Happy Pedro Pascal Day to all who celebrate. Oh, I’m sorry, did you not know today was Pedro Pascal Day? Honestly, I wasn’t aware either, but it’s the only explanation I have for the fact that Pascal is making waves on social media for not one, but two different projects that have hit all at once.

This morning, the internet’s daddy is being talked about on social media even more than usual thanks to both a new trailer and a short film from director Spike Jonze that has him dancing up a storm while showing off his airpods.

Pedro Pascal Dancing In Apple Short Films Has Fans Cheering

Pedro Pascal isn’t the biggest star in Hollywood but he is certainly the most popular. There’s little the man can’t do without drawing an impressive amount of attention, even Pascal's Starbucks order gets dissected. So it’s not exactly a shock that watching Pedro Pascal dance up a storm in what is essentially a music video has fans going nuts.

The short film is technically an ad for Apple’s newest AirPods. However, being directed by the great Spike Jonze, style is abundant even outside of the fact Pedro Pascal is dancing. And to be fair, he does look incredible.

I don’t know how many AirPods this is going to sell, but you can be sure a lot of people will see this video simply because Pedro Pascal is in it. That’s going to make people think about AirPods a lot more than they probably otherwise would. If wearing them could make me dance like this I’d certainly buy a set.

But if Pedro Pascal dancing isn’t your speed, there’s even more Pedro Pascal to enjoy today.

Pedro Pascal Being Suave In The Materialists Trailer Has Fans Swooning

Pedro Pascal is going to have a huge year, as he has multiple films on the 2025 movie schedule, as well as Season 2 of The Last of Us on HBO. However, what is almost certain to be Pascal’s sexiest movie of the year just dropped its first trailer, as seen at the top of this article. The Materialists stars Pascal alongside Chris Evans and Dakota Johnson and Pascal is already breaking hearts.

The romantic drama stars Johnson as a professional matchmaker who finds herself trying to find the right match. Chris Evans plays a former love interest of Johnson’s character who reconnects with her, but has little to offer in the way of money, while Pascal’s charming competitor is as rich as he is suave.

Certainly, for a lot of fans, a character who looks like Pedro Pascal and who is also rich and, based on the trailer, also a really nice guy, might be the actual dream. It certainly is for some fans.

Today is certainly a big day for Pedro Pascal. Of course, with the actor about to make his Marvel movie debut this summer, he could be in for even more love and praise.

It's not unusual for directors to star in their own movies. Alfred Hitchcock famously made cameos in almost all of his movies and Quentin Tarantino appears in all of his in one way or another. It's rarer for a director to appear in a fellow director's movie. It's hardly unheard of, as we found plenty of interesting examples. So without further ado, here is our list of directors who appeared on other directors' movies.

Steven Spielberg - The Blues Brothers

Before the tragic accident on the set of The Twilight Zone, John Landis and Steven Spielberg were good friends. So good, in fact, that Spielberg showed up in a cameo in the Landis classic The Blues Brothers. Spielberg plays the Cook Country Accessor at the end of the movie who takes payment from Jake and Elwood.

David Lynch - The Fablemans

In a very meta moment, David Lynch plays another great director, John Ford, in Steven Spielberg's The Fablemans. The late Lynch didn't show up in movies often, even his own, so it's a fun moment in a movie by a legend, starring a legend as a legend.

John Landis - Spider-man 2

John Landis has twice done cameos in Sam Rami movies, both times appearing as a doctor, the most famous of which was in Spider-Man 2 where he plays a doctor killed by Doctor Octopus after performing surgery on the villain. It's a super quick moment and one that is easy to miss.

David Fincher - Being John Malkovich

David Fincher has occasionally popped into his own movies, including playing the voice of John Doe on the telephone so as to not give away the surprise later. He also has shown up in other directors' movies, specifically as a puppet expert in Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich.

Roger Corman - The Silence Of The Lambs

Legendary B-movie director Roger Corman has a habit of showing up in other directors' work. It makes sense as he's a huge hero to many filmmakers who grew up watching his movies. In Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs, Corman plays the FBI director in one scene.

George Lucas - Beverly Hills Cop III

Beverly Hills Cop 3 is a pretty terrible movie, though thankfully the franchise was redeemed decades later with Axel F. Still, there is a pretty funny cameo in the movie when none other than George Lucas pops into the movie as a disgruntled patron of the amusement park that is central to the story.

Tim Burton - Singles

Tim Burton is not a director that shows up on the other side of the camera very often. In fact he has fleetingly few acting roles, but he does appear in Cameron Crowe's Singles. Crowe also has a cameo himself in the film.

Sam Raimi - Miller's Crossing

Sam Raimi is a director with a lot of acting roles on his resume, in his own film and in the movies by friends of his. One such cameo is in Miller's Crossing, a movie by the Coen Brothers. Raimi also has a cameo in another Coen Brothers movie, The Hudsucker Proxy.

Gus Van Sant - The Canyons

Gus Van Sant has a bit more than just a cameo in The Canyons, a movie that flew way under the radar when it was released in 2013, starring Lindsey Lohan. Van Sant plays a psychologist in the movie and has more than a couple lines, unlike many on this list.

Quentin Tarantino - Sleep With Me

Quentin Tarantino is always happy to cast himself in his own movies, but even before he was one of the premiere directors in Hollywood, he was popping up in movies he didn't direct. In Sleep With Me, by director Rory Kelly, which came out a month before Pulp Fiction, Tarantino has a memorable moment as a chatty party guest who breaks down the movie Top Gun in a very unconventional way.

Martin Scorsese - Quiz Show

Martin Scorsese's most famous on screen moment is as a rider in Travis' (Robert De Niro) cab in his own movie, Taxi Driver. He also shows up in Qui Show, directed by Robert Redford.

Tobe Hooper - Sleepwalkers

Tobe Hooper is a horror movie legend for his work directing the slasher classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the 1970s. In 1992 he popped up in a cameo working alongside Stephen King in the adaptation of King's novel Sleepwalkers.

John Waters - Something Wild

Director John Waters has been in many of his own movies, but he occasionally shows up in other movies as well, like Something Wild by director Jonathan Demme in 1986. Waters plays a sketchy car dealer in the movie and is one of the most fun parts of the movie.

Amy Heckerling - Into The Night

1985's Into the Night was John Landis' return to directing after being cleared of manslaughter charges as a result of the on-set tragedy during the filming of The Twilight Zone movie. In the movie, another director, Amy Heckerling, shows up in a cameo as a waitress.

Jonathan Demme - That Thing You Do!

Appropriately Jonathan Demme, who had a number of directors appear in his films, plays a film director in That Thing You Do! It's a brief role, of course, and it is one of the only times the late Demme appeared in another director's film. Into the Night by John Landis being another.

Roger Corman - The Godfather Part II

Roger Corman, one of the most influential directors of all time had a few cameos over his career with one of the most memorable coming in The Godfather II, where he played one of the senators grilling Michael Corlene (Al Pacino) in the Francis Ford Coppola classic.

Spike Jonze - The Game

Before David Fincher returned the favor for Spike Jonze in Being John Malkovich, Jonze appeared in Fincher's The Game, one of the most underrated movies by a big-time director.

Wes Craven - Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back

The late Wes Craven appeared in movies or TV shows as an actor 24 times according to IMDB, though most of his movie appearances were in his own movies. One exception was when he appeared in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back playing a version of himself directing a cartoonish version of Scream.

Frank Oz - Spies Like Us

Frank Oz has appeared as an actor in a bunch of movies, including The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, Knives Out, not to mention all his puppet and voice work over the years. One of his best cameos came in Spies Like Us where he played the proctor of a civil service exam. It's truly a classic and maybe the funniest moment in the movie.

Cameron Crowe - Minority Report

Cameron Crowe has a very brief cameo as a man on riding public transportation in Minority Report by director Steven Spielberg. If you blink - or aren't sure what he looks like - you're sure to miss the moment, but it's there. In fact, another Cameron, Cameron Diaz, is in the background of the same scene.

Robert Downey, Sr. - Boogie Nights

In his day, Robert Downey Sr. was pretty famous. Of course, that fame has been eclipsed by his son, but that doesn't mean he did carry a lot of respect within the industry even late in his life. Like when Paul Thomas Anderson worked him into a cameo in Boogie Nights.

Frank Darabont - King Kong

For many, The Shawshank Redemption is the best movie of the 1990s. It's director, Frank Darabont, doesn't make a cameo in Shawshank or any of his other movies, but he is very briefly in Peter Jackson's King Kong. It's another "blink-and-you-will-miss-it" kind of role.

