubetzky, founder of Kind and co-founder of Somos Foods and Kendra Scott.

The show returns on Friday September 23 with a live episode.

In addition to films such as Emma and Sliding Doors, Paltrow founded lifestyle brand Goop in 2008 and became CEO in 2016. The company has its own show on Netflix,...

On paper, a film that is basically a mash-up of “Sliding Doors” and “Peggy Sue Got Married” starring “Riverdale‘s” Lili Reinhart should be a fun, diverting rom-com to wrap up the summer. Unfortunately, the new Netflix film “Look Both Ways” is misguided on almost every level.

Reinhart plays soon-to-be college graduate Natalie whose five-year, post-grad plan includes moving to Los Angeles with her best friend Cara and pursuing work in feature animation.

Continue reading ‘Look Both Ways’ Review: Lili Reinhart Stars In A Netflix Rom-Com That Works In Zero Ways at The Playlist.

In director Wanuri Kahiu’s “Look Both Ways,” a twentysomething woman is confronted with a pivotal situation that splits her life in two, eventually landing both versions of herself at a crossroads. The film mixes the conceits of “Sliding Doors” and “For Keeps” into one refurbished product, eschewing fantasy or melodrama in favor of grounded authenticity and levity. While the filmmakers’ heads and hearts are in the right place with their resonant sentiments on taking risks and embracing fate, their execution of narrative basics proves lackluster.

Natalie (Lili Reinhart) may look like an animated Disney princess, but her life is no fairytale. The soon-to-be college graduate has a five-year plan for success. Or at least she thought she did. She didn’t factor in the spontaneous sex she and friend Gabe (Danny Ramirez) had after finals, which leaves her puking her guts out and taking a pregnancy test at a rowdy graduation party.

The Riverdale star plays out two different futures after an unexpected pregnancy in this warm but imbalanced exploration of ‘what if?’

“What if?” is a reliably magnetic question. What if you got rejected instead of accepted, took one job over another, cut and run on a lover or stuck it out? The non-Marvel multiverse potential is the evergreen hook of Idina Menzel’s Broadway vehicle If/Then, the NBC series Ordinary Joe, and Netflix’s new film Look Both Ways, in which Riverdale’s Lili Reinhart plays a recent college graduate whose unexpected pregnancy splinters her life into two distinct trajectories. Think a zillennial, streaming-era version of Sliding Doors, the 1998 film in which Gwyneth Paltrow plays a Londoner whose life diverges over making/missing a train and, like Look Both Ways, differentiates its timelines with a haircut.

Look Both Ways, directed by Rafiki’s Wanuri Kahiu from a script by April Prosser,...

Steve Carell has taken on plenty of memorable roles in his life, from the depressed scholar Frank in "Little Miss Sunshine" to the sexually frustrated Andy in "The 40-year old Virgin" to sweet supervillain Gru in "Despicable Me." Yet no matter how many great performances he puts in, he'll always be known first and foremost to many people as Michael Scott from "The Office." The tactless, cringe-inducing, hilarious boss of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company is the sun around which all the show's workplace chaos revolves.

"The Office" wouldn't have succeeded without Carell's faux-sly glances to camera, perfectly uncomfortable line deliveries, and contagious outbursts of laughter. Yet as with so many great roles, it almost went to someone else. In fact, lots of familiar names were considered for the role. 

In Andy Greene's authoritative oral history book, "The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s," the...

It’s that time of the week! The weekly roundup of new trailers that were released this week, and there are plenty of previews for upcoming films and shows to sit back and enjoy.

“Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” dropped its first official trailer ahead of the Aug. 21 premiere, while other new trailers feature some stacked casts that have moviegoers looking forward to the fall premieres — including Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Florence Pugh and Gemma Chan, in Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling.”

Audiences will finally see the conclusion of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode in “Halloween Ends;” plus Hulu dropped trailers for a couple of new series coming to the streamer this summer. See all the new trailers you might have missed this week below.

