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Geek Tyrant
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
John Cho, Giancarlo Esposito & Tramell Tillman Among Eight New Cast in Amazon's Movie YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER — GeekTyrant
Amazon MGM Studios' Orion Pictures has added several more cast members to Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother , the new film project teaming Mahershala Ali with Mogul Mowgli filmmaker Bassam Tariq. Newcomers include John Cho ( Afraid ), Giancarlo Esposito (also newly added to Elegance Bratton's By Any Means ), Abubakr Ali ( Anything's Possible ), Severance breakout Tramell Tillman, Tiffany Boone ( Mufasa: The Lion King ), Laith Nakli ( Problemista ), Adia ( Full Circle ), and Jahleel Kamara ( Nanny ). The plot of the film and character breakdowns are being kept under wraps. Tariq is directing from his own script and producing alongside Lucan Toh and Babak Anvari of Two & Two Pictures. The project marks a reunion of sorts for Ali and Tariq, who were at one point set to team on Blade for Marvel Studios. via: Deadline
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Feel good about not conforming': Christina Ricci reflects on her iconic roles, from Wednesday Addams to Misty Quigley
The Gold Standard is a Gold Derby series where we speak to legendary figures in Hollywood who take us through their award-worthy greatest hits. Here, Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award nominee Christina Ricci talks about her most iconic roles, including her current role as Misty Quigley on Showtime's Yellowjackets. Watch the video below. Ricci made her film debut at the age of 9 in the 1990 Orion Pictures comedy alongside Cher, Winona Ryder, and Bob Hoskins. In the film directed by Richard Benjamin, Ricci plays Kate Flax, the youngest daughter of Rachel (Cher), an unconventional single mother who relocates with her two daughters to a small Massachusetts town in 1963. More from GoldDerby Grammys unveil 2026 ceremony date, new categories 'The show is a true fluke': '100 Foot Wave' executive producer on how they chase big waves across the globe Damian Lewis on returning to 'Wolf Hall': 'Who doesn't want to play Henry VIII?' I remember being flown to Boston for my final audition, meeting Cher and Winona in the production office, and then going and having an audition with them. Noni [Ryder] and I talked about sharks because I have a lifelong fear of sharks, and so does she, apparently. And then I got that call that I got the part a day later, and I had a really amazing time. I loved Cher, I loved Winona. I spent a lot of time with Cher. I would hide in her trailer when I didn't want to do tutor school. She introduced me to See's Candies lollipops, the chocolate pops things, and Perrier. I had never seen sparkling water before. I had seen club soda but not Perrier, and I was just like, "Wow, this is really fancy!" I asked a lot of questions and people were very kind and educated me, and it was really a lovely, lovely experience. Still considered one of her most iconic roles, Wednesday Addams was brought to life by Ricci in The Addams Family (1991) and its sequel, Addams Family Values (1993), both directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. I auditioned for it, and then it feels like months later we got a call from Joe Aguilar, who had been the accountant on Mermaids, and he was working on Addams Family. And he said he had just been in a production meeting where they were saying that it was between me or this other girl. And Joe and his staff said, "Oh, we just worked with her and her mother, and they're fantastic." And at that time, there was always a concern over what the mother was like because mothers of child actors can really cause a lot of mayhem on sets. And because of the glowing review of my mother and her behavior on Mermaids, I got the part of Wednesday. So I was sort of a troubled child. I did not have a very happy household. There was a lot of abuse and a lot of bad times. [Ricci has called her father "physically violent" and says she hasn't spoken with him since her teen years.] And so for me, what was more challenging when I became an actress was this fake pretending to be happy and adorable thing that was hard for me. When I went to the audition for Addams Family, I had just come from a callback for a movie that I didn't get, where I had to cry and be very upset, and it was exhausting. And so then my mom was like, "Oh, we have one more audition to go to." And I was like, "I really don't want to go. I'm so tired." And she said, "Well, you don't have to do anything. Basically the character is just devoid of emotion and you just have to say the words." And I was like, "OK, I can do that." And that's what I did. And for me, it was much easier to be deadpan than to be emotive, which is kind of what the character's all about. This idea that little girls are always being told or women are always being told to smile and this character just refuses. That would've been my dream as a child, so I was very happy to play this part. Decades later, in 2022, she returned to the world of the Addams family on Netflix's hit series Wednesday, this time playing Marilyn Thornhill. The show reimagines Wednesday — portrayed by Jenna Ortega — as a teenager navigating life at Nevermore Academy while attempting to master her emerging psychic abilities. I think that Wednesday is a really important role. She's not an archetype. This idea that there is a character out there that young girls can look at, that outsiders can look at and feel good about not conforming, staying true to who they are. And Jenna's amazing, and I love [show producer] Tim Burton. I loved working with him. I was excited to work with him again, and it was just fun. In her first lead role, Ricci plays Kat Harvey in Universal Pictures' 1995 film, directed by Brad