Lawrence Kasdan - As Good As It Gets

Writer and director Lawrence Kasdan is most famous for writing both Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He's also directed movies like Grand Canyon, The Big Chill, and Silverado. On rare occasions, he's taken acting roles like he did in As Good As It Gets, by director James L. Brooks of Simpsons fame. Kasdan plays a psychologist in the movie.

James Cameron - The Muse

The Muse, directed by Albert Brooks, features a handful of cameos by famous directors including Martin Scorsese and Rob Reiner. In a rare appearance on the other side camera is also director James Cameron, who only has a few acting credits to his name.

Mel Brooks - The Muppet Movie

it's certainly not surprising to see Mel Brooks on the big screen, but it is rare to see in a movie that he didn't write and direct. That's part of what makes his cameo in The Muppet Movie so much fun. The legendary EGOT winner plays the evil Professor Krassman who is working to control the minds of frogs. It's worth noting that despite his delightful performance, it's not one that contributed to his EGOT.

Eli Roth - Inglourious Basterds

Eli Roth is as much an actor as he is a director, though in recent years he's concentrated on the latter. Sure he appears in his own films, but he's also been a collaborator with Quentin Tarantino a couple of times, first in Death Proof and then in a more prominent role in Inglourious Basterds.

Jim Jarmusch - Sling Blade

Director Jim Jarmusch has a unique style as a director and so it makes sense he would appear in a movie with its own unique angle, Sling Blade, by director and actor Billy Bob Thornton. Jarmusch plays the server at a food truck in the movie, serving up French fried potaters.

David Cronenberg - Jason X

David Cronenberg has a long history with the Friday The 13th franchise, having directed an episode of Friday the 13th: The Series in 1988. He shows up in a cameo in Jason X.

John Sayles - Malcolm X

John Sayles has directed some great movies over the years including Eight Men Out and Passion Fish. He's also occasionally done a bit of acting, mostly in cameos like as a memorable FBI agent in Spike Lee's classic Malcolm X.

Werner Herzog - Jack Reacher

German director is never shy about being in front of the camera as he often appears in his own films and occasionally acts in other stuff, like playing a wonderful role on The Mandalorian on Disney Plus. He also makes a great cameo in the Tom Cruise-led Jack Reacher from 2012.

Martin Brest - Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Before Martin Brest hit the big time as a director of such '80s classics as Beverly Hills Cop and the criminally underrated Midnight Run, he scored a small acting role as a coroner in Fast Times At Ridgemont High by director Amy Heckerling.

Orson Welles - The Muppet Movie

Mel Brooks has a fairly substantial role in The Muppet Movie, but he's not the only director to appear in the movie. Hollywood legend Orson Welles also appears in the movie. Welles was a huge fan of Jim Henson and the Muppets and worked with them on more than one occassion as well.

Some filmmakers require time to find their voice. They have to make a few simply "ok" features before having the skills required to make their masterpiece. But that's not the case with the directors featured on this list. These folks quickly figured out what they could do with a camera, and they produced magic with their first feature.

It's a terribly hard thing to do, but here are 32 directors who made great films on their very first try.

Orson Welles – Citizen Kane

A lot of incredible films are highlighted on this list, but Citizen Kane is special given that in addition to being Orson Welles’ first feature, it’s considered by many to be the greatest movie all time. The hunt for the meaning behind a publishing titan’s last word is endlessly compelling and a fascinating examination of the soul corruption that comes with a rise to power.

Quentin Tarantino – Reservoir Dogs

Before making modern and instant classics like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, the legend of Quentin Tarantino began with the phenomenal Reservoir Dogs. The sharp dialogue, the non-linear storytelling, the tense violence and the needle-drop centric soundtrack all instantly confirmed that Tarantino was a talent to watch.

Jordan Peele – Get Out

It came as a shock when comedian Jordan Peele announced that he was shifting to a new phase of his career, as he wanted to pursue his true passion: directing horror movies. It was hard to know what to make of the decision at the time, but Peele has since established himself as one of the industry’s greatest genre filmmakers, and it all started with the stunning Get Out. It’s scary, layered, and the big third act twist never loses its impact.

Spike Jonze – Being John Malkovich

Spike Jonze wasn’t exactly inexperienced when he took the helm of Being John Malkovich as his first feature, as he had established himself as a genius talent in the world of music videos, but that doesn’t take anything away from his accomplishments. It’s a wild, strange, and perfect execution of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s genius and cerebral script, and both the design and cinematography make it unforgettable.

Sidney Lumet – 12 Angry Men

It requires incredible skill to direct a film that almost entirely takes place in a single room and juggles 12 different characters with different perspectives… but there’s a reason why Sidney Lumet is considered one of history’s greatest filmmakers. The basic description of 12 Angry Men doesn’t sound particularly cinematic, but it grips you from the start, and keeps you fascinated throughout – particularly thanks to one of Henry Fonda’s greatest performances.

Joel & Ethan Coen – Blood Simple

Joel and Ethan Coen are masters of crime fiction, and they proved that instantly in the start of their careers as feature filmmakers. Blood Simple is a tense neo-noir that comes with all of the trimmings of the genre – from the chiaroscuro lighting to a brilliant femme fatale turn from Frances McDormand – and M. Emmett Walsh is a force as the relentless Loren Visser.

Rob Reiner – This Is Spinal Tap

Few filmmakers have had runs like what Rob Reiner accomplished in the 1980s/1990s, sequentially making Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and A Few Good Men, but his genius as a director was first established with 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap: a hilarious rock n’ roll mockumentary widely considered to be one of the greatest comedies of all time.

Sam Raimi – The Evil Dead

In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell were college students determined to make their first ever feature, and traveled from Michigan to a dilapidated cabin in Tennessee to make The Evil Dead. The production of the film was an absolute nightmare, but the juice was very much worth the squeeze, as the movie exists as a testament to brilliant imagination, and it is an important classic in the history of the horror genre.

Frank Darabont – The Shawshank Redemption

After writing a brilliant adaptation of Stephen King’s novella “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption,” Frank Darabont actually took a major pay cut so that Castle Rock Entertainment would allow him to make The Shawshank Redemption his directorial debut. This turned out to be a legendary move that has cemented Darabont in cinematic history, as the movie is one of the most beloved of all time and an antidote to cynicism.

John Singleton - Boyz n The Hood

With his directorial debut, John Singleton captured the perspective of an underrepresented audience on the big screen – crafting a Stand By Me-esque coming-of-age story about life in south central Los Angeles. In one of his earliest roles, Cuba Gooding Jr. demonstrates incredible talent alongside Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut, but it’s Laurence Fishburne’s Furious Styles for which the film will always be remembered.

Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman

Emerald Fennell made quite an impression in 2020 with the debut of Promising Young Woman – a primal scream of a movie that captures the horrors that women experience in our modern world and comes together as a darkly comedic revenge thriller. Carey Mulligan’s performance is wicked, and it sports a finale that leaves the audience breathless and mind-blown.

Dan Gilroy – Nightcrawler

Jake Gyllenhaal is unquestionably one of the greatest actors of his generation, and Nightcrawler sees him let off the leash to showcase his phenomenal cinematic presence. Dan Gilroy was an experienced screenwriter prior to making his directorial debut, and one can understand why he wanted to make this movie himself: it’s a vicious, Taxi Driver-esque look at crime scene videography and a stunning and cutting commentary on “if it bleeds, it leads” culture in local journalism.

George A. Romero – Night Of The Living Dead

There aren’t exactly a lot of filmmakers who successfully launched an entire new subgenre with their first feature, but that’s exactly what George A. Romero did with Night Of The Living Dead. The zombie film was a shocking standout upon its original release – featuring a Black actor as its lead and a series of nightmarish scenes of horror – and its genius is no less apparent today.

Rian Johnson – Brick

Long before wowing us with his ensemble-driven Benoit Blanc mysteries Knives Out and Glass Onion, Rian Johnson stunned cinephiles as a first-time director with Brick. It’s a stylized neo-noir that stands out with its high school backdrop and young characters, and it dazzles with unyielding tension, unique dialogue, and a terrific third act reveal.

Tom Hanks – That Thing You Do!

Admit it: even just seeing the title of That Thing You Do! has immediately gotten the eponymous song stuck in your head. But on top of that track being two minutes and 50 seconds of peppy greatness, the film is a fantastic tale about a one hit wonder that pops thanks to Tom Hanks’ excellent direction and a delightful ensemble cast.

David Lynch – Eraserhead

It didn’t take long for David Lynch to tell cinephiles what he is all about. The auteur filmmaker established his nightmarish, cerebral sensibilities from the get-go with Eraserhead – which is a confident work from the first time director and paved the road for further masterpieces like Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks.

