Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey may trade laboratories and nuclear dread for monsters, gods and storm-tossed ships, but Jon Stewart sees a surprising connection between the filmmaker’s latest epic and his Oscar-winning book-to-screen adaptation Oppenheimer. And the link goes beyond both of their titles beginning with an “O.” After hearing the late show host's explanation, I am having trouble looking at Odysseus’ voyage as a simple adventure home, because Stewart makes some great points.

Jon Stewart Breaks Down His Theory About The Odyssey And Oppenheimer

During Nolan’s appearance on The Daily Show, Stewart admitted that his comparison might sound “far afield” before arguing that The Odyssey feels like a thematic sequel to Oppenheimer. Rather than connecting the movies through genre or plot, he focused on two men carrying the psychological weight of events that changed the world around them. Nolan’s response made it clear that Stewart had not wandered off course.

Stewart said the part of Oppenheimer that stayed with him was the burden J. Robert Oppenheimer must have felt after seeing what his work had created. He then connected that guilt to Odysseus returning from the Trojan War:

Nolan joked about avoiding “3,000-year-old spoilers,” but he otherwise agreed with Stewart’s reading. The director said Stewart watched his 2026 calendar release the way he intended and explained that his adaptation treats the Trojan War and Odysseus’ role in it with real “weight” and “gravity.”

Additionally, Nolan confirmed that the Cillian Murphy-led historical drama remained on his mind while making The Odyssey. The celebrated director said he tries to leave each project with questions he can continue exploring, adding that he “definitely brought Oppenheimer into this movie.”

That may be the clearest explanation yet of why Nolan followed a historical drama about the atomic bomb with his interpretation of Homer’s mythic poem. On the surface, the projects appear to be at opposite ends of Nolan's illustrious filmography. Beneath the spectacle, both appear interested in what happens after a man participates in something too large and destructive to fully understand.

Why I Think Stewart Is Onto Something

The comparison works because Odysseus is often remembered for the exciting stops along his journey. There is the Cyclops, the Sirens, Circe and a sea full of angry gods. Those episodes can easily turn the story into a greatest-hits tour of Greek mythology.

Stewart’s reading puts the wounded man back at the center. Odysseus is not merely delayed on his way home but is a soldier returning from a decade-long war, carrying memories of violence, lost friends and decisions that destroyed a city. Even the famous Trojan Horse (which got the popcorn bucket treatment) becomes less of a clever trick and more of a weapon whose consequences follow its creator.

That sounds very Christopher Nolan. Oppenheimer spends much of its runtime examining what happens after intellectual achievement becomes mass destruction. The Odyssey can ask a similar question through myth: What happens to the warrior after the war ends, and he's left with regret, while the songs call him a hero?

I also like that this connection made by Jon Stewart gives Nolan’s film a reason to exist beyond its scale. Real ships, giant sets and an entire film shot with IMAX photography are exciting, but emotional fallout could keep the movie from becoming an expensive mythology slideshow.

The Odyssey opens in theaters July 17.

Next week, Christopher Nolan’s hotly anticipated The Odyssey is finally coming to the 2026 movie schedule. It is, of course, the director’s first film since 2023’s Oppenheimer, which not only blew up at the box office but also took home a slew of Oscars. That included Best Picture and Best Director for Nolan. It wasn’t a clean sweep, however, and Nolan’s son was all too keen to point that out his dad while the director was writing the script for The Odyssey.

Nolan Didn’t Win One Oscar He Was Nominated For

While Oppenheimer was nominated for an incredible 13 Academy Awards, it “only” won seven. Of the seven, Nolan won two. He was nominated for a third. As he was writing The Odyssey, which has so far been met with positive reactions ahead of its release, his son visited him in his office one day, as he related to the BBC:

Nolan had a very reasonable response to why he didn't want to have the Oscar statues in front of him, saying:

As any kid might be, he wasn’t impressed by Dad’s answer. Nolan admits:

Now, that is a roast! Sure, Oppenheimer was the most-awarded film of 2023, and Nolan took home his first two Oscars in his illustrious career. And sure, it makes sense that Nolan wouldn’t want to be constantly reminded of the pressure to create a fantastic follow-up to that. But neither Oscar was for writing (Cord Jefferson took home the award for Best Adapted Screenplay for American Fiction), as his son so eloquently pointed out, so why hide them? Only a family member could get away with such a burn, and Nolan clearly appreciated the barb.

The Pressure Must Feel Very Real

Christopher Nolan's films have been some of the best movies in Hollywood for decades now, and with each movie, his ambition and scope have grown. At the time, Oppenheimer seemed like the pinnacle of that ambition, but now comes The Odyssey. Adapting the epic has been an epic undertaking, by all accounts. It is the first movie shot entirely on IMAX cameras, for example. Not to mention the poem being one of the most beloved works in history, and a foundation of Western culture.

It’s easy to see just how daunting it would be and why someone would want to forget about past successes for the moment as he struck out on this epic journey, much like Odysseus does in the story. Also like Odysseus, Nolan has his family to keep him in check and grounded.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a behemoth franchise that's constantly expanding thanks to new releases in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Arguably the most anticipated upcoming Marvel movie is The Russo Brothers' Avengers: Doomsday, which will feature Robert Downey Jr.'s return to the MCU as the villainous Doctor Doom. And when explaining why he's back, he surprisingly dropped Christopher Nolan's name.

What we know about Avengers: Doomsday is limited, but RDJ's involvement is enough to have fans excited. He's returning to the shared universe after taking home an Oscar for Oppenheimer, and during an appearance on Conversations for our Daughters, he addressed this career choice. He also referenced Charlie Chaplin, offering:

That reference is on brand, given how Downey played the title character of Chaplin. And it sounds like he wanted to join the cast of Avengers: Doomsday partly because of the way his career has morphed over the years. Now he's got an Oscar, and he's rejoining the MCU as it's also been greatly changed. Speaking as a fan, I can't wait to see him go from hero to villain in the next Avengers flick.

Later in that same conversation, he went on to drop Christopher Nolan's name, referencing his Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer. It sounds like the process of working with the Inception filmmaker helped to inspire his decision to return to Marvel. In the actor's words:

While Robert Downey Jr.'s Marvel career originally ended with Tony Stark's death in Avengers: Doomsday, it sounds like the wild success of Oppenheimer convinced him to dip his toes back into the shared universe. And after Jonathan Majors was fired as Kang, that's exactly what the franchise needed.

What exactly he brings to his new villain character will be revealed when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. With the multiverse in play, it seems like just about anything could happen, and fans can't wait to see him back in the MCU.

In the years since Iron Man died in Avengers: Endgame, Robert Downey Jr. has reached a new height of success. That’s because, a few years after he left the MCU as Iron Man, he took a role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which earned him an Oscar. Now, as RDJ prepares to play Doctor Doom, Kevin Feige has opened up about why they decided to bring him back for the upcoming Marvel movie, Avengers: Doomsday. And yes, it does relate to the Academy Award-winning movie the actor made after he said goodbye to Tony Stark.

Ever since it was revealed that Downey was going to play Victor Von Doom in the MCU, I’ve been wondering why they cast him. While I love the choice, RDJ is synonymous with Tony Stark, so why have him play a new character? Well, now that we’re getting closer to Doomsday’s release on the 2026 movie schedule, Marvel boss Kevin Feige is providing some more details to this answer. Telling EW about when they started forming this idea, he recalled how Downey's performance in the 2023 film Oppenheimer inspired them:

Listen, anything is possible in the multiverse, so why not, right? I totally see what they’re saying, too. Robert Downey Jr. is one of the all-time greats, and that’s in part thanks to his work in both the MCU as Iron Man and Oppenheimer. So, yeah, it tracks that if you want to get an all-time great to play your villain, you should maybe give this guy a call.

I also think it’s worth noting that for a very long time, we got to watch Downey play a hero on the big screen. People loved his take on Tony Stark, and Iron Man was a fundamental part of the Avengers and the MCU in general. Then, we got to see a whole other side of his range in Oppenheimer.

In Christopher Nolan’s biopic about the father of the atomic bomb, Downey played Lewis Strauss. He was the primary antagonist of the film, and RDJ turned in a nuanced performance that was not carried by the charisma and wit that helped make him so beloved as Tony Stark. It was far more dramatic than we’re used to when it comes to him, and ultimately, he served as a brilliant foil to Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer. Both men took home Oscars for their performances, and the film won many other awards at the 2024 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

In short, Nolan’s movie gave audiences a chance to see Robert Downey Jr. do something totally new and different as an actor.

It also proved that he is one of the best, and I hope that’s what Avengers: Doomsday will do too. Downey is clearly excited about it, with his Doctor Doom-inspired outfits and his coining of the term “Dunesday” to celebrate the fact that his Marvel movie comes out on the same day as Dune: Part Three. Kevin Feige is clearly thrilled about it, too, especially since they got the Oppenheimer actor to come back to the MCU for it.

So, now, to see Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, you can catch Avengers: Doomsday in theaters on December 18. In the meantime, you can go back and watch the performances that made him one of the best of the best by streaming the Marvel movies in order with a Disney+ subscription and buying or renting Oppenheimer.

Back in early 2023, movie audiences were still unaware that pop culture’s near future would be taken over entirely by one of the most amusing and clever entertainment portmanteaus ever: Barbenheimer. It sparked an entire movement, and legitimately inspired people to rush out and watch Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer back to back, helping the former bring in over $1.4 billion at the box office, while the latter brought in around $950 million. It’s still quite the feat, even years later.

Robbie appeared on The Graham Norton Show to talk up her newest big-screen release, the sultry adaptation Wuthering Heights, which has done some box-office crushing of its own in its first weekend. Of course, she also reflected on the aforementioned success of Warner Bros.’ two blockbusters, and addressed a question that fans will still ask her about it, which sounds quite maddening to deal with. As she put it:

By all means, I realize not everyone out there grasps the ins and outs of how Hollywood works, and that there are lots of misunderstandings at play. (I have personally been blamed by readers in the past, via email, for TV shows being canceled, despite such decisions being above and completely unrelated to my paygrade.) But it’s still more than a little wild to me that there are those who believe the filmmakers somehow schemed this up alongside studio execs, since this would be the goal for literally all movies if there was any corporate inkling it would result in profits.

For the most part, studio heads are careful NOT to release two different high-profile features on the same day, since that comes with the risk of having audiences only spending money on one film or the other. Also, even if both of the movies were produced by Warner Bros., it's not like it's perfectly natural for any two competing movies to purposefully latch together for promotional purposes, so even from a creative standpoint, the idea to smoosh the two together isn't so organic. To Robbie's point:

In fact, Robbie followed that up by referencing a previously discussed anecdote about one of Oppenheimer’s producers gauging whether or not the Barbie team would be willing to adjust the toy-centered comedy’ release date. As she put it:

To be sure, Robbie clarified that this was more of a friendly conversation, and that Chuck Roven wasn't attempting to force the issue. But she also made it clear that the request was still serious enough to be a legit indication of how bullish (or not) Oppenheimer's team felt about competing with Barbie. (The shocked look on Amanda Seyfried's face as this story was told is priceless.) Had Robbie and Gerwig been willing to adjust things, there's little doubt that all involved would have supported the move.

That didn't happen though, obviously, and the dual release spawned both 2023's highest-earning movie of 2023 (Barbie), and third-biggest movie (Oppenheimer). While I can understand the need to learn that human brains intentionally set up such success, sometimes all it takes is some dumb luck and a social media frenzy.

If anyone needed proof of the longevity of Barbenheimer's success, look no further than Oppenheimer co-star Robert Downey Jr. suggesting "Dunesday," a combo-name for Dune 3 and Avengers: Doomsday, being used ahead of those upcoming 2026 releases dropping in December. Time will tell whether anybody uses that one or not.

Back in 2023, there was a time when it felt as if all was right with the world, and that, my friends, was Barbenheimer. While the 2025 movie schedule has been filled to the brim with great releases, I really don’t think we’re going to get another time like this, and that worries me.

It’s been two years. I know, it’s hard to believe it, but it has, and it honestly feels like a lifetime at this point. We have had some major releases come out since then, such as the latest Superman, which turned me into a fan. Or we could point to Wicked, which took over the world for a month or two.

However, nothing has hit quite as hard as when these two films – Barbie and Oppenheimer – were released simultaneously. And honestly, I don’t think we’re going to get another instance like this, at least for a long time.

Barbenheimer Was Perfectly Timed During The Summer

I think a big reason why Barbenheimer was such a success was that both of these releases were planned at the perfect time – right in the middle of summer. I always feel that the most successful blockbusters tend to happen at this point, and it’s clear both of these, by their box office amounts, did incredibly well.

Barbie earned well over $1 billion, and Oppenheimer came really close to the mark, as did a rated-R movie. However, because many people had a day off or two during this time, seeing the double feature was that much easier.

The Amount Of Marketing For Both Was Done Amazingly Well And Spawned An Era Unlike Any Other

Another significant factor contributing to this success is that the marketing teams were on point. We all already knew Christopher Nolan’s best films. We were all already aware of the pull Barbie had as a toy. However, the fact that these two were eventually marketed together as a double feature paved the way for its success.

They had their marketing – it was practically pink mania for months with Barbie. However, I think it worked best when people combined the films into one prominent double feature, allowing fans to dress up for each and go out with their friends, making it a whole event rather than just an outing or a date. That’s the key in marketing here.

The Fanbases Somehow Collided In A Way Unlike Ever Before, And I Don't Think We'll Get That Again

The beauty of this is that Barbenheimer is special. Something like this has happened before, where two totally conflicting genres released major films on the same day – The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia!, a movie I rewatch all the time – but that was never as grand an event. The same thing happened with the release of Wicked and Gladiator, and how marketing teams tried to make it the new Barbenheimer, but it just didn’t work – even if both films did very well. I think Barbenheimer is a one-and-done, and that does sadden me.

There was something so…magical about this time, as cheesy as that sounds. The idea of two completely different fan bases coming together to celebrate films, in two totally different styles, is something that I will always love and never forget.

The hype that led up to this made it even more enjoyable, and attending the double feature with my friends and a crowd of people who just loved movies was unlike any other. Maybe one day we’ll get another Barbenheimer. But you know what? I’m happy with it living in my memory, even if I feel that we’re never going to get another time like this one.

When it comes to news out of the world of Stephen King from this past week, there is no question as to what was the biggest headline. It has been announced that director Doug Liman has been tapped by Paramount Pictures to spearhead what would be the first film adaptation of The Stand – source material that has already inspired a pair of miniseries (the first in 1994 and the other just five years ago in 2020). The plan is to make just a single movie, not attempting a duology like Andy Muschietti’s IT and IT: Chapter Two, and the search is on for a writer to pen the script. But I think I can save everybody a lot of time, money, and effort: it is not possible to make a proper feature-length adaptation of The Stand, and Hollywood should stop trying.

My thoughts on this particular subject lead this week’s edition of The King Beat, but it’s not a solo headline thanks to Stephen King contributing to The New York Times’ reflection on cinema in the first 25 years of the 21^st century. The takes are hot, so without further ado, let’s dig in!

It’s Not Possible To Make A Single Feature Film Adaptation Of Stephen King’s The Stand, And I Don’t Know Why Hollywood Keeps Trying

In 1982, George A. Romero and Stephen King teamed up to make what would become the first anthology based on King’s work: Creepshow. As a screenwriter, King adapted a couple of his own short stories and created three quick original spooky treats, and as director, Romero aesthetically leaned into the love he shared with his collaborator for old school horror comics like Tales From The Crypt, The Vault Of Horror and The Haunt Of Fear. It was a passion project for the duo… but it was also a means to an end: their real hope, according to author Scott Von Doviak’s Stephen King Films FAQ, was to garner enough industry clout so that they could have proper financial resources and creative control to make a movie based on his pandemic epic The Stand.

If you know your King history, you know that things didn’t work out as planned. It’s not that Creepshow wasn’t a success (nearly quadrupling its budget at the box office), but the author was never able to crack a proper way to adapt the novel. Making trims and cuts didn’t work out as hoped, and decades before Andy Muschietti’s IT and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, he even attempted a duology approach. It wasn’t until King saw director Tommy Lee Wallace’s IT in 1990 that he recognized the potential in approaching the story as a network miniseries, and a medium change was initiated (with Mick Garris ultimately taking the helm instead of George A. Romero).

But did the blend of Stephen King’s failure to make a feature and his successful job making a miniseries dissuade Hollywood from killing the dream of a Stand movie? Hell no. Ben Affleck, Scott Cooper, and David Yates share a bond in that they are all filmmakers who were attached to an incarnation that never made it out of development, and Josh Boone even ended up navigating the same route as King: he first became attached to direct a film in February 2014, and the project pivoted to the small screen a little less than a year-and-a-half later (first it was going to be on cable, and then it ended up being one of the first CBS All Access originals in late 2020).

Even putting aside the fact that we are less than a decade removed from that miniseries, I can’t fathom any reason why anyone thinks at this point in cinema history why a movie based on Stephen King’s The Stand is necessary – and more importantly, I don’t think it’s actually possible.

The principal issue is that the Stephen King novel is defined by its spellbinding scope – and while there are many things that are magical about film as a storytelling medium, one of its great hindrances is its limited narrative real estate. It’s true that movies are now longer on average than they’ve ever been before, but it’s still rare for a wide release to eclipse 180 minutes. A proper feature version of The Stand would need all that time and much, much more.

We’re talking about a novel that not only depicts a plague that wipes out the vast majority of humanity, but features a dozen or so protagonists and antagonists– following the characters on treks across the United States in preparation for a showdown between the forces of Good and the forces of Evil. Without wholly changing the story (and if they do that, what’s the point of calling it an adaptation?), the only option that filmmakers have at their disposal in trimming the material is cutting and combining characters… but those creative decisions are far from easy, as all of the main players have key roles to play, and their arcs are intertwined. If it’s not following the full journeys of Abagail Freemantle, Stu Redman, Frannie Goldsmith, Nick Andros, Tom Cullen, Nadine Cross, Glen Bateman, Larry Underwood, Harold Lauder, Lloyd Henreid, The Trashcan Man and, of course, Randall Flagg, it’s not The Stand.

The good news? I am firmly of the belief that this will end in a pleasant intersection of “shouldn’t happen” and “won’t happen.” I think most Stephen King fans would agree that we have not yet seen a perfect adaptation of the book, but if that perfect adaptation is made one day, it won’t be a solitary feature; it will be a limited series that takes the exact approach that Mike Flanagan is taking with The Dark Tower: just do the book. This new development with Doug Liman may eventually evolve into that, but in lieu of that transpiring, I await the day that headlines arrive saying that this feature effort is not happening.

Stephen King’s Picks For The 10 Best Movies Of The 21st Century And How To Watch Them

What are the best movies of the 21^st century so far? That’s an exceptionally tough question, both because 25 years is a long time and because there have been many phenomenal films released during that time. I would personally be hard pressed to provide my own list without viewing it as a fluid list… but the good news is that you’re not here to read my list! You’re here to check out Stephen King’s opinion.

The New York Times has published a sprawling feature taking a look back at the last quarter century of movies and highlighting the titles that are the best of the best, and part of the effort includes contributions from a variety of filmmakers, actors and creatives who created their own personal Top 10s. On the list of folks who participated is the great Stephen King. The lists are in alphabetical order instead of being ranked, but you can scope out his picks (and learn about where you can watch them) below.

Black Hawk Down

Directed by Ridley Scott, the film tells the true story of a Black Hawk helicopter being shot down behind enemy lines during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1992. It’s currently available to stream with a Netflix subscription.

Brokeback Mountain

Celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year, director Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain is based on the short story by Annie Proux and follows a pair of American cowboys (Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal) who carry on a secret affair. Those with an Amazon Prime Video subscription can watch it with a few clicks.

Children Of Men

Children Of Men, the acclaimed film from director Alfonso Cuaron, is set in a future where women have stopped having children and an activist (Clive Owen) finds himself working to protect the last pregnant woman on the planet. The movie isn’t currently streaming, but it is available for digital rental and purchase from all major online outlets.

Million Dollar Baby

Clint Eastwood’s Oscar drama won Hilary Swank her second Academy Award – the actress playing a female boxer who rises to prominence before a tragic accident preemptively ends her career. While not currently in any streaming libraries, it is widely available for digital rental and purchase.

No Country For Old Men

One of three winners of the Academy Awards’ Best Picture prize on this list, No Country For Old Men is Joel and Ethan Coen’s adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy book of the same name – centering on a hunter (Josh Brolin) who finds a satchel of drug money and finds himself hunted by a deadly assassin (Javier Bardem). You could be watching the movie right this instant if you have a Paramount+ subscription.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

One of two Coen brothers movies on Stephen King’s list (the only filmmakers represented twice), O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a delightful spin on Homer’s The Odyssey, following a trio of hapless fugitives (George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Turturro) as they go on an epic journey for fortune, freedom, and redemption. It’s not streaming, but it is currently available for rental and purchase online

Oppenheimer

In case you’ve forgotten in the time since the craze of Barbenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Oscar winner Cillian Murphy) and his effort to try and beat the Nazis in a race to create the world’s first atomic bomb. The epic is presently included for Peacock subscribers.

The Departed

The only Martin Scorsese movie to win Best Picture at the Oscars, The Departed is a gangster feature set in Boston that follows the journey of an undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) investigating the Irish mafia while a mole for the criminal organization (Matt Damon) infiltrates the Massachusetts State Police. It’s not streaming, but digital rental and purchase options are plentiful.

The Rule Of Jenny Pen

You didn’t really expect Stephen King’s list of the 10 best 21^st century films to not include any horror, did you? Now available with a Shudder subscription, James Ashcroft’s The Rule Of Jenny Pen stars Geoffrey Rush as a judge who is forced to live in a rest home following a stroke and finds himself tortured by a power-tripping fellow resident (John Lithgow).

Train To Busan

A second horror title to finish the list – and a selection from outside Hollywood. Yeon Sang-ho’s Train To Busan is a South Korean zombie movie that sees passengers on a high speed rail try to survive as the titular city is overrun by the undead. It’s presently available to stream on Netflix.

If you need a recommendation of something to watch this weekend, that’s not a bad list to work from!

That wraps up this edition of The King Beat, but there is never a dull week that goes by in the world of Stephen King, and I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend next Thursday with perspective on all of the big news, and developments. In the meantime, you can learn all about the long history of King adaptations with my series Adapting Stephen King, or make efforts to spiff up your personal King library with my guide on how to build the ultimate Stephen King collection.

We’re coming up on the two-year anniversary of when Barbie and Oppenheimer took the cinema world by storm with the phenomenon known as Barbenheimer. When it came to the latter movie, one of the ways Christopher Nolan’s epic biographical film about Manhattan Project director J. Robert Oppenheimer collected attention was with its massive cast. Similar cast size comments have been voiced about James Gunn’s Superman, but the filmmaker used Oppenheimer as part of his explanation for why fans shouldn’t be concerned about this.

In three weeks and change, Superman will move from the upcoming DC movies slate to the 2025 movies schedule, officially kicking off the theatrical side of the DC Universe franchise. During an interview with Esquire Philippines, Gunn was asked if he was “concerned about dropping audiences in the middle of a fully-formed world already filled with superheroes and supervillains.” He answered:

So even setting aside the fact that James Gunn has seen firsthand that audiences who’ve watched Superman early aren’t bothered by its large cast, he doesn’t see this as an issue strictly from a character perspective. Superheroes like Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific and Metamorpho certainly help tease the larger DCU world that’s not directly connected to DC Comics’ Man of Steel. However, they’re ultimately being used in service to this story that remains focused on David Corenswet’s version of Superman, just like his co-workers at The Daily Planet when he’s Clark Kent. Gunn continued:

Oppenheimer did indeed prove that, as leading actors like Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. were joined by many actors in minor roles, including Jack Quaid, Josh Peck, Matthew Modine and Gary Oldman. There were a lot of faces to keep track of, but that didn’t hinder Christopher Nolan’s first movie for Universal Pictures from earning critical acclaim and making over $975 million worldwide. If Oppenheimer can succeed with such a large cast, James Gunn believes that Superman doesn’t have anything to worry about anything with a smaller, yet still sizable lineup of players.

Superman flies into theaters on July 11, though you only need to break out your Max subscription and stream Creature Commandos if you want to take your first steps into the DCU. Those who are now in the mood to revisit Oppenheimer can do so with a Peacock subscription, and don’t forget that Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey comes out on July 17, 2026.

The viral Barbenheimer craze of 2023, without a doubt, took the world by storm. I, like many others, was up to date with The Odd Couple equivalent of movies, including partaking in the historic moviegoing event. And even though I recognized the cultural impact and influence of the Christopher Nolan & Greta Gerwig pairing, hearing that it changed Seth Rogen’s wave-making The Studio surprised me at first. But thinking about what I’ve already seen of the Apple subscription show, the surprise muse makes everything a lot clearer.

Rogen appeared on The Howard Stern Show to talk about the 2025 TV guide’s big-hitting show The Studio. A clip of the pair was shared on TikTok in which the actor and comedian was asked about the state of Hollywood and watching movies. The funny man quickly jumped in on the topic, noting that what’s so special about movie magic and the world of TV is that everything can change in a blink of an eye, with the right title.

The Superbad alum makes an astute point. As he says in the clip, people have always made the case that Hollywood is dead, but it simply isn’t true; it just takes that one game-changer to reignite some excitement. And if you’re anything like me, you’re thinking about that specific touchstone that jumpstarted the industry’s drive again. Stern also understood the sentiment and had the most recent example we’ve all experienced and chimed in with: “Like the Barbie movie.”

