“I go to the Universal Studios chairman, (the) marketing team, everyone’s in the theater. We pull down the lights and we play them ‘Split.’ They don’t know the ending that they’re watching. They didn’t even know I shot it, because I didn’t even send them the dallies of that (scene),” Shyamalan said on the ReelBlend podcast. “The lights go down. They watch the whole movie of ‘Split.’ Then this scene comes on, and they’re completely flummoxed....

In “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” tensions and temperatures escalate throughout the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago. A band of musicians await the arrival of one trailblazing performer, the Mother of the Blues, Ma Rainey. She’s played by Viola Davis, the Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress for another August Wilson adaptation, director Denzel Washington’s “Fences.” (Washington is also a producer on “Ma Rainey’s.”) Late to the session, Ma Rainey stirs up ado with her white manager and producer over the control of her music....

One person who’s not impressed? Mads Mikkelsen, who stars as Grindelwald in “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” taking over the role that Johnny Depp was forced to vacate. In an interview with GQ UK to promote the film, Mikkelsen says he does not use method acting and does not understand the hype. His response? “It’s bullshit.” “You can take [the preparation] into insanity,” Mikkelsen said. “What if it’s a shit film — what do you think you achieved?...

“Bob Rafelson was a pivotal figure in the history of cinema, American cinema most of all, and he was a bridge between two eras in Hollywood moviemaking,” Scorsese wrote. “He was literally born into the old Hollywood — his cousin was the great screenwriter Samson Raphaelson, one of Lubitsch’s key collaborators — and he was one of the people who made the New Hollywood possible, as a producer and then as a director....

Well, “The Matrix Resurrections” star Keanu Reeves isn’t as passionate about the matter. As revealed in a new interview with The Guardian, the actor is perfectly fine with audiences streaming the movie. After the interviewer implied they were going to watch the movie on their laptop, Reeves said, “Dude? Don’t stream that movie… Don’t you fucking stream that movie.” But this turned out to be a poker-faced joke, as Reeves ultimately said, “I mean, sure, stream it if you have to....

NBC eventually canceled the Golden Globes show for 2022 to allow the HFPA time to institute a long list of reforms, which started back in April, even as some of its members protested the changes. That’s because all members had to reapply for membership under stringent eligibility requirements that demanded proof of active employment, whether freelance or staff. Perhaps surprisingly, all were accepted in September — before a new credentials committee came on board to vet new applicants....

As revealed on the Backstage podcast (via The Playlist), Keaton ultimately walked away from the role on “Batman Forever” that went to Val Kilmer because he and Schumacher disagreed about where the character was headed — far from haunted vigilante and more toward the character’s comic-book origins. “It was always Bruce Wayne. It was never Batman,” Keaton said about how he understood his character. “To me, I know the name of the movie is Batman, and it’s hugely iconic and very cool and cultural iconic and because of Tim Burton, artistically iconic, [but] I knew from the get-go it was Bruce Wayne,” said the actor....

In an interview with Insider, Wen noted that though her character’s fate appeared dire at the end of Season 1’s fifth episode, she’d jump at the opportunity to portray Fennec Shand in “The Mandalorian” again and encouraged fans to start a petition. “I would like for you to start a petition,” Wen told Insider. “I think they just announced (‘The Mandalorian’) was picked up for Season 3. “So, I want you to start a petition, sort of like what they did with #CoulsonLives — #FennecLives....

“There are so many layers going on here. I generally feel like, to me, it’s over-sexualizing them,” Dyer said when the topic of how her young co-stars are portrayed in the media came up. “I feel protective over the younger kids even though they’re not kids anymore, they’re teens. They’re all great people and all having to grow up in very crazy circumstances. As a private person, I just feel like, leave people alone – unless you’re talking about their work or what they want to talk about....

Season 2 of the series, which is set to follow Lord Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and his search for love, will drop on the streamer March 25, 2022. The news may come as a surprise to fans, but it also seemed like a surprise to the cast, who react to the news in real-time during the video. “It is customary, for a first anniversary, to gift paper, dear readers” the note begins....