Amy Heckerling – Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Amy Heckerling would easily be in the Coming-Of-Age Movie Hall Of Fame if Clueless were the only film on her filmography, but it was 13 years earlier that she made one of the genre’s all-time greatest titles as her directorial debut: Fast Times At Ridgemont High. There is so much to love about this film, from the radical Jeff Spicoli, to the drama of the relationship between Stacy and Mark, to the sounds of The Cars’ “Living In Stereo.”

Destin Daniel Cretton – Short Term 12

It’s a remarkable thing when a film, a series of images mixed with sound rapidly displayed to show movement, can touch your soul, but that’s something that Destin Daniel Cretton’s powerful directorial debut does – centering on the staff of a residential treatment facility. In retrospect, the ensemble cast in this one is beyond outstanding (including Brie Larson, Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, LaKeith Stanfield, and Stephanie Beatriz), and their talents are on full display.

Patty Jenkins – Monster

Patty Jenkins’ directorial debut, Monster, is far from a fun cinematic experience, and one actually feels compelled to take a shower after watching it, but it’s a riveting work. Charlize Theron delivers what is arguably the best performance of her career and earned her Academy Award.

Josh & Benny Safdie - Good Time

Cinephiles were thrilled to discover the cinematic heart attack that is Josh and Benny Safdie’s Uncut Gems in 2019, but anyone who watched the brothers’ directorial debut was at the very least mentally prepared for the experience. Starring Robert Pattinson, Good Time is a deeply stressful crime film that comes packed with touches of Of Mice And Men, and it leaves a deep impression on whoever watches it.

Darren Aronofsky – Pi

Darren Aronofsky has a gift for making movies that makes you want to curl up in a ball and cry (see: Requiem For A Dream, Black Swan, mother!), and it’s a mode he hasn’t diverted from since making his feature debut with Pi. It’s a stylistic story of obsession and has one of the most upsetting endings of all time.

John Huston - The Maltese Falcon

There are some films that are held up as the true classics of classic film noir, and right alongside Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Bill Wilder’s Double Indemnity and Carol Reed’s The Third Man is John Huston’s phenomenal The Maltese Falcon. Humphrey Bogart’s Sam Spade is an icon of detective fiction, and the twists and turns of the mystery feel as fresh today as ever.

Ari Aster - Hereditary

Ari Aster has quickly become one of the most exciting modern filmmakers making original horror, and that’s in part because audiences are still experiencing nightmares from his directorial debut. A look at both generational trauma and grief, Hereditary is a movie so scary that it would make you feel cold if you were in the middle of the desert, and has more than a few images that end up tattooed on the back of your eyelids as you try to go to sleep at night.

Michael Mann - Thief

Nobody makes crime movies like Michael Mann, and it all started with Thief. It’s a thrilling and captivating look at a talented Chicago criminal who is looking for his way into legitimacy and finds himself fighting forces that try and drag him back into his shady business. The movie features one of James Caan’s best performances, and the talented ensemble includes Jim Belishi, Dennis Farina and Willie Nelson.

Francois Truffaut - The 400 Blows

Valued as an important part of cinema history and the French New Wave, Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows is a powerful coming-of-age story starring Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel, a troubled youth who ends up quitting school and turning to thievery, only to be apprehended and thrown in a juvenile detention center. Truffaut is recognized for having created some of the most beautiful films to ever be produced in France, and it all started here.

Jean Luc Goddard - Breathless

Another evocative title that emerged from the French New Wave, Jean Luc Goddard’s Breathless is a visually stunning work of crime and love, with tremendous cinematic innovation, attitude that bleeds off the screen, and an outstanding performance from star Jean-Paul Belmondo in his breakout role.

Barry Jenkins – Medicine For Melancholy

Barry Jenkins first earned widespread acclaim in 2016 for his film Moonlight (which deservingly won Best Picture at the Academy Awards), but not to be slept on is the debut feature he made eight years earlier: Medicine For Melancholy. Starring Wyatt Cenac and Tracey Heggins and set over the course of a single day, it’s a beautiful and emotional romantic drama.

Steven Soderbergh - Sex, Lies, And Videotape

Steven Soderbergh is now recognized as one of the most talented, eclectic filmmakers in cinema, but it all started with Sex, Lies And Videotape – a fascinating romantic drama with brilliant meta levels examining intimacy via camera.

George Miller – Mad Max

Many genre classics have been covered in this list, and now it’s time to dive into one of the greatest action/adventure films of all time. With Mad Max, George Miller takes us to an unnerving not-to-distant future full of violence and chaos, and his unique skills as a filmmaker capturing all that wildness all in camera is what makes this a forever-thrilling experience.

Damien Chazelle – Whiplash

One can read and learn that there is intense competition in performance arts schools, but it’s another thing to live it – and that’s what audiences get to do in Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash. Miles Teller is brilliant as the determined and talented Andrew Neiman, but it’s the Oscar-winning work of J.K. Simmons that makes this outstanding directorial debut exceptional.

Mel Brooks – The Producers

Every legendary cinematic run has to start somewhere, and for Mel Brooks, it was with the brilliance of The Producers. Long before he was shocking with the world with Blazing Saddles and History Of The World Part I, the brilliant comedian unleashed his tale of a Broadway scheme and the insanity of “Springtime For Hitler.”

Jim Abrahams, David Zucker And Jerry Zucker – Airplane!

In the 1980s/1990s, nobody made spoof movies like Jim Abrahams, David Zucker And Jerry Zucker, and they quickly established their special comedic voice with their directorial debut: Airplane! The insane pacing of the jokes and the sheer ridiculousness of everything make this a movie that threatens to choke you with laughter, and there are so, so many quotable lines – many thanks to the deadpan brilliance of Leslie Nielsen.

This list obviously has the potential to grow forever, and it'll be exciting to see who the next big breakout movie directors are. 

If you’re into movies like I am, then you’ve undoubtedly seen a ton of excellent films by great directors like Quentin Tarantino, Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, etc. Not only do I love to watch films from all over the world, I also love to watch a director’s entire oeuvre, which is how I’ve seen all 6 George Lucas movies, and every Peter Jackson movie. Here’s what I’ve learned by watching the entire filmography of so many directors: Some of them make a truly great movie on their very first try. 

Now, that’s not to say that they didn’t experiment with smaller projects before their first feature length film, as even Paul Thomas Anderson cut his teeth on the short film Cigarettes and Coffee before he directed Hard Eight. But, when it comes to a first feature length film, some directors just somehow nail it, which often guides the trajectory of their entire careers. So, here are 16 such directors who undoubtedly got it right on their very first feature length film.  

Quentin Tarantino - Reservoir Dogs (1992) 

Here’s what’s interesting about Reservoir Dogs. If Tarantino’s first movie was Pulp Fiction, and Reservoir Dogs was actually his last movie, it might feel smaller in scale, sure, but I also think it would still feel like a fitting swansong to an incredible career. That’s how amazing Reservoir Dogs is. It’s so good, I could see him making it today. 

But, it was his first film, and it totally made him explode onto the scene back in the early ‘90s. He would, of course, go on to make Pulp Fiction (his best movie), Inglorious Basterds, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and many others, but Tarantino’s mark was already made with Reservoir Dogs, and it’s still legendary today.     

Robert Rodriguez - El Mariachi (1992) 

The first (and I would argue best) in Rodriguez’s Mexico Trilogy, which also contains Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, is said to have only cost $7,000 U.S. dollars to make. It’s about a guitar player who manages to get targeted because of mistaken identity, and he has to take up arms if he wants to live. 

Robert Rodriguez has had an interesting career, jumping back and forth between mature, R-rated films like Sin City and Machete, and kid-friendly stuff like Spy Kids and the hit We Can Be Heroes. That said, it was El Mariachi and its unassuming badassness that got him onto the scene, and it’s still awesome to this day. He’s still awesome to this day, no question.  

Kevin Smith - Clerks (1994) 

There's a reason why Kevin Smith keeps coming back to Clerks, what with the upcoming Clerks 3, and that's because his first movie might just be his very best film ever. The story of a clerk named Dante who shouldn't even be at work today, seems like it has nothing to say and yet everything to say at the same time. Plus, it's all in glorious black and white. 

Kevin Smith's known for movies like Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Red State, and those movies are great and all, but I think most would agree that Smith found his voice with his very first film, and he's mostly kept that voice for the entirety of his career. I'm not complaining.   

Patty Jenkins - Monster (2003) 

Nowadays, Patty Jenkins is most known for bringing Wonder Woman to the big screen, and her future resides in Star Wars with her upcoming movie, Rogue Squadron. But, arguably more interesting is Patty Jenkins' first movie, Monster, which is about the real life serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, played by Charlize Theron, who won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance.  

How good was this movie? Well, Roger Ebert called Monster the best film of 2002, and he proclaimed that Charlize Theron's performance was one of the greatest that he’d ever seen. Not bad for a director's debut picture.  

