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Horror legend Stephen King has written a fair few books over the years. Ever since he burst on the scene with "Carrie" in 1974, he's given fans at least one book nearly every year. Since most of his work has been extremely popular, he's also established himself as a bit of an authority on the horror front -- and isn't shy about commenting about either the genre or his craft as a writer.

Thanks to King's status as a horror luminary and extensive work in many other genres, we've analyzed his work many times before. You may have seen us discuss why King's endings have a reputation for being disappointing, look into his biggest career regret involving (of all things) a forgotten TV commercial, and examine the one Stephen King book that will never get a film adaption due to the author voluntarily scrubbing it from his catalog.

However, in order...

Stephen King‘s “Constant Readers” have read about the character Holly Gibney in the pages of his Bill Hodges trilogy, the novel The Outsider, the If It Bleeds short story from the collection of the same name, and his crime novel Holly. Now, Entertainment Weekly has revealed that Holly is also at the heart of his next novel, Never Flinch, which is set to reach store shelves on May 27, 2025.

A couple of years ago, King told The Kingcast hosts Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler, “I could never let Holly Gibney go from the Mr. Mercedes books. I mean, she was supposed to be a walk-on character and she just kind of stole the book and stole my heart.” Obviously, Holly still has his heart. He had mentioned last year that he was working on another Holly Gibney book, but at that time he was calling it We Think Not. He...

Stephen King's Bill Hodges Trilogy, "The Outsider," "If It Bleeds," "Holly," and his recently announced novel, "Never Flinch," scheduled for May 27, 2025, all feature one of his most beloved characters: Holly Gibney. Initially intended as a side character in "Mr. Mercedes," Holly "just kind of stole the book and stole my heart" King notes in the blurb for her 2023 solo book. Holly has appeared on screen in TV adaptations of "Mr. Mercedes" and "The Outsider," played by Justine Lupe and Cynthia Erivo, respectively.

We are first introduced to Holly Gibney in "Mr. Mercedes," where we learn that she's a computer whiz and a wallflower, highly intelligent yet a social klutz. She proves to be the perfect partner for retired cop Bill Hodges as they team up to hunt down a psychopathic mass murderer. Over the course of a few years, she gradually blossoms into a strong, capable investigator in her own right.

Updated: “Men die, oil companies don’t. So begins the new trailer for Taylor Sheridan’s Landman, starring Billy Bob Thornton.

In the new trailer, Thornton’s Tommy Norris is the fixer in the Paramount+ drama based on the podcast Boomtown. Check it out above and see series details below.

Previous, Sept. 5: Lots of fiery explosions and grimy-faced roughnecks fill the trailer for the new Paramount+ drama Landman, which also features a warning from star Billy Bob Thornton about how “getting oil out of the ground is the most dangerous job in the world.”

The drama set in west Texas that’s about — what else? — oil drilling and profiteering will premiere Sunday, November 17, on the streamer. The series will launch with two episodes with subsequent episodes of the 10-episode first season dropping every Sunday.

The series is based on the 11-part podcast “Boomtown” from Imperative Entertainment and Texas Monthly...

Strap in for the new gritty thriller series from Paramount’s golden boy, Taylor Sheridan. The television guru is premiering a new trailer for his upcoming drama, which will be tackling the cutthroat world of the oil business. As per usual, his new series also sports an impressive cast.

Paramount+ today debuted the second official trailer for the highly anticipated new original series, Landman, starring Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton. The drama will premiere on Sunday, November 17, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and international markets where the service is available. The series will launch with two episodes and subsequent episodes of the 10-episode first season will be available every Sunday. Co-created by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, Landman is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios and Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions exclusively for Paramount+.

Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a...

Paramount+ has revealed the new trailer for the Landman series, starring Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton. The drama will premiere on Sunday, November 17, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and international markets where the service is available.

The series will launch with two episodes, and subsequent episodes of the 10-episode first season will be available every Sunday.

Co-created by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, Landman is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, and Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions exclusively for Paramount+.

Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune-seeking in the world of oil rigs. Based on the notable 11-part podcast Boomtown from Imperative Entertainment and Texas Monthly, the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big that it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics.

In addition to Billy Bob Thornton,...

On Saturday October 26 2024, Oxygen broadcasts Philly Homicide!

End of Watch Season 1 Episode 1 Episode Summary

In the upcoming episode of “Philly Homicide,” titled “End of Watch,” viewers will witness a gripping story that highlights the dangers faced by police officers. The episode centers around the tragic event of a veteran officer being gunned down while on duty. This shocking incident sets the stage for an intense investigation as detectives work tirelessly to bring the killer to justice.