Silberling. Based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost, the film follows an afterlife therapist (Bill Pullman) and his daughter (Ricci), who meet an amiable young ghost when they move into a crumbling mansion to rid the premises of wicked spirits. The movie made history as the first feature film to have a fully CGI character in a lead role. It was a very long shoot. I think we shot for nine months down at the Universal lot. I have to say at that time it was sort of new technology that they were using to do the sort of mix of live-action and cartoon. I would say the average number of takes for every setup was probably about 50. It was a bit tedious at times, but all in all, it was an amazing crew, an incredible experience. Steven Spielberg was a producer and he would come to set all the time to visit. That, to me, was just the greatest thing. I got him to read Go Ask Alice. I was obsessed with that book at the time and wanted him to make it into a movie, and he actually read the book and we had a whole conversation about it, which was very nice of him. In her first deep dive into emotional drama, Ricci took on the role of Wendy Hood in 20th Century Fox's BAFTA-nominated film, directed by Oscar winner Ang Lee. The 1997 drama features an all-star cast, including Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Elijah Wood, and Tobey Maguire. Set in 1973 suburban America, the film explores the intersecting lives of several middle-class families as they navigate substance abuse, infidelity, and the complexities of the swinging lifestyle. It was really incredible. I was a very big fan of Ang's work, so I was really excited to work with him. And then most of the actors also, I was just a huge fan of. My first day of shooting was the scene where Jamey Sheridan brings Elijah's body back home and everybody starts howling, screaming, crying. That was the first scene that we shot on the job. So it was really intense and really crazy and I was 15. ... Up until Ice Storm, I had mainly been doing family films. I had been dying to do some real gritty drama, so I remember just being like, "Oh, my God, this is what it's like." All these incredible actors doing all their separate prep things and shooting these scenes and howling, crying and shaking, and I was just like, "Oh, wow, I've really arrived." Ricci earned widespread critical acclaim for her performance as Layla in the 1998 Lionsgate film written, directed by, and starring Vincent Gallo. The story follows Billy (Gallo), recently released from prison, who attempts to impress his parents by introducing them to his wife — whom he doesn't actually have. In a desperate move, Billy kidnaps Layla (Ricci) and coerces her into posing as his wife for the visit. Ricci was named Best Supporting Actress by the National Board of Review. It was the first time I traveled without my mother. It was the first time I sort of had to really deal with some very extreme things on set. So it was the first time on my own. I sort of had to deal with a lot of things that were new to me. So it was sort of like a real trial by fire sort of growing up. I've never been somebody who thinks beyond making the film. I've just always been somebody who's very present and involved in the making and I always forget that people are going to see it and hear me. I remember getting a really good review in The New York Times by a really important film critic [Janet Maslin] and my mother being really excited. So all of the accolades after that were very much a surprise to me. I was a really unpleasant teen. I had recovered from anorexia and put on about 40 pounds and thought I couldn't move, and I just felt gross and I didn't feel like a movie star. I didn't feel like somebody they would ever single out and praise. So it was all very much genuinely a surprise. Ricci earned her first Golden Globe nomination (Best Comedy/Musical Actress) for playing troublemaker Dedee Truitt in Sony's 1998 dark comedy written and directed by Don Roos. It was really fun. Unfortunately, I had gone to Goldie Hawn's pre-Golden Globes party the night before and I was only, like, 19, so I didn't know how to do it. Now I understand that nobody actually drinks at those parties, but at that time I didn't know. So I was so horribly hung over at the Golden Globes that I literally just was like, "Let's get out of here. I'm going to throw up. I got to get in the car and go home," and that's what I did. Ricci stars as Katrina Van Tassel alongside Johnny Depp's Ichabod Crane in Tim Burton's 1999 fantasy-horror film, distributed by Paramount Pictures. The Oscar-winning film follows Ichabod Crane, a New York detective sent to the eerie village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of gruesome decapitations, believed to be the work of the legendary apparition known as the Headless Horseman. Tim has such passion and he is such a childlike delight for what he does, and he will literally be behind the monitor, mouthing your lines along while you're talking. It's fun to work with somebody who's really excited and is excited about new ideas and I could bring to him an idea and say, "Can I do this? I think this would be so fun and I'm good at this." And he'd be like, "Great, yeah, let's do that." And so there was a lot of passion and excitement and creativity on that set, and that was what I felt the most. Patty Jenkins' 2003 crime drama, based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, stars Charlize Theron in her Oscar-winning role as the Daytona Beach prostitute-turned-serial killer. Ricci portrays Selby Wall, a character inspired by Wuornos' girlfriend, who becomes the killer's companion as she evades the law. Charlize was so wonderful, and she and I just had such a great rapport and way of working together and she was so charming and kind, and I just think that we had a combination of being two people who didn't have