Jordan Peele - Get Out (2017) 

Before Get Out, Jordan Peele was probably most known as the other half of Key & Peele. But, after Get Out, I’m pretty sure everybody knew who he was as a single entity, as the talented director/writer/actor exploded onto the scene with the movie that many consider the true Best Picture of 2017.  

Now, every new movie he makes is an event. Us was a creepy doppelganger film, and his next project, Nope, is shrouded in mystery, but still highly anticipated. All that white hot anticipation is all due to Get Out, which single-handedly turned this comedian into one of the most important voices in horror today.    

Steven Spielberg - Duel (1971) 

Steven Spielberg was only 24 when he directed his first feature length film, Duel, and the rest is history. Duel has a simple premise - a guy (Dennis Weaver) is terrorized by an unseen truck driver for 80 minutes, and that’s it.  

But, Spielberg, who has made some of the best movies of all time, just nailed it with Duel. The whole film is taut and unsettling, and it’s little wonder why many people pegged Spielberg as a wunderkind all the way back in the early ‘70s. He certainly was!   

Orson Welles - Citizen Kane (1941) 

The year is 2022, and some people are still saying that Orson Welles got robbed when Citizen Kane lost Best Picture to How Green Was My Valley back at the 1942 Oscars. This actually makes sense, because some critics call Citizen Kane the greatest movie of all time. Not bad for a young man's very first feature film. 

In fact, even though Welles directed other great films like The Magnificent Ambersons, and Touch of Evil, he will forever be known as the man who directed quite possibly the greatest film of all time. On his very first try, no less. Unbelievable.  

Sidney Lumet - 12 Angry Men (1957) 

Even though Sidney Lumet directed a little over 40 films, and serious classics including Network, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Verdict, it might be his first movie, the Academy Award-nominated 12 Angry Men, that might be his most accessible and enjoyable work in his filmography. 

Adapted from a teleplay of the same name, 12 Angry Men is spectacular for many reasons, one being the acting, but two being the pacing, which never lets up. In fact, quick pacing and stellar acting is emblematic of a lot of Lumet's movies, and he had it down pat with his very first film. Lumet was a legend.  

Sophia Coppola - The Virgin Suicides (1999) 

Based on the novel of the same name, The Virgin Suicides is about five sisters (one played by Kirsten Dunst) who are closely monitored after the youngest sister attempts suicide. It’s a drama, to be certain, but there is also an undercurrent of dark humor that kind of creates an almost unsettling quality to an already pretty dark story. 

This “unsettling quality” would show up in Coppola’s later films, like Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, and especially, The Beguiled. Still, if I were to jumble up all of those movies and throw The Virgin Suicides into the mix, then most people likely wouldn’t be able to tell which is her debut picture, since they’re all the marks of a professional.  

Ridley Scott - The Duelists (1977) 

Ridley Scott is probably most known for movies like Alien, Blade Runner, and the Best Picture-winning Gladiator, but his debut, The Duelists, starring Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine as warring soldiers who duel each other for decades, was already the mark of master director. 

It’s so good that one of his most recent films, The Last Duel, kind of feels similar in tone and direction. The budget is much higher for The Last Duel, but the acting, pacing, and direction in The Duelists is just as good as it is in the recent film, which is astounding to say the very least.  

Alejandro González Iñárritu - Amores Perros (2000)

The first part of the “Trilogy of Death” (with 21 Grams and Babel), Amores Perros, which roughly translates to "love’s a bitch," slammed into audiences like a car crash with this interesting narrative that connects three separate people to an automobile accident. 

Alejandro González Iñárritu would later go on to direct one of my favorite movies ever in Birdman, but a lot of the electric filmmaking that made that movie so great, was even evident in Amores Perros, which shocks and breaks your heart, sometimes in the very same scene. 

Sam Raimi - The Evil Dead (1981) 

Sam Raimi's come a long way since his debut picture, The Evil Dead. He's helming Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and he came to commercial recognition with his Spider-Man trilogy.   

But, to many, he'll always be "The Evil Dead guy," and for good reason. The first Evil Dead is a seminal entry in ‘80s horror that innovated a lot of unique techniques, such as the camera chasing the characters. Sure, his later Evil Dead movies might be more popular, but that first movie announced a fresh new director, and he'd be here to stay.   

Spike Jonze - Being John Malkovich (1999) 

If you love meta movies, then you’re undoubtedly familiar with the work of Spike Jonze. His second film, Adaptation., was perhaps even more meta than his first, and he managed to make the children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, into a semi-meditative movie featuring James Gandolfini.   

Being John Malkovich garnered him a Best Director Oscar nomination. The film has such a unique strangeness to it that you might attribute it to Charlie Kaufman’s cerebral writing, but, you can see that Spike Jonze’s brain is definitely on a similar wavelength with his other films not written by Kaufman. Being John Malkovich is one of the reasons why some people call 1999 one of the best years in cinema, and this was Spike Jonze’s debut picture. Outstanding!    

Ryan Coogler - Fruitvale Station (2013)  

Before Black Panther, before Creed, there was Fruitvale Station, a film so infuriating that it had this writer seething in his seat when he first saw it. Chronicling the events that led up to the real life death of Oscar Grant, Fruitvale Station seems like the work of an artist who had spent years in the director’s seat, not a directorial debut.  

Coogler's next picture is the hotly anticipated sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but you could see the talent in his first picture, which he made at the tender age of 25. Damn.  

Ari Aster - Hereditary (2018) 

I think it says a lot that Ari Aster only has two feature films to his name, but he's already established himself as one of the leading voices in modern day horror. This was all due to Hereditary, which is still the scariest movie I've ever seen. 

He would later go on to make Midsommar, and one could argue that Midsommar is the better Ari Aster film. Whichever you prefer, I don't think anybody will argue the greatness of Hereditary. Making one of the scariest movies of all time as your very first feature film is no laughing matter. In fact, it’s quite terrifying to be this good.    

Rob Reiner - This Is Spinal Tap (1984) 

Rob Reiner has proven that he can be successful in any genre. He mastered fantasy with The Princess Bride, tackled horror with Misery, and dabbled in romantic comedies with When Harry Met Sally.

But, my favorite, and a lot of people's favorite movie of his, is his debut, the infinitely quotable mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap. The film is probably the funniest rock movie ever made, and it's done in such a way that Spinal Tap seems like a legit band. It's actually kind of sad that they aren't a real band, though, because some of their songs really kick ass.   

What other prominent directors do you think made a great movie on their first try? For news on today's great directors, make sure to swing by here often!   

After writing for a variety of television shows through most of the 1990s, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman broke out on the big screen in a massive way when he teamed up with director Spike Jonze to make Being John Malkovich. While not exactly a box office phenomenon, never getting more than a limited release, it became an instant favorite among cinephiles who fully embraced its imagination and wonkiness. Kaufman has since gone on to make a number of equally incredible films as both a writer and a director, including Adaptation., Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Synecdoche, New York, and I’m Thinking Of Ending Things, but fans will never forget the film that served as his big break out.

Part of what makes Charlie Kaufman’s films so fun for fans is the fact that they demand analysis, and his feature debut is no exception – hence what we’re here to discuss today. Being John Malkovich’s ending is a wild one, and in this feature we’re going to break down both what unfolds, and what it means. In case it’s been a minute since you’ve last seen the film, let’s begin with the former…

What Happens At The End Of Being John Malkovich

Picking up eight months after “John” (really John Cusack’s Craig) tells his agent that he wants to transition his career from acting to puppetry, the third act begins as a pregnant Maxine (Catherine Keener) sets up a nursery and “John” settles in to watch a television special about his work. It’s revealed that Malkovich’s clout has successfully elevated the art form in notoriety, and that he’s earned great fame and accolade for his contributions to the field – but the documentary also highlights that his relationship with Maxine has been on a steep decline following the announcement of her pregnancy… which is only further highlighted by the fact that “John” is watching television all by himself while his wife is in the other room.

His special over, “John” makes his way to the Metropolitan Opera House for a performance of his latest performance piece, which has a human-sized puppet elegantly dancing with a ballet company.

The Kidnapping

When “John” makes his way home, a massive birthday cake in hand, he realizes that Maxine is gone and that the apartment has been raided. Hearing the phone ringing, he finds it and answers it. On the other line is Dr. Lester (Orson Bean), calling from the seventh-and-a-half floor of the Mertin-Flemmer building, and he explains that he and his group have kidnapped Maxine, and that they will kill her if Craig doesn’t leave Malkovich’s body immediately.

