Ron Howard’s 1995 film Apollo 13 is one of the best movies of the ‘90s, winning two Academy Awards (but not Best Picture) from nine nominations. The fact that it’s based on the real-life doomed moon mission of Jim Lovell and his crew adds to the suspense and horror, even if you already know how it ends. I decided recently to revisit the movie for the first time in decades, and I was really struck by one story in particular.

I am so captivated by the majesty of space, and with Apollo 13 being one of the best space movies ever, it was always those scenes — of Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton and Kevin Bacon’s characters crammed into a broken ship flying through the vastness — that held my attention when the movie came out. This time, though, I was blown away by Ed Harris’ Gene Kranz and the people on the ground helping to bring the astronauts home.

The Space Emergency Is Straight-Up Terrifying, But I Was More Fascinated By The Rescue Efforts This Time

It’s incredible to witness the star power that Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton bring to Apollo 13 as Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise, respectively. The audience understands how much this mission means to them, because the first hour of the film shows their preparation, their excitement, their years of work all leading to this moment.

All too soon their dreams of walking on the moon are vanquished, and it’s a long shot they’ll even make it back to Earth alive. It’s no wonder this used to be my primary focus, with Tom Hanks’ ability to rip our hearts out, but now, years later, I found that during those tense scenes on the ship, I was really anticipating getting back to Houston to see how their rescue efforts were going.

I honestly think it was that 1970s technology (or lack thereof) that I found so fascinating.

My Mind Was Blown By What Mission Control Was Able To Accomplish Without Modern Technology And A.I.

Look, I’m an Xennial, so I’m fully capable of solving math problems without a calculator and doing research without the Internet. Still, now that I’ve had a smartphone and a stable Wi-Fi connection for half of my life (not to mention A.I.), I’ll admit I, like everyone else, have become pretty dependent on the convenience of modern technology.

This is why I found myself amazed at what the Mission Control workers were capable of. Lives were at stake, and these scientists were calculating degrees of re-entry by hand! With pencils! On paper! There was simply no margin for error, and I couldn’t help but think of how much easier it would be today to just punch some numbers into a machine.

Of course back in the ‘90s, which was probably the last time I watched Apollo 13, I had no idea of the technological advancements that were to come, so it makes sense that seeing the analog work didn’t affect me the way it did on this viewing. Back in 1995, the biggest technological achievement in my life was probably a search engine. And not a good one.

What Was More Fascinating Than When They Built That Filter Using Only Things That Were On The Ship?

One of the big standout moments for me was when the people on the ground had to fashion an air filter using nothing but what the astronauts had on board when carbon dioxide levels started to get dangerously high — literally figuring out how to fit a square peg in a round hole.

I’d watch an entire documentary on what I imagine was a grueling trial-and-error process of hacking an air filter using the cover of the crew’s flight plan, some plastic bags, duct tape, etc. MacGyver’s got nothing on these Mission Control heroes! That kind of effort and resourcefulness is just something you don’t see every day — especially without the help of a YouTube tutorial.

Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise) — who was grounded shortly before the launch due to his exposure to measles — contributed to his colleagues’ rescue in similar fashion. He recreated the conditions of the Aquarius “lifeboat” back on Earth to figure out how to power up the craft without using too much power. It appeared to be a slow and frustrating process, but somehow, all involved kept their cool and pressed on until they came up with a solution.

Ed Harris’ Award Nominations Make So Much Sense

I recall Ed Harris being celebrated for his portrayal of flight director Gene Kranz, but I feel like I never fully appreciated the performance — or the character’s control over the situation — until my most recent viewing. Harris was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, and he won in that category at the SAG Awards.

I know that the famous movie quote, “Failure is not an option,” was not actually uttered by Gene Kranz in real life, but it embodied the man and the mission all the same. What struck me most in Ed Harris’ portrayal of him was how cool he stayed under pressure.

On my worst day on a job, I have never been tasked with an unprecedented rescue of three of my co-workers, yet I’m sure I’ve gone into a full-blown panic over issues that are trivial in comparison. Not Gene Kranz, though. In fact, it wasn’t until well into the second half of the nearly 2.5-hour film that he even raised his voice, and he may have only done it once.

Instead, he listened to the experts around him, he trusted his people to do their jobs and he found solutions instead of listing the problems. He was focused on bringing his men home — not worried about lawsuits or running his every move up a corporate ladder, as I imagine would be protocol in a more modern era.

Am I more in awe of Gene Kranz or Ed Harris’ portrayal of him? Honestly, I don’t know (probably both), and I think that speaks to the quality of the film.

Apollo 13 is one of those survival movies that leave you exhausted, and I’m so glad that it lived up to my memory of how good it was. It’s also interesting to me that watching it again so many years later made me appreciate different aspects of the rescue more, while still enjoying the marvels (and horrors) of space.

After Bill Paxton’s passing in 2017, the Twister star left behind a cinematic legacy of some of the most beloved films of all time. However, acting wasn’t his only priority in life, as he was a dedicated family man with two children, including James Paxton, who has embarked on an acting career of his own. James recently revealed he had the opportunity to work with his dad before his passing in a sweet tribute he posted on social media, and it’s a shame we never got to see more of these two together on screen.

James Paxton revealed in an Instagram post that he is often asked if he had the opportunity to work with his dad professionally, and indeed, they had. They had a small part together in a TV adaptation of Training Day where James Paxton played part of a robbery duo. He acted opposite his father, but was not playing his son at the time. He expressed how special it was for him and his father to connect in this way, saying:

The CBS show in question only lasted one season and Bill Paxton was the lead. The actor passed away only a year after the series aired, and Training Day is one of his last projects before his death. James revealed that he and his father actually discussed wanting to work together more, as he found the moments he shared with his dad as an actor a special part of their relationship. He continued:

This sounds incredibly powerful and poignant, especially considering the timing. He went on to explain that one of his father’s lines from this scene has stuck with him, as it emphasized the relationship between a father and a son, and finding your own path. He explained:

James Paxton has made an effort to be his own actor in the wake of his father’s legacy. He acted in the series Eyewitness on the USA Network, and is set to star in the upcoming film Last Train to Fortune alongside Malcolm McDowell. However, he has also made an effort to pay tribute to his late father as well. He made a cameo in Twisters as an homage to Paxton’s starring role in the original film, and played a younger version of Paxton’s character in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

While he sees himself as an individual, James is clearly proud to be his father’s son and isn’t shying away from the association. Paxton was beloved, with many stars, like James Cameron, penning tributes to the True Lies actor following his passing, and his son seems to understand what a weight carrying on this legacy is. Tributes like this make me wish we had more of an opportunity to see this father/son duo on screen in other ways, especially as James grows as an actor in his own right.

Fans of Bill Paxton who want to revisit his work should check out our feature on some of the Tombstone star’s best characters of all time. You can also see James Paxton in DRAGN, which is a sci-fi film directed by Peter Webber that is set to release later this year. For more information on other titles heading to cinemas in the near future, make sure to consult our 2025 movie schedule.

If you’re a fan of 1980s action movies, I’m willing to bet that you are aware of the special bit of trivia that concerns Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton. Both are beloved and lauded character actors, but what makes their genre work particularly special is that they are the only performers in cinema history who have squared off against Predators, Xenomorphs and Terminators. It’s a very exclusive club… but this weekend, it is adding a new member thanks to the streaming arrival of the new animated film Predator: Killer Of Killers.

Michael Biehn memorably plays Kyle Reese in The Terminator, he is Cpl. Dwayne Hicks in Aliens, and in the latest installment of the Predator franchise, he voices a World War II commander named Vandy. I instantly picked up on the significance of the actor’s casting when I had the opportunity to see the film this past weekend, and when I asked about it during an interview earlier this week with director Dan Trachtenberg, he confirmed clear intention in the hiring. Said the filmmaker,

While I won’t say too much about Michael Biehn’s role in Predator: Killer Of Killers, he plays a key supporting role in the anthology film’s third segment and is a mentor character for Torres, a young pilot voiced by Rick Gonzalez.

As for Biehn’s new special place alongside Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton in pop culture history, Trachtenberg said,

For those out of the loop: Bill Paxton plays the unnamed Punk Leader in The Terminator, Private Hudson in Aliens, and Jerry Lambert in Predator 2. Lance Henriksen is Detective Hal Vukovich in The Terminator, Bishop and Bishop II in Aliens and Alien3, and Charles Bishop Weyland in Alien vs. Predator.

Arriving for Hulu subscribers in advance of Predator: Badlands (also directed by Dan Trachtenberg) hitting theaters, Predator: Killer Of Killers is a time-hoping narrative that sees members of the Yautja go toe-to-toe with Vikings, a ninja and a samurai, and skilled World War II pilots. It’s a fantastic treat for fans of the franchise and an excellent follow-up to Trachtenberg’s Prey. Check it out streaming starting tomorrow, June 6, and be on the lookout for more from my interview with the filmmakers behind the movie in the coming days.

There is no question that Tombstone is one of the best Westerns ever made, and as this list proves, it's easily the most quotable. If we're honest here, almost every line in the movie is quotable. While we can't just reproduce the script here, we can offer many of the lines we love the most. So, without further ado, our list of quotes that make Tombstone the most quotable Western ever.

"I'm your huckleberry"

You know this one had to be on the list. Doc Holliday in Tombstone is arguably Val Kilmer's best role, and his most famous line has to be when he is facing down Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) towards the very end of the movie. It certainly scares Ringo.

"You gonna do somethin' or just stand there and bleed?"

Almost as soon as Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and his brothers get to the town of Tombstone, Wyatt takes over the faro game at one of the saloons. The man he takes it over for, Johnny Tyler, played wonderfully by Billy Bob Thornton, has a lot to say, but nothing to back it up.

"All right, Clanton... you called down the thunder, well now you've got it!"

Wyatt Earp's revenge ride, at least how it's portrayed in the movie, starts with Wyatt taking out his first few Cowboys on a train platform after his brother leaves town. He leaves one man alive, Ike Clanton (Stephen Lang), so he can carry Wyatt's message back to the rest of the Cowboys.

"Listen, Mr. Kansas Law Dog. Law don't go around here. Savvy?"

Ike Clanton is one of the most memorable characters in Tombstone, and easily his most iconic line comes when the Cowboys first introduce themselves to Wyatt as the former lawman deals cards in the saloon. After Curly Bill (Powers Boothe) explains the situation in Tombstone, Ike backs up the words succinctly. There isn't much law in the mining town.

"Already got a guilty conscience. Might as well have the money, too."

It only takes a few moments for the movie to set the stage. Wyatt and the other Earps arrive by train into Tucson on their way to strike it rich in Tombstone. Wyatt's reputation as a legendary lawman precedes him, but he's not interested in becoming a sheriff again. That much, he makes clear.

"If we're gonna have a future in this town, it's gotta have some law and order!"

Virgil Earp (Sam Elliott) is as no-nonsense as his brother, Wyatt, and his reputation as a lawman was just as legendary at the time. Though he joined his brothers in Tombstone to strike it rich, it doesn't take long before he returns to fighting crime. Wyatt is upset, but Virgil has his reasons.

"I have nothing left, nothing to give you, I have no pride, no dignity, no money, I don't even know how we'll make a living, but I promise I'll love you the rest of your life"

It's easy to forget, among all the machismo in Tombstone, that there is also a pretty love story between Wyatt and Josephine (Dana Delaney) in the movie as well. Wyatt delivers some classic lines in that regard, including laying his cards on the table about how he envisions their life together. Luckily, she's rich.

"I have two guns, one for each of ya."

The real-life Doc Holliday was a legendary gunman and a legendary drunk. In this one life, he pretty much sums up just how confident he is in both those skills. When he's accused of seeing double, he retorts with a classic line that has become one of the most quoted in the movie.

"That's not what he said, you ignorant wretch. Your Spanish is worse than your English."

Johnny Ringo is a stylish bad guy and an associate of the Cowboys. He's also the smartest of the bunch, and in the beginning, after a priest condemns a group of Cowboys after they murder a wedding party, Johnny cuts down when his fellow Cowboys and explains what the priest was saying before Ringo shot him dead.

"I don't think I'll let you arrest us today, Behan."

Johnny Behan, played by The Closer's Jon Tenney, is the corrupt sheriff of Tombstone who aligns himself with the Cowboys. After the most famous moment in the movie, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, takes place, the sharp-dressed sheriff tries to arrest the Earps. Wyatt disagrees.

"All right, 'lunger'. Let's do it."

Tombstone is filled with great language from a bygone era. "Lunger" is one of those terms you hear and might not understand the context at first. When Ringo calls Holliday a lunger at their showdown, he's making fun of Holliday's health, as Holliday is dying of tuberculosis.

"You're a daisy if you do."

Val Kilmer had a lot of amazing lines to deliver in one of his best roles, and this one is right up near the top. It happens right at the end of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, when it appears Doc Holliday is out of bullets. As a cowboy takes aim, Doc dares the man to shoot. Of course, that was a bad idea, and the Cowboy should've just let things be.

"Go ahead, skin it! Skin that smokewagon and see what happens!"

"Smokewagon" has to be one of the best ways to say "gun" in the history of the English language. In that amazing confrontation between Johnny Tyler and Wyatt, Tyler starts to draw, then thinks better of it. Wyatt dares him to pull out the pistol, but Tyler relents.

"Remember what I said about people seein' a bright light before they die? It ain't true. I can't see a damn thing."

Morgan Earp, played by the late Bill Paxton, is the youngest and most naive Earp brother. Unlike his older brothers, he's got a more philosophical outlook on life, and, it turns out, death. After he's fatally shot by the Cowboys, he reminisces with Wyatt about what he believed happened when someone died, but tragically, it's not how it turns out to be for him.

"No need to go heeled to get the bulge on a tub like you."

Many people find themselves rewinding over and over to figure out exactly what Wyatt says to Johnny Tyler as their confrontation begins at the faro table. Wyatt immediately insults Tyler, and it only gets worse from that for Billy Bob Thornton's character.

"Why Ed does this mean we're not friends anymore? You know Ed, if I thought you weren't my friend... I just don't think I could bear it!"

The introduction of one of Val Kilmer's best characters comes near the beginning of the movie, and he's playing cards. After being accused of cheating, he takes offense and wonders why his opponent is so upset. All while tickling the ivory handle of one of his pistols. It's hard to believe Kilmer wasn't always the first choice for the role of Doc; originally, Willem Dafoe was who the producers wanted.

"Why Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave."

The final confrontation between Doc and Ringo is classic Western stuff. Ringo wasn't ready for Doc, but Doc was more than ready for Ringo.

"Look at all the stars. You look up and you think, "God made all this and He remembered to make a little speck like me." It's kind of flattering, really."

There are some moments of sweet levity in Tombstone, and often they come from Morgan Earp, and his philosophical pondering.

"I'm gettin' tired of your gas. Now jerk that pistol and go to work!"

Finally, Wyatt has had enough of Johnny Tyler's "gas" and tells him the fight is on. Tyler is far too scared to draw his pistol, though, and eventually Wyatt hauls him out of the saloon by his ear like a petulant child.

"I'm an oak alright."

