For movie and TV fans. The conclusion of the calendar year means scouring through a lot of best-of lists. But for those who truly want something to sink their teeth into, we go to Steven Soderbergh. But Soderbergh doesn’t bother telling us his favorite movies of the year; instead, he tells us everything he watched in those 365 days, from movies to individual episodes. So what did Steven Soderbergh sit down for in 2024?

Steven Soderbergh shared his annual SEEN, READ list over the weekend, showing that he kicked off 2024 with Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation on January 4th (he read a book on the 2nd), along with a few episodes of Showtime’s The Curse. On his birthday, January 14th, Soderbergh treated himself to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

And just like his own filmography, the man jumped around genres quite a bit, hitting Hitchcock’s Notorious, Coppola’s Megalopolis and Curb Your Enthusiasm within a week. He even took a deep dive into Star Wars, with rewatches of portions of the first two trilogies as well as Andor.

Like the most chaotic of film nerds, there’s really no rhyme or reason to Steven Soderbergh’s movie habits. For example, he first watched Jaws in 2024 on April 3rd, when we all know it works best in the summer (granted, he did rewatch it in June, July and August). He was also fairly light on horror movies in October, only hitting Dario Argento’s giallo Deep Red, John Carpenter’s underrated TV movie Someone’s Watching Me! and Lake Mungo. For Christmas Day, Soderbergh went with Stalag 17, which is “Christmas adjacent” at best.

But we’re definitely not knocking Steven Soderbergh’s taste, because to watch that many movies and TV shows (not to mention getting through that many books) is an impressive feat, especially since he’s releasing a film of his own every year. He even notes this on his list, saying shooting began on Black Bag (slated for release this March) on May 7th…the day after he got through episodes of Hacks and The Jinx: Part Two, as well as the finals of the Madrid Open!

How many movies did you watch in 2024? Share some of your favorite first-time watches with us below.

The post Steven Soderbergh unveils annual watchlist; which movies and shows did he catch in 2024? appeared first on JoBlo.

Last Updated on January 6, 2025

For years, Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net.” In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up and coming, or well established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of…

Justin “The Housebear” Froning

Housebear, aka Justin Froning, is an international award-winning illustrator and designer from Northwest Arkansas specializing in screenprint posters, packaging, editorial, and advertising. A former professional musician, he first fell in love with the art of screenprint posters through being exposed to them on the road. He was soon designing them himself, and quickly grew accustomed to the low ink counts and minimalistic qualities necessary in the indie-rock world — later translating those techniques and sensibilities to pop culture and alternative movie posters. Today, his unique take on visual storytelling through iconography has garnered him work with some of his favorite bands, as well as numerous galleries and some of the largest companies in the world, including childhood dream clients such as Disney, Hasbro, and Marvel.

JOBLO: What got you started as an artist?
JUSTIN: I have fond memories of sitting at my dining room table for hours on end drawing Ninja Turtles, making up Mega Man characters, and creating levels for Sonic the Hedgehog. In 7th and 8th Grade, I had my one and only art class, and I’ll always appreciate Mr. Buchanon believing in my abilities. From there, I picked up a guitar and put down my art supplies. In high school and college, I played in a band and, being the late ’90s, we had to promote shows the old-school way — drawing pictures or compiling found objects and then going to Kinko’s to put it all together. Concert flyers were some of my first experiences with graphic design. After college and starting my career in the professional world, I got a call to come audition for a band called Deas Vail. With some amazing encouragement from my parents, I left my job and spent the next 6 years as a professional musician, touring, writing, and recording full time with some of the most creative and fantastic people I’ve ever met. We had a blast, built lifelong friendships, and learned a lot about running a business. I spent a lot of the time on the road honing my graphic design skills, and created a good amount of merch items for us and a few other bands. At one point, we were on tour with Copeland, and someone came to the show with limited edition screen printed posters for the show that were different than the tour admat and I was blown away. A few shows later, I ran across a poster book from The Small Stakes (Jason Munn). I instantly became a collector of concert posters, and found great inspiration through artists like Don and Ryan Clark at Invisible Creature and Kevin Tong. I eventually started trying to create posters of my own, and soon decided to pick up a pen for the first time in a decade to see what would happen if I tried to draw by hand. I combined that with the graphic design skills I had picked up and the rest is history. The things that have inspired me to draw seem to have always been tied to the things I enjoy watching, playing, or feel nostalgic about, so pop culture and music has been a natural fit from a professional art standpoint.

