Michael Caine would seem like an unlikely Ebenezer Scrooge, but the man nailed it in The Muppet Christmas Carol, delivering what many consider the best version of the character ever, up there with Alastair Sim and George C. Scott. And to channel the most miserly of misers against the most Muppety of Muppets, Caine did the unexpected: he went Shakespearan and Hannibal Lecter.

Michael Caine can be terribly funny, but to play Scrooge, he knew he had to go a different route to not only match the character but to play against some off of the Muppets. As recounted in The Guardian, Caine said, “I’m going to play this movie like I’m working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will never wink, I will never do anything Muppety. I am going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role and there are no puppets around me.”

According to Dave Goelz – who voiced everybody from Gonzo to Zoot – Michael Caine was joyful enough in the role but took another approach that can only be construed as menacing. “I was so taken with the way Michael was performing and the fact that he never blinks in a shot. That’s one part of his technique. You’ll never see Michael Caine blink. Just watching his craft was stunning and of course, for that character, he had to resist our antics – and in between shots, we always play around. He was extremely professional but he wasn’t a stick in the mud at all.”

But blink or no blink, Michael Caine was by every account one of the best actors to ever nail Ebenezer Scrooge – that he had to do it as straight as possible alongside some of the silliest creatures to ever hit the screen is a true testament to his talents. No doubt it will be in Caine’s retirement highlight reel.

If you don’t own a copy of The Muppet Christmas Carol, you can stream it on Disney+ – just make sure you watch the right version, because the extended cut with discarded song “When Love Is Gone” is listed as an extra. Either way, don’t wait until there’s only one more sleep ’til Christmas.

Do you think Michael Caine’s version of Scrooge is the best? Where do you think it ranks in his list of greatest performances?

The post Michael Caine approached The Muppet Christmas Carol like a Shakespeare play appeared first on JoBlo.

Deadline reports that Apple TV+ has scooped up the rights to Bananas, a drama series from David O. Russell set to star Oscar Isaac and Ana de Armas. The project was the subject of a heated bidding war, but Apple took home the prize.

Russell is attached to direct the series from a script by Carolina Paiz (Narcos). Unfortunately, the plot is being kept under wraps, so that’s all we know about it. Russell will also executive produce alongside Isaac, de Armas, and Paiz.

In addition to Bananas, Russell has plenty of other projects on his slate, including a John Madden biopic starring Nicolas Cage as the iconic football broadcaster. “Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will portray the best of the American spirit of originality, fun, and determination in which anything is possible as beloved national legend John Madden,” said O. Russell in a statement. “Together with the ferocious style, focus, and inspired individualism of Al Davis, owner of the underdog Oakland Raiders, the feature will be about the joy, humanity and genius that was John Madden in a wildly inventive, cool world of the 1970s.“

John Madden was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978 and led the team to eight playoff appearances, seven division titles, seven AFL/AFC Championship Game appearances, and the Raiders’ first Super Bowl title. After announcing his retirement due to medical issues and burnout, he became a commentator on NFL games for thirty years. He also lent his name, voice, and creative input to the John Madden Football series from Electronic Arts. The series has become one of the biggest video game franchises of all time and has released annual installments since 1990.

Oscar Isaac will next be seen playing Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro’s highly anticipated Frankenstein movie. The film boasts an all-star cast that includes Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, and Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s monster. It will debut on Netflix in 2025.

As for Ana de Armas, she stars in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina as a young woman with killer skills who sets out to get revenge when hitmen kill her family. The film includes appearances from several members of the John Wick franchise, including Ian McShane as Winston, the late Lance Reddick as Charon, Anjelica Huston as the Director, and Keanu Reeves as John Wick. Ballerina is set to hit theaters on June 6, 2025.

The post Bananas: Oscar Isaac & Ana De Armas to star in David O. Russell series for Apple TV+ appeared first on JoBlo.

Deadline reports that Apple TV+ has scooped up the rights to Bananas, a drama series from David O. Russell set to star Oscar Isaac and Ana de Armas. The project was the subject of a heated bidding war, but Apple took home the prize.

Russell is attached to direct the series from a script by Carolina Paiz (Narcos). Unfortunately, the plot is being kept under wraps, so that’s all we know about it. Russell will also executive produce alongside Isaac, de Armas, and Paiz.