This classic line is a throwback to earlier in the movie when Wyatt first sees Josephine in the saloon. He tries to explain to Doc that he's a married man and will stand by his vows. Doc calls him an "oak" when Wyatt rebuffs Josephine. Later, Wyatt sarcastically thinks back to that as he chases Josephine on horseback.

"My dear, you've set your gaze upon the quintessential frontier type. Note the lean silhouette... eyes closed by the sun, though sharp as a hawk. He's got the look of both predator and prey."

Billy Zane has one of the more under-appreciated roles in the movie as a traveling actor alongside Josephine. He does have one glowing moment, however, when he sums up Josephine's type of man by describing Wyatt.

"From now on I see a red sash, I kill the man wearing it. So run you cur. And tell the other curs the law is coming. You tell 'em I'm coming! And Hell's coming with me you hear! Hell's coming with me!"

Wyatt Earp's revenge ride is pretty much the whole third act of the movie, and it all starts when he lays down his threat to Ike Clanton and the rest of the Cowboys after taking some of them out after they killed Morgan and shot Virgil.

"Very cosmopolitan."

One of the funniest lines comes, unsurprisingly, from Doc Holliday. It's subtle, but after listening to Behan prattle on about how sophisticated Tombstone has become, four gunfighters spill into the street and duel it out in front of them all. Very cosmopolitan.

"Oh. Johnny, I apologize; I forgot you were there. You may go now."

Poor Johnny Tyler just can't get any respect. When he returns to confront Wyatt after losing his faro game, Doc dismisses him without giving him any respect.

"Fight's commenced! Get to fightin' or get away!"

Ike Clanton is a despicable character in Tombstone, and he's at his worst when he begs to get out of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Wyatt tells him exactly what to do.

"It's like I'm sittin' here playin' cards with my brother's kids or somethin'."

Though he has a pretty small role, Tombstone is still one of Billy Bob Thornton's best movies, and that's because the few lines he does have are priceless. Like when we, as an audience, first meet his character and he's annoyed with literally everything around him, especially the guy smoking next to him.

"You die first, get it? Your friends might get me in a rush, but not before I make your head into a canoe, you understand me?"

The first time Wyatt has a direct confrontation with Ike, Wyatt is outnumbered. Luckily, Ike's cooler head prevails (surprisingly), and when he figures out Wyatt is serious, he backs off with his men.

"Come on boys. We don't want any trouble in here. Not in any language."

Another local lawman, Marshal Fred White, played by legendary Western actor Harry Carey Jr., tries to keep things cool when they get heated between Doc and Ringo. It works at first, but the water between them keeps boiling.

"Why Kate, you're not wearing a bustle. How lewd."

"Big Nose" Kate (Joanna Pacuła) was Doc Holliday's long-time companion, and she was known to be just as tough as Doc, and just as ready for a fight, which is why she wasn't wearing a bustle.

"Forgive me if I don't shake hands."

When Doc first meets Behan, he makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the corrupt sheriff.

"Sure you do. Say goodbye to me. Go grab that spirited actress and make her your own. Take that beauty from it, don't look back. Live every second. Live right on to the end. Live Wyatt. Live for me. Wyatt, if you were ever my friend - if ya ever had even the slightest of feelin' for me, leave now. Leave now... Please."

If ever there was proof that Val Kilmer should have won an Oscar in his career, it's his final scene with Kurt Russell, as he lies dying of tuberculosis. It's masterful.

"Well... bye."

Powers Boothe plays Curly Bill, the de facto leader of the Cowboys, and when he thinks he's finally run the Earps out of town, he only has two words for them. Those two words, "Well, bye," have since become a meme that is useful for so many things. It, like all the rest of the lines on this list, is a true classic.

If you were a kid growing up in the '90s—especially in the Midwest like I was—thunderstorms were more than just a reason to seek cover. They were the cue to scramble to the tornado shelter, fearing you'd end up dodging a flying cow or bouncing tire. This particular dread owes much to the 1996 classic Twister. Now, as the movie's sequel, Twisters, (one of the biggest 2024 new movie releases) lights up the big screen, there's been a cool development. Some original footage resurfaced, and it features the late Bill Paxton on the set of this iconic ‘90s film. In it, Paxton charmingly predicts, “This movie’s gonna do for tornadoes what Jaws did for sharks.” And wasn't he spot on?

Entertainment Tonight recently shared the behind-the-scenes video capturing Bill Paxton in action on the Twister set. The clip is a nostalgic throwback to 1990s Hollywood filmmaking, featuring realistic wreckage and damaged stairs for Paxton to navigate. As he maneuvers through the intentionally unstable set, he nearly stumbles several times but recovers each time with the grace of a seasoned actor. The video highlights Paxton’s charismatic and playful nature, showcasing what made him such a beloved figure. But what’s particularly interesting is that, in the video posted to Instagram the Titanic actor makes that very president prediction. See it for yourself:

The Aliens actor's assertion about the impact of his and Helen Hunt's movie rings true nearly three decades later. Just as Jaws made beachgoers wary of the water, the 1996 tornado epic forever changed how we view tornadoes. It turned a natural disaster into a thrilling cinematic experience that captivated audiences worldwide. The film's innovative use of special effects brought the terrifying power of tornadoes to life, setting a new standard for disaster movies.

It's intriguing to note that while Jaws, as the Smithsonian Magazine reports, led to an increase in shark deaths, according to an article from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Twister had a different impact. Despite the film's scientific inaccuracies and dramatic tornado effects, it inspired many individuals to pursue real-life careers in severe storm research.

The first Twister film followed in Jaws' footsteps, becoming a massive hit at the summer box office. Now, with the release of Twisters, the sequel is also making a significant impact at the box office. A heartwarming aspect of the sequel's release was the tribute paid to the late Bill Paxton by the film's co-lead Glenn Powell. On the day of the movie's release, Powell shared a photo of himself and Paxton wearing cowboy hats and a touching message honoring the late actor. Paxton passed away at the age of 61 in 2017 due to a damaged aortic heart valve. Still, he left behind a lasting legacy through his iconic film roles, including his memorable performance in Jan de Bont's beloved disaster movie, which Paxton clearly believed in based on this resurfaced footage.

You can enjoy Bill Paxton’s performance in Twister, as it's now available for streaming with a Max subscription. And don't miss the newest tornado adventure film, Twisters, which is in theaters now.

One of the biggest 2024 movies lighting up the big screen this weekend is the Twister sequel, Twisters, starring Glen Powell. As the movie hits theaters and stands to be the next summer blockbuster of the year, its main man paid tribute to the lead of the original 1996 movie, Bill Paxton.

Glen Powell’s Sweet Tribute To Bill Paxton 

Powell took to Twitter on Friday to share a photo of him with Bill Paxton (both donning cowboy hats) with a touching message to the late actor. In his words:

Bill Paxton died at the age of 61 back in 2017 due to a damaged aortic heart valve. However, he leaves a longstanding legacy through his various iconic film projects over the years, including his role in 1996’s Twisters which he starred in alongside Helen Hunt, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cary Elwes.

Paxton was from Texas, just like Glen Powell is, and prior to Twisters even being a twinkle in the Anyone But You star’s eye, he had the chance to develop a friendship with the lead of the original movie. Powell’s words are a sweet tribute to the first Twister leading man.

Glen Powell’s Connection With Twister Actor Bill Paxton 

But, how did the two actors' paths cross? Well, Glen Powell and Bill Paxton actually starred in a movie called Red Wing back in 2013 together. The photo Powell shared next to the tribute was from the set of that film, which was a western about an orphan who got taken in by a couple living on a farm. No… it’s not about Superman.

Powell plays the orphan who eventually ends up working under a rancher played by Bill Paxton. Check out a still from the movie:

Considering the movie was made a decade prior to the release of Twisters, it’s all a coincidence, but a very cool one considering the position Glen Powell is currently in with the summer movie. The sequel is getting great reviews, including in CinemaBlend’s Twisters review where Mike Reyes says the new flick captures “the feeling that the ‘90s hit stood for.”

While Bill Paxton could not be in the sequel, his son James Paxton is part of the movie as a fun nod to the original film. Certainly, as Twisters becomes a hit this weekend, more people will be watching Bill Paxton in the original movie for the first time – which is streaming for those with a Max subscription. It’s sweet to see Glen Powell and Bill Paxton’s connection as Twisters blasts its way into theaters.

Ever since the excitement for the 2024 blockbuster film, Twisters, people around the world have been revisiting the 1996 film, Twister, which the new movie is based on. The film is a favorite for many, as there's a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt storm chasing and being thrown around using old school practical effects. A new behind the scenes video from the '90s classic also went viral, showing Paxton running around the Twister set. He also compared the movie to Jaws, and a lot of fans are agreeing with his assessment. 

The Crazy Twister Set Tour Led By Bill Paxton

The resurfaced behind-the-scenes video posted by Entertainment Tonight shows Paxton chaotically climbing on the Twister set. The Hollywood production is perfectly 90s, with actual twisted and destroyed stairs for the actor to climb on, as well as other faux debris on the ground. He almost falls a handful of times on the purposely unstable set piece, but like a true movie star, recovers gracefully. His charisma and silly charm is on full display, reminding audiences what made him so special. You can see the TikTok below: 

It’s so fun to watch Paxton excitedly goof around the set all those years ago. The Titanic star sadly passed away in 2017 after a stroke, but his legacy as one of Hollywood’s premiere leading men lives on, and his son makes an appearance in this year’s Twisters. His energy and enthusiasm is reminiscent of his on-screen spiritual successor, Glen Powell, who is playing the Bill Paxton-esque role in the new movie. They clearly cast the right man for the job, and I can’t wait to see how Powell channels his predecessor in the summer disaster flick. 

Bill Paxton’s Twister/Jaws Comparison

One of the most notable aspects of this behind-the-scenes peek at the making of Twister, is how Paxton foresaw the success of Twister. The movie was in production when Paxton recorded his silly tour for the news outlet, but he was already pretty certain of the film’s success and cultural impact. He compared the terror towards tornadoes after the movie’s release to be akin to Jaws, saying:

For context, after Jaws was released in the summer of 1975, the fear of the ocean and sharks in Americans increased tremendously. Sharks became a common fear for many after watching Steven Spielberg’s mechanical one ravage the fictional Amity Island. Paxton’s suspicions were correct and the fear of tornadoes also became more prevalent after Twister was released. Commenters on TikTok also noted his accurate theory, and you can read some of their comments below: 

• Newman Music Academy: He was right about that thing he said about Jaws
• kitastrophy_: ok but for me, this movie did do for tornadoes what Jaws did for sharks! I've been obsessed with both since childhood
• supershanes90: The jaws reference was on point
• levitucker735: Twister, Jurassic Park and Jaws. three movies I grew up watching too many times

One fan even pointed out just how accurate his prediction was, pointing out that filmmakers combined these fears into the Sharknado franchise. They said:

Paxton’s instincts were clearly on point, and the strong legacy of Twister has lived on, even igniting interest in a stand alone blockbuster sequel starring Hollywood’s buzziest young stars. This quote also shows why the Aliens actor was so great at selecting his projects, and why Paxton was the star of some of the best and most beloved films of all time. 

You can revisit Bill Paxton’s performance in Twister, which is streaming now for Max subscribers. Also make sure to check out the latest tornado adventure film, Twisters, which is set to hit theaters on July 19th. For more information on other exciting titles heading to cinemas and streaming this year, make sure to consult our 2024 movie release schedule. 

Buckle your seat belts, and hang on, there’s a hot Twister take incoming. I think Bill Paxton’s leading man, Bill, is the villain of this movie. Yep, you read that right. He might be positioned as a protagonist, but I don’t think he’s that. In fact, I think both women he’s involved with in the movie would be better off without him, and he caused both more harm than good.

Now, before you come for me, I have some big reasons. Also, this has nothing to do with Bill Paxton’s fantastic performance. He did great, seeing him in action chasing tornadoes was epic, and I adored the film as a whole. In fact, it made me even more excited for the release of Twisters on the 2024 movie schedule. 

So, with that weather warning out of the way, let’s get into why Bill is the villain of the famous blockbuster film.

Not Only Did He Take His Girlfriend On This Trip, But He Dragged Her Along Through Tornadoes And Ignored Her

My biggest qualm about Bill (the character) is how he treated his girlfriend Melissa. This alone would make him the villain of most movies.

This poor woman was dragged out to the middle of nowhere to interact with her boyfriend’s ex-wife. That alone is not ideal. Then, she ended up being dragged along on this storm-chasing journey with Bill and Jo that she did not ask to go on!

Yes, that cow scene is legendary and hilarious, and a highlight was watching her try and talk to her clients on the phone while a cow flew by them. However, on second thought, that poor woman was terrified, and rightfully so. Plus, both Bill and Jo didn’t seem to notice how scared she was. 

Bill never really asked if she was comfortable with this. Melissa was expected to hop in the truck and be along for the ride. Did he forget how dangerous storm chasing is? His girlfriend, as far as I know, had never done this before, and she ended up stuck in multiple tornadoes. That's not something casual you do with your partner. 

On top of that, her boyfriend kept ditching her to hang out with Jo, his ex-wife. Ouch! 

Yes, I loved the Jo and Bill scenes as much as the next person. However, once you stop and think about all this for a second, it’s kind of messed up that Bill didn’t account for Melissa’s feelings. Honestly, it shocks me that he didn’t.

Eventually, she had enough and straight-up left, and Bill didn’t seem to have many emotions about that. In fact, he barely seemed to notice. That bothered me, and it made me see him in a harsher light. 

Overall, it was how he treated Melissa that made me view him as the villain of the movie. However, there are a few other bones I need to pick to fully prove my point. 

Bill Was Even Kinda Mean To Jo (However She Held Her Own)

There are two scenes in this movie that feature Bill and Jo arguing over who gets to drive. In both, they are in a heated disagreement over who gets to take the wheel, and Bill can’t seem to accept the notion that his former partner is fully capable of doing this job herself. 

At one point, his anger gets so out of hand that he almost drives them off the road. 

This aggression he feels toward Jo (which is reciprocated by her) mixed with his moments of cowardice is what makes him bad guy No. 1 in my mind. 

At one point, after playing the big manly man, Bill got scared and tried to run away, to quote my friend who I watched this movie with: "This is why he left, he’s such a punk bitch. Have some courage, my guy!” If he is going to walk in and try to do Jo’s job for her, he needs to do it kindly, with her consent and with courage. 

Storm chasing clearly takes courage, quick thinking under pressure and teamwork. Bill displayed none of those qualities for most of the movie, and that was clearly shown by how he treated his ex-wife. 

I Get They Just Survived A Life-Threatening Situation, But He Should Not Have Made Out With His Ex-Wife Like That 

As Philip Sledge pointed out in his story about things in Twister that don’t make sense, I don’t buy for one second that Jo and Bill can survive as a couple. 

The movie famously ends with them passionately kissing after surviving an F-5 tornado, implying that they’d rekindled their marriage and would live happily ever after. Well, I call B.S. on that. 

First of all, Bill and Melissa never technically broke up, she just finally left. So, there’s still that to deal with. Also, as discussed in the last section, Jo and Bill treated each other terribly. They don’t get along, and they have a real enemies-to-lovers thing going on. 

