What if Pong was played in a bloodbath? If Tim Miller and Dave Wilson, producers of Amazon Prime Video’s adult animation series Secret Level, have their way, we’ll see something of that sort across our TV screens in the near future. Speaking with ScreenRant, the pair discussed the video games they would love to put a…
In the early-to-mid eighties, Jason Voorhees dominated the horror box office. The masked slasher went from jump scare at the end of a movie to a pop culture icon in impressive fashion; enraging conservative parents while delighting teenagers who loved seeing him stalk and kill other teenagers on the big screen. Of the first four films, three of them made over $30 million at the U.S. box office, an impressive feat for the time. However, starting around 1985, with the much-criticized Friday the 13th: A New Beginning the series’ grosses started dwindling. Yes, they were still making money for studio Paramount thanks to their low budgets, but the air was seemingly coming out of the franchise the longer it went along. The low point, in several ways, was the release of Jason Takes Manhattan, a movie where the fans finally had to admit Jason’s machete blade had become quite dull. With a U.S. gross of just $14 million, Jason Takes Manhattan signaled the death knell for the unkillable maniac. Ah but you can’t keep a good supernatural murderer down, not forever. Some four years later, Jason would be resurrected yet again, although this time in a very different manner. Hope you don’t mind adding a little body-snatching to your slasher movie formula, because we’re going to find out What Happened to Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
After the dismal performance of Jason Takes Manhattan at the box office, Paramount Pictures was ready to wash its hands of the Jason character. Eager to reunite with him was Sean Cunningham, the producer-director of the very first Friday the 13th. Cunningham had been in a rut at this point, career-wise, and saw a reunion with Jason to be a perfect way to jumpstart things. New Line Cinema, the House that Freddy Built, acquired the rights to the Jason Voorhees character with an eye toward tossing him into the ring with their own prized horror icon, Freddy Krueger. But rights complications, not to mention the lack of a usable screenplay, prevented that match-up from happening, at least temporarily. Before the two mutilated monsters could go head-to-head, Cunningham and New Line thought it was the right time to bring Jason back from the dead in one last standalone story, returning him to where it all began: Crystal Lake.
Around this same time, a young NYU student named Adam Marcus was headed out to L.A. to pitch a screenplay he and his classmate Dean Lorey had developed called Johnny Zombie, a horror-comedy-musical hybrid that Marcus intended to direct. Marcus showed the script to Cunningham, whom he’d actually known since he was a child – Sean’s son Noel was Adam’s childhood friend, so Marcus knew the Friday the 13th franchise very well. Cunningham agreed to help get “Johnny Zombie” produced, and the script was eventually purchased by none other than Disney, which went about toning down the horror, getting rid of the musical numbers, and almost jettisoning the zombies from the project altogether. The studio was certainly not going to entrust this movie to a 21-year-old newbie like Marcus, and he quickly found himself looking for a new job. He agreed to work as an assistant at Cunningham’s company Horror Inc., and ultimately proved to be so reliable that Cunningham agreed to let him come up with the concept for a new Friday the 13th flick. Meanwhile, Johnny Zombie – a shell of its former self – was eventually made and called My Boyfriend’s Back.
According to Marcus, Cunningham’s only caveats on the new Friday movie were that he had to get rid of the infamous hockey mask, and the movie should completely ignore the existence of Jason Takes Manhattan. The first one is something Cunningham has refuted, saying that Marcus had the initial idea to bring the franchise in completely new direction and ditch the Jason everyone had known for eight movies… Whatever the case, Marcus would come up with a radically different kind of Friday the 13th movie and eventually get the green-light.
Marcus’ concept involved the revelation that Jason was driven by a demonic heart; he referred to the character as “Hell’s assassin.” In fact, Jason was initially brought back to life by the Necronomicon from the Evil Dead movies – the book even makes an appearance in the finished film. In the original pitch, Jason is dragged out of Crystal Lake by his deformed brother Elias, who longs for Jason’s immortality and powers. Elias eventually eats Jason’s black heart and more or less becomes him, but because his body is so frail he’s forced to possess the bodies of innocent bystanders, thus prolonging his existence. A wild concept to be sure, but apparently Cunningham and New Line both went for it.
