A little while ago, I got to do something really cool. To celebrate the debut of That 90s Show Part 2, I was invited on behalf of JoBlo to visit Los Angeles and interview the show’s two most iconic stars, Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp, who play Red and Kitty Foreman, the beloved parents from That 70s Show who are now loving grandparents on the sequel series. Having grown up watching That 70s Show during its initial run, this was a huge treat for me, so I was thrilled to sit down and talk to the pair, who seem to absolutely love playing their roles and are always delighted to be in each other’s company. And yeah, I had to squeeze in a RoboCop mention, as to me Kurtwood Smith will always be Clarence Boddicker, perhaps the most iconically evil villain of the 80s. Check out the interview above.
Another cool thing about the visit was that I got to observe a live studio taping of an episode, something I had never done before. That 90s Show is shot in an old-school way, in front of a live studio audience. In my interview, Smith and Rupp mention how the energy of the crowd is infectious, and I got to witness this firsthand. The director of the episode was none other than Laura Prepon, who was doing double duty, as she also acted in the episode as Donna. I loved seeing how, based on audience reaction, Prepon and her cast made adjustments to line readings, getting different kinds of laughs. It was pretty enlightening.
Afterwards, me and a few other journalists got to explore the set a bit, and I even got my photo taken in the show’s iconic basement set:
That 90s Show – Part 2 premieres on Netflix on June 27th, while Part 3 premieres on October 24th! Will you be watching? Let us know in the comments!
Palworld, the highly controversial but mostly fine “Pokémon With Guns” monster tamer game from Pocketpair, has reached over 25 million players on PC and Xbox. That’s already a whole lot of people playing the legally distinct knock-off of Game Freak’s RPGs, but why stop there when there are other platforms with other…
Palworld, the highly controversial but mostly fine “Pokémon With Guns” monster tamer game from Pocketpair, has reached over 25 million players on PC and Xbox. That’s already a whole lot of people playing the legally distinct knock-off of Game Freak’s RPGs, but why stop there when there are other platforms with other…
The Smithscript Greathammer is a Greathammer found in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, and it features a fantastic moveset that is guaranteed to make it one of the game’s most sought-after weapons. This unique Greathammer can be thrown by using your heavy attack, giving it some limited ranged capabilities…
The Smithscript Greathammer is a Greathammer found in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, and it features a fantastic moveset that is guaranteed to make it one of the game’s most sought-after weapons. This unique Greathammer can be thrown by using your heavy attack, giving it some limited ranged capabilities…
The Smithscript Axe is an Axe weapon that can only be found in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. While it seems like a pretty standard weapon at first glance, it sets itself apart from other axes with its ability to be thrown via a heavy attack. This makes it a killer choice for anyone looking to add a bit…
The Smithscript Axe is an Axe weapon that can only be found in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. While it seems like a pretty standard weapon at first glance, it sets itself apart from other axes with its ability to be thrown via a heavy attack. This makes it a killer choice for anyone looking to add a bit…
Will Smith makes a return to form as he chalks up another summer hit in his resume with the recent success of Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The movie was a safe move for him, but it also a necessary litmus test to see if audiences were ready to re-accept him after his star dimmed following the Oscars slap controversy. The gamble paid off and the newest entry into the Martin Lawrence co-starring buddy cop comedy became one of the year’s biggest hits. Smith is not going to let this train slow down as he also is planning to make a return to the music world with new material for the first time since 2005’s Lost and Found album.
Deadline is now reporting that the former Fresh Prince will be performing an all-new song at the 2024 BET Awards this Sunday. Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET, expressed her excitement over this special performance, “From his start as a rapper to The Fresh Prince to being a box office king as one of the Bad Boys, Will Smith is truly a global icon, and we are honored to welcome him back to grace the BET Awards stage. We look forward to Will adding to yet another defining night for the culture that is not to be missed.”
Although Smith hasn’t released new tunes in years, he hasn’t strayed too far from the music world as last April, he made a surprise appearance at Coachella performing his hit song from the movie Men in Black during J Balvin’s set. Their performance was enhanced by the background dancers sporting alien costumes as well as the stage featuring an oversized grey alien head. Other dancers were also dressed in the signature Men in Black clothing. At the end of their set, Balvin was humorously taken away from the stage by two men in black suits.
Not much more is known about the details surrounding Smith’s upcoming performance. You can catch the BET Awards broadcasting live on the BET network on Sunday, June 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Taraji P. Henson is set to return to host the awards, and Grammy-winning singer Usher will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement BET Award at the event. Other performances are set to include Ice Spice, Sexyy Red, Latto, Lauryn Hill & YG Marley, Tyla, GloRilla, Muni Long, Shaboozey and Victoria Monét, Tanner Adell, Cardi B, Davido, Gunna, the Roots, Common, Queen Latifah and the Jungle Brothers.
