Ted Lasso star Phil Dunster is going from the soccer pitch to a college campus for HBO’s upcoming comedy series, starring Steve Carell. The untitled project hails from Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Shrinking), Matt Tarses (Scrubs), and Warner Bros. TV. Details about Dunster’s role as a series regular remains a mystery. Dunster played the hot-headed Striker Jamie Tartt for AFC Richmond in Ted Lasso, a critical darling and feelgood comedy series about a college football coach who heads to London to manage a struggling English Premier League soccer team.
HBO’s untitled comedy series starring Steve Carell and Phil Dunster unfolds on a college campus where an author (Carell) struggles with a complicated relationship with his daughter. Lawrence and Tarses, who teamed-up for the hit medical comedy series Scrubs, wrote the premiere episode. The duo also produces the project alongside Carell, Jeff Ingold, and Liza Katzer through Doozer Productions. The 10-episode show got a series order from HBO in May, giving Lawrence and Tarses ten half-hour chapters to tell their story.
After a crowd-pleasing performance on Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, Dunster played Mike for seven episodes of Prime Video’s The Devils Hour. The psychological thriller series from Tom Moran stars Jessica Raine, Peter Capaldi, and Nikesh Patel, and centers on a woman who wakes up every night at exactly 3:33 AM, in the middle of the so-called Devil’s Hour between 3 AM and 4 AM. Dunster also features in the second season of Veronica West’s Apple TV+’s psychological drama Surface. The intense thriller stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Oliver Jackson Cohen, and Ari Graynor, and revolves around a woman’s quest to rebuild her life after a suicide attempt.
In addition to his acting roles, Dunster recently made his directorial debut with Idiomatic, a short film he also wrote, produced, and stars in alongside Kerry Godliman. The thought-provoking project tells the story of a man who can see metaphors and it’s ruining his life. The off-beat tone of the piece makes for an insightful commentary on how we interpret the things we see and experience.
Are you curious to learn more about Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses’ untitled comedy series? Will Phil Dunster and Steve Carell light up the screen? We’ll find out when more information about the series comes together.
On June 20, 2018, Paramount Network aired the first episode of a neo-Western drama television series called Yellowstone – and a megahit franchise was born. Lately, news regarding the franchise has been focused on what’s coming further down the line. We’ve been hearing casting announcements about the spin-off series The Madison and 1923, and we’ve heard that the flagship show, which was said to be ending with “season 5, part 2,” might continue with a sixth season after all… but before we get there, we still need to see Yellowstone season 5, part 2, which has a premiere date of Sunday, November 10th at 8pm ET/PT. (Internationally, Yellowstone will premiere on Paramount+ in Canada on November 10th, the U.K. on November 11th, and in Latin America, Brazil and France later in November.) With the premiere dates almost upon us, JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had to the chance to sit down for interviews with Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler), Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton), and Gil Birmingham (Thomas Rainwater), and you can find out what they had to say about Yellowstone season 5, part 2 by checking out the video embedded above!
TV’s #1 show, produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, Yellowstone chronicles the Dutton family who controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the United States. Amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders, open wounds, and hard-earned respect – the ranch is in constant conflict with those it borders – an expanding town, an Indian reservation, and America’s first national park.
The series was created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, and they both serve as executive producers alongside Art Linson, Kevin Costner, David C. Glasser, Bob Yari, Stephen Kay, Michael Friedman, Christina Voros and Keith Cox. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
Are you a Yellowstone fan, and are you looking forward to tuning in for season 5, part 2? Check out the interviews with Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, and Gil Birmingham, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
The A24 horror film Heretic, which is coming our way from the writing and directing duo of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, has received a wide theatrical release as of today. JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray enjoyed the film, giving it a 7/10 review you can read at THIS LINK (or you can watch the video version embedded above), and now we want to know: what do you think about Heretic?