Marcus was paired with a veteran T.V. writer named Jay Huguely, once a consulting producer on Magnum P.I. According to Marcus, the script took a year to develop, but all that work still didn’t produce a coherent or usable screenplay. With the clock ticking on the film’s pre-production, Marcus brought in his Johnny Zombie writer Dean Lorey to take a crack at the draft. Lorey allegedly only had four days to completely re-work the Huguely script, which he did at Cunningham’s office while the producer hovered over him every minute of the day. Lorey ditched the Elias character and brought Jason back into the fold, although the body-hopping concept stuck. Lorey wasn’t crazy about that idea and actually pitched Jason Goes to L.A., which would involve Jason taking on two warring gangs on the streets of Los Angeles. But because the body-hopping train had already left the station, Lorey had no choice but to finesse that idea as best he could. The writer added a Quint-like character named Creighton Duke, who supposedly had been hunting Jason this whole time – where he was during the first eight movies is anyone’s guess, but no matter. He also added a baby into the mix; this little one would be Jason’s niece’s child and the apple of Jason’s eye, an opportunity to be reborn because his evil soul has to invade the body of a Voorhees in order to fully resurrect himself. Yes, there are more members of the Voorhees clan than we’d known about, and a lot of mythology was dredged up from scratch in an attempt to explain this new look for Jason.
After only four days, Lorey delivered his draft to New Line executive Michael De Luca; according to Lorey, De Luca thought the script was pretty bad, but he gave it the green-light anyway, perhaps figuring the project was low-risk, high-reward. The budget was set at $2.5 million, so the movie will not be a huge gamble for the studio. Marcus, still very much unproven, had to shoot what’s called a “Director’s Test” for New Line to prove he can handle the workload; he shot the sequence where our lead Steven fights with Deputy Randy, resulting in a John Woo-like stand-off, and it impressed New Line’s head honcho Bob Shaye enough to let the 22-year-old helm the picture.
The film is comprised mostly of working-class adults, another interesting change from the usual Friday formula. Initially, the lead was supposed to be Tommy Jarvis from Parts 4, 5 and 6, but Marcus eventually found out that Paramount still owned the rights to that character and thus he couldn’t use him. The character was re-written as Steven Freeman, the unwitting father of the baby Jason is attempting to possess. Adam wanted his brother Kipp to play the lead but that request was denied, so Kipp ended up playing the part of Deputy Randy instead. For Steven, the production added something of a Friday the 13th alumnus: John D. LeMay, known then for his role as Ryan Dallion in the Friday the 13th TV Series. Though the TV show had nothing to do with Jason, it was made by the same producers, and an assistant director on the series recommended LeMay to Marcus, who ultimately cast him. LeMay had never seen a Friday the 13th movie in his life up until that point, though he eventually rented the original just to see what he was getting himself into. Obviously, the two movies wound up being pretty darn different.
To play the bounty hunter Creighton Duke, Marcus went with Steven Williams, best known for his role on 21 Jump Street. Tony Todd had auditioned for the role, as did Richard Gant – who went on to play the possessed coroner in the first act of the film – but Williams’ sense of fun won him the part. Williams wanted to outfit the character himself, giving Duke cowboy attire. The actor later admitted he didn’t know what the hell Duke was talking about half the time since most of his dialogue is convoluted exposition, but he still did the best he could to make the character as charismatic as possible.
To play Jason’s surprise sister, another TV veteran was hired: Erin Grey, best known for her role in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century series. Grey enjoyed the experience of making Jason Goes to Hell, but was rather dismayed when she saw the sequence toward the end where the “spirit” of Jason crawls inside her dead body in a most distasteful way. Grey only saw this sequence for the first time during the premiere of the film and later said she felt violated by the ugly scene.
Playing Jason’s niece was Kari Keegan, who only auditioned for the part because another actress at her agency couldn’t make it. Her agents didn’t think she was Friday the 13th material, but Sean Cunningham liked her immensely and made sure director Adam Marcus cast her in the role as opposed to Marcus’ preferred choice, his friend Laurie Holden – who would later go on to star in The Walking Dead. Keegan might’ve later regretted getting the part, however; one story from the set is that Marcus wanted her to bare it all during the character’s emotional shower scene, although Keegan had already made it clear she was not going to do any nudity. The director and actress apparently had a falling out over the matter, leading Cunningham to intervene. Some reports contend Cunningham had to direct the shower scene after Keegan refused to do it with Marcus at the helm…
The only holdover from past Friday the 13th films was Kane Hodder, of course the man who played Jason in parts 7 and 8. Though he would not be in the movie as Jason a whole lot, Hodder was game to strap on Jason’s new, grotesque make-up, designed by those great monster-makers at KNB. The only issue with the new costume was that Kane couldn’t remove the head in between takes, so it was often quite difficult for the actor to catch his breath after an arduous sequence. Hodder got to have some extra fun as a SWAT team member who calls Jason a nasty word moments before he’s killed by the resurrected killer early in the film.