As the detectives dive deeper into the case, they find themselves exploring a troubled suburb of Philadelphia. The investigation reveals a web of secrets and hidden truths within the community. As they piece together clues, the detectives uncover a crime that involves betrayal on a profound level. The emotional weight of the officer’s death drives the team to pursue every lead, determined to honor their fallen colleague.

“End of Watch” promises to be...

The series premiere of Philly Homicide on Oxygen True Crime, “End of Watch,” introduces viewers to host Lt. Chris McMullin, a former Philadelphia P.D. patrol officer and Bensalem P.D. detective. This episode examines the tragic case of a veteran police officer killed in the line of duty. Detectives embark on a quest to find the […]

Philly Homicide: End of Watch...

“Philly Homicide” kicks off its first season with an intense episode titled “End of Watch.” This gripping premiere airs on Saturday, October 26, 2024, at 9:00 Pm on Oxygen. The episode dives into the heart of Philadelphia, where a veteran police officer faces a tragic fate, gunned down while serving his community. This shocking event sets the stage for a story filled with emotion and determination.

As the detectives step into action, their mission becomes clear: they must find the officer’s killer and deliver justice. The investigation leads them to a troubled suburb of Philadelphia, where layers of secrets and betrayal begin to unravel. The detectives face not only the challenge of solving the crime but also the weight of their fallen colleague’s legacy.

Viewers can expect a blend of suspense and drama as the team navigates through a web of lies and deception. “End of Watch” promises to be...

Pitch Perfect star Anna Kendrick makes her directorial debut with thriller Woman Of The Hour. Here’s the trailer.

Update: Netflix has released a new trailer for Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, Woman Of The Hour. The film follows a woman (played by Kendrick) who enters a TV dating show, but what she doesn’t know is that one of the bachelors is a serial killer, Rodney Alcala, played by Daniel Zovatto.

The film is set to head straight to Netflix and will appear on the service on 18th October, although it was previously thought the film would head into UK cinemas first.

Take a look at the new trailer:

There’s also a brand new poster for the film, which you can spy below.

Credit: Netflix

Our original story follows…

12th August: While Anna Kendrick may be best known for leading the ensemble of the Pitch Perfect films, she...

Stephen King is no stranger to murderous cars. From Christine and From a Buick 8 to the malevolent Goblin truck haunting the roads of Maximum Overdrive, the master of horror knows his way around gory gear shifts, sinister steering wheels, and dangerous drivers. In 2014, he released Mr. Mercedes, a crime novel pitting Bill Hodges, a retired detective, against Brady Hartsfield, a criminal mastermind disguised as the ice cream man. Both survive the novel’s explosive conclusion, though Brady is left in a vegetative state. After a brief detour into the world of rare publications with the 2015 sequel Finders Keepers, King catches up with the disabled criminal and his newfound psychic powers. End of Watch sees Hodges once again match wits with his old nemesis aided by partners Holly and Jerome.

Hosts Randall Colburn, Jenn Adams, Rachel Reeves, and Ashley Casseday hop back into the blood-soaked Mercedes to conclude their coverage of this confounding trilogy.

Antoine Fuqua's 2001 cop drama "Training Day" is notable for its hellish tone, gritty photography, and amazing central performance from the incomparable Denzel Washington. Indeed, "Training Day" won Washington his second acting Academy Award for playing LAPD Detective Alonzo Harris, the most horrible and corrupt cop on the force. Ethan Hawke plays Jake Hoyt, the cop assigned to learn from Alonzo on the day before his promotion. Hoyt will get a disturbing crash course in how deeply the violence and corruption of the LAPD really runs. 

Although Alonzo is a terrible person, he's an appealing villain, and many viewers came to love his gnashing and displays of brazen power. Alonzo's line "King Kong ain't got nothing on me," written by David Ayer, was briefly a part of the oft-repeated pop canon. "Training Day" was Fuqua's third feature as a director (after "The Replacement Killers" and "Bait"), but it was the...

Paramount+’s official Landman trailer begins with Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton explaining that his character’s job in the oil industry is to secure the land and manage the people. And of the two, it’s the people – the second part of the equation – that can get you killed.

In addition to Thornton, the season one cast includes Ali Larter (The Last Victim), Michelle Randolph (1923), Jacob Lofland (Joker 2), Kayla Wallace (When Calls the Heart), and James Jordan (Yellowstone). Mark Collie (Nashville), Paulina Chávez (The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia), and Demi Moore (Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans) also star.