Hugh Grant – whose credits include Notting Hill, Love Actually, Wonka, and Unfrosted – stars in Heretic, which has the following synopsis: Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Grant has previously said that he finds villain roles to be “more fun” to play, so it should be very interesting to watch him take on a diabolic role in a horror movie. Bumbray said said Grant “radiates fiendishly clever intelligence, and he’s given a sadistic streak I didn’t see coming, which feels bold for a mainstream horror flick.” He is joined in the cast of Heretic by Chloe East (The Fabelmans) and Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets) as the missionaries. (You can watch our cast interviews HERE.) Grant hasn’t done much horror in his career, but he did have a role in Ken Russell’s Bram Stoker-inspired supernatural horror comedy The Lair of the White Worm back in 1988.
Beck and Woods’ previous credits include A Quiet Place (they wrote the original script), Haunt (as writers/directors), Nightlight (writers/directors), Spread (writers/directors), the “Adam Driver vs. dinosaurs” movie 65 (writers/directors), and an episode of 50 States of Fright (writers/directors). They also (alongside Mark Heyman) received writing credits on the Stephen King adaptation The Boogeyman – which happened to star Sophie Thatcher, who turned in a great performance in a movie I thought was just okay overall.
Now Heretic has been sent out into the world – and if you check out the movie on the big screen this weekend, come back here and leave a comment below to share your thoughts on it.
Back in September, it was announced that Arrow Video would be releasing a number of titles in 4K Blu-ray remasters. One of those titles was the cult hit from the 1988, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. The new physical media release will hit retailers in a few days on November 12. Details of the special features and technical specs are now revealed, courtesy of Blu-ray.com.
The description reads, “She’s back! Elvira, Horrorland’s hostess with the mostest, finally busts out on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with this long-awaited, positively bursting-at-the-seams special edition of her big screen debut, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark!
Having just quit her job as a Los Angeles TV horror hostess, Elvira receives the unexpected news that she’s set to inherit part of her great aunt Morgana’s estate. Arriving in the small town of Fallwell, Massachusetts to claim her inheritance, Elvira receives a less than enthusiastic reception from the conservative locals – amongst them, her sinister uncle Vincent, who, unbeknownst to Elvira, is in fact an evil warlock secretly scheming to steal the old family spellbook for his own nefarious ends…
Campy, quirky and stuffed to the brim with more double entendres than your average Carry On movie, 1988’s Elvira: Mistress of the Dark helped solidify the horror hostess (played by Cassandra Peterson) as a major pop culture icon, here owning every inch of the screen with her quick wit, sass, and of course, cleaving-enhancing gown!”
Special Features and Technical Specs:
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Sam Irving, Kat Ellinger and Patterson Lundquist
BRAND NEW 4K RESTORATION BY ARROW FILMS
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTAITON OF THE FILM
Original uncompressed stereo 2.0 audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Introduction to the film by director James Signorelli
2017 audio commentary with director James Signorelli, hosted by Fangoria editor emeritus Tony Timpone
2017 audio commentary with Patterson Lundquist, www.elviramistressofthedark.com webmaster and judge of US TV show The Search for the Next Elvira
Archival audio commentary with actors Cassandra Peterson and Edie McClurg and writer John Paragon
Too Macabre – The Making of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark – 2018 version of this feature-length documentary on the making of the film, including interviews with various cast and crew and archival material
Recipe for Terror: The Creation of the Pot Monster – 2018 version of this featurette on the concept and design of the pot monster, as well as the film’s other SFX
Original storyboards
Extensive image galleries
Original US theatrical and teaser trailers
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
On January 1st, the earliest versions of Mickey Mouse – seen in the animated shorts Plane Crazy, The Gallopin’ Gaucho, and most famously Steamboat Willie – became public domain… which, of course, means we’re now going to get multiple horror movies that feature characters inspired by Mickey Mouse. Within the first three days of the year, we saw the short film The Vanishing of S.S. Willie, a trailer for the slasher movie Mickey’s Mouse Trap, and an announcement that Terrifier 2 producers Steven Della Salla and Michael Leavy and director Steven LaMorte, who previously made the Grinch-inspired horror movie The Mean One, were teaming up for a Steamboat Willie-inspired horror flick that we now know is titled Screamboat. The film is aiming for a January 2025 release, and a teaser trailer made its way online back in August. (You can watch that in the embed above.) Now, Screamboat is set to be screened at the American Film Market, and to go along with that screening, Variety has revealed that the film’s cast includes Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf), Kailey Hyman (Terrifier 2), Brian Quinn (Impractical Jokers), and Joe DeRosa (Better Call Saul).