As mentioned, KNB would be handling the Jason and gore effects, of which there would be many. Adam Marcus and his effects team were allowed to go crazy with the blood and guts stuff, because New Line told him they’d be releasing an unrated director’s cut on home video, one of the very first times a studio had planned ahead for such a release. This led to the film having perhaps the most graphic killings of any Friday the 13th movie – up until that point, anyway.
While the movie has several memorable moments of gore, a few other intriguing sequences stand out – and yes, we’re talking about the homoerotic moments between Duke and Steven, and even between Jason and a deputy he feels compelled to shave before, um, impregnating… The reasons for these scenes are twofold, according to Marcus: He knew the homoerotic undertones would make the audience squirm, particularly the men. He reasoned that the violent scenes wouldn’t make them uncomfortable, but these odd interactions that felt completely out of place in a Jason movie almost certainly would. Secondly, Marcus joked that the reason he put the shaving scene in the movie is because people would still be talking about it thirty years later – and on that score, we can’t disagree.
One moment no one would disapprove of would be the film’s final shot, which depicts Freddy’s glove dragging Jason’s mask down to hell with him. Marcus claims it was his idea to put this in the film, and since New Line was envisioning making a Freddy vs. Jason film down the line, the scene made sense. It’s actually Kane Hodder’s hand that dons the glove, although the stuntman would never actually get to match his Jason against Robert Englund’s Freddy. Originally, Marcus wanted an entire sequence of Jason writhing in hell to be included, but that idea was quickly squashed by Sean Cunningham, who knew it would be way too costly.
Post-production was apparently an uneasy process. There are plenty of indications that Sean Cunningham was displeased with the footage he was receiving, prompting him to take the reigns and re-shoot several sequences, eventually taking control of the editing altogether. The producer complained about many of the director’s stylistic flourishes, demeaning them by labeling them too “film school.” The movie’s two hour runtime was whittled down to about 89 minutes, with much character development cut out. While it’s unclear exactly what happened between the two, the relationship between Cunningham and Marcus had soured, though to his credit Marcus is still grateful that the producer took a chance on a 20-something with no feature directing experience.
Test screenings were mixed, with audiences not quite sure what to make of this surreal new take on the Jason Voorhees character. One thing many of them agreed on was that there needed to be a scene where Jason actually killed some campers – you know, the thing he’s most famous for doing – so the production did some reshoots and added the sequence where Steven drops off three horny youngsters at the camp, where they’re subsequently slaughtered. It’s worth noting this scene has one of the most memorable deaths in the entire franchise, when one of the young ladies finds herself split right up the middle, an effect that required two separate body casts of the actress. Other reshoots involved Creighton Duke explaining the Jason curse to Steven in jail; if you look closely, you can see the length of Steven Williams’ facial hair change in between shots.
The MPAA unsurprisingly was not kind to the film when they received it; they’d long made it a point to single out the Friday the 13th franchise for its wanton violence, and Jason Goes to Hell would be no exception. In fact, according to Marcus, the MPAA didn’t even finish the movie the first time they sat down with it, so appalled were they by what they were seeing. They didn’t want to give it an X rating; they didn’t want to give it anything at all. The filmmakers had to figure out what to cut out before even getting notes from the organization, an unenviable task that nonetheless eventually led to an R rating. Thankfully, the unrated version was the cut of the film most countries outside of the U.S. got to experience in the theater.
Jason Goes to Hell was released on August 13th 1993; fittingly, 13 years after the release of the original film. Ironically, Cunningham’s other movie developed with Adam Marcus and Dean Lorey, – My Boyfriend’s Back – came out a week earlier, meaning they were competing with themselves in a way. The Final Friday debuted with a respectable $7.5 million, coming in second place behind the second weekend of The Fugitive. But the good news would stop there, as it ultimately went on to make only $15 million, a blip better than the gross of Jason Takes Manhattan four years earlier. Critics were harsh, naturally, but horror fans were both confused and angered by the bizarre direction Marcus took their beloved Jason on. The unrated cut released on VHS helped appease some of the gorehounds, and once some time had passed, the film became something of a cult classic.