a lot of ego at that time. I knew I was there to support her. I knew that that job was about her winning an Academy Award. I knew that it was sort of her moment and I was perfectly happy to be there and do that. The story was really important to tell, and so I wanted to be a part of that. And then working with Patty Jenkins was just amazing. Patty just creates such a safe space that you know that you're OK and you're going to be watched out for, and she's there and wants the best for you and the film, and you're not going to be exploited and she's not going to trick you into getting what she wants from you. And so that was a really wonderful experience. And Charlize and I, because the material was so dark, we literally would laugh and giggle until Patty called action. It must be a survival thing. We would just literally crack up hysterically and not be able to stop until Patty called action. Ricci's guest-starring role as Hannah Davies on the ABC medical drama earned the actress her first Emmy nomination in 2006. In the two-part episode titled "It's the End of the World" and "As We Know It," Ricci delivers a tense performance as a young paramedic who must keep her hand inside a patient's body cavity to prevent a bomb from detonating. My sister actually, who was a big Grey's Anatomy fan, it was the first season and she was like, "I love this show. This show is so amazing. You should definitely do this show." And I was like, "OK, great. You love the show, I'll do the show." But I had only seen one episode of it before, so I went into it having read the script once, seen one episode. That was the kind of actor I was at the time. I've always loved it when the writing and the words actually evoke real genuine emotion in that moment, and so I was genuinely surprised by the performance I gave. I remember them calling cut after one of the takes, and it had been one of the most emotional times, and no one had sort of told me to get that emotional, but just because of the whole thing, I got really emotional. I was shaking and I was surprised by it. Then they called cut, and I remember one of the other actors just looking at me and being like, "Wow," and kind of joking, "You should be an actor." And just thinking like, "Oh, yeah, that was pretty good." Ricci earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Actress in a TV Movie or Miniseries for her role as the titular character in Lifetime's 2015 crime series. The series is a fictionalized account of events and people surrounding the infamous Lizzie Borden following her controversial acquittal in the 1892 double murder of her father and stepmother. I was very surprised by my SAG nomination, as was everybody on my team. I came out of SoulCycle and had messages from my publicist, and she was like, "You got nominated for a SAG Award." And I was like, "What?" I had no idea that I had even been submitted. I certainly hadn't been doing any campaigning, and it was for a Lifetime movie. It was very bizarre to me. I never thought that doing a Lifetime movie, I would get a SAG nomination. So I was really shocked and surprised and really grateful. I also have an interest in true crime, and that's one of those really sort of fantastic American crime stories, so I was interested in it and also interested in more of the psychological aspects of that character. When I was younger, I was obsessed with the fact that so many women, middle-aged, had been committed. I remember being 9 or 10 and just being like, "Wow. So women in the past, you just go crazy around 35." As you get older, you realize, "No, no, just women were conveniently put into mental asylums if they had any sort of emotion or extreme behavior." So I think I was very interested in that aspect of it as well. For three seasons, Ricci has portrayed the complex, quirky, and occasionally manipulative Misty Quigley in Showtime's hit drama series. The present-day storyline follows a group of former high school soccer players who survived a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness in the '90s — and now face the consequences of the brutal and atrocious acts they committed to survive. Ricci earned an Emmy nomination for her performance in 2022. Playing Misty is really fun. It sort of validates this side of me that's very weird. In the beginning, I just was so conscious of not making her a caricature and making sure that she felt grounded in real emotion and experience, but still managing this very specific and unique character. As she's grown and changed over the seasons, it has been difficult. I think when you have a very extreme character, to sort of let more normal humanity seep in, all of a sudden, second season, she's in a relationship like, "Wow, OK." When I created the character, I never thought this would happen, but now I have to somehow figure out what this very extreme character, who wasn't particularly relatable, is like in relatable experiences. That was a really challenging calibration. And then this season, she's finally in less denial. She's sort of cracked. She's not ignoring the slings and arrows from her "friends." She's not ignoring the fact that she's everyone's punching bag. It's almost like she's reacting in the present, but she's also reacting to the history and the past. But again, she starts to actually be angry. She starts to curse a little bit more. So, to sort of calibrate that performance where you're letting these more normal aspects in, but trying to maintain the character, make sure she's still that recognizable Misty with all these changes, I found that to be very challenging. Best of GoldDerby Jonathan Pryce on the 'great responsibility' of playing a character with dementia in 'Slow Horses' How Anna Camp played twins with a twist on 'You' 'The White Lotus' star Aimee Lou Wood on the social media drama: 'It's been scary, overwhelming, and difficult' Click here to read the full article.