Jon Hamm (Fargo) appears in a recurring guest role, with Andy Garcia (Expendables franchise) and Michael Peña (End of Watch) guest starring.

Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris and Ali Larter as Angela Norris in ‘Landman’ (Photo Credit: James Minchin/Paramount+)

“Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman...

Paramount+ today debuted the official trailer for the new original series Landman, starring Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton. The drama will premiere on Sunday, November 17, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and international markets where the service is available.

The series will launch with two episodes, and subsequent episodes of the 10-episode first season will be available every Sunday.

Co-created by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, Landman is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, and Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions exclusively for Paramount+.

Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune-seeking in the world of oil rigs. Based on the notable 11-part podcast Boomtown from Imperative Entertainment and Texas Monthly, the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big that it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics.

In addition to Billy Bob Thornton,...

Strap in for the new gritty thriller series from Paramount’s golden boy, Taylor Sheridan. The television guru is premiering a new trailer for his upcoming drama, which will be tackling the cutthroat world of the oil business. As per usual, his new series also sports an impressive cast.

Paramount+ today debuted the official trailer for the highly anticipated new original series, Landman, starring Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton. The drama will premiere on Sunday, November 17, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and international markets where the service is available. The series will launch with two episodes and subsequent episodes of the 10-episode first season will be available every Sunday. Co-created by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, Landman is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios and Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions exclusively for Paramount+.

Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day...

Welcome to the world of oil. Those are the ominous words that end the first trailer for “Landman,” Taylor Sheridan’s new drama series starring Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm and Demi Moore. The show will premiere its first two episodes on Paramount+ Nov. 17.

“The oil and gas industry makes $3 billion a day in pure profit. And it’s only getting bigger,” Thornton’s Tommy Norris says in the opening of the trailer. He then outlines that to make that money, you need to do two things: secure the land and manage the people.

“First part’s pretty simple. It’s the second part that can get you killed,” Tommy says.

After he drops that bomb, disaster strikes. Dynamic shots of men in suits boarding private planes and Tommy in his cowboy hat are replaced by a scene of workers on an oil rig. The trailer then cuts to blast as the sound drops out.

The first trailer for Taylor Sheridan’s Landman shows a high-powered ensemble cast sparring over the oil business in West Texas.

“The world has already convinced itself that you are evil and I am evil for providing them the one thing they interact with every day!” marvels recurring guest star Jon Hamm in the footage (below).

The show’s official description: “Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune-seeking in the world of oil rigs. Based on the notable 11-part podcast Boomtown from Imperative Entertainment and Texas Monthly, the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.” The series is co-created by Sheridan and Christian Wallace.

“It’s based on oil speculators and what they called landmen, which are the guys that run around and try to acquire mineral rights and land rights...

David Ayer has been a celebrated filmmaker who wrote the Oscar-winning film Training Day. The filmmaker has made some amazing films including End of Watch, Fury, and most recently directed the Jason Statham starrer The Beekeeper. The director also played in the superhero sandbox with 2016’s Suicide Squad which was unfortunately panned by critics and fans.

A still from 2016’s Suicide Squad | Warner Bros Pictures

Since the release of the film, Ayer has talked about how studio interference resulted in an inferior cut of the film and he has been campaigning for his cut of Suicide Squad to see the light of day. He has talked highly of the film he has made and continues to push for the film’s release someday. On the 8th anniversary of the film’s release, he posted some shots from his cut of the film that confirm the fate of one key character.

Yellowstone’s posse wasn’t complete, so Costner and Taylor Sheridan, determined to elevate the show’s roster, looked for another A-lister. Their mission and vision were clear—inject more grit and intrigue into the show, enhancing the rugged, complex world of the drama series.

Kevin Costner in Yellowstone | Paramount

As the show continued to captivate audiences, this newcomer seemed like the missing piece of the Yellowstone puzzle, keeping the series a TV titan. It was none other than Cole Hauser.

Taylor Sheridan Had His Eyes Locked on Cole Hauser for Yellowstone’s Rip Wheeler Cole Hauser in a still from Yellowstone | Paramount Network

With its rugged Western drama and a stellar star cast, Taylor Sheridan‘s 2018 drama series Yellowstone has lassoed a massive following. While Kevin Costner’s (our beloved John Dutton) portrayal is undeniably iconic, Sheridan knew another horseman could benefit the ranch’s success. But who was...

