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Few filmmakers had a better 1970s than Sidney Lumet. While he was more prolific than most of the decade's top directors, knocking out 11 movies over a 10-year span, and did find time to helm one of the worst musicals in motion picture history (a badly bungled adaptation of "The Wiz"), when Lumet got ahold of the right material, he made classics like "Serpico," "Dog Day Afternoon," and "Network."

There isn't a more electric movie in Lumet's oeuvre than "Dog Day Afternoon." Based on a true story, the 1975 critical and commercial hit centers on a bank robbery in Brooklyn carried out by Sonny Wortzik, an amateur crook desperate to pay for his lover's gender-affirming surgery. When the heist quickly goes south, Sonny and his associates find themselves stuck holding hostages while cops swarm the building. The defiant Sonny scrambles to negotiate...

Robert De Niro has played some of the most (in)famous gangsters in movie history. Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, Al Capone in The Untouchables, James Conway in Goodfellas, Sam 'Ace' Rothstein in Casino... the list goes on. And after his monumental turn as Frank Sheeran in The Irishman, a movie many felt was a farewell to the mob movie genre from those who'd made its greatest hits, you'd be forgiven for thinking De Niro was done playing wise guys. Enter Barry Levinson. Enter Goodfellas scribe Nicholas Pileggi. Enter Alto Knights. Not only is De Niro back on the organised crime beat in the Rain Man filmmaker's dramatisation of the feud between crime family heads Vito Genovese and Frank Costello in 50s America — he's playing both of the mobsters himself! Yes, the time of Robert Deux Niro is nigh... and you can check out the first trailer for...

Robert De Niro is a two-hit wonder in the trailer for the upcoming gangster film “The Alto Knights” from Barry Levinson. De Niro stars in a double role as both mob bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, real-life kingpins of New York’s Genovese crime family.

Alongside De Niro stars Debra Messing as Costello’s wife Bobbie, Kathrine Narducci as Genovese’s wife Anna and Cosmo Jarvis. “The Alto Knights” is set to follow the story of the Italian American mafiosi in the mid-twentieth century and Genovese’s attempted hit on Costello in 1957.

De Niro is no stranger to the crime thriller, especially ones with mob ties. One of his first was Martin Scorsese’s 1973 feature “Mean Streets” where he starred alongside Harvey Keitel. De Niro then joined Francis Ford Coppola for the 1974 “The Godfather Part II” and then Scorsese again for his 1990 mob feature “Goodfellas.” De Niro has also starred in “Casino,...

Mark your calendars, Oscars fans, because the 97th Academy Awards will air on Sunday, March 2, 2025 on ABC. The annual star-studded ceremony will honor movies released in theaters within the 2024 calendar year of eligibility. AMPAS members will vote on the Oscar winners in 23 categories, including Best Adapted Screenplay. But who will win? Here at Gold Derby, thousands of users have been making and updating their 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Adapted Screenplay, so let’s take a look at all of the top contenders in our photo gallery below.

These 25 Best Adapted Screenplay hopefuls are listed in order of their racetrack odds, which are derived from the combined forecasts of four unique groups: experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, editors who cover awards year-round for this website, top 24 users who had the best accuracy scores last year, and the mass of users who make up our biggest predictions bloc.

The...

In the 97 years that the Academy Awards have been going, certain genres have always remained the underdogs, regardless of how general audiences may feel about them at any given time in history. When it comes to science-fiction, for example, only two entrants in the genre have actually walked away with the Best Picture Oscar, and both are more recent than you might expect. In point of fact, there hadn't been a single Best Picture-winning sci-fi film at all until Guillermo del Toro's sci-fi horror romance "The Shape of Water" came up for air in 2017. Nevertheless, del Toro's story of a woman (Sally Hawkins) falling for a merman (Doug Jones) managed to check all the required boxes at the time, winning Best Picture over the likes of "Call Me By Your Name," "Get Out," "Dunkirk," "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," "Darkest Hour," "The Post," "Lady Bird," and "Phantom Thread." 

This...

Actor John Cazale is notable not just for his talents and intensity as a performer, but also for having one of the most impressive filmographies for any actor with a career as short as his. Cazale, a prolific theater veteran, famously only appeared in five feature films before his untimely death of lung cancer in 1978 at the age of 42. Those five films, however, are often considered some of the best and most significant films of the 1970s, which is saying something.

Cazale appeared in three Francis Ford Coppola movies, as well as Sidney Lumet's stirring bank robber drama "Dog Day Afternoon" and Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter." Cazale played supporting roles in all of them. Each one of them was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Three of them won.