Immediately, the Houseplant owner shared his thoughts on the historic blockbuster movie and its unlikely 2023 partner. The Studio co-creator revealed that the pairing’s showcase influenced the new show in a whole new way. Along with the tidbit, he also revealed that the big summer weekend changed him and his longtime writing partner Evan Goldberg’s mindsets. Rogen shared:

Although not all that surprising, understanding how much it impacted the duo, it’s still a little wild to think that we’ll continue to find the influence of Barbie (and Oppenheimer) in surprising places. Also, I’m relieved to know the timing of the game-changing flicks’ premieres was kismetly timed while Rogen and Goldberg were fleshing out The Studio. Personally, I’m not sure if I could’ve taken that grimmer version of a look behind the scenes he mentioned. The Barbie-inspired Kool-Aid storyline featuring Bryan Cranston, along with the impressive cameo list, is truly what comedically larger-than-life content dreams are made of.

Clearly the power of Barbie x Oppenheimer remains alive and well (including an announced Barbenheimer movie that is reportedly in the works). The success of both movies helped revitalize the box office following the hits it took due to COVID-19. Collectively, the titles accrued more than $2 billion worldwide, but Barbie had the edge over Oppenheimer, making a little more than $500 million more while in theaters.

The other poignant idea Rogen revealed that goes hand in hand with the right film transforming Hollywood is that people within the industry can be the vehicle behind these seismic shifts. The most recent case in point is Gerwig's box-office-breaking influence for female filmmakers. Sure there's plenty of smaller scale instances that have happened since, but none rival what she did with Barbie BTS.

Regardless of where Tinseltown stands in its storied history of vitality, Seth Rogen isn't wrong about how the industry runs. And with the solid argument, a couple of things are for sure: Hollywood and the magic won’t ever die (thanks to the special films and humans who make it that way), where Seth Rogen pulls his inspiration from can be initially surprising and Barbie will continue to influence things in pop culture, including The Studio for a long time to come.

Movies and TV shows have been making drama out of historical events since the dawn of the business. Some of the best movies and TV shows of all time have focused on events that literally changed the world, like D-Day in Saving Private Ryan or the fall of the Roman Republic in Rome. This list is all about those projects and those important events. Take a read, you could even learn something like we did!

Braveheart

While Braveheart isn't the most historically accurate movie of all time, it does try to tell the true story of the Battle of Stirling Bridge. It was a huge turning point in the Scottish/English war. Ever since, many in Scotland have used it as a rallying point for independence.

Chernobyl

The 1986 nuclear meltdown of the power plant in Chernobyl, USSR (now Ukraine), was one of the most important and scariest events of the 1980s. There was already a fear of nuclear power, and the meltdown not only helped show just how technologically messed up the USSR was, but it was also used as a rallying cry by anti-nuke protestors in the West. The HBO miniseries from 2019 tells the amazing story in all its terrifying details and was pretty historically accurate.

Selma

It's hard to put into context just how important the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s in the US was historically, all over the world, not just in America. It's a movement that is impossible to tell the complete story of in one movie or TV show, but Selma does a great job in focusing on one of the most significant events of the movement.

The Passion of the Christ

Setting aside the politics of Mel Gibson's controversial The Passion of the Christ, there really isn't a more earth-shattering event than the crucifixion of Jesus. Even if you are a nonbeliever, there isn't a story ever told that has had such a profound effect on human history.

Oppenheimer

The winner of the 2024 Oscar for Best Picture (and a bunch more), Oppenheimer, tells the story of the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb and not only did it's terrifying effects help end World War II, but it cast a pall over the rest of the 20th Century as the USA and the USSR locked horns in the Cold War and an arms race that threatened to end the world.

Thirteen Days

During the Cold War, the closest it ever came to becoming a hot war was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was a harrowing time, and had cooler heads not prevailed, things on this planet might be very different. Thirteen Days tells the story from inside the White House during that history-changing event.

Zero Dark Thirty

The hunt for Osama Bin Laden after 9/11 affected every corner of the globe, and for almost a decade, it was front-page news. Zero Dark Thirty takes audiences behind the scenes in that hunt, leading to his death in 2011. It's a fantastic movie and one that tells the story in a pretty accurate way, though, like many of these movies, it shouldn't all be taken as fact.

Waterloo

The Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th Century reshaped politics all over the globe. Obviously, the most acute effects were felt in Europe, but without them, the US wouldn't have made the Louisiana Purchase, so the long-ranging effects were all over. It all ended with the Battle of Waterloo, where the English and other European powers finally ended Napoleon's campaign to rule the world. The movie Waterloo is one of the best war movies ever made and is a must-see for history buffs.

The Right Stuff

In the mid-20th Century, as a biproduct of the Cold War, the US and the USSR found themselves racing each other to space. The Soviets won the race, but it wasn't because the US didn't make a valiant effort. The story of the Mercury Seven, the first Americans in space, is told wonderfully in The Right Stuff, with an all-star cast and based on a book by Tom Wolfe.

The Big Short

The 2008 financial meltdown had ripple effects all over the world. The largest economies in the world were brought to their knees due to the wild speculation and lawlessness of the US housing and stock markets. It's a completed series of events that led to the meltdown, and The Big Short does an incredible job of uncomplicating it.

Saving Private Ryan

The main story of Saving Private Ryan, the rescue of one soldier among millions, isn't what changed the world, but let's be honest, what most people remember first about the movie, the storming of Normandy Beach on D-Day, did certainly change it. World War II was essentially won in those days, though it would take almost another year for the war to finally come to a close.

Schindler's List

Like other movies here, Schindler's List takes on one of the most complicated and enormous stories in the history of humankind. It is impossible to tell the whole story, but Steven Spielberg's masterpiece doesn't have to tell the whole story to find the emotion and horror of the holocaust in his story about Oskar Schindler. It's a movie many can't watch more than once, but it's a movie everyone should see.

World Trade Center

For anyone alive in the late '90s and early 2000s, there was before 9/11, and there was after. Everything changed on that day, everywhere. It started wars that lasted decades and forever changed the way countries, especially the United States, handled security. So much changed that day that it's hard to put it into words, and Oliver Stone's focus on the events of the day in World Trade Center reminds us all of the horrors and the aftermath.

Dunkirk

World War II had a profound effect on everything that has come since. From the Cold War to the decolonization of Africa and Asia, it upended the whole world order. It's important to remember that it might have ended much differently had the evacuation of the British Army at Dunkirk not been as successful as it was, and Christopher Nolan's brilliant and engaging Dunkirk does an incredible job telling the story.

Band Of Brothers

HBO's iconic miniseries Band Of Brothers is a little bit of a cheat on this list, as it tells the events of a few important moments in World War II, including D-Day, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of The Bulge, but it belongs on this list as it does one of the best jobs of any movie or TV show telling the whole story of the last year of World War II.

Darkest Hour

Like Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, Darkest Hour tells the same story, or at least the same time, as the British evacuation from France at the beginning of World War II. Darkest Hour sees Churchill, played wonderfully by Gary Oldman, rallying the British public (and the politicians) to stay in the fight when the evacuation could've ended everything.

The Insider

This one might not seem so obvious, but the story told in The Insider changed a lot. Anyone who grew up in the 20th Century can tell you just how prevalent smoking cigarettes was. It was allowed everywhere and hardly discouraged by anyone. Jeffrey Wigand, played by Russell Crowe in the movie, blew the whistle on the whole tobacco industry and forever changed the public's perception of the habit, and that has changed everyday life for everyone.

Bridge Of Spies

Though it is just one story of many from the Cold War, Bridge of Spies, which is essentially about a prisoner exchange between East and West, does have a few moments in it that profoundly affected life in the world. Especially the scene when Tom Hanks' character travels from West Berlin to East and audiences see the early days of the Berlin Wall, and, in effect, the Iron Curtain in its most physical form.

All The President's Men

The Watergate Scandal might seem like a moment that only affected United States politics, but the ripple effects go much further. All The President's Men tells the story of the two reporters who broke the story and their work forever changed how politics are covered by the media not just in the US, but everywhere. It's one of the best movies about politics, covering a moment that changed the world.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Elizabeth: The Golden Age, the follow-up to Elizabeth, both starring Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth, is, honestly, a mess, historically. It's not a very good movie, either. However, it is one of the rare movies that depicts the Battle of Gravelines, when the English Navy defeated the Spanish Armada and the balance of power in Europe, and worldwide, changed forever.

From The Earth To The Moon

The exploration of space in the mid and late 20th Century affects everyone on earth. Where would we be without satellites, jet propulsion, or any of the other things we take for granted that are a result of the space race? The HBO miniseries From The Earth To The Moon is a great starting place to learn more about it.

JFK

Oliver Stone's conspiratorial JFK might not be the most historically accurate telling of the assassination of John F. Kennedy - or maybe it is, depending on your point of view - but it is the most in-depth discussion of one of the most consequential moments of the 20th Century.

Charlie Wilson's War

Like others on this list, Charlie Wilson's War doesn't seem like a movie portraying a moment that changed everything, but, of course, it did. The Tom Hanks movie shows the beginning of the USA's involvement with the Afghan mujahideen in their fight against the Soviets. There is a direct through-line from the collapse of the USSR, 9/11, and the USA's War on Terror that all began there.

The Death of Stalin

Sure, The Death of Stalin is a comedy, and a brilliant one at that, but the event it depicts, from the actual death of the brutal dictator Stalin to the internal battle for power it created, completely changed the direction of the Cold War, which would continue for another four decades after his death.

The Ten Commandments

It may be controversial to put Biblical movies on this list, depending on your belief system, but whether fable or true story, the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments has been something that changed the world more than maybe any other single story. Charlton Heston's starring role as Moses in The Ten Commandments is still one of the most beloved performances of all time in Hollywood.

The King's Speech

It's fair to say that this movie is a little heavy on World War II moments, but it's a war that has had a profound effect on everything that has come after it. The King's Speech isn't a war movie in a traditional sense, but it does tell a story that until it, was somewhat untold and that's how important King George VI's speech was for moral for the British and indeed, all the Allies in the war.

A Bridge Too Far

It's rare that a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster with a giant cast of legends like A Bridge Too Far tells the story of an infamous battle disaster like Operation Market Garden. Had the battle gone differently, as the British General Bernard Montgomery had intended with his plan, the war might have ended earlier, and who knows how that might have affected the rest of history.

Rome

The transition of Rome from a Republic led by its senate to an Empire led by a series of all-powerful emperors was a major turning point in Western culture and had profound effects on the historical development of Europe and, in effect, the world. That story, the rise of Caesar and the fall of the Republic, is told brilliantly in HBO's ill-fated, but still great, Rome.

Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi and his belief in non-violent opposition and protest brought the British Empire to its knees in India, just as is shown in the amazing movie simply Gandhi. Gandhi's approach has changed the way the world has tried to change the world and had a major influence on the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others.

Midway

The War in the Pacific in World War II is not told as often as the War in Europe, but Midway, while not the greatest movie of all time, accurately (mostly) depicts the most important battle of that theater. It's a battle that reversed the Japanese aggression and, ultimately, led to the Allied victory.

Downfall

In a war full of consequential moments, maybe the most important moment came in that bunker in Berlin when Hitler did what no one else had been able to do: kill Hitler. Downfall is simply an incredible look inside the bunker and the last days of the war.

300

The profound effects of Greek culture on the Western world are well understood by anyone who has ever taken even the most basic history class in junior high. While 300 is more fantasy than reality, it does (kind of) tell the story of how the Greek culture survived when under literal attack from the East.

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was that rare movie that was both a box office hit and a serious award winner. It also had one of the most incredibly stacked casts in recent memory. Jack Quaid was but one member of the Oppenheimer cast, and even he was stunned by the actors involved as well as his accomplished director.

Quaid has a relatively small role in Oppenheimer as physicist Richard Feynman. His most notable scene in the film may be his character playing the bongos (something Feynman actually did) at a Los Alamos Christmas party. Quaid told Men’s Health that while he’s a “glorified extra” in the scene, it was still one of his favorite moments because of everything he got to witness. Quaid said…

Christopher Nolan movies are almost always stacked with amazing actors because they all want to work with the accomplished director. The Odyssey cast is already looking incredible. Having said that, the Oppenheimer cast was even more incredible than most considering the quite massive number of actors that were needed to play all the key roles. In this one scene, as Quaid notes, the number of amazing actors is just nuts.

It’s no surprise that Jack Quaid was a bit in awe of the cast that he was part of. Still, even in this simple scene, Jack Quaid still did enough to catch the eye of Christopher Nolan. Quaid said that the director specifically complimented him on his performance in the scene. Quaid continued…

Quaid may have felt like he was somebody on the outside looking in at all the other stars, but he has since become friends with some of them. Much of the Oppenheimer cast still talk via text in a group chat that’s being called the Oppenhomies.

Quaid's career has been going quite well since Oppenheimer. At this rate, it won't be long before somebody else is really happy to have shared a scene with him.

It’s been nearly two years since Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer took the box office by storm on its way to becoming a major awards darling, including winning Best Picture at the Oscars. In Hollywood. And while the success is behind the movie and the Oppenheimer cast has gone in a dozen different directions, it turns out they all still talk to each other, as the “Oppenhomies” text chat remains very active.

During the production of the movie, it was revealed that some of the Oppenheimer cast had started calling themselves Oppenhomies, and it turned out there was a text group discussion that included many, though apparently not all, of the people in the movie. Jack Quaid, who played physicist Richard Feynman in the film, recently confirmed to Men’s Health that the group is still active, and the various members of the group are supporting each other whenever they can. Quaid said…

It’s wonderful to hear that not only do the “Oppenhomies” still talk, but that they support each other too. It’s wonderful that they’re willing and able to help each other when needed and celebrate each other when deserved. A lot of people don’t have friends like that at all, never mind friends like that who are also major movie stars.

But it hasn’t all been support from afar. Jack Quaid says that another of the Oppenhomies, actor Olli Haaskivi has become one of his best friends since the pair made the film together and they actually hang out frequently. Quaid said…

It’s understandable why Jack Quaid, currently starring in the absolutely buck-wild Novocaine, loves being part of the Oppenhomies when it sounds like they all mean so much to each other. Maybe these connections are easier when making a great movie, or maybe the movie became great because of the connections these actors made to each other. Whatever it was, it seems clear that Oppenheimer is a movie that is going to continue to be important, both to the audience and those who made it.

Robert Downey Jr. is an example of an actor who found Oscar success later in life. His first Academy Award win came last year with his slow-burning performance in 2023's Oppenheimer. After Demi Moore gave her career-defining performance in 2024 with The Substance, her pal Rob Lowe shared how it’s been for him to see his two friends' careers soar.

There may not be a Brat Pack anymore, but it doesn’t mean stars of the ‘80s have lost their touch. Last year was Robert Downey Jr.’s turn to achieve Oscar love. Now that Demi Moore is among this year’s Oscar nominees for the body horror-comedy The Substance, her pal Rob Lowe spoke to People about what it’s been like to see her and Downey Jr.’s careers skyrocket before his eyes:

That must be such an amazing feeling to see your friends go through a career-high. After Robert Downey Jr. faced a lot of trouble with the law and his bout with alcoholism, he made an excellent career comeback with Iron Man and became one of the highest-paid actors in the MCU. As for Demi Moore, her career grew into prominence during the ‘80s and ‘90s, but she went a bit off the radar towards the 2000s and did more indie films.

Then came Moore's starring role in The Substance, which challenged society’s expectations on aging women. The actress said the award-winning movie came at a perfect time in her career, when she was reading scripts that didn’t move her until the Coralie Fargeat flick. Even though she admitted knowing there was a possibility The Substance could either be a success or a “fucking disaster,” the American actress decided to “roll the dice” and take a risk. It was clearly a risk worth taking, as Moore has won a Golden Globe and a Critic’s Choice Award, which could hopefully mean a stepping stone for an Oscar win.

Rob Lowe and Demi Moore have been friends for a long time. They proved to have great chemistry with each other in ‘80s classics like About Last Night… and St. Elmo’s Fire. They were also both featured in the documentary Brats (found on your Hulu subscription), where the success of the Andrew McCarthy project had the two pals keeping in contact to make a St. Elmo’s Fire sequel which would be amazing! Moore even posted on Instagram about her reunion with Lowe where they both saw a special screening of The Substance. The Outsiders actor apparently even gave an intro during the event. That’s the cutest thing for Lowe to support his friend by seeing and presenting her Oscar-nominated movie.

With Rob Lowe having seen his two friends, Robert Downey Jr. and Demi Moore, achieve Oscar recognition, it proves that it’s never too late to achieve career milestones. Maybe eventually, we’ll see The Floor host on the same pedestal one day. The 2025 movie release of The Substance is available on Mubi and for rent on digital streaming platforms. You can also watch Downey Jr.’s Oscar-winning performance in Oppenheimer with your Amazon Prime subscription.

Digital visual effects have been an integral part of the filmmaking process for decades but their increased use over the years has had some moviegoers convinced that Hollywood is far too reliant on creating worlds with a computer. Well, allow us to prove to you that practical effects do still exist by highlighting some modern classics that have honored the old-fashioned ways of creating movie magic.

The Substance (2024)

As an eye-opening behind-the-scenes featurette for The Substance proves, director Coralie Fargeat went to great lengths to use as little CGI as possible to realize her vision for the film, which received five 2025 Academy Award nominations, including Best Makeup. Some of the most bizarre and disgusting shots of this intense body horror spectacle were captured on camera with shockingly realistic doubles for body parts, such as when Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) births her double, Sue (Margaret Qualley), out of her back.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

One of the most appealing aspects of the Mission: Impossible movies is their intense action sequences, achieved with little to no digital enhancement. Arguably, the franchise's most unbelievable practical stunt comes from Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Tom Cruise trained for weeks to perform a HALO jump out of a plane from 25,000 feet above the ground for a sequence that only required CGI to create the storm raging around Ethan Hunt as he descends.

Jurassic Park (1993)

While considered a revolutionary moment for CGI in movies with its timeless dinosaur creations, the first installment of the Jurassic Park movies also uses practical effects in very impressive ways. While the animatronic velociraptors are among the most famous examples, according to special effects designer Michael Lantieri in a video by Great Big Story, one of the most difficult effects was creating ripples in a cup of water to signal the T. Rex's approach, which was achieved by plucking a guitar string placed underneath the cup.

Inception (2010)

Some of the more surreal moments from Christopher Nolan's dream-exploring adventure Inception obviously could not have existed without CGI. However, as demonstrated in a behind-the-scenes DVD featurette, the scene when Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) engages in a brawl in a hotel that is literally spinning was achieved by rotating a hallway set on an axis and, for shots in zero-gravity, building a vertical hallway set and suspending the actors on wires.

The Shape Of Water (2017)

Guillermo del Toro's Oscar-winning romantic fantasy The Shape of Water begins with an opening credits sequence taking place in a fully submerged building filled with floating furniture. According to THR, the surrounding water was added digitally but the scene was still primarily achieved practically by having puppeteers control the movements of the suspended props.

Spider-Man (2002)

Sam Raimi, creator of the Evil Dead movies, became an inspirational indie film hero with the use of clever, homemade practical effects in the original horror classic and would maintain that sensibility when he helmed one of the best superhero movies, Spider-Man. For instance, as a DVD commentary reveals, the scene when Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) catches Mary-Jane (Kirsten Dunst) and her falling lunch on her tray was captured for real after 156 takes, with some help from an adhesive that kept the tray steadily attached to Maguire's hand.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

The design of BB-8 is so unique that it seems it could only be achieved in a galaxy far, far away but, according to the official Star Wars website, he was filmed practically here on Earth. The rolling droid was constructed for Star Wars: The Force Awakens with magnets and gyroscopes that allowed his head to remain attached as he rolled through the sand.

Apollo 13 (1995)

The zero-gravity sequences from the classic space movie, Apollo 13, are so realistic, it almost seems like director Ron Howard and co. would have had to leave Earth to shoot them. Actually, according to AV Club, they only had to travel about 36,000 feet above ground by building the set in a NASA training craft called the KC-135 (nicknamed the "vomit comet") which authentically creates the feeling of weightlessness by taking gravity-countering dives.

Oppenheimer (2023)

Christopher Nolan said that there were "zero CGI shots" in his Best Picture Oscar winner, Oppenheimer, which dramatizes the development of the atomic bomb. To clarify, as reported in Variety, CGI was used in some instances to improve a visual but not a single shot was entirely created with a computer, including the Trinity Test, which was filmed practically using miniatures that were blown up by the crew.

Mad Max Fury Road (2015)

CGI is primarily used in George Miller's exhilarating post-apocalyptic thriller, Mad Max: Fury Road, to improve certain visuals and remove equipment from the frame. However, as a behind-the-scenes feature found on the Blu-ray reveals, just about every wild, death-defying stunt that takes place in this post-apocalyptic action movie masterpiece was performed on camera and on location, such as the pole-vaulting stunts. Bonus fun fact: the Doof Warrior's guitar was an actual working flame-thrower.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

Director Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a film that does not fit neatly into any genre, thanks to its mind-bending fantasy visuals, many of which were achieved practically. For instance, as mentioned in an article from Focus Features' official site, the scene when Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) appear to change size while walking around a set is achieved with a distortion chamber, which uses forced perspective to create the illusion that two people on opposite sides of a room are wildly different sizes.

Interstellar (2014)

The one scene from Christopher Nolan's breathtaking space epic, Interstellar, that, most surprisingly, is predominantly shot with practical effects sees Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) in a tesseract that allows him to literally interact with time itself. IndieWire reports that the sequence was achieved by projecting animated images onto thin strands of fabric that surrounded the fully built, life-size set which the actor was suspended inside.

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert created a fantastic world (or, more accurately, worlds) for their Oscar-winning, beloved A24 movie, Everything Everywhere All At Once, with a unique combination of CGI and practical effects and the help of a five-person VFX team. As they explain in a video for Wired, the first time Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) makes an interdimensional jump was done practically by shooting the actor being dragged to another corner of the office building in slow motion.

Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)

Peter Jackson and Co. easily could have used digital effects to make Elijah Wood's Frodo and other Hobbit characters appear much smaller than Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellan) in the Lord of the Rings movies. Instead, according to Wired, they went the old-fashioned route and used the simple act of forced perspective by placing actors further back in the frame to make them look smaller than the actor placed closer to the camera.

Grindhouse (2007)

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino teamed up for a double feature that paid tribute to exploitative B-grade flicks of the '60 and '70s but only one of them really stayed true to the era's filmmaking principles. Rodriguez's Planet Terror relies heavily on CGI to create its grotesque world while Tarantino's Death Proof (according to Hagerty) is lauded for adding little to no digital enhancement to its crazy stunts, especially when Zoe Bell hangs on the hood of a car while being chased by Kurt Russell's Stuntman Mike.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

All three of Christopher Nolan's live-action Batman movies provide proof of his championing for capturing as many mind-blowing sequences on camera as possible, especially in The Dark Knight Rises. As a Business Insider feature details, the opening sequence, in which Bane (Tom Hardy) hijacks a CIA plane, was performed for real after obtaining permission to drop part of the plane from a helicopter over Scottish land.

1917 (2019)

One might assume that to create the illusion of being filmed in mostly one take, Sam Mendes' 1917 used a great deal of CGI to hide the seams. Truthfully, there were some Oscar-winning digital effects used in some key moments, such as the plane crash sequence, but, as detailed by The New York Times, the explosions from the climactic scene in which Schofield (George MacKay) runs across a field bombarded with bombs were authentic.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

In addition to its breathtaking stunts, such as in the iconic canal scene, one of the most impressive practical effects from Terminator 2: Judgment Day takes place in the director's cut when Sarah (Linda Hamilton) and John Connor (Edward Furlong) remove the T-800's (Arnold Schwarzenegger) chip from his head in front of a mirror. A video by Insider explains that in order to avoid the camera showing up in the mirror's reflection, the scene was instead shot in front of a window with a recreation of the set on the other side and Hamilton's twin sister, Leslie, mimicking her actions.

It (2017)

For his 2017 adaptation of Stephen King's It, director Andy Muschietti was initially planning on using CGI to give Pennywise a lazy eye to make the demonic clown even creepier. However, according to an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight, he discovered he did not need to use digital effects because Pennywise actor Bill Skarsgård can move his eye individually – a fact that It: Chapter Two star Bill Hader was frightened to learn on set, as he revealed on Conan.

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)

Most of the magic from the Harry Potter movies is, obviously, brought to life with digital effects but there is one memorable, fantastic scene from the third installment, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, that was created on camera. A feature by ScreenRant explains that, for the scene in which Harry (Danielle Radcliffe) accidentally casts a spell that causes his Aunt Marge to blow up like a balloon, actor Pam Ferris wore a special suit and facial makeup prosthetics that could actually inflate.

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Awarding the Oscar for Best Visual Effects to Spider-Man 2 was a no-brainer based on how realistic Doctor Octopus' mechanical arms look alone. As explained in a DVD bonus feature, CGI was used for most scenes involving Doc Ock's evil appendages but many of their movements were achieved with rigorous puppeteering which actor Alfred Molina was also heavily involved in.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

Michael Keaton said that it was important to him and director Tim Burton that the long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, use as many practical effects as possible. EW mentions that, just like in the 1988 original, sandworms were created with stop-motion animation for a scene when Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) and her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega) find themselves on one of Saturn's moons.

The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)

For Joel Coen's solo directorial debut, The Tragedy of Macbeth, the filmmaker wanted to give the adaptation of William Shakespeare's influential play a distinct look reminiscent of a theater stage. To create this aura, as seen on a featurette posted to YouTube by Apple TV+, life-size sets were built on a soundstage at the Warner lot and surrounded by matte paintings to fill in the backgrounds.

Midsommar (2019)

The secret to the visceral nature of the nightmares Ari Aster brings to life in his second great A24 horror film, Midsommar, is the use of practical effects, such as in the scene when an elderly villager has his face fatally smashed in after surviving a cliff jump. According to Vulture, the gruesome moment was filmed practically with a fake head equipped with pneumatic cylinders that could collapse and reset with the push of a button, allowing for multiple takes with the same prop.