Jason Goes to Hell is still debated about to this day; some fans who were put off by its tenuous connection to the other Fridays have since forgiven it and recognize that it’s a unique, gory and self-aware popcorn flick that works on its own merits – call it the Halloween III effect. Still others will never get over how Jason Goes to Hell trampled all over the legacy of its predecessors and struck out on its own. To those people, Marcus often reassures them that there are still several Friday movies where you can see Jason do his thing the traditional way if that’s what you want. For what it’s worth, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday is a bit like Jason himself: ungainly, immune to common sense, and very much in a class of its own.
A couple of the previous episodes of What Happened to This Horror Movie? can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
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It’s 1985, and a lanky 17-year-old is nervously pacing backstage at NBC’s Studio 8H in New York City. In just a few minutes, he’ll make history as the youngest cast member ever to grace the stage of Saturday Night Live. This isn’t just any teenager – it’s Anthony Michael Hall, already a bonafide movie star thanks to his work with writer and director John Hughes, about to take on one of the most prestigious (and pressure-filled) gigs in comedy. As the familiar strains of the SNL theme song begin to play, Hall takes a deep breath, knowing that his life is about to change yet again. But did it change for the better? Did this skinny, awkward dork continue to bless us for decades with great cinema and comedy? Or did he take a darker, more difficult path of self-destruction and/or self-discovery? Did he spend the rest of his career trying to prove that he is more than just a skinny, awkward dork? Did his transformation into a buff bully work on screen, and did he become a buff bully off-screen as a result? Or is he just an awesome dude who makes cool movies and tv show? What Happened to Anthony Michael Hall?
Born Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall on April 14, 1968, in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, Hall’s journey to that SNL stage – and far beyond – is a Hollywood story for the ages. From his early days as the embodiment of teen awkwardness to his later career as a versatile character actor, Hall’s four-decade span in the entertainment industry is a testament to his enduring talent and adaptability.
Hall’s career kicked off at the tender age of 7 with his first commercial. But it was his role in the 1982 Kenny Rogers vehicle Six Pack that set the stage for his breakout. The following year, he appeared in National Lampoon’s Vacation, catching the eye of a filmmaker who would change his life: John Hughes.
In 1984, Hall starred as the quintessential geek Ted in Hughes’ Sixteen Candles. The New York Times wrote that he “made nerds seem lovable,” which, let’s be honest, is a bit of a backhanded compliment. But Hall’s portrayal was so spot-on, so endearing, that it catapulted him into the stratosphere of teen stardom.
1985 was the year that cemented Hall’s status as the king of teen nerds. He starred in two more Hughes classics: The Breakfast Club and Weird Science. In The Breakfast Club, Hall’s portrayal of Brian Johnson, the brainy, socially awkward “brain,” became an iconic representation of high school social dynamics. Weird Science took his nerd persona to new heights (or depths, depending on how you look at it) as Gary Wallace, a teen geek who creates the perfect woman using his computer.
These roles didn’t just make Hall famous; they made him a cultural touchstone. He became the face of every awkward, smart, misunderstood teenager in America. The impact of these films can’t be overstated – they’re still referenced, quoted, and rewatched decades later, with Hall’s performances at their heart.
At just 17, Hall became the youngest cast member in the history of Saturday Night Live. It’s worth noting that this was during what many consider one of the worst seasons in the show’s history. And that’s a high bar to clear. Or low bar? Who knows.
As the ’80s drew to a close, Hall was itching to break free from his nerd typecast. In a move that shocked many, he turned down two roles specifically written for him by John Hughes: Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Phil “Duckie” Dale in Pretty in Pink. These decisions marked a turning point in Hall’s career and his relationship with Hughes.
Instead, Hall chose to star in the 1986 action thriller Out of Bounds, his first effort to play against type. This period marked a tumultuous time in the young actor’s life. In his own words, he “was drinking vodka by the quart every day” and “sometimes got in fights and punched people in the face.” It’s not hard to see this behavior as part overcompensation for being perceived as weak and part coping mechanism for the pressures of fame. He has been sober since 1990 but anger issues and what lawyers have describes as “unbalanced behavior” continued to haunt him. We will get to that in a bit.