David Howard Thornton, who plays Art the Clown in the Terrifier films and brought the horror version of the Grinch to life in The Mean One, is playing the horror version of Steamboat Willie in Screamboat. Thornton and the newly announced cast members are joined in the cast by Allison Pittel (Stream), Amy Schumacher (The Mean One), Jesse Posey (Teen Wolf), Jesse Kove (Cobra Kai), Rumi C Jean-Louis (Hightown), Jarlath Conroy (George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead), and Charles Edwin Powell (The Exorcist III).
Screamboat will tell the story of a mischievous mouse that stalks a group of New Yorkers on a late night ferry ride, unleashing murderous mayhem on a relaxing commute. Can the ship’s motley crew of travelers find a way to stop a killer creature who has developed a taste for tourists? A previous press release told us LaMorte and the producers are “promising buckets of blood and unhinged chaos as their miniature mouse attacks a group of ferry commuters against the unmistakable backdrop of New York City’s iconic skyline. Screamboat will feature a mix of practical creature effects, miniatures, and cutting edge virtual production to showcase its very mischievous monster slashing his way through a ferry of fear.”
LaMorte is producing Screamboat with Amy Schumacher, Martine Melloul, and the previously mentioned Steven Della Salla and Michael Leavy. Kali Pictures, Sleight of Hand Productions, Reckless Content, and Julien Didon serve as executive producers. The director provided the following statement: “I’m thrilled to be working on Screamboat with such a killer cast from horror legends to comedy icons. David Howard Thornton is bringing our mischievous and murderous take on Steamboat Willie to life like never before. I can’t wait for audiences to laugh and scream with us onboard Screamboat!“
Thornton added: “I’m beyond excited to join this incredible cast and bring Steamboat Willie to life with a horror twist. Screamboat is going to be a horrific and hilarious big screen thrill ride that fans won’t want to miss.“
Screamboat will be receiving a theatrical release, courtesy of Iconic Events Releasing. What do you think of Tyler Posey, Kailey Hyman, Brian Quinn, and Joe DeRosa joining the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Born in New York City in 1986, Lindsay Lohan began her performance ventures at the tender age of three as a Ford model, quickly becoming one of the most successful child models in the industry. Her early work included over 60 television commercials, including a notable Jell-O spot with Bill Cosby – an association that now carries uncomfortable undertones, given subsequent revelations about Cosby’s conduct.
However, it was in feature films that Lohan would truly shine. Her breakthrough came in 1998 with Disney’s remake of The Parent Trap, where, at age 11, she masterfully played dual roles as separated twin sisters. The performance showed the world not only her natural charm but also her remarkable technical skill for such a young actor, earning critical acclaim and establishing her as a rising star. The early 2000s marked Lohan’s ascension to Hollywood royalty. Her starring role in 2003’s Freaky Friday opposite Jamie Lee Curtis showcased her growing range and cemented her status as a bankable lead. The film’s success – both critically and commercially – set the stage for what would become her defining role.
