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Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Today in Chicago History: Essanay Studios — briefly home to Charlie Chaplin — opens for movie production
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 10, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 99 degrees (1944) Low temperature: 49 degrees (1982) Precipitation: 1.87 inches (1979) Snowfall: None 1907: Essanay Studios began its 10-year run of making movies in Chicago, featuring Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson and other box-office stars. The studio made 2,000 films. About 215 survive today. Lost 'Sherlock Holmes' film shot in Chicago from 1916 found in France For 23 cold winter days in early 1915, Chaplin lived and worked in Chicago, where he made one of his short comedies for Essanay Studios, 'His New Job,' before fleeing for Essanay's operation in Niles, California. 1983: ChicagoFest was held for the last time. Among the acts at Soldier Field were the Charlie Daniels Band, Chicago, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Beach Boys. 1995: Sears officially moved its headquarters to Hoffman Estates. Nearly 5,000 employees would work at the suburban site. Sears headquarters had been in Chicago since Richard W. Sears moved his watch company there from North Redwood, Minnesota, in 1887. Sears timeline: Rise, fall and restructuring of a Chicago icon over 130 years Demolition of the vacant campus began in 2024. Dallas-based Compass Datacenters bought much of the 273-acre site at 3333 Beverly Road on the village's far western edge in 2023, and planned to construct five massive data centers, which house the IT components needed to run the internet. Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@ and mmather@ Solve the daily Crossword
Geek Tyrant
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Video Essay Explains Why JAWS Was Lightning in a Bottle and Why It Can't Happen Again — GeekTyrant
In his latest video essay, Matt Draper dives deep into the turbulent waters behind Jaws , Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic that changed movies, how movies are made, and how they are marketed. The video explores everything from the troubled production (including the now-legendary malfunctioning mechanical shark, Bruce) to the massive cultural ripple effect the film created. He lays out how Jaws became the first modern blockbuster, not by design but by accident, shaped by limitations that forced Spielberg to innovate turning suspense into art. The video came with the followin note: 'A look back at 50 years of Jaws, revealing the history behind Peter Benchley's Novel, Steven Spielberg's blockbuster film, the many bad sequels, and the stories behind some of the most influential movies ever and their impact on both film and the world.' Draper also argues that the success of Jaws is impossible to replicate. The industry today is too controlled, too polished, too risk-averse to allow the kind of chaos that forged this movie's legacy.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Box Office Queen Becomes the Highest-Grossing Lead Actor of All Time
Box Office Queen Becomes the Highest-Grossing Lead Actor of All Time originally appeared on Parade. Scarlett Johansson just made box office history. The Oscar-nominated actress, 40, has officially become the highest-grossing lead actor of all time, surpassing her fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe alums Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey Jr., according to verified data from The Numbers. The milestone comes on the heels of a massive opening weekend for Jurassic World Rebirth, which debuted July 3 and earned $147.3 million domestically and $318.3 million globally through Sunday. That colossal opening pushed Johansson's total global box office haul for leading and ensemble-lead roles to an astonishing $14.61 billion — edging Jackson's $14.60 billion and Downey Jr.'s $14.3 billion. What's more: Johansson got there with just 36 films playing lead roles, compared to Jackson's 71 and Downey's 45. Her average worldwide gross stands at $405.9 million per film, significantly outpacing both actors. Many of Johansson's biggest hits have come from her decade-long portrayal of Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the MCU, including Avengers: Endgame ($2.7B), Infinity War ($2B), The Avengers ($1.5B), and Age of Ultron ($1.4B). Outside of Marvel, Johansson headlined major earners like The Jungle Book ($951M), Sing ($631M), and Lucy ($457M). Her latest win comes from a new franchise. In Jurassic World Rebirth, Johansson stars as Zora Bennett, a hardened mercenary brought into the action by a pharmaceutical executive (Rupert Friend) to team up with a paleontologist (Jonathan Bailey) on a high-stakes mission involving dinosaur DNA. Clearly, Johansson is no longer just Marvel's most elite assassin. She's Hollywood's most bankable star. Period. Jurassic World Rebirth is now playing in theaters nationwide. Box Office Queen Becomes the Highest-Grossing Lead Actor of All Time first appeared on Parade on Jul 7, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
Al Bawaba
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Bawaba
Damascus uproar: Historic Syrian cinema ordered to vacate in one week
ALBAWABA - Artists, directors, and cultural leaders from all over Syria are very angry about the Damascus Endowments Directorate's choice to end its lease deal with Al-Kindi Cinema. A lot of people on social media were upset about what they saw as the disappearance of a major cultural icon in Damascus. Some even said it was a blow to the city's film history that goes back more than a hundred years. The General Organization for Cinema used to own Al-Kindi Cinema, which is listed under property record number 2285 in the Salhiya area. On July 10, 2025, the Directorate sent out a formal letter ending the lease. A less than $30-a-year rent has been paid for decades for the more than 700-square-meter spot. The relatives of the original tenant, Mohammad Aref Al-Kheimi & Co., have been told by the authorities to leave the property within seven days. If they don't, the order will be enforced through the courts. The Directorate said that the site would be fixed up and turned into a culture center to "spread knowledge and enlightenment" among young Syrians. After opening in the 1920s as "Adonis Cinema," Al-Kindi Cinema changed its name to "Balqis Cinema" before being bought by the General Organization for Cinema in 1976. It has been an important part of Syrian film culture ever since, hosting both foreign and Arab film events. Some people are against the lease because they say it is a "automatically renewable contract," which means that it can't be broken without a change in the law. Legal experts, like lawyer Ismail Nasr, said the Directorate's action wasn't legal and that it should have waited for future changes to property rules before taking action. Some people wanted to take back long-leased trust homes, but a lot of other people said that renegotiating the rent would have been a better option for everyone. They also didn't like the one-week date for eviction, pointing out that the cinema had valuable technical equipment and was historically important.
CNN
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
The history of Superman in the movies
Rick Damigella looks at the silver screen history of the Man of Steel, from George Reeves in 1951, to David Corenswet in 2025.