His efforts to shed the nerd image continued with Johnny Be Good in 1988, where he played a highly recruited high school quarterback. The film, which also featured young Robert Downey Jr. and Uma Thurman, was an R-rated comedy that saw Hall’s character facing an impossible choice when pulled in opposite directions by his co-stars.
In 1990, Hall took on a role that surprised many in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. Playing the antagonist Jim, Hall showcased his ability to step away from his nerdy persona and into a more menacing role. This performance was a clear statement that he was more than capable of shedding his typecasting.
The ’90s saw Hall continue to diversify his roles. He appeared in the critically acclaimed Six Degrees of Separation in 1993, which also featured a young J.J. Abrams. In 1994, he even stepped behind the camera to direct Hail Caesar (not to be confused with the 2016 Coen Brothers film). 1995 brought A Bucket of Blood, a TV movie notable for being Will Ferrell’s film debut as “Young Man” and Jennifer Coolidge’s second turn, this time as “Stupid Girl” – roles they are both somehow still playing 30 years later.
A standout performance came in the TV movie Pirates of Silicon Valley in 1999, where Hall portrayed Microsoft founder Bill Gates opposite Noah Wyle’s Steve Jobs. This nuanced performance showcased Hall’s ability to inhabit complex characters beyond the teen roles that made him famous. It’s seriously one of the best made-for-television movies you’ll ever see from back when that was actually a thing. As Hall entered the new millennium, he continued to work steadily in both film and television. He appeared in Freddy Got Fingered in 2001 and also took on the role of legendary Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford (whose nickname was “the Chairman of the Board,” which sounds pretty badass) in Billy Crystal’s HBO film 61*. In 2002, Hall proved he was All About the Benjamins. Even 80s icons have to balance artistry with paying the bills.
He took on the lead role in the Stephen King-inspired series The Dead Zone from 2002 to 2007 (which we recently did on Gone But Not Forgotten), one of the earlier “gifted average citizen solves crimes better than trained veteran police officers” shows. This period also brought the challenge of a lawsuit from the show’s insurers over an undisclosed bipolar disorder.
He was also arrested in 2011 for disturbing the peace after allegedly threatening to beat up a neighbor. Not that this is an excuse for his behavior be he does seem to follow the pattern set by many other child stars before him. For sooooooome reason this industry can destroy a child and their innocence which leads to troubled adults who have to battle inner demons their whole lives. Sure, he has been sober for decades but did Anthony Michael Hall have what it takes to overcome the child star curse? Maybe making better movies would help and that’s exactly what he did!
Hall’s career trajectory took him from teen idol to character actor, with appearances in high-profile films like The Dark Knight in 2008 and critically acclaimed indies like Foxcatcher in 2014 and 2015’s Results – both minor roles in movies better-loved by critics than audiences. Looking at Hall in roles like 2013’s Dead in Tombstone and comparing him to his early appearances, you’d be forgiven for doing a double-take. I promise this is the same guy who once played the quintessential nerd, now transformed into a formidable screen presence.
But Anthony was still suffering inside, still struggling to control himself at times which lead to a 2016 assault charge after pushing down his neighbor during some sort of an argument which resulted in the neighbor breaking a wrist and Mr. Hall faced up to 7 years in prison for the attack but got 3 years probation. His most recent TMZ worthy controversy was yelling at some people at a pool in 2020 so yeah he does have a bit of a bad boy reputation but compared to many others in his biz, he’s not too bad, I guess.
In recent years, Hall has continued to take on diverse roles. He appeared in Live By Night in 2016, penned and helmed by Ben Affleck – pretty but vapid, like a lot of things and people in Hollywood. In 2021, he returned to the horror genre, playing Tommy Doyle in Halloween Kills, where he ably plays a role once held by Paul Rudd in his acting debut.
Today, Anthony Michael Hall continues to work steadily, balancing roles in big-budget productions with smaller, more experimental fare. His appearance in the 2024 Netflix film Trigger Warning shows he’s still in demand, even if the movie itself was more of an attempt to revive Jessica Alba’s action career. Director Mouly Surya did the feminist revenge story far better in 2017 with Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts.