2004’s Mean Girls transformed Lohan from a talented teen actress to a cultural phenomenon. As Cady Heron, she perfectly captured the fish-out-of-water story of a home-schooled student navigating the treacherous waters of high school social politics. The film, written by Tina Fey, became a defining piece of pop culture, with quotes and references that remain relevant today. Her starring role in Herbie: Fully Loaded in 2005 seemed to indicate a smooth transition to adult roles while maintaining her family-friendly appeal. However, behind the scenes, troubles were brewing that would derail her promising trajectory.
While primarily known for her screen presence, Lohan proved her versatility by venturing into the music industry. Her debut album Speak released in 2004, proved her vocal talents and reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200, eventually achieving platinum status. Singles like “Rumors” and “Over” showed off her pop sensibilities, while her follow-up album A Little More Personal (Raw) in 2005 revealed a more introspective side to her artistry. Her entrepreneurial spirit emerged through various business ventures, including the launch of her fashion line 6126 (named after Marilyn Monroe’s birth date) in 2008, which began with leggings and expanded into a full clothing line. She later developed her own self-tanning spray called Sevin Nyne and ventured into the hospitality industry with Lohan Beach House in Mykonos, Greece, which briefly spawned an MTV reality series Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club.
In the digital space, Lohan showed her adaptability by launching her own mobile game The Price of Fame in 2014, following it with a subscription lifestyle website called Preemium in 2017. These ventures, while meeting varying degrees of success, proved her understanding of brand expansion and celebrity entrepreneurship. Her influence on fashion and popular culture remained significant even during her challenging periods. Major fashion houses continued to court her, leading to modeling contracts with brands like Miu Miu and a memorable photoshoot recreating Marilyn Monroe’s final photo session for New York Magazine, showcasing her enduring appeal despite struggles in her private life.
As Lohan’s star rose, her personal life began to unravel publicly. Family dynamics played a significant role in her struggles, particularly her relationship with her father, Michael Lohan, whose own legal troubles and public behavior created additional stress and media scrutiny. His multiple arrests and public spectacles added another layer of complexity to Lindsay’s already challenging navigation of fame.
The late 2000s marked a particularly turbulent period, with a series of high-profile incidents that became tabloid fodder. In May 2007, Lohan was arrested for driving under the influence after her Mercedes struck a curb in Beverly Hills. Just two months later, in July, she faced another DUI arrest in Santa Monica, this time also charged with cocaine possession and driving with a suspended license. Police found her with a small amount of cocaine after she allegedly chased another vehicle.
These incidents led to her first significant stint in rehabilitation at the Promises Treatment Center in Malibu. However, this would be just the beginning of a cycle that would repeat several times over the next few years. By 2010, Lohan had been to rehabilitation facilities multiple times. Her legal troubles culminated in various consequences, including multiple jail stays. The media heavily documented each incident, with paparazzi capturing everything from her court appearances to her arrivals at various treatment facilities. The entertainment industry’s unforgiving nature and relentless paparazzi attention created a perfect storm that threatened to permanently derail her career.
During this period, Lohan became an unwitting victim of the notorious “Bling Ring” – a group of teenagers who burglarized celebrities’ homes in the Hollywood Hills. This incident, later dramatized in Sofia Coppola’s film “The Bling Ring,” highlighted the vulnerability of even established stars in the digital age. One of the most bizarre chapters in Lohan’s public life occurred in Moscow in 2018 when she live-streamed an attempted interaction with what she believed to be a homeless refugee family. The incident, which ended in confusion and controversy, emblemized the double-edged sword of social media and instant global reach. Her legal battles extended beyond her own conduct issues. A high-profile lawsuit against Rockstar Games regarding the alleged unauthorized use of her likeness in Grand Theft Auto V showed how complex the intersection of celebrity image rights and media had become in the digital age.
What makes Lohan’s life particularly compelling is her falls and persistent efforts to rise again. After years of struggling with addiction and legal issues, she began the difficult work of rebuilding both her home life and her professional reputation. Her journey to sobriety, though challenging and not without setbacks, proved her remarkable resilience.