Paramount+ today announced that the new original drama series Landman, starring Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton, will premiere on Sunday, November 17, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and international markets where the service is available.

The series will launch with two episodes, and subsequent episodes of the 10-episode-long first season will be available weekly on Sundays.

Created by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan, Landman is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, and Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions exclusively for Paramount+.

Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune-seeking in the world of oil rigs.

Based on the notable 11-part podcast Boomtown from Imperative Entertainment and Texas Monthly, the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big that it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics.

In addition to Billy Bob Thornton, the...

If there’s one thing that’s working at Paramount, it’s Taylor Sheridan. That’s probably why the “Yellowstone” creator’s latest drama, “Landman,” is set to premiere on Nov. 17, exclusively on Paramount+.

The series, which stars Billy Bob Thornton as an oil company crisis executive, will launch with its first two episodes on that date. After that, new installments of the 10-episode series will premiere weekly on Sundays.

Set in West Texas, “Landman” is based on the “Boomtown” podcast by Texas Monthly and focuses on the 21st century Texas oil boom. The series is a modern-day retelling of those seeking their fortunes in the world of oil rigs. The drama is described as an “upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics,” according to a press release for the series.

Thornton, who is...

Paramount+’s next Taylor Sheridan series now has some first-look photos and premiere date.

Landman starring Oscar-winner Billy Bob Thornton will premiere Nov. 17. The official description: “Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. Based on the notable 11-part podcast Boomtown, the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.”

The cast has several familiar names, including some Sheridan Yellowstone-verse veterans. The cast includes Ali Larter (The Last Victim), Michelle Randolph (1923), Jacob Lofland (Joker 2), Kayla Wallace (When Calls the Heart), James Jordan (Yellowstone), Mark Collie (Nashville), Paulina Chávez (The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia) and Demi Moore (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans). Jon Hamm (Fargo) will star in a recurring guest role, with Andy Garcia...

Paramount+ has announced the premiere date for its latest Taylor Sheridan drama.

Landman, starring Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton, will premiere Sunday, November 17. The series will launch with two episodes, and subsequent episodes of the 10-episode long first season will be available weekly on Sundays. See the first-look images from the series below.

Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, Landman is a modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. Based on the 11-part podcast “Boomtown,” the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.

In addition to Thornton, the series stars Ali Larter (The Last Victim), Michelle Randolph (1923), Jacob Lofland (Joker 2), Kayla Wallace (When Calls the Heart), James Jordan (Yellowstone), Mark Collie (Nashville), Paulina Chávez (The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia), and Demi Moore (Feud: Capote Vs.

Following the critical and commercial triumph of “The Beekeeper,” anticipation is building for Jason Statham’s upcoming action thriller, “Levon’s Trade.” Set for release on January 17, 2025, the film is generating excitement among fans and industry observers alike.

“The Beekeeper,” which grossed $152 million worldwide against a $40 million budget, has become Statham’s 13th highest-grossing film of 2024. More significantly, it achieved Statham’s best Rotten Tomatoes score since 2015, with audiences awarding it a 91% approval rating – the highest for a Statham movie in over a decade.

“Levon’s Trade” appears to be following a similar formula to “The Beekeeper,” with Statham playing Levon Cade, a former Special Forces operative drawn back into a world of violence. Based on Chuck Dixon’s 2014 novel, the film’s screenplay is penned by action icon Sylvester Stallone and features a star-studded cast including David Harbour, Jason Flemyng, and Michael Peña.

The plot revolves around Cade, who has left...

When it comes to churning out books, Stephen King and George R.R. Martin could not be further apart in their approach to writing books. While Martin takes quite the amount of time (given that his books are much bigger and merit more thought due to the complex nature of political intrigue) to finish his books, Stephen revealed how he is able to churn out so many books in a year.

Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise in the adaptation of It, a novel by Stephen King

Sitting down for a talk together Geroge R.R. Martin and Stephen King discussed a myriad of things, chief among them how King was able to get so many books out so fast. King was kind enough to let Martin and the audience know the process that he follows to ensure a steady supply of completed books for his publisher.

Stephen King aims to finish 6 pages...

Greatness in writing comes in different forms, and two shining examples of this virtue are prolific authors Stephen King and George R.R. Martin. While King is popularly known as the ‘King of Horror’ for his masterful depiction of narratives in the genre like The Shining, Martin is the bonafide genius of fantasy with Game Of Thrones.