Who were some of your favorite artists growing up?
I didn’t really grow up as an art kid, but I was definitely inspired by the comics I read. Adam and Andy Kubert always blew me away, and I also really enjoyed Jim Lee. Asian art stylings captivated me from an early age, with Hokusai and Hiroshige being the standouts. Their work with woodblock prints left an incredible impression on me, and I still feel a bit overwhelmed when I find one of their prints in a museum. Hayao Miyazaki’s films have served as an unending pool of inspiration, and Katsuhiro Otomo’s work on the Akira manga and film is just unbelievable. When I started collecting posters, Invisible Creature, Kevin Tong, Olly Moss, and Jason Munn captivated me.

Who do you really dig these days, follow on Instagram?
I have the great privilege of enjoying a wonderful and encouraging community within The Billing Bloc. I follow and enjoy everyone within that group and have to give an extra shout out to Chris Koehler who has become one of my closest confidants with critiques and brainstorming. My pal James Hobson has both given me very exciting opportunities through The Moon-Art Gallery and supplied a lot of encouragement through the years. In no particular order, artists who inspire me and bring me joy are Ken Taylor, Oliver Barrett, Dakota Randall, Lucas Tetrault, Dan Schlitzkus, Danny Haas, Aren Vandenburgh, Simon Marchner, Drop Mag, Livio Ramondelli, Glen Brogan, Tom Whalen, Laurent Durieux, Garbhán Grant, Benedict Woodhead, Julián Rodríguez, JetPacksAndRollerSkates, Dan Black of Landlord, Shawn Ryan, Krzysztof Domaradzki, Grzegorz Domaradzki, and my amazing wife Ciara Froning.

What advice would you have for budding artists today?
I’d say it’s important to do what you love and be tenacious. Possibly the most important thing is to be kind and enjoyable to work with. If you are talented and genuinely pleasant to be around, I guarantee you’ll get more work than a more talented individual who is bristly. I still pinch myself at the thought of some of the dream clients I have the honor of working with, and I don’t believe I’m anywhere near the most talented person they could choose, but I try to be a good listener and strong collaborator. It’s okay to believe in your vision while still listening to a client’s suggestion that might make it better. It’s also okay to defend your idea with kindness if your intent is to make the project better rather than just trying to prove a point or have it your way. Most of the great clients I have came through me just doing what I love and they found me in rather unexpected ways. Disney came through band posters. One cool band comes from them seeing your work for another cool band. Just keep your eye on the ball and create what you believe in, and the clients will see you eventually. Once you feel like you have a reasonable portfolio, feel free to cold-call. It’s scary, but it’s good practice for introducing yourself and owning up to your skills.

What should we be looking out for from you in the future?
That’s a great question. I’m enjoying straddling the fence between film work and band posters. Both types of clients are rad to work with in their own ways, and I love the creative freedom that often comes through concert and tour posters — plus, it lets me stay connected to an industry I’m passionate about while enjoying the ability to stay at home with my family. I’ve been doing more album artwork lately, and finding myself enjoying that quite a bit, so probably a bit more of that soon as well.

Being a fansite, we have to ask you… What are some of your favorite movies/TV shows of all time?
Oh man, well, my all-time favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption. Some others at the top of my list that come to mind would be Alien, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Akira, Back to the Future, The Edge of Tomorrow, The Dark Knight, Aliens, The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, The Iron Giant, The Transformers Movie (1986), Castle in the Sky, Gladiator, Braveheart, 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street, Snatch, Valhalla, Fight Club, and Stranger Than Fiction. For shows, I’m a big fan of Hannibal, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, Blue Eye Samurai, I Think You Should Leave, Detroiters (I could watch Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson all-day every day), What We Do in the Shadows, Thundercats, and Voltron. I honestly think the new Voltron: Legendary Defender series is an improvement upon the show I grew up with, and that’s pretty rare for me when you’re going up against childhood nostalgia.

Scroll down to check out some of our favorite art pieces from Justin as we continue to follow his journey across his Website and social media hubs: Instagram / Shop

Amos Lee & Indigo Girls

Death Cab For Cutie

Donnie Darko

Eric Church

Grimlock

Halloween

I Am Mother

Iron Man

Jurassic Park

Kill Bill Vol. 1

Mega Man 2

Metroid

Mr. Plow

Nope

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

The Silence Of The Lambs

Soundwave

Stand By Me

Stormtrooper

Thelma & Louise

Thursday

Unwed Sailor

Weezer

Wilco

Zac Brown Band

The post Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net: Justin “The House Bear” Froning appeared first on JoBlo.