Cazale's film career, of course, was only a small piece of his acting experience. Notoriously guarded and shy,...

As the world prepares to celebrate New Year’s Eve, fans will probably have a list of their best fun-filled New Year scenes in films. But only a few would remember The Godfather 2, which features an iconic celebration scene. The scene is rather intense rather than a joyous one but it is one that movie lovers would remember decades long after the original was released.

Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone in the New Year’s Eve scene in The Godfather 2 | Credits: Paramount Pictures

In this particular scene from the film, Michael Corleone finds the rat in his team who is responsible for the attempted hit against his family.

Michael finds on New Year’s Eve that it was his brother Fredo who betrayed him, throwing the viewers for a curve during the family-oriented holiday. Al Pacino delivers an exceptional performance alongside the legendary John Cazale.

The tragic New Year’s...

Believe it or not, there used to be a time where movie sequels were actually an incredibly rare thing. As it was, audiences felt that movies and even tv shows should have definitive stories and points that they were trying to make and why would anybody bother making a sequel to what should have been a conclusive story? But now, in an era where Hollywood values established IP and fanbases more than any potential original project, sequels have become the norm. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing that sequels have taken over cinemas, provided that the sequels are just as good as the originals and come out with their own original plot-lines. Like all movies, whether or not a person might enjoy a surplus of sequels is preferential and is more so dependent on the subject material, especially if it’s regarding a franchise that the audience has taken a liking too.

Beginning in the late 1960s and spreading into the 1970s, American cinema was revolutionized by the New Hollywood movement. At the forefront of this movement was a crew of directors from different entertainment disciplines who spoke to the exploding youth counterculture with classics like "Bonnie and Clyde," "The Graduate," and "M*A*S*H." The world felt like it was going mad, but the movies were somehow helping us make sense of this descent. Before moviegoers could adjust to this newfangled mode of motion picture art, the film brats arrived. Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg rattled the industry's cage in wildly different ways. It was a glorious time. Then studios, with the perhaps unwitting assistance of Lucas and Spielberg, locked in on a formula: They could make hundreds of millions of dollars off a single movie if they hit the right commercial buttons.

Perhaps the definitive image of “The Brutalist,” found near the opening of the film and featured heavily in its marketing, is an undulating, upside-down shot of the Statue of Liberty as a boat full of newly-arrived foreigners celebrate its presence. For them, it marks the end of a long journey, but in a signal to the audience, director Brady Corbet and cinematographer Lol Crawley tell us that very few are aware of what fresh horrors await on these new shores.

The immigrant experience, whether it be in depictions of dangerous crossings or the strife of settling in a new place far from what is known, has long been examined by filmmakers. Some have done so as a way of tracing their own family history, like in the case of Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather: Part II,” or as a form of understanding someone else’s plight in the instance of the animated documentary “Flee.

This article contains spoilers for "Mufasa: The Lion King."

Making a prequel to any story can be a challenge. It's a true double-edged sword. On the one hand, if you're being tasked with telling the story before the events of an earlier one, it means that audiences responded well to the latter. It's rare, at least, for an ill-liked or financially unsuccessful film to get a prequel, so audiences must have liked the first film enough. But the downside is that because audiences like the first story, it means that they kind of know where any prequel has to end. Even the best types of prequels struggle against this. 

If you watch "The Godfather Part II," for example, you inherently know that Vito Corleone will rise up through the ranks of the Mob to become the eponymous character of the original 1972 classic from director Francis Ford Coppola. That doesn't mean...

After the recent release of his misbegotten saga Megalopolis, the anniversary of his crime drama sequel serves as a perfect reminder of the director’s abilities

Creatively speaking, 2024 was Francis Ford Coppola’s biggest year in ages. Not only did it see the release of his first movie in 13 years, that film was Megalopolis, a dream project that had been kicking around in his head for upwards of four decades. It made a particularly auspicious year for the emergence of Coppola’s potentially career-capping achievement, because it also marked the 50th anniversary of perhaps his greatest sustained professional triumph: the year he released both The Conversation and The Godfather Part II within months of each other in 1974. With the sprawling (and loopy) ambition of Megalopolis still fresh in mind, the 50th anniversary of The Godfather Part II seems particularly notable in Coppola’s evolution as a film-maker.

The very idea...