George R.R. Martin and Stephen King

The first part of the Tales of Dunk and Egg trilogy is The Hedge Knight which is set between the events in House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, and has been given the green flag by HBO (via Variety) to be developed into a series.

Suggested“…the Shadow of the Erdtree is yet another part…”: George R. R. Martin’s Elden Ring Writings are So Vast Individual ‘parts’ Inspired Shadow of the Erdtree and the Main Game. How Much is Being Kept From Us?...

During its existence, the DC Extended Universe (Dceu) gave rise to some historic blunders. My personal favorite was when Dwayne Johnson simply refused to accept that his "Black Adam" movie wasn't very good, but the ill-fated shared universe has a plethora of greatest hits when it comes to cinematic slip-ups, from the box office disappointment that was "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" to the box office bomb of super-heroic proportions that was "The Flash."

Look, it's extremely difficult to build a shared cinematic universe. Aside from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the only action franchise that's really achieved anything of note in the last few years is the "John Wick" saga, and even that can't hope to match the historic highs of the MCU. So you can't really fault DC and Warner Bros. for failing to establish an enduring cinematic multiverse — though that hasn't stopped David Ayer from trying.

The director...

Exclusive: Lionsgate’s female-driven John Wick spinoff Ballerina has added David Castañeda (The Umbrella Academy) and Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Sex Education) to its cast amid reshoots abroad, Deadline can reveal.

Word of the castings comes at a newsy time in the world of John Wick, as word has emerged of a Wick series in the works, alongside an animated series adaptation of Twilight.

Ballerina watches as a young female assassin (Ana de Armas) trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma seeks revenge against the people who killed her family — as did Wick against those who have did him wrong, in films released between 2014 and 2019. After signing a new deal with Lionsgate expanding his oversight of the John Wick franchise, of which he was the architect, Chad Stahelski is working with Ballerina helmer Len Wiseman to shape new action sequences for the film.

Written by Shay Hatten, based on characters created by Derek Kolstad,...

The first action-thriller of 2024, The Beekeeper, from Amazon MGM Studios, will be available for purchase on 4K Uhd, Blu-ray and DVD on April 23. Directed by David Ayer from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer, the film is produced by Bill Block, Jason Statham, David Ayer, Chris Long, Kurt Wimmer. The Beekeeper stars Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman (TV’s “The Umbrella Academy”), Josh Hutcherson (“The Hunger Games” films), Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver (“Good Will Hunting”), Phylicia Rashad (“Creed”) and Jeremy Irons (TV’s “Watchmen”). The Beekeeper will be ... Read more...

Martin Scorsese will soon be seen on the big screen, and he won’t be playing himself.

The master director, who is being feted with Berlin Film Festival’s honorary Golden Bear on Tuesday night, has a small but powerful role playing an elderly sage who influences Dante Alighieri while he is writing “The Divine Comedy” in Julian Schnabel’s upcoming crime mystery “In the Hands of Dante.”

Though Scorsese has cameoed in many of his movies and occasionally performed in films by other directors – he played Vincent van Gogh in a segment of Akira Kurosawa’s 1990 film “Dreams” and also performed as voice talent as the loan shark pufferfish in “Shark Tale” – this role is likely to be among his meatiest.

“He is extraordinary in the film,” Schnabel tells Variety, calling Scorsese’s part “a brilliant, important role” and adding: “You can’t take your eyes off him.”

Two...

Stephen King loves Holly Gibney. First introduced in King's crime novel "Mr. Mercedes," book one of the Bill Hodges trilogy, she's returned in his work time and time again. She came back in the two other books in the trilogy: "Finders Keepers" and "End of Watch." Then she appeared in the novel "The Outsider" and the short story "If It Bleeds." Finally, she got a book of her own with "Holly," the newest novel King published (it came out in 2023; the ever-prolific King probably wrote four more novels in the time it will take me to finish this sentence).

Holly has been brought to the small screen twice already. She appeared in the "Mr. Mercedes" TV series, where she was played by Justine Lupe. Then she popped up again in the TV adaptation of "The Outsider," where Cynthia Erivo played the character. Now, Holly is headed to the small screen again,...

David Ayer directed one of the most unexpectedly huge hits of the last decade with DC's "Suicide Squad" back in 2016. What happened after was an unfortunate mess that Ayer found himself caught in the middle of. Now though, the filmmaker finally gets to be on the right end of a theatrical success story as his latest film "The Beekeeper" has found life at the box office. With the help of Jason Statham and a ridiculous premise, Ayer now has his first theatrical hit since his divisive superhero blockbuster.