In recent years, Lohan has found her niche in romantic comedies, particularly through Netflix productions. Her starring roles in holiday romances like “Falling for Christmas” and “Irish Wish” mark a return to the wholesome, family-friendly entertainment that launched her to fame. These films, while perhaps not matching the critical acclaim of “Mean Girls,” represent something more valuable: a stable, healthy return to the profession she loves. The announcement of Freakier Friday for 2025, a sequel to one of her early successes, feels like a perfect full-circle moment. It represents not just a career revival but a reconciliation with her past, embracing rather than running from the roles that made her famous.
Lohan’s personal life has also found stability. Her marriage to financier Bader Shammas and their growing family represents a new chapter in her life, one marked by internal contentment rather than public drama. This transformation mirrors the romance narratives she now brings to the screen, suggesting that everyone – regardless of their past – deserves their own love story. Her evolution from troubled starlet to rom-com specialist carries a powerful message about second chances and the human capacity for change. Just as her characters find love against the odds, Lohan herself has found personal and professional redemption, proving that past struggles don’t define future possibilities.
Lindsay Lohan’s life in the public light reminds us that redemption isn’t about erasing the past but about learning from it. Her journey from child star to troubled young adult to Netflix leading lady mirrors the complex narratives of the very movies she now stars in – stories where imperfect people find their way to happiness through growth and self-acceptance. As she continues her artistic renaissance, Lohan embodies the idea that everyone deserves their own happy ending. Her narrative shows us that in both movies and life, the path to love – whether it’s love of self, family, or romance – often requires navigating through difficulties and emerging stronger on the other side.
In the end, Lindsay Lohan’s greatest role may be as herself: a survivor who proves that with persistence, support, and self-reflection, it’s possible to rewrite your own story. As she continues to charm audiences in romantic comedies, she reminds us that love, in all its forms, is not just for the perfect – it’s for everyone who’s brave enough to believe in second chances.
The Prime Video TV series adaptation of the popular Fallout video game franchise already had a second season in the works before the first season even started streaming – which turned out to be a good move, because Fallout quickly became Prime Video’s second most-watched title (after The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), drawing in 65 million viewers in its first 16 days of release. Seven months after the show premiered, Deadline has learned that Macaulay Culkin, best known for starring in the first two Home Alone movies, has joined the cast of Fallout season 2. Details on his character are being kept under wraps, but Deadline was able to learn that he’ll be playing the recurring role of “a crazy genius-type character.”
While the first season was primarily filmed in New York (with some filming also taking place in Utah), production is moving to California for season 2. That’s not to take advantage of filming locations there, but rather to get a tax break. The California Film Commission awarded $152 million in tax incentives to a dozen different TV shows earlier this year, and Fallout is on the list. For filming the next season in California, the show will receive $25 million in California tax credits. The budget for the show is quite large, as Variety noted that it has $153 million in qualified expenditures for the season.
Like the video games on which it is based, the “Fallout” series is set in a world where the future envisioned by Americans in the late 1940s explodes upon itself through a nuclear war in 2077. The TV series is telling an original story that is set in the world of the video games and will be canon to the game franchise. The story plays out in and around a fallout shelter in Los Angeles called Vault 33.
In addition to Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, and Fallout 4, the video game series also consists of the spin-offs Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 76, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout Shelter, and Fallout Pinball. The first game takes place 219 years after nuclear war and is set in a post-apocalyptic Southern California. The protagonist, referred to as the Vault Dweller, is tasked with recovering a water chip in the Wasteland to replace the broken one in their underground shelter home, Vault 13. Afterwards, the Vault Dweller must thwart the plans of a group of mutants, led by a grotesque entity named the Master.
Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner are the showrunners on the Fallout TV series and are executive producing the series with Todd Howard of Bethesda Game Studios, James Altman of Bethesda Softworks, and Athena Wickham, Jonathan Nolan, and Lisa Joy of Kilter Films. Amazon Studios and Kilter Films are producing the series, in association with Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks. Nolan and Joy developed the concept for TV, and Nolan directed the first three episodes.