Now, I get that there was a lot of adrenaline flowing, and the two survived a situation that they probably shouldn’t have. So, in the heat of the moment, they shared a kiss. However, Bill’s lack of awareness of Melissa’s feelings and his overall anger toward Jo makes me believe that he shouldn’t have made the move. 

The guy could have had a few complex thoughts about the women in his life, and all would have been well. However, that didn’t happen. While he clearly cares for Jo – and I guess Melissa – and even saved everyone on a few occasions, he mostly made his decisions based on his own interests and impulses. When you are chasing tornadoes and facing death-defying situations on the regular with a team of people, and specifically two people you have romantic feelings for, that shouldn’t be happening. 

Therefore, Bill put everyone, including himself, in danger, and he is the villain of this movie. 

To watch the amazing flick again with this argument in mind, you can stream Twister with a Max subscription. Then, to see a new generation of storm chasers following tornadoes, you can catch the critically acclaimed Twisters in theaters starting July 19. 

When a popular movie or TV series gets remade or rebooted, getting actors from the previous version to appear in the new project has become somewhat common. They might have significant roles or they may just appear in cameos but, one way or another, they're often there. Unfortunately, one of the stars of Twister, Bill Paxton, passed away, so there was no way to make him part of the upcoming sequel, Twisters, which is set to be released at the end of the week. Instead, Bill Paxton's son, James, will be there in his place, and his involvement in the 2024 movie release sounds very emotional.

James Paxton -- an actor and musician -- will have a small role in Twisters. He tells EW it’s just a cameo but, while Paxton the younger’s appearance in the film may be a nod to his father, it sounds like it could have been more than that. Paxton actually auditioned to appear in the sequel to the movie his dad made, though he admits when he was called and offered a part, it took him some time to come to terms with the idea. He explained…

It’s unclear if the role James Paxton was offered was what he auditioned for. If this role is only a small one, he may have tried out for something else. However, perhaps in auditioning, he gave the filmmakers the idea to have him appear as a tribute to his father.

While some have balked at calling the Twister follow-up a sequel, the story does indeed take place after the events of the original movie. However, due to the long gap of time between installments, there's a cast of new characters. The basic premise of the film is the same and, in the Twisters trailer, fans have seen elements in the sequel that will tie back to the original. It’s possible that, had things been different Bill Paxton could have appeared in the new film as a way to tie the two movies together.

James Paxton believes that however his father might have done it, he would have been supportive of the sequel, which is why the son ultimately chose to appear in Twisters. He wanted to represent his dad in the small way he could as a way of cheering on the sequel. Paxton continued...

Expectations are that success for the new movie is only a matter of time. Twisters is projected to have a solid opening weekend, in what has already become one of the better summer movie seasons in recent memory. Check out the film when it opens on July 19th, and be sure to keep your eyes peeled for James Paxton's cameo. And, if it proves to be sentimental, don't be surprised if you get a bit misty-eyed.

Mention the late Bill Paxton, and there’s no doubt a slew of outstanding roles and films that leap to mind. There are the classics he made with James Cameron, the name just a few: The Terminator, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic. It still bothers Cameron that he never got him into an Avatar sequel. But outside of that partnership, Paxton also collaborated with several other greats, from Ron Howard (Apollo 13) and Jan de Bont (Twister) to Sam Raimi (A Simple Plan) and Robert Rodriguez. The latter cast Paxton as a theme park owner in the inventive Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, and he recently told us how it came about. 

Robert Rodriguez has a new chapter in the long-running Spy Kids series hitting Netflix as we speak. Spy Kids: Armageddon spins off of the original films to introduce a new family led by Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi, with new spy children in Connor Esterson and Everly Carganilla. But while appearing on CinemaBlend’s official podcast, ReelBlend, Rodriguez spoke of the various actors who would come to him over the years and ask to BE in a Spy Kids movie. As he explained:

That’s a very sweet reason why Bill Paxton wanted to play the part of Dinky Winks, the owner of the Troublemaker Theme Park, in the Spy Kids movies. It’s almost as sweet as the reason why Robert Rodriguez keeps returning to the Spy Kids movies… this time collaborating on the screenplay with his 26-year-old son, Racer. The Spy Kids franchise is a family affair at the Rodriguez household. Here, listen to him talk all about it on the latest ReelBlend:

Then use your Netflix subscription to check out the newest addition to the Spy Kids saga. I’m curious where it will land in our overall ranking of the Spy Kids movies. Also, will Robert Rodriguez keep making these movies, or pass the baton to Racer in time. Maybe give ReelBlend a listen to hear his thoughts on that possibility. 

I will be the first to admit, I thought U-571 was based on true events when I first saw it in theaters back in 2000. In my defense, I was also 11 years old at the time. Over the years, I’ve since learned that instead of being one of the most realistic war movies, Jonathan Mostow’s World War II submarine thriller is instead a military drama filled with inaccuracies and misrepresentations of historical events.

With U-571 having been added to Netflix in September 2023, I decided to go back and watch the movie for the first time in more than a quarter-century, partly because I wanted to see if it still held up as well as to see if the historical accuracies would hamper my experience. Let’s see how it turned out…

Let's Get It Out Of The Way - U-571 Completely Rewrites History

Here’s a little context for those who have never watched U-571. The movie follows a group of American submariners as they hunt down a damaged German submarine in an attempt to steal one of the Nazis’ enigma machines (remember the machine from The Imitation Game?) to decipher secret codes.

But here’s the thing, British forces had already secured one of the devices and started the process of breaking the code months before the movie was set, months before America joined the war effort. Following the film’s release, people around the world, especially high-ranking officials in the United Kingdom (who actually secured one of the devices in 1941), were not pleased, with the BBC reporting that Tony Blair, the Prime Minister at the time, called the movie an “affront” to British sailors.  

The Cast, Especially Matthew McConaughey And Harvey Keitel, Is Perfect

A lot of the great war movies have one thing in common, and that is that they typically feature large ensembles of talented actors. That can be said for U-571, as this WWII submarine thriller features an impressive ensemble of actors.

The justified anger and annoyance of McConaughey’s Andrew Tyler (getting his time to shine after being overlooked for a post), Paxton’s Mike Dahlgren (making a great sacrifice to save his crew), and Keitel’s Henry Klough (being a stern, yet calming presence) are all well-rounded characters brought to life by the tremendously talented actors.

Even looking beyond those three, the supporting cast is superb – especially Jake Weber as Michael Hirsch, a superior officer role who feels like the Lieutenant William Gorman character in James Cameron’s Aliens. The same can be said about The Sandlot star Tom Guiry in his understated performance as Ted "Trigger" Fitzgerald. Hell, even Jon Bon Jovi is great.

The Prologue With The German Crew Adds So Much Tension And Foreshadows Some Of The Movie's Biggest Moments

I’m a sucker for a great prologue, and U-571 features an all-timer. Set during the Battle of the Atlantic (a continuous campaign lasting more than five years), the first eight minutes of the movie center on the German crew of the U-571 submarine as its engines are damaged, leaving it as nothing more than a sitting duck for Allied attacks. 

Not only is it a great way to open a movie, this sequence also introduces a lot of the concepts that will be in play throughout the film – especially the depth charges. Though not as intense or stretched out as the scene that comes later in the story, the introduction of this explosive device is presented masterfully with the perfect combination of action, tension, and fear.

The Depth Charge Sequence Is Terrifying, Intense, And Incredible

I’m getting out of order, I know, but I just have to talk about the second depth charge sequence in U-571. Though I had forgotten the specifics of the movie over the years, this is a scene that has pretty much floated around in my head for the better part of the last quarter-century. I’m not going to try to explain to you how depth charges work because I still don’t know all the ins and outs of the devastating underwater bomb. What I do know is that this extended set piece near the end of the movie is awesome.

This tense cat-and-mouse game played by the American submariners and the German destroyer has everything you’d want in a battle but also enough deviation from the norm to offer something fresh. At times loud and chaotic and others quiet and unnerving, this scene has it all.

The S-33 Sinking Sequence Is Just So Chaotic 

Another great sequence comes about halfway through the movie when the American crew of S-33 attempts to board U-571 in an attempt to steal the enigma machine and complete the mission. Everything goes to hell in a handbasket when another German submarine shows up in the middle of a nighttime storm and fires a torpedo at the American sub. I honestly had to go back and rewatch this scene another time to make sense of the chaos and figure out who lives and who dies during the explosion.

You could say this chaos and uncertainty is a bad thing and takes you out of the movie, but this scene is something else. From the great work of the late Bill Paxton telling the crew to leave him behind and save themselves on U-571, to Matthew McConaughey finally getting his moment to shine, to people getting hit with massive pieces of debris in the dark of night, there’s just so much going on.  

Watching U-571 Again Was A Surprisingly Nostalgic Experience

Overall, watching U-571 for the first time in decades was a surprisingly nostalgic experience, one that took me on a trip down memory lane. A lot has changed since my childhood best friend’s mom dropped us off at the theater, both in my life and the way movies are made. 

It was fun to go back and experience a movie that very much feels like a product of its time – an almost simpler movie that lays it all out in the early goings without a need to be overly complex with its story. Sure, it’s not as epic or thought-provoking as something like All Quiet on the Western Front, but it’s still great. And who knows, maybe you’ll text that old buddy of yours and talk about other movies you used to watch back then like Valentine and The Skulls. Oh, the memories.

If you’re looking for a great way to spend a couple of hours and watch a war movie that takes some creative liberties when it comes to historical events, U-571 is going to do the trick. The movie is currently streaming for anyone with a Netflix subscription, so give it a shot.

The recent tragedy of a submersible going down to visit the wreck of the Titanic has resulted in a resurgence in interest in the most popular piece of Titanic-related pop culture, James Cameron’s blockbuster movie. Cameron himself has spent a lot of time in submersibles similar to the one that imploded, and in a recently uncovered interview Titanic co-star Bill Paxton talked about the time he visited the wreck with the director. And the actor had some eerily prescient thoughts about just how dangerous doing so could be.

ET interviewed Bill Paxton back in 2003 for Ghosts of the Abyss, Cameron’s documentary film in which he and Paxton dove down to the Titanic themselves along with a team of scientists, in order to obtain the best images of the wreck (at the time to date). In the interview, Paxton spoke quite candidly about just what could go wrong in the submersible, and he clearly understood exactly what it would mean if it did. Paxton said…

While a rescue effort was undertaken following the loss of communication with the Titan submersible, now that the wreckage has likely been located, and “presumed human remains” have been recovered, it’s widely assumed that whatever caused the submersible to implode likely happened along the same lines that Paxton described in the unearthed interview.

Bill Paxton ultimately made multiple dives on the wreck as part of filming the documentary. He was seemingly glad he made the choice to see a thing few human beings have been able to view with their own eyes. However, the actor said that he did have to consider just what would be required of him each time he went down. 

Considering everything that happened with the Titan situation, it’s a bit chilling to hear Bill Paxton talking about what he really did consider his own mortality every time he went down. Simpsons writer Mike Reiss, who had been on the Titan submersible before, had similar things to say. At the very least, when they made the decision to go down, they did so understanding the risks. You can check out the full interview with Paxton below.

Paxton’s interview shows there were real risks involved, but it also explains why somebody would choose to take those risks. There’s something about the Titanic that captures the imagination. While James Cameron himself has spoken about the tragedy and what he perceives as serious questions about the engineering involved, one of Titanic's technical advisors says that the public demand is such that there will always be people who want to see this. There's something about the Titanic that intrigues people.

Titanic is one of the most successful movies of all time, but beyond its epic love story set in the middle of a historic tragedy is another story that has stood the test of time. It’s the epic tale about how the cast and crew of the film, including James Cameron and Bill Paxton, got dosed with PCP. It’s been 25 years since that night and still nobody has any idea who did it. 

It was the summer of 1996 when the cast and crew of Titanic sat down to a lunch of lobster chowder. The food was apparently quite good, with several people helping themselves to multiple bowls of the stuff. However, shortly after the meal began several people began to feel strange. Crew member Jake Clarke, who has a shellfish allergy, and thus avoided getting dosed, recently told Vulture about the night, and seeing James Cameron realizing something was wrong. He explained… 

The incident sent several people to the hospital, some, who had eaten a lot of the chowder, spent several hours there and were apparently in pretty rough shape. Others, like Bill Paxton, who passed away in 2017, were reportedly pretty chill about the whole thing. He just relaxed and let the high wash over him according to Clarke. The event triggered an investigation by both the local police in Nova Scotia as well as 20th Century Fox. It was the studio that eventually confirmed that somebody had laced the chowder with PCP. 

To this day nobody knows who put PCP in the chowder and there don’t appear to have ever been any leads. It’s suggested it could have been a disgruntled member of the crew or the catering staff. It’s also possible this was somebody’s idea of a joke that just went terribly wrong. The good news for whoever did is that in the end there was no long term harm done. Nobody was seriously hurt. In the end the crew went back to their rooms to sleep before returning for a final day of filming before changing locations.

The film's stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, were lucky enough to avoid being part of this due to the scenes being filmed being part of the movie's framing device, not the core Titanic story, so they were not on set at the time. At this point, unless somebody decides to confess, it seems unlikely we'll ever know who drugged the chowder on the set of Titanic.

James Cameron truly was the "king of the world" when his ultimate passion project, Titanic, earned him Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director and, at the time, became the highest grossing film ever. The ambitious, romantic, and breathtakingly realistic dramatization of one of history's most shocking tragedies remains a seminal pop culture landmark, partially for making A-listers out of future Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. 

The Titanic cast also features the likes of Billy Zane, Victor Garber, Kathy Bates, to name a few, giving some of the most acclaimed performances of their careers. Unfortunately, some members of the ensemble -- namely Bill Paxton and Gloria Stuart -- have passed away since the release of the film 25 years ago. 

Show that your heart still goes on for them by clicking through this slideshow featuring snapshots of the actors from back then and in more recent years.

Much of Hollywood and the public at large was shaken in 2017 following Bill Paxton’s death at the age of 61. Paxton died after suffering a stroke that was reportedly brought on by complications stemming from heart surgery. In the aftermath, his family filed multiple lawsuits, one of which was a wrongful death suit against the surgeon and the hospital where the beloved actor received treatment. It would seem that now, however, Paxton’s family has reached a resolution in the legal situation nearly four years after filing suit. 

Bill Paxton’s family filed against Dr. Ali Khoynezhad and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 2018. In the suit, they accused the medical professional and hospital of giving the deceased star “negligent diagnosis, management, and treatment." It was also alleged that Cedars-Sinai “failed to disclose that [Dr. Khoynezhad] was going to use a high risk and unconventional surgical approach with which he lacked experience.” The suit went on to say that Dr. Khoynezhad was not present at the hospital when Paxton “began suffering complications” and that he did not put plans in place for “continuous care and coverage.”

Now, People reports that the Paxton family reached a settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit, with the notice of settlement having been filed this past Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. This move occurred just a month before the case was finally set to move to trial. Details on the settlement have not been revealed, and a federal judge has yet to approve it. As of this writing, neither the Paxton’s lawyers or the legal representatives for Dr. Ali Khoynezhad and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have commented on the matter. 