Even though it didn't top the charts (that honor belongs to the new "Mean Girls" musical), "The Beekeeper" opened to $16.5 million, with that total growing to $19 million when accounting for the Monday MLK holiday, per The Numbers. The film only made $4 million overseas thus far, bringing its total to $23 million, but it is still scheduled to open in many key markets in the coming weeks.

David Ayer has been making action movies for more than 20 years. "Training Day" might still be his most famous credit as a writer, but he also has writing credits on "The Fast and The Furious," "U-571," and "S.W.A.T." and he later wrote and directed films like "End of Watch," "Fury," "Sabotage," and "Suicide Squad" (the latter of which was infamously recut by Warner Bros. before its release). With all of that experience, one might assume he'd be the one imparting advice or doling out nuggets of mastery on the set of his latest action film, "The Beekeeper." But as I learned in a recent interview with the director, Ayer is smart enough to know when to listen -- especially when working with a genre superstar like Jason Statham.

"He schooled me," Ayer told me about his collaboration with Statham on their new movie. "I mean, let's be real: He's an action icon,...

Jason Statham has a whole new batch of scumbags to take apart in his latest action film The Beekeeper (read our review Here), which is set to reach theatres this Friday, January 12th – so check your local listings and you might even get to catch an early screening tonight. In anticipation of the film’s release, we’ve gotten our hands on an Exclusive featurette that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the film’s stunts and fights, and you can watch that in the embed above.

Directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad) from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium), The Beekeeper shows what happens when one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as Beekeepers.

Statham is joined in the cast by Emmy Raver-Lampman (The Umbrella Academy), Bobby Naderi (Black Summer...

Armitage Trail's original novel "Scarface" was first published in 1930, and traces the rise and fall of the vicious gangster Tony "Scarface" Guarino, who took over the Chicago bootlegging underground during Prohibition. Clearly, Tony Guarino is an analog to Al Capone, and many true crime fans find it tantalizingly suspicious that Armitage Trail (real name: Maurice R. Coons) died of a heart attack at age 28, only six months after the publication of "Scarface." Coons, after all, had to hobnob with real gangsters in order to get ideas for his novel, and he would have been known in certain corners of the underground. 

In 1932, director Howard Hawks made the first film version of "Scarface," starring Paul Muni as Antonio "Tony" Camonte. Hawks' film was well-received, with some critics citing its naturalness and lack of melodrama. Indeed, it was so natural and treated crime with such frankness that some markets refused to show it.

You do not hire Jason Statham to read love poems onscreen, or to weep gently at the sight of nuzzling puppies, or to gaze thoughtfully at a particularly breathtaking sunset. You hire the Derbyshire native to kick ass and take names, with the “names” part being optional. The cinematic missing link between Bruce Willis and Charles Bronson, Statham has been keeping a certain type of genre film alive for close to two decades. He’s not the last action hero standing — his Hobbs & Shaw partner Dwayne Johnson continues to flirt with big,...

An old-style Jason Statham film, with a bit of beekeeping? The movie year is off to a fine start. Here’s our The Beekeeper review.

I’m not familiar with just what inspired action thriller The Beekeeper, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a film that actually delivered on its title. An action thriller, with Jason Statham as a man who keeps bees?

Surely nobody would offer up a gift like that.

Well, chums, not only have they done so, but they’ve also delivered one of the best pure Jason Statham action films in some time.

It opens with some serious-looking academic stuff about bees playing under the opening credits, so I got the sense it might commit to its moniker. Then, early on, The Statham sincerely delivers the line “I just want to thank you for putting up with me… and all of my bees”.

At that moment,...

Chad Stahelski and David Leitch's 2014 film "John Wick" instantly became totemic, casting a long shadow and impacting the way action filmmakers approached their craft. Over the past decade, we've seen the American action movie conform to that style, favoring hard-hitting hand-to-hand combat, more visually dynamic fight choreography, and longer shots that better highlight the action taking place (contrasted with the edit-a-fight-to-bits approach of Paul Greengrass's acolytes from the prior generation). "The Beekeeper," written by genre stalwart Kurt Wimmer and directed by David Ayer, adopts those elements as well — but it goes a step further than most "Wick" riffs and incorporates what really makes that franchise stand out: world-building. There's a unique mythology at play here, elevating the movie to a heightened reality beyond our own.

Read more: The 18 Best Action Movie Actors Ranked

Meet Adam Clay, A Current Beekeeper (And Former Beekeeper)

Jason Statham plays Adam Clay, a stoic,...