Hanging up on them, “John” sits in contemplation. Dr. Lester informs the members of his group, including Lotte (Cameron Diaz) that Craig has called their bluff. While they do indeed have Maxine, and she is tied up, they have no intention of actually hurting her. Knowing that the group must enter Malkovich before the end of his 44th birthday, Lotte asks why the group can’t just enter the actor-turned-puppeteer’s mind, but Lester notes that doing so with Craig in control would merely get them pushed down into Malkovich’s subconscious.

Upset and still feeling scorned, Lotte decides that she is going to personally execute the threat made to “John,” and she pulls a gun out of her purse to shoot Maxine – saying, “If I can’t have you, no one can.” Dr. Lester exclaims that Maxine can’t be killed, and the manipulative business woman uses the temporary distraction to dive into the Malkovich door for the first time. Lotte follows her, but as Lester predicted, Craig’s influence leads them to be shoved into Malkovich’s subconscious. A chase ensues through the actor’s memories until they both find themselves dropped on to the side of the New Jersey Turnpike in a torrential downpour.

With Maxine scrambling and successfully grabbing Lotte’s gun, the two women have an emotional reckoning. Lotte remains incredibly hurt by Maxine’s betrayal, but Maxine explains that she really did love her in her own way… and that the baby she is carrying came from a time when Lotte was controlling Malkovich, not Craig.

Craig's Change Of Heart

Meanwhile, “John” gets drunk in a bar, and winds up getting in a fight when a fellow patron recognizes him. Getting a glimpse of himself in a bar mirror, “John” calls Lester to tell him not to hurt Maxine, and that he will leave Malkovich. Craig makes good on his promise, dropping a few feet away from where Lotte and Maxine are, and the real John Malkovich returns to control of his body for the first time in months. It’s a short-lived experience, though, as Lester and his group file into the Malkovich door.

Lotte and Maxine successfully hail down a car, and Craig runs up to them arguing that his willingness to sacrifice being John Malkovich proves his love for his former business partner. He is promptly told to “fuck off,” and the car drives away. He screams that he is going to go back to the Malkovich door, kick Lester out, and continue to demonstrate his love… but this by itself shows his ignorance about how the door really works.

A Jump To The Future

Seven years later, a balding Charlie Sheen arrives at “John Malkovich’s” house. Malkovich has taken on Lester’s look in both hair and clothing style, and has married Lester’s former assistant, Floris (Mary Kay Place). “John” takes Charlie upstairs and begins recruiting him to be a part of the new group that will enter the next vessel.

Said next vessel is Emily (Kelly Teacher), who is then shown having a pool day with her two moms, Maxine and Lotte. As the three are shown to be having a wonderful day, it’s revealed that Craig went through with his threat to try and reenter the Malkovich door and is powerlessly trapped inside Emily’s mind – miserable at his inability to get Maxine to love him.

It’s a wild ending, and one that we’re excited to dig into – starting with an explanation of exactly what the hell is happening as characters filter in and out of John Malkovich’s brain.

What Happens To Craig, Maxine And Lotte In Being John Malkovich

Being John Malkovich is ultimately about a truly strange love triangle formed between Craig, Lotte, and Maxine, and as strange as their relationship is from the get-go – with Craig being married to Lotte and then falling in love with Maxine, only to then learn that Lotte is in love with Maxine as well – things end in an even more bizarre place.

As explained during the second act of the movie, Dr. Lester and his group need to enter the Malkovich door before midnight on his 44th birthday, with the given reason being that entering the door after that point in time would result in the collective being diverted to a “larval vessel” and getting absorbed. Lotte knows this, and it’s possible that Maxine is informed of what’s going on during her kidnapping, but Craig doesn’t.

Craig winds up making good on his shouted promise to try and return to Malkovich so that he can win Maxine’s heart, but doing so diverts him to the aforementioned larval vessel – who happens to be Emily, Lotte and Maxine’s daughter. Assuming that Craig didn’t wait a few days/weeks before trying the door again, this means that he experienced the birth of Emily as a passenger in the newborn’s mind, and he will presumably be trapped there forever, viewing the world through her eyes with absolutely zero control. And making it hurt all the more is that he simultaneously has to watch the loving relationship between his ex-wives.

Odd? Certainly. But the truth is that Being John Malkovich was originally going to end on an infinitely more bizarre note…

The Original Being John Malkovich Ending

Those who have followed Charlie Kaufman’s work know that his movies have only gotten stranger in the years since Being John Malkovich – but it feels necessary to note that his particular penchant for weird didn’t exactly manifest out of nothing. The truth is that as wild as the end of the 1999 film is, the end as it was originally scripted was far more over the top.

The original ending of Being John Malkovich was unearthed by Badass Digest in 2014, and it’s ridiculous just how much the third act changed over the course of development. The differences between the early versions and the final cut of the film are many, starting with the fact that the plan wasn’t always to have Malkovich change careers from acting to puppeteering. Instead, the early version of the script saw Malkovich become famous as a puppet, with Craig letting everyone in the world know that he is pulling the metaphorical strings.

Craig takes his show to Vegas, where he has Malkovich perform scenes from On The Waterfront and juggle chainsaws – but his dominance in the puppeteering market is eventually challenged. Derek Mantini a.k.a. The Great Mantini (who is referenced in a news broadcast at the start of the film for having operated a giant Emily Dickenson puppet) challenges Craig to a duel of sorts: the Malkovich puppet and a Mantini-controlled Harry S. Truman are to co-star in a performance of the play Equus, and then fans would choose which one of the puppeteers would be banned from the art.

Meanwhile, it’s revealed that Dr. Lester and his group aren’t quite as innocent as they seem, as the reality is that they are being led by the literal Devil, who goes by the alias Mr. Flemmer (in turn revealing that the Mertin-Flemmer building was co-founded by Satan). During the second act of the Equus performance, Flemmer teleports in and livens up the show by “possessing” the Truman puppet. The audience is wowed as the Truman puppet juggles bowling pins before transforming into a giant swan and exploding. From the remains emerges the real Harry Truman, who urges the audience to vote for Mantini – which they do in overwhelming numbers.

Defeated, Craig leaves Malkovich’s body, which gives the opening for Mr. Flemmer, Dr. Lester, and the rest of the group to enter the door. Malkovich becomes a godlike being, transforming most of the world into black-and-white, and he flies into midtown Manhattan to organize a massive choreographed number that finds people dance until they die.

During all of this, Lotte winds up falling in love with her chimpanzee, Elijah, and together they organize a resistance group to try and stop Flemmer. The last resort is to try and plant a bomb behind the Malkovich door, but Lotte is interrupted when she runs into Craig at the Mertin-Flemmer building. They make peace, and Lotte invites Craig back to where she lives – and as they walk we see a wire extending from Craig’s arm. Panning up, we see that he is being controlled by The Great Mantini, but then it’s revealed that Mantini has wires as well, and is being controlled by Flemmer. The final shot was originally meant to dive into the Devil’s mouth, with the inside looking similar to the Malkovich tunnel.

Between the extra money that would have been required to pull all of this off, and the absolute nuttiness of it, it’s not entirely surprising that this isn’t the conclusion of Being John Malkovich, but we can certainly always appreciate the brilliant madness of Charlie Kaufman’s vision.

What are your thoughts on the ending of Being John Malkovich? Would you have preferred to see the original ending? Hit the comments section with all of your thoughts, feelings, and opinions on the matter, and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more of our regular Ending Explained features.

For many of us, there is nothing that compares to a great music video. There's a special art to being able to tell a story or evoke emotions by brining visuals to a popular song, an art that requires someone with a great deal of skill and an eye for the dramatic. Much like David Fincher's 1990 music video for the Madonna song "Vogue." But Fincher isn't alone.

There are dozens of directors who have either gotten their start in the music video industry or jumped over to the medium after finding success on the big screen or television. Names like Spike Lee, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Spike Jonze have all made some of the most culturally significant and eye-catching videos of all time. But some of us may forget, or don't know, that some of our favorite videos were directed by the biggest names in Hollywood. But fear not, as I have you covered…

David Fincher - Vogue, Madonna (1990)

Before creating some of the most important films of the last 25 years with the likes of Seven, Fight Club, and The Social Network, David Fincher got his start in the music video business by creating groundbreaking videos like the 1990 black-and-white masterpiece that is Madonna's "Vogue." This iconic and the visionary video is filled with the technical precision and artistry that the English director would bring to his movies just a few years later and showed what he was capable of pulling off. It also didn't hurt that this was the third time Fincher and Madonna had teamed up after collaborating on "Express Yourself" and "Oh Father," a year earlier.