There is something foundational about Carol Kane. She was part of the fabric of late 20th Century arts and entertainment, whether it be in films like “Dog Day Afternoon” and “The Princess Bride” or on television in her Emmy-winning performance on “Taxi” as wife to Andy Kaufman’s Latke. In transitioning into the 21st century, not only did her strengths become more amplified — her trademark quirkiness adding dynamism to movies such as “The Pacifier” and shows like “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” — but her range continues to become more pronounced. In the last decade alone she’s taken part in a western from Jacques Audiard (“The Sisters Brothers”), a zombie comedy from Jim Jarmusch (“The Dead Don’t Die”), and will soon be seen in Darren Aronofsky’s ’90s-set crime thriller “Caught Stealing” as a character she recently told IndieWire “only spoke Yiddish.”

The role garnering her the most attention nowadays, however,...

With a 200-minute running time, Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” (A24) isn’t unique among wide-release English-language films. In fact, it’s somewhat shorter than some major releases in recent decades.

There’s no standard for intermissions, which can vary between presentations, technical issues, or even elevating a film’s prestige. “The Brutalist” qualifies on all counts, but its intermission could herald a comeback: Audience habits have changed, and directors would love to use them to defend longer movies.

“The Brutalist” becomes 215 minutes start to finish with its precisely timed 15-minute break. Without it, it would be nine minutes shorter than “The Irishman”; about the same as “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “The Godfather Part II,” and George Stevens’ 1956 “Giant”; and about five minutes longer than “Schindler’s List” and “Titanic.” All were released without intermissions. Among major titles, “Gone with the Wind” is still the longest...

The IMDb top-250 is a curious portrait of populist taste. The list is, it's worth remembering, culled only from user ratings on the IMDb website, and, judging by the films on the list, the average IMDb user seems to be a college-age white male with a taste for crime, guns, fantasy, and the ultra-masculine. The top movies on the list all seem to be the types of movies that young men would own posters for, proudly displayed on their dorm room walls. There are many unassailable classics, to be sure, and young teens could easily look to the list as a rudimentary introduction to the world of cinema, but the list seems ... skewed. There's not a lot of variety. It's not curated by a single critic, nor even a panel of critics. It's just a general consensus of the taste of the types of people who like to rate movies on IMDb.

Should you ever need to give your watchlist some extra oomph, you can't go wrong by referring to IMDb's Top 250 list, which includes some of the best movies that cinema has ever had to offer. The great thing about such a mammoth pile of films is that icons of Hollywood will be popping in more than one entry on the list. Of course, some stars have a greater presence on this compendium than others, and while it might not shock many as to who has the most entries, it's surprising to see who the runner-ups are.

Coming in at the number one spot with the most films in IMDb's Top 250 is the man many believe to be perhaps the best actor ever -- Robert De Niro. Having appeared in over 100 films, nine of De Niro's projects rank among the website's most beloved 250: "The Godfather Part II," "Goodfellas,...

As one of cinema’s most legendary artisans, Francis Ford Coppola has helped shape the world of entertainment for over half a century, even when he wasn’t really trying to.

In a recent interview with The Washington Post ahead of him receiving a Kennedy Center Honor this weekend, Coppola reflected on his career, including the surprise success that came from “The Godfather” and how the studios forced him into the position of making a sequel despite not initially having an interest in doing so.

As a ploy to cause issues for Paramount, Coppola pitched titling the film “The Godfather: Part II” even though most sequels up until that point in Hollywood used unique titles like “The Bride of Frankenstein” or “After the Thin Man.” When “Part II” became another hit in its own right, it spurned a tradition that lasts to this day and one that Coppola himself resents.

After 50 years, Francis Ford Coppola has one regret about making what is largely considered the best sequel of all time.

According to the 5x Oscar winner, Hollywood’s ever-growing obsession with continuations is the result of his petty demands for making The Godfather Part II (1974), for which he fought Paramount Pictures on returning the director’s chair after the original 1972 was a major hit.

“They said, basically, ‘Francis, you’ve made Coca-Cola. You’re gonna stop making colas?'” recalled Coppola to The Washington Post.

In attempt to get out of directing the sequel, Coppola suggested up-and-coming director Martin Scorsese take the reins.

When Paramount rejected the idea, Coppola made some seemingly unreasonable demands, including a then-exorbitant $1 million paycheck and the addition of ‘Part II’ to the title. Although...

Sequel culture rules Hollywood today, but in the 1970s they hadn't even begun tagging numbers on to titles yet. All that changed with the massive success of The Godfather, which made Paramount Pictures eager for a sequel. Francis Ford Coppola wasn't particularly interested in making one, so he made a...

The Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece “The Godfather” (1972) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Picture winner ever. The results are from a recent Gold Derby ballot cast by 29 of our film experts and editors, who ranked all 96 movie champs.

Ranking in second place is the Michael Curtiz classic “Casablanca” (1943). Following in third place is the powerful Steven Spielberg film “Schindler’s List” (1993). Rounding out the top five are Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II” (1974) in fourth place and Billy Wilder‘s “The Apartment” (196o) in fifth place.