Mike

“Mike,” Hulu’s latest limited series, will chronicle the career of Mike Tyson. Famed heavyweight champion boxer Mike Tyson...

Fresh out of Juilliard, Jeanne Tripplehorn’s first screen role was Basic Instinct. That started a 30+ year run of films like The Firm, Waterworld, Sliding Doors, and series such as Criminal Minds, Big Love, and her latest, The Terminal List for Amazon. In this episode, she talks about her love for extensive research, the most important tools for an actor—confidence, relaxation, and focus; how the happenings off-screen affect what’s on the screen; and why, at this point in her career, she just wants to play. Plus we get the scoop on her preternatural ability to sing classic rock songs in […]

The post Back to One, Episode 211: Jeanne Tripplehorn first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Fresh out of Juilliard, Jeanne Tripplehorn’s first screen role was Basic Instinct. That started a 30+ year run of films like The Firm, Waterworld, Sliding Doors, and series such as Criminal Minds, Big Love, and her latest, The Terminal List for Amazon. In this episode, she talks about her love for extensive research, the most important tools for an actor—confidence, relaxation, and focus; how the happenings off-screen affect what’s on the screen; and why, at this point in her career, she just wants to play. Plus we get the scoop on her preternatural ability to sing classic rock songs in […]

The post Back to One, Episode 211: Jeanne Tripplehorn first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Season 2 of the Emmy-winning comedy “Hacks,” the debut of Colin Firth’s true-crime drama “The Staircase” and the streaming return of “The Matrix: Resurrections” all await HBO Max subscribers in May. If you’re looking for something new to watch or wondering what’s on HBO Max this month, not to worry, we’ve got the full rundown.

There are several must-watch new TV shows on both HBO and HBO Max this month, new and returning. Acclaimed Jean Smart comedy “Hacks” returns for Season 2 on May 12. As for the new debuts, May sees the premieres for HBO Max’s “The Staircase” on May 5, starring Colin Firth as Michael Peterson in the true-crime limited series, as well as the HBO premiere of Steven Moffat’s (”Doctor Who”) series adaptation of “The Time Traveler’s Wife” on May 15.

New films this month include the streaming return of “The Matrix: Resurrections” and streaming premieres...

With movie theaters fully back up and running, HBO Max no longer has any major film releases to point to with its list of new releases for May 2022. That’s alright though as the streamer is leaning into the HBO side of its branding to offer up some fun TV releases.

The biggest HBO Max original this month is undoubtedly the return of Hacks on May 12. The first season of this comedy starred Jean Smart as a venerated Vegas comedy and Hannah Einbinder as her new millennial assistant. The first batch of episodes was excellent and even won an Emmy or two for its troubles and now season 2 will look to keep up the good vibes.

Premiering on May 15, is The Time Traveler’s Wife. This series adaptation of the 2003 novel (which in turn became a a 2009 movie) keeps up with two star-crossed lovers who can never quite make the timing work…...

Way back in 1998, before Marvel made metaverses a household concept, Gwyneth Paltrow starred in a lovely parallel-realities drama called “Sliding Doors,” in which a woman’s life split along two paths, depending on whether or not her character caught a specific train. At the time, juggling these competing fates was considered to be so demanding that the filmmakers obliged one of the two Gwyneths to get a haircut, so audiences could tell them apart.

Nearly a quarter-century later, our collective cine-literacy has gotten so sophisticated that “Sliding Doors” seems no more challenging than a simple game of tic-tac-toe. But that doesn’t necessarily mean audiences can handle the gnarly three-dimensional sudoku puzzle that is “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a mile-a-minute mind-bender from absurdist duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — aka the Daniels — that argues every conceivable variation of our lives exists in some alternate universe or other, then proceeds...

She was going nowhere in smalltown Kansas – until she unleashed her voice and became a raucous, liquor-swilling cabaret colossus. Now she’s the star of a hard-rocking, emotionally charged HBO drama

‘It’s a little like Sliding Doors,” says the actor and cabaret artist Bridget Everett, speaking from Manhattan, New York. She’s talking about her new dramedy Somebody Somewhere, which is set in Manhattan, Kansas. “Basically, what life might be like if I had stayed in Kansas and never moved to New York and found my voice.”