“Chappelle’s Home Team” will be comprised of a series of four comedy specials from different comedians selected by executive producer Chappelle, who will appear in each special to introduce the comedian. The series kicks off February 28 with “Earthquake: Legendary” featuring Washington D.C.-based comedian Earthquake. The second special, which does not have a release date, will highlight Donnell Rawlings. In 2016, Chappelle signed a lucrative deal with Netflix that paid him $20 million for each special he released on the streaming service....

Netflix stock (NFLX) closed Tuesday at $348.42 per share. When the markets re-opened at 9:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, Netflix was down more than $100 per share to its lowest level since early 2018. It then dropped another $25. It closed Wednesday at $226.19. Last fall, shares briefly traded at $700 apiece. What the hell happened here? For starters, we should point out that the lion’s share of the Tuesday-to-Wednesday loss actually occurred all at once — just after the U....

“The Crown” Season 5 centers on the marriage between Prince Charles (Dominic West) and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki), under the watchful eye of Queen Elizabeth II, now played by Imelda Staunton. Now, with Prince Charles having been anointed as King Charles in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, “The Crown” has a new ruler to answer to. According to a “senior royal source” at the Telegraph UK, Buckingham Palace wants to emphasize that “The Crown” is a “drama, not a documentary....

Speaking to Collider, Cage vowed never to see “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” when it comes time to premiere the movie and release it in theaters in April 2022. The film is co-written by director Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten. Cage co-produced the movie, but even he realizes the version of himself that he’s playing is too far gone to watch. “I’m never going to see that movie,” Cage said....

It might seem that during the golden age of documentaries, the nonfiction community is among the most diverse in the entertainment industry, with a seeming flood of opportunities to tell their stories. But as Williams pointed out at the start, there are plenty of challenges. “We all know that we have traditionally been defined by other people’s lens,” he said. “The documentary community is seen as progressive and ahead of the game....

While 2020’s numbers the year “Parasite” won were considered to be a new all-time low (23.6 million), the April 2021 telecast drew just 10.4 million viewers, plunging nearly 60 percent. The 2020 show was no. 2 most-watched “entertainment” telecast — behind a Super Bowl airing of “The Masked Singer.” This year’s Oscars telecast didn’t even crack the top 100 overall, with more viewers tuning into episodes of TV shows like “FBI,” “The Equalizer,” “NCIS,” and “Yellowstone,” all in the bottom 10 of the list, with the lowest at 11....

“Robin Robin” is a 30-minute holiday short about how our differences make us stronger, created and directed by Dan Ojari and Mikey Please (BAFTA winner for “The Eagleman Stag”). It’s surely the favorite, as the Academy obviously adores Aardman. It’s about a charmingly awkward bird with an identity crisis, who is adopted into a loving family of burglar mice, which plans an ambitious heist to bag an entire sandwich....

And why not? The feature debut from director Dean Fleischer Camp (adapting a series of shorts he created with “Marcel” star Jenny Slate), has been embraced by critics for its charm, wit, inventive stop-motion, and its adorable breakout star. The one-inch anthropomorphic shell (voiced by Slate) lives with his grandmother Connie (Isabella Rossellini) and develops a friendship with doc filmmaker Dean (Camp), who moves in and films Marcel’s daily activities, which go viral....

Updated, March 15: Samuel L. Jackson, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Shawn Mendes, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tyler Perry, and “The Little Mermaid” star Halle Bailey are set to present at the 2022 Oscars. Updated, March 11: Daniel Kaluuya (last year’s Best Supporting Actor winner for “Judas and the Black Messiah”), Mila Kunis, Lupita Nyong’o (Best Supporting Actress winner for “12 Years a Slave”), Naomi Scott, Wesley Snipes, and John Travolta have all been added as Oscars presenters at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27....

The Paramount statement reads: “While there are no imminent plans for another film in the ‘Godfather’ saga, given the enduring power of its legacy it remains a possibility if the right story emerges.” Even if Paramount moves ahead with a fourth “Godfather,” don’t expect Coppola back in the director’s chair. While the filmmaker told The New York Times “there may well be a ‘Godfather IV’ and ‘V’ and ‘VI,’” he added that “I won’t do ’em....