For years, Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net.” In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up and coming, or well established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of…

Justin “The Housebear” Froning

Housebear, aka Justin Froning, is an international award-winning illustrator and designer from Northwest Arkansas specializing in screenprint posters, packaging, editorial, and advertising. A former professional musician, he first fell in love with the art of screenprint posters through being exposed to them on the road. He was soon designing them himself, and quickly grew accustomed to the low ink counts and minimalistic qualities necessary in the indie-rock world — later translating those techniques and sensibilities to pop culture and alternative movie posters. Today, his unique take on visual storytelling through iconography has garnered him work with some of his favorite bands, as well as numerous galleries and some of the largest companies in the world, including childhood dream clients such as Disney, Hasbro, and Marvel.

JOBLO: What got you started as an artist?
JUSTIN: I have fond memories of sitting at my dining room table for hours on end drawing Ninja Turtles, making up Mega Man characters, and creating levels for Sonic the Hedgehog. In 7th and 8th Grade, I had my one and only art class, and I’ll always appreciate Mr. Buchanon believing in my abilities. From there, I picked up a guitar and put down my art supplies. In high school and college, I played in a band and, being the late ’90s, we had to promote shows the old-school way — drawing pictures or compiling found objects and then going to Kinko’s to put it all together. Concert flyers were some of my first experiences with graphic design. After college and starting my career in the professional world, I got a call to come audition for a band called Deas Vail. With some amazing encouragement from my parents, I left my job and spent the next 6 years as a professional musician, touring, writing, and recording full time with some of the most creative and fantastic people I’ve ever met. We had a blast, built lifelong friendships, and learned a lot about running a business. I spent a lot of the time on the road honing my graphic design skills, and created a good amount of merch items for us and a few other bands. At one point, we were on tour with Copeland, and someone came to the show with limited edition screen printed posters for the show that were different than the tour admat and I was blown away. A few shows later, I ran across a poster book from The Small Stakes (Jason Munn). I instantly became a collector of concert posters, and found great inspiration through artists like Don and Ryan Clark at Invisible Creature and Kevin Tong. I eventually started trying to create posters of my own, and soon decided to pick up a pen for the first time in a decade to see what would happen if I tried to draw by hand. I combined that with the graphic design skills I had picked up and the rest is history. The things that have inspired me to draw seem to have always been tied to the things I enjoy watching, playing, or feel nostalgic about, so pop culture and music has been a natural fit from a professional art standpoint.

Who were some of your favorite artists growing up?
I didn’t really grow up as an art kid, but I was definitely inspired by the comics I read. Adam and Andy Kubert always blew me away, and I also really enjoyed Jim Lee. Asian art stylings captivated me from an early age, with Hokusai and Hiroshige being the standouts. Their work with woodblock prints left an incredible impression on me, and I still feel a bit overwhelmed when I find one of their prints in a museum. Hayao Miyazaki’s films have served as an unending pool of inspiration, and Katsuhiro Otomo’s work on the Akira manga and film is just unbelievable. When I started collecting posters, Invisible Creature, Kevin Tong, Olly Moss, and Jason Munn captivated me.

Who do you really dig these days, follow on Instagram?
I have the great privilege of enjoying a wonderful and encouraging community within The Billing Bloc. I follow and enjoy everyone within that group and have to give an extra shout out to Chris Koehler who has become one of my closest confidants with critiques and brainstorming. My pal James Hobson has both given me very exciting opportunities through The Moon-Art Gallery and supplied a lot of encouragement through the years. In no particular order, artists who inspire me and bring me joy are Ken Taylor, Oliver Barrett, Dakota Randall, Lucas Tetrault, Dan Schlitzkus, Danny Haas, Aren Vandenburgh, Simon Marchner, Drop Mag, Livio Ramondelli, Glen Brogan, Tom Whalen, Laurent Durieux, Garbhán Grant, Benedict Woodhead, Julián Rodríguez, JetPacksAndRollerSkates, Dan Black of Landlord, Shawn Ryan, Krzysztof Domaradzki, Grzegorz Domaradzki, and my amazing wife Ciara Froning.

What advice would you have for budding artists today?
I’d say it’s important to do what you love and be tenacious. Possibly the most important thing is to be kind and enjoyable to work with. If you are talented and genuinely pleasant to be around, I guarantee you’ll get more work than a more talented individual who is bristly. I still pinch myself at the thought of some of the dream clients I have the honor of working with, and I don’t believe I’m anywhere near the most talented person they could choose, but I try to be a good listener and strong collaborator. It’s okay to believe in your vision while still listening to a client’s suggestion that might make it better. It’s also okay to defend your idea with kindness if your intent is to make the project better rather than just trying to prove a point or have it your way. Most of the great clients I have came through me just doing what I love and they found me in rather unexpected ways. Disney came through band posters. One cool band comes from them seeing your work for another cool band. Just keep your eye on the ball and create what you believe in, and the clients will see you eventually. Once you feel like you have a reasonable portfolio, feel free to cold-call. It’s scary, but it’s good practice for introducing yourself and owning up to your skills.