I feel I ought to point out that Somebody Somewhere is nothing like Sliding Doors. Everett plays Sam, a subdued, laconic woman, sometimes depressed, sometimes just not feeling it. She has a quiet life and a gigantic voice, which she slowly comes around to unleashing in the drab community centres and church halls where thwarted, flamboyant people find one another. The drama...

Michael Sheen isn’t one to mince his words. Even before Boris Johnson finds himself at the centre of the Christmas party scandal, the Welsh star of Frost/Nixon has our Pm in his crosshairs. “He’s the absolute worst of what politics can be,” says the 52-year-old, his voice rich and lilting. “A man who doesn’t seem to care or believe in anything other than his own advancement, and, as a result of immense privilege, has been able to get to the most powerful position in the country and then doesn’t use it to make people’s lives better. Everything is a game to him.” Sheen stops, reloads. “He seems to have no personal ethics, morals, beliefs, value system. So I will be immensely happy to see the back of him, not just from being prime minister but out of the political arena altogether. I hope he...

“The Suicide Squad” star Idris Elba has boarded Uzo Oleh’s short thriller “Edicius” as an executive producer, Variety can exclusively reveal.

The film stars “Chernobyl” actor Michael Socha as Jason, a man who works on behalf of a powerful gang. “When Jason uncovers the truth behind his most powerful client, he realises his life is on the line” reads the synopsis. “But a visit from his intuition, a man with his exact likeness, claims to have the answers to save him. All Jason has to do is trust him…but can he?”

Adele “Adesuwa” Oni (“Hanna and The Witcher”), Stuart Bowman (“Bodyguard”) and newcomer Sahera Khan also star.

Oleh, a photographer and director, has previously worked with some of the biggest names in entertainment including Elba, Cara Delevingne and Lady Gaga. His photography has appeared in Vogue and I-d Magazine as well as exhibitions worldwide. He has also directed a number of commercials.

At the exit to a gallery in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is a display of opinions about the future of cinema. For example:

“The Future Of Cinema Is Inclusion Not Exclusion”

–Kimberly Steward Film Executive

Or:

“The Future Of Cinema Is A Fusion Of Technology And Imagination”

–Thomas Duffield Production Designer

Well, here’s a modest addition, minus the block lettering, from yours truly, outside observer: “The future of cinema is alternate takes.”

That thought, profound or otherwise, occurred alongside the realization that Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife—a fourth entry in the Ghostbusters cycle—is set for release a week from Friday, on Nov. 19.

The film is unusual not in its reiterative nature—in the blockbuster world, franchise pictures are the rule, not the exception—but rather in the fact that it overlooks its predecessor, Paul Feig’s female-driven Ghostbusters reboot from 2016.

This, of course, caused some hard feelings.

Criminal Minds and CSI: Miami vet Adam Rodriguez is not some Ordinary Joe — but he will recur on the upcoming NBC fall drama (premiering Monday, Sept. 20).

Starring James Wolk in the titular role, the Sliding Doors-esque series is “all about the choices you make — and sometimes what you do in a single moment can change everything,” reads the official synopsis. Wolk’s character Joe Kimbreau “faces one of these decisions at his college graduation. The three parallel stories that diverge from that night find Joe and the people around him with different careers, relationships and family lives, showing the...

Grab your finest leather jacket, because we're heading back to the '90s with Gwyneth Paltrow as what she reminisces on as "one of her favorite pieces." In addition to being one of Hollywood's most well-known actresses throughout her career, Gwyneth has also been what some would consider a style icon. The Sliding Doors actress recently broke down 13 of her most iconic looks for Vogue's Life in Looks YouTube segment, and one of the very first pictures presented included a 1996 photograph of her and then-fiancé Brad Pitt taken in New York City. "I believe I was on set with Brad Pitt—he was making a movie," she shared. And although the actress...