Spike Jonze - Weapon Of Choice, Fatboy Slim (2001)

Younger audiences may know Spike Jonze for his 2013 science fiction romance drama Her, but the Academy Award-winning filmmaker made quite a name for himself with his cinematic and revolutionary music videos in the 1990s. Collaborating with artists like Beastie Boys, Weezer, and R.E.M. for some of most memorable music videos of the decade, Jonze's most notable work arguably comes from his pairing with Fatboy Slim for the Grammy Award-winning "Weapon of Choice" video starring Christopher Walken dancing in a deserted hotel lobby. You can see elements of Jonze's signature style peppered throughout the dreamlike nearly four-minute video.

Martin Scorsese - Bad, Michael Jackson (1987)

There are music videos directed by legendary filmmakers and there is the Michael Jackson's "Bad." Directed by Martin Scorsese, this 18-minute music video plays more like any one of the acclaimed directors feature films. By combining elements from West Side Story with flash and style of in-his-prime King of Pop, Scorsese created one of the most groundbreaking videos of the 1980s. Remarkably, this is one of only two music videos the director of Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and The Irishman directed throughout his career. Oh, it also features a young Wesley Snipes, who only had a few acting credits at this point in his career.

Spike Lee - Fight The Power, Public Enemy (1988)

The Public Enemy track "Fight the Power" was originally created to serve as the anthem of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, so it was only fitting that the director created the empowering music video in 1989. Made to look like a political rally, the "Fight the Power" video is a seven-minute affair showing thousands of extras in the streets of New York walking behind the revolutionary and politically-charged rap group. You can see the director's style throughout the video, which came out a few years before Denzel Washington gave a career-defining performance in the Spike Lee joint Malcolm X.

Gus Van Sant - Under The Bridge, Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991)

Anyone who was alive and conscious in the early '90s will never forget the groundbreaking and breathtaking video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Under the Bridge," but until recently, I didn't know that auteur Gus Van Sant was responsible for this MTV mainstay. Having just finished work on My Own Private Idaho, in which RHCP bassist Flea had a role, Van Sant was asked by the band to provide his talents and signature style to create a music video. By combining elements of realism and fantasy, the video has a distinct feel to it, which is probably why it's still held in such high regard nearly 30 years after it was first released.

Brian De Palma - Dancing In The Dark, Bruce Springsteen (1984)

Mostly known for one of the first appearances from future Friends star Courteney Cox, Bruce Springsteen's 1984 video for "Dancing in the Dark" remains one of the most popular MTV mainstays from the 1980s. The video, shot over the course of two nights at the beginning of The Boss' "Born in the USA" tour, is the only one shot by director Brian De Palma over the course of his 50-plus-year career. Known for his action and attention to detail in films like Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission: Impossible, De Palma's video has a laser-focus on Springsteen and Cox throughout this well-lit and masterfully directed spectacle.

Ava DuVernay - Family Feud - Jay-Z Ft. Beyoncé (2018)

Ava DuVernay is responsible for one of the most star-studded and visionary music videos in quite some time with her video for the Jay-Z and Beyoncé song "Family Feud" from the rapper's 4:44 2018 album. At nearly eight minutes in length, the video jumps through time dissecting a number of issues affecting society before ending in a massive cathedral where the power-couple provide and intimate and powerful performance to an empty room. The director of Selma, A Wrinkle in Time, and the Netflix series When They See Us brings a breath of fresh air to the format in her first and only music video.

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris - 1979, Smashing Pumpkins (1996)

Trying to decide which Smashing Pumpkins video from Jonathan Dayton and Varlie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine, Ruby Sparks) to include on this list was no easy task, but it had to be the music video for the band's 1996 song "1979." Sure, "Tonight, Tonight," is probably the more iconic collaboration, but the vague lyrics and close-up camera angles of the cast of characters featured in the "1979" video creates an atmosphere and feeling that is unmatched 22 years later. I remember being a kid and being transfixed by the imagery of a group of friends holding onto their fleeting innocence before adulthood stripped it away.

Paul Thomas Anderson - Across The Universe, Fiona Apple (1998)

Paul Thomas Anderson is mostly associated with actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Daniel Day-Lewis, but the American filmmaker also had a fruitful professional (and intimate) relationship with singer-songwriter Fiona Apple from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. This resulted in a series of striking music videos, including Apple's 1998 cover of The Beatles song "Across the Universe." Much like many of PTA's movies throughout his career, the music video plays with the contrast of beauty and madness as the singer softly recites the famous lyrics while complete chaos unfolds behind her.

Mark Romanek - Shake It Off, Taylor Swift (2014)

Unlike pretty much everyone else on this list, Mark Romanek is a music video director that just so happened to make a few movies along the way. On the movie side, Romanek is mostly known for the chilling thriller starring the late Robin Williams One Hour Photo, but his music video work is unmatched by probably anyone not named Hype Williams. Winning over 20 MTV Video Music Awards for his long list of contributions to the medium, Romanek has worked with artists like Nine Inch Nails and Taylor Swift for her "Shake it Off" video. That may sound like a crazy jump from NIN to T. Swift, but you can see elements of the director's previous entries in the 2014 music video, especially the off-putting look of the symmetrical ballerinas and cuts to figures moving in slow motion.

I hope you have had just as much fun watching this old videos and looking back on their legacy as I have had putting this together. There is something about a great music video that makes me all nostalgic and think about those lazy afternoons watching the best videos MTV (and VH1) had to offer. If you think I missed a video or have one you'd like for people to see, drop it in the comments below.

It has been nearly 20 years since the Jackass crew introduced their off-brand of comedy and stomach-churning stunts to viewers with the MTV show. In the years following the show’s debut, Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, and the rest of the gang have released three movies and countless spin-off series, giving us some of the most insane moments in the process.

With word of a Jackass 4 movie in the works, lets take a look back at some of the most stomach-churning stunts from the movies and show. You're welcome.

10. “The Goldfish” (Season 1, Episode 2)

“The Goldfish” might not be the most disgusting moment from the television series, but it is one of the stunts that started it all. For a lot of us, it was our first introduction to Steve-O, and it was a memorable one at that.

In this iconic stunt, Steve-O drinks a goldfish out of a plastic bottle and pukes it out of his system and into a fishbowl. As several people watch on, the young Steve-O struggles to vomit the fish into the bowl, but after several attempts and multiple gulps of water from a gallon jug, the stunt performer is successful and the goldfish lives to see his new home.

This was one of the first “Jackass” moments from the show, but it was just a taste of what was to come from Steve-O and the rest of the crew.

9. “Dizzy Boxing” (Jackass 2.5)

The “Dizzy Boxing” scene has nothing on some of the stunts featured further down in the list, and while it’s not disgusting, it is stomach-churning in its own right. In the clip, Dave England and Ehren McGhehey duke it out in a new take on the classic boxing match by being spent around in office chairs before each round.

After three rounds of dizzy boxing, Dave England has more than enough of the boxing and dizziness and is down for the count, leaving Ehren McGhehey the winner. But does anyone really win here?

8. “Off-Road Tattoo” (Jackass: The Movie)

Sometimes, getting a tattoo can be a nit nauseating. The constant poking and dragging of the needles on skin can be more than a little uncomfortable for those receiving the tattoo, but that add an off-road drive with Henry Rollins behind the wheel and you have yourself a recipe for disaster.

That’s what happened to Steve-O in Jackass: The Movie when he took part in the “Off-Road Tattoo” skit that when he was the receiving end of a barbaric and painful tattooing experience. Throughout the entire skit, Henry Rollins takes the hummer through an off-road course that would be bad enough on its own, but the tattooing makes it that much worse. The finished product - a smiley face - is anything but need and pretty. It makes for one hell of a story though.

7. “Poo Joust” (Season 1, Episode 6)

Jousting was a popular sport and form of entertainment in the Middle Ages and has shown up in every movie and television series from A Knight’s Tale to Game of Thrones, but we have never seen in it portrayed in the manner in which the Jackass crew reinvented jousting early on in the series run.

There aren’t any horses in this “Poo Joust” tournament, instead several members of the cast stand atop a beam in the middle of a ring that has been covered with one ton of fresh horse poop. Not only do the losers have to experience the pain of defeat, they also have to deal with the warm stench of horse manure covering nearly every square each of their bodies.

This was pretty early on in the Jackass chronology, and things would only get more insane and disgusting from here.

6. “Longest Nail Beer Luge” (Jackass 2.5)

Audiences who thought the crew couldn’t get more disgusting than they were in Jackass 2 were in for a rude awakening when Jackass 2.5 was released in 2007. From the opening scene, the crew made the viewer aware that they were in store for more than just a new title when they see Steve-O drinking a beer from a less than ideal beer luge.

In the “Longest Nail Beer Luge,” Steve-O drinks a Miller beer that has been poured over Shridhar Chillal’s fingernails, the Guinness World Record holder for having the longest fingernails on one hand. Steve-O squirms, kicks, and gags throughout the entire 15-second clip. And remember, this is even before the title card comes up on the screen.