Skyfall (2012)

What makes Daniel Craig's James Bond movies so memorable is the realism of their action sequences, such as the opening scene of Skyfall. A feature about the train fight from SlashFilm details just how challenging it was for director Sam Mendes and co. to shoot the scene on top of a real moving train.

Independence Day (1996)

The visual effects of the classic alien invasion movie, Independence Day, took home a well-deserved Oscar — not just for its convincing CGI but also for its more old-fashioned tricks. For instance, an article from the Director's Guild of America website explains that the destruction of recognizable landmarks like The White House and the Empire State Building was achieved with miniatures.

Tenet (2020)

Christopher Nolan goes above and beyond to create the most realistic and explosive action sequences possible, such as purchasing a real, full-size Boeing 747 only to destroy it. According to ScreenRant, that is how he shot the plane crash scene from Tenet.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Enough time has passed since the 1986 original that Tom Cruise and Co. could have achieved aerial action sequences in Top Gun: Maverick on sound stages and with green screens. Instead, as detailed by IGN, the actors trained for months to actually go up in the air in military-grade jets equipped with cameras for the most realistic shots possible.

First Man (2018)

According to Digital Trends, First Man director Damien Chazelle wanted to shoot Neil Armstrong's (Ryan Gosling) moonwalk without green screens but in a place that could later be slightly augmented in post-production. They chose to shoot the sequence at an Atlanta quarry and some of the only digital trickery involved was to remove elements the filmmakers did not want to be reflected in the actors' astronaut helmet visors.

Barbie (2023)

Before her feet fall flat due to an existential crisis, Margot Robbie's eponymous role is introduced in Barbie with her feet in an inhumanly arched position. Director Greta Gerwig told The Project that his shot was not achieved with CGI but by anchoring Robbie's toes to the ground with double-sided tape.

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Emily Blunt made magic with her wonderful portrayal of the iconic, titular nanny in Mary Poppins Returns but that was not the only stellar trick the production pulled. For instance, as a special featurette shared on YouTube by Rotten Tomatoes reveals, the scene in which Mary and the children enter a magical realm through their bathtub was achieved with a slide built underneath the tub that was cleverly concealed with a thick layer of soap bubbles.

The French Dispatch (2021)

Wes Anderson movies like The French Dispatch exist in a world that could only come from the filmmaker's vast imagination. So, how are these striking, surreal images brought to life on camera? A video by Piercefilm Productions reveals some of the drama's most memorable visuals are created with a combination of miniatures and painted backgrounds.

Ending a story is hard, just ask Monty Python who had a very hard time (and budget issues) with the ending of The Holy Grail. When a film ends well, it's often with one iconic scene that really sticks with the audience forever. Sometimes it's the most enduring image of the movie and this is a list of scenes like that. Iconic scenes that really stick the landing at the end.

Fight Club

It's really hard to believe that Fight Club wasn't really a hit when it was released in 1999, especially given the epic ending. Not only does it tie up a disturbing bow on the whole movie, but the visual, of a city collapsing is simply stunning. If those two things are not enough, having The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind" play over the exploding city is one of the best uses of music in a movie, ever.

Oppenheimer

Director Christopher Nolan pulled off an amazing trick in Oppenheimer. With his trademark use of time in a movie, he managed to tell the whole story of Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), including what happened after The Manhattan Project but still managed to bring the film to a climax with the big boom of the first nuclear bomb test. All of that set the end, with a focus on Oppenheimer himself internally debating if it was all the right thing to do.

Psycho

Leave it to Alfred Hitchcock to end a movie with a quiet bang that leaves the audience freaked out and thinking about days and even years later. The end of Psycho, with Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) staring into the camera as we hear his internal monologue, is about as perfect an ending as a movie can have.

Dead Poets Society

You simply cannot think about Dead Poets Society without thinking of that iconic ending first. As John Keating (Robin Williams) walks out of his classroom after being fired, all of his students stand on their desks in tribute, reciting "O Captain! My Captain!" from the famous poem by Walt Whitman. It is guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye every time you see it.

The Breakfast Club

Over the 90 or so minutes of The Breakfast Club, audiences all get to know each one of the characters intimately. Vice Principal Vernon (Paul Gleason) reads Brian's words as the audience hears Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) explain how each student is unique, but how they have to appreciate each other. They may be a brain, an athlete, a basket case, and a criminal, but they all have the problems of any teenager.

The Truman Show

The Truman Show is one of Jim Carrey's best films and the ending is a big part of that. The emotion of his sailing trip across "the ocean" and the moment he arrives at the door is harrowing. The joy of seeing Truman finally escape captures the audience perfectly and Truman waving goodbye as he walks out the door ends the movie in the best way possible.

The Silence Of The Lambs

The worst part about the end of The Silence Of The Lambs is that you find yourself actually rooting for a psychopathic serial killer. The movie, if you don't remember, ends with an escaped Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in disguise tracking his nemesis, Dr. Chilton (Anthony Heald) as he gets off a plane in a tropical location.

Thelma & Louise

There really isn't a more epic ending to a movie than Thelma & Louise. After being chased across multiple states after committing a justified crime, the two titular characters decide to literally ride off into the sunset - or off a cliff - as the police are closing in on them. In it together to the end.

The Godfather

There is nothing in cinema quite like The Godfather saga. There are some amazing scenes all throughout the two...okay, three... movies. None are more arresting than the final scene of the first movie when Michael (Al Pacino) fights with, and lies to, Kate (Diane Keaton) before leaving the room to greet his other family members. The door closing in Kate's face is tragic, but incredible.

Chinatown

Despite the last line of dialog in the movie, it's impossible to forget Chinatown, especially its tragic ending as Evelyn (Faye Dunaway) is killed attempting to finally escape the clutches of her domineering and, frankly, evil father played by John Huston. Jake (Jack Nicholson) is understandably distraught, yet all he can do is forget about it.

Planet Of The Apes

With one of the best twists in film history, the ending of Planet Of The Apes is so unforgettable that it has become a part of pop culture. Even people who have never seen the movie, starring Charlton Heston as an astronaut stuck on what he thinks is a distant planet, know how it ends when he discovers he's been on Earth the whole time.

Field Of Dreams

The premise of Field of Dreams is that if he (Kevin Costner) builds it "he" will come. The "he," of course, is Costner's character's father. The movie ends with the two characters having a catch on the baseball field as the camera pulls out to reveal a line of cars headed to watch a game at the magical field. Finally, they come.

The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects has one of the most beloved twists ever and the way it ends, with the reveal that Kevin Spacey's character is Keyser Söze, and with that final breath...poof, one of the most epic final scenes ever.

Dr. Strangelove

You can't really end a movie in a more epic way than having nuclear weapons exploding over and over. From the moment Korg (Slim Pickens) hitches a ride on one of his bombs, to the montage of actual nuclear explosions, the end brings to a point the absurdity of nuclear war.

Casablanca

There aren't many movies that have multiple quotes that have become part of the lexicon like Casablanca. Playing it again, hills of beans, looking at you... the list goes on and on. The final shot of Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Renault (Claude Raines) walking off into the fog is right up there with the greatest endings ever, with that iconic quote from Rick to Renault about the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Sunset Boulevard

There are few ending scenes as uncomfortable (and wonderful) as the final scene in Sunset Boulevard. Norma Desmond's slow walk down the stars, with the over-the-top facial expressions by actor Gloria Swanson is sooooo disconcerting, and when the camera comes to a stop on Swanson's face and she delivers that famous line, "Alright, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up" is spine-tingling.

Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Tarantino's debut movie is one of the best movies by a first-time director ever. His brilliant script ends as tragically as a movie can with virtually all the characters dying. The last two, Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) and Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) are the most heartbreaking.

Whiplash

The only way to end a movie as intense as Whiplash is with a scene befitting that intensity and the final drum solo of the movie when it all comes together for Miles Teller's character. The movie is hard to watch and tension built up until that final release is felt by audiences as much as it shows in Teller's face. It's brilliant.

The Graduate

The best thing about the ending to The Graduate is just how unsure both Benjamin (Dustin Huffman) and Elaine (Katharine Ross) are when they take their seats on the bus. Sure, on the surface it's a pretty standard ending to a Rom-Com, with the two lovebirds facing the future together. But as the shot lingers, it's clear both are nervous about that future, unsure that they've made the right decision. It's an excellent ending.

The Thing

The thing about the ending of The Thing is that it really is all about one line. One iconic line. After all MacReady (Kurt Russell) and Childs (Keith David) have been through, they are left by themselves in the cold. When Childs asks what they should do, MacReady can only say, "Why don't we just wait here a little while...and see what happens."

There Will Be Blood

The final act of There Will Be Blood is one of the most intense scenes in any movie, ever. The physical and metaphysical battle for Daniel Plainview's soul is violent. In the end, after Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Eli (Paul Dano) are finished, and Eli is dead, Plainview can only turn to his butler and say, "I'm finished." He is finished in almost every way

Inception

Much like the rest of the movie, the ending to Christopher Nolan's Inception is left open to interpretation by the audience. When Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) spins the top at the end to determine if he's in the real world, he never actually looks at it, leaving him, and us, to wonder just where he is.

Primal Fear

Edward Norton's character (or characters) in Primal Fear are terrifying and the end, with its nod to Hitchcock's Psycho, leaves the audience with a most uneasy feeling. What did we all just watch and what is real? Those are the questions we are asked and we don't have all the answers.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is one of the most unconventional romances in film history. It asks the question we all ask sometimes, are we destined to be one other person in our lives? The ending doesn't really answer it, but it is clear that two souls can be connected whether we want them to be or not.

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid

Sure, it's the "Hollywood" ending to a kinda true story in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. In the end, in classic Western style, our heroes are surrounded with no chance to escape, they choose to go out guns blazing. Of course, in real life, the fate of the real Butch and Sundance has been open to a lot of conjecture. Did they survive? Well, the movie freezes just as they burst out of their hideout, and we never see the final gunfight, so maybe they did. It's part of what makes it one of the best Westerns ever.

Se7en

It doesn't get more disturbing than the end of Se7en. John Doe (Kevin Spacey) is in control the whole time and he proves it with the delivery of "the box," getting exactly what he wants from Mills (Brad Pitt), and the audience is left with that pullback from the camera on the helicopter as we hear radio chatter about what's happened. It's one you just can't stop thinking about for days.

The Shawshank Redemption

The end of The Shawshank Redemption could be subtitled "Red's Last Journey" as he makes his way across the country, and across the border to reunite with Andy on the beach. It's a touching ending to the best movie of the 1990s.

Citizen Kane

Obviously, Citizen Kane is one of the most iconic movies of all time, and the ending is no small part of why people love it so much. The image of the burning sled called "Rosebud" at the end not only answers what Kane (Orson Welles) hinted at in the first scene of the movie, but it leaves the audience to ponder just what life, even one like Kane's, really means in the end.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

For much of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, we don't really see just how important Big Chief is. In the end, though, it's Big Chief who not only sets McMurphy free by suffocating him, but he frees himself of the hospital and all his internal baggage that he's found so hard to let go of. It's a tragically beautiful ending to a wild movie.

The Bridge On The River Kwai

So much of war is futile and no movie expresses that more succinctly than The Bridge On The River Kwai. The whole movie is a battle between the Japanese guards and the Allied prisoners, and it's a battle with nature, and the titular bridge, which, in the end, of course, is blown up. What is the point of it all?

Schindler's List

The raw power of the final scene of Steven Spielberg's masterpiece Schindler's List is undeniable. The black-and-white movie turns to color as the real-life survivors place stones on the real-life grave of Oskar Schindler. It brings even more weight to the cost of the Holocaust than you could possibly expect and it's as powerful a moment as has ever been in any film, ever.

It's A Wonderful Life

The Christmas classic It's A Wonderful Life has become a bit of a trope in recent decades, but you still can't deny how sweet and wonderful the ending is as an angel finally earns his wings.

The words “period piece” can suggest boring, dry, and slow. But the movies we’re about to discuss on this list are anything but. So the next time you hear that title thrown around in conversation, remember these films that defy this trend of boredom.

The English Patient

Despite The English Patient having a reputation for being labeled as “boring,” the Seinfeld episode couldn’t be farther from the truth. Rather, if one approaches the supposed war story as the romantic drama it truly is, then Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche’s characters connecting over their own tragic pasts isn’t as time-wasting as what’s suggested by arguably one of the best Seinfeld episodes.

Master & Commander: The Far Side Of The World

If you didn’t want to sail the open seas with your friends after watching Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World, you’re not doing it right. Part bromance, part naval warfare, and all epic, Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany’s Aubrey and Maturin are a pair that have taught many fans about the values of honor, camaraderie, and scientific curiosity. That Master & Commander reboot still sounds like it should give way to a legacy-quel to this beauty.

Oppenheimer

For a three-hour long, R-rated historical drama about the creation of the atomic bomb Oppenheimer seemed to defy the odds stacked against it. A box office smash the 2024 Oscar-winning juggernaut saw Cillian Murphy’s sterling performance as the lead role anchor an all-star cast. Writer/Director Christopher Nolan’s compellingly tragic tale of creation and regret flies by, landing a solid punch of dread as it closes.

Tombstone

Westerns are a genre that seemed to fade away for a moment, which is unjust considering movies like Tombstone cashed in on the Oscar win of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven in prime fashion. A pulpy delight that harkens back to old school Good vs. Evil stories of this genre, Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer are standouts in a movie that’s stacked to the top with A-game talents. Try telling anyone this movie is boring after watching Doc Holiday deliver his classic line, “I’m your huckleberry.”

Lawless

Based on author Matt Bondurant’s historical novel on his family’s dealings with bootlegging, Lawless is an electric crime drama that has Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke as its leads. In an ensemble that broadens out to include Jessica Chastain, Gary Oldman, and Guy Pearce, the outlaw spirit is alive and well in this energetic picture.

Hamlet (1996)

A four-hour full-text version of Hamlet would be daunting to many an actor and viewer. Writer/director Kenneth Branagh must have felt that at some point in making his version of Hamlet, which fulfills that tall order. Slightly updating the story’s time period, there are no sacrifices made in terms of the story or the majesty of William Shakespeare’s epic tragedy. It remains a staggering achievement.

Pride And Prejudice (2005)

Where does one begin when praising Joe Wright’s 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice? Is it the pitch-perfect casting of Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett, along with Succession cast member Matthew MacFayden as a particularly dreamy Mr. Darcy? Or is it having the late Donald Sutherland knocking it out of the park as Elizabeth’s warm and gentle father? There’s a lot to love about this movie, and it’s an undeniable fact.

Goodfellas

The time period shown in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas doesn’t feel like it would match the description of a “period piece,” especially in the eyes of those who lived through the eras depicted. But believe it or not, Ray Liotta’s tale of always wanting to be a gangster does qualify, which means this baby packs more violence, cursing, and quotable moments than you’d expect from such a project.

Emma (2020)

The best rom-coms know when to lean into the tropes, and when to innovate to invite a wider audience. Screenwriter Eleanor Catton and director Autumn de Wilde adeptly used that knowledge to deliver an offbeat adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular heroine. Meddlesome matchmaking results in both awkward and heartbreaking moments, which all tie together in a visually colorful feast for the eyes and the heart.

The Last Duel

Director Ridley Scott loves his historical dramas, and 2021’s The Last Duel is firmly in the man’s wheelhouse. Based on the true story of a knight (Matt Damon) fighting an old friend (Adam Driver) over allegations of misconduct, Scott’s eye for violent spectacle is used in a measured capacity to punctuate the proceedings. Jodie Comer’s performance as the victim/accuser at the heart of the duel only further enhances the impressive result.

A Bronx Tale

Not all mafia dramas are created equal, as we saw with Robert De Niro’s directorial effort A Bronx Tale looks at organized crime through the viewpoint of a working-class family. A semi-autobiographical picture written by actor/co-star Chazz Palminteri, we see a young man (Francis Capra / Lillo Brancato Jr) growing to idolize the local boss (Palminteri), while his father (De Niro) tries to keep him grounded in 1960’s-1970’s era New York.

That Thing You Do!

Tom Hanks, in his writing/directing debut, gave the world not only one of the best ‘90s movies, but also a perfect pop song. That Thing You Do! is a beautiful nostalgia piece that remembers the days of Beatle-mania, and all the acts that tried to grab their one hit of wonder. Whether you prefer the theatrical or the extended cut, and there is a difference, The Wonders will always shine as brightly each time you see them do that thing that they do.

A Haunting in Venice

The adventures of Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) took an unexpected turn into the supernatural with A Haunting in Venice, and the franchise was all the better for it. Playing like a horror film that just happens to be an Agatha Christie adaptation, this star-studded threequel could be the best of the bunch.

Steve Jobs

Aaron Sorkin’s best screenplays are like good musical albums: you fall into the rhythm every time you listen. Unjustly overlooked during its 2015 release, Steve Jobs showcased three different periods of transition in the life of Apple’s firebrand innovator (Michael Fassbender). Director Danny Boyle uses film stock changes to signify the period on display, and also proceeded to give us one of Seth Rogen’s most powerful performances.

Thirteen Days

The Cuban Missile Crisis was something you had to live through to truly understand the terror. That being said, director Roger Donaldson’s Thirteen Days comes pretty close to capturing the panic felt by the Kennedy Administration as they navigate through a potential nuclear war. Bruce Greenwood’s JFK is teamed up with Robert Culp’s RFK and Kevin Costner’s Kenneth O’Donnell as the trio that anchors the picture, with a superb bench of supporting actors tying it all together into a gripping historical thriller.

The Favourite

For years “period piece” was almost shorthand for projects that looked like The Favourite does on the outside. Frilly dresses, powdered wigs, and English disputes over minorly hurt feelings are probably what most conjured to mind with Yorgos Lanthimos’ acidicly funny comedy. But instead, it was Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz engaging in a war of wills to curry the favour of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman). Don’t be fooled, this dark comedy has teeth you wouldn’t expect.

Selma

Director Ava Duvernay’s work on Selma took an often cited moment in history, the Selma to Montgomery marches for equal rights, and turned it into a fresh and haunting look at not-too-distant American history. Digging into the human side of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his part in this epic struggle, the Civil Rights Movement becomes personal for all who watch it depicted in this movingly cinematic story.

Gladiator

While Ridley Scott’s attitude toward historical accuracy hasn’t changed, neither has his method of taking ancient history and turning it into a more modern thrill ride. In 2000’s Gladiator, Scott introduced the world to the vengeful Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe), a man who has as much strategic acumen as he does names. The Roman Empire certainly became an obsession for some after seeing this rousing tale of revenge and eternal glory.

The Godfather

It’s easy to look at The Godfather and merely see Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo’s blockbuster epic that dramatizes the Corleone family’s power struggles. However, looking at the timeline of the entire trilogy and realizing that it spans almost the entire 20th century reframes one of the best movies of all time as one of three-period pieces viewers have not been able to refuse for over 50 years.

1917

1917 is, at its heart, a tribute to Sam Mendes’ grandfather, who served in World War I. Using technical knowhow to make the entire film look as if it’s filmed without cuts, the intensity of the story co-written between Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns is heightened by the almost non-stop pacing of the story. You’ll be hooked throughout the entire picture, from opening to close, feeling as if you’d made the journey yourself.

Brooklyn

Not all period pieces are about social upheaval or warfare. Sometimes, like with director John Crowley’s Brooklyn, the focus is on the life of a young woman (Saoirse Ronan) who emigrates from Ireland to New York in 1951. At times uplifting, bittersweet, and just downright heartbreaking, the Nick Hornby-penned film from 2015 will have you preoccupied with crying and laughing that you won’t be bored at all.

Kingdom Of Heaven

Upon release, Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven was slaughtered at the box office. It wasn’t until the almost 3.5-hour extended home video cut arrived that the Orlando Bloom starring epic depicting the Third Crusade found its audience. You should probably watch that version first, and then head back to the theatrical cut, if you’re curious as to how big the differences are.

Dunkirk

Dunkirk’s historical inspiration is a moment that some creators may not find to be too cinematic. Writer/director Christopher Nolan’s clever depiction of a time-shifting narrative showcases three fronts of action in the crucial evacuation effort waged in the titular French location. Displaying the better and darker sides of wartime humanity, it makes for an effective inspiration to dig further into this chapter of World War II history.

The Patriot

Is Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot a bastion of historical accuracy? No. Does Mel Gibson’s problematic history cause people to approach this film with apprehension? Absolutely. For all you can say against this movie, there are almost as many reasons to watch this visually stunning and inspirational story of fighting for U.S. independence. Also, Jason Isaac’s villain and Heath Ledger’s scrappy portrayal of Gibson’s on-screen son kind of steal the show whenever composer John Williams isn’t.

Little Women

To take a time worn tale like Little Women and make it fresh again is something similar to magic. Greta Gerwig did just that with her 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s timeless classic, and in doing so the Barbie director found a way to break our hearts all over again with classic literature.

Amadeus

The rivalry between Mozart (Tom Hulce) and Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) is, admittedly, goosed up in director Milos Forman’s Amadeus. That doesn’t make the movie any less worthy of an audience, as it’s a fine example of turning actual history into engaging tragedy. If you weren’t a fan of classical music walking into this one, you might just change your tune coming out.

Gosford Park

Director Robert Altman’s Gosford Park is kind of like a prototype version of Downton Abbey. Only instead of the Julian Fellowes co-written drama revolving around inheritances and marrying for love, it’s a ‘30s murder mystery that weaves a wicked tale. And yes, the late Dame Maggie Smith does get some richly acidic barbs into this picture.

Braveheart

The surprising success of Braveheart is one that still rings throughout the history of movies. Director Mel Gibson and writer Randall Wallace drew inspiration from the exploits of William Wallace (Gibson) and his fight during the First War of Scottish Independence. Romance and comedy mix in with fact and legend to deliver an idealized picture of a time we still don’t know everything about.

The Sound of Music

At its heart, The Sound of Music is a romantic drama, as nun turned-nanny Maria (Julia Andrews) slowly falls for employer Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). Plummer's hatred for the movie aside, the cinematic version of Rogers & Hammerstein’s beloved World War II set musical shows the values of resilience and family, all backed by a stellar soundtrack.

The Personal History of David Copperfield

Charles Dickens’ works have always been ripe for reinterpretation, but Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield is one of the most recent examples of why they should still be retold at the movies. Assembling an all-star troupe led by Dev Patel in the lead, the script co-written with Simon Blackwell brings an irreverent lens to this literary treasure but doesn’t skimp on the heart.

American Psycho

If you don’t feel like American Psycho is a period piece, you probably have to go return some video tapes. Skewering the yuppie excess of 1980’s New York, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) guides us through a satirical slasher that’s mainly based in murders and executions…or is it mergers and acquisitions?

Downton Abbey: A New Era

Downton Abbey has to be the premier example of a period piece defying conventions and attracting an audience so wide its films are successes. 2022’s sequel A New Era shines in particular, as it introduces the class drama of Julian Fellowes’ hit series to the madcap world of early film production. Just be ready to shed massive amounts of tears during the final moments of the picture.

There’s nothing like those lifelong friends and family who have seen you through everything. Everyone has at least one or two, including Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy. The ever-busy A-lister had surprise visitors show up on award day that kept him grounded in ways that only the dearest can. The ‘love’ continued after winning the Oscar (and the Golden Globe, the BAFTA and the Screen Actors Guild Award, among others) for his performance in Oppenheimer.

Murphy chatted with The Telegraph about his now-showing movie, and one of the newest releases on our 2024 movie schedule, Small Things Like These. Along with the new release, based on the Caroline Keegan book, the 48-year-old discussed his success playing the father of the atomic bomb role, his experiences brushing arm-to-arm with cinema royalty and, most importantly, how two of his oldest confidants showed up on the day of the Academy Awards. He shared that they kept him supportingly in check:

I don’t think there’s been a more relatable story to come out of any awards show, ever. It’s no surprise that Murphy and company are the ones who know how to keep things fun and real amid international campaigns and one of the biggest recent blockbusters, with Oppenheimer netting nearly $1 billion globally.

Oppenheimer's stellar cast and crew completely delivered, including the Inception alum. He was so enthusiastic about all things related to Christopher Nolan’s epic he dropped a different kind of bomb praising the director. After Murphy’s win, he jumped right back into work, which he admitted wasn’t sure was the best thing. He hadn’t processed the award, but knew the Peaky Blinders movie was just around the corner.

The highly-anticipated Peaky Blinders movie doesn’t have a set date, but it is in production, and it's possible it may end up on the 2025 movie schedule. 28 Years Later, which has a cult following, is slated for a 2025 release and does have Murphy return once again.

All in all, the Dunkirk alum is lucky to have some reliable and good-hearted people to lean on while navigating his career. It's also good to know that those same people are adding a lovingly healthy dose of reality in any moment they share with Cillian Murphy. It makes him all the more real and lovable.

If you’d like to watch Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, you can with a Prime subscription.

Gary Oldman is generally considered, correctly, to be one of our greatest living actors. Some of Oldman's best roles are some of the best performances in recent memory. Christopher Nolan is known, also correctly, as one of our greatest current directors. Together, the pair have made four movies, with Oldman playing James Gordon in Nolan’s Batman trilogy as well as appearing in the cast of Oppenheimer. One of the reasons the two have worked together so often may be that Nolan doesn’t have to do much when directing Oldman.

A story that Oldman told on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that is currently going viral on Instagram reveals that over the seven years that Oldman has been directed by Christopher Nolan, the director has only ever given him a couple of notes. One of those came during one of the Batman movies, and even the note was simple. Oldman said…

Oldman doesn’t specify which scene, or even which Batman movie, the note came from, but it was clearly important if it was one of only a couple of times that Nolan even gave him a note at all. Oldman has spoken about the importance of trusting his director, and part of that may be trusting him to focus on what's important.