For Variety’s Power of Women cover story about “Grey’s Anatomy,” Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson, Debbie Allen and showrunner Krista Vernoff sat down to discuss the show — its past and present.

They also talked about some of their favorite episodes over the years.

Vernoff, who was head writer for the first seven seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy” and returned for Season 14 as showrunner, said a two-part Season 3 episode about the death of George O’Malley’s dad was her favorite thing she’s done. “It was very much my story,” Vernoff said. “And it’s the thing I’m most proud of.”

Vernoff also prompted Allen to talk about a Season 15 episode she’d directed called “Silent All These Years” that focused on sexual assault. “The hallway of women,” Allen said, summoning imagery from the episode. “‘Silent All These Years,’ this episode we did about rape and women who are survivors, not just victims,...

Exclusive: Following through on news Deadline broke in May, Pluto TV and Verizon have activated their game-changing distribution partnership and revealed new programming details.

Starting today, 100,000-plus hours of free, ad-supported programming on ViacomCBS-owned Pluto are available to Verizon customers. The service will come in the form of an app on Android mobile devices and pre-installed on Fios cable boxes and Stream TV and 5G Amazon Home Fire devices.

The companies aren’t offering a precise number, but say “tens of millions” of Verizon customers will now have access to Pluto’s hundreds of channels, a significant step in the evolution of the pay-tv bundle. Verizon has just shy of 116 million wireless customers, plus four million video subscribers on FiOS and another six million FiOS broadband customers.

With or without a pay-tv subscription, Verizon customers will be able to watch curated versions of well-known TV networks. The partners declare...

Raven Capital management, the U.S. private equity firm that last year acquired distributor Open Road, is to finance a slate of TV projects from South East Asia’s Coconuts.

The arrangement will kick-off with pilots for seven unscripted TV shows. Raven and Coconuts TV will partner on global licensing and distribution deals for the series.

Coconuts TV is part of the Thailand and Singapore-based Coconuts digital publishing group, headed by Byron Perry. With smart tabloid taste, the group likes to focus on “weird and wondrous” untold stories from Asia.

The company’s credits include marijuana docu-series “Highland,” sold to Netflix in 2017; the hard-hitting short-docu variety show “Coconuts TV on Iflix,” commissioned by regional streamer Iflix in 2018; and adventure travel documentary “Nagaland: Twilight of the Headhunters,” sold to Discovery Asia in 2019.

Production on the pilots will be led by Perry and Vim Shanmugam, head of content and production with Coconuts...

There’s always been something about gambling that has been of huge appeal to filmmakers. Ever since the first Westerns, with the poker action played out in smoky bars, it’s been at the heart of some of the tensest moments ever in cinema. The reason for this is simple: whenever characters are playing for money, viewers are invested in seeing whether they’re going to win or lose. What’s more, the stakes involved can often be high and even sometimes a matter of life or death.

In some films it’s all about the gambling while, in others, it only plays a minor, but significant, part. But however central it is to the action, it’s certain to make a big impact – as these five examples show only too well.

Casino Royale

No rundown of gambling scenes would be complete without at least one Bond movie, and what...

Two years ago, Ron Cephas Jones was part of Emmy history when the four guest acting categories went to Black actors for the first time. And he could enter the record books again as our odds are forecasting a second guest sweep by Black performers.

Jones is predicted to win Best Drama Guest Actor again for “This Is Us,” the same show for which he prevailed in 2018. Cicely Tyson is the favorite in Best Drama Guest Actress as she seeks her fifth bid for “How to Get Away with Murder.” On the comedy side, Eddie Murphy (“Saturday Night Live”) and Maya Rudolph (“The Good Place”) are out in front.

In 2018, Jones won alongside Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) in drama guest actress, Tiffany Haddish (“Saturday Night Live”) in comedy guest actress and Katt Williams (“Atlanta”) in comedy guest actor.

The guest categories have all crowned multiple Black winners before, but...