PLOT: A woman (Dakota Johnson) and a talkative cabbie (Sean Penn) have a deep conversation while stuck in an endless New York traffic jam.
REVIEW: A few months ago, Dakota Johnson suffered the worst reviews of her career for her superhero flop Madame Web. She’s been open about how she’ll never do anything like that again due to how badly she felt burned by its reception, doubling down on her commitment to indie fare. Indeed, if you watch Dakota Johnson in Daddio, a movie she co-produced, you can see how effective she can be if given material that suits her.
Written and directed by Christy Hall, Daddio is a two-hander one that takes place entirely in a cab travelling from JFK International Airport to an apartment in Manhattan. The film revolves around Johnson’s unnamed passenger, billed as “girlie,” a young woman returning to New York after a trip to see her sister. She stumbles into a cab being driven by Clark (Sean Penn), an extremely talkative cabbie who’s been around the block a few times. When stuck in a traffic jam, the two, out of boredom, start to open up to each other about their lives.
Hall’s film is almost like a play in that it’s essentially just a ninety-minute dialogue scene. It takes a while to settle into its rhythm, but Daddio becomes a fairly compelling slice of life once it starts going. Johnson’s character is at a crossroads in her life, with her returning to Manhattan and her married lover, but unsure of the path she wants to follow. While speaking with Clark, she’s still engaging with her older lover, who’s drunk, texting her and asking for erotic photos, which she obliges him with.
Penn has his best role in years as Clark. While plain-spoken, he seems through “girlie’s” polished veneer, getting her to admit the kind of relationship she’s in, which he knows all about. As he explains to her, he’s been married twice and has lots of experience having affairs outside of marriage. He tries to explain to her why, even if she thinks she loves her married boyfriend, the man will never leave his wife and ultimately views her as a sexual plaything. All this is confirmed by the messages he sends her over and over.
What’s interesting about Hall’s film is how it takes pains not to be overly judgmental. While it’s made clear that Johnson’s character seems toying with the notion of breaking up a marriage, she’s still a good person motivated by love (or at least what she thinks is love). Penn’s Clark initially comes off as a misogynistic loudmouth, but as the film goes on, we start to realize that underneath all of his bluster, there’s a lot of hard-earned wisdom there, which he’s not shy about doling out. Our protagonists are ultimately good, kind people, with Penn rarely this warm and affable on-screen.
Daddio made its debut at TIFF in the fall and was well-received, with Hall moving on to write the adaptation of the highly anticipated Blake Lively film It Ends With Us. In Daddio, she shows an incisive view of human nature, with her warts-and-all portrait of these two humans making a brief, fleeting connection that is surprisingly life-affirming. Most importantly, the connection feels authentic, and neither is shown to be a sage know-it-all. They’re simply two people stuck together for ninety minutes who take the opportunity to have a meaningful conversation. By the time the credits roll, neither of them seems on the verge of changing their lives, but they both at least met someone else who empathizes with them, which, at times, can be something we all need. Daddio isn’t the kind of movie that will blow you away, but it is food for thought and a surprisingly compelling two-hander for two performers often pigeonholed into specific roles.
The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman writer/director Robert Eggers‘ remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic Nosferatu (watch it HERE) is set to reach theatres on Wednesday, December 25th – and after playing in theatres over the weekend, where it was attached to The Bikeriders (you can read our 9/10 review at THIS LINK), the teaser trailer for Eggers’ Nosferatu has now made its way online! You can check it out in the embed above.
An unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the original Nosferatu has the following synopsis: In this highly influential silent horror film, the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck) summons Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. The eerie Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen (Greta Schroeder). After Orlok reveals his vampire nature, Hutter struggles to escape the castle, knowing that Ellen is in grave danger. Meanwhile Orlok’s servant, Knock (Alexander Granach), prepares for his master to arrive at his new home.
Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire who stalks her, bringing untold horror with him.
The film stars Bill Skarsgard (It) as the title character, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home) as crazy vampire hunter Von Franz, Lily-Rose Depp (The Idol) as Ellen Hutter and Nicholas Hoult (Renfield) as her husband Thomas – a role Skarsgard was going to play at one point. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train) is in there as Thomas’s friend Friedrich Harding, with Emma Corrin (The Crown) as Friedrich’s wife Anna, Ralph Ineson (The Witch) as Von Franz’s cohort Dr. Wilhelm Sievers, and Simon McBurney (The Conjuring 2) in an unspecified role. Skarsgard has said that playing Nosferatu was like “conjuring pure evil. It took a while for me to shake off the demon that had been conjured inside of me. … I do not think people are gonna recognize me in it.“
What did you think of the Nosferatu teaser trailer? Will you be catching this movie on the big screen in December? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