In addition to Bananas, Russell has plenty of other projects on his slate, including a John Madden biopic starring Nicolas Cage as the iconic football broadcaster. “Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will portray the best of the American spirit of originality, fun, and determination in which anything is possible as beloved national legend John Madden,” said O. Russell in a statement. “Together with the ferocious style, focus, and inspired individualism of Al Davis, owner of the underdog Oakland Raiders, the feature will be about the joy, humanity and genius that was John Madden in a wildly inventive, cool world of the 1970s.“

John Madden was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978 and led the team to eight playoff appearances, seven division titles, seven AFL/AFC Championship Game appearances, and the Raiders’ first Super Bowl title. After announcing his retirement due to medical issues and burnout, he became a commentator on NFL games for thirty years. He also lent his name, voice, and creative input to the John Madden Football series from Electronic Arts. The series has become one of the biggest video game franchises of all time and has released annual installments since 1990.

Oscar Isaac will next be seen playing Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro’s highly anticipated Frankenstein movie. The film boasts an all-star cast that includes Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, and Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s monster. It will debut on Netflix in 2025.

As for Ana de Armas, she stars in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina as a young woman with killer skills who sets out to get revenge when hitmen kill her family. The film includes appearances from several members of the John Wick franchise, including Ian McShane as Winston, the late Lance Reddick as Charon, Anjelica Huston as the Director, and Keanu Reeves as John Wick. Ballerina is set to hit theaters on June 6, 2025.

The post Bananas: Oscar Isaac & Ana De Armas to star in David O. Russell series for Apple TV+ appeared first on JoBlo.

We’ve seen a handful of actors portray Lex Luthor over the years, but I’d wager that few would place Jesse Eisenberg at the top of the list. The actor played a quirky Mark Zuckerberg-esque version of the iconic DC villain in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Although the film grossed $874 million worldwide, critics didn’t seem to care for it. In fact, during a recent appearance on Armchair Expert with Dax Shephard, Eisenberg said the movie may have actually hurt his career.

“I was in this Batman movie and the Batman movie was so poorly received, and I was so poorly received,” Eisenberg said. “I’ve never said this before and it’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but I genuinely think it actually hurt my career in a real way, because I was poorly received in something so public.“

Eisenberg continued, “I’ve been in poorly received things that just don’t see the light of day, and for the most part, no one knows. But this was so public, and I don’t read notices or reviews or movie press or anything, so I was unaware of how poorly it was received.” Eisenberg would return as Lex Luthor for the post-credit scene of Justice League, but by that time, it felt like the beginning of the end for the DCEU.

We’ve got a new Lex Luthor to look forward to, with Nicholas Hoult playing the character in James Gunn’s Superman movie (which recently dropped its first teaser trailer.

Eisenberg recently wrote, directed, and starred in A Real Pain alongside Kieran Culkin. The film follows two estranged Jewish American cousins who travel to Poland to honour their late grandmother. “At its heart, the film is a character study, allowing Jesse Eisenberg’s David and Kieran Culkin’s Benji to spar over eighty minutes without making their holiday too earth-shattering an event, with characters ending the film just as broken (or not) as the movie began,” wrote our own Chris Bumbray in his review. “It’s one of the few films I’ve seen in recent memory to get the vibe of a holiday just right, as when you end a trip – no matter how intense the journey has been – there’s a moment when you arrive back home and realize that you’re the same person you were when you left. This can either be a reassuring feeling or a melancholy one.“

What are your thoughts on Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman? Was his portrayal really that bad?

The post Jesse Eisenberg believes playing Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman hurt his career appeared first on JoBlo.

We’ve seen a handful of actors portray Lex Luthor over the years, but I’d wager that few would place Jesse Eisenberg at the top of the list. The actor played a quirky Mark Zuckerberg-esque version of the iconic DC villain in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Although the film grossed $874 million worldwide, critics didn’t seem to care for it. In fact, during a recent appearance on Armchair Expert with Dax Shephard, Eisenberg said the movie may have actually hurt his career.