Hall’s upcoming appearance in the film festival darling Roswell Delirium shows that he’s still willing to take risks and support independent cinema. Judging by the trailer, this film seems to outstrip its modest budget and, because it’s helmed by veteran cinematographer Richard Bakewell, looks absolutely gorgeous.
Anthony Michael Hall’s journey from the fresh-faced kid in John Hughes movies to the versatile actor we see today highlights his resilience, ability to evolve with the demands of his industry, and his enduring talent. He’s weathered the storms of early fame, battled personal demons, and emerged as a respected figure in an industry known for its fickleness. As he continues to take on new and challenging roles, one thing is certain: Anthony Michael Hall’s story is far from over, and audiences will be watching eagerly to see what he does next. In 1992, early in his journey of recovery from alcohol dependence, Hall told People Magazine, “I’m not just a good actor, I’m a great actor. I haven’t proven it yet, but I will.” Not everyone knew that then, but we certainly all do now.
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The Witcher 4’s first trailer reveal showed us Ciri will be the open-world RPG’s next main protagonist, but that doesn’t mean her mentor and surrogate father figure, Geralt of Rivia, won’t be joining her on her new adventures in some way. What exact role he’ll play, however, remains a secret.
The Witcher 4’s first trailer reveal showed us Ciri will be the open-world RPG’s next main protagonist, but that doesn’t mean her mentor and surrogate father figure, Geralt of Rivia, won’t be joining her on her new adventures in some way. What exact role he’ll play, however, remains a secret.
Blu-ray.com has just revealed that Capelight Pictures and MPI Home Video will be releasing a brand-new Blu-ray transfer of Paul Verhoeven’s period action film Flesh+Blood. The film was released back in 1985 and stars Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Susan Tyrrell, Tom Burlinson and Jack Thompson. The new 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray is slated to hit retailers early next year on February 11.
The description reads,
“Director Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Total Recall) brings no-holds-barred action and sensuality to the Middle Ages. A band of mercenaries led by Martin (Rutger Hauer) triumph in battle for their leader Arnolfini. When Martin is betrayed by the tyrant Arnolfini, he seeks revenge! Martin’s mercenaries abduct Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a convent girl and the bride-to-be of Arnolfini’s son Steven (Tom Burlinson). She in turn manipulates Martin to protect her from his men. But is she feigning devotion in order to survive or has she fallen in love? Scripted by Gerard Soeteman and Paul Verhoeven this is a passionate tale of survival in a pitiless world.”
There currently haven’t been announcements made about special features, but the technical specs are:
Video
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio
TBA
Subtitles
English SDH
Discs
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Packaging
DigiBook
Playback
2K Blu-ray: Region A
Although this movie has found an audience, the underperformance of it would actually lead to Robocop since Verhoeven needed to take any directing job he could after it flopped. History was, of course, made and Verhoeven had recently given his impressions of the two notable remakes of his iconic films — Robocop and Total Recall. He was not a fan of the 2014 Robocop, saying, “The problem there, I felt, was that he was really aware that he lost all his legs and arms. He knows it from the very beginning. The beautiful thing about the original RoboCop, what makes it not just pure tragedy or whatever, is that he really does not know anymore. He gets a couple of vague flashes of memory when he goes to his old house, but RoboCop is not a tragic figure. Yes, he’s killed in the most horrible way in the beginning. But when we see him again as a robot, he doesn’t feel that. In the new one, because he remembers everything, he’s much more tragic. We wanted you to accept him at the beginning as a robotic cop. That’s what they did to him. In my opinion, I thought it was a problem to make him more tragic.”
He also felt 2012’s Total Recall remake was fancy-looking but shallow. He explained, “I felt it had a lot of special effects, but this mystery—is it true or is it not true?—I just didn’t feel that anymore. The interesting thing about the original movie is that at the end, when Rachel Ticotin says, ‘Well, kiss me quick before you wake up,’ you still don’t really know if it’s real.”
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With Yellowstone headed towards its season five conclusion this weekend, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. But the biggest one might be: Will fans be happy with the finale? Star Luke Grimes – who plays Kayce Dutton on Yellowstone — is doubtful. But that may have less to do with what happens on the ranch than it does with the fans themselves.
