Mike Sampson is the Editor-in-Chief of ScreenCrush. He studied to become a lawyer and worked as an architectural planner after graduating college but neither of these professions afforded him the opportunity to watch movies and TV for a living. He previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of JoBlo.com for 10 years. He lives in New Jersey and probably spends too much time playing video games and overthinking things.
Mike Sampson
Why the ‘Ghostbusters’ Trailer Is the Most ‘Disliked’ Movie Trailer in YouTube History
The first trailer for Paul Feig’s female-led Ghostbusters remake arrived in March of this year and the reaction was almost immediately disappointing. Even among those, like us, who are excited for the Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig film, it was a poorly put together trailer that did little to inspire confidence in the finished product...
Paul McCartney Joins the Cast of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 5’
After filming has already wrapped, Pirates of the Caribbean 5 (subtitled Dead Men Tell No Tales) has quietly gone back into production to film one big and crucial scene with a new star, Paul McCartney. Yes, THAT Paul McCartney.
‘Batman vs. Superman’ R-Rated Cut Will Be Over 3 Hours, Says Zack Snyder
Batman vs. Superman is opening in theaters next week, but an extended, R-rated cut of the film will be included with the DVD and Blu-ray release of the film. While many extended cuts just include a few additional minutes of footage and a couple random edits, Batman vs. Superman director Zack Snyder says his planned R-rated cut will include a whopping 30 minutes of new footage, pushing it past the three hour mark.
Steven Spielberg Hires ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ Writer For ‘Indiana Jones 5′
When the Indiana Jones 5 news broke, my immediate question was who Steven Spielberg was going to hire to write the script. With George Lucas seemingly out of the picture (his name was nowhere to be found in the announcement), having a solid writer on board to work on a script would seem to be the most important first step...
Is Luke Skywalker Gay? Mark Hamill Says ‘Of Course He Is’
Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams said recently that it “seems insanely narrow-minded to say that there wouldn’t be a homosexual character in [the Star Wars] world.” But, what if there was already a gay character in the Star Wars universe and we just didn’t know it? And what if it was the biggest Star Wars character in a galaxy far, far away?
How Disney Turned a Cute, Talking Animal Movie Into an Commentary on Race Relations
As the story goes, corrupt government officials intentionally introduced a dangerous drug into marginalized minority communities resulting in increased power for politicians and law enforcement through the manipulated fear of the middle class.
This narrative has been the subject of a number of popular conspiracy theories over the years concerning the CIA’s alleged involvement in the crack cocaine epidemic among the African American community in the mid-80s. It’s also the plot of the 55th Disney animated movie starring a group of cute, talking animals.
‘Finding Dory’ Trailer: You Can Go Home Again
Pixar has settled into a rhythm of releasing both sequels to huge hits and new, original movies in theaters. 2015 was home to two original Pixar movies — the Oscar-winning Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur — which means now it’s time for another sequel...
Ben Affleck Reportedly Rewrote ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Script Every Day…in Costume
One of the stipulations when Ben Affleck signed on to star in Batman vs. Superman was that his Argo writer, Chris Terrio, would come aboard to help fix the script. Though Terrio was indeed brought in to rewrite the script (originally written by David Goyer), it seems Affleck still was not happy with it. According to a recent report, Affleck spent each day rewriting that day’s scenes until they were up to snuff. Oh, and he did it dressed as Batman.
‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ Hid Secret Images in Trailers Attached to ‘Deadpool’
If you saw Deadpool this weekend (and there’s a very, very good chance that you did), you likely saw the new trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane, the J.J. Abrams’ produced sorta-sequel to Cloverfield. What you may not have noticed, however, is a split-second flash of an image right after the film’s title...
The 20 Worst Movies to Ever Have a Super Bowl Trailer
Everyone watching the Super Bowl last night may spend a lot of time getting excited about upcoming movies based on the trailers that ran during the big game. Their designed to wow and impress in just 30 seconds, getting people ready for appointment viewing in the theater. But for every big success, there are a lot of let downs. Not every trailer you saw last night is going to result in a great movie (we’re looking at you Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows). We know this because we looked back at the history of Super Bowl movie trailers and noticed that some very generous studios were willing to spend a lot of money on some really crappy movies.
For Some Reason Kids Are Wearing T-Shirts With the Entire ‘Bee Movie’ Script Printed on Them
Bee Movie, the 2007 DreamWorks animated comedy starring Jerry Seinfeld as am anthropomorphic bee named Barry B. Benson who may or may not be in love with a human woman, is not a good movie. Even Seinfeld himself has admitted as much. But THE KIDS THESE DAYS. There is no bad movie they will not fully embrace and turn into a thing. Such is the case with Bee Movie which, over the past few months, has taken on a new life on Tumblr. Back in November, someone posted the entire script of the film on Facebook in text form, and it was shared over 4,000 times. This peculiar obsession has been taken to a new level as now a young girl had the entire text from the Bee Movie script printed on a t-shirt and her Tumblr photo has over 100,000 notes.
Bryan Singer Set to Direct ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ Later This Year
The last time Bryan Singer directed an adaptation of classic tale the result was Jack the Giant Slayer, a movie so bad that it lost Warner Bros. over $100 million and put an end to Singer’s run at Warner Bros (the director had also made Superman Returns with the studio and had a number of projects in development including a remake of Logan’s Run)...
A Yoda Cameo Was Cut From ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
Though Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place over 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, director J.J. Abrams still found a way to work on some classic characters who had long since passed on. Kylo Ren has a conversation with Darth Vader’s helmet. Obi-Wan speaks to Rey during her Force vision. And, there was one additional cameo that ultimately was cut from the film: Yoda.
First Trailer For ‘Bourne 5’ to Premiere During 2016 Super Bowl
As the biggest television event of every year, the Super Bowl is always a popular landing spot for the latest movie trailers. Millions and millions of people are watching, so what better way to make a splash with your new trailer? This year will prove no different as we’ve already got confirmation on one of this year’s big films having its big debut. Universal will run the very first trailer for Bourne 5, Matt Damon’s return to the Jason Bourne franchise, as well as reveal the film’s top secret title.
Apple Expected to Launch Original Programming With iPhone 7
Every year Apple announces a new iPhone at a big keynote event. Sometimes it’s an incremental update, like the iPhone 6S announced last September. Other times, like this year when Apple will announce the iPhone 7, it’s a big leap forward in technology. While there have been many rumors around the upcoming iPhone 7 (including no more headphone jack and wireless charging), none will be as exciting to movie and TV fans as this news: Apple is expected to make their official foray into original programming when the iPhone 7 launches, competing with both Netflix and Amazon.
Director Colin Trevorrow Wants to Shoot ‘Star Wars: Episode 9’ in Outer Space
Just recently, Star Wars: Episode 9 director Colin Trevorrow attracted some attention when he said that he wanted to shoot the finale of the current Star Wars trilogy on film rather than digital. But, what’s more interesting perhaps, isn’t what he wants to shoot it with, but where he wants to shoot it. Namely, in outer space.