At the bottom of the list of the Best Picture winners is “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) from Cecil B. DeMille. Just above that film in the rankings are “Cimarron” (1931) from Wesley Ruggles, “The Broadway Melody” (1929) from Harry Beaumont, “Crash” (2005) from Paul Haggis, and “Around the World in 80 Days’ (1956) from Michael Anderson.

Our photo gallery above features the full top 10. See the complete rankings of all 96 films below.

The Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece “The Godfather” (1972) has been voted the greatest Oscar Best Picture winner ever. The results are from a recent Gold Derby ballot cast by 29 of our film experts and editors, who ranked all 96 movie champs.

Ranking in second place is the Michael Curtiz classic “Casablanca” (1943). Following in third place is the powerful Steven Spielberg film “Schindler’s List” (1993). Rounding out the top five are Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II” (1974) in fourth place and Billy Wilder‘s “The Apartment” (196o) in fifth place.

The worst among 96 Best Picture winners is “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952) from Cecil B. DeMille. Just above that film on the bottom of the rankings are “Cimarron” (1931) from Wesley Ruggles, “The Broadway Melody” (1929) from Harry Beaumont, “Crash” (2005) from Paul Haggis, and “Around the World in 80 Days’ (1956) from Michael Anderson.

Our photo gallery below features the full top 10. See the complete rankings of all 96 films below.

Sir Ridley Scott will use ‘The Godfather’ trilogy as a basis for a third ‘Gladiator’ movie.Even though he’s just released ‘Gladiator II’ - the long-awaited sequel to the Russell Crowe-starring 2000 Roman blockbuster - the 86-year-old director is already looking to the future of the series, and has now shared he will take inspiration from Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic Mafia saga if makes another movie in the franchise.The filmmaker explained he wanted to take Michael Corleone’s character arc from ‘The Godfather Part II’ and craft something similar for Paul Mescal’s Lucius, the son of Crowe's Maximus Decimus Meridius.Scott told The Hollywood Reporter: “There’s already an idea. I always had this idea that ‘The Godfather’ ends with Michael not wanting the job. He sits there, and there’s this push-in on Al [Pacino].He’s already had his hand kissed. He’s betrayed his wife with lies.

No one likes to admit it, but for most fans of "The Godfather," the final chapter of Michael Corleone's reign is more of an obligatory watch. "The Godfather Part III" is much further down the rankings of Francis Ford Coppola's features than the two masterful efforts that preceded it, perhaps because the star of the crime saga and his director had bigger concerns than delivering the same level of quality.

In Al Pacino's memoir, "Sonny Boy," the star that carried the beloved trilogy revealed his thought process about taking his seat at the head of the Corleone family table and that it was, in fact, a much easier option to take than he had in the previous film. As reported by People, Pacino wrote that with "The Godfather Part II," "I struggled with the decision and second-­guessed myself constantly. Not so for 'Part III.'" After 16 years...

[The following story contains spoilers for Gladiator II.]

Ridley Scott already has a plan for Gladiator III, and he has not been shy when it comes to dropping hints about it.

The visionary director has been promoting his new action-epic sequel, which is set to deliver a $60 million opening weekend at the box office. Scott, who turns 87 next week, already wants to return to the arena — and not wait two decades this time.

Gladiator II ends with Paul Mescal’s Lucius having gained the backing of an army and having defeated the villainous Macrinus (Denzel Washington), following his killing of the two Emperors, Geta and Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger). The ending gives the weary Lucius an opportunity to seize power for himself.

Scott says the sequel will pick up on that idea and draw inspiration from The Godfather Part II, where Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is now the undisputed leader of organized crime and...

Everything old was new again at this year’s Cairo Film Festival.

Filling out a super-sized 45th edition, the Egyptian event introduced a new section dedicated to heritage titles, showcasing 10 gems of world cinema, among them titles like “The Lonely Wife” and “The Color of Pomegranates” to mark the centenaries of film greats Satyajit Ray and Sergei Parajanov, as well as 4K restorations of “The Godfather Part II,” “The Thief of Baghdad” and “Cleopatra,” among several more.

As part of a bolstered Cairo Classics program, the festival also premiered 14 milestones of Egyptian cinema freshly remastered and reintroduced to an eager public. And as the Cairo Film Festival charts a new course under president Hussein Fahmy and artistic director Essam Zakarea, this restorative vocation will stay a cornerstone of their wider mission.

“Egyptian cinema is one of the oldest in the world, but we have a problem with our archive,” Zakarea tells Variety.