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Heck, why don't we just come up with a book?': how Gene Hackman became an author
The Oscar winner Gene Hackman and his marine archaeologist friend Daniel Lenihan were chatting in a cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when they came up with the idea for their first book. The swashbuckling sea yarn, Wake of the Perdido Star, would be the first of five novels written by the celebrated actor, who was found dead on Wednesday. Hackman was introduced to Lenihan in preparation for filming 1993 legal thriller The Firm alongside Tom Cruise, as he needed to learn how to scuba dive. The pair would talk about writers they both enjoyed – Robert Louis Stevenson, Conrad, Melville, Hemingway – until one day, they thought, 'Heck, why don't we just come up with a book like we like to read?', Lenihan told the Guardian in 2000. It took the pair three years to put together Wake of the Perdido Star, which is set in the early 19th century and follows a young man, Jack O'Reilly, who becomes a pirate, 'Black Jack', after his parents are murdered. Two further collaborations followed: the 2004 courtroom drama, Justice for None, and Escape from Andersonville, published in 2008. One intriguing writing project that never came to fruition was a screenplay of The Silence of the Lambs. According to screenwriter Ted Tally, the rights to Thomas Harris' novel were originally snapped up by Orion Pictures with a view to giving Hackman his first outing as a writer and director (even possibly playing the lead role, Hannibal Lecter). But as he relates in the book Screenwriters' Masterclass, the studio quickly handed over writing duties to Tally, telling him that Hackman 'was up to page 30 of the screenplay and only on page 30 of the book, so that's not going to work out.' Jonathan Demme went on to direct with Anthony Hopkins giving an Oscar-winning performance as Lecter. Hackman formally retired from acting in 2004. Asked why he got into writing that same year, he said he could do it 'without 90 people standing around' waiting for him to perform. 'I feel it's creative. And I like the loneliness of it.' His first solo writing effort came in 2011 with Payback at Morning Peak, a dime store western which sees the teenage Jubal pursuing outlaws on horseback through New Mexico's gold mining towns. Jubal 'looked to the darkening skies of the west', Hackman writes in chapter 18. 'A flash of light in pewter-coloured clouds. Jubal raised his pistol. As the thunder clapped, he fired'. Hackman said that he drew on his time in the marines, which he joined aged 16, for the book. 'A lot of what I experienced as a young man I kind of exaggerated into what this young Jubal may have found himself doing.' For Hackman's final novel – Pursuit, published in 2013 – he pivoted from 19th-century western to police thriller. Writing is 'very relaxing for me,' he said in 2009. 'I don't picture myself as a great writer, but I really enjoy the process'. While critics weren't always kind, fans enjoyed Hackman's novels. 'I was totally awestruck by the writing talents of Gene Hackman', wrote one Goodreads reviewer of Payback at Morning Peak. 'He has always been one of my favourite actors, and now he is one of my favourite authors.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mahershala Ali Joins Former Blade MCU Director's New Movie
Academy Award winner has been tapped to star in a new movie written and directed by former Blade MCU director . The project, which hails from Amazon MGM Studios' Orion Pictures, is called Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. Other details about the movie, including the plot, are still being kept close to the vest. The project's producers include Tariq and Two & Two Pictures' Lucan Toh (Before I Disappear) and Babak Anvari (I Came By). Tariq was previously attached to direct Marvel Studios' Blade reboot, with Ali set to star as the titular anti-hero. However, in 2022, the director was confirmed to not be moving forward with the project due to 'continued shifts' in the production schedule. The future of the highly-anticipated Blade reboot remains unclear to this day. 'Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film,' Marvel said in a 2022 statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. 