Bill Paxton’s family settled a different lawsuit with the General Anesthesia Specialists Partnership earlier this year. The organization was involved with the actor’s procedure, but it denied any responsibility for his death, saying that it “complied with the standard of care insofar as their involvement in the care and treatment of” the star. Ultimately, GASP settled for $1 million and, as People notes, the company did so in order to “reasonably compensate plaintiffs and avoid exposing the defendant to an expensive and time-consuming litigation.”

Following Bill Paxton’s passing, many of his former collaborators took the time to honor him. James Cameron issued an emotional statement on Paxton, with whom he worked with on iconic films like Terminator, Aliens and Titanic. Clark Gregg also shared a thoughtful tribute to his late Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. co-star, making note of his friendly nature and humility. Paxton’s final TV show, Training Day, also paid tribute in a touching way. 

It goes without saying that it took the Paxton family quite a while to resolve these legal situations. Now that they’ve seemingly come to an end, one would think that the family will seek to move on while also remembering their patriarch. Likewise, fans will continue to honor the star’s memory by watching his work for years to come. 

On February 25, 2017, actor Bill Paxton passed away at the age of 61. The Aliens and Twister actor suffered a fatal stroke less than two weeks after undergoing two surgeries: the first to correct an aortic aneurysm and the second to fix a damaged coronary artery. One year after his passing, Paxton’s family started filing lawsuits against an anesthesiologist medical group, and almost half a decade later, one of those lawsuits has finally been settled. 

As shared in a court filing reported by NBC News, Bill Paxton’s family came to a legal arrangement with the General Anesthesia Specialists Partnership. The attorneys for the latter party filed paperwork with the Los Angeles Superior Court to seek approval for the settlement, which will see Paxton’s family getting $1 million.

Bill Paxton’s widow, Louise Paxton, and their children, James and Lydia Paxton, were the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, which was initially filed against the Los Angeles hospital Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The suit alleged that the performing surgeon used a “high risk and unconventional surgical approach” that was “unnecessary” and the man lacked the experience to perform, as well as downplayed the procedure’s risks. The family later directed their sights on the General Anesthesia Specialists Partnership, though a trial date against that surgeon and other plaintiffs from Cedars-Sinai is reportedly set for September.

As far as the Paxton family’s legal entanglement with the General Anesthesia Specialists Partnership goes, according to court records, the group denied any responsibility for Bill Paxton’s death. It specifically said its personnel “complied with the standard of care insofar as their involvement in the care and treatment of” the actor, and that nothing they did “caused or contributed to his death.” One of the defendants named in this particular lawsuit was an anesthesiologist named Dr. Moody Makar, but part of the settlement has led to him being dismissed from the suit without payment. Attorney Robert Reback, who represents the General Anesthesia Specialists Partnership, called the settlement a “business decision.”

Bill Paxton kicked off his professional acting career in 1975, but it was around the mid-1980s when he started catching attention thanks to roles in movies like The Terminator, Weird Science and Aliens, the latter of which saw him playing Private William Hudson opposite Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley. In the 1990s, Paxton appeared in heavy-hitters like Tombstone, Apollo 13, Twister and Titanic, and final film credits included Edge of Tomorrow, Million Dollar Arm and The Circle, the latter being a posthumous release.

The actor also collected a fair amount of TV credits over his life. Small screen-wise, he was arguably best known for playing Bill Henrickson in the HBO series Big Love, but Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will remember him recurring in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1 as John Garrett. James Paxton was later recruited to play a younger version of his father’s character in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s final season. Prior to his death, Bill Paxton had shot all 13 episodes of Training Day Season 1, which co-starred Justin Cornwell. However, several months after Paxton died, CBS cancelled the series.

Should you find yourself in the mood to revisit Bill Paxton’s career, take a look at our picks for his six best characters. Those of you with your eyes to the future can keep visiting CinemaBlend for continuing coverage on all sorts of upcoming movies.

When I think of blockbuster films, much younger folk nowadays instantly have their minds turn to Marvel or maybe Harry Potter, but for me, my idea of a blockbuster film was never a movie, but a man and his name is James Cameron, creator of two of my favorite movies of all time, Avatar and Titanic.

Titanic was one of the biggest hits ever, taking pop culture by storm and creating a mob of men and women alike wanting to flood to the theater to see the reenacted dramatized version of the Titanic sinking back in 1912. Critics praised the film. Titanic launched the careers of many younger celebrities at the time, such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, while also giving a platform to the ones that were famous before the movie.

Now, more than 20 years later, there are plenty of projects that the Titanic cast is up to now. If you’d like to figure out which next big blockbuster these famous actors are taking part in, look no further than here.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson)

If you don’t know who Leonardo DiCaprio is, you have been living under a rock for the last twenty or so years. While DiCaprio had a couple of bigger roles prior to Titanic, such as Romeo + Juliet and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, it was Titanic that saw the young actor break out into the mainstream. From there, DiCaprio went on a crazy hunt to star in some of the best movies of the last twenty years.

We’re talking Oscar-nominated films, such as Catch Me If You Can, The Departed, Inception, and more. Leonardo DiCaprio has been nominated multiple times for the Academy Award for Best Actor but lost all except for one, winning recently in 2016 for his role in The Revenant.

Since then, DiCaprio has kept a relatively low profile movie-wise, mainly turning a lot of his focus onto environmental issues. He narrated Before the Flood, and movie that talked about the issues of climate change, as well as another film of the same type called Ice on Fire. However, just because DiCaprio wants to make sure the earth stays clean, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy acting as well.

Back in 2019, he had a starring role in Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, with co-stars Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Recently, DiCaprio is working on a new Netflix movie titled Don’t Look Up, which features plenty of stars alongside him, such as Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, and more. Talk about a star-studded cast.

Kate Winslet (Rose DeWitt Bukater)

The other main star of this tragic love story was Rose, played by the incomparable Kate Winslet. Since her appearance in Titanic, Winslet has gone on to star in multiple big movies, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Contagion, Divergent, and most recently, Black Beauty on Disney+.

Kate Winslet was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Titanic, and has received several additional nominations in the years since. In 2009, she took home an Oscar for her lead role in The Reader.

Among her upcoming projects, she'll be reuniting with James Cameron for a role in Avatar 2. Along with her upcoming appearance in Avatar 2, Winslet will also be starring in a new miniseries on HBO, titled Mare of Easttown, a story about a detective from Pennsylvania who investigates a local murder. Winslet is also serving as an executive producer.

Billy Zane (Caledon N. Hockley)

Ah, Cal. Everyone’s most hated fiancé in the world. While the character was a real piece of work in Titanic, Billy Zane is most certainly not. Before his big appearance in Titanic, Billy Zane was seen in the Back to the Future franchise but became really big due to the James Cameron film.

After his role in Titanic, Zane went on to do multiple roles and a lot of cameos in films and TV, such as Zoolander, Holmes and Watson and more. He’s also had some recurring appearance’s on TV shows, such as Mad Dogs and The Boys, along with a guest appearance on the popular show Community.

Coming up, he seems to have a couple of movies planned, including a film that will be about Marlon Brando, titled Waltzing with Brando that is in pre-production now.

Kathy Bates (Molly Brown)

I always thought Kathy Bates was the woman who really stole the show in Titanic because she’s such an amazing actress. Before her big role as Molly Brown in the film, she had a breakout role in Misery based on the Stephen King novel, and Hollywood has never been the same. Since then, she’s starred in multiple roles, three of which lead her to gain Oscar nominations, Primary Colors, About Schmidt, and Richard Jewell.

Besides her multiple film roles, Kathy Bates has also had a pretty constant reoccurring role in American Horror Story, the Ryan Murphy anthology horror series that has been around since 2010 on FX. For her role, she has been nominated and won a Primetime Emmy, so it’s clear that she’s still showing off her acting chops on TV.

Kathy Bates is currently working on some new films, one titled The Miracle Club that will also be starring huge names like Maggie Smith and Laura Linney. Not only that, but she has another main role in the upcoming tenth season of American Horror Story. Exactly when these movies and new season will premiere is unknown, but for fans of Bates, we have those things to look forward to.

Frances Fisher (Ruth DeWitt Bukater)

While the mother was never anyone’s favorite, we can all agree that the actress was amazing. Frances Fisher has been pretty active in Hollywood since her role in Titanic. She’s had some starring roles in True Crime, Jolene, and The Host, so it’s clear that she has kept busy since the James Cameron mega-hit.

In the late 2010s, Fisher had a couple of roles on big TV shows, having guest appearances on Fargo, Masters of Sex, The Killing, and more. But one of her biggest roles has actually been recent, where she played Jane Crawford on the HBO hit, Watchmen.

Next up, she has a new film coming out soon titled Awake that is in post-production, but a release date has not been set yet, as well as a couple of other films, all of which are either in post-production or pre, including This Is Not A War Story and The Potters.

Victor Garber (Thomas Andrews)

His role in Titanic was smaller than some of the others mentioned here, but just as important and has led Victor Garber to be in some big films, such as Milk, Argo, and Sicario, so he really knows how to pick some fantastic scripts. Not only that, but he’s had some big guest role appearances in hit TV shows, like Glee, the Arrowverse (most prominently, Legends of Tomorrow), and the hit TV show of 2020, Schitt’s Creek.

Garber has also been big on theater in the past, and most recently in 2018, he was in the Tony-award winning revival of Hello Dolly!

He has some upcoming films coming up, one titled The Gettysburg Address, and is going to be in a new TV show titled Family Law, so 2021 is looking like a good year for him.

Suzy Amis Cameron (Lizzy Calvert)

The role she played was smaller as Rose’s granddaughter, but it was still memorable. Suzy Amis Cameron was working in Hollywood prior to Titanic, having appeared in The Usual Suspects, among other films in the '80s and '90s.

However, after Titanic, she ended up leaving acting not long after. Cameron actually ended up dating, and marrying James Cameron after they met on the set of Titanic. In recent years, she and James Cameron co-founded Cameron Family Farms out in New Zealand, an organic Kiwi business.

Danny Nucci (Fabrizio)

Following his memorable role as Jack's friend and traveling companion, Fabrizio, in Titanic, Danny Nucci has remained fairly active as an actor over the years, mainly on the small screen. Though you may remember him for his role as Officer Giraldi in the 2006 film World Trade Center.

Nucci has guest-starred on episodes of Castle, The Mentalist, CSI and NCIS, but his biggest acting role in recent years has been his main casting of Mike Foster on the hit Freeform series, The Fosters, one that ran from 2013-2018.

Jonathan Hyde (J. Bruce Ismay)

Since the release of Titanic, Jonathan Hyde has kept busy with work on television, including a role in the show The Strain and a role in Crimson Peak as Ogilvie. But what Hyde has been doing the most has been theater work?

After Titanic came out, Hyde has been in seven different major theater roles, two of which portray huge historical names like Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon and Julies Caesar in the titular play Julius Caesar. So while it seems that film and TV are still very much in his heart, the theater is the one art that Hyde seems to gravitate towards.

Eric Braeden (John Jacob Astor IV)

His role in Titanic was a bit smaller than most, but Eric Braedon has been keeping himself busy since Titanic. He has done a couple of roles here and there, such as a guest role on the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother and a main role in the film Den of Thieves. But Braedon’s main role has been portraying Victor Newman on the hit soap opera The Young and the Restless, a role that he has been doing for more than 40 years. Good god. Talk about commitment. He has been nominated for several Daytime Emmy Awards for the iconic soap opera role, and took home the statue for it in 1998.

Bill Paxton (Brock Lovett)

Unfortunately, Bill Paxton passed away in 2017 due to a stroke, but his work in Hollywood in the years before and since Titanic is still celebrated. Prior to Titanic, he had big roles in movies such as Twister and Apollo 13, and he kept just as busy afterward as well.

Bill Paxton's been in multiple blockbuster and critical hits, such as Nightcrawler and Edge of Tomorrow. He also had a main role on the show Training Day, a TV series based on the popular movie. His last role was The Circle, based on the popular novel, where he played Vinnie Holland.

Gloria Stuart (Rose Dawson Calvert)

The older woman who played the elderly Rose in Titanic might have been unknown to some younger viewers, but Gloria Stuart had been around for decades at that point in her life. She was a big-time actress way back in the 1930s and 40s, starring in movies like The Invisible Man and The Three Musketeers.

But for some time, Stuart actually quit acting and focused on art, and many of her pieces are actually displayed in galleries. She returned to acting in the 1970s.

Since Titanic, she had kept a relatively low-profile until her death in 2010. Stuart passed away in her sleep due to respiratory failure at the age of 100. Not only is that impressive that she had lived that long because damn, but she has left behind a wonderful legacy that she will be remembered for.

It's no doubt that everyone here has kept busy for the most part. What have your favorite movies been from these stars?

During its seven-season run, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been fortunate to have a plethora of notable guest stars. From Samuel L. Jackson and Colbie Smulders to Ruth Negga and Edward James Olmos, it’s truly had a revolving door of talent. Ahead of the show’s final season, many expected some familiar faces to pop in and, so far, the show hasn’t disappointed. Still, there are a few guest stars Clark Gregg wishes could’ve joined in on the show’s last adventure.

Clark Gregg has fond memories of some of the show’s past stars and, of course, he would’ve loved to have seen as many return as possible. Now, he’s opened up to ComicBook.com about who he thinks would’ve made nice additions to Season 7:

For longtime Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., having B.J Britt’s Antoine Triplett and the late Bill Paxton’s John Garrett would have been a dream. Both were key characters, especially during the show’s first season, and having them back would have brought things full circle in a way.

The two were originally introduced during the latter half of the first season and were working together to bring down the villainous Ian Quinn. This would bring them into contact with Coulson’s team, and Garrett, and old friend of Coulson’s, would agree to help them track down a HYDRA operative known as the Clairvoyant. Ultimately, Garrett was revealed as the Clairvoyant and later killed by Coulson in the season finale.

After the fallout with Garrett, Tripp joined Coulson’s team, with B.J. Britt remaining on the show into the second season. Tripp would tragically be killed when he was turned to stone by a shard from the Obelisk in the midseason finale.

With time travel being the focal point of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s final season, having them on the show would have been possible. The returns of characters like Daniel Sousa and Rick Stoner prove this point. Of course, Clark Gregg’s comments, paired with the fact that Bill Paxton is no longer with us, means these returns are unlikely. Still, as the actor mentions, there may still be tributes or nods to the two. When he passed, Paxton was given a sweet nod during a Season 4 episode, and the show also honored another late alum. So it’s certainly possible the series could do a similar thing here.

With five episodes left, we can likely assume that S.H.I.E.L.D. has at least a few more surprises up its sleeve, and it’ll be fun to speculate on them as the season finishes out.

New episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

Is there anything more thrilling than watching Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt rekindling their marriage and driving through massive, computer-generated tornados in Twister? Filled with action, romance, and some of the best visual effects of the era, Jan de Bont's 1996 disaster film checks off all the boxes for a summer blockbuster of its scope and size. But there are some things that don't make sense.

Don't worry, I'm not talking about the believability of a cow being carried miles and miles by a tornado, although that was inspired by actual events. And I'm not talking about if you can really track a tornado by smelling dirt. I'm talking about the questions that many of us have had for nearly a quarter-century now. Questions like why didn't Jo's dad step a few feet backwards, do tornados really gurgle, and will Jo and Bill's second attempt at marriage really work?