“I was in this Batman movie and the Batman movie was so poorly received, and I was so poorly received,” Eisenberg said. “I’ve never said this before and it’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but I genuinely think it actually hurt my career in a real way, because I was poorly received in something so public.“

Eisenberg continued, “I’ve been in poorly received things that just don’t see the light of day, and for the most part, no one knows. But this was so public, and I don’t read notices or reviews or movie press or anything, so I was unaware of how poorly it was received.” Eisenberg would return as Lex Luthor for the post-credit scene of Justice League, but by that time, it felt like the beginning of the end for the DCEU.

We’ve got a new Lex Luthor to look forward to, with Nicholas Hoult playing the character in James Gunn’s Superman movie (which recently dropped its first teaser trailer.

Eisenberg recently wrote, directed, and starred in A Real Pain alongside Kieran Culkin. The film follows two estranged Jewish American cousins who travel to Poland to honour their late grandmother. “At its heart, the film is a character study, allowing Jesse Eisenberg’s David and Kieran Culkin’s Benji to spar over eighty minutes without making their holiday too earth-shattering an event, with characters ending the film just as broken (or not) as the movie began,” wrote our own Chris Bumbray in his review. “It’s one of the few films I’ve seen in recent memory to get the vibe of a holiday just right, as when you end a trip – no matter how intense the journey has been – there’s a moment when you arrive back home and realize that you’re the same person you were when you left. This can either be a reassuring feeling or a melancholy one.“

What are your thoughts on Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman? Was his portrayal really that bad?

The post Jesse Eisenberg believes playing Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman hurt his career appeared first on JoBlo.

In a surprise to absolutely no one who has been immersed in the child-burning, eugenics-pushing, mind-bending chaos of Dune: Prophecy, we’re returning to this universe from 10,000 years before Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies. HBO announced today that the prequel series will be renewed for a second season after the…

Read more…

In a surprise to absolutely no one who has been immersed in the child-burning, eugenics-pushing, mind-bending chaos of Dune: Prophecy, we’re returning to this universe from 10,000 years before Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies. HBO announced today that the prequel series will be renewed for a second season after the…

Read more…

After nine months of hype, controversy, and hyped controversy, MrBeast and Amazon’s Beast Games has begun, the first two episodes of ten added to Amazon Prime today. The reportedly $100 million deal to secure the world’s most popular YouTuber has resulted in a game show that combines Squid Game with, er, Squid Game:…

Read more…

After nine months of hype, controversy, and hyped controversy, MrBeast and Amazon’s Beast Games has begun, the first two episodes of ten added to Amazon Prime today. The reportedly $100 million deal to secure the world’s most popular YouTuber has resulted in a game show that combines Squid Game with, er, Squid Game:…

Read more…

Deadline reports that David Zayas (Dexter) has joined the cast of Edgar Wright’s The Running Man. The report states that Zayas plays a character named Richard Manuel.

Glen Powell (Twisters) stars in The Running Man as Ben Richards, a “desperate man, needing money for his sick daughter, who joins the most popular show, The Running Man, in which teams of killers hunt down contestants. The longer that a contestant survives, the more money that person makes. But as the game show’s producers and killers will find out, this desperate man will break all the rules and expose the show’s dark secrets.” In addition to Powell and Zayas, the rest of the cast includes Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame), Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding), Lee Pace (Foundation), Daniel Ezra (All American), William H. Macy (Shameless), Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim), Emilia Jones (CODA), and Jayme Lawson (The Batman).

Edgar Wright is directing The Running Man from a script he co-wrote with Michael Bacall. It’s based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, which was published in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. Wright has previously said that The Running Man remake will be closer to the original Stephen King novel than the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. “I like the film but I like the book more, and they didn’t really adapt the book,” Wright said. “Even as a teenager when I saw the Schwarzenegger film I was like, ‘Oh, this isn’t like the book at all!’ And I think, ‘Nobody’s [done] that book.’ So when that came up, I was thinking, and Simon Kinberg says, ‘Do you have any interest in The Running Man?’ I said, ‘You know what? I’ve often thought that that book is something crying out to be adapted.’ Now, that doesn’t mean that it’s easy!“ The Running Man will hit theaters on November 21, 2025.

Zayas is best known for playing Angel Batista on Dexter and Enrique Morales on Oz. He reprised his Dexter role for several episodes of Dexter: New Blood. He was recently seen appearing alongside his real-life wife, Liza Colón-Zayas, in the third season of The Bear.

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