From penning Training Day (2001) to helming the one-two punch of End of Watch (2012) and Fury (2014), David Ayer has had the film industry in the palm of his hand on a couple of different occasions.

Following the success of the latter, he then punched his own ticket to the Dceu, opting to write and direct Suicide Squad as a supervillain take on The Dirty Dozen. The film would star the likes of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Will Smith’s Deadshot and Jared Leto’s Joker, but despite one of the most celebrated trailers of all time at 2015’s San Diego Comic-Con, the subsequent poor reception to Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and the adulation for Tim Miller’s irreverent Deadpool (2016) caused Warners to panic and retool Squad on the fly.

What resulted was a bake-off between the studio’s cut and Ayer’s cut, and the...

Julian Schnabel is in Italy on the set of his star-studded crime mystery “In the Hand of Dante,” for which he and Louise Kugelberg, his wife and close creative collaborator, have been narratively and literally criss-crossing between the 14th and 21st centuries in locations including Sicily, Venice, Verona and Rome.

Besides the film’s previously announced leads — Oscar Isaac, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa and Gerard Butler — “Hand of Dante” will also see British musician and actor Benjamin Clementine (“Dune”) playing a quintessentially demonic character who seesaws between past and present. Clementine also contributes to the film’s score. Other A-list recruits comprise John Malkovich, Al Pacino and Louis Cancelmi (“Killers of the Flower Moon”) who plays both a present-day hitman named Lefty and nobleman Guido da Polenta, who was Dante’s benefactor.

Julian Schnabel, speaking to Variety on a spectacular Rome set – a palatial villa on a hill overlooking the...

Director Egor Abramenko gave a new twist to the creature feature in 2020’s Sputnik. He’s now set to take on biblical terror in God’s Country, marking his American directorial debut. Deadline reports that Bodies Bodies Bodies star Maria Bakalova will lead the Matt Reeves-produced genre pic.

God’s Country will follow “a young woman who travels to Kentucky to meet her fiancé, subsequently uncovering something sinister beyond comprehension, as her American dream curdles into a nightmare of biblical proportions.”

Will Soodik (“Westworld”) wrote the script.

Bakalova takes over for Melissa Barrera, who reportedly exited the role due scheduling conflicts. God’s Country is set to go into production in Romania under a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement in March. Barrera was announced to lead the project in February earlier this year, where her character was described as a Salvadoran woman.

What’s most fascinating about this is that Reeves told Deadline at the time,...

"We have laws for these things!" "Until they fail, then you have me..." MGM Studios has also revealed the first official trailer for The Beekeeper, an action thriller movie from filmmaker David Ayer. They're saving this until January, right after the New Year, which is always a sign it's not going to be good. The story of a man seeking vengeance against scammers whose mission becomes more complicated as the stakes become national when he is revealed to be a former operative of an organization known as "The Beekeepers." It's also "steeped in the mythology" of beekeeping, which this trailer opens with.

Come on, Barbie, let’s go party at my house when Greta Gerwig’s Barbie comes to 4K HD, Blu-ray, and DVD later this month! The physical release of 2023’s highest-grossing film hits shelves and online retailers on October 17, bringing laughter, existential crisis, and harsh lessons about social constructs to your living room!

Barbie converted the summer into a dance party when the musical comedy turned most theater tickets pink, earning $1.4B worldwide! The film presents the iconic blonde bombshell in ways we’ve never seen while taking Mattel to task for decades of questionable motivation concerning its portrayal of “toys for girls.” To Mattel’s credit, the legendary toy company leans into Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s biting script, giving the Hollywood couple plenty of room to play in Barbie Land. Barbie is a unique film experience worth watching, and you can pre-order a copy of the film by clicking this link.

Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy could have looked a whole lot different if writer David S. Goyer and the studio had gotten their respective ways. As it turns out, Goyer wanted Jake Gyllenhaal as Batman and Warner Bros. pushed for Leonardo DiCaprio to play The Riddler.

While Goyer admitted on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he actively pushed for Jake Gyllenhaal to play the Caped Crusader, he’s far from being against Christian Bale’s interpretation of Batman; it actually comes across more that he wonders what the trilogy would have been with his choice behind the cowl. “I mean, Gyllenhaal’s amazing, Christian Bale’s amazing, so who knows what.”

And if you think Gyllenhaal as Batman is a huge “What if…?”, consider that the studio thought it would be a good idea to work in one of Hollywood’s biggest stars to step in as The Riddler for The Dark Knight Rises.