Love him or hate him, Robert De Niro is stepping into uncharted territory: episodic television.

And he’s doing it in a way only De Niro can — by playing a former U.S. president caught in the chaos of a devastating cyberattack in Netflix’s Zero Day.

Premiering February 20, 2025, the six-episode limited series finds De Niro in the role of George Mullen, a highly respected but complicated former president.

(Netflix)

He’s called back into action to lead an investigation after a cyberattack leaves thousands dead.

As head of the Zero Day Commission, Mullen must unravel a crisis steeped in disinformation, conspiracy, and power struggles.

But the stakes aren’t just political; they’re personal. Mullen’s relentless search for answers forces him to confront his own demons, risking his family, reputation, and legacy in the process.

The premise alone feels eerily relevant. Cybersecurity threats, rampant misinformation, and distrust in leadership dominate today’s headlines,...

The Academy Awards are still months away but the best picture landscape is already taking shape. Some question marks remain — for example, both “Nosferatu” and the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” have yet to be widely seen. And the staying power of smaller indies like “A Real Pain” and “Nickel Boys” has yet to be tested. Critical attention could boost films like “I’m Still Here” and “Hard Truths.” And it’s been a great year for animation with films like “Inside Out 2” and “The Wild Robot” — can they break the bias into the lead race?

While we’ll have to wait a bit longer for answers, here’s a look at some of the films that are generating the most discussion to take home the top prize in March.

Anora

Neon

Anchored by Mikey Madison’s force-of-nature performance in the title role, Sean Baker’s tale of a...

Prime Video’s November programming will dip its toe into Christmas and other holiday offerings such as The Holiday (2006) starring Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz and Jack Black. The streamer will also add some films with sequels arriving in theaters this month, like Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) and Ridley Scott’s 1992 film Gladiator.

For the full list of Prime Video programming in November 2024, see below.

Related: New On Netflix For November 2024: Movies, TV Shows and More

Nov. 1

Movies:

12 Days of Christmas Eve (2004) 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995) 50 To 1 (2014) A Knight’s Tale (2001) Absolute Deception (2013) Across The Universe (2007) Agent Cody Banks (2003) Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004) Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) Airplane! (1980) All Saints (2017) Almost Christmas (2016) Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid (2004) Anger Management (2003) Apache (1954) Bad Company (2002) Battlefield Earth (2000) Battleship (2012) Big Night (1996) Blizzard (2003) Blown Away (1993) Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004) Boomerang (1992) Bucky Larson Born To Be A Star (2011) Carrie...

Paul Mescal wants audiences to pay to be entertained by “Gladiator II” at the box office.

The indie star makes his blockbuster debut with Ridley Scott’s $250 million-plus sequel, which opens November 22 in theaters, the same day as musical adaptation “Wicked.”

Mescal told Variety that there is “pressure” for “Gladiator II” to do well in theaters.

“I do feel the pressure, and I do feel the desire for this to make money,” Mescal said. “The box office needs a shot in the arm, and if films like ‘Gladiator II’ aren’t doing it, it would be concerning. So I do feel a responsibility.”

“Gladiator II” is set 20 years after the events of the first film, which was released in 2000. Mescal plays the son of Russell Crowe’s deceased character Maximus; Mescal’s Lucius is the grandson of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington...

After months of rumors that Barry Keoghan would star in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” the director spoke about Keoghan’s planned casting in the New York Times this week. Due to scheduling conflicts, Keoghan departed the swords-and-sandals sequel to film Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn” in summer 2022.

“I love Ridley Scott,” Keoghan told IndieWire during a recent interview for the release of his latest film “Bird.” “I think he is just legendary. And again, Ridley is another one that you just jump on that opportunity. It didn’t work for scheduling reasons. But feck, man, you know, it’s like this guy is comparing me to these actors that I admire and, from a filmmaker like him, it was really nice to read that. It really was. I’m a massive fan of … Paul [Mescal]. Paul’s a friend, and I’m really excited. I love ‘Gladiator.’ So I’m really...

Ridley Scott’s ancient Rome would draw some inspiration from a mafia classic for a possible third “Gladiator” film.

Ahead of his highly-anticipated sequel “Gladiator II,” Scott told The Hollywood Reporter that he already has plans for a third franchise installment that would be inspired by Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather: Part II.”

“Gladiator II,” which opens November 22 in theaters, is set 20 years after the events of the first 2000 film. Paul Mescal plays the son of Russell Crowe’s deceased character Maximus; Mescal’s Lucius is the grandson of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington also star star.

According to Scott, “Gladiator” fans won’t have to wait another 25 years for a follow-up as he is eyeing a third film after the upcoming buzzy sequel.