How Was Jo's Dad Sucked Up But His Family Was Safe Just A Few Feet Away?

Before the movie even gets to its proper start, we have one of the most intense, yet head-scratching prologues where a young Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) is pulled from her bed and carried to her family's storm shelter beneath her family's home as a fast-approaching F-5 tornado comes rushing towards them. All makes sense so far, right? Well, the next part has always baffled me these past 24 years.

As Jo and her mother sit in the safety of the storm shelter, her father holds on frantically to the shelter's door before being sucked up with other debris into the swirling darkness of the tornado, never to be seen again. It's dramatic, I know, but what doesn't make sense is the fact that Jo, her mom, and the family dog (a tiny yorkie) are just mere feet away from the door and are barely moved by the 261 to 318 mph winds that ripped her father away just seconds earlier. Hell, even the canned goods next to Jo and her mother were untouched by the tornados selective destruction.

Bill Is Racing Jonas To Get To The Storm, But Both End Up At Hanging Out At A Gas Station?

After we're treated to several minutes of dialogue and watching Dusty (Philip Seymour Hoffman) simultaneously terrifying and enticing Melissa Reeves (Jami Gertz), we're treated to the first action scene of the movie — a race to a tornado with Bill and Jo's former classmate-turned-rival, the corporate-sponsored Dr. Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes) that seems to only serve the purpose of showing off the villain's fleet of sleek, black minivans and satellite-enabled technology that doesn't really make a whole lot of sense.

We never see a tornado, don't hear any mention of the tornado, and just pick back up with Bill giving a fully-inflated tire to a mechanic to bounce around, I guess. Over the course of the next few minutes, we just hang out in the diner attached to the garage and have the time-honored tradition of having the two rivals make remarks about one another, including Jonas poking fun at Bill's weather reports. The scene finally ends with Bill and Jonas being pulled apart from one another after the former accuses the latter of stealing his idea (Dorothy) that doesn't really work anyway.

I've Heard That Tornados Sound Like A Train, But I Never Knew They Roared And Gurgled

When I was a kid, I remember being fascinated about all things tornados. Hell, I was even obsessed with the 1996 made-for-television movie Night of the Twisters (the one with Devon Sawa). With that being said, I was gung-ho going entering the theater to see Twister. One thing I noticed then and still laugh about is the way the tornados sound in this movie. I've heard people say that tornados sound like an approaching freight train, but those funnel clouds chasing Bill and Jo around Oklahoma sound like lions at times and a draining bathtub at others.

Did Jan de Bont really have to insert an assortment of intense and animated sounds to make his tornados seem more terrifying to the viewer? I'm surprised he didn't add a set of eyes, a mouth, and some dialogue to the numerous twisters that litter this movie. Did the tornados roll over Joe Exotic's Greater Wynnewood Zoo and pick up a few tigers and lions along the way? And then there are the tornados that blow their way across a body of water during the iconic "We got cows" scene. I know they become water spouts after sucking up all that water, but they sound like a draining bathtub as they gurgle into nothing. 

But hey, they still look amazing after 24 years.

How Did Those Horses Survive An F-5 Tornado?

The disaster film builds up to the final showdown with the granddaddy of them all, the feared F-5 tornado so that Jo and Bill can finally get Dorothy (the version made of old Pepsi cans) to take flight. This sucker is massive, powerful, and as loud as ever, forcing the recently reunited couple to take shelter in a shed to prevent suffering the same fate as Jo's dad several decades earlier. With black clouds, all sorts of debris, and a chorus of sounds, the massive twister barrels over the couple who strapped themselves to some pipes with their belts. Spoiler, they survive.

As the family whose home and farm was just turned into a feral tornado's chew toy exits their storm shelter, we see a few horses running around like nothing has happened? Where did these horses come from and how did they survive the force of the monster tornado? Were they picked up from another farm and transported there, were they in the shelter with the family, or do they have some sort of intuition telling them to run a few hundred feet away and out of the tornado's reach?

Are Bill And Jo Just Going To Act Like They Don't Have Serious Issues In their Relationship?

And then there's the whole issue with Bill and Jo's marriage? Obviously, it wasn't the happiest or easiest of marriages. Sure, the couple have a shared interest (more like an obsession) and are both passionate about understanding tornados, but what happens to the couple when they go home and aren't out on the road chasing storms with their buddies and all sorts of distractions?

They obviously love one another and care for one another, but they don't seem to really work on the underlying issues of their marriage throughout the course of the movie? Aside from Bill's speech that happens to be played over the radio for some reason, the two don't really open up about their feelings; instead, they just chase or get chased by storms and then kiss while their colleagues watch on and the camera flies off into the air like Jo's dad.

But those aren't the only things that make sense in Twister. There's some science that doesn't really add up, but I'm neither a meteorologist nor a climatologist, so I'm not equipped to handle such conversations. Before I leave you, however, I will point out that what's up with the way Melissa looks at Dusty throughout the entire movie? The therapist looks at the storm chaser is equal parts disdain and passion. Why couldn't we have gotten a movie where those two get together and watch as Melissa tries to analyze the young daredevil's obsession with danger and chasing storms? And don't tell me there's fan-fiction about it because I will waste too much time reading it.

This may sound a little crazy, but Twister has always been one of my favorite movies to watch. While it's not the best movie to come out in the past 30 years, the 1996 disaster film remains on the list of movies that I will watch under any circumstance. In the theater with my grandma the summer before third grade? Yep. On CMT on some random Tuesday night? Why not. And over time, I've become what could describe as obsessed with the movie and am constantly digging around to find all sort of behind the scenes facts about this classic.

And wouldn't you know, there are so many crazy stories about how Twister came together (both good and not so good) that I think everyone who's obsessed with the movie, or at least seen it once or twice on cable, should know. So, without wasting any more time, let's load up Dorothy, grab a bag of food from Aunt Meg's house, and go find us some Twister facts.

Twister Was Given A Green Light Before A Script Was Even Written

Twister was one of the most successful movies of the '96 summer blockbuster season, bringing in $494 million at the global box office before everything was said and done. But if we're being honest, no one bought a ticket for the movie because they were interested in the love triangle between Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, and Jami Gertz's characters. We were all there to see tornados wreck the Oklahoma landscape and figure out how Dorothy worked. And it seems that millions of moviegoers who flocked to theaters weren't alone.

In a 2015 Wired roundtable discussion highlighting the successes of Industrial Light And Magic (the team who designed the special effects for Twister, producer Kathleen Kennedy revealed that a script hadn't even been written when ILM submitted test footage to Warner Bros., stating:

But while the visual effects tests came together rather smoothly, the producers would soon discover that getting a working script ready to shoot was going to be no easy task.

Joss Whedon Turned In His Rewrites On The Day Of His Wedding

Joss Whedon helped fix the Twister script because, well, he was Joss Whedon in the '90s. Much like how the writer-director was brought in to help with reshoots on Justice League more than 20 years later, the creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer was tasked with rewriting the story. After working extensively on the script for several months (except for when he came down with bronchitis), Whedon eventually turned in his final revisions on what was the happiest day of his life.

In an extensive EW profile on the tumultuous production the 1996 disaster movie, Joss Whedon said he worked on the changes up to the last possible moment, stating:

Garth Brooks Was Offered A Role, But He Didn't Want To Play Second Fiddle To A Tornado

This next little bit of Twister trivia could possibly be one of the most ridiculous things you'll read today, but I felt like it belonged her more than anything else. You know Garth Brooks, the alter ego of the rock musician Chris Gaines? Well, we could have seen the "Boot Scootin' Boogie" country star in Twister, according to his former business partner Lisa Sanderson.

According to a lawsuit filed by Garth Brooks' former business partner of 20 years (via TMZ), the highly successful country musician had the chance to appear in a number of different blockbusters, including Saving Private Ryan, but the singer's ego reportedly got in the way. One of the funniest examples listed in the suit is the one about Brooks turning down a villainous role (I can only guess that it was Cary Elwes' doomed Dr. Jonas Miller) because he didn't want to play second fiddle to a tornado.

The Director Of Photography And Multiple Cameramen Walked Off Set

By all accounts, the filming of Twister was a fiasco with the members of the cast getting seriously injured, extensive delays, and a number of other incidents that reportedly made life on set a living hell thanks to the working conditions put in place by director Jan de Bont, the cinematographer-turned-director. And no one knows that better than the one-time director of photography Don Burgess and the nearly two dozen camera operators who walked off the set.

In an EW article published nearly a year before Twister would hit theaters, it was reported that the Dutch director allegedly pushed a camera assistant into the mud while shooting and came to blows with the director of photography who he called "incompetent." Having enough of the creative differences with Jan de Bont, Don Burgess left the project partway through production, allowing Jack N. Green to come in and finish things up.

Bill Paxton And Helen Hunt Were Temporarily Blinded During Production

Throughout the events of Twister, Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt's characters spend quite a lot of time together, especially when you consider the fact they are supposed to be a couple finalizing their divorce. Those scenes took a toll on the actors, who were both temporarily blinded by production lights pointed at the cab of the truck when they were filming some closeup scenes.

Sitting down with EW around the film's 1996 release, Bill Paxton explained after hours of sitting in front of the lights he knew something was up when he got back to his hotel, stating:

Helen Hunt was suffering the same symptoms and so a local ophthalmologist and a UCLA eye specialist took a look and confirmed that the actors were temporarily blinded by the light. Both escaped permanent damage, but they had to wear special glasses for a few days.

The Two Leads Were Also Required To Get Hepatitis Shots

Treatment for temporarily loss of vision wasn't the only thing Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt had to undergo as both were required to get hepatitis shots following a rather dirty scene during the middle of production. While sitting down with The Ringer for a retrospective on the special and practical effects behind Twister, ILM's Habib Zargarpour confirmed that the actors needed get the shots due to grime being swept up during a tornado scene, stating:

The Iconic "We Got Cows" Scene Was Inspired By Actual Events

Whenever someone mentions Twister, I immediately picture the scene where Jami Gertz's character hangs up on a client after saying "We got cows." What comes next is a visual effect that no one will ever forget: a cow caught up in a funnel cloud. The effect was one of the most impressive shots of its kind at the time, but the idea behind the shot was inspired by actual events.

During a 2016 interview with vfxblog, visual effects supervisor Stefen Fangmeier explained:

Projecting The Shining Over A Tornado Was A "Dream Come True" For The Visual Effects Team

One of the other great visual effects in Twister is found in the scene where the tornado rips through the hotel and drive-in movie theater where the movie's storm chasers are resting up, specifically when Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is projected on the cloudy wind and debris of a large tornado.

In The Ringer's retrospective on effects teams brought in to create the film's most iconic shots, ILM's Ben Snow explained that he begged to work on the scene, stating:

Bill Paxton Had A Long-Lasting Impact On The Small Town Where Twister Was Filmed

Twister was primarily shot in the small town of Wakita, Oklahoma, where all these years later, the local townsfolk still remember the impact the late Bill Paxton had on their lives. Shortly after the actor's death in 2017, News 9 out of Oklahoma City, interviewed many of those people who had interactions with the actor more than 20 years earlier. One of the local residents, Linda Wade, told a reporter:

Linda Wade, who opened a Twister museum after the film was released in 1996, said that Bill Paxton continued to donate items to the museum, including the football mentioned up above. Wade went on to say that Paxton would include a handwritten note with each of the donations, reminding residents that he still remembered them after all these years.

Following Paxton's Death, Hundreds Of Storm Chasers Came Up With An Impressive Tribute To The Late Actor

The residents of Wakita, Oklahoma weren't the only people to pay tribute to Bill Paxton after his death. Shortly after Paxton's passing in early 2017, Oklahoma meteorologist Aaron Brackett shared a touching tribute to the Twister star on his Twitter account:

After the star's death, more than 200 storm chasers went to "Tornado Alley" and shared their GPS coordinates to spell out Bill Paxton's initials, providing perhaps the most touching tribute imaginable.

I couldn't think of any better way to end this list than with a tribute to the late Bill Paxton, whose talent and charm helped turned a movie about a group of outcast storm chasers into one of the most popular movies of all time. But if you're wanting to know more about Bill Paxton and his impact on cinema, then head on over to CinemaBlend.

Hollywood has produced some iconic actor/director partnerships over the years. From Christopher Nolan's work with Michael Caine that began with Batman Begins to Martin Scorsese's work with Leonardo DiCaprio that started with Gangs of New York, some filmmakers and performers just go together. One such combination was the partnership between James Cameron and the late Bill Paxton, and the filmmaker recently came out and lamented the fact that Paxton's recent death has prevented him from finding a place for the actor in one of his upcoming Avatar sequels. Cameron explained:

James Cameron has made no secret of the fact that he has wanted to take his time and get the next four Avatar films right. That has allowed technology to catch up with his vision for the world of Pandora, and it has given him some extra breathing room with regard to cracking the story. However, the obvious downside is that by waiting so long to enter production, Bill Paxton had already passed away before he could get him on-camera alongside Jake Sully -- which is something that nobody could've anticipated.

In many ways, Bill Paxton was arguably James Cameron's good luck charm on some of his best movies. Their partnership dated all the way back to the very first entry in The Terminator franchise and extended through iconic films like True Lies and Titanic. In fact, it was Bill Paxton who uttered arguably the most iconic lines in Cameron's beloved 1986 Alien sequel, Aliens.

This situation naturally raises specific questions about why Bill Paxton wasn't cast in the first Avatar film in the first place. Elsewhere in his interview with EW, the director explained that he couldn't remember why Paxton wasn't included in the original movie, but that there was definitely a reason for his absence, saying:

CinemaBlend will keep you updated with more information related to the future of the Avatar franchise as new details are made available to us. The next installment in the Pandora-based series is currently slated to debut in theaters on December 18, 2020; here's everything that we now know about the long-awaited Avatar sequel!

As it has been written in the Sacred Book of Streaming, the content provider giveth, and yet they taketh away. Well, we've seen what Netflix has already deemed to giveth to us all throughout September, so now it's time to see what's up for the taketh part of the bargain. And trust us, there's some really good movies on here, some would have even been good for Halloween. So if you're in the mood to celebrate early, this list is your friend. But even if you're not in the mood for some early scares, there's a couple flicks on here worth your time and attention.

The Omen

Movies like The Omen are classics for a reason, despite the popular level of parody they've received over time. You might be inspired to laugh because so many gags about demon children and ominous choirs have been had by now, but if you look past that, Richard Donner's horror classic is still stylish and spooky as hell. Gregory Peck and Lee Remick love each other so damned much in this movie, and they love their little Damien as long as they can, before succumbing to the truth. It's that gradual fade into reality that really drives this flick home, and it holds up like nobody's business.

