Britt Hayes is a writer, movie lover, and sensible sweater enthusiast living in Austin, Texas. She watches too much TV and never eats her vegetables.
Britt Hayes
Burt Reynolds, Hollywood Icon, Has Died at 82
Burt Reynolds, the iconic mustachioed star of classics ranging from Smokey and the Bandit to Boogie Nights, has passed away at the age of 82. The actor died early Thursday at Jupiter Medical Center in Florida, as confirmed by his manager. No cause of death has been given at this time.
New Movie Releases: July 2016
The summer movie season continues next month with new Ghostbusters, a big friendly giant, another Purge night and Star Trek Beyond, and that’s not even half of it. Those of you interested in something a little less blockbuster-y should definitely add Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice to your must-see list, along with the James Wan-produced horror flick Lights Out. For details on all of these movies and more, read on for our complete guide to July’s new movie releases.
Mel Gibson Is Planning a ‘Passion of the Christ’ Sequel
Faith-based films have been riding a wildly successful wave for several years now, only recently stumbling a bit with the underwhelming box office returns for God’s Not Dead 2. And while that seemed to indicate that faithful audiences might not be too keen on sequels, Mel Gibson may very well prove that theory wrong as the actor and director is apparently plotting a sequel to The Passion of the Christ.
Netflix to Officially Begin Streaming New Disney Films in September
Way back in 2012 (or at least it feels way back), Netflix and Disney struck a deal for all of Disney’s movies — including Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm — to stream exclusively on Netflix Instant. According to the terms of their agreement, the deal wouldn’t kick in until 2016, which just so happens to be the year in which we are currently living. As announced today, Netflix will officially begin streaming Disney films in September, but that doesn’t mean the studio’s entire library will magically appear in your Instant browser.
Another ‘Austin Powers’ Sequel Could Still Swing Its Way Into Theaters
Unlike most comedy sequels, the Austin Powers franchise only became more successful at the box office with each additional outing (sorry, Neighbors 2), with Austin Powers in Goldmember generating $300 million worldwide. It’s been 14 years since Mike Myers last donned the mop-top and spouted a bunch of delightfully cheesy innuendoes, and though we may not be any closer to a fourth Austin Powers outing, director Jay Roach says it could still very much happen.
SNL Ranked: Peter Dinklage Is (Mostly) an SNL Miracle
With Game of Thrones Season 6 just within our grasp, Peter Dinklage drops by Studio 8H for his SNL hosting debut. You may recall his hilarious cameo as Peter Drunklage with Bobby Moynihan's Drunk Uncle back in 2013, but that was only a hint of the greatness Dinklage brought to his first proper SNL appearance. Everyone brings their A-game to this week's brilliant, hilariously absurd show, which made ranking the sketches pretty difficult — but hey, I still tried. Read on for our ranking of this week's SNL sketches from best to worst (hey, they weren't all great).
‘Hardcore Henry’ Trailer: This First-Person POV Action Flick Looks Intense
Hardcore Henry premiered at TIFF last fall under the title Hardcore, and swiftly inspired a bidding war over distribution rights for the innovative first-person POV action flick. Directed by Ilya Naishuller and executive-produced by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), Hardcore takes the concept of first-person shooter video games and transforms it into one relentless, action-packed and gnarly film that’s sure to draw comparisons to RoboCop.
Legendary Actor Abe Vigoda, Star of ‘The Godfather’ and ‘Barney Miller,’ Dead at 94
Veteran actor Abe Vigoda has enjoyed a career more vast and varied than many of his fellow performers, with a resumé that spans 65 years and includes everything from masterpieces like The Godfather to classic television like Barney Miller. Vigoda has reportedly passed away today at the age of 94, leaving behind an unforgettable legacy of film and television work.
Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith Boycotting 2016 Oscars, Chris Rock Calls Out Academy for ‘White BET Awards’
For the second year in a row, every actor nominated in all four acting categories for the Academy Awards is a white person. All 20 nominees for Best Actor and Actress and Best Supporting Actor and Actress are white people, reigniting the Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. And while many of us are comfortable in our power to merely comment via social media, there are a couple of strong voices who are fed up and ready to do something about it: director Spike Lee and actor Jada Pinkett-Smith have announced plans to boycott the Oscars this year, while the host of the 2016 awards himself has called the Academy out for their persistent negligence to nominate people of color.
SNL Brings Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush Back for a Hilarious Announcement
Maybe you didn’t realize how much you missed Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush impression on SNL until the actor popped in for a surprise appearance during the cold open, delivering a State of the Union address on our current crop of GOP presidential hopefuls — which is essentially just Ferrell’s Dubbya roasting his fellow Republicans in an attempt to make an unprecedented bid for a third term as POTUS.