One man’s Debris is NBC’s treasure, now that the network has given a series order to the alien spacecraft drama from Fringe‘s J.H. Wyman.

Executive-produced by Wyman and Jason Hoffs (Edge of Tomorrow), Debris follows two agents from two different continents (and sporting two different mindsets) who must work together to investigate when wreckage from a destroyed alien spacecraft begins having mysterious effects on humankind.

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One week after detailing its plan for the 2020-21 TV season, NBC has shed light on the status of the assorted pilots that were hoping to be in contention for a spot on the schedule.

Debris — in which Jonathan Tucker’s CIA analyst (Kingdom) and Riann Steele’s (NCIS: New Orleans) MI6 agent investigate the wreckage of an alien spacecraft — actually delivered its pilot ahead of the pandemic and thus is actively under consideration.

More from TVLinePilot Season 2020: Scoop on This Fall's (Possible!) New Shows, Who's In ThemGolden Globes: 2021 Ceremony Postponed Nearly Two MonthsSuperstore Star, EP Look Ahead...

Bradley Whitford (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) prevented Ron Cephas Jones from making history in the Best Drama Guest Actor Emmy category last year, but the “This Is Us” star could still do so this year. Currently in first place in our drama guest actor odds, Jones is seeking his second statuette for the NBC hit, which would make him the first person to win the category twice for the same role.

While the other three guest categories have had repeat champs for the same role — including Mel Brooks for “Mad About You” (1997-99), Kathryn Joosten for “Desperate Housewives” and Patricia Clarkson for “Six Feet Under” — drama guest actor has yet to double-dip for one character. Voters have awarded the same person multiple times in the category, but they were for different shows and roles: Charles S. Dutton won for “The Practice” in 2002 and “Without a Trace” in 2003, and John Lithgow prevailed...

Exclusive: Sliding Doors director Peter Howitt has been set to direct Lock Down, a feature set during the Covid-19 pandemic and the national shutdown in the U.S.

Howitt is directing from an original screenplay that he wrote with Gary Preisler (Kill Chain) who will produce alongside Nadine de Barros of Fortitude International and Sophie Seifried.

Fortitude is financing and representing international sales rights. The firm will be shopping the project in the run up to, and during, the Cannes virtual market next month. This will be one of multiple pandemic-themed projects at the market.

Producers are currently casting and eyeing a September 2020 start date in Los Angeles.

The story begins on March 14th, 2020 – the same day of the real California shutdown – in Santa Monica, California. It follows seven characters over 60 days whose lives intersect as they navigate the new normal that has suddenly been thrust upon the entire world.

This Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend review contains no spoilers.

“This Was a fascinating transition.”

An “interactive special” is an idea that may seem unusual or more like a gimmick than a justified angle for a follow-up special to a comedy’s series finale. However, there are fewer shows more perfect for this immersive storytelling approach than Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. This is a series that has a chaotic pacing for its humor and is fearless with its storytelling. There are jokes and narrative decisions on Kimmy Schmidt that I literally can’t imagine being told anywhere else. So a structure of storytelling that actually encourages the series’ gluttonous approach to jokes and digressions is really the most fitting and clever angle for such a follow-up.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a show that’s heavily interested in themes like fate, determination, and reinvention, all of which are inherently present...

In the latest of our series in which artists share their viewing recommendations, the Sliding Doors actor confesses his box-set scepticism and discusses our obsession with Miss Marple

Read all the other Lockdown watch choicesThe best arts and entertainment during self-isolation

The wife and I are in the middle of Devs. I like a bit of sci-fi. The kids aren’t that bothered. The imagery is similar to Ex Machina.

My son’s into this Spanish crime drama, Money Heist. He’s gone through three seasons since the weekend. I’m not great at bingeing. I just can’t sit there and watch five episodes of Better Call Saul. After two episodes, I’m ready for a break. I just don’t have the time on lockdown. I’m constantly making dinners, tidying up and taking the dog for a walk. Who wants to binge when the weather’s like this?...