The actor loved the direction and its simplicity because, for him, that was all he needed to hear. He understood what the problem with the first take was, and knew what he needed to do to get it right. He continued…

One gets the impression that other directors might be spending a lot of time telling Gary Oldman things about the character or the scene that he doesn’t feel are necessary. Perhaps if the actor was really off base with a performance, he might get a longer note. In this case though, it seems clear that Oldman was almost there, and Nolan simply gave him the missing piece. Oldman doesn’t mind getting the note, and he appreciates that it gives him what he needs and nothing more. Check out the full comments in the post below.

Nolan and Oldman work well together. Christopher Nolan is one director who likes working with the same people frequently. Little is known about Nolan’s next movie beyond the fact that it will star Matt Damon and Tom Holland. While Gary Oldman has been focused on his Slow Horses series for Apple TV+ of late, it seems likely if there’s a role that’s right for the actor, these two will work together again.

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was one of the biggest films of 2023, having an insane box office haul and winning several Academy Awards. The flick delved deep into the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb. However, Nolan deliberately chose not to focus on: the devastating aftermath of the nuclear bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When asked about that, the filmmaker expressed hope that someone else might tell that part of the story, and it seems James Cameron might just do it.

The Titanic director has bought the film rights to and is currently developing a film based on Charles Pellegrino’s books, Last Train From Hiroshima and the upcoming Ghosts of Hiroshima, per Deadline. His project will apparently focus on the first-hand accounts of survivors from the atomic blasts, providing the human perspective on the tragic events that followed the dropping of the bombs.

A conversation about the aftermath of the atomic bombings became particularly pronounced after director Spike Lee, renowned for his socially conscious films like Malcolm X and Da 5 Bloods, shared his thoughts on Oppenheimer. Though impressed with the historical epic, Lee explained that he took issue with Christopher Nolan's omission. As he explained:

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in the deaths of over 200,000 people, with many survivors suffering from the long-term effects of radiation. While these horrific events are briefly referenced in Christopher Nolan's movie, the story stays focused on the moral struggles the titular scientist faced and the political consequences after the bomb was dropped. Whether there was merit in leaving out the broader, tragic impact on Japan is up for debate

As for James Cameron's spiritual successor, Deadline reports in the same article that once the director's Avatar commitments wrap up -- the next entry being the upcoming Fire and Ash (which is set for 2025 movie schedule) -- he plans to dive into the historical drama. He described the adaptation as an “uncompromising theatrical film.” It'll mark a major shift for Cameron, as it will be his first non-Avatar movie since the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, which famously took home the Oscar for Best Picture.

For many, the Abyss helmer's project should serve as the necessary counterpart to Oppenheimer. Together, the films could provide a more complete understanding of one of the most consequential events in human history. It goes without saying that James Cameron is a gifted filmmaker who knows how to create tension and spectacle. So his take on the aftermath in Hiroshima could be an emotional, cinematic sight to behold.

In the meantime, if you haven't had a chance to see Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s Oscar winner is available to stream with an Amazon Prime Subscription. And, for info on more recent historical dramas that have or are about to hit cinemas, check out the 2024 movie schedule.

Although 2023’s Oppenheimer, one of Christopher Nolan’s best movies, was a tense exploration into the life of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the creation of the atomic bomb, the back-and-forth that happened between stars Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. during the press tour was anything but serious. The two may not have shared screen time when they respectively played Kitty Oppenheimer and Lewis Strauss, but while they were promoting the movie last summer, they clearly had a lot of fun together. Case in point, there’s a round-up of videos that made me realize how much the two seriously troll each other.

Put together by Outstanding Screenplays, this compilation, which is chiefly comprised of moments from when the actors were on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with Cillian Murphy to chat about Oppenheimer, shows how often Downey would poke fun at Blunt by saying she was off her game due to ingesting/using certain foods/substances, though Blunt fires one hell of a zinger back at Downey by the end:

As Jimmy Kimmel read off, Robert Downey Jr. joked about how folks at Q&As should go easy on or ignore Emily Blunt at these various events because she had things like a bad clam, margaritas, magic mushrooms and weed gummies, and even that she’d been wearing a Z-Pak of rash cream. It’s obvious Blunt knows this is all in good fun, but I also admire how she was able to dish it back at Downey during the Kimmel interview. When he asked how she lost her voice, she responded that it was because she’d been screaming at him to take a Z-Pak for his chlamydia. However, she accompanied that burn with a kiss to his cheek, so they both won in the end.

Oppenheimer marked the first time that Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt have appeared in the same movie, and I certainly hope it’s not the last. Not only would it be great to see more of these trolling moments, but these two deserve to actually appear in scenes together. I don’t care what movie it’s for, but let’s get the ball rolling on pairing these two back up… and then Downey will have another excuse to come up with fake reasons for why Blunt is acting weird in front of a crowd.

Along with Cillian Murphy, who played Oppenheimer’s title protagonist, Blunt and Downey’s many costars on Christopher Nolan’s most recent movie included Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Jason Clarke, Kenneth Branagh and Alden Ehrenreich. In addition to earning critical acclaim and collecting seven Academy Awards and nominations in six other categories, among numerous other accolades, Oppenheimer earned over $975 million worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing movie of 2023 globally. If you’re inclined to give it a rewatch or perhaps even view it for the first time, it can be streamed with a Peacock subscription.

Emily Blunt can next be seen re-teaming with her Jungle Cruise costar Dwayne Johnson for the The Smashing Machine, the A24 sports drama about Mark Kerr that will be released sometime on the 2025 movies schedule. Following his time as Tony Stark in the MCU, Robert Downey Jr. is set to return to the franchise to play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. There’s no word yet on what Christopher Nolan’s next movie will be about.

It's finally time for us to put together our movie ranking for the filmography of none other than Christopher Nolan. From Following, through his Batman trilogy, and to Oppenheimer, we run down every Christopher Nolan film as we work towards crowning the filmmaker's masterpiece.

Which film do you think is Christopher Nolan's masterpiece? Let us know on social or drop your thoughts in the comments of the YouTube video. We'll be back next week with another exciting episode and interview so stay tuned for more. 

Timestamps (approx. only)

• 00:00:00 - Intro
• 00:08:55 - Christopher Nolan Tier List
• 00:12:15 - Nolan Tier List: “Following”
• 00:15:21 - Nolan Tier List: “Memento”
• 00:21:41 - Nolan Tier List: “Insomnia”
• 00:25:18 - Nolan Tier List: “Batman Begins”
• 00:35:20 - Nolan Tier List: “The Prestige”
• 00:41:38 - Nolan Tier List: “The Dark Knight”
• 00:45:24 - Nolan Tier List: “Inception”
• 00:48:17 - Nolan Tier List: “The Dark Knight Rises”
• 00:51:43 - Nolan Tier List: “Dunkirk”
• 00:54:56 - Nolan Tier List: “Interstellar”
• 00:58:17 - Nolan Tier List: “Tenet”
• 01:03:14 - Nolan Tier List: “Oppenheimer”
• 01:03:46 - Christopher Nolan’s Masterpiece
• 01:15:27 - Outro

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The smartest people in the world are often featured in film, sometimes they are real, and sometimes fictional. They don't always have anything in common, either, other than being geniuses. One might be a math wizard, another a musician who hears music no one else could conceive of. Here is our list of people like that, the smartest people in movies.

The Theory Of Everything

It's impossible to have a list like this and not include The Theory Of Everything, a movie about the man, Stephen Hawking, who was considered the smartest man in the world for decades. Eddie Redmayne's award-winning performance as the physics genius is incredible and the movie makes some complicated science actually fun.  

The Big Short

Author Michael Lewis has an uncanny knack for making complicated subjects easily understandable to laypeople. The Big Short is based on one of his best books and breaks down what caused the financial meltdown in 2008/2009 in a way that everyone gets. Margot Robbie explaining it in a bathtub is a nice touch. It also features some really smart, neurodivergent characters based on the real people who saw the crash coming. 

Hidden Figures

Tragically, it took nearly 60 years to tell the story of Katherine Goble Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe). These "hidden figures" were a major force within the US Space Program in its earliest days and their math skills put everyone else to shame. The shame they brought to the program for its racial and gender segregation was even more important. 

A Beautiful Mind

The smartest guys in the room are often neurodivergent or suffer from mental health issues. A Beautiful Mind is one of the best examples of how an incredibly brilliant person, in this case mathematician John Nash (Russell Crowe) deals with schizophrenia while revolutionizing mathematics in this true story. 

Good Will Hunting

Will Hunting wasn't a real person, but he was smarter than everyone else around him. Good Will Hunting won Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Oscars for their wonderful script about a kid from South Boston who is shy about his incredible intelligence but has no patience for people who dismiss him because of his working-class roots. 

Don't Look Up

Adam McKay's apocalyptic satire Don't Look Up was a big streaming hit featuring two of the biggest stars around, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as two of the world's foremost astronomers desperately trying to tell the world about impending destruction from above. No one is listening. 

The Social Network

Some people may disagree on whether Mark Zuckerberg is a genius, especially after watching The Social Network. Sure he may have borrowed the idea for Facebook from the Winklevoss twins, but he still built the company that turned into the behemoth we know all too well today. 

Real Genius

it's one of Val Kilmer's earliest roles is still one of his very best. Real Genius is a true cult classic these days and for good reason. It's really, really funny. It's aged much better than the other movie about nerds from that era as well, Revenge of the Nerds. 

American Fiction

A truly brilliant writer on the big screen is as rare as hen's teeth, but Thelonious "Monk" Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) in American Fiction clearly qualifies. He's the smartest guy in every room he's in, except maybe with his family, who are every bit as smart as he is. 

Sherlock Holmes

There is no detective, fictional or otherwise, as smart as Sherlock Holmes. In some ways, every TV and movie detective is based on the Holmes archetype. His insights and pure genius are what makes him so loveable yet annoying at the same time. There are plenty of great versions of him in pop culture as well, with Robert Downey Jr's version ranking among the best of them. 

Ex Machina

Like it or not, the tech bros are defining a lot of nerd culture. Oscar Isaac's character, Nathan Bateman, in Ex Machina, a movie that should have been nominated for Best Picture, but wasn't,  is pretty much the epitome of the modern tech bro, Love him or hate him, he's clearly supposed to be one of the smartest guys in any room he's in. 

The Imitation Game

Alan Turing is a tragic character in history, but there's no questioning just how brilliant he was or how influential his work has been. The Imitation Game finally brought his amazing, sad, and inspiring story to the masses and Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as the troubled genius entranced us all. 

Oppenheimer

Pound for pound, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer just might have the most brilliant people in one movie ever made. And all of them were real people. The scale of the Manhattan Project could only be told in a movie with the scale of Nolan's Best Picture winner. 

Stand And Deliver

Genius doesn't always hail from the hallowed halls of Ivy League universities or big-time board rooms. Sometimes they are just amazing high school teachers like Jaime Escalante, a math teacher in a disadvantaged high school in East LA. Escalante's story, brought to life on screen in Stand and Deliver, starring Edward James Olmos, is one of the most inspiring movies of the 1980s. 

Contact

Long before we had Neil deGrasse Tyson to explain to us mere mortals how the cosmos works, we had Carl Sagan. Contact, based on a novel by Sagan, tells the fictional story of Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) and her discovery of life outside our solar system. 

Limitless

Just like sports, sometimes genius comes from some performance enhancers. Well, at least, that's how it works in Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper as a regular who is transformed into the smartest guy in the world with a drug called NZT. Sure, it's a fictional story and nothing like that exists, but it makes for a really fun movie and some jealousy over what the drug can do. 

Proof

Sadly, genius and mental illness often go hand-in-hand, especially on film. Proof is as much about the latter as it is about the former. Gwyneth Paltrow stars alongside Jake Gyllenhaal as a brilliant mathematician living in the shadow of her even more brilliant late father who struggled with mental illness, something she fears could affect her as well. 

Idiocracy

The geniuses in Idiocracy aren't really geniuses at all. They are just the smartest people on earth in a future where the whole world has gotten really, really stupid. Mike Judge's brilliant, yet somewhat terrifying, vision of the future is something we desperately need to avoid at all costs! It's a brilliant movie about stupid people. 

Moneyball

Every baseball fan knows just how much Sabermetrics has taken over the sport, for better and for worse.  It really all started with Billy Bean, played by Brad Pitt, who leads a brilliant cast in Moneyball, the general manager for the Oakland A's whose story was told first in the book, then in the movie of the same name. There are a lot of really smart people in the movie, though how much better they made baseball in the end is debatable. 

Amadeus

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a towering figure in the history of music. His genius is undisputed and when he was brought to life on screen in Amadeus, the whole world got to see at least one version of the composer. Sure, there are a lot of artistic liberties taken by director Milos Foreman, but the movie isn't shy about showing just how brilliant Mozart was in this amazing biopic. 

The Martian

It turns out Matt Damon is pretty good at playing smart guys. In Ridley Scott's 2015 film The Martian, Damon plays a Mars explorer left for dead after an accident on the Red Planet. With no one around to help, he figures out how to feed himself, make contact with his colleagues, and finally escape certain death on the inhospitable planet. 

Rope

It is possible to be too smart for your own good, or at least think you're smarter than you really are. The characters in Alfred Hitchcock's Rope are one or the other, the viewer has to decide. Loosely based on the Leopold and Loeb murder of the 1920s, two smart college kids try to get away with the perfect murder. 

Pi

There is a fine line between genius and madness, and Darren Aronofsky's first film, Pi, explores that to great depths. It's not an easy movie to watch, both due to its subject matter and its filming techniques, but like the characters in the movie, it's a brilliant film. 

Searching For Bobby Fischer

Chess masters are often thought of as the smartest guys in the room because the complex game is so hard for most people to master. The level of skill on display in Searching For Bobby Fischer is a great example of just how competitive these geniuses can be when it comes to one of the hardest games in the world to conquer. 

Finding Forrester

In Finding Forrester, Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) is mentored by a brilliant, but reclusive writer played by Sean Connery. The movie shares a lot in common with Good Will Hunting as Wallace is doubted by the elite at every turn, but comes out triumphant in the end. 

WarGames

It's pretty easy to point out the ridiculousness of a high school kid played by Matthew Broderick somehow taking over the nuclear response protocols of the United States during the Cold War, but that isn't really fair to do with WarGames. Broderick plays high school student David Lightman who unwittingly almost starts World War III after he plays a computer game. It turns out he's also the only one smart enough to figure out how to stop it. 

Little Man Tate

You never really know where genius will come from. Sometimes it comes from the most average of places, as portrayed in Little Man Tate. Fred Tate (Adam Hann-Byrd) is a childhood prodigy being raised by a normal working-class mother played by Jodie Foster. He's brilliant in school and seemingly a musical genius. All of this means, of course, that he is ostracized by the other kids in school and the movie highlights just how hard it can be for kids like Fred. 

Steve Jobs

Like a lot of tech billionaires, calling Steve Jobs a genius is sure to rankle some folks. That's okay, but no one can deny just how successful he was in building one of the largest computer companies in the world. In the movie Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder is played by Michael Fassbender and while it's definitely a loving look at the techie's life, it does show the downside as well. 

Powder

Powder is far from a perfect movie, to say nothing about its very controversial director, Victor Salva. Still, it absolutely deserves a spot on any list of the smartest guys in the room. The main character, Powder, played by Sean Patrick Flanery, is not only the smartest person, possibly on earth, but that intelligence comes with supernatural powers as well, truly unlocking the mind's full potential or something. Yeah, it's not perfect. 

Revenge Of The Nerds

We'll just get this out of the way off the top with this entry: Revenge of the Nerds is one of the most problematic movies of the 1980s. There are a lot of reasons why they aren't worth going into here, except to say they are not trivial. But, it's also a movie about a bunch of really smart nerds who take on the jocks in that classic battle as old as time immemorial.  

Iron Man

Yeah, yeah, how can a comic movie be on this list, you're probably asking yourself. Well, because at least in the MCU, Tony Stark is absolutely stone-cold genius. you can argue that he's not, the guy invented the Iron Man suit in a cave in the desert! Who else could do that? Frankly, it's good that the MCU isn't just about superpowers gifted by the gods or freak scientific accidents. Sometimes it just takes a really smart person to be a superhero. 

Arrival

Denis Villeneuve's underrated Arrival tackles a problem that will surely come into play if and when contact is ever made with extraterrestrials. How will we communicate? It'll take a genius to figure that out and in Arrival, that genius is linguist Louise Banks, played by Amy Adams. She's a different kind of genius than almost all the others on this list, but she qualifies just as much. 

Josh Hartnett has had a career full of fascinating roles and unexpected choices. From The Virgin Suicides to his latest film Trap, Hartnett has showcased his range as a performer within many different genres. However, his journey to working with Christopher Nolan on Oppenheimer might be one of his most intriguing stories yet. The Pearl Harbor actor recently opened up about how he landed a part in the ambitious, Best Picture-winning biographical drama, and how they first met to talk about the director’s Batman project in the 2000s.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Hartnett chatted about some of his past movie roles, and how they influenced his acting career. One of these was Oppenheimer, a role that has been credited with “bringing back” Hartnett after the 46-year-old actor stepped away from big Hollywood blockbusters in more recent years. He revealed that the part came to him, and he had been looking for an opportunity to work with Christopher Nolan after they spoke about Batman many years ago. He said:

Rumors have swirled for years that Hartnett turned down playing Batman, but it seems the reality is that he was only being softly considered for the role, and it was never officially offered to him by Nolan. Batman ended up being played by Christian Bale in one of the movie stars' most iconic performances. But even though it was many years ago, Nolan still kept Hartnett in the back of his mind, and reached out to the Black Hawk Down star when it came to casting Oppenheimer, and Hartnett jumped at the opportunity. He said:

Nolan was right to convey how important the character of Ernest Lawrence was to the plot. He was a nuclear physicist who worked with Oppenheimer at UCal Berkeley while the titular figure was a teacher there. He helped introduce Oppenheimer to the Manhattan Project, which is considered the inciting incident in the film. Hartnett was perfectly cast, and he’s wonderful in the movie, truly embodying the warmth that draws Oppenheimer to him, as well as the intelligence.

This was such a successful collaboration, and shows that Nolan doesn’t have a short memory when it comes to actors he was impressed by in the past. Hartnett called the experience “refreshing,” and seems increasingly interested in working with more visionary directors, considering he just worked with M. Night Shyamalan and Guy Ritchie as well. Nolan tends to want to work with the same actors again and again, so hopefully this isn’t the end for this partnership, and fans may possibly be able to see the Sin City star in another big screen ensemble film directed by Nolan in the future.

You can see Josh Hartnett in Trap, which is now in theaters nationwide. Fans can also revisit his performance in Oppenheimer, which is currently streaming for Amazon Prime subscribers. For more information on other exciting titles heading to cinemas or streaming this year, make sure to consult our 2024 movie release schedule.

There was a time in the early aughts when Josh Hartnett seemed to be everywhere, transitioning from smaller roles in The Virgin Suicides and other movies to the lead in some of his best movies like Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down. Then his rise seemingly fell off and we didn’t hear as much about Mr. Hartnett for years before he spoke about working with Christopher Nolan in Oppenheimer last year. So why did Josh Hartnett disappear from Hollywood? He tells the tale.

Back in 2014 Hartnett was already living a bit in obscurity and he told the now–defunct Details Magazine that fame was really getting to him.

So what did he do? He took a break from Hollywood. And that break from Hollywood led him in a different direction in his career and personal life. It seems like Hartnett has been away from our screens for quite some time, but a new profile in The Guardian indicates he only took 18 months off work. When he came back, it was at a less significant level -- much of which stems from the direction his choices took him as well. He noted:

The actor and his now-wife Tamsin Egerton ultimately settled in Hampshire in the UK where he could live more circumspectly than he would in Los Angeles or New York. He’s able to stay with his wife and four children on a marriage visa, but that also means he’s only allowed out of the country 180 days a year. This in turn means he can take one major project elsewhere, like a movie, or some smaller roles, like his recent stint on FX and Hulu’s The Bear.

He famously said no to Superman. (In fact, he allegedly said “no” to Superman twice.) He took roles in smaller movies you may never have heard of like Stuck Between Stations and The Lovers. For a time between 2014 and 2016 he did star in the more high-profile series Penny Dreadful for Showtime; it was convenient. It filmed in the UK.

Now, Josh Hartnett has landed roles in The Bear and in a 2024 movie release, M Night Shyamalan’s Trap, a leading man gig which he calls a "pivot" from much of the rest of his career. He seems well on his way to becoming a household name again, particularly after his turns in Oppenheimer as a steadfast nuclear physicist and in a memorable Black Mirror episode. It’s Trap that has him front and center once more, however, but whether this is a fluke or the first step in a return to leading man form has yet to be seen.

Josh Hartnett will soon be seen on the big screen, playing a very bizarre and very dark role in Trap. But, before portraying a serial killer trapped at a concert venue, he was part of the stacked cast of Oppenheimer. With that, he worked alongside great stars like, Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. Hartnett was also able to work alongside Matt Damon on the on the Best Picture winner. And, as it turns out, Damon gave Hartnett some hilarious “advice” when he decided to gain weight to play his role in the historical drama.

Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer sees Josh Hartnett plays nuclear physicist Ernest Lawrence, who worked with the eponymous Atomic Bomb creator. While promoting his latest film on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Hartnett talked about spending a lot of time with Matt Damon (a.k.a. “Uncle Matt”), who played Director of the Manhattan Project, General Leslie Groves. During that time spent together on the set, Damon provided some insight on the human anatomy that should've come earlier. During the chat, which is on YouTube, Hartnett explained:

Yeah, "Thanks, Matt!" Unfortunately, that "advice" was received a little too late. It’s unclear if the Black Hawk Down actor was required to gain weight to play Ernest Lawrence or not. But stars like Joaquin Phoenix and Christian Bale have made intense weight loss and gains for movies to help get into character. While the advice didn't come as soon the Sin City alum would've liked, I’d prefer to believe the Good Will Hunting actor was still looking out for his co-star’s best interests after warning him of the struggle of gaining too much weight for a movie.

For all we know, Matt Damon could be speaking from his own personal experience with changing his weight for movies. While promoting Ford v. Ferrari, Damon talked about losing weight for films, such as the time he brought his weight down to 130 lbs for Courage Under Fire. He lost around 60 lbs. within four months for CUF thanks to the help of a bodybuilder and a new diet. Afterwards though, Damon admitted how unhealthy it was to lose that much weight to film flashback scenes only to have to gain all of that weight back three weeks later. I can't even imagine having to deal with such a situation as a performer.

While Matt Damon’s brutally honest wisdom for Josh Hartnett may have been “unhelpful” as far as Oppenheimer goes, Hartnett can still take that knowledge and apply it to his work moving forward. So I'd say that "Uncle Matt" certainly deserves some credit for trying to help out a fellow actor.

You can check out Josh Hartnett, Matt Damon and more by streaming Oppenheimer, which is available to watch using a Prime Video subscription. Also, make sure to catch Hartnett’s latest creepy flick, Trap, which opens on August 2 amid the 2024 movie schedule.

Being a film actor is a job that generally requires a lot of patience. On a set, any given shot has a lot of people performing specific tasks, and there is a great deal of repetition thanks to both multiple takes and multiple angles that ensure the director gets everything they want before taking the material to the editing room. Of course, different filmmakers work different ways, and for Josh Hartnett on the set of Oppenheimer, he was impressed by the efficiency and speed of Christopher Nolan.

Hartnett, best known for movies like The Faculty and Black Hawk Down, is in the midst of a career renaissance, and The Hollywood Reporter recently caught up with him about his recent work. The actor is in The Bear Season 3 (now streamable with a Hulu subscription) and he is in M. Night Shyamalan's new film Trap (in theaters this August), but he also reflected on his experience working with the Oscar-winning Christopher Nolan in the making of Oppenheimer. He told the trade,

It's worth noting that a director knowing exactly what they want can also make things considerably more difficult on set. The classic example, of course, is Stanley Kubrick, who had clarity of vision but was a perfectionist that demanded dozens of takes to get exactly what he wanted. Christopher Nolan evidently doesn't work in that same kind of extreme way.

In Oppenheimer, Josh Hartnett plays Ernest Lawrence, a key nuclear physicist who was a part of the Manhattan Project, and he shares scenes with Best Actor winner Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon – two actors who both had prior experience working with Christopher Nolan prior to his 2023 biopic. Harnett recognized the trust that his co-stars had in the director, adding,

Since making his big screen debut in 1998's Halloween H20, Harnett has had the opportunity to work with some notable directors, including Sofia Coppola, Michael Bay, Robert Rodriguez, Ridley Scott, and Brian De Palma. One key thing he acknowledges about the best of those he's worked with is that they are open to collaboration and don't fall too far down the rabbit hole with on-set details. Said Harnett,

How will things work out with Josh Hartnett's collaboration with M. Night Shyamalan? We'll find out soon, as Trap is set for release on August 9 and sees the actor playing a serial killer trying to evade police capture during a pop music concert. And if you're looking to rewatch Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, you can presently stream it with an Amazon Prime subscription.

What do Sheldon Cooper and J. Robert Oppenheimer have in common? At least one thing! Yes, really and actually. This connection has everything to do with Kip Thorne, a Nobel prize-winning theoretical physicist, who has met them both in his lifetime and been a part of the making of The Big Bang Theory and Oppenheimer. So, let’s break down the immensely cool link! 

Meet The Expert That Connects The Big Bang Theory With Christopher Nolan

Kip Thorne is a great mind who has made some stunning contributions in the fields of gravitational physics and astrophysics. Most notably, he earned the Nobel Prize in Physics for making the first direct observation of gravitational waves as a part of his work on the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detector. 

In terms of The Big Bang Theory, Thorne had a cameo in Season 12, Episode 18 -- “The Laureate Accumulation” -- where he played himself. In the episode, Sheldon and Amy attempted to bring a few Nobel laureates to their side to get credit for a theory they discovered, but it was hijacked by Pemberton and Campbell. They were not successful in convincing Thorne, but it made for some fun comedy moments for the physicist to get involved in.