5. Poo-Cano (Jackass 3D)

The crew didn’t pull any punches or hold back on any stomach-churning gags when they returned in 2010 for Jackass 3D. In addition to finding inventive ways to include 3D technology in the film’s hilarious skits and stunts, the guys behind Jackass also brought back the time-honored poop gag.

The Poo-Cano starts off innocent enough - idyllic music plays while the camera pans across what looks like a detailed model train set and environment. The tranquility, however, is short-lived as we noticed that the mountain is actually a butt (Dave England’s butt to be exact) volcano getting ready to spray liquid poop all over the model train, the figurines, and as we come to find out, himself.

The scene ends with the table being pulled off England as he runs off to clean his own feces of his body. The cast and crew proceed to do what anyone in their shoes would do - laugh while vomiting.

4. Penis-Breaking Motorcycle Backflip (Jackass Presents: Mat Hoffman’s Tribute to Evel Knievel)

Shortly after the death of legendary American stuntman Evel Knievel in 2007, the Jackass crew set out to make a tribute video in honor of Knievel’s exploits. The product of their hard work, Jackass Presents: Mat Hoffman’s Tribute to Evel Knievel, featured numerous BMX and motocross riders paying respect to their late hero.

In addition to the professional riders, the cast also included Johnny Knoxville, whose attempt at pulling off a back flip on a motorbike was met with disastrous results. The segment, properly titled “Penis-Breaking Motorcycle Backflip,” starts off one of the professional riders telling Knoxville not to ditch the bike mid-air, which is exactly what happens on his fourth and final attempt.

When Knoxville lets go of the bike after pulling off the ramp, it comes crashing down on him, landing right on his crotch. After everything was said and done, Knoxville was left with broken penis but one great piece of video.

3. Vomelet (Jackass 3D)

It’s no surprise by now, but it seems like Dave England shows up in the lion’s share of the most stomach-churning skits and stunts on this list. Need someone to poop on demand? He’s your guy. Need someone to spin around until he’s dizzy and have a boxing match? He’s your guys. Need someone to make himself vomit? One again, he’s your guy.

And Vomiting is exactly what “Chef” Dave England did in the “Vomelet” gag from Jackass 3D. Not to be outdone by his “Poo-Cano,” England starts surrounded by everything needed for an omelet, except for the knives to chop and the whisk to stir. Instead of cutting and whisking, England eats the food and then vomits it back up into a bowl that he then pours into a skillet.

But the fun doesn’t end there. After cooking the omelet, England asks for a volunteer to eat the finished product. That lucky volunteer happens to be Steve-O, who upon eating the omelet vomits it back up, leaving us where we started with all of the ingredients needed for a proper omelet, only in the form of vomit.

2. Sweatsuit Cocktail (Jackass 3D)

The hits just kept coming with Jackass 3D, and anyone and everyone on the crew got in on the fun, including Preston Lacy with the “Sweatsuit Cocktail.”

The segment opens up with Lacy, who’s wearing a sweatsuit, as he climbs on an elliptical machine. As Lacy starts to work out on the machine, sweat from his plastic suit is funneled into a cup, and by the time we saw the cup and who was standing around (Steve-O), we knew what was about to happen.

Before Steve-O could drink from the sweat cup, several crew members start losing it and begin vomiting just thinking about what is going to happen in the next few minutes. Not to be outdone by all the vomit in the room, Steve-O does what he does best and drinks from the cup. Almost immediately, he begins to throw up, which starts another chain reaction of sweat and vomit.

1. Poo Cocktail Supreme (Jackass 3D)

Last but definitely not least, we have the most stomach-churning stunt to ever be featured in any version of Jackass. The following stunt, without a doubt, is the most disgusting thing the guys ever did on the show or in a movie. Also, it’s perfect for this list because it stomach-churning for more than one reason, as we’re about to find out.

The “Poo Cocktail Supreme” is the last stunt to be performed in Jackass 3D, and the guys really went all out for this monumental feat in filmmaking. At the beginning of the segment, Steve-O is secured to a Porta Potty that has been transformed into a carnival ride fixed with two large bungee cords. Steve-O is then shot up into the air but comes crashing down to the ground with a day’s worth of urine, feces, and all sorts of nastiness covering his entire body.

It is truly the most disgusting part of the movie and the entire franchise.

There you have it. Those are the 10 most stomach-churning Jackass stunts we could find from the ever-popular franchise. Do you agree with our rankings? Let us know!

With the success of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in the can, Jim Carrey's stardom began its fast and high rise into the stratosphere of Hollywood. And with that fame came some power over just who would be behind Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, a decision that Carrey would later regret, because the person he turned down for the post ended up being a pretty big deal: Spike Jonze. Here's why Jonze lost out on the gig, according to Carrey:

It's kind of hard to think about just how just what a big deal hiring Spike Jonze would have been for the Ace Ventura sequel. Considering the fact that Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls was released in 1995, if Jonze had directed the film, it would have been his feature film debut. Not to mention that this was during the phase in his career where he was directing videos for Bjork, The Beastie Boys and Weezer, with both Sabotage and Buddy Holly being under his belt. To be completely honest and putting it into context, not hiring pre-Being John Malcovich Spike Jonze is probably one of the biggest missed opportunities in film history.

Then again, there's a chance that the resulting alternate version of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls would have been something so weird, Warner Bros probably would have shut it down before it even shot. Even in the context of his music video career, Jonze's taste in humor was still as avant-garde as it was in his debut film. So while a case involving Ace Ventura chasing down the most famous missing pets of TV history might have been fun for all involved, it probably would have died a horrific death in the 1995 box office market.

Of course, depending on who you talk to about this revelation made by Jim Carrey to ScreenCrush, that might have been a better prospect than the film that eventually became the Ace Ventura sequel. With comedic wild man Steve Oedekerk taking up the writing and directing duties of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, a sequel more appropriate to what the studio and fans were expecting was delivered. The film was a financial success, albeit a critical whipping boy. But if Spike Jonze had gotten his hands on the film, then we just might have received a movie that may have tanked, but would eventually become a cult classic over time.

All is right with the world though, as Jonze got to work with the comedic actor later, as he produced the recent documentary on Jim Carrey's performance in Man On The Moon, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond. With that film recently picked up by Netflix for distribution, maybe a successful roll-out might inspire the pair to work together on a fictional narrative. It's never to late to make up for a missed opportunity, especially considering that Ace Ventura is still up for a reboot. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right!

It is not unusual for actors to be become attached to particular types of parts. Certain films become iconic, or certain roles become so memorable that you can’t think of the character without thinking of the actor, or vice versa. But John Malkovich has them all beat. He doesn’t simply have a movie where his name appears before the title, be has a film where his name is the title. What does the actor think about Being John Malkovich more than 15 years later? Well, he compares the movie to the way bad sex, or possibly great sex, can affect your life.

Malkovich feels that the movie had a truly major impact on cinema, but that it had nothing to do with him. Instead, he says that the introduction of director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman to the movie world is what the movie should ultimately be known for. For himself, however, he told Rolling Stone that the legacy of the film is like the legacy of oral sex.

So that’s a ...vivid metaphor. It’s not entirely clear what "your life becomes a blowjob" means, beyond being the greatest sentence I’ve had the chance to type in my career. As bizarre as it sounds at first, it may actually be a fitting comparison. How do you have a conversation with John Malkovich about a movie that has his name in the title? Even if you honestly believe it’s a wonderful movie, anything you say is going to come across as the conversational equivalent of a blowjob.

Ultimately the problem is that it’s difficult to talk about the movie without discussing the bizarreness that came from the its premise. You can’t talk about John Malkovich the character without also talking about John Malkovich the actor. Maybe it’s not so much a blowjob as it is a self-referential circle jerk.

We can certainly agree that the movie introduced Hollywood to two unique filmmakers that the movie business is all the richer for. Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman have gone on to make some of the greatest, and strangest, movies in recent memory. We’re glad they got the chance to make Being John Malkovich, even if it did rish turning the actors life into a blowjob.

So say you wrote a movie that's oddly similar to one that just won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. All of that hard work that you have done goes into something, and it ends up being made into someone else's film. What do you do? Some would just chalk it up as a coincidence, and punch up their draft to distance it from the other film. Others - as is the case with a pair of screenwriters discovered by TMZ - would team up to sue Spike Jonze for "stealing their work.