Something's Gotta Give

Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton doing a romantic comedy together is something that should have happened a lot more throughout the course of Hollywood history. At least, that's what it feels like after watching them effortlessly play off of each other in Something's Gotta Give, which is already somehow 14 years old! The film certainly plays just as well as it did on day one, as it succeeds in a lot of places a typical rom-com tends to fail through. The entire cast is engaging, there's no falsely engineered conflict that stretches the film's credibility, and ultimately Nicholson's character is put on a journey of self-discovery that rings pretty true. It's fun, it's cute, and it's a great farewell to summer.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Man, who was put in charge of removing Netflix movies in September? Whoever decided A Nightmare on Elm Street should be taken out before Halloween even goes into full swing should be reprimanded. Or at the very least, have their account restricted to Kids Only mode for the month. Nightmare launched the slasher franchise that made Wes Craven a household name, and Freddy Krueger a cultural icon, so obviously it's perfect fall viewing. Only, it's not going to be here in the fall, so you'd better watch it now while you can.

Frailty

This year, we lost two titans of character acting talent: Bill Paxton and Powers Boothe. And both of those men are in full form in Frailty, the film directing debut of Paxton, which also found some space to make Matthew McConaughey a little more familiar to the world. A horror film that relies on atmosphere and performance, Frailty is one of the most underrated favorites of even the genre's most ardent fans, and it's earned its reputation in spades. With Paxton as the father that teaches his sons to supposedly fight evil, McConaughey as the son spinning the story, and Boothe as the FBI agent who's taking it all in, these three roles hold up a world of demons and trouble in a film that's always deserved a couple more soldiers in its army.

Scream

As if Wes Craven helping kickstart horror films in the 80's wasn't enough, the man also helped deconstruct the house he built in the 1990's. With Scream, audiences that were well versed in the methodology of their favorite screen killers found themselves in for a treat, as a smart-assed movie took those traditions and subverted them with a deft touch. Not to mention, it was the movie that basically reinvigorated horror, as the fact that such a functional parody of the standard "rules" of the game forced anyone who wanted to make their way in the world of the scary think twice before writing the words "I'll be right back." Try to remember the rules as you take this one for a last spin on Netflix.

Hope Floats

Believe it or not, there was a time when Sandra Bullock was considered the up-and-coming queen of both romantic comedies and dramas. While she leaped over that fence and became Hollywood royalty, regardless of genre, Hope Floats is still evidence to that time when America's Sweetheart was just getting started. What helps this film stand out in her early filmography though is her chemistry with one Harry Connick Jr., who easily shines alongside Bullock as her love interest. Here's hoping those two can make another film like this one at some point in the future, because Hope Floats really makes a good case for making it happen.

Lilo and Stitch

While we're getting some Disney favorites back onto Netflix this month, through the returns of Mulan and Hercules, we're sadly losing another one of the Mouse House's titles to the vault, Lilo and Stitch. A franchise that spawned two sequels and a TV series, and somehow never ruined itself, the story of a little girl and her alien is a film that ranks up there with Disney royalty. What's better, it was one of the final films in Disney animation's pre Princess and the Frog era that was hand animated, and it shows in each frame. Beautiful in message and visuals, flip this one on for your kids after a night barbequing in the backyard.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

There's one big admission that has to be made about Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: if you're a fan of the original, you'll probably have some bones to pick with the film. But put those aside for a moment, and hear us out, because this dark gem of a musical still deserves a place at the table. The fact that a major studio let Tim Burton even dream of making this movie is a miracle in and of itself, but the fact that it worked is a bigger feat in and of itself. Plus, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter were in the middle of their hot streak together under Burton's direction, and it shows. But if you need that one big draw to pull you into the world of murder and meat pies, let it be this: you get to hear Alan Rickman and Sacha Baron-Cohen sing, and they're pretty damned good, too.

Philomena

Steve Coogan and Judi Dench are one of the best comedy teams in the recent history of film, and Philomena is the absolute proof of this fact. With Coogan's snark and Dench's wide-eyed deadpan, the true story of a journalist trying to help a woman find her son has a huge streak of good natured humor between the two sides of the aisle. And yet, when it comes to the dramatic and emotional moments, both performers gamely portray the heartbreak and uncertainty that such a quest comes with. While it was lost in the best picture nominated shuffle in the same year that saw Argo take the top honors, Philomena deserves an audience, if anything to see just how much you can do with two really good actors and a simple story of reunion.

Déjà Vu

Tony Scott and Denzel Washington is a combination that always worked, and it's been proven time and again over the several times they worked together. And yet, Déjà vu is probably one of the movies that tends to find itself slotted behind the obvious double feature of awesome that is Crimson Tide and Man on Fire. Not only does this movie bring the typical pulse pounding action and humor that the two collaborators loved to bring to their projects, it works with a pretty novel sci-fi concept that works. It also helps that while Déjà vu is technically sci-fi, that portion of the story doesn't overtake the seriously crafty action beats. If you've missed this one, and you're a fan of either Scott or Washington, then you owe it to yourself to correct that immediately.

The last movie Bill Paxton ever made, The Circle, reunited him with his Apollo 13 co-star Tom Hanks. Now, a special feature on that Blu-Ray disc includes Hanks looking back at the time they spent together on a very small set. Hanks remembers that Bill Paxton was always the most enthusiastic member of the cast of Apollo 13. Apparently, this was due to being excited to be working on a movie as high profile as Apollo 13. According to Hanks...

Tom Hanks says that before Apollo 13 started filming he only knew Bill Paxton as the "game over" guy from Aliens, something that became a running joke between the two. While the two had never met previously, they were forced into becoming close by the circumstances of filming. As Hanks explains in A True Original: Remembering Bill Paxton, a special feature on the Blu-Ray of The Circle, the two of them, along with Kevin Bacon, spent about four weeks together filming scenes on the set of the space capsule, keeping them in close quarters. Hanks remembers periods of downtime where the three of them were sitting on set waiting for the crew to get things ready, communicating through internal radios because they couldn't speak to each other with their helmets on. Since the only other person on the channel was director Ron Howard, the group ended up having long conversations just with each other.

It sounds like being on that radio channel would have been an amazing experience. The three actors were stuck together in a space that had to look like it was the size of an Apollo space capsule. You just don't spend that much time with someone that close together without really getting to know them. According to Tom Hanks, these conversations covered every conceivable topic over the weeks they spent together, but Bill Paxton never lost his excitement for being part of the group.

In addition to acting in the two films together, Tom Hanks was also an executive producer of Bill Paxton's HBO series Big Love. Bill Paxton died of a stroke in February that was brought on by complications from surgery. The Circle is out on Blu-Ray today.

Spoilers below for the latest episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Earlier this year, the worlds of film and TV were dealt a loss with the death of actor Bill Paxton, whose memorable characters are too numerous to name at this point. One of his biggest small screen roles came when he entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe through Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1 as the main antagonist John Garrett. And though the real-world Garrett was vaporized by Coulson, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. used its current Framework story arc to slip in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it easter egg tribute to Paxton during the opening scene. Check it out!

Last night's episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., "All the Madame's Men," started off with a surprising return that we already knew about, in the form of former villain Sunil Bakshi, whose Framework counterpart was anchoring a cable TV news-style program. (Today's Topic: Justice.) So it's understandable that viewers might not have expected to see another familiar face popping up during that opening, and yet that's when producers chose to honor the late Bill Paxton with an "In Memoriam" graphic. It was quite subtle, much unlike Paxton's performance as John Garrett once he started getting injections of GH. 325.

Beyond the fact that it exists in the first place, perhaps the most notable and even touching element regarding this tribute is that the creative team figured out a way to let John Garrett go out a hero. And even though it happened within the fictional existence of the Framework, we all know that there are connections between that world and the genuine world our heroes are aiming to return to. (Not that it really helps in this case.) The actual Garret may have turned power-mad and dangerous, but at least there was one iteration of him that could serve as a hero.

With A.I.D.A.'s true intentions now out in the open, the good guys of S.H.I.E.L.D. (and even the Frame-made bad ones) could really use the kind of hero that cable news programs would honor on the bottom of a TV screen. There are only three episodes of the comic-based drama left to go, and with no sign yet of a Season 5 renewal, viewers are almost certainly nervous that this might be these characters' last big adventure. Hopefully more renewal-minded heads will prevail.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. sadly can't and won't be bringing John Garrett back to the show in a fuller capacity in the future, but this was a quiet and lovely way to send him off. Check out what Coulson & Co. will deal with next when the show airs Monday nights on ABC at 10:00 p.m. ET. And then head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer TV guide to see all the shows that are returning and premiering in the near future.

The world was shocked when we learned that prolific actor Bill Paxton had died at the age of 61. Now, the late actor's death certificate has been uncovered and it has explained exactly what the cause of death was. According to reports, Paxton, who had undergone surgery to repair a damaged aorta, suffered a stroke 11 days later, leading to his death February 25.

A stroke is a caused by a blood clot that prevents blood from reaching the brain. It would appear that the clot was the "complication due to surgery" that was reported as the cause of death when news of Paxton's death reached the media early on February 26, the day of the 2017 Academy Awards. According to the Associated Press, Paxton was cremated and his remains have been placed at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills cemetery, a place where many Hollywood celebrities are buried.

Bill Paxton's life was remembered by many of his friends and colleagues following his death. Even professional storm chasers took a moment to remember the actor who starred in Twister.

Bill Paxton's career spanned nearly 100 roles covering both TV and film. In addition to his starring role in Twister the actor also had memorable roles in such popular films as Aliens, Titanic, and Tombstone as well as notable television appearance in shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. His last major role his currently airing on CBS as the television adaptation of the film Training Day.

It's somewhat heartbreaking to learn that Bill Paxton's death was related to a procedure that he underwent in order to extend his life. There was really no way for him to avoid the surgery. A damaged aorta is generally not something you can simply live with. It's simply unfortunate that random complications such as this can take place.

Bill Paxton's prolific career led to him having roles in some of the most popular films of the last couple of decades. He was a frequent collaborator of James Cameron, which led to performances in The Terminator, Aliens and True Lies. For those of us who grew up during the 1980s, he will always be Chet, the annoying older brother in John Hughes comedy _Weird Science. _

If there's a silver lining to tragic news like this it is that we will always have the movies to go back to when we want to remember the great performances. What was your favorite Bill Paxton role? Let us know in the comments.

2016 was a year filled with tragedy when it came to iconic celebrities passing away, and the world lost showbiz greats like David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and Carrie Fisher within the span of a year. Unfortunately, 2017 has gotten off to a pretty rotten start on that front as well, as beloved actor Bill Paxton died on February 25 at the far-too-young age of 61. His latest project was CBS' action-packed drama Training Day, which is currently still airing Season 1. In a lovely gesture, CBS took a moment out of the front of this week's episode to honor Paxton with a special image. Take a look:

Bill Paxton's character on Training Day wasn't exactly somebody who many would describe as a solid friend or a reliable colleague, but Paxton himself has clearly left a much stronger impression on the people who worked with him at CBS. Kudos to the network for taking the time to linger on the tribute to Paxton at the beginning of the latest episode. The image didn't simply flash across the screen for a second or two before disappearing; it remained on screen long enough for viewers to get a good look at what CBS had to say about Bill Paxton.

The genuine smile on his face was certainly nice to see before the action of the episode kicked off. Frank Rourke has been known to smile on Training Day, but not with nearly as much warmth as Bill Paxton in the photo chosen by CBS. Paxton actually finished filming Season 1 of Training Day prior to his passing on February 25, so unless CBS decides to cancel the show without airing all 13 episodes, we'll at least get to see him finish one season as Frank.

Training Day debuted on February 2 as an explosive and intense midseason replacement for CBS. The show was introduced as a sequel to the 2001 movie of the same name, and it was filled with shootouts and action sequences from the very beginning. That said, the strongest elements of the series were the performances from Bill Paxton and Justin Cornwell, especially in their scenes together. They made for a compelling team on the small screen, and it was worth tuning in to Training Day just to see what kind of trouble Paxton's Frank would get Cornwell's Kyle into that week.

You can catch the rest of Training Day Season 1 on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. Take a peek at our midseason TV premiere schedule for a look at what else you can watch in the coming weeks, and don't forget to stop by our 2017 Netflix premiere schedule. For a blast from the past, take a look at how CinemaBlend honored Bill Paxton in our picks of his six best characters and explanations of why we love them so much.

The untimely passing of Bill Paxton at the age of just 61 over the weekend led to an outpouring of grief that only a man of his talents and personality can muster. It also provoked a number of tributes from those closest to him, with Jennifer Aniston getting emotional when she remembered the actor during the In Memoriam section of the Oscars, while Rob Lowe declared today that he was his closest friend in the industry. But one of the most ingenious tributes for Bill Paxton to have emerged over the last few days was from a posse of storm chasers, who looked to doff their cap to the man that showcased their work in 1996's _Twister. _

Over 200 people headed out to a section of the United States that's known as "Tornado Alley" to spell out Bill Paxton's initials using GPS coordinates, and the memorial worked an absolute treat.

The specific location of the above is Wakita, Oklahoma, which is actually where a lot of Twister was shot. While some storm chasers just manually registered their GPS coordinates on the map from their homes, others decided to go all out and drove to the location as their own personal tribute to Bill Paxton.

We have the good people of Spotter Network to thank for organizing the above memorial. While the non-profit usually uses updates from the National Weather Service to track storm chasers, as well as helping to keep them safe in treacherous conditions and guide them away from tornadoes, they rightfully decided that honoring Bill Paxton with the device was just as important, too.

John Wetter, Spotter Network's president, told the AP that the group really has only performed tributes for non Spotters on four or five occasions, but claimed that Paxton absolutely deserved recognition because:

Jan De Bont's disaster film was a huge hit when it was released back in 1996, as it went on to gross $494.4 million at the box office, with Paxton in inspired leading man form alongside Helen Hunt, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Alan Ruck. Plus it features arguably the greatest cameo from a cow in the history of cinema, too.

Bill Paxton's death was announced on Sunday after he suffered complications from surgery.

This weekend was a maelstrom of entertainment news, and one particularly low note was obviously the death of Bill Paxton, which occurred due to surgical complications. The outpouring of grief and remembrances has been huge, with many of Paxton's co-stars and more sharing stories and love, and though the Emmy-nominated actor didn't spend a huge amount of time within the Marvel universe for his stint on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Season 1, star Clark Gregg says it was enough to spark an instant friendship that lived on in the years between then and now. In his words:

Clark Gregg obviously has experiences that don't often match up with the lives of your average TV viewer, but he's not beyond understanding how badass it is for a work day to kick off with Bill Paxton waiting around. If that would have ever happened to me, it would have likely been because Paxton's car broke down nearby and he needed to use the bathroom, but that would still be something, because Bill Paxton. So long as everything remained Deathlok-free, that is...

I remember how awesome it was when Bill Paxton's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. casting was announced, and the actor delivered on expectations, providing a performance that worked in his best attributes, especially once Garrett started getting more unhinged. And it's lovely to hear that Paxton not only had a lasting effect on fans, with him showing up right as S.H.I.E.L.D. was sweeping its muddled early episodes under the rug, but also on those around him during production. Clark Gregg already seems like the kind of guy who would get along with anyone, and I'm sure it was a revolving door of positivity with him and Paxton hanging out.

Clark Gregg shared more with People about how much he'd miss Bill Paxton.