Prime Video’s Fallout stars Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks), Walton Goggins (Justified), Xelia Mendes-Jones (Sans Comic), Aaron Moten (Father Stu), Moisés Arias (The King of Staten Island), Sarita Choudhury (Homeland), Michael Emerson (Person of Interest), Leslie Uggams (Deadpool), Frances Turner (The Boys), Dave Register (Heightened), Zach Cherry (Severance), Johnny Pemberton (Ant-Man), Rodrigo Luzzi (Dead Ringers), and Annabel O’Hagan (Law & Order: SVU).
Purnell’s character is Lucy, who has lived her entire life inside a subterranean vault, where every need and want has been satisfied while generations and generations await the day when it is safe to surface. When a crisis forces Lucy to venture above on a rescue mission, she finds that the planet above remains a hellscape crawling with giant insects, voracious mutant animal “abominations,” and a human population of sunbaked miscreants who make the manners, morals, and hygiene of the gunslinging Old West look like Downton Abbey. Moten’s character is Maximus, who grew up aboveground but, like Lucy, was also raised in a cloistered “family” of sorts—a brutal collective of warriors called the Brotherhood of Steel. The Brotherhood is made up of battalions of super-soldier knights in shining power armor, who stalk the landscape enforcing the Brotherhood’s notion of order. Maximus serves as a squire. MacLachlan plays Lucy’s father, the overseer of Vault 33, which essentially makes him the mayor of their hometown, while Choudhury is a different kind of leader in this world, willing to sacrifice anything for her band of people. Arias plays Lucy’s inquisitive brother. Emerson is an enigmatic researcher named Wilzig.
As Vanity Fair noted, “in the Fallout games, Ghouls are typically cannon fodder, mindless zombies whose bodies have been mutated by radiation.” Goggins’ character is Cooper Howard, a legendary Ghoul who still retains some of the person he used to be. He’s “a gruesomely scarred roughrider who has a code of honor, but also a ruthless streak. He’s also quite a survivor—having existed for hundreds of years. The show occasionally flashes back to the human being he once was, a father and husband named Cooper Howard, before the nuclear holocaust turned the world into a cinder and transformed him into an undead, noseless sharp-shooting fiend.“
Are you a Fallout fan, and are you glad to hear that Macaulay Culkin is joining Fallout season 2? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
As Saturday Night Live hits its 50th anniversary, those who have been around since the beginning – whether as viewers or cast members – will no doubt have their takes on how the show has changed. The latest comes from Garrett Morris, who was not only in the original lineup but was also the show’s first Black cast member. And for Morris, the show just doesn’t have the bite it used to.
While Garrett Morris does still watch Saturday Night Live every week, he has noticed that the punches and satire have grown weaker throughout the decades. Speaking with The Guardian, he said. “I don’t see the courage, the experimental impulses. That was the whole core of what happened the first 10 years. I keep expecting it to attack in a funny way and bring out the foibles not only of individuals but of the government and all that. And nowadays, although people still check it out, I think they’re catering to too many people too much of the time.”
No doubt the pot shots on SNL have changed since Garrett Morris left in the early ‘80s. And while there are still no doubt targets, he might have a point in that it tends to cater to a certain audience. It, too, can be seen as being less on the offensive with something intelligent to say and more just putting our society in funny wigs. But hey, it’s been on the air for 50 years, so it must be doing something right…
As a key player on the first season of SNL, Garrett Morris – who, like fellow OG cast members Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner, left after season five – is of course featured in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, chronicling the making of the very first episode. In it, he’s played by Lamorne Morris (no relation). Check out our 8/10 review here.