Thorne connects with Christopher Nolan because he served as a key consultant on Interstellar, with the director even once telling haters of the film to read Thorne’s work. Both Thorne and David Saltzberg, the latter of whom is a physics professor at UCLA, worked on the movie. Saltzburg additionally worked on The Big Bang Theory as a consultant for the sitcom’s science, even drawing up “complex formulae on whiteboards in the backgrounds of shots”, per Slash Film. 

Then the physicists went on to consult Tenet and most recently Oppenheimer as well! 

How The Big Bang Theory’s Expert Assisted Oppenheimer 

When Christopher Nolan spoke to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists amidst the smash summer box office success of the biopic last year, he explained how Thorne specifically added to the production of Oppenheimer. In his words: 

Thorne had some rare firsthand experience having been beside the real Oppenheimer, which Nolan implemented by allowing him to share his knowledge with Cillian Murphy, who went on to win the Best Actor Oscar for portraying the historical figure. Nolan also said that Thorne was able to help him when it came to what should be written on the boards in Oppenheimer based on his expertise, which is another little commonality between the movie and the sitcom.

Both Thorne and Saltzberg are the unsung heroes of The Big Bang Theory and numerous Christopher Nolan movies that have made it more accurate! You can watch Oppenheimer now with a Peacock subscription and stream Big Bang with a Max subscription! 

Yesterday, I was flipping around the Internet when I saw a headline about Barbie and how it would have performed on Netflix. The CEO of the streaming giant, Ted Sarandos, apparently said both it and Oppenheimer would have been just as “big” if they were on Netflix. My knee-jerk reaction was immediate disagreement but also, a need to read more and get the full context.

So, I traced back the quote and read the entire New York Times interview to get the full story. It turns out he didn’t say the movies would have been just as big, he said they would have “enjoyed just as big of an audience.” He’s right, at least in a technical sense, but also, he’s wrong, at least in a cultural sense. To understand why, we need to talk about ratings and viewership, about how not all eyeballs count the same and survey results. We need to talk about survey results.

But first, let’s talk about Barbie. Barbie was released last July, on the same weekend as Best Picture winner Oppenheimer, and grossed a staggering 1.4 billion dollars at the box office. In a time of extreme movie theater pessimism, Margot Robbie and company sold out screenings all around the world. Millions of people who aren’t consistent moviegoers decided there was something about this specific movie they wanted to see. So, they showed up and in a lot of cases, brought their friends. Many coordinated outfits and dropped fun pictures. Arguments on social broke about whether it was more appropriate to see Barbie first and Oppenheimer second or Oppenheimer first and Barbie second. The conversation was everywhere and inescapable and somehow made Barbie feel even bigger than a 1.4 billion dollar juggernaut.

Without taking anything away from Barbie, which is a terrific movie, It would be easy to say many people watched Barbie because their friends watched Barbie, but that’s not actually true. Most people don’t actually do things just because their friends do them. That’s not how peer pressure works. They do things because their friends recommend those things. Silently participating in something other people also silently participated in isn’t that appealing. And we know that because of survey results.

You know how companies ask you to fill out surveys rating how much you like their products? Well, the sneaky truth about those survey results is a lot of the companies don’t actually count all the results. I can’t speak for every company, but what a lot of them do is ignore all the results in the middle. If you were asked on a scale of 1 to 10 how much you liked a product and you said a 7, your score probably didn’t count. From the company’s perspective, you liked the product well enough not to complain but not well enough to recommend it to other people. Instead, what they’re looking for are 9s and 10s and 1s, 2s, 3s and sometimes 4s. Those are the people who will either recommend it to their friends or tell their friends not to buy it. Those are the types of people who will leave good reviews or bad reviews. They’re the influencers.

For a movie to have a cultural impact, for it to feel “big”, it doesn’t need viewers. It needs to have influencers. Silently consuming is not enough. People need to talk about it, one way or the other. We see that with television all the time. During The Nanny’s six season run, the show never finished the year higher than 16th place in the ratings. 1996 was the highest it ever peaked. It was pounded in the ratings by shows like Caroline In The City, The Single Guy, Boston Common And Grace Under Fire. Yet, if you ask people of a certain age about those shows, chances are they have very vivid memories of The Nanny and probably forgot at least a few of those others even existed. Think about your favorite shows. Think about the ones that still get talked about. Some of them like Friends and Seinfeld and Survivor were among the biggest shows on television, but many others were not. They may have been technically consumed by less people than Boston Common, but a higher percentage of the people who did consume them wanted to advocate for them. They wanted to talk about them to anyone and if the right moment arises, probably still do.

And that’s why what Ted Sarandos said is technically right but also spiritually wrong. It’s the big problem Netflix needs to solve moving forward. It’s why it keeps talking about The Roast of Tom Brady and why it paid billions of dollars to start airing WWE’s Monday Night Raw live next year. Netflix doesn’t have a viewership problem. It never has a viewership problem. It has more viewers than anyone else, and many of its movies and tv shows are literally the most popular things on Earth. But for every Roast Of Tom Brady that has the whole world talking, there’s a whole lot of Red Notices that are high on viewers and low on cultural impact.

I think more people would have watched Barbie if it was on Netflix. I think most of them would have liked it. Many would have even told their friends to watch it. It would have been a hit regardless because it's a good movie about relatable subject matter featuring big stars, but would viewers have ridden as hard for the movie if it was on Netflix? Would they have been as invested in it if they watched it by themselves in sweatpants versus in crowded theaters with other people wearing pink? 

I don’t think so. There’s something about putting in effort, going through the trouble of going to a theater, that makes you more invested, for better or for worse, in what you’re watching. There’s something big about a big screen movie that streamers haven’t been able to consistently replicate. It makes you want to talk about it and post about it on social and tell your friends to be a part of it. It feels like a communal experience. Barbie had that. It felt big and feeling big is sometimes more important than literally being big. 

David Dastmalchian's star power continues to rise with each role he plays, including his appearance in some of the best superhero movies in recent memory. He has also lent his versatile talents to a few popular TV shows, in main or notable recurring roles, and we have compiled our choices for his greatest hits below. The following are some of the best David Dastmalchian movies and TV shows, including a tip on how you can watch them.

Late Night With The Devil (2024)

Director: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes

Starring: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon

What it's about: Hoping to boost his ratings, a late night TV host invites a young woman who has supposedly been possessed by a demon as a guest on his talk show's Halloween special.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: Framed as a lost, infamous 1977 TV broadcast, the creepy, inventive Late Night with the Devil — also available with a Shudder subscription — solidifies Dastmalchian as a modern horror movie icon with his thoroughly compelling performance as Night Owls host Jack Delroy.

How to watch Late Night with the Devil

• Stream Late Night with the Devil on AMC+
• Stream Late Night with the Devil on Hulu
• Rent or buy Late Night with Devil on Amazon
• Buy Late Night with Devil on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Dark Knight (2008)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger

What it's about: Bruce Wayne struggles to protect Gotham City from a dangerously unpredictable and insane master criminal known as The Joker.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: The moment that introduced the world to David Dastmalchian was when Christopher Nolan changed his life by casting him in The Dark Knight — one of the most beloved live-action Batman movies — as former Arkham patient, Thomas Schiff.

How to watch The Dark Knight

• Stream The Dark Knight on Max
• Rent or buy The Dark Knight on Amazon
• Buy The Dark Knight on Blu-ray on Amazon

Prisoners (2013)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal

What it's about: A family man goes to desperate lengths to find his missing daughter as a local detective struggles with the case.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: Dastmalchian received much acclaim for his small, but pivotal role as a child murder suspect in the mesmerizing, harrowing mystery drama, Prisoners, which has a gripping ending.

How to watch Prisoners

• Stream Prisoners on Max
• Rent or buy Prisoners on Amazon
• Buy Prisoners on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Ant-Man Movies (2015-2023)

Director: Peyton Reed

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily

What they are about: Reformed burglar Scott Lang uses a special suit that alters his size and strength to fight crime.

Why they are some of the best David Dastmalchian movies: Dastmalchian joined the club of actors who have played multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe characters with his dual roles in the Ant-Man movies — Kurt Goreshter from Ant-Man and 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp and a strange creature named Veb from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

How to watch the Ant-Man movies

MacGyver (2016-2021)

Starring: Lucas Till

What it's about: A government agent uses his unique problem-solving skills to help get out of sticky situations on missions.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian TV shows: Dastmalchian appeared in 11 episodes of CBS’ modern reimagining of the hit action/adventure series, MacGyver, in the recurring role of Mac's nemesis, a fearsome assassin named Murdoc.

How to watch MacGyver

• Stream MacGyver on Paramount+
• Stream MacGyver on Amazon Prime for free
• Buy MacGyver on DVD on Amazon

The Belko Experiment (2017)

Director: Greg McLean

Starring: John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona

What it's about: A large group of office employees locked inside their corporate building is forced into a deadly social experiment that requires them to turn on one another and become the sole survivor.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: One of Dastmalchian’s first major horror movies and his first collaboration with writer James Gunn is the highly intense The Belko Experiment, in which he plays an office maintenance worker named Lonny.

How to watch The Belko Experiment

• Stream The Belko Experiment on Tubi
• Stream The Belko Experiment on Pluto TV
• Rent or buy The Belko Experiment on Amazon
• Buy The Belko Experiment on Blu-ray on Amazon

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford

What it's about: In a futuristic Los Angeles, a cop who specializes in hunting artificially created humans is assigned to an astonishing case that leads him to enlist the help of a long-missing veteran.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: Dastmalchian had a small role in Blade Runner 2049 — the stunning sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi movie classic — as an LAPD lab technician named Coco.

How to watch Blade Runner 2049

• Rent or buy Blade Runner 2049 on Amazon
• Buy Blade Runner 2049 on Blu-ray on Amazon

Reprisal (2019)

Starring: Abigail Spencer, David Dastmalchian

What it's about: After her own brother leaves her for dead, a woman infiltrates his criminal gang to bring it down from the inside.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian TV shows: Dastmalchian’s talents for playing quiet, stoic characters perfectly suits his role as Johnson in Reprisal — a noir-inspired miniseries from creator Josh Corbin that was originally exclusive to Hulu.

How to watch Reprisal

• Buy Reprisal on Amazon

Batman: The Long Halloween (2021)

Director: Chris Palmer

Starring: Jensen Ackles

What it's about: Over the course of a year, Bruce Wayne investigates a series of murders that each take place on a different holiday.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: Years after The Dark Knight, David Dastmalchian would lend his voice to another Arkham inmate — in this case Calendar Man — in the animated two-part adaptation of Jeph Loeb’s brilliant, tragic graphic novel, Batman: The Long Halloween.

How to watch Batman: The Long Halloween

• Buy Batman: The Long Halloween on Amazon
• Buy Batman: The Long Halloween on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Director: James Gunn

Starring: Harley Quinn, Idris Elba, John Cena, Viola Davis

What it's about: A mostly new crew of criminals — save Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, for one — are recruited by Amanda Waller to carry out a dangerous mission.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: Dastmalchian’s second collaboration with James Gunn was the filmmaker’s own Task Force X-led story, The Suicide Squad, which saw him take on the role of eccentric DC villain, Polka-Dot Man.

How to watch The Suicide Squad

• Stream The Suicide Squad on Max
• Rent or buy The Suicide Squad on Amazon
• Buy The Suicide Squad on Blu-ray on Amazon

Dune (2021)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson

What it's about: A war over the most valuable resource in the galaxy leads to tragic circumstances for a royal family after moving to a desert planet.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: Dastmalchian was bummed to miss out on appearing in Dune: Part Two after appearing in the first half of Denis Villeneuve’s epic adaptation of author Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel as Baron Harkonnen’s devious servant, Piter de Vries.

How to watch Dune

• Stream Dune on Max
• Rent or buy Dune on Amazon
• Buy Dune on Blu-ray on Amazon

Boston Strangler (2023)

Director: Matt Ruskin

Starring: Keira Knightley, Carrie Coon, David Dastmalchian

What it's about: Reporters Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole struggle with misogynist adversity while investigating a series of brutal murders in 1960s Massachusetts.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: Dastmalchian gives one of the most chilling performances in Hulu’s Boston Strangler cast as Albert DeSalvo, who was one of the prime individuals suspected of being the notorious serial killer.

How to watch Boston Strangler

• Stream Boston Strangler on Hulu

The Boogeyman (2023)

Director: Matt Ruskin

Starring: Chris Messina, Sophie Thatcher, Vivien Lyra Blair

What it's about: A teenage girl and her younger sister suspect that a sinister, otherworldly presence is haunting their home.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: In director Rob Savage’s adaptation of Stephen King’s short story, The Boogeyman, Dastmalchian has a brief, but pivotal role of a man who had his own tragic experience with the titular creature before it starts coming for our protagonists.

How to watch The Boogeyman

• Stream The Boogeyman on Tubi
• Rent or buy The Boogeyman on Amazon
• Buy The Boogeyman on Blu-ray on Amazon

Oppenheimer (2023)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr.

What it's about: Renowned physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer is asked by the United States government to help end World War II by leading the development of the atomic bomb.

Why it is one of the best David Dastmalchian movies: Years after The Dark Knight, Dastmalchian would reunite with Christopher Nolan by appearing in the Oppenheimer cast as executive director of the United States Congress Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, William L. Borden.

How to watch Oppenheimer

• Stream Oppenheimer on Amazon Prime
• Buy Oppenheimer on Blu-ray on Amazon

There are more David Dastmalchian movies and TV shows where these came from. Keep an eye out for more of his upcoming horror movies, such as Mike Flanagan’s latest Stephen King adaptation, The Life of Chuck.

When it comes to the current state of big-screen films, movie runtimes have been a major topic of discussion. Some will say less is more, while others don't mind filmmakers taking their sweet time to better develop their stories. Now, a new study gives some insight into what the ideal running time for feature-length movies should be, and let’s just say it’s not Oppenheimer length.

Christopher Nolan's historical drama may have crossed a major milestone, achieving a wild box office haul of $974.8 million worldwide. But that doesn’t mean everyone wants their films to be as long as its runtime of 180 minutes. In fact, The Guardian reported on an online survey done in April by Talker Research (formerly OnePoll US), which found that 2,000 respondents would prefer a film’s runtime to be 92 minutes which is about an hour and a half. 15% conducted said they were fine with films being two hours long, while only 2% found it acceptable for a movie to be over two hours long.

It’s interesting that the survey’s findings concluded that audiences would prefer a shorter movie. Especially when you consider that nine of the ten highest-grossing movies of all time were over two hours. In fact, three of some of the best long movies (Avengers: Endgame, Avatar: The Way of Water and Titanic) were each three hours. The only exception was the 2019 remake of The Lion King, running at only 118 minutes.

Filmmakers tend to be very quick to defend their film’s long runtime as soon as it's released. For example, James Cameron fought for Avatar 2’s long run time by comparing a viewing of a long movie to binge-watching short episodes of a TV series. (And, yes, he gives you all permission to leave in the middle of the movie to use the restroom.) Martin Scorsese shared the same point when defending Killers of the Flower Moon’s length, emphasizing the need to respect cinema. That's an especially poignant notion when thinking about movie theaters incorporating unauthorized intermissions into the 206-minute movie.

Research findings from What to Watch surmised that the runtimes of the most commercially successful movies have been starting to rise. There was an average of 141 minutes in 2022 compared to 1981’s 110 minutes. This could be because of the flexibility of streaming service platforms compared to traditional movie theater schedules. Another reason could be because of the growing emphasis on visual effects and action scenes in movies today. Most recently, Dune: Part Two’s runtime was long AF, as it clocked in at 165 minutes. And fellow 2024 movie release Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is set to be 148 minutes long. 

Surprisingly enough, some of the best movies with huge box office numbers tend to be at least two hours long such as Oppenheimer. One could argue that Christopher Nolan's Best Picture winner needed to stretch out in order to showcase the titular American physicist’s studies of the atomic bomb, his place in the Los Alamos Laboratory, and his 1954 security hearing. 

Whether audiences like it or not, it feels like long runtimes are here to stay as upcoming big-budget films continue to feature long stories that movie at steady paces. If you have 180 minutes of time to spare, Oppenheimer is available to watch using a Peacock subscription.

Almost immediately after he landed on the list of 2024 Oscar winners for his transformative performance in Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr. is transforming again for the book-to-screen adaptation of The Sympathizer. However, while both projects involve serious physical make-overs for RDJ, the process of developing the characters’ looks was totally different, and Susan Downey, an executive producer on the HBO show and actor’s wife, broke down why.

In both Oppenheimer and The Sympathizer, Robert Downey Jr. plays characters who are older and require a different physique than he has naturally. In Christopher Nolan’s film, he portrayed Lewis Strauss, and he had grey hair, a receding hairline and he looked a lot older than he is. In The Sympathizer he plays four different characters, one is blonde, one is bald, one has brown hair like Downey’s and the other is grey…and that’s just the hair, they also all have different facial features and physicalities too. 

Susan Downey explained that while both projects were intensive in terms of developing the actor’s looks, the processes were totally different. She told me during an interview prior to the HBO show’s release on the 2024 TV schedule:

Breaking down what Susan said, in the Oppenheimer cast, everyone was playing a real person. It also sounded like Christopher Nolan wanted to keep everything as natural and subtle as possible, which is why Robert went about his transformation with minimal prosthetics. 

Meanwhile, in the upcoming A24 series, we learn about his characters through a subjective story that the narrator, named The Captain, is telling. 

So, everything is heightened and a figment of The Captain’s imagination. Therefore, RDJ’s characters – one works for the CIA, one is a politician, the other is a professor, and another is a director – all represent different archetypes of white power in The Captain's life that could be heightened and bigger because this show is meta, a bit more stylized and subjective. To this point, Susan continued to explain that her partner had a lot of fun figuring out his characters’ looks, saying:

And spring forward he did. Susan and her producing partner Amanda Burrell went on to tell me some of Robert’s inspirations for his Sympathizer characters. Susan said her husband is “a huge history buff,” and he had influences from the time the show takes place – which is at the end of and after the Vietnam War – which included people like Gene Hackman for Claude the CIA employee and Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood and Charlton Heston for the politician. She also noted that he was inspired by people in his own life for the professor, and for the director he pulled from “prototypes from the time period.” 

The Iron Man star also worked with The Sympathizer’s co-showrunner and director Park Chan-wook and the prosthetic designer Vincent Van Dyke to fully conceive his characters’ looks. This involved them working with clay busts and putting a lot of thought into the details of each look so they were all individual but still allowed the audience to see Robert Downey Jr. in them. Susan Downey explained:

In Oppenheimer, prosthetics and makeup were used to show subtle change, as explained in a Universal featurette. It helps ground the film and show this sweeping true story. In The Sympathizer the differences in Robert’s looks are supposed to be jarring and wild, it helps amplify the story The Captain is telling and the archetypes of power the Oscar winner is playing. 

Overall, both transformations Robert Downey Jr. went through in Oppenheimer and The Sympathizer are jaw-dropping, and it’s even more amazing to know just how different the processes were for creating his characters’ looks.

To see the actor’s transformations in both projects, you can stream Oppenheimer with a Peacock subscription, and you can catch new episodes of The Sympathizer every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET with a Max subscription. 

Many of the best movies ever made are over three hours long. It’s not unusual for the greatest Best Picture winners to be longer than three hours, for example. Here is our list of 32 movies that prove that being long often means being great. 

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

Epic in scope and epic in length are usually the first two things you think about with Lawrence of Arabia. Not only is it one of the best movies ever, it’s one of the longest. Clocking in at an astounding 227 minutes, the nearly four-hour movie never lags or gets boring. Peter O’Toole is brilliant as T. E. Lawrence and the cinematography is among the greatest ever seen on film. It’s truly a masterpiece. 

The Right Stuff (1983)

One of the great injustices by the Academy was rewarding Terms of Endearment the Best Picture award in 1984 over The Right Stuff. History has since proven which of the two is more enduring, and it's the one that is one of the best movies about the Cold War. With a running time of 192 minutes, it still feels too short to learn everything about the early days of the US space program. The pacing is perfect. 

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

The MCU’s Infinity Saga constituted a whooping 22 films, and the pinnacle of the story came in the 21st movie, Avengers: End Game, in 2019. Befitting its status as the endgame, as it were, this entry in the MCU cannon stretches out just over three hours. While it’s long for a superhero movie, it never feels bloated. While it’ll never be considered one of the best movies of all time by critics, fans certainly do. 

Gone With The Wind (1939)

The longest movie to ever win the Best Picture Oscar is Gone With The Wind, at almost four hours long, if you include things like the opening overture and the intermission. It was a long day at the movies back in the ‘30s when this Civil War epic was released, but that didn’t deter anyone. To this day it is still the most financially successful film ever, when factoring in inflation. 

The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)

It’s hard to believe director Martin Scorsese and the cast of The Wolf Of Wall Street managed to keep up the frenetic pace of that movie for three hours. It’s a white-knuckle ride through the ups and downs of the main character, Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, that never gives the audience a chance to catch its breath. 

Oppenheimer (2023)

The 2024 Best Picture winner, Oppenheimer is truly a masterpiece. On its surface, a three-hour movie about theoretical physics and congressional hearings sounds about as fun as a root canal, but in the capable hands of director Christopher Nolan, it just pops off the screen. Across the three hours, only a few minutes of which is the actual bomb going off, the movie takes audiences on an amazing journey and never lets up. 

Schindler's List (1993)

The 195-minute epic Schindler's List might be director Steven Spielberg’s greatest achievement, and that is really saying something, given Speilberg’s amazing career. Not only did the director make it long, but the decision to make it black and white was also bold. It certainly proved that audiences in 1990 were able to handle all of it, most importantly the weighty nature of the film. It’s a movie that is really hard to watch twice, but everyone needs to see it once. 

The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003)

To its fans, there is no better cinematic trilogy than Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. The finale of the series The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King took home the Oscar for Best Picture which was as much a tribute to the whole franchise as it was reward just it. With a runtime of just over three hours, it’s the longest of the trilogy and for many, the best. 

Dances With Wolves (1990)

Kevin Costner has made a few epics in his career, but his first was Dances With Wolves. Costner directed and starred in the Civil War-era epic that clocks in at one minute over three hours. It was an enormous hit when it was released in 1990, making hundreds of millions on a $22 million budget. It cleaned up at the Oscars as well, taking home seven of the 11 that it was nominated for, including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner. 

Malcolm X (1992)

Spike Lee’s most ambitious movie to this day is 1992’s Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington as the titular character. At 202 minutes, it’s also Lee’s longest movie. The movie is a deep dive into the life and politics of Malcolm X, the controversial Civil Rights leader in the 1960s. Washington, and the rest of the cast, is brilliant and Lee’s direction is perfect for the subject matter.

The Godfather Part II (1974)

It’s rare in this world that a sequel meets or, in some opinions, surpasses the original, but The Godfather Part II falls into that category. While the original Godfather is long, with a running time of just under three hours, The Godfather Part II is almost 3 and a half hours. It has a lot of story to tell, jumping back and forth between Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and a young version of his father, Vito, played by Robert De Niro. 

Ben-Hur (1959)

In the golden age of Hollywood, sprawling epics weren’t unusual, but Ben-Hur stands out for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the insane chariot race that even many decades later is one of the most exciting things ever filmed. It’s rare for a film to go longer than 3 and a half hours, but Ben-Hur does. 

The Irishman (2019)

Martin Scorsese is usually considered one of the finest directors of the last five decades, and while The Irishman isn’t one of his best, it’s still really, really good. It’s also one of his longest, clocking in at 209 minutes as it tells the huge story of mobster Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) and the murder of Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). 

The Deer Hunter (1987)

Have you ever wondered what it was like to attend a Russian Orthodox wedding…in real time? That’s what you get with The Deer Hunter. Okay, so it’s not really “real-time” but it sure feels like that. Still, the movie, with a runtime of 184 minutes, is one of the most intense movies in the history of film and one of the best movies about Vietnam. It’s a harrowing journey for every character in the movie and for audiences along for the ride. 

JFK (1991)

Oliver Stone’s JFK is not the most historically accurate movie ever made, but it is endlessly entertaining. The all-star cast and wild story made for a very fun movie. So fun, in fact, that viewers hardly notice the three-hour-plus runtime. 

Killers Of The Flower Moon (2023)

Director Martin Scorsese loves to make long movies. His 2023 masterpiece Killers Of The Flower Moon is no exception. There is a lot of story to tell in Killers, so the director needs every bit of the 206 minutes it takes to tell it. The acting performances are amazing and the period set pieces are beautiful. All in all, it’s everything you want from an epic. 

Gandhi (1982)

Ben Kingsley's performance in Gandhi is fantastic. Playing a mythical figure like Mahatma Gandhi can’t be easy, but he brings everything to the role. The film itself is one of the best biopics ever produced, and with a runtime of 3 hours and 11 minutes, it gives audiences everything about the Father of India’s life from a student in London to the leader of the most effective non-violent uprising in human history.

Titanic (1997)

A huge boat deserves a huge movie, and there is none bigger than James Cameron’s Titanic. The insanely popular movie, which won 11 Oscars and has made over $2 billion at the box office will forever be considered as one of Hollywood’s greatest triumphs. The gaudy box office numbers are matched by the film’s length, which totals 3 hours and 15 minutes. Interestingly, the actual Titanic took less time to sink, at 2 hours and 40 minutes. 

Cleopatra (1963)

At over 4 hours long, Cleopatra is epic in every single way. The production was legendary, as it was way over budget and took way longer than it was supposed to take. Elizabeth Taylor is amazing, as are Richard Burton and Rex Harrison. The movie was a huge hit, but only a moderate financial success because of the budget overruns, but it is truly one of the best of old-time holidays.