When asked if Scott would release his original longer cut of “Gladiator II,” he told THR, “Yeah,...

Back in the ’90s, Robert De Niro’s trip to France took a shocking turn—one he vowed never to repeat. After a scandal shook up Paris, the Raging Bull star found himself in a nine-hour grilling session with French authorities. The issue? A connection to an investigation that left him fuming.

Robert De Niro in The Untouchables | Credits: Paramount Pictures

De Niro fiercely denied the claims, vowing he’d never set foot in France again. What started as a glamorous getaway ended in a headline-grabbing ordeal, adding a wild chapter to the legendary actor’s life that’s still buzzing decades later.

Robert De Niro’s Parisian Nightmare: Nine-Hour Interrogation Over Prostitution Claims Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver | Credits: Italo-Judeo Productions

“His name was mentioned by one of the call girls”—a line that landed Robert De Niro in hot water in Paris back in 1998. The Taxi Driver...

James Gunn is a curious figure in popular culture. As a young man, just rising in the film business, Gunn co-wrote the witty and disgusting Troma epic "Tromeo & Juliet" with Lloyd Kaufman, and it featured kinky sex, a bisexual Juliet, cow monsters, mutant penis creatures, and an opening narration by Lemmy from Motörhead. After that, Gunn took the piss out of the superhero genre with "The Specials," a low-low budget film about what superheroes — petty jerks, mostly — do on their day off. He stayed aloft in Hollywood writing the screenplays for two surreal "Scooby-Doo" movies, and Zack Snyder's remake of "Dawn of the Dead" before making his directorial debut in 2006 with "Slither," another gross movie about body-invading worm monsters and wacko mutants.

Gunn then deconstructed superheroes even further with "Super" in 2010, a film that hypothesizes that superheroes are mentally ill and addicted to extreme violence. "Super" is bleak,...

The American Film Institute has announced that veteran director Francis Ford Coppola will receive its 50th Life Achievement Award. The honor has previously gone to filmmakers John Ford, William Wyler, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, and Mike Nichols, among many others. This comes after Coppola won our poll as the director most deserving of the AFI’s honor, so our readers are bound to be happy.

Kathleen Kennedy, Chair of the AFI Board of Trustees, said in a statement, “Francis Ford Coppola is a peerless artist — one who has created seminal works in the canon of American film, and has also inspired generations of filmmakers who now embody his artistry and his independent spirit. AFI is honored to present him with the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award.”

SEEFrancis Ford Coppola movies: 16 greatest films ranked worst to best

Coppola has divided critics with his latest film — the ambitious, self-funded epic “Megalopolis” — but...

Megalopolis helmer Francis Ford Coppola is set to receive the American Film Institute’s 50th Life Achievement Award, AFI’s highest honor for a career in film, during a Gala Tribute at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 26, 2025.

Coppola is the latest in a line of esteemed artists to receive the award. Nicole Kidman took this year’s, with Julie Andrews, Denzel Washington, George Clooney, Diane Keaton and John Williams also recently being honored.

Said Kathleen Kennedy, Chair of the AFI Board of Trustees, “Francis Ford Coppola is a peerless artist – one who has created seminal works in the canon of American film, and has also inspired generations of filmmakers who now embody his artistry and his independent spirit. AFI is honored to present him with the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award.”

Most recently seeing Lionsgate release his film Megalopolis, a Roman epic set in modern times starring Adam Driver,...

Francis Ford Coppola has been named as AFI’s 50th Life Achievement Award honoree, the institute revealed on Tuesday.

The “Megalopolis” director will receive his award at a gala tribute held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 26, 2025.

“Francis Ford Coppola is a peerless artist — one who has created seminal works in the canon of American film, and has also inspired generations of filmmakers who now embody his artistry and his independent spirit,” Kathleen Kennedy, chair of the AFI board of trustees said in a statement. “AFI is honored to present him with the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award.”

In addition to “Megalopolis,” Coppola is also known for being the filmmaker behind “The Godfather,” “The Godfather Part II,” “Apocalypse Now,” “The Outsiders,” “The Godfather Part III” and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” to name just a few. He has won five Oscars, six Golden Globes, two Palmes d’Ors out...

Francis Ford Coppola has a date with American Film Institute next year.

The filmmaker has been selected to receive the 50th installment of the organization’s highest honor, the AFI Life Achievement Award, at a ceremony scheduled to take place at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on April 26, 2025. He will be 86 at the time. The tribute will air on TNT with encore presentations on Turner Classic Movies. All proceeds from the gala will support AFI’s education and arts initiatives.