That writer from Maine is back at it again. Stephen King one of the most prolific authors in America, is back with a new novel. The novel is called “Holly”. The novel follows Holly Gibney. The character made her first appearance in Mr. Mercedes. She also appeared in Finders Keepers and End of Watch and later was a major supporting character in The Outsider.

“I could never let Holly Gibney go. She was supposed to be a walk-on character in Mr. Mercedes and she just kind of stole the book and stole my heart. Holly is all her.” —Stephen King.

According to his publisher, this is what Holly is all about: Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but alive and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged,...

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie might as well wear the Infinity Gauntlet because the pink-powered meta-comedy has defeated Avengers: Endgame as the best-selling movie ever at Alamo Drafthouse. The theater chain isn’t keen on releasing ticket sale totals for either film. However, Barbie is sitting pretty at the box office, with $596 million in North America and $1.343 billion worldwide. For those who want to compare, Avengers: Endgame snapped up $858 million in North America and $2.799 billion globally. While Barbie is bigger than Endgame at Alamo Drafthouse, the Marvel event film is still the second-biggest movie in history behind James Cameron’s Avatar.

A portion of Barbie’s popularity at Alamo Drafthouse could point toward the theater chain’s merchandise push, with Drafthouse cinemas offering limited edition items to guests, including lunch boxes, t-shirts, and sunglasses. Alamo Drafthouse says Barbie is responsible for selling more merch than any other film hosted by the boutique theater.

Remington Chase, a former film producer who was accused of swindling investors out of at least $234 million, has been reported dead in the United Kingdom.

Chase, 65, died of liver failure on July 31 at Victoria Hospital in Blackpool, according to a death certificate provided to Variety by the Blackpool Registration Service.

His death was also confirmed by his wife, Linda Biron of Marina del Rey, Calif., who said he was a “good person.”

“He got mixed up with some wrong people,” she said in an interview. “He was not out to hurt anybody. He was out to make good movies.”

Chase’s death leaves a long trail of litigation, with numerous parties accusing him of defrauding them out of investment funds, real estate and loan proceeds.

Base Media, a China-based animation and VFX studio, sued Chase and an associate, Kevin Robl, in 2022, accusing them of a massive fraud against the company’s investors.

C’mon, Barbie! Let’s go party! Greta Gerwig’s existential comedy Barbie is making history after becoming the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film at the global box office! Say farewell to the top spot, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. There’s a new champion at the pinnacle of the chart!

Today’s news is another win for Barbie after the film inspired by the classic toy line surpassed Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight as WB’s biggest movie in the studio’s history in North America. Before leaving Batman in the dust, Barbie pounced on Illumination and Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, becoming the top-grossing title of 2023 in North America. If Barbie remains on track – and there’s no reason to think it won’t – it could become the world’s top-earning film of the year. With enough time, Barbie could overtake Disney’s...

Hollywood history is full of interesting little mysteries. Like, how could the man responsible for directing the excellent "End of Watch" and writing the unimpeachable classic that is "Training Day" also be responsible for "Suicide Squad" and the embarrassment that was "Bright"? At least in the case of David Ayer's debut DC effort, we know studio meddling was largely to blame. But "Bright?" A hard boiled LA crime odyssey with orcs and fairies? Had anyone been asking for that combo?

Anyway, the point is that, if you only knew about these four movies, you might be under the impression Ayer has just two settings: he's either firing on all cylinders or misfiring entirely. But you'd be mistaken. Lurking between the zenith that was "Training Day" and the nadir that was "Bright," there's "Street Kings," a 2008 crime thriller which Ayer directed from a script by the master of LA noir fiction,...

While filmmaker David Ayer is probably best known for directing films like “Fury,” “End of Watch” and “Suicide Squad,” he broke out in 2001 by writing “Training Day” and co-writing “The Fast and the Furious.”

The former won Denzel Washington the Best Actor Oscar. The latter Paul Walker/Vin Diesel actioner spawned an 11-movies-and-counting franchise that has earned a combined $7.2 billion at the global box office.

Ayer recently told Jon Bernthal’s “Real Ones” podcast that he has “nothing to show” for writing the top-tier blockbuster franchise.

“Biggest franchise in Hollywood, and I don’t have any of it,” Ayer declared. “I got nothing to show for it, nothing, because of the way the business works.”

“The Fast and the Furious” was based on a Vibe Magazine article called “Racer X.” Gary Scott Thompson and Erik Berquist wrote prior drafts, and the former got sole “characters by” credit for the sequels.