Unfortunately, despite his role in the evolution of SNL, Garrett Morris tends to get overlooked as far as his actual contributions, with most highlights showing the likes of John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Gilda Radner. But I would highly recommend bits like Bad Clams, White Guilt Relief Fund and his incredible lead on “Winter Wonderland” from season one, showing off his Juilliard-trained chops.
What do you think of Garrett Morris’ take on Saturday Night Live? Does the show still have an edge to it or is it too concerned about catering?
As Saturday Night Live hits its 50th anniversary, those who have been around since the beginning – whether as viewers or cast members – will no doubt have their takes on how the show has changed. The latest comes from Garrett Morris, who was not only in the original lineup but was also the show’s first Black cast member. And for Morris, the show just doesn’t have the bite it used to.
While Garrett Morris does still watch Saturday Night Live every week, he has noticed that the punches and satire have grown weaker throughout the decades. Speaking with The Guardian, he said. “I don’t see the courage, the experimental impulses. That was the whole core of what happened the first 10 years. I keep expecting it to attack in a funny way and bring out the foibles not only of individuals but of the government and all that. And nowadays, although people still check it out, I think they’re catering to too many people too much of the time.”
No doubt the pot shots on SNL have changed since Garrett Morris left in the early ‘80s. And while there are still no doubt targets, he might have a point in that it tends to cater to a certain audience. It, too, can be seen as being less on the offensive with something intelligent to say and more just putting our society in funny wigs. But hey, it’s been on the air for 50 years, so it must be doing something right…
As a key player on the first season of SNL, Garrett Morris – who, like fellow OG cast members Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner, left after season five – is of course featured in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, chronicling the making of the very first episode. In it, he’s played by Lamorne Morris (no relation). Check out our 8/10 review here.
Unfortunately, despite his role in the evolution of SNL, Garrett Morris tends to get overlooked as far as his actual contributions, with most highlights showing the likes of John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Gilda Radner. But I would highly recommend bits like Bad Clams, White Guilt Relief Fund and his incredible lead on “Winter Wonderland” from season one, showing off his Juilliard-trained chops.
What do you think of Garrett Morris’ take on Saturday Night Live? Does the show still have an edge to it or is it too concerned about catering?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s institution of the multiverse and variants shows that anything is now possible. Deadpool & Wolverine blew the door down and showcased some delightfully unexpected possibilities. One of those possibilities was Channing Tatum finally getting to play X-Man Gambit after so many false starts in getting his own movie. Tatum is holding out hope that the positive responses to his appearance might lead to something as he’s said, “I sure hope so. From your mouth to God’s ears. Write it into existence, my friend. Please.” He had also told Marvel that he still wants to make the movie. “I’ve course I’ve said it. I’ve been saying I want it for the last 10 years. It’s in Bob Iger and Kevin Feige’s hands. I pray to God.”
Ryan Reynolds proclaims that Tatum’s dreams may be on the path to realization as he tells Entertainment Weekly that Marvel is obsessed with him in that character. Reynolds explained,
I honestly don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in the bookkeeping sessions at Marvel, but I do know that they’re obsessed with him in that role. It’s kind of like the same situation I went through. Once you show that it works well, that’s really what they need. Sometimes they just need to see it in action.”
The Deadpool & Wolverine star continues, “And Channing is so singular in how he plays that character. but also he’s so beautiful physically, the way he moves and the way he can pick up steps.”
Additionally, earlier this year, Reynolds has called on Marvel to give Wesley Snipes a Logan-like send off to the Blade character. Reynolds posted, “There is no Fox Marvel Universe or MCU without Blade first creating a market. He’s Marvel Daddy. Please retweet for a Logan-like send off. #DeadpoolAndWolverine.” Then, he would make another push, saying, “The reaction when Wesley Snipes enters the movie is the most intense thing l’ve heard in a theater. People screaming with uninhibited joy and love is also the sound of a legacy. More Blade please. #DayWalker.” He later went back and edited his post to add a P.S.: “A Logan-style send off, specifically.“