The AFI Life Achievement Award is presented to an honoree “whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art, whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public, and whose work has stood the test of time.”

“Francis Ford Coppola is a peerless artist, one who has created seminal works in the canon of American film, and has also inspired generations of filmmakers who...

After a year that saw Francis Ford Coppola unveil “Megalopolis,” a lifelong passion project on which he staked a large part of his personal fortune, the beloved filmmaker is set to receive one of the most prestigious honors in Hollywood.

The American Film Institute will honor Coppola with its AFI Life Achievement Award at a gala held at the Dolby Theatre on April 26, 2025. The New Hollywood legend will be the 50th recipient of the award, continuing a tradition that began with John Ford in 1973.

“Francis Ford Coppola is a peerless artist — one who has created seminal works in the canon of American film, and has also inspired generations of filmmakers who now embody his artistry and his independent spirit,” Kathleen Kennedy, who serves as chair of the AFI Board of Trustees, said in a statement. “AFI is honored to present him with the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award.”

The AFI...

From 2020 to 2022, Bruce Willis cranked out a huge number of movies, most of them low-budget sci-fi/action films that all went straight-to-video, and usually playing brief, supporting roles. The many films were, by and large, panned by critics and mocked by baffled fans, all of whom wondered by Willis didn't appear to have much on-camera dialogue, or why he wasn't the lead character. In three years, he appeared in 22 movies. 

In March of 2022, it was announced that Willis had been diagnosed with aphasia, a brain condition that affected his ability to speak and comprehend language. Many of the above fans expressed their deepest apologies, and even the Razzies, in a rare show of good taste, retraced Willis' Worst Actor nominations. Willis retired from acting because of his condition. In February 2023, Willis, now 69, was also diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, and he remains in the care of his family. 

Willis, of course,...

Image Source: 20th Century Studios Despite a recent interview with 20th Century Studios head Steve Asbell leaving fans with more questions than answers, the possibility of another Die Hard film hasn’t been completely dismissed. When questioned by The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit about the future of the franchise, Asbell offered a cryptic “No, not yet,” a response that has reignited speculation among those who’ve followed John McClane’s explosive adventures. Since its debut in 1988, the Die Hard series, starring Bruce Willis as the unforgettable John McClane, has delivered four action-packed sequels. Sadly, Willis’s premature retirement, due to a frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, seemingly brought the franchise to a halt. Before his departure from acting, however, whispers circulated about a potential Die Hard film that would bridge the past and present. Entertainment insider Daniel Richtman hinted at a prequel being in development. As Cbr.com highlighted this ambitious project,...

Back in 2022, Will Smith got up on stage during the Oscars telecast to slap host Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife's hair. "Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth" he yelled. Smith, it should be noted, also won the Oscar for Best Actor that night. Almost immediately, however, pundits took to their keyboards to discuss the consequences for Smith, weighing in on any possible punishments or exoneration of his brash behavior. Smith, some might say wisely, resigned from the Motion Picture Academy of his own volition and was subsequently banned from the Academy Awards for 10 years. By late 2024, this all seemed like a tempest in a teapot.

But Smith's resignation from the Academy brought up a few interesting pieces of trivia about Hollywood, notably that the Academy has only very, very rarely expelled its members. Indeed, as noted by the Independent, only the most...

It’s a unique year for sequels and prequels at the Oscars. There are three films whose preceding installments won five or more trophies from the academy: “Dune: Part II,” “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” and “Gladiator II.” That opens the door for history to be made. If one or more of those films wins five times, it will be the first time in history that two films in the same franchise have won that many competitive prizes. For which film is that likeliest to happen? Scroll down to vote in our poll at the bottom of this post.

SEEExperts slugfest: ‘Gladiator II’ reactions, ‘Conclave’s’ Oscar hopes, and ‘The Substance’ in comedy

Even when you consider some of the most successful franchises of all time, none have accomplished the feat. “The Godfather” and “The Godfather: Part II” are the only film and sequel to both win Best Picture, but...

"Dune: Part Two" is one of the best films of 2024, a monumental achievement that seems like a shoo-in to be nominated for a swath of technical awards at the upcoming 97th Academy Awards. As of this writing, several screenings of the film are taking place throughout this week in Los Angeles, featuring director Denis Villeneuve giving Q&As after a number of them. One of these screenings includes a chat with Villeneuve and composer Hans Zimmer, moderated by the winner of Best Original Score for the 96th Academy Awards, Ludwig Göransson. It certainly seemed like Zimmer's work for "Dune: Part Two" was going to be a big part of the film's push at the Academy Awards.

