Actor James Van Der Beek's untimely death from cancer has brought out the angels. Among them was Steven Spielberg, who kicked in $25K. The family's finances were decimated after the medical bills mounted to fight the cancer that would ultimately take his life. Spielberg is what one might call a mensch. The GoFundMe has reached almost 2 million. This comment, on the Go Fund Me, is so deeply moving. If you'd like to donate, you can do so by clicking the link...

We've been pondering the question of the hive mind that is film criticism now. Are their tastes too homogenized? Do they think too much alike? Or does Rotten Tomatoes make it seem that way? How has that impacted films, the box office, and the Oscars? We get into it. We also talk frontrunners and the scant few challengers. And we use the second half to talk about the most promising releases of 2026. Have a listen.

  Welcome to the last stop of the 90s! I have gone through 30 years of cinema, and it seems we have hardly even scratched the surface of all the films out there. The more we do this, the more I realize how little I know and just how expansive and beautiful the art of cinema truly is. So far, this experiment has helped me discover films I have never seen or even heard of before, and I am so grateful for...

Unfortunately, the DGA produced multiple winners. I need to have more tie-breakers for the future. That meant the winners all got exactly the same score and there was no one winner. That means I have to divide the prize up. If your name is on this list as one of the winners, you can email me to claim your prize. And if you notice a problem, let me know as well.

The class photo is here. Below is the high-res version for download, along with smaller screenshots and some photos from the day. It seems obvious that the high priest of the Oscars, Steven Spielberg, was there to anoint the new high priest, Paul Thomas Anderson, whose ship has finally come in.

Today is the day the nominees gather with the Academy for a luncheon. Here is a video of the red carpet and once the photos appear on the Oscars site, including the class photo, I'll post them here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97-OVBNk_d0 Photos below: Here is the great Dave Karger, The Oscar King: TCM Host @davekarger shares what makes the annual @TheAcademy Luncheon so special as he gets ready to interview this year’s Oscar nominees! Follow along for live updates and behind-the-scenes on TCM’s Instagram...

Netflix has so much power there isn't much the consumer can do to force them to make changes. They know it, too. It's hopeless to even try. But they must be getting some complaints from the new change of the SAG Awards to the Actor Awards such that they put out this trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s4SNY3e6nQ Yeah, there's just no way around this one. The Actor Awards obliterates AFTRA, for starters, and that's what, 100K members? Maybe they don't like the word "SAG" -...

Despite a night full of upsets—including Charlie Polinger taking home First-Time Theatrical Feature for The Plague and Mstyslav Chernov winning Documentary Feature for 2000 Meters to Andriivka—the outcome many expected ultimately prevailed: Paul Thomas Anderson claimed the Directors Guild prize for feature film with One Battle After Another. One could call it predictable, arguing that—regardless of the Best Picture race—this win merely solidifies the directing category, where the beloved PTA is poised to finally claim his overdue Oscar. But the significance runs...

Muscle cars, old movie theaters and Oscars. Grunge is back, baby, and who better to bring it back than the great David Fincher and Brad Pitt whose Fight Club and Se7en put the RRRR in grunge. A Fincher joint, with cinematography by Erik Messerschmidt, music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Also starring Carla Gugino, Elizabeth Debicki, Peter Weller, Holt McCallany. So yeah, this just happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XmhgGvZn90   Looks like he's having some fun with form, freestyling it. Can't wait. This copy...

The Ryan Gosling sci-fi opens March 20 from AmazonMGM. Here is the final trailer, which will play during the Super Bowl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0XN3-n-2Lo