Gettysburg (1993)

One of the longest movies ever produced by Hollywood is Gettysburg, the Civil War epic that tells the story of one of the most important battles in United States history. It is revered by Civil War buffs and historians for it’s accuracy in portraying the battle from both sides of the conflict. With the theatrical release coming in at 4 hours and 12 minutes and the directors cut adding another 20 minutes or so, it’s a movie that takes commitment, but that commitment is rewarded. 

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Director David Lean is no stranger to long movies. The scope of many of his movies is huge and Doctor Zhivago is no exception. Long heralded as a true Hollywood classic, Doctor Zhivago isn’t the best of Lean’s movies, and it hasn’t aged as well as some of his other films, but it’s still a fantastic movie even at 192 minutes. 

The Green Mile (1999)

This one is the most surprising in the list, because it doesn’t feel like a 3-hour+ movie, but it is. The Green Mile is beloved by many, especially Stephen King fans, who rank it among the best of the many movies adapted from his books. Michael Clarke Duncan shines in this movie, along with the rest of the great cast, in a story that pops all the way through its long runtime. 

Magnolia (1999)

Paul Thomas Anderson is not afraid to make a long movie, but surprisingly the only one of his films to surpass the three-hour mark is Magnolia. It’s a movie that has a lot of story to tell, so the runtime is justified and the acting performances along make it all worth it. 

Avatar: Way Of The Water (2022)

Avatar: Way Of The Water’s 3 hours and 12 minute running time didn’t intimidate audiences, who turned out in droves to see the follow-up to also wildly popular Avatar. The movie made more than $2 billion at the box office, which is just incredible for a movie of its length. 

It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

No one ever expects a comedy to run more than three hours, but It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is well over in some of its versions. There have been multiple versions released, but the longest is the 197-minute version released by the Criterion Collection in 2014. The original version released in theaters was a mere 159 minutes long. 

Spartacus (1960)

Despite their epic nature, Stanley Kubrick’s films are typically right around a tight two hours. The one exception is Spartacus, starring Kirk Douglas and Sir Laurence Olivier. The film, with its legendary “I am Spartacus” scene, is the longest of Kubrick's career at 3 hours and 17 minutes. 

Judgment At Nuremberg (1961)

Reaching just under the 3-hour mark, Judgment at Nuremberg is a minute short of the mark meant for this list, but it’s such an epic movie, that we couldn’t leave it off. Director Stanley Kramer brought in an all-star cast including Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster, among others, to tell this important story of the Nazis on trial after World War Two. 

Hamlet (1996)

Hamlet is probably William Shakespeare’s most revered work and Kenneth Branagh’s treatment of it on film is worthy of the play’s status. It’s a truly epic production with an unbelievably talented cast including Branagh as the titular Prince of Denmark. It’s also just over four hours long, as the first and to-date only full version of the play put on film. 

Che (2008)

Depending on how you count Che, it’s either two movies, Part 1 and Part 2, each about a hundred and 135 minutes long, or, as director Steven Soderbergh intended, one 267-minute movie. The scope of the movie is, obviously, huge, as it follows the revolutionary life of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, played by Benicio del Toro. It’s a serious commitment, but worth it, like so many of the movies on this list. 

The Seven Samurai (1954)

Akira Kurosawa is easily the most influential and revered Japanese filmmaker in history and one of his most loved films, The Seven Samurai, is also one of his longest. The movie runs 207 minutes and there is never a dull moment. It’s easy to see why Kurosawa has had such an effect on those who have followed him. 

Ryan's Daughter (1970)

Though it was not as critically acclaimed as his other films, David Lean’s Ryan's Daughter is still a really good movie. Audiences thought so too and despite the long running time, 195 minutes in the original theatrical release, it thrived at the box office. 

Logistics (2012)

Thought to be the longest movie ever made, the documentary Logistics has a full running length of 35 days and 17 hours. It follows, in reverse chronological order, a product made in China, shipped to Sweden, and purchased in a store, in real-time. From the store to the truck to the container ship to the Chinese factory. If it sounds boring, well, yeah, much of it is, but it's completely fascinating and there are shorter, edited versions available online to get a sense of the scope. 

Usually, when filmmakers set out to produce an epic three-hour movie, they have a story in mind that needs that long to tell. Not everyone loves them, but as these movies prove, it often works.

Robert Downey Jr. has been in movies since 1970 and has never won an Oscar. That is until the Best Supporting Actor nominee was among the winners of this year’s Academy Awards for his Oppenheimer performance. Now that Downey is the proud owner of a golden Oscar trophy, his wife Susan Levin shares a funny take on what life has been like since her husband’s win.

Not every woman can say they have a husband who’s won the honor of Best Supporting Actor. As the loving married couple share two young children, you wonder if the Downey household has gone through any changes now that everyone’s living among an Oscar winner. ET asked Susan Levin if anything has been different since her husband won an Oscar and this is the funny answer she had: 

Maybe once Robert Downey Jr.’s 12-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter get older, they’ll understand what a major accomplishment winning an Oscar is. But it looks like for right now, they’ll continue to poke jabs at their dear old dad. Maybe it’s best that everything stays the same in order for the Weird Science actor’s children to be raised in an everyday household.

There were many times that fans thought Robert Downey Jr. was going to get his Oscar earlier in his career. Some may say he should have gotten a Best Supporting Actor win for Tropic Thunder portraying an Australian method actor playing “a dude disguised as another dude.” Others think Downey Jr.’s Oscar nomination should have happened for Avengers: Endgame playing Iron Man. After all, you can’t tell me you didn’t get chills hearing the Marvel actor deliver his final line “I am Iron Man!” But there’s no need to feel sorry for the high-grossing actor as Downey Jr. said he didn’t even want an Oscar nomination for portraying the superhero. He was happy enough that fans were very well taken with the Marvel character.

Watching Robert Downey Jr.’s performance in Oppenheimer was a whole other ballgame playing real-life character Lewis Strauss. His character was considered the antagonist of the biopic responsible for “The Father of the Atomic Bomb” getting his security clearance revoked during the controversial 1954 hearings. After playing a superhero for over a decade, the Christopher Nolan movie was the perfect opportunity for Downey Jr. to show he can play a villain too, making it easy for him to be an odds-on favorite during awards season. 

It was an incredibly happy time seeing Robert Downey Jr. up on that stage accepting his Oscar win. In his speech, the Chaplin actor made sure to credit his wife who “loved me back to life.” Downey Jr. has made it a habit many times to mention how grateful he’s been towards Susan Levin for her dedication to helping her husband back when he was dealing with drug addiction. The Oscar winner shared his “happy day” on social media holding a cup of coffee in one hand and his golden statuette in another. So it looks like the talented actor is still living comfortably with his life. But this time around, he’s got a little golden statue to share his morning coffee with.

Robert Downey Jr. may have reached a huge career landmark with his Oscar win. But based on his wife's funny take, it seems like his family life is still as golden as it was before. His kids may not exactly be giving their father the royal treatment, but it doesn’t matter as long as the family love is still there in the Downey household. You can watch Downey Jr.’s Oscar-winning performance in Oppenheimer available on your Peacock subscription. 

Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan are two of the biggest visionaries in cinema today. Both directors are known for their high-concept ideas and complex use of  filmmaking techniques to make the big-screen experience as spectacular as possible. The influence each other have had on each other's work is likely easy for fans of both directors to pick up on, and it turns out this mutual admiration goes back years. Actor David Dastmalchian recently revealed that Villeneuve gushed over Nolan while making Prisoners and, 10 years later, Nolan spoke the same way about Villeneuve while making Oppenheimer. 

David Dastmalchian has been a strong character actor for years and recently made his lead actor debut in the buzzy 2024 horror film, Late Night with the Devil. Over the years Dastmalchian has worked with a number of big-name directors and has become a go-to for both Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve. He spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about collaborating with the directors on projects like Prisoners, Dune, and The Dark Knight. While doing so, he revealed both directors were very complimentary of each other behind the scenes. He said:

This is notable for many reasons. Not only does it show how the pair have had an admiration of each other that has spanned a decade, but it also speaks to their collaborations with David Dastmalchian as an actor shows this influence. 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe alum likely appeared on people’s radar after his role in The Dark Knight, where he plays a sinister accomplice to The Joker. He doesn’t say much, but his scared neuroticism speaks volumes to the stakes of the movie and what the villain is capable of. You can see this casting influence with his role in Prisoners, where he portrays a similar character driven crazy from another source of evil. I'd like to think that the Batman flick likely played a role in star earning his part in Prisoners. And, based on Christopher Nolan’s praise of Denis Villeneuve, it may have influenced him to work with the actor again on Oppenheimer.

This admiration expressed on these sets isn’t too surprising, as both directors have been vocal about their mutual respect for each other's work. Denis Villeneuve expressed his love for Tenet, one of Christopher Nolan's most recent works. The Canadian filmmaker also praised Nolan's Oppenheimer for boosting the theatrical experience and being a positive for the film industry. For his part, the British director has been equally complimentary towards Villeneuve, calling the use of CGI in Dune “seamless,” and recently referred to Part Two as a modern day Empire Strikes Back. This shared creative appreciation has evolved into a friendship between the filmmakers, as Villeneuve was even invited to a special screening of Nolan's historical drama before its official release.

Show business is a competitive industry, especially when you have so many monster talents that are making films within the same genre. However, the two directors we're discussing here have used their shared style to uplift each other as filmmakers, improving themselves as creatives through influencing each other. They've put out some impressive work, and I hope that they're mutual respect for each other continues to blossom. Also, let's hope they continue to give work to the impeccable David Dastmalchian.

Fans can check out Denis Villeneuve’s first film with David Dastmalchian, Prisoners, which is currently available to rent on Amazon. You can also see the actor in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which is streaming now for Peacock subscribers. For more information on other major films that have or will drop this year, like Dune: Part Two, make sure to consult our 2024 movie release schedule. 

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biographical drama Oppenheimer is an impressive spectacle – especially when considering the huge cast the Tenet director worked with. The film was a huge winner at this year’s Academy Awards, and you’d think the prestige would be enough to keep the entire roster of stars booked and busy. Unfortunately for David Krumholtz, outside of his new 2024 movie Lousy Carter, the phone apparently hasn’t been ringing off the hook. 

The actor recently discussed his hope for changing fortunes following his portrayal of physicist Isidor Isaac Rabi with The Hollywood Reporter. Krumholtz says that Oppenheimer’s huge 2024 Oscar wins amplified some feelings that were already there about his career and the movie's success. He explained,

The twin strike actions of 2023 have shifted everyone’s schedules in Hollywood, and while news about new projects seems to come fast and furious these days, no-brainers like potentially signing Cillian Murphy to star in 28 Years Later have yet to be announced. 

Flipping to the other side of the coin, it has been almost a month since the Oscars named Oppenheimer the winner of the Best Picture award for 2024, so that “righteous expectation” isn’t unwarranted – but it's also early. The stars of Cillian Murphy, David Krumholtz and the rest of the cast of cinematic golden child should be on the rise. But why David Krumholtz and company heard knocking on their doors?  One can hope it won’t be too long before Christopher Nolan’s expressed Oppenheimer-related optimism about movies is shared by studio heads and that everyone involved will get a healthy career bump.

Though there is a bright side to all of this waiting David Krumholtz is doing. If he really wants to stoke the fires of opportunity, there’s always the option to write a memoir that goes into greater detail on the wild Hollywood stories he’s been telling as of late via his Twitter account. Krumholtz' stories, like the one about seeming to have wronged Hilary Duff during a Walt Disney World Christmas parade fiasco, have been entertaining and enlightening, so gaining more insight into such matters could fuel further offers. 

At the moment, you can watch both of David Krumholtz’s latest films. For those interested in Oppenheimer, you’ll only need a Peacock subscription to take that particular ride. If you want to see Lousy Carter, you can either check your local theaters or rent it via PVOD. 

After the blockbuster success of Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021, a sequel seemed like a no-brainer, and a follow-up movie was officially confirmed in 2022. Now, the 2024 movie schedule's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has already exceeded box office and audience expectations in its opening weekend. Part of that success may be attributed to the new elements added to the movie, like Godzilla honing the power of pink. And, based on what director Adam Wingard had to say it and Barbenheimer, that actually is not totally far off. 

Historically, while there haven’t been many changes to Godzilla’s gray and black reptilian appearance, there have been some variations in colors and strength with his atomic breath superpower. So, the new neon pink, highly-destructive breath and back spikes are totally new for audiences. According to Wingard, not only is Godzilla a trendsetter but the change represents the same strength that the cultural phenomenon Barbenheimer created. Here’s what he told Comic Book:

“Physical embodiment” is the perfect term to use here. Godzilla is such a powerful creature on his own, but when he metamorphosizes with pink energy, he becomes a next-level threat that’s both hero and destroyer (as seen with the box office success of Barbie and Oppenheimer). And, if all it took was a color change to create that kind of impactful message, I’m advocating for adding a bit more pink to everything.

Wingard continued on, addressing this and mentioning that the pink is part of Godzilla’s natural progression. Just based on the Godzilla X Kong trailer, it was obvious that this sequel was going to be a high-octane version of the first movie. So, it wouldn’t make sense to have the monster stay the same if he was facing deadlier creatures. Plus, this change just spices things up and makes the movie really stand out, which I’m all for. 

When first looks for Godzilla x Kong were released, there was much debate online about the god-like monster’s new look, and of course, comparisons to how the sequel would compare to Toho Co.’s critically acclaimed Godzilla Minus One. It’s important to note that Minus One is not part of the Monsterverse, so Wingard has had the freedom to make his version of Godzilla its own thing, and so far, it’s been very well received. If a third movie happens, we can expect the director to find a way to add another twist and modernize Godzilla even more. Who knows, maybe he'll add in even more pink.

Despite not landing well with critics, the sequel has landed well with audiences, ranking 92% on Rotten Tomatoes already. If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to read our review of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire before checking it out at your local theater. Besides the iconic duo of Godzilla and King Kong, you won’t want to miss out on the new epic titans involved as well as Godzilla's pink look that gives big Barbenheimer energy!

Florence Pugh was part of Oppenheimer’s stacked cast playing the famed theoretical physicist’s love interest Jean Tatlock. Her role may have been small in this year’s Academy Award-winning film, but all the more memorable. As the bond between the cast of the Christopher Nolan film continues through an “Oppenhomies” group chat, Pugh apparently isn’t in it considering she didn’t know that there was one.

It would be easy to say the character of Jean Tatlock was memorable due to the controversy surrounding the nude scenes Florence Pugh was in. But her role in the biopic was so much more than that. The Communist Party member who had an affair with J. Robert Oppenheimer served as a reminder to the Father of the Atomic Bomb that the choices he made had consequences. You’d think with a significant role like that, she’d be in the “Oppenhomies” group chat, right? A TikTok of the British actress being interviewed on the Oscars red carpet says otherwise.

Based on this hilarious TikTok, Florence Pugh appeared to look flabbergasted that there was even an “Oppenhomies” group chat. She did admit she’s in a particular chat with the cast of the Barbenheimer phenomenon hit, but didn’t know it was called “Oppenhomies.” Maybe there are different group chats for different cast members of the film? With so many famous names in the epic biopic, maybe they had to make separate ones.

Filming for the awards season hit may have long come to an end, but it doesn’t mean the bond the cast had with each other needs to end as well. Robert Downey Jr. had no problem referring to his Oppenheimer chums as “Oppenhomies” when he reunited with them at a cast Q&A and film screening at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Los Angeles. Considering the Iron Man star said he felt very close to his castmates during filming, I can understand wanting to maintain the friendships he made after through texts, hangouts, or FaceTime.

According to the film’s lead, Cillian Murphy, he told The New York Times the name actually came from his co-star Olivia Thirlby. However, the group chain was started by Jack Quaid after an unfortunate incident involving needing a ride back from the grocery store. As reported by Page Six, Quaid took an Uber from the Hampton Inn to the grocery store while filming Oppenheimer only to realize there wasn’t an Uber waiting for him to get back which inspired the group text chain.

The "Oppenhomies" chain was also used by castmates Olli Haaskivi and Olivia Thirlby to have their own private NYC party to celebrate Oppenheimer's release. It was fortunate they were able to spread the word about this party through the group chat since the premiere was canceled due to the SAG-AFTRA Strike. It’s a blessing in disguise as it gave the cast of the beloved film a chance to reconnect long after filming ended.

It’s hard to guess why Florence Pugh apparently isn’t in the “Oppenhomies” group chat. Either she’s in a separate group chat with other members of the cast or she doesn’t know the chat she's currently in is called “Oppenhomies.” Either way, at least she’s not excluded in any form of chats among her castmates. You can watch the talented actress and the rest of the “Oppenhomies” in Oppenheimer found in your Peacock subscription.

If you grew up anytime from the 1950s to the 1980s, The Cold War was omnipresent. Bomb drills, proxy wars, and fear of a nuclear apocalypse were on everyone's minds, pretty much all the time. It was a scary time, to be sure, but it also produced some great movies. This is a list of all those great movies that couldn't have happened without The Cold War and the fear of the Soviets. 

The Hunt For Red October

Nothing sums up the Cold War quite like a good Tom Clancy story, and The Hunt For Red October is one of the author's best, and Sean Connery's performance as a Soviet submarine captain equals it. It was also the first book to get turned into a film, though it was ironically released in 1990, just months after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

Oppenheimer

While 2023's Oppenheimer is partly about the development of the bomb during World War II, before the Cold War, the portrayal of the Red Scare and J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) having his security clearance taken away for being a suspected communist fits firmly in the Cold War era. 

The Spy Who Loved Me

In a way, almost every James Bond movie from Dr. No to A View To A Kill is Cold War adjacent, at least. In The Spy Who Loved Me, however, Bond (Roger Moore) is pursued by Soviet agents in the beginning, and then teams up with a KGB agent, Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) to thwart the evil Stromberg's plans for world domination over both countries. 

Bridge Of Spies

There is no more true example of a Cold War movie on this list than Bridge Of Spies. For starters, it's based on a true story about a prisoner exchange between the US and the USSR, including one very famous U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers (Austin Stowell). The movie takes place during one of the "hottest" moments of the Cold War, when tensions were almost boiling over. 

WarGames

By the 1980s, the Cold War was so ubiquitous in American life that even teen romance movies took place with the backdrop of potential nuclear war. WarGames, with Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy, is the best example of this, as Brodderick's character unwittingly almost starts World War III. 

Dr. Strangelove

Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb depicts the epitome of Cold War nuclear missile madness. The obscurity of it all is presented in such a perfect way, that if this had been the only Cold War movie, it would tell the whole story. 

The Right Stuff

There may not be any nukes in The Right Stuff, but it has to be on any list of Cold War movies. The space race was a major component of the competition between the USA and the USSR. the specter of the Soviets looms over everything in the movie, and the true story it is based on. 

Charlie Wilson's War

One of the biggest aspects of the Cold War was the proxy wars that the two superpowers fought and supported. The Soviets provided weapons and support for the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War and the US supported the Afghan Mujahidin after the USSR invaded Afghanistan. Charlie Wilson's War shows the CIA's support and how Congress funded the US's allies in the war. 

Stripes

Cold War movies aren't all serious, though. Stripes has one of the best lines in the history of war movies, when Winger (Bill Murray) explains that invading Czechoslovakia is like invading Wisconsin. It's not Moscow! 

Red Dawn

Director John Milius' Cold War fever dream, Red Dawn, depicts an actual hot war between East and West, with nothing but a group of high schoolers fighting off the Russians and Cubans. It's a ridiculous movie, but it's still a classic for anyone who grew up in the 1980s. It's also remembered for being the first movie ever rated PG-13. 

By Dawn's Early Light

HBO's By Dawn's Early Light brings to bear all of our worst fears of a Soviet first strike in a nuclear attack and the holocaust that could happen after such an event. With an all-star cast that includes James Earl Jones, Martin Landau, Powers Boothe, Rebecca De Mornay, Darren McGavin, and Rip Torn, it's a much better movie than it's remembered for being. 

Gotcha!

1985 Gotcha! is a really fun movie about a college student (Anthony Edwards) who unwittingly finds himself in the middle of a Cold War dispute when he falls in love with who he thinks is a Czechoslovakian woman (Linda Fiorentino), but finds out later something very different. It also features a great scene at the infamous Checkpoint Charlie in a divided Berlin. 

Spies Like Us

Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd star as bumbling would-be spies in Spies Like Us who find themselves in the middle of the Cold War when the CIA sends them out as patsies, but they end up the heroes anyway. 

Thirteen Days

It's been said that the closest the USSR and the USA came to actually fighting a real war was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was a terrifying moment that was really well chronicled in Thirteen Days with Bruce Greenwood playing President Kennedy and Kevin Costner as one of his closest advisors. 

Good Night, And Good Luck

One of the more fascinating aspects of the Cold War didn't really involve the Russians directly. McCarthyism and the Red Scare of the 1950s show just how scared some American politicians were of the influence of communism around the world and at home. Good Night, And Good Luck brings the Red Scare to life on the big screen, explaining it to a younger generation that didn't remember it directly. 

Miracle

The geopolitics of the Cold War were so pervasive that they even reached sporting events, like the 1980 Winter Olympics. Miracle tells the true story of the underdog 1980 US Olympic hockey team who beat the mighty Soviets in Lake Placid, eventually winning the Gold Medal. It was much more than just a hockey game. 

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Although most of the movies on this list involve the United States, in a very real way, Europe was the front line in the Cold War. The dividing line between East and West ran right down the middle of the continent and the Brits were very much involved in fighting the espionage battle, as depicted (fictionally) in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. 

The Shape Of Water

Guillermo del Toro's The Shape Of Water adds a love story and some science fiction to the commentary on the Cold War.  Sally Hawkins plays a cleaning lady who discovers that her facility is conducting experiments on a humanoid amphibian to get a leg up on the Soviets in the '60s. It's a weird movie, and one you wouldn't expect to incorporate the Cold War, but that's what makes the subject so fascinating. 

The Good Shepherd

Director Robert De Niro's spy movie The Good Shepherd, starring Matt Damon tells the largely fictionalize-but-based-on-a-true-story tale of Edward Wilson (Damon) and the creation of the art and science of counterintelligence at the CIA, which before the events in the movie, did not really exist. 

Crimson Tide

The Cold War reached right down to the men and women on the front of the conflict, especially those on a nuclear submarine like the one Gene Hackman's character captains in Crimson Tide. While the movie is fictional, it's not hard to believe something like it, a conflict between two officers (Hackman and Denzel Washington) over the launching nukes, could have happened in real life. 

Rocky IV

Rocky IV is pure, unadulterated pro-America jingoism, but that doesn't mean it's a bad movie. It's over-the-top and ridiculous, sure, but it actually does capture how many Americans felt in Reagan's America, that we had the Soviets on the ropes and we were one knockout punch away from winning. It turns out, that wasn't far off in 1985 when the movie came out. 

K-19: The Widowmaker

Harrison Ford plays a Soviet submarine captain in K-19: The Widowmaker and if you think that sounds ridiculous, you're only partly correct. The title, and a brief description, make the movie sound insane, and it is, but it's also kind of great. Ford pulls off the role and director Kathryn Bigelow someone makes the crazy premise work. It's the sort-of-true story of the captain of the first Soviet nuclear sub and it's fun, if far from perfect.  

Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind

Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind is a bonkers movie, supposedly based on the bonkers life story of Chuck Barris, the original host of The Gong Show and, at least according to him in his autobiography, a spy against the Soviets during the Cold War. Whether or not you believe Barris (most don't), the movie is a really fun watch. 

Spy Game

You can't go wrong with a team of Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, and director Tony Scott and while Spy Game isn't the best movie for any of them, it's still a wonderful movie. Though it's set a couple years after the Cold War ended, much of the movie happens in a flashback to 1970s East Berlin, setting it firmly in the heart of the quiet conflict. 

No Way Out

No Way Out is pure 1980s Cold War. Kevin Costner plays a Navy officer who gets involved with another officer's girlfriend, played by Gene Hackman and Sean Young, respectively. Costner's character is also working for the CIA, looking for a mole, who is suspected to be Hackman's character. There is a murder, and everyone is trying to pin it on everyone else, so the movie is kind of all over the place, but it's still a classic. 

The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

Author John le Carre wrote some of the best Cold War spy fiction of his day and the movie The Spy Who Came In from the Cold is based on one his best books. The great Richard Burton stars as a British spy who is sent to East Germany as a double agent, to help spread misinformation through the Warsaw Pact countries. Released in 1965 when tensions were high, it's a spy movie classic. 

Firefox

To be fair, Firefox, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood is really a heist movie disguised as a Cold War movie. Eastwood's character, whose mother is Russian, is charged with infiltrating the Soviet Union and stealing a cutting edge jet fighter plane. It's everything you would expect from a military movie made in the 1980s. 

Top Gun

In Top Gun Maverick and the boys might not have been fighting the Russians, but make no mistake, the movie was, in a real way, fighting the Russians by getting America fired up about its own military. The movie, made with the help of the Defense Department, is awesome, to be sure, but it's also a piece of serious Cold War propaganda. 

X-Men: First Class

The X-Men, both in the comics and in their on-screen story, began in the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, so it makes sense that both sides would be interested in recruiting the mutants for their powers. This is central to the origin story film X-Men: First Class. Professor X and Magneto both go to work for the CIA in the movie, infiltrating the Soviet Union to rescue other mutants. 

Atomic Blonde

released in 2017, but set just before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Atomic Blonde tells the story of an MI6 agent, played by Charlize Theron, sent to recover a stolen file containing "The List" of the names of all the spies in Berlin. Lorraine (Theron) is one of the best agents MI6 has... or is she?