People underestimate the innate power that quotable lines from movie and TV have, which helps to keep actors and actresses alive in fans' hearts even beyond the impact of entire performances. (For a strange example, as much as Ridley Scott's Alien can be boiled down to the chestburster scene, Aliens' tone can be summed up perfectly by Paxton's "They're coming outta the goddamn walls!") And while his quotes on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. perhaps were not the most repeatable, he still had quite an effect on the cast and crew.

Here's another fond farewell from another S.H.I.E.L.D. co-star whose life was improved by Bill Paxton's role in it.

Bill Paxton can currently be seen on CBS' Training Day, which airs Thursday nights on CBS at 10 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. won't be back in front of audiences with new episodes (and possibly more familiar faces) until Tuesday, April 4, at 10:00 p.m. ET, so there's more than enough time to rewatch Agent John Garrett's Season 1 arc, and then check out Paxton's other most memorable roles to get reacquainted with soon. And then head to our midseason premiere schedule to see what else is coming to the small screen soon.

Fans of Titanic may be aware that there was once an extended ending to the film that brought the late Bill Paxton back into the story. After his death, we now know what he thinks of the ending that almost was. In one of his last interviews before he passed away, the actor admitted he was glad that version of the finale wasn't used, as it just wasn't necessary.

In the extended ending, the elderly Rose is heading to the side of the ship when she's seen by Bill Paxton's character Brock Lovett and some of the crew. They're afraid she going to jump and so they run to her, only to discover that she has the elusive gem that Lovett has been searching for, and she's going to toss it over the side.

As Bill Paxton tells Yahoo, the scene just wasn't necessary. His job was to help set up the main part of the film that follows the young Jack and Rose on board the ill-fated vessel. Once that story has launched, the other side of the story is no longer necessary. It's almost certainly true. We doubt anybody left the theater after seeing Titanic for the first time thinking "but what happened to Brock Lovett?" What's more, the ending itself is incredibly ham-handed in the way it spells out the film's ultimate message. Check it out.

Bill Paxton was mostly known for being a character actor so he wasn't a film's focus very often. As such, there's probably a massive amount of footage of him on cutting room floors. Still, the man clearly understood what his job was, and did his best to do it well. Paxton died yesterday at the age of 61 from complications due to surgery.

Movie fans were shocked today to learn that character actor Bill Paxton had passed away. He was in so many of our favorite movies that we could spend all week listing them out. He had roles in nearly 100 films over the course of a career that only began back in 1975. There's a good chance that he popped up in at least one movie that you love. Probably many more.

Limiting a list to our absolute favorite Bill Paxton performances is a nearly impossible task. However, there are a few performances that do stand out above the rest. Here are the Bill Paxton characters that we loved the most.

Chet Donnelly - Weird Science

There's a very good chance that the first time you remember seeing Bill Paxton on screen was as the obnoxious older brother Chet in Weird Science. He will forever live on due to his line about greasy pork sandwiches served in dirty ashtrays. He's one of the absolute best comic foils in all of John Hughes' films from the 1980s. He is equal parts mean and hilarious. This is likely the role from which all others on this list was born. A look at his career is incomplete without it.

Private Hudson - Aliens

While Weird Science might be the film that introduced us to Bill Paxton, Aliens was the movie that forever made him a part of cinema history. How many times have you said "game over man, game over" in that particular inflection that shows you're quoting Private Hudson? The team of marines that supports Sigourney Weaver in Aliens contains some of the best character actors of the decade but Paxton stole that particular show a single line that we'll never get out of our heads.

Bill Harding - Twister

Bill Paxton rarely played the leading man, but 1996s Twister was one of the exceptions. The movie is more than a little corny, but Paxton was always great at those sorts of roles and seeing him in the lead of a summer blockbuster was a fun change of pace. Twister would go on to be the second highest-grossing movie of the year, behind Independence Day so clearly, we weren't the only ones who enjoyed seeing Paxton as a leading man.

Hank - A Simple Plan

If you want to see just how good an actor can be, give them the simplest story possible and then see what they do with it. A Simple Plan is aptly titled because the story is so basic. Three men find a huge sum of money along with a crashed plane in the woods. They attempt to keep, and share, the money, but as one might expect when millions are on the line, relationships quickly breakdown. Bill Paxton never received an Academy Award nomination, that honor went to Billy Bob Thornton, but this may be the best pure acting performance we ever saw from the man.

Dad Meiks - Frailty

Frailty was a step outside of the box for Bill Paxton in so many ways. Not only was it a psychological horror film, not the sort of thing we saw from the actor, but it was also his directorial debut. It's a chilling film that sees Paxton as a man who believes he has been touched by God nd tasked with the destruction of demons on Earth. Of course, to others, including his own son, he looks instead like a cold-blooded serial killer. As his own director, he clearly knew exactly what he wanted to bring to the role, and he does it expertly.

Morgan Earp - Tombstone

While Tombstone is very much a story about Wyatt Earp, the importance of the other Earp brothers to the story cannot be understated. On a stormy night, the tensions between the Earps and the Cowboys come to a head as the Cowboys take revenge on the events of the O.K. Corral. Morgan Earp is ambushed and killed while shooting pool, one his few true pleasures. This leads to Paxton giving one of the best death scenes in a modern western. It's visceral and heartbreaking and too often overlooked.

Sadly, it was reported earlier this morning that Bill Paxton, at the age of 61, has passed away from complications during surgery. The actor will be supremely missed by his loved ones and the fans who remember from films like Twister, Aliens, and Apollo 13. Paxton was a close friend to James Cameron, a prolific director who often included Paxton in his films. Cameron issued a statement remembering their 36 years of friendship, and how the world is now a lesser place with his absence.

James Cameron released this statement to Vanity Fair, pointing out the deep history and creative spark he shared with Bill Paxton. The two of them first met building sets for a Roger Corman movie, quickly realizing they had much in common and becoming fast friends. The Roger Corman film would lead Cameron into eventually having his directorial debut with Piranha Part Two: The Spawning.

Bill Paxton and James Cameron first began working together on Cameron's passion project, the seminal sci-fi classic Terminator. Cameron cast Paxton in a small role as a street punk who crosses paths with Arnold Schwarzenegger's titular robot soon after he first arrives in the past; it's a meeting that does not go well for the punk. After that, the two friends would work together several more times, with Paxton appearing in a variety of roles in some of the director's most popular work such as Brock Lovett in Titanic; Private Hudson in Aliens; Simon the con man in True Lies; and as himself in the undersea documentary, Ghosts of the Abyss.

These are some very kind words from a longtime friend, and it's clear that Bill Paxton will be extremely missed.

Today has been a shocking one for the world of movies and television. Because despite the excitement over tonight's Academy Awards ceremony, a major figure in the world of entertainment has died. Actor Bill Paxton has passed away at the young age of 61, sending shock waves through the world of entertainment. And although this news is very tragic, there is the added complication of his lead role in CBS' new series Training Day. Many have been wondering what will happen to the show, and if Paxton had even finished shooting the new series. But now we have some answers.

CBS has just confirmed that Bill Paxton had completed filming all of his scenes for Training Day, meaning that the first season will likely be aired in its entirety. The midseason replacement will be able to produce its full 13 episode run, granted CBS wants to air the full season. But given the importance of this series being Paxton's last project, smart money says that the network will likely make all 13 episodes available, either through television broadcast or digital streaming.

Despite Bill Paxton's always great acting, it's been a rocky road for Training Day. Having already aired 4 episodes on CBS, the series isn't exactly getting the type of viewership that the network was likely hoping for. After premiering to 4.73 million viewers, every week since has had a steady decline in ratings. Additionally, Training Day hasn't been doing too great in regards to critical reception; at the time of writing, Season 1 has a 21 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

So while it previously looked like Training Day would likely be cancelled at the end of its first season, Bill Paxton's passing will presumably make this a certainty. He's essentially half of the show, and continuing on without his character seems nearly impossible. Alas, we'll just have to wait and see what CBS decides.

CBS and WBTV actually released a joint statement about the loss Bill Paxton. Check it out (via Deadline)

Despite Training Days' various shortcomings, it certainly seems significant in the wake of Bill Paxton's untimely death. The series will be one of the last chances to see Paxton's fantastic work as an actor, which is sure to gain the attention of his many fans.

Training Day currently airs Thursdays on CBS.

2016 was absolutely brutal in regards to celebrity deaths. Tons of legends passed last year, including Gene Wilder, Carrie Fisher, and Alan Rickman. In fact, tonight's Academy Award ceremony will have a rather lengthy in memoriam tribute. But 2017 will also take beloved figures in the world of film. And it's unfortunately already happened, as acclaimed actor Bill Paxton has died at the young age of 61 years old.

This news comes to us from TMZ, who is reporting that Bill Paxton has passed away due to complication from surgery. Although details are scarce, it certainly seems like the loss was unexpected. So while his many fans will surely be affected by this morning's news, we should put his loved ones at the front of our mind. Paxton is survived by his wife of 30 years Louise Newbury and two children.

Bill Paxton has had a long and impressive career in Hollywood. While he might not be a household name, you are basically guaranteed to have caught the actor in one project or another. Casual audiences will likely recognize Paxton for his role as Brock Lovett in Titanic. While not a character who interacted with Jack and Rose during their time together on the ship, his quest to find the Heart of the Ocean helped to frame the film's overall narrative.

Additionally, Paxton has done a fair amount of iconic action films. He has the distinct honor of interacting with a Terminator, A Xenomorph, and a Predator through his roles in The Terminator, Aliens, and Predator 2 respectively. That's enough to impress to the most hardcore of nerds, which is yet another reason why his loss will likely be felt by many. And of course, he played a starring role opposite Helen Hunt in Twister. We also remember him well from various other films, including Weird Science, Frailty and more recently, Edge of Tomorrow.

But Bill Paxton has also had significant success on the small screen. He played the lead role in HBO's Big Love for all five seasons, earning him a well deserved three Golden Globe nominations. He also received an Emmy nomination for his work in The History Channel's Hatfields & McCoys in 2012.

Bill Paxton's sudden passing will likely also affect CBS's new series Training Day. The crime thriller, which serves as a follow up to the film of the same name, just premiered this month. Paxton has one of the lead roles in the new series, playing Detective Frank Roarke opposite newcomer Justin Cornwell. The new series currently has six episodes in the can, so it's unclear how exactly the show would move forward without Paxton. Will Training Day end after these episodes? Will CBS even bother airing the rest of the upcoming episodes in the wake of Paxton's death? Be sure to check back with us here at CinemaBlend for updates as the story unfolds.

With the Academy Awards airing tonight, it's unclear if they'll be able to fit Bill Paxton into the in memoriam. We may just have to wait another year before he is memorialized for the film community.

Bill Paxton was a truly impressive actor who has an outstanding amount of projects in his resume. He brought a consistent level of professionalism and realism to his roles, and his loss will surely affect the millions of people who have seen his work. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.

Reboots and remakes are all the rage, and the news that CBS would be bringing a new version of Training Day to the small screen wasn't a huge surprise. The TV series is days away from premiering, and viewers will soon discover that Training Day is no typical remake. In fact, the show is a sequel to the 2001 movie, and Training Day is an explosive drama that easily stands on its own.

The pilot - fittingly titled "Apocalypse Now" - picks up 15 years after the events of the movie, and the LAPD is still reeling from the aftermath of Alonzo's actions, with some of the veteran cops having become seriously jaded by the crime wave. Detective Frank Rourke (Bill Paxton) leads the Special Investigation Section, and his methods have led the higher-ups at the LAPD to believe that he's become a criminal himself in his attempts to catch bad guys. Young detective Kyle Craig (Justin Cornwell) is sent in by the LAPD to partner with (and spy on) Frank.

Kyle joins Frank, Rebecca Lee (Katrina Law), and Tommy Campbell (Drew Van Acker) at the S.I.S. and soon discovers that he'll have to cross a lot of lines and fire a lot of shots if he wants to keep his cover intact. An unexpected connection between Frank and Kyle's pasts complicates the operation, meaning Kyle must choose between meticulously following orders and bending rules himself to solve a very personal mystery. He just needs to survive all the shootouts, explosions, and fights in the meantime.

Training Day was developed for the small screen by Training Day movie director Antoine Fuqua and Jerry Bruckheimer, so it shouldn't come as a shock to viewers that the action sequences feel cinematic in scale. Luckily, nothing feels like a remake of the film, and in fact, if Training Day didn't have the same title and Fuqua attached, the show wouldn't necessarily feel like it was a sequel to anything.

The early exposition touches on events from the movie, but viewers won't need to go into the very first episode with a working knowledge of everything that happened, and nobody really needs to watch the movie to understand what's going on. The premise is an effective sequel to the plot of the movie without turning the characters into Denzel Washington 2.0 and Ethan Hawke 2.0. The Training Day series is no typical remake or retread; it stands on its own, and that may be enough to win an audience.

Bill Paxton and Justin Cornwell's performances firmly anchor all the awesomely crazy action and spontaneous shootouts. Paxton turns what could have been a cartoonish villain into a nuanced character who clearly knows that he's crossing lines and can't quite trust Kyle, but still doesn't let that stop his unconventional ways of fighting crime. Although Cornwell is more subdued as Kyle, his performance creates a character that is somehow both remarkable and relatable. Together, Paxton and Cornwell create a somewhat uncomfortable camaraderie that is compelling to watch.

Training Day isn't quite as in-depth with characters that aren't Frank or Kyle early on. Luckily, it won't take too long for the show to develop Rebecca and Tommy into more multidimensional characters. If you like the show for the action and premise but aren't quite sold on the characters, I'd recommend watching at least a few episodes to see the four members of the S.I.S. settle into their roles as a group. Katrina Law and Drew Van Acker have more to do as weeks go by, and it's worth sticking around to see.

The biggest problem for Training Day moving forward may be with the required suspension of disbelief. The shootouts and car chases and cinematic action sequences are great, but I have to argue that some of Frank's most significant departures from law and order are just hard to believe. Anybody who has ever watched a cop and/or legal drama may have a difficult time accepting that Frank and Co. are ever even a little bit successful with their methods of arresting criminals and gathering evidence. There's no way that most of what they do should stand up even in a fictional and corrupt court; Training Day may need to find a way to balance Frank's method of fighting crime with actually putting bad guys away in non-lethal manners.

This isn't a perfect show, and the characters will all need to develop further if we're supposed to invest in their journeys. That said, Training Day is a high octane thriller that jams so much emotional and action-packed intensity into an hour of television that you may need recovery time to come down after each episode. There's definitely room for improvement, but the coming weeks should be a fun ride.

Training Day premieres on Thursday, February 2 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. Check out our midseason TV premiere schedule to see what else you can watch in the coming weeks.

For his first major role in a TV series, actor Bill Paxton played a man trying to maintain his marriage to three different wives in the HBO drama Big Love. For his second, he’s playing a corrupt but still highly qualified LAPD detective in CBS’ upcoming small screen reimagining of Antoine Fuqua’s hit 2001 feature Training Day. And he is definitely the best part about the new show’s first trailer, as seen below.

I’m a big fan of Training Day as a feature, and the story told therein of a morally fluctuating cop and his nerve-rattled trainee is malleable enough that I wasn’t as bothered by this adaptation’s announcement as I am by many ill-conceived reboots. (And if we’re being honest, this trailer would work just as well if it wasn’t tied to the film’s license and was just called Cop School or Off the Cuffs or something.) Thankfully, the trailer makes this serialized Training Day look like it could be not only CBS’ best new drama of the fall, but one of the most engaging originals in its lineup.