'We appreciate Bassam's talent and all the work he's done getting Blade to where it is.' The announcement comes on the heels of Sam Esmail's record-breaking thriller Leave the World Behind, which starred Ali, Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, and Myha'la. Ali can next be seen starring in Jurassic World Rebirth, set to release on July 2. Ali's other notable credits include Moonlight, Green Book, Hidden Figures, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, House Of Cards, The Place Beyond The Pines, True Detective, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Luke Cage, Kicks, Swan Song, and Roxanne Roxanne. Meanwhile, Tariq — whose debut feature film Mogul Mowgli premiered to critical acclaim — is the co-director behind the 2013 documentary film These Birds Walk. Tariq also served as the director for Netflix's 2019 documentary Ghosts of Sugar Land. (Source: Deadline) The post Mahershala Ali Joins Former Blade MCU Director's New Movie appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Anora' Isn't the Only Oscar Contender on an Upswing
With a victory for Best Original Screenplay win for 'Anora' at the Writers Guild Awards 2025, it certifies the Sean Baker film as the top contender for Best Picture, even if fellow Oscar nominees 'The Substance,' 'September 5,' and 'The Brutalist' were ineligible for the award having not been written by guild members or under a WGA collective bargaining agreement. 'Anora' had already won top prize at the PGA Awards and DGA Awards the previous weekend, with its Critics Choice Award for Best Film being a nice bonus. The only other film to win over those guilds and the WGA yet not win Best Picture is 'Brokeback Mountain' in 2006. The major harbinger indicating that the Ang Lee movie would not prevail at the Oscars was 'Crash' winning Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards, so a win at that particular awards body in the coming week is crucial to the Neon release's dominant awards campaign. More from IndieWire 'Nosferatu,' 'Conclave,' and 'Wicked' Win at the 2025 ADG Awards 'The Substance,' 'Wicked,' and 'The Last Showgirl' Win at the 2025 MUAHS Awards All that said, there is another Best Picture nominee that has been on a significant upswing stemming from these guild awards, which are happening concurrently with final Oscar voting. That film is 'Nickel Boys.' The Orion Pictures release directed by RaMell Ross won both Best Adapted Screenplay at the WGA Awards and the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film at the DGA Awards. Although Ross is not nominated for Best Director at the Oscars, he is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay alongside Joslyn Barnes, who is also one of the producers nominated for Best Picture on behalf of the film. The other two are Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner of Plan B Entertainment. However, it's more notable in this category that fellow Oscar nominees 'Sing Sing,' 'Emilia Pérez,' and 'Conclave' were ineligible at the WGAs. That's because 'Conclave,' the papal election drama written by Peter Straughan, adapting the Robert Harris novel of the same name, has been the category frontrunner thus far. Straughn won both the Critics Choice Award and the Golden Globe, but has yet to win an award voted on by people in the Academy. But that should change soon, as Straughan is expected to win at the BAFTAs on Sunday. What could ultimately determine which film wins the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar isn't the BAFTAs but the USC Scripter Awards, a prize that's leaning toward 'Nickel Boys.' That awards body is on a hot streak, having predicted the last two Oscar winners, including 'American Fiction' and 'Women Talking.' Coincidentally, both of those films also happened to be Orion Pictures releases. 'Conclave' though is not to be counted out, even though the WGA Awards have predicted the last four Best Adapted Screenplay winners in a row, as it is an incredibly popular film. But the other statistic that should cause the film some concern is that it has been seven years since the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay was not awarded to the film's director. If his reception at the DGA Awards, where all five Best Director nominees stood up to cheer him on, was any indication, Ross and his film 'Nickel Boys' have the most momentum as Oscar voting begins to wrap. Best of IndieWire 2023 Emmy Predictions: Who Will Win at the Primetime Emmy Awards? 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