Little Nikita

Decades before The Americans came Sidney Poitier and River Phoenix in Little Nikita, about a teenager (Phoenix) who is told he isn't who he thinks he is, and that his parents, unbeknownst to him, are Soviet spies raising him as an American. If you were a kid in the '80s, this was something you actually worried about. For real. 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The TV show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. from the early '60s was an early attempt by television to bring Cold War espionage into the homes of Americans. The 2015 movie, set in the early '60s, doesn't set the Soviets as the bad guys, instead, East and West team up to take out their old foes, Nazis. 

Salt

Angelina Jolie stars in Salt as a suspected Russian sleeper agent, after she grew up in the USSR, but works now for the CIA. While it's not set during the Cold War, it has heavy Cold War overtones. It might as well be the US versus USSR, rather than the US vs. Russia as it's presented. 

It's safe to say that these won't be the final say on the Cold War on film. With so many stories to tell over the decades-long standoff, filmmakers will certainly continue to mine it for great ideas and exciting stories. 

The Oppenheimer cast is a notoriously chummy group, even affectionately referring to themselves as "Oppenhomies," and a recent good-natured jibe at the expense of leading man Cillian Murphy from one of his famous co-stars looks to be more of the same. 

During a recent interview with 60 Minutes host Scott Pelley, Murphy — who has since taken home the Oscar statuette for Best Actor for his tremendous performance as the eponymous physicist — discussed what it was like working with such A-list talent as Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr. and Florence Pugh. However, it was Damon's cheeky critique of Murphy, which Pelley shared with the star, that had the Irishman cracking up mid-interview. 

Murphy, who undertook a strict diet to mimic the physicality of the famously frail scientist, couldn't partake in the margaritas and tacos that his "Oppen-homies" have gone on record saying they enjoyed while filming in the New Mexican desert. 

Plus, the sheer scale and scope of the work required of him in the biopic meant that any downtime was limited and was more often than not devoted to sleep (when he wasn't being attacked by a pillow gifted by Emily Blunt, that is). Cillian Murphy told Pelley: 

The 47-year-old actor was quick to add that in the months since Oppenheimer production ended, he and his castmates have shared "lots of lovely dinners" together:

It's not the first time that Murphy's co-stars have publicly poked fun at him — both Matt Damon and his real-life neighbor Emily Blunt previously touted how hard it is to act opposite Cillian's famously blue "ocean eyes." And they don't just single out him: Blunt also gifted Oppenheimer director and noted Uggs hater Christopher Nolan a pair of the fur-lined boots as a wrap gift on the award-winning film.

Given that Christopher Nolan has a habit of working with the same actors over and over again, this might not be the only time we see the likes of Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon and Emily Blunt come together onscreen. If they do, we know we'll have a funny and friendly promo tour to go along with it. In the meantime, you can catch the three actors and the rest of the Oppenhomies in Oppenheimer, now available to stream with a Peacock subscription.

Mistakes happen. We're all human, including the most talented people in Hollywood, and we all make them. Given how huge some productions are, and the coordination it takes to make a big Hollywood movie, it's actually amazing more mistakes don't happen. When they do sneak through into a final product, you can be sure people will talk about them, so here are some of the errors we're still thinking about, even years later. 

Pretty Woman's Ever Changing Breakfast

One of the most famous continuity errors in Hollywood history has to be the now-infamous breakfast scene in Pretty Woman. When Vivian (Julia Roberts) sits down for breakfast, she picks up a croissant and starts to eat it. A couple of seconds later, the scene cuts back to her and she takes a bite of a...pancake. Then after another cut, she takes the same bit of a clearly different pancake. 

Han's Hands In The Empire Strikes Back

Han Solo (Harrison Ford) being frozen in carbonite is one of the most iconic scenes in film history, and yet, there is something that just doesn't make sense. When Han is led to the machine and lowered into it, his hands are tied at the wrist in front of him and his arms are tied to his side. When his frozen body emerges, his hands are separated at his side. 

Oppenheimer Flags With Too Many Stars

Even Best Picture winners can have mistakes, but this one, as some fan theories pose, may have been intentional. In one scene, Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). In one scene in the movie, Oppenheimer is being cheered on by people waving American flags that have 50 stars on them, but in 1945, when the scene takes place, there were only 48 stars on the flag. Some have argued that this was intentional on director Christopher Nolan's part, as the story is being told by Oppenheimer in the future. 

The Octopus In The Goonies

The Goonies is a classic, and one line has confounded viewers for decades. At the end of the movie as the kids are recounting their adventures to the reporters, Data (Ke Huy Quan) tells them that "the octopus was really scary." What octopus you might ask? Well, in a deleted scene the Goonies do encounter an octopus, but it was cut from the final version. 

The Fake Baby In American Sniper

Practical effects can make things look more realistic, or, as in the case of a swaddled baby in American Sniper, very fake. In one scene Bradley Cooper holds his character's "baby" in his arms, clearly using a level to move the prop and make it look real. 

Dorothy's Black Shoes In The Wizard Of Oz

Everyone would agree that Dorothy's ruby slippers in The Wizard Of Oz are among the most iconic movie props in history, they are even in the Smithsonian. Yet, in the scene where she is picking apples, she's wearing ordinary black shoes. 

The Holdovers Has Modern Cars

The Holdovers was one of the best movies of 2023, though it was set in 1970 and 1971. Whenever a movie is filming exterior shots for period pieces, there is a risk of missing something in the background, and in The Holdovers, it was modern cars parked on the side of the road in Boston. 

Braveheart Car

Braveheart doesn't have the best reputation for accuracy among historians, but even the most stringent critic can forgive the fact that for a brief moment, really no more than a single frame, there is clearly a car behind the Scottish soldiers. 

Jacob's Moving Tattoo In Twilight

This one seems pretty easy to mess up, and it's fairly minor, but still. In the Twilight series, Jacob (Taylor Lautner) has a tattoo that migrates up and down his arm. The tat, obviously a temp for the movie, starts high on his shoulder but later is closer to his bicep. This is a little pedantic, sure, but you can also be sure that people who watch the movie over and over notice it every time. 

The Dark Rises...And Misspells Things

I before E, except after C and in sounding like...heist. We'll be the first to admit that the English language has some strange rules that don't always apply, which is why it's easy enough to excuse the crew on The Dark Knight Rises for misspelling the word "HEIST" in a newspaper headline, spelling it "HIEST." 

The Klutzy Storm Trooper In Star Wars

One of the most infamous movie mistakes comes from one of the biggest movies of all time. The case of the klutzy stormtrooper in the original Star Wars is one of the most inadvertently funny moments in Hollywood history. It's so funny that later versions of the movie added in a sound effect to draw attention to the mistake. 

The Ben-Hur Wrist Watch

1959's Ben-Hur is one of the great epics from Hollywood's golden age. The huge set pieces and hundreds of extras make for an amazing watch. With all that going on, especially in the film's famous chariot race scene, it's understandable that the crew would miss that one of the actors driving a chariot was wearing his wristwatch. 

Van Ant-Man And Giant Ant-Man

Even blockbusters with huge budgets sometimes overlook stuff. Case in point: Avengers: Endgame. The end of Endgame is one of the greatest moments in the history of the MCU, it's an epic battle that includes every Avenger battling Thanos and his army. It's so big, that there are even two Ant-Mans. One Ant-Man is busy trying to hotwire his van, but when it cuts to the wide shot of the battle, there is giant Ant-Man battling it out with his Avenger buddies in the background. Oops. 

De Niro To Dummy In Casino

Martin Scorsese's Casino is an amazing movie, but there is one thing that eagle-eyed viewers catch every time they watch it. In the scene when Robert De Niro's character's car is blown up in an attempt to kill him, there is a cut just moments before the explosion where the actor has clearly been replaced by a dummy. At least no De Niros were hurt in the making of the film. 

Cardboard Cut-Out In Three Men And A Baby

This one goes back decades. For years, there were even rumors of a ghost on the set of Three Men and A Baby when a cardboard cut-out prop was left in the wrong place on set. The prop, seen behind a curtain in a scene with Ted Danson was clearly not supposed to be there, and in the days before we all had the ability to freeze-frame everything, the rumor spread like wildfire. 

Bullet Holes In Pulp Fiction

While Pulp Fiction certainly plays with time and reality in some ways, one way Quentin Tarantino probably didn't mean to is with the bullet holes in the wall of the apartment at the beginning after Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) shoots Brett (Frank Whaley) but before he gets shot at. If you look closely, you can see there are suddenly holes in the wall behind Jules, holes that wouldn't be there until Brett's friend shoots at Jules. 

Clueless Car Crash

Cher (Alicia Silverstone) and her friends are not very good drivers in Clueless. While taking her driver's exam in her brand new Jeep, Cher attempts to change lanes and sideswipes a parked car, taking off her side mirror. Literally moments later, she pulls the Jeep over and the mirror is miraculously back where it belongs. It's a Beverly Hills miracle. 

An Explosive Gas Canister In Gladiator

Period pieces, especially those set in ancient times, are susceptible to missing more modern objects in the frame. Take one of the best ever, Gladiator for example, when a chariot crashes at the Coliseum and a gas canister is exposed, hidden underneath, presumable to help propel the prop. 

A Car In The Shire In LOTR: Fellowship Of The Ring

J.R.R. Tolkien probably didn't intend for there to be cars in the Shire in Lord of the Rings, yet, there is one. In a wide shot, as Sam and Frodo are just starting out on their journey in Fellowship Of The Ring, in the top right of the screen, there is a clearly visible car driving down a dirt road in the background. If they had hitched a ride, it would've made for a much shorter trilogy. The car has since been edited out of later versions. 

Dorothy's Hair

Hairstyles can be especially tricky sometimes, and this is very evident in The Wizard of Oz as the length of Dorothy's pigtails changes a number of times throughout the movie. 

Keeping Them Separated In Raiders 

Sometimes, the mistakes we focus on aren't really mistakes, but they aren't perfect filmmaking, either. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) famously hates snakes. When he falls into the pit of snakes in the Egyptian desert, a cobra rises up to strike. Luckily for Indy, there is clearly (ahem, pun intended) a piece of plexiglass between him and the snake. It was edited out of later versions. 

Tran's Shirt In The Fast And The Furious

No one has ever called the Fast franchise high art, that's not the point. Like many films that are high art, however, there are mistakes. Like in the original The Fast And The Furious, when Tran is in his car ready to drag race. First, he's wearing a black t-shirt, then, right before the race starts, he's suddenly wearing a black tank top. It got really hot, really quickly. 

JFK's Clothes In Forrest Gump

Even in black and white, audiences know when the color of a costume changes. Or, in this case, two different videos of John F. Kennedy were used when Forrest Gump "met" the former president. His suit and tie are clearly two different colors, one darker than the other, in the clips. 

Let There Be Light In Gone With The Wind

During the Civil War, it was reasonable to expect to see gas lamps on the streets of Atlanta. What you wouldn't expect, or even know about, are electric lamps like the ones mistakenly used in the movie. Thomas Edison was only about 17 years old at the time. 

Horse Kick In The Last Samurai

Sometimes what is funny to us, was probably no laughing matter on the set. In a calvary scene in The Last Samurai, there is clearly a moment when an extra gets kicked by a horse as Tom Cruise's character rides in. Ouch. But funny. 

The Sweeper In Quantum Of Solace

Finding good extras is never easy. Take, for example, the case of the phantom sweeper in the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace. In a scene with Bond on a pier, there is an extra in the background meant to be a worker on the docks. He's sweeping with a big broom, but that's not enough to keep his job, as he's just sweeping air. 

The Cop In Two Places Batman Begins

In Batman Begins, either every cop looks exactly the same, or one actor was used to play two different cops, or in Christopher Nolan's Gotham City, one person can be in two places as once. Come to think of it, with Nolan involved, maybe this was on purpose?

The Cowboy Pirate Of The Caribbean

If you saw a cowboy and a pirate together at a Halloween party, you wouldn't think twice about it. When you see a pirate amongst the pirates in Pirates Of The Caribbean, you know it's a mistake, but that's what happened in Curse of the Black Pearl when it appears a crew member was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. 

A Parsec Is Not A Measure Of Time, Han! 

One of the all-time classic nerd-out moments comes in the original Star Wars when Han Solo famously tells Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) that he did the Kessel Run in  "less than 12 parsecs!" Unfortunately for Han, parsecs are a measure of distance, so it tells Obi-Wan nothing about how fast the Millennium Falcon is. 

Buddy The Elf Isn't The Worst Dresser in Elf

Sure, Buddy's suit in Elf stands out among the throngs on the streets of New York, but in one scene, there is an extra with a way a worse sense of fashion, as he has buttoned his suit jacket to his overcoat. We've all had mornings like that though. 

Maverick's Sunglass In Top Gun

Tom Cruise made Ray Ban Aviators the hottest glasses of the 1980s by wearing them in the original Top Gun. Maverick's glasses, however, are magical, as one of the last scenes of movie, when he Iceman (Val Kilmer) confronts him to tell him he can be his wingman anytime, Maverick takes off the glasses. Then they hug, and Slider (Rossovich) picks Maverick up and, like magic, the glasses are back on. 

Where Is Ben Going In The Graduate?

Sometimes movies have to do things that automatically make the mistakes to be more cinematic. Like in The Graduate when Ben (Dustin Hoffman) is supposed to driving to Berkeley on the Bay Bridge, but he's clearly on the top deck, which only heads the other direction, towards San Francisco. Obviously, it makes for the better shot than with a deck above him in his awesome Alfa Romeo, but it's still the wrong way. 

For this list of the best portrayals of Presidents in movies and TV shows, we’re talking about actual historical presidents, not fictional ones. So while you won’t find awesome performances like Martin Sheen as Jeb Bartlett on The West Wing or Terry Crews as Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho in Idiocracy, there are some absolutely astounding performances on this list. From George Washington to Joe Biden, almost every president has appeared on film, and this is a list of some of our favorites. 

Daniel Day-Lewis As Abraham Lincoln In Lincoln

On the one hand, it’s surprising that an Englishman is responsible for one of the best, if not the best portrayal of a U.S. president. On the other hand, it’s hardly surprising that it was Daniel Day-Lewis playing the part of Lincoln. One of the greatest actors of all time playing one of the greatest presidents is a recipe for greatness, and that is what is achieved in Stephen Speilberg’s Lincoln. For the role, Day-Lewis won his very deserved third Oscar, becoming the only actor to do so. 

Robin Williams As Theodore Roosevelt In Night At The Museum

It’s important to remember that even though it takes place in a museum, Night At The Museum is not a documentary, nor is it really trying to be all that historically accurate. That makes Robin Williams’ role as the great Theodore Roosevelt make sense, right? Williams wasn’t going for historical accuracy, he was going for what he does best, comedy. It sure does work too, it’s hilarious and wonderful. 

Alan Rickman As Ronald Reagan In The Butler

Lee Daniels’ The Butler has a slew of great actors playing presidents. The final president that the titular butler serves is Ronald Reagan, played by Alan Rickman. The late, great Rickman doesn’t go for an impression of Reagan, and that was a great decision, it would have come off as cartoonish. Instead, he plays the role in an atypically (for Rickman) understated way, getting the vibe of Reagan, if not the exact voice or mannerisms. 

Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford In Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live has been sending up presidents for almost five decades, from Gerald Ford to Joe Biden. The first SNL player to do his impression of one was, of course, Chevy Chase playing Gerry Ford in the first season. There is really nothing that resembles the actual President Ford, but Chase is brilliant still, grabbing one stereotype of Ford as the bumbling, uncoordinated fool, and maxing it out. Almost every episode included Chase falling over as Ford, or struggling to answer questions in a debate, as in the classic “There would be no math” sketch. 

Paul Giamatti As John Adams In John Adams

The second president of the United States, John Adams, is so often overlooked in history, overshadowed by his predecessor George Washington, and his successor, Thomas Jefferson. Adams, however, played a huge role in the founding of the nation, so it’s wonderful that HBO made the miniseries John Adams and even better that Paul Giamatti was cast to play Adams. Giamatti is as good an actor as anyone of his generation and he nails how Adams must have felt to contribute so much, yet still live in the shadow of giants. 

Bruce Greenwood As John F. Kennedy.In Thirteen Days

Thirteen Days is really about Kenneth O'Donnell, a White House advisor played by Kevin Costner during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but Bruce Greenwood is great as John F. Kennedy. Like others on this list, he doesn’t play up an impression too much, with good results. 

Gary Oldman As Harry S. Truman In Oppenheimer

Gary Oldman’s turn as Harry S. Truman in the wildly successful Oppenheimer doesn’t last long, but boy is it fantastic. He plays the part perfectly, hidden behind great makeup, but distinctly Oldman. Truman famously wrestled with the decision to drop the bomb on Japan before and after he made it, living with it for the rest of his life, so his reaction to Oppenheimer’s (Cillian Murphy) regret is spot on.

Frank Langella As Richard Nixon In Frost/Nixon

There is a good reason that Frank Langella was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon. He’s fantastic. Nixon is a president that would be so easy to fall into a cartoonish impression of, as many people do. Not Langella though. Instead, he captures the essence of Nixon’s cynicism and petulance, with just enough of a straight impression that you never forget who he is playing. It’s perfect. 

Alec Baldwin As Donald Trump On Saturday Night Live

Sure to be the most controversial on this list is Alec Baldwin’s impression of Donald Trump on SNL. Baldwin delighted Trump’s critics and angered his fans, but in the end, it’s actually a really good comedic impression, and not what you would expect from the actor. 

Bryan Cranston As Lyndon B. Johnson In All The Way

HBO’s All The Way is a movie that kind of flew under the radar for a lot of people, and for those who missed it, they should definitely seek it out. Especially if they are fans of Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston who plays President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Cranston clearly studied the mannerisms and voice of the controversial president, because he nails the role, alongside Anthony Mackie, who plays Dr. Martin Luther King. 

Phil Hartman As Bill Clinton In Saturday Night Live

A few different players on SNL took a shot at a Bill Clinton impression, but the best has to be the late, great Phil Hartman. If there is one skit to check out, it has to be the one with Hartman talking to people in a McDonald's, and eating their food, while supposedly in the middle of a jog with his Secret Service agents. It’s comedic gold. 

Sam Rockwell As George W. Bush In Vice

There are a lot of over-the-top impressions of George W. Bush out there. It’s easy to go too far with it. That’s what makes Sam Rockwell’s version of the 43rd president so great, it’s restrained but still comedic. It’s the perfect foil for Christian Bale’s Dick Cheney in Vice.

Stephen Dillane As Thomas Jefferson In John Adams

HBO’s miniseries John Adams gave us a few great portrayals of U.S. Presidents, including Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson. In this case, it’s mostly Jefferson before he was president and his fundamental squabbles with Adams in the early days of the republic. Dillane is masterful as Jefferson in an understated, smoldering performance. 

Michael C. Hall As John F. Kennedy In The Crown

The Crown not only gave fans excellent portrayals of royalty but prime ministers and presidents as well. Michael C. Hall plays John Kennedy in Season 2 of the Netflix series, as the young president makes a number of protocol mistakes when meeting Queen Elizabeth for the first time. It’s not a straight impression, but it perfectly evokes the grandeur of Kennedy and his wife Jackie everyone felt that they met at the time, even the queen and Prince Philip.  

John Travolta As “Bill Clinton” In Primary Colors

The book that the movie Primary Colors is based on was written by a then-anonymous author (who turned out to be writer Joe Klein), and it technically wasn’t about Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign. Of course, it was pretty thinly disguised as fiction, and in the movie, Gov. Jack Stanton is obviously supposed to be Bill Clinton. John Travolta, who played the Clinton analog, is brilliant. It’s one of his best roles, giving off just enough of Clinton to remind audiences what the movie is really about.

Christopher Jackson As George Washington In Hamilton

When the music Hamilton finally got a screen version in 2020 on Disney+, it was of the stage show by the original Broadway cast edited together from three performances in 2016. This cast included the great Christopher Jackson as George Washington. While you certainly can’t compare this portrayal to what Washington was in real life (though we want to believe Washington was a great rapper), it’s still a show-stopping performance and more than worthy to be included on this list. 

Anthony Hopkins As John Quincy Adams In Amistad

Steven Spielberg’s underrated Amistad has two great performances from actors as presidents, including Game of Thrones cast member Nigel Hawthorne as the rarely portrayed Martin Van Buren. The star though, is Sir Anthony Hopkins playing John Quincy Adams in his later years, post-presidency, arguing the case in favor of the enslaved men in front of the Supreme Court. 

Dana Carvey As George H.W. Bush On Saturday Night Live

Of all the presidential impressions on Saturday Night Live maybe the greatest of all time is Dana Carvey’s take on George H.W. Bush. He created so many viral moments, even in a time before the internet. Who doesn’t hear “A thousand points of life” and not crack up? 

Tom Selleck As Dwight Eisenhower In Ike: Countdown to D-Day

Tom Selleck’s mustache has become the stuff of legends but in one of his best roles, as President Dwight Eisenhower in Ike: Countdown to D-Day. Without the hair on his face (and the hair on his head), the Magnum P.I. star looks completely different, and it pays off playing the former president in the years before his presidency when he was the Supreme Allied Commander in World War II. 

Anthony Hopkins As Richard Nixon In Nixon

Director Oliver Stone’s Nixon is a dark movie about a dark time in US history. At the center of that darkness is Richard Nixon, played here brilliantly by Sir Anthony Hopkins. While some have criticized the movie for its historical accuracy, no one can complain about Hopkins’ take on the disgraced former president, as he plays it all doom and gloom that the president and the country felt. 

Edward Herrmann as Franklin D. Roosevelt In Annie

It's not the biggest role, and it's not a historically accurate portrayal, of course, but Edward Herrmann singing "Tomorrow" with Annie (Aileen Quinn) is worthy of mention on this list. It is truly iconic. 

Gary Sinise as Harry S. Truman In Truman

HBO's Truman from 1995, starring Gary Sinise as the titular president is woefully underappreciated, much like Harry S. Truman's presidency was for years. The decision to drop the bomb defines his legacy, and this movie, though it follows him through his whole career. 

Will Ferrell As George W. Bush On Saturday Night Live

Will Ferrell's impression of George W. Bush was so iconic, it invented a word: Strategery. There really isn't much more you can say to compliment the comedian. He was so good as "Dubya" that it turned the impression into a great one-man show, You're Welcome America.

David Strathairn As Franklin D. Roosevelt In The Darkest Hour

You know you're smashing a role when audiences know who you are without ever seeing your character. Such is the case with David Strathairn as FDR in The Darkest Hour. Though he's only heard over the telephone in a conversation with Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman), everyone knew who it was. 

Nigel Hawthorne As Martin Van Buren In Amistad

Martin Van Buren is probably best known in pop culture for being the namesake of the “Van Buren Boys” in Seinfeld, but he has been played on the big screen before, most notably by Nigel Hawthorne in Amistad. It’s a tricky part to play, but the scene in which he goes toe-to-toe in an argument over slavery with John C. Calhoun (Arliss Howard) at dinner is such a great scene and gives audiences a real sense of who Van Buren was as president, indeed what being president was like in those early years of the country. 

Josh Brolin As George W. Bush - W.

Oliver Stone has three movies on his resume with a president’s name (or part of a name) in the title, the last being W. from 2008, starring Josh Brolin as George W. Bush. The movie is far from perfect, but Brolin does a great job as “Dubya” and completely disappears into the role. 

Woody Harrelson As Lyndon Johnson In LBJ

Lyndon Johnson was a complicated man, and in LBJ Woody Harrelson nails all sides of him. Lustful for power, mean, and crass, but also compassionate for his constituents. It's a performance that is over-the-top, yet somehow realistic, much like the president himself. 

Jared Harris As Ulysses S. Grant In Lincoln

Ulysses S. Grant is generally regarded by historians as a better general than a president, so it makes sense that the best portrayal of the 18th President of the United States would be of him as a general during the Civil War. Jared Harris’ performance as Grant in Lincoln isn’t a huge role, but in a film filled with great actors, Harris is right there at the top in his brooding, contemplative depiction of the general of the Union Army. 

David Morse As George Washington In John Adams

The nation’s first president, George Washington, must be a pretty intimidating role to play. It’s hard to know what he sounded like, for example, or what his accent was. Still, David Morse nails the essence of both the historical and the mythical natures of Washington. He even looks just like him. It’s a fantastic performance. 

Dan Aykroyd As Jimmy Carter On Saturday Night Live

For much of the prime years for the original cast of Not-Ready-Prime-Players on SNL in the late ‘70s, Jimmy Carter was president. Dan Aykroyd took up the task of playing the reserved, humble Carter and he did it well. Maybe the most famous sketch is of Carter taking calls from the public, only to get one from a man in need of a lot of help and telling him to play some Allman Brothers. 

James Cromwell As George H. W. Bush in W.

Of all everyone on this list, James Cromwell may be the best casting of all when he played George H.W. Bush in W. Cromwell has the physically of the 41st president, and the gravitas to play the role. While not an exact analog of Bush’s look, it is perfect casting and acting, as you know immediately who is playing, before he even speaks. 

Bill Murray As Franklin D. Roosevelt In Hyde Park On The Hudson

Hyde Park On The Hudson is not the strongest movie on this list, but Bill Murray is still very good as Franklin D. Roosevelt. Murray often doesn’t get enough credit for his dramatic roles, given how legendary he is as a comedian, but he should get more. Here, he plays the role subtly, with only a hint of FDR’s famous mid-Atlantic accent, and that’s a smart choice. It would be easy to see Murray as a cartoonish version of the president, but you don’t, and it makes for a powerful portrayal.

Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling are two of Hollywood's most comedic and charismatic stars, so we already knew that any on-stage pairing between them wouldn't disappoint. Their hilariously biting banter at the 2024 Oscars was no exception. The duo, who have joined forces for the new action-comedy The Fall Guy — which is already a winner with early-bird viewers at SXSW and broke a major Guiness World Record — were on hand during the 96th Annual Academy Awards not only as supporting nominees (him for his Kenergetic turn in Barbie and her for her blistering work in Oppenheimer), but also as presenters. 