Bill Paxton is Detective Frank Rourke, whose morals are presumably equal to the articles of clothing that he’s bought in the past decade. As the head of the Special Investigation Section, he started putting away dangerous criminals when today’s newest thieves weren’t even born yet, and he’s obviously picked up some bad habits along the way that aren’t limited to blowing shit up and driving around with people in the trunk.

His behavior hasn’t gone unseen, however, and the untainted Kyle Craig (Justin Cornwell) is brought in to serve as the upper LAPD brass’ eyes and ears on Rourke by becoming the elder detective’s trainee. It’s obviously a high-stress and mentally challenging gig, especially since Craig isn’t exactly being honest with the superior officer currently showing him the oh-so-taut ropes. With Craig looking to gain revenge for a tragedy in his past, he forms an always teetering kinship with Rourke that will take their lives in completely different directions. And if it also involves Craig getting high on PCP and freaking out for part of an episode, that’d be a good scene from the movie to recreate.

Training Day is being written by Gangster Squad screenwriter Will Beall, with director Danny Cannon behind the camera for at least the pilot episode. The drama also stars Katrina Law and Drew Van Acker as Rourke’s underlings Rebecca Lee and Tommy Campbell, respectively. She’s a hardnosed officer with a mysterious past and he’s a former surfer whose loyalty to Rourke doesn’t sway. As well, Julie Benz will play a Hollywood madam and Rourke’s girlfriend, while Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays an LAPD Deputy Chief that puts Craig in danger. It’s possible that Ethan Hawke may show up somehow in the future, but that’s still up in the air.

While it was great to watch Bill Paxton take on limited roles in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Texas Rising, nothing sounds better right now than watching full seasons of him as a slimy and cocksure cop who’s always got both the upper hand and the underhand on those around him. Training Day won’t be on CBS’ fall schedule, but we can expect it to make its bullet-ridden debut during the midseason. In the meantime, our summer TV schedule has everything premiering and returning in the coming months.

As seen in the previously released trailers for Terminator: Genisys, there is a sequence early in the movie that is essentially a recreation of one of the most iconic moments in the franchise: the arrival of the first T-800 in James Cameron’s original The Terminator. As accurate as the movie works to be, however, there is one notable difference between the original and the "remake": the presence of Bill Paxton as the credited "Punk Leader." You might think that this is a missed opportunity for a special, digitally de-aged cameo, but apparently that was never really on the table because of what director Alan Taylor says would have been a "slippery slope."

I had the opportunity to interview the Terminator Genisys helmer this past weekend during the blockbuster’s Los Angeles press day, and while we ultimately discussed many different elements and aspects of the movie during our chat, one subject I brought up was Bill Paxton’s absence in the movie. I asked if there had been any conversations behind the scenes about setting up a cameo, and after noting that he had worked with the actor on an episode of the HBO series Big Love, Taylor explained why it was decided not to have him appear in the film. Said the director,

Instead of Bill Paxton, John Edward Lee is the actor who plays "Punk #1" in Terminator: Genisys, but the person playing the role isn’t the only thing that’s been changed about the character: he also has a very different look. Instead of having blue, spiked hair, Lee’s hair is black, and he doesn’t have the famous tire-tread face tattoo either. To explain this Alan Taylor noted that it was partially a personal decision influenced by his sister, indie rock artist Anna Domino:

Of course, thanks to the nature of the Terminator franchise, just about any kind of continuity change within the universe can be chalked up to the story taking place in an alternate timeline from the other stories. But do you understand Alan Taylor’s approach towards the Bill Paxton cameo in Terminator: Genisys? Or would you still have liked to see him get involved? Hit the comments with your thoughts.

See Bill Paxton's scene in the original Terminator movie on the next page...

Bill Paxton is one of the greatest character actors of his generation. Not only does he have a distinctive drawl and a unique face, but he’s also able to meander into a variety of eclectic roles with minimal fuss and bring them to life like a consummate pro. Along the way he had a helping hand from his pops, who he drew inspiration from for two of his sleaziest roles, in True Lies and Weird Science. But as bad as that sounds, he did so in a loving way. 

Bill Paxton made this admission while talking to Entertainment Weekly about fifteen of the most important roles of his career. Paxton, who is currently hard at work promoting his work on History Channel’s Texas Rising, explained that for his break-through performance as Chet in 1985’s Weird Science he drew a lot of inspiration from his father, John Lane Paxton. In Weird Science, Chet Donnelly is the older brother to Ilan Michael Smith’s Wyatt Donnelly, and he is a rather awful human being. 

Paxton admitted that one of the film’s most legendary lines, which takes place when Wyatt is hungover and sees Chet ask his sibling if he’d like a "nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray," was taken verbatim from his own experiences with his pops. He explained:

Bill Paxton decided to return to the same well for inspiration after he was cast in James Cameron’s 1994 action flick True Lies. Cameron, who Paxton first met while working in the art department for 1981’s Galaxy Of Terror ,on which Cameron was second-unit director, asked the actor to play a rather deplorable sleaze in the shape of a car salesman. 

While helping to mold and evolve his character into a more complete, yet still utterly loathsome persona, he incorporated more lines from his childhood. Paxton admitted:

Following his efforts in Texas Rising, Paxton will next be seen in Pixies and Term Life, which isn't nearly enough, because the world of cinema is a much darker place without the outstanding actor constantly popping up.

By this point, we’ve all seen Titanic. Some of you might regret watching James Cameron’s nautical epic. Others might regard Titanic as a perfect romantic-disaster flick that is only despised because of its success. Either way, the fact that the cast and crew of Titanic’s food was laced with PCP during filming will probably make even the most fervent of naysayers contemplate re-watching the film.

Some of you may already be aware of this tale. Back in 1996, over a year before Titanic landed in cinemas and instantly became a pop culture phenomenon, E! Online reported that the film crew’s lobster chowder was spiked with the drug. However, at the time, it was assumed that neither James Cameron nor any of Titanic’s major stars, which included Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio and the one and only Billy Zane, were victims. However Bill Paxton has now come out with some comments that suggest even they were drugged too.

So what actually happened to the Titanic crew’s food? Who was responsible? Well, there’s only one man that I think we can all assume wasn’t in on it. And that’s the legend that is Billy Zane. Why do you have such faith that Billy Zane wasn’t involved? I’ll let Hansel from Zoolander explain:

According to Sabotage Times, two chefs that had recently been fired by James Cameron were quickly blamed for the incident. However there’s no report that either of them were found guilty or actually confessed to the offence. Whoever did it decided to strike at the post-shoot party, where they placed PCP inside the main course, which was lobster chowder. Bill Paxton explained that the cast and crew reacted in different ways to the PCP. Some cried. Some saw streaks and psychedelics. Paxton just felt "weird" and assumed it was "food poisoning." Either way, 24 hours later everyone affected had been released from hospital, and the legendary tale helped to enhance the myth that Titanic’s shoot had been a tumultuous rollercoaster of bloated budgets and toilet bans.

That’s right, James Cameron allegedly used to inform his crew that anyone who needed to use the toilet should "just keep walking." The director has since insisted he only made this declaration once, and it was during a rather integral shot that had taken two hours to set up. Meanwhile his 15-day shifts and 80-hour work weeks soon started to grate on the actors too. But all of this was clearly worthwhile. That’s because Titanic went on to make $2.1 billion at the box office, and it’s still, over 15 years later, the second highest grossing film of all time. Thus, Cameron wins.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has brought on some pretty cool guest stars in its 11 episodes thus far, with actors like Samuel L. Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Peter MacNicol, J. August Richards and Maximiliano Hernández, but this latest announcement really takes the cake. TV Guide is reporting that the always awesome Bill Paxton is set to appear in at least four upcoming episodes of S.H.I.E.L.D. and is set to play Agent John Garrett.

Unlike many of the other characters on the show, Garrett is actually a character that comes from Marvel comics. He is a cybernetically enhanced S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and according to executive producer Jed Whedon, in the show he will be a "rough-and-tumble former cohort of Agent Coulson [Clark Gregg] with a little bit of attitude and cigar-smoking swagger" (Marvel adds that he will also be Agent Ward's (Brett Dalton) former mentor). The details of his introduction plot-wise are being kept a secret for now, but apparently he will be teaming up mostly with Ward and Agent May (Ming-Na Wen) during his episodes. Said Whedon,

Garrett made his first appearance in the comic Elektra: Assassin #2 when the titular heroine put his mind in the body of the president in order to save the world. He is also now one of the characters working alongside Nick Fury in Secret Warriors comics.

For those of you super excited about this idea, I have some bad news. Paxton won't be showing up this week or next, but rather won't make his debut until March 4th. We will, however, have a new episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on tomorrow night, titled Seeds. You can watch the trailer for the show below:

Nice to see Lola taking flight again! The episode looks like it will be continuing two of the first season arcs - What Happened To Coulson? and Who Are Skye's Parents? - but I'm curious if they will touch on what's happening to Mike Peterson. At the end of the last episode we saw him badly burned, missing limbs, and implanted with the same life-threatening device in his eyeball that appeared in earlier episodes, and I'm super curious about his fate.

Paxton has spent the last few years going back and forth between film and television, going to the small screen for the HBO series Big Love and the award-winning miniseries Hatfields & McCoys. He has three movies coming out in 2014, including the Craig Gillespie-directed baseball drama Million Dollar Arm and Doug Liman's sci-fi thriller Edge of Tomorrow. You can watch trailers for both below:

Big Love has always been a show that is a little larger than life. For its first three seasons, and even into its fourth, Big Love's over-the-top sensibility endeared itself to viewers and kept us hungering for more. Maybe it’s the nature of the beast forcing Season 5 into old clichés and plot points that just don’t work perfectly in the scheme of things. Certain plot points in Season 5 may leave fans who have watched for multiple seasons scratching their heads. I expect it to be far worse for those who experienced Big Love for the first time in its fifth season. Did Big Love lose its oomph or did it just lose an element of appeal?

Season 5 opens as the Henrickson family has begun to deal with the backlash being open about their polygamy has unleashed. New to his office, politician Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) finds himself with few friends as he tries to network. His three wives, Barb, Nicky, and Margene (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin), all deal with unique personal crises as they try to keep the family functioning smoothly. Back on the compound, Bill’s mother (Grace Zabriskie) begins to show signs of dementia and moves back in with Bill’s father, Frank (Bruce Dern). Alby continues to wreak havoc and Nicky moves forward with adopting her daughter Cara (Cassi Thompson). Everything changes and nothing changes at all.

Season 5 does manage to tie up the stories it needs to in an ensemble cast. Although Aaron Paul and Amanda Seyfried’s characters bow out until the last episode, without them the acting is still all there and some moments are as riveting as they have been in the past. Even with its incessant drama, Big Love is such a warm show that we’ve come to know each of the characters like they are old friends. We want to know how life turns out for the Big Love clan.

Unfortunately, we don’t need a full season to do this. Season 5 is all about wrapping and rewrapping up storylines. It’s not that Margene is boring or Barb gets to be too much. It’s just that it felt like the show really hit its climax when the Henrickson family stood up for their polygamist lifestyle at the end of Season 4. Sans the Alby and Cara Lynn plotlines, the 10 episodes making up Season 5 play out like the continuation of a wrap-up instead of a season that stands on its own.

In its last few episodes, events begin to heat up. The last moments spent with Bill attempt to make up for the lack of interesting plot points early on. The finale itself is impressive and does finally manage to wrap up the series in the most efficient way given each character’s story arc. It’s too bad it takes the first eight episodes to make it to the ninth and tenth. While it is difficult to blame a great show for eking it out for an extra season, it would have been great if it hadn’t felt so drawn out.

As far as the disc itself goes, the biggest problem with HBO sets is how long they wait to release copies. The assumed logic is sound: if HBO only allow shows to be watched On Demand for a while, it might accrue more subscribers. Sound logic doesn’t mean it's any less annoying for those people trying to complete their DVD collections. Once a set is out, there are no complaints. Big Love discs have always been put together nicely, and Season 5 is no exception. It should be noted there is no Blu-Ray of Season 5; all seasons of Big Love have only been available on DVD.

The Season 5 discs themselves include an “inside the episode” segment for each episode. The big extra, however, is a retrospective featurette called “End of Days.” Although the set doesn’t come with a ton of bonus features, the “End of Days” segment is lengthy enough to cover each of the characters and most of the important plot points.

Overall, counting the nice discs and the plot of the final episode, I will say this: Big Love goes out with a bang. It’s too bad it comes at the price of too little, too late.

Length: 600 min.

Distributor: HBO Home Video

Release Date: 12/6/11

Starring: Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin

Directed by: Dan Attias, Adam Davidson, Howard Deutch, David Knoller, Omar Madha, David Petrarca

Produced by: Bernadette Caulfield, Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, David Knoller, Mark V. Olsen, Will Scheffer

Written by: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Aaron Allen, Patricia Breen, Julia Cho, Seth Greenland, Melanie Marnich, Jami O'Brien, Mark V. Olsen, Will Scheffer

Bill may be losing a daughter, but his show is gaining another season. After the fourth season premiere opened 49% higher than the third season, with the current average running 13% higher, HBO has renewed Big Love for a fifth season, as reported by Reuters.

As previously announced, Amanda Seyfried will be leaving the show, but producers are looking to keep a couple of new additions on board: Zeljko Ivanek as Nicki's first husband J.J. and Sissy Spacek. The latter's continuation might indicate good prospects for Bill's political aspirations. She recently appeared as a DC lobbyist. Perhaps Senator Henrickson will indeed be taking center stage.

The plan actually is to slow things down a bit in the fifth season. Things haven't exactly been mellow for the big family the past several years. Series creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer want to take some time to focus on how the three marriages are going; really get into Bill's relationships with his wives. With characters as diverse and richly developed as Big Love offers, I have no fears the drama will be just as compelling without a lot of outside drama coming in.

Twister doesn’t get enough credit. Or maybe I overrate it since I grew up in a place where spring meant jumping in the bathtub with a mattress over your head while the sirens went off. Still, silly though Bill Paxton’s weather hunting movie is, it’s a lot of fun. Come on, admit it, you still shout “cow!” whenever the wind picks up. Twister made a sweet $241 million domestically back in 1996, but somehow that second installment just never took off. Now, fifteen years later, Hollywood is interested in Twister again.

Bill Paxton tells Premium Hollywood that Twister 2 is being discussed, and throws out the notion of doing it in 3D. And that’s where you should get excited.

3D is Hollywood’s favorite new gimmick and nearly every movie with a budget over $80 million will probably be released in 3D from now on (or at least until we get tired of it), whether the story warrants it or not. But Twister in 3D? Now that’s an idea which needs to happen. It’s the kind of movie where 3D might actually add something to what’s going on, beyond the juvenile fascination with pop-up blue nipples. Imagine 3D used to make it feel like you’re actually inside the tornado, instead of sitting there in a seat watching it as if through a far off window. This is a sequel which needs to happen. We need to see livestock flying past our heads. The technology demands it.