Sadly, that part of the movie's awards campaign is now officially over -- at least when it comes to the Oscars specifically. According to Variety, Zimmer's score has been deemed not eligible for competition.

Audiences outside the film festival bubble and the awards season industrial complex will soon get a chance to see Brady Corbert’s “The Brutalist.” On Tuesday, A24 released the first teaser trailer for the epic Oscar contender starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce.

“Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect László Toth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes,” reads a synopsis provided by A24. “On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost…”

Brody stars as Toth and is widely predicted to receive his second Best Actor nomination for the film. He was previously nominated and won for “The Pianist” in 2002. Jones...

Paul Mescal, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington and Fred Hechinger were on hand for the highly anticipated “Gladiator II” Special Screening on Friday Night. It was followed by a Q&a and Reception at Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles, California.

The screening was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Jacqueline Coley.

Los Angeles, California – October 18: Guests attend a “Gladiator II” Special Screening, Q&a and Reception at Paramount Pictures Studios on October 18, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

The long-awaited sequel to the Oscar winning 2001 film, from director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now...

Gladiator II had its first screening Friday night and early reactions have already made their way to social media.

The sequel to the 2000 film was screened at the Paramount Studios lot in Los Angeles, where media outlets and film critics got a first look at the movie starring Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal.

Gladiator II, directed by Ridley Scott, sees Mescal playing a grown-up Lucius Verus II, a nephew to emperor Commodus from the original film, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Lucius returns to Rome after being forced into slavery to battle not as a ruler, but as a gladiator out for revenge and power, and seeks to return the glory of Rome to its people.

The cast also includes Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Derek Jacobi, Rory McCann, Fred Hechinger, Matt Lucas, Tim McInnerny, Peter Mensah and Alec Utgoff. The movie opens in theaters on Nov. 22.

Gladiator II is...

Are you not entertained by this year’s exciting and unpredictable Oscar race? Well, you should be because Ridley Scott’s epic and potentially huge blockbuster sequel, “Gladiator II,” has exploded onto the scene following its first screening in Los Angeles in front of an audience of AMPAS and SAG voters.

The long-awaited sequel to best picture winner “Gladiator” (2000) is igniting the spark for Scott, its three-time Oscar-nominated director, to be in the running to win his long-coveted Academy Award. Additionally, his stars Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington are now contenders in their respective acting races.

After picking up his first best actor Oscar nomination for “Aftersun” (2022), Mescal could find himself back in the category for his “Gladiator II” leading role. Meanwhile, Washington, who already has two acting Oscars, could be in contention for a third, potentially joining a small list of three-time acting winners, including Frances McDormand, Jack Nicholson,...

Is there room at the best picture table for more than one “part two?”

This year, several installments in established franchises are banging on the Academy’s door, hoping for a coveted slot in the category. With no clear frontrunner, this could be the season that more than one sequel secures a place in the race. That has happened only once, in 2022 (“Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Top Gun: Maverick”).

The Oscars have long hesitated to embrace anything with a Roman numeral affixed to it. Historically, only nine sequels have been nominated for best picture: “The Bells of St. Mary’s” (1945), “The Godfather Part II” (1974), “The Godfather Part III” (1990), “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002), “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003), “Toy Story 3” (2010), “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015), “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022) and “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022). Just two — “Godfather 2” and “Return of the King” — won.

Al Pacino has revealed the movie he seriously hoped would win him an Oscar.

The star is promoting his book Sonny Boy this week in the UK and while he has had quite the decorated career, he has said there was one performance he felt was somewhat overlooked – Scarface.

Pacino played Tony Montana in Brian De Palma’s movie, immortalizing the phrase “Say hello to my little friend.” Yet Scarface was completely snubbed by the Academy.

This morning on the BBC Today program, Pacino named the movie as the one he wished he’d got an Oscar for. “I would have liked to have even got nominated for that one,” he said of Scarface.

As it turned out, he was to win his Oscar a decade later for Scent of a Woman, while he has been nominated a further seven times including for the first two Godfathers.

Pacino made headlines...

Al Pacino suffered an ankle injury on the set of Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather,” and he admits in his new memoir to feeling relieved that it might have gotten him fired. At the time, the studio was still questioning whether Pacino was the right fit for mobster Michael Corleone, and the actor felt immense pressure to get it right.

In a new excerpt from the book — titled “Sonny Boy” — via The Guardian, Pacino writes that a rumor started to spread around set that he was going to be “let go.” “There was a discomfort among people, even the crew, when I was working. I was very conscious of that,” Pacino writes. “The word was that I was going to be fired, and, likely, so was the director. Not that Francis wasn’t cutting it – I wasn’t. But he was the one responsible for me being in the film.