What should we be looking out for from you in the future?
That’s a great question. I’m enjoying straddling the fence between film work and band posters. Both types of clients are rad to work with in their own ways, and I love the creative freedom that often comes through concert and tour posters — plus, it lets me stay connected to an industry I’m passionate about while enjoying the ability to stay at home with my family. I’ve been doing more album artwork lately, and finding myself enjoying that quite a bit, so probably a bit more of that soon as well.

Being a fansite, we have to ask you… What are some of your favorite movies/TV shows of all time?
Oh man, well, my all-time favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption. Some others at the top of my list that come to mind would be Alien, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Akira, Back to the Future, The Edge of Tomorrow, The Dark Knight, Aliens, The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, The Iron Giant, The Transformers Movie (1986), Castle in the Sky, Gladiator, Braveheart, 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street, Snatch, Valhalla, Fight Club, and Stranger Than Fiction. For shows, I’m a big fan of Hannibal, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, Blue Eye Samurai, I Think You Should Leave, Detroiters (I could watch Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson all-day every day), What We Do in the Shadows, Thundercats, and Voltron. I honestly think the new Voltron: Legendary Defender series is an improvement upon the show I grew up with, and that’s pretty rare for me when you’re going up against childhood nostalgia.

Scroll down to check out some of our favorite art pieces from Justin as we continue to follow his journey across his Website and social media hubs: Instagram / Shop

Amos Lee & Indigo Girls

Death Cab For Cutie

Donnie Darko

Eric Church

Grimlock

Halloween

I Am Mother

Iron Man

Jurassic Park

Kill Bill Vol. 1

Mega Man 2

Metroid

Mr. Plow

Nope

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

The Silence Of The Lambs

Soundwave

Stand By Me

Stormtrooper

Thelma & Louise

Thursday

Unwed Sailor

Weezer

Wilco

Zac Brown Band

The post Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net: Justin “The House Bear” Froning appeared first on JoBlo.

This past week saw the end of 2024, the arrival of 2025, and, arguably, a predictably slow start to the often-relentless news cycle of video games. But slow news hardly means no news, and we kicked off the new year with a look at the games to keep an eye out for this month. Also, the chief creative officer at…

Read more…

This past week saw the end of 2024, the arrival of 2025, and, arguably, a predictably slow start to the often-relentless news cycle of video games. But slow news hardly means no news, and we kicked off the new year with a look at the games to keep an eye out for this month. Also, the chief creative officer at…

Read more…

The 82nd Golden Globe Awards will take place this Sunday, and although Ricky Gervais isn’t hosting the ceremony this year, he did share a few of the jokes he would have made if he were. Gervais, who has hosted the Golden Globes five times, took aim as Sean “Diddy” Combs, Kevin Hart, Justin Timberlake, and The Vatican.

“Sat in the bath wondering about what I would say if I were hosting The Golden Globes on Sunday,” Gervais wrote on X. “It’s been a pretty good year for material.“

Gervais kicked things off with, “Hello, and welcome to the 82nd Golden Globe awards. What a year it’s been. Hundreds of entertainers jumped at the chance to go to The Vatican to meet The Pope. Many from Hollywood. Obviously they weren’t content with only being part of the 2nd biggest pedo ring in the world…“

The comedian continued, “Justin Timberlake was convicted of Drink Driving. If he’d have gone to jail he’d have heard the words ‘Sexy Back’ a lot more often.“

Gervais dropped one more: “Kevin Hart said that being at one of Diddy’s parties was uncomfortable, as he wouldn’t leave him alone. Eventually he had to shout ‘Imma Midget, not a child.’“

Nikki Glaser will be hosting the ceremony this year, and she recently said that she won’t be going out of her way to offend anyone. “I’ve made a point not to, and that’s not to disappoint anyone who’s hoping I’m going to pull a Ricky Gervais,” Glaser said. “I’m not Ricky Gervais. This isn’t my last Golden Globes, this is my first one. He really went hard on his last one. He was ready to burn some bridges [because] it didn’t matter anymore.“

Emilia Pérez leads the pack at the Golden Globes with a total of ten nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, and more. The Brutalist received seven nominations, followed by Conclave with six. On the television side, The Bear picked up five nominations, with Shōgun and Only Murders in the Building following with four each.