As Luke Grimes told Esquire on what he expects audience reaction to be on Yellowstone‘s season (and probably series) finale, “At the rate we’re headed, I don’t think they’re going to be satisfied with anything. [Laughs.] Some people will realize that it was very well written and well executed. But a large part will just be mad that it’s over, which is fair.” That sounds like a bit of a swipe at fandoms overall, but don’t most tend to complain when they don’t get their way, especially if a show is ending before we want it to?
But for Luke Grimes – who isn’t against the idea of a spin-off (as we get word that Rip and Beth will be getting their own) – Yellowstone would be riding off into the sunset at just the moment. “It feels like good timing. Seven years is a long time to do anything, and I had never played a character for more than a few months before. I’ve loved all of it. But there is a part of it that—once you read those final episodes—sees that there’s a finality to it.”
Luke Grimes, like many Yellowstone fans, can’t help but turn to Kevin Costner, whose behind-the-scenes issues ultimately led to a once-unthinkable fate for John Dutton. With Costner not returning for the final episodes, it turned out to be something of a relief. “To be really honest, there was a part of Kevin being gone that meant some of the conflict was gone. Obviously, it didn’t make it super fun to be around. Not pointing any fingers, but it was actually the easiest season we’ve filmed.”
The final episode of season five of Yellowstone, which will run nearly one and a half hours, airs on December 15th.
Are you ready for the flagship Yellowstone series to end? Do you think it has been successful even without Kevin Costner?
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Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have successfully transitioned from the music world to the movie world thanks to their collaborations with David Fincher and other notable filmmakers. With Ross, Reznor first won the Best Original Score Oscar for The Social Network, next nabbing it for Soul (alongside Jon Baptiste). However, they would lose out on their Mank nomination. In addition to other works for David Fincher, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl, Reznor and Ross also recently did the music for Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, Challengers and, more recently, Queer.
The Nine Inch Nails members are also tapped to score the upcoming Tron: Ares, and The Hollywood Reporter is revealing that the duo is quite comfortable staying in the film game in lieu of returning to purely music. Reznor would tell IndieWire, “What we’re looking for [from film] is the collaborative experience with interesting people. We haven’t gotten that from the music world necessarily, for our own choice.” Reznor went on to say,
The culture of the music world sucks.”
He continued to elaborate, “That’s another conversation, but what technology has done to disrupt the music business in terms of not only how people listen to music but the value they place on it is defeating. I’m not saying that as an old man yelling at clouds, but as a music lover who grew up where music was the main thing. Music [now] feels largely relegated to something that happens in the background or while you’re doing something else. That’s a long, bitter story.”
The former Nine Inch Nails artist would explain that he and Ross found success in film soundtracks because they are “working in service to something, where we’re not in control of the whole thing, and we’re working intimately with a director or small team to try and help realize a collective vision, solving that riddle without the burden of ‘how’s it going to be marketed?’ and all the things.”
Samples of the upcoming Nine Inch Nails score for Tron: Ares were featured at this year’s D23 event, which our own Alex Maidy was in attendance for and has been giving us all the updates you need.
As for Tron: Ares itself — which wrapped filming in May — we know that it “follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind’s first encounter with A.I. beings.” It is currently slated for release on October 10th, 2025.
The post Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross explain that they prefer movie soundtracks because of their disdain for current music culture appeared first on JoBlo.
Plot: When the glittering Las Vegas revue she has headlined for decades announces it will soon close, a glamorous showgirl must reconcile with the decisions she’s made and the community she has built as she plans her next act.
Review: A lot of press has surrounded Pamela Anderson’s role in The Last Showgirl. After returning to acting in 2022 with a stint in a Broadway production of Chicago, Anderson released her memoir Love, Pamela and a corresponding Netflix documentary in 2023. With Lily James portraying Anderson in the Hulu limited series Pam & Tommy, Anderson has again entered the pop culture limelight, with many hailing The Last Showgirl as the actress’s revelatory rebirth as a dramatic actress. Directed by Gia Coppola, The Last Showgirl is an intriguing and devastating look at a fading aspect of Las Vegas and a stark portrait of a woman reflecting on the missed opportunities in her life. With a stellar supporting cast led by a fantastic Jamie Lee Curtis, The Last Showgirl is a melancholic portrait of getting older that gives Pamela Anderson a showcase for what she is capable of as an actor.