While taking the stage at the March 10 ceremony to celebrate the stunt community in Hollywood, the twosome good-naturedly ribbed each other on that whole "Barbenheimer" phenomenon. Despite saying that "Ken and Kitty" were leaving all of the "fodder" of that cinematic feud behind them, Blunt jokingly kicked off a verbal sparring between the two co-stars:

As Gosling begrudgingly admitted, Oppenheimer did very well when it came to awards: the critically acclaimed, Christopher Nolan-directed biopic won seven Oscar statuettes in total, including Best Picture, a long-awaited Best Director win for Nolan, and first-time honors for Blunt's fellow Oppenheimer cast members Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr.

Of course, Barbie was no slouch in the awards department either, earning eight total Academy Award nominations and one win, for Billie Eilish and Finneas' original song, "What Was I Made For?" However, where the Greta Gerwig-directed blockbuster really shined is at the box office, where it cleared a billion bucks, an impressive feat that Gosling used as ammo against Blunt and the Oppenheimer crew: 

Though Blunt hilariously snapped back at Gosling "Ken-splaining that" to her, she later dropped the feuding facade to praise the Barbie actor's instantly iconic musical performance of "I'm Just Ken." (Seriously, even Martin Scorsese loved it.) You can rewatch the entire back-and-forth between the two actors below:

Emily Blunt shared her reaction to Ryan's big number with E! News and also disclosed what she later told him while they were flying from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, after the Oscars for The Fall Guy's SXSW premiere: 

We're glad to see that the "feud" between these two is only for comedic purposes, because this is a duo we're definitely excited to see more of soon. Catch both Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy, hitting theaters on Friday, May 3rd on the 2024 movie schedule. 

With a good number of 2024 Oscar winners owing their success to Oppenheimer, the Christopher Nolan film’s award wins are a nice compliment to the staggering box office haul it brought in. At the time of this publication, roughly $958.8 has been raked in by the Cillian Murphy-led biographical drama, with the Universal film finally being released in Japan at the end of this month.

It’s a whirlwind story that’s made history, which also landed Nolan a Tom Cruise-level payout as a result. Considering it's a three-hour, R-rated movie about the development of the atomic bomb we’re discussing here, that's not bad at all. And as reported by Variety, that rousing cinematic win banked The Dark Knight helmer “just south of $100 million.” 

This figure includes not only Christopher Nolan’s salary for making Oppenheimer, but also various bonuses that came from “backend compensation, box-office escalators and a bonus for his twin Academy Awards.” One has to wonder if the sum would have been a cool $100 million if the Best Adapted Screenplay nominee had won that third prize. 

Regardless of that hypothetical, Nolan’s huge payout is a story that recalls Tom Cruise and Margot Robbie’s insane paydays of recent past. As the respective stars of Top Gun: Maverick and Barbie, both parties banked quite a bit of change themselves. Margot Robbie’s fantastic plastic paycheck came out to about $50 million, including her salary for the film; where as Cruise’s high flying bankroll came in with a $13 million base and $100 million in bonuses.  

So what can we learn from the lessons that Oppenheimer has taught the world of filmmaking? Well, having a clear and unwavering vision certainly pays off, especially if you have the clout to nail down full creative control and a $100 million budget. But also, don’t underestimate the audience at any point in your negotiations. 

What may look like a risky gamble could become the next meteoric hit that breaks the bank. That’s something that Tom Cruise and Margot Robbie could definitely attest to, as their own journeys to well deserved bonuses came with a fair share of detractors and true believers. In the end, history rewarded their faith and made sure that the titles Oppenheimer, Top Gun: Maverick and Barbie won't be forgotten any time soon.

The Cinderella story that saw Christopher Nolan’s Warner Bros. breakup turn into Universal’s gain will more than likely embolden studios to continue seeking out stories similar to this one; in the hopes of replicating that success. But as anyone with a Peacock subscription or a 4K UHD copy of this movie will tell you, making a movie like Oppenheimer is not an easy feat. 

Whomever treads the path that Mr. Nolan has now laid out certainly has their work cut out for them, and it's only natural to wish them the best of luck. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go work on my screenplay adapting MCU: the Reign of Marvel Studios. It may not be the same exact idea, but someone has to try, right? 

Christopher Nolan's films have genuinely changed the world – so we decided to rank them. 

When it comes to some of the most-known filmmakers, I'm sure plenty come to mind. Maybe you think of the best Steven Spielberg movies, or perhaps you think of the best David Fincher films. But today, we're going to be focusing on a director who has released some of the most influential films of the last few decades—and that's Christopher Nolan. 

From his debut movie Following to his latest, Oppenheimer, here is how we rank Nolan's films from the very start. 

12. Following (1998)

For a debut film, Following is a great one to have. The movie mainly tells the story of a young man who follows the lives of strangers in London, only to find himself drawn into the criminal world when it's taken too far. 

Nolan directed, wrote, and produced the film, and as his debut film, it's not the big, bold pictures that we've seen him make way down the line in his career. Following is an interesting story to begin on, but certainly not his best. 

11. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Dark Knight Rises is the third film in the Christian Bale Batman trilogy, telling how Batman needs to return to crime fighting when a terrorist known as Bane threatens nuclear destruction. 

Regarding the best superhero movies, The Dark Knight Rises is a great one, but it pales in comparison to the previous trilogy installments. After losing Heath Ledger, it suffers an understandable pitfall with a clunky storyline that's barely rememberable all these years later. While it's saved a bit by the performances of Bale, Tom Hardy, and Anne Hathaway, there's not much to this Batman entry. 

10. Tenet (2020)

Tenet was released during the COVID-19 pandemic and told the story of a former CIA agent who has to trace the origin of objects that travel backward through time to stop an attack that is going to occur. 

The premise for this film is wacky. I'll give Tenet a Top 10 spot mainly because the visual effects are out of this world. I believe it should have been given a long theatrical release when it first debuted. But, the story itself leaves a lot to be desired. I've had to rewatch this film a few times to truly understand it. 

9. Insomnia (2002)

Insomnia was released in 2002 and featured the story of two homicide detectives who are looking for the murderer of a teenage girl, only for their lives to become intertwined. 

The following movies in Nolan's filmography are all objectively great; it's just that some have more outstanding qualities than others. Insomnia, for example, is a silent killer of a movie. It features an exceptional performance from Robin Williams, but also Al Pacino, Hilary Swank, and so many more who rock here. If I had to pick one of Nolan's less intense films, this would be it—a true psychological thriller.

8. Memento (2000)

Memento is an interesting one – it stars Guy Pearce as Leonard, a man who can't make memories after witnessing the rape and murder of his wife. Now, he uses a camera and a gun to hunt down the person who did it to bring her justice. 

This film is excellent. I wasn't super impressed when I first watched all of Nolan's films, but when I rewatched it, the movie grew on me. The mystery unfolding is unlike any other and captures the eyes of the viewer in an instant. 

7. Batman Begins (2005)

The first film in the Nolan Batman trilogy, Batman Begins, tells not only the origin story of Bruce Wayne but follows as he attempts to stop Ra's al Ghul and other villains from turning Gotham City into nothing but a criminal haven. 

Reintroducing Batman to the general public after the bombs of the Batman franchise in the 1990s took guts, but Nolan did that and more with Batman Begin. It's a gritty drama with excellent acting, an incredible cast, and a story that made even a superhero hater like me a superhero lover early in her life. 

6. The Prestige (2006)

Starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, The Prestige is another psychological thriller that follows two rival magicians in Victorian London who try to sabotage the other to perform the ultimate magic trick. 

The Prestige surprised me when I first watched it, and even more so now, as it's one of Nolan's best movies. Both Bale and Jackman give career-high performances, but the sleight-of-hand scenes you witness mixed in with the game both the main characters are playing to outdo the other is what you stay for. Truly, so much fun.

5. Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk is an epic, and one of the best war films, that follows the soldiers during the real-life Dunkirk evacuation during World War II.

This film…sits with you. I don't think it's number one, but Dunkirk is a movie that you never really forget. Thanks to the sound editing, I can still feel the shaking of my theater seat years later, and I was blown away by the cinematography. 

The film is dark, realistic, and downright devastating when you think about all the lives lost. What makes it even better is that there's barely any speaking – only a true cinematic master can pull off a film with so much emotion when there's barely a peep of dialogue. 

4. Inception (2010)

Inception is a sci-fi action film about a thief who can steal information by literally entering his victims' minds. However, the chance to have his criminal record erased throws his life into a tailspin. 

Arguably, Leonardo DiCaprio should have won an Oscar for Inception, as it's one of DiCaprio’s best movies. Is it confusing at first? Yeah, it is, but everything changes once you start to understand the science behind it. And, of course, the visual effects have gone down as some of the best in film history. 

3. Oppenheimer (2023)

Oppenheimer is a biographical film about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who created the atomic bomb. Was it one of the best movie experiences I've ever had? Heck, yes, it was. 

From the incredible Oppenheimer cast to the impeccable soundtrack, Oppenheimer hooked me. Pair that with an incredible lead performance from Cillian Murphy, and this is certainly one of Nolan's best-directed features. I think there are two others that surpass this, but it's up there. 

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

Most people would say that Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker makes The Dark Knight so high, but there are so many other reasons beyond his earth-shattering portrayal. 

The action scenes were incredibly well-done. Unlike any other Batman interpretation, the story was evenly paced and thrilling. The score is phenomenal. And let's not even get started on the number of iconic lines that have cemented themselves into pop culture. 

The Dark Knight would be number one if this last film didn't exist. So, one other film takes the cake for me. 

1. Interstellar (2014)

I had to put this at number one.

Some people wouldn't agree with my pick of Interstellar, but objectively, I can't not put this at number one for so many reasons. Sure, the sci-fi aspect of this film — that— they must travel into space to find a habitable planet for humans — is a little clunky — I can understand that. I've needed to watch this film a couple of times to truly understand it. 

But the themes are downright unforgettable. The Interstellar cast gives it their all for the entirety of the film, with a positively heartbreaking and yet uplifting performance from Matthew McConaughey post-Dallas Buyers Club. Hans Zimmer's score is one I still listen to in my car as I drive down a highway late at night. 

This movie has impacted my life so much ever since I first watched it — which is why I have to place it as my number one. 

This is my list, and while I believe this is the proper ranking, your ranking of Christopher Nolan's best films might differ entirely from mine. 

Either way, let's all admire how amazing he truly is as a filmmaker — and somehow patiently await his next movie, whenever that comes. 

It's remarkable to consider that, despite a career filled with unforgettable roles spanning five decades, Robert Downey Jr.'s recent Academy Award win for Oppenheimer marks the first time the acclaimed actor has received this prestigious award. Winning Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film, quickly prompted celebration from his Iron Man co-star, Gwyneth Paltrow on social media. Alongside Paltrow's congratulations, the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang actor's achievement also garnered praise from his Marvel Cinematic Universe colleagues, Jeremy Renner and Jon Favreau.

Following the Oscars and the subsequent Governor’s Ball, PEOPLE magazine had the opportunity to speak with Jeremy Renner and Jon Favreau about Robert's significant achievement. Both the Hawkeye performer and Zathura helmer opened up about their friend's notable accomplishment, with Favreau offering his insights on the significance of this moment for the A-lister:  

Jeremy, who has shared the screen with Downey Jr. in some of the best Marvel shows and superhero movies, expressed his profound pride and joy for his friend's accomplishment. Reflecting on Robert’s journey and the resilience he has shown through his career, Renner said:

The Chaplain star and his friends should feel a sense of pride because it is undoubtedly a significant achievement. As Favreau observed, the actor is genuinely experiencing a remarkable moment. Downey knows how to celebrate, as evidenced by his social media post celebrating his first Oscar victory. He shared an image on Instagram Stories that captured him relishing the moment, wearing a cozy golden robe and holding his newly-won Oscar while sipping coffee, with a caption that read: “Oh happy day…” It’s a post that harkens back to his days as Tony Stark. 

Fresh off the awards season buzz, the Sherlock Holmes star isn't hitting the brakes anytime soon. Up next for Downey is The Sympathizer, a gripping HBO series where he does double duty both in front of and behind the camera, bringing Viet Thanh Nguyen's acclaimed novel to life. Once it drops, those with a Max subscription are in for a treat, as they'll get exclusive streaming access to this highly anticipated show. And those of you with a Peacock subscription can visit the Avengers alum’s Oscar-winning performance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which is now streaming. 

Of course, if you are a Marvel fan, you could revisit RDJ’s time collaboration with Renner and Favreau in the MCU by streaming all the Marvel movies in order with a Disney+ subscription. 

The 96th Academy Awards may not have gotten off to the best of starts for Robert Downey Jr. considering how annoyed he looked at the nasty jabs host Jimmy Kimmel took at him during the opening monologue, but it didn’t take long for the night to significantly improve for him. Downey ended up being among the 2024 Oscars winners, taking home Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer. Needless to say this a big milestone for the man since it’s the first Oscar he’s won, and now he’s gone on social media to share in this “happy day” he’s celebrating with the masses.

Taking to his Instagram Stories, Downey shared a picture of how he’s kicking back to enjoy his Oscar win by exchanging his formalwear from the night before for a comfortable robe, and holding a cup of coffee in one hand and the golden statuette in the other. Take a look!

A happy day indeed! Not only does it refer to Robert Downey Jr. adding an Academy Award to his collection of accolades, but it also allows the actor to plug Happy Products, the coffee company he launched at the beginning of the year with co-founder Craig Dubitsky. Why not get the best of both worlds by enjoying that Oscar while enjoying a cup of java from your own brand? Side note, I’m also quite taken by his watch.

Downey was first up for Oscars gold back in 1993 when he was nominated in the Best Actor category for Chaplin. Then in 2009, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Tropic Thunder. A decade and a half later, he finally secured that win thanks to Oppenheimer, which ranked #4 among the best 25 movies of 2023, according to CinemaBlend. Downey’s competition in Best Supporting Actor this year included American Fiction’s Sterling K. Brown, Killers of the Flower Moon’s Robert De Niro, Barbie’s Ryan Gosling and Poor Things’ Mark Ruffalo. 

Best Supporting Actor was one of six Academy Awards Oppenheimer scored during the night, the others being Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. It was additionally nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling and Best Costume Design. If by some chance you’ve missed out on the major motion picture detailing Robert Oppenheimer directing the Manhattan Project and becoming the “father of the atomic bomb,” it can be streamed with a Peacock subscription. 

With the cinematic awards season out of the way, we can next expect to see Robert Downey Jr. in The Sympathizer, the HBO series which he stars in and produced that’s based off the same-named novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen. The show will be available to stream with a Max subscription following its initial airing. Meanwhile, Hulu subscribers can watch all of this year’s Oscars ceremony now.

Though Mark Ruffalo had been nominated for an Oscar three times before Poor Things hit movie theaters last year, Robert Downey Jr’s nomination for Oppenheimer may be more momentous, simply because it has felt like his time. But there was another year in which both men starred in a movie together that could have –and probably should have – led to nominations for each. That year would have been the 2007-2008 movie awards season, and the movie was a little David Fincher movie called Zodiac. 

The Story Behind Zodiac's Release

If you’ve seen Zodiac, you should know that it’s a bit of a mindf–k. The movie is about the investigation into the infamous real-life Zodiac Killer from the perspective of those working in in news and in the San Francisco Police Department. Downey Jr plays a journalist who becomes more paranoid and troubled as the case wears on; Ruffalo is a detective with his own troubles; he can’t even sit through Dirty Harry. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the cartoonist with enough stick-to-it-ness to maybe pull out an answer, but the movie itself was relatively ignored by the Academy when it came out early in 2007 ahead of the 2008 awards season. 

Looking back, it’s one of my favorite performances from Downey Jr. ever and some solid work from Ruffalo, but when the 2008 nominations rolled around, neither were on it. Instead, the Best Supporting Actor award went to Javier Bardem for No Country For Old Men. (Even if both Zodiac stars had been nominated he probably still deserved it.) His fellow nominees, however, were: Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson’s War, Hal Holbrook for Into The Wild and Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton. Some great choices there, but are all of them better than what Zodiac put forth?

In fact, the film was completely shut out of the Oscars conversation. 

At the time Robert Downey Jr. was lauded for his performance. There were plenty of “For Your Consideration”types of articles written about him playing Paul Avery in the film and it’s a bit frustrating he didn’t ultimately land a nomination. (Though he has landed noms for Chaplin and Tropic Thunder). Mark Ruffalo was less in that awards conversation, perhaps because he was playing a character oft outwitted in the film, though he was doing no less interesting work. He’d also notably had trouble landing the role, saying the studio rep literally told his rep “we don’t give a shit about Mark Ruffalo” and to “take what we’re offering or forget it.” 

2007 Mark Ruffalo was getting no respect. Which is why this year’s Poor Things and Oppenheimer face off is a nice full circle moment.

Mark Ruffalo And Robert Downey Jr’s Both Got Their Due With Oscar Nominations In 2024

It’s been a big year for both actors, though Robert Downey Jr is the odds-on favorite to win Best Supporting Actor at the 96th Annual Academy Awards for his turn in Oppenheimer (our review). Mark Ruffalo’s turn as a rake, however, has been one of the biggest and most delightful surprises to come out of the 2023 movie release season, with our Poor Things review noting he’s “almost stealing the show." The two have been joined in the Best Supporting Actor category by Ryan Gosling as Ken in the Barbie movie, Sterling K. Brown’s turn in American Fiction, and Robert De Niro in Killers of the Flower Moon. 

Sterling K. Brown’s already spoken about being “fine” with it not being his time to land a Best Supporting win. Even Mark Ruffalo has said he wants to see his fellow nominee win, telling British GQ that even though he’s been nominated for The Kids Are Alright, Spotlight and Foxcatcher and has never won an Oscar, this year's race is probably not one he was meant to clinch.

The two know each other well, having worked on Zodiac and later a slew of Marvel films that kept each of them busy for a decade or longer. (Ruffalo’s Hulk was most recently seen in episodes of What If? and She-Hulk). If the two had managed to be nominated prior, it’s still unlikely either of them would have been handed the win, as Zodiac was seen as anxiety-inducing David Fincher fodder at the time it came out and, despite solid reviews, has only in the time since really started to shine in the way it has deserved. This year, it’s possible that Downey Jr. will land the coveted trophy, and he only had to wait a few decades in order to do so.  

If things had played out differently, the 2024 Oscar nominations could have been a repeat of the 2008 list, a standoff between two supporting actors once more. Instead, it’s the first time the two will face off, and I’ll just say: it’s long overdue. 

The Academy Awards are this evening, which means that by the end of the day, some of Hollywood’s biggest stars will be the proud owners of some gold statues. There are plenty of notable 2024 Oscar nominees, and one of them is the incomparable Christopher Nolan. The acclaimed filmmaker is part of a few major categories, thanks to his critically acclaimed historical drama Oppenheimer. While Nolan has never won one of the Academy’s prestigious awards, he has been nominated multiple times. And how many exactly you might ask? Well, let’s talk that out now. 

Memento (2000)

Those who’ve watched all of Christopher Nolan’s movies know that he has an incredible body of work, and one of his earliest features is Memento, which has some interesting BTS facts. The film stars Drew Pearce as a man suffering from anterograde amnesia while trying to find the person who killed his wife and caused his condition. Critics lauded the film, which is only Nolan’s second directorial effort, and it also landed him his first Oscar nod. 

He received a nom for Best Original Screenplay at the 74th Academy Awards in 2002. Ultimately, it was Julian Fellowes who won the award for his work on Robert Altman’s Gosford Park. Some probably would’ve assumed that the eventual Dark Knight helmer’s work might have claimed the prize that night. However, I’m really surprised that this next film didn’t win him any Oscars. 

Inception (2010)

One of the filmmaker's most mind-bending pieces of work, Inception (especially its ending) is still widely analyzed by cinephiles. The Leonardo DiCaprio-led thriller sees the star play a thief – who steals information via a person’s subconscious – receiving the opportunity to wipe his slate clean. It may only have two Oscar nominations to its name, but they’re big. Christopher Nolan received a nod for Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture as a producer on the film. Both of those awards were claimed by The King’s Speech on Hollywood’s biggest night in 2011. 

Dunkirk (2017)

Before the historical box office behemoth that is Oppenheimer, the filmmaker made waves with the World War II epic Dunkirk, which centers on the Dunkirk evacuation. Like many of the writer/director’s other productions, it’s been critically acclaimed and is a visual spectacle to behold. Overall, it received eight nominations from the Academy, with two of those going to the man in the director’s chair. He once again received a Best Picture nod and, this time, he earned his first nom for Best Director. While both of those went to Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, the war drama itself still won trophies in three of the technical categories. 

Oppenheimer (2023)

We now come to Christopher Nolan’s latest cinematic triumph, Oppenheimer. The biopic focuses on the life and work of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, whose pivotal work during World War II led to the creation of the atomic bomb. A sweeping masterpiece, it has a leading 13 Academy Awards nominations at this year’s ceremony. Among those are three nods for Nolan, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. Some Oscar predictions point to at least a couple of those going to Nolan, with the latter two of the aforementioned awards seemingly being locked up for him. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see if that comes to pass. 

Regardless of what happens though, it’s clear that Christopher Nolan has done some truly admirable work. I won’t lie, because it certainly would be wonderful to see him finally claim one of those highly coveted awards. Yet, should that not pan out, it surely doesn’t take away from the quality and magnitude of the work Nolan has done over the years.

We’ll find out if he takes home any trophies when the 96th Academy Awards air tonight, Sunday, March 10 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC. Those who want to check out the filmmaker’s work can also stream Oppenheimer with a Peacock subscription and watch Inception, Dunkirk and more online as well.

As any actor who’s played the face of the James Bond movies will tell you, the cinematic legacy of Ian Fleming’s literary creation will follow you everywhere you let it. Pierce Brosnan knows that fact, with his previous remarks on 007’s future seemed to indicate he wasn’t exactly concerned with the matter. 

Now he’s walked back those comments in a pretty big way and thrown his support behind an Oppenheimer star to play the seventh Commander Bond. The Thomas Crown Affair actor spoke to the BBC during this year’s Oscar Wilde Awards in Los Angeles, and when asked about who he’d want to see as the next James Bond, 2024 Oscar nominee Cillian Murphy’s name came up. Giving his fellow countryman a ringing endorsement, Pierce Brosnan offered this comment when asked: 

Murphy’s past James Bond odds have seen the actor in hot competition with other frequent 00-favorites like Henry Cavill, Idris Elba and Regé-Jean Page. That’s even despite the fact that recent James Bond rumors have specified that the next Bond is more than likely going to be someone in their mid-30s. 

As the franchise has already secured Warner Bros. as a future international distribution partner, that sort of move seems like good business sense. That being said, you can bet that Pierce Brosnan's support will give Cillian Murphy’s odds some sort of bump. This is, after all, one of those franchises where a fan's feelings towards who plays the lead can run quite hot. 

The fans could also set the tone for Bond 26 in terms of how serious or campy this next era happens to be. After a super serious and serialized run of adventures made up Daniel Craig’s 007 run, and with an irregular interval of time in-between entries, there are two things James Bond fans seem to want present in the franchise. Not only do they want a more regular release schedule for James Bond movies, but some are also hoping that lighter, Roger Moore-style shenanigans might be in the offing.

It's still unclear whether that will be the direction of the 007 future, but no matter where things go, Cillian Murphy's name will definitely keep making the rounds when trying to decide which direction to go. Or, much like in Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond movies, Mr. Murphy's hypothetical adventures could walk the line between both of those tones without getting shaken or stirred.

Of course, if Oscars night is particularly kind to Cillian, that could affect his odds as well. We'll just have to wait and see what happens at the 96th Academy Awards, which will air this Sunday at 7 PM ET on ABC. Also, those who want to celebrate Mr. Brosnan’s time in the tuxedo can do so through streaming, thanks to The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day still being available to Max subscription holders.

We don’t know when the name of a new James Bond actor will be announced, but we know that day is coming. Several different names have been suggested in the months since Daniel Craig walked away. One that is achieving front-runner status currently is 2024 Oscar nominee Cillian Murphy and one of his Oppenheimer co-stars thinks he’d be perfect in the role.

Clay Bunker appeared in Oppenheimer and having both met Cillain Murphy in person and seen him on screen thinks the actor is uniquely suited to play James Bond. While he says Murphy is an incredibly nice guy, he has the ability to play much darker characters, and Ian Fleming’s Bond has some darkness in him. Bunker told The Sun…

It's true that Fleming’s original Bond isn’t exactly the nicest guy. While the early film portrayal of Bond by Sean Connery is much lighter in tone, we would see elements of the more serious Bond in the performances of Geroge Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, and Daniel Craig.

Murphy could certainly follow in those footsteps, but part of the question we don’t yet have an answer to is what sort of Bond are they looking for. We could see another serious James Bond, following Craig’s success in the role, but we could just as easily see a decision toward a different sort of take. And so perhaps a funnier Bond could be in order. 

Several names have been mentioned as potential new James Bond actors. Henry Cavill, who nearly got the role before losing it to Craig last time around, is still open to playing it now. Jamie Dornan has been mentioned as a possible Bond. At one point it was claimed Aaron Taylor-Johnson already had the job, as he's a popular choice online. Sam Heughan has been actively campaigning to play Bond when others are trying to downplay the possibility, seemingly afraid that talking about it reduces the chances of it happening.

Numerous major names have been suggested, and that leaves out all the possible future Bonds that we don’t know because they are currently unknown actors. While casting an unknown Bond, seems like a bit of a long shot, it hasn't been discounted as a possibility.

Cillian Murphy wouldn’t be a bad choice, though many of the names that have been suggested are capable of being great in the role. One imagines nobody wants to wait too long to make another James Bond movie, so we certainly could get an official casting reveal sometime this year. While we're waiting maybe sit and watch all the James Bond movies in order.