The Golden Globe Awards will air on January 5th. Will you be watching?

The post Ricky Gervais takes aim at Diddy, Justin Timberlake, the Vatican & more in Golden Globes jokes appeared first on JoBlo.

Deadline reports that The Franchise has been cancelled by HBO after one season. “We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the tremendously talented team behind The Franchise, especially Sam Mendes, Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci, and this hilarious ensemble of actors,” said an HBO spokesperson. “While we won’t be moving forward with another season, we look forward to collaborating with all of them in the future.“

Created by Jon Brown and executive produced by Armando Iannucci and Sam Mendes (who directed the first episode), the comedy series follows the crew of an unloved superhero franchise movie as they fight for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe. Although The Franchise received decent reviews from critics, the audience just wasn’t there to justify another season. So the news of this cancellation isn’t too surprising. The series starred Himesh Patel (Tenet), Aya Cash (The Boys), Jessica Hynes (Spaced), Billy Magnussen (The Many Saints of Newark), Lolly Adefope (Ghosts), Darren Goldstein (Ozark), Isaac Powell (American Horror Story), Richard E. Grant (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), and Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War).

Our own Alex Maidy was a big fan of the series, saying, “The Franchise is a very specific and targeted send-up of the very industry and projects that the producers and crew of this series are a part of. There is a lot of potential for The Franchise to continue making fun of Hollywood blockbusters for seasons to come with this eight-episode season, never overstaying its welcome while still cramming in copious jokes at the expense of Hollywood studios. With great performances from everyone, led by a hilariously deadpan Himesh Patel, The Franchise should be HBO’s next big hit. I laughed out loud multiple times throughout the series, especially during the back half of the season, with the cameos (both real and fictional) making this a long-awaited satire of superhero fatigue.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.

Did you watch The Franchise? How do you feel about the series getting cancelled by HBO after just one season?

The post The Franchise cancelled by HBO after one season appeared first on JoBlo.

The origin stories of certain comic-book characters have played out multiple times across movies and TV shows. One of the biggest offenders is Batman. We’ve seen that poor bastard’s parents gunned down more times than I can count. Thankfully, it doesn’t sound as though we’ll be subjected to Martha’s pearl necklace scattering along the ground again, as James Gunn has said we won’t see the Batman origin story in the DCU.

“He already exists in this universe, just like when we come to the Superman movie and we see that Superman already exists, he’s already known by the people in Metropolis,” Gunn told Rotten Tomatoes. “We don’t need to hear the origin story again. That’s just a way to introduce that Batman is a part of this universe. He’s an important part of this universe, and he has an impact on it.“

Batman made his DCU debut in the most recent episode of Creature Commandos, albeit heavily silhouetted per Gunn’s request. “When they first showed the episode to me, there was a lot more Batman,” Gunn said. “And I said, ‘I’m not ready to commit to that… more silhouette!’“

We still don’t know who will play Batman in the DCU, although plenty of actors have thrown their hats into the ring, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Alan Ritchson, and Jensen Ackles. While the character could debut in live-action in another movie, he is set to appear in The Brave and the Bold movie alongside his son Damian Wayne. The Flash director Andy Muschietti is set to helm the movie.

Creature Commandos, the first DCU project to be released, will air its season finale next week. The series features the voices of Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., David Harbour as Eric Frankenstein, Indira Varma as The Bride, Maria Bakalova as Princess Ilana Rostovic, Alan Tudyk as Doctor Phosphorus, Zoe Chao as Nina Mazursky, and Steve Agee as John Economos, and Sean Gunn as Weasel. The series tracks a secret team of incarcerated monsters recruited for missions deemed too dangerous for humans. When all else fails… they’re your last, worst option. DC has already renewed Creature Commandos for a second season.

The post James Gunn says we’ll be spared from reliving Batman’s origin yet again in the DCU appeared first on JoBlo.

If you’re reading this right now, you did it: you made it through 2024. Time will tell if 2025 ends up being even messier and more chaotic for games and everything surrounding them but in the meantime, a short respite! Here are some great games (and game-spectating experiences with the return of Awesome Games Done…

Read more…

If you’re reading this right now, you did it: you made it through 2024. Time will tell if 2025 ends up being even messier and more chaotic for games and everything surrounding them but in the meantime, a short respite! Here are some great games (and game-spectating experiences with the return of Awesome Games Done…

Read more…