The Last Showgirl opens with Shelley (Pamela Anderson), a fifty-seven-year-old showgirl who is auditioning after she learns from stage manager Eddie (Dave Bautista) that her show, Razzle Dazzle, has been set to close its multi-decade run as the casino owners begin looking for a more modern act to take its place. The news shocks Shelley and her coworkers Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka). The news shakes Shelley as her age signals the potential end to her career, something she sees in her best friend Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), a former showgirl who quit to become a cocktail waitress. Knowing she only has a few weeks of employment left, Shelley begins to reflect on her decisions and the lack of a relationship with her daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd), whom she sent away to live with another family while Shelley pursued her dream. Shelley contemplates whether she can get a job with another dance troupe as she refuses to take work as an escort or do anything other than be a traditional showgirl.
Wearing little make-up when her character is not performing on stage, Pamela Anderson literally strips Shelley down to her most vulnerable aspects. We see her shopping for a date that fails to happen and spends time with her fellow showgirls as they think about their lives. Jodie, who is only nineteen, looks up to Shelley as a maternal presence while Shelley tries to find a way back into her daughter’s life, something Hannah is reluctant to do after years of being left to her own devices. Pamela Anderson does what she can with the role, which is not as robust as I had expected. Much of the film follows Shelley in a documentary-like fashion as she talks to the different people in her life. There are several substantial sequences for Anderson to shine, including an emotional dinner with Eddie, a breakdown opposite Brenda Song’s Mary-Anne, and a tumultuous audition for a director (Jason Schwartzman) in which Shelley confronts her age and limited skills. All of these moments are highlights in Anderson’s performance, while the rest of the time, she takes a backseat to her co-stars.
The rest of The Last Showgirl‘s ensemble all have much more experience working with material like this, and Brenda Song and Dave Bautista are doing good work in their brief roles. Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd play distinct aspects of both the real and surrogate daughters in Shelley’s life. The highlight is Jamie Lee Curtis, who overshadows Anderson’s performance with her own showcase of a role. Curtis dons an even less flattering appearance than she did in her Oscar-winning turn in Everything Everywhere All At Once to play Annette. With a deep orange fake tan, a red wig, and a bustier that leaves little to the imagination, Curtis is brash and loud compared to the more subdued performances from everyone else in the cast. She even has a solo dance performance set to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” that fits perfectly with the film’s tone, even if it is somewhat incongruously placed in the middle of the movie. Curtis may be in store for an Academy Award nomination for this film over Pamela Anderson’s more publicized comeback.
Written by Kate Gersten and based on her unproduced stage play Body of Work, The Last Showgirl is director Gia Coppola’s third film behind the camera, which is the first she did not write. Coppola’s strength as a filmmaker is more apparent in The Last Showgirl than in either of her prior films, Palo Alto and Mainstream. Using a lot of fuzzy, out-of-focus shots and handheld visuals, the film was shot over eighteen days and had a definite indie quality to it. The film shares much in common with Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler and Black Swan. Like Mickey Rourke’s broken-down fighter, Pamela Anderson’s Shelley is a world-weary veteran who does not know if she still has a place in the world that has moved on from where her career started. Shelley also has similar psychological strife compared to Natalie Portman’s ballet dancer, with The Last Showgirl’s closing sequence a hallucinatory reflection on her final days as a dancer.
The Last Showgirl is a more restrained film than we have seen from Gia Coppola so far, allowing it to have a more raw and realistic feel that serves the subject matter well. Everyone in the cast is quite good, even if the film is underwhelming compared to the buzz being generated for Pamela Anderson. Anderson does good work in a role vastly different from The Bombshell typecasting she was synonymous with, and it is nice to see her allowed to do more than serve as eye candy. The Last Showgirl boasts a memorable original song from composer Andrew Wyatt and singers Miley Cyrus and Lykke Li, which could earn the film an Oscar nomination. Still, I don’t think the overall movie is as strong a contender as some would have you believe. Definitely worth checking out for Jamie Lee Curtis’ standout performance and an impressive return to the screen for Pamela Anderson.
The Last Showgirl opens in theaters on December 13th.
The post The Last Showgirl Review: Pamela Anderson is heartbreaking in Gia Coppola’s Las Vegas drama appeared first on JoBlo.
Okami was a 2006 game of the year winner that never achieved sale success in-line with its critical-acclaim. It’s fitting then, if still completely bonkers, that a sequel to the Legend of Zelda-inspired adventure game would get announced at this year’s Game Awards. A musical medley on stage revealed we’re getting Okami…