In this particular case, you have screenwriters Sachin Gadh and Jonathan Sender with their script Belv in one corner, while in the other corner there is Spike Jonze and his script for Her. Gadh and Sender argued in court was that there were so many similarities between the two pictures (a talking machine, emotional storytelling, and pocket friendly storage, being the key examples mentioned) that it clearly had to be a case of theft. Ultimately, the judge ruled in favor of Mr. Jonze, citing that the Belv script was more of a comedic script, and Her was a drama

While the status of Her being a comedy or a drama is one that could be argued, apparently the films dramatic tendencies were enough to help the movie shake any comparisons to its doppelganger. The whole case becomes clearer when you read the further details provided in an earlier report TMZ provided when the case was first filed. Her was a film that consciously made its artificially intelligent hardware self-aware, whereas Belv has a case of accidental sentience.

It's easy to laugh something like this off, but at the same time it's not like this is anythingnew in Hollywood. What makes it news it that it's always interesting to see what sort of case defendants are able present in such a situation, especially when a lot of scripts have been stolen and/or leaked online through various means and methods of consumption. One could say that the reporting of such cases will only increase in direct proportion to the rate of incident. The more scripts that are leaked, the more stories you'll see about scripts being leaked. The more stories you see about scripts being leaked, the more likely it is that someone could read the story and feel emboldened to think that maybe their script was leaked.

For all we know, Mr. Gadh and Mr. Sender legitimately believe their script was stolen, and are not trying to pull the wool over our eyes. What should be taken away from this is the lesson that maybe we should be a little more careful with what we leak to the Internet, and WAY more careful with printed copies of scripts. To be fair to Gadh and Sender, though, it would have had an easier time going after the writers of SNL for their parody of Her that sounds much closer to the tone they were aiming for in the first place.

Since its world premiere at the New York Film Festival last October, Spike Jonze's Her has been gathering all kinds of accolades. Now in limited release, the romantic drama about a man who falls for his computer has earned three Golden Globe nominations, praise from various critics circles, Top 10 List spots, and has already won AFI's Movie of the Year honor. But not everyone is impressed. In fact, Siri, the iPhone intelligent personal assistant, is downright snarky when it comes to Her's depiction of artificial intelligence.

Buzzfeed drew our attention to Siri's shade throwing with a series of screengrabs, some of which are viewable below. While critics and award season acolytes are debating whether Scarlett Johansson's portrayal of the self-aware operating system Samantha is eligible and worthy of Best Actress nominations, Siri is unimpressed. Frankly, that's pretty amusing as she is the closest thing our world has to the kind of ultra-personal interactive tech set up in Her.

Written and directed by Jonze, Her centers on Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely divorcé who finds an unexpected connection with his new OS after an artificial life upgrade. The bubbly-voiced computer software names herself Samantha, and not long after she's organized his files, she becomes a friend and soon something more. Some have sneered at the film's central love story, claiming it's cold or unbelievable. It seems Siri is siding with them. She's got little patience for Samantha's charms, and seems pretty uninterested in finding a Theodore of her own.

Really, we shouldn't be surprised that Siri is so outspoken about Her. After all, she's clearly a fan of science fiction, having reviewed several sci-fi features from her unique perspective. Like these, those were fun…even if it did make us worry a bit that the time where machine overruns man is growing nigh!

Her expands into wide release on January 10th, 2014.

Spike Jonze has an actual movie coming out this fall, called Her, that's pretty great. But if you can't wait until Her's December 18 release date, and want to combine Jonze's talent with the energy of this summer's Frances Ha, do we ever have you covered! Jonze directed this "live music video" for the Arcade Fire's new single "Afterlife," which aired during last night's YouTube Music Awards, and while it's bizarre that something this wonderful comes part of something as goofy as an online awards show, we're not going to question it.

The Arcade Fire's new album Reflektor has come along with the requisite insane hype, and there are about a hundred hipster cliches in just a minute of this video, starting with indie darlings Jonze and Gerwig and going right down to that oversized, David Byrne-echoing blazer. But you know what? Hip things can be wonderful things-- Frances Ha is a prime example, being that summer indie that not nearly enough people saw and can therefore remain cool forever. Jonze has proven, though his association with Jackass if nothing else, that he has a refreshing lack of pretension, and Gerwig's energy combined with those adorable little girls brings out the enthusiastic rhythm of "Afterlife" in a very specific, totally accessible way.

This isn't Jonze's first collaboration with Arcade Fire. He used their song "Wake Up" in the completely unforgettable trailer for Where The Wild Things Are, and directed the short film "Scenes From the Suburbs" that accompanied their previous album release with the same title. The full 30-minute film is no longer online, but you can watch part of it here.

And if you can't get enough of Greta Gerwig dancing, seriously, see Frances Ha-- you can purhcase it now on iTunes or wait for it to arrive on Blu-ray, as part of the Criterion Collection, in just a few short days. Here's the trailer below:

Handheld computers have infiltrated our lives so swiftly, and so fully, that it's so far been impossible to gauge what they mean to us-- most analysis settles for "They're ruining everything!" to "They're improving everything!" and nothing in between. Spike Jonze, maybe miraculously, occupies an imaginative and heartfelt middle ground in Her, where in the not-so-distant future, a not-so-preposterous love story plays out between a man (Joaquin Phoenix) and the operating system (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) programmed to meet his every need.

The film's rambling narrative essentially plays out as if Jonze asked himself "What would happen in this relationship?" and answered as many questions as he could. Theodore is a lonely recent divorcee who lives in a future where conversations with your computer work way better than they do now with Siri-- his phone sorts though his e-mails, writes letters, reads him the weather and virtually everything else. The new OS, though, does it all with a human touch, a program that learns your personality and reflects what you want from it. Theodore winds up with Samantha, a bubbly and curious OS who starts off as a Miss Moneypenny-type dream assistant but quickly morphs into more, both because Theodore wants that from her and because Samantha is developing a deeper consciousness of her own.

With surprising humor and deep warmth, Her examines all the imaginable complications from that kind of relationship. Does Theodore's relationship with Samantha keep him from connecting with a real woman (Olivia Wilde) on a date? Yes, but not quite the way you'd expect. Does it ostracize him from his friends and co-workers? Not really-- one coworker played by Chris Pratt nonchalantly invites Samantha on a couples' trip to Catalina, and Theodore's neighbor Amy (Amy Adams) admits her own deep friendship with an OS. Does it help him get over his ex-wife (Rooney Mara)? Yes, but not without setting up more strain between them. And issues that you might think could take up an entire film, like the way Samantha's computer brain has access to Theodore's entire life or the question of how much of her feelings are pre-programmed, are dispatched with surprisingly quickly. Her consistently zigs and zags around not only sci-fi expectations, but the rom-com as well, meshing both genres with a particular Jonze-ian relish for finding adventure within the familiar.

Jonze and his production designer K.K. Barrett imbue this futuristic Los Angeles-- imitated in part by present-day Shanghai-- with phenomenal detail, from sleek architecture to hipster-y computer terminals to the apparent futuristic trend of men wearing high-waisted pants. It's a vision of a future that's lonely but not necessarily miserable; we see Theodore returning home to immerse himself into a video game but finding surprising connections within it, and even in the thrall of love with Samantha he never disconnects himself from actual humans like Amy and her husband. Theodore's job at BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com, where he's paid to dictate notes for other people that are written by a computer, perfectly sets up a world in which it's incredibly convenient to disconnect from others, but humans keep trying to find each other anyway.

Given how natural his relationship with Samantha starts to feel, it's easy to overlook the feat Phoenix accomplishes, acting opposite no one (Samantha Morton was on set to provide the voice, and was replaced in post-production by Johansson) and carrying Theodore's subtle transformation from loner to a man in love. Johansson is remarkable too, giving Samantha earthy depth that has us, like Theodore, both smitten and wondering about the microchips and data that make her run. Despite its big ideas, its immaculate details and its large imagination, Her is primarily a romance, and Phoenix and Johansson make it genuinely touching and thought-provoking, particularly when Jonze's script throws some novel obstacles in their path. Jonze has taken a thought experiment and turned it into the love story, and one that, like all the best science fiction, feels both of our time and a far-flung, spectacular future. If the coming years are half this lovely, heartfelt and beautifully wrought, we'll be lucky to get there.

For the rest of our New York Film Festival coverage, click here.

Buzz is growing fast and frenzied over Spike Jonze’s upcoming Her. Written and directed by the celebrated filmmaker, the film boasts a cast that includes a whopping eight Academy Award nominations between its leads, Rooney Mara (1), Joaquin Phoenix (3), Amy Adams (4)…and Scarlett Johansson. (Okay, so she has no Oscar nominations, but she does have four Golden Globe nods!) With such a sensational cast and brewing buzz, it’s little wonder that Warner Bros has decided to push the film’s release date for a stronger advantage during award season.

THR reports Her is being bumped from its original release date of November 20th to a limited release on December 18th, with a wide release on January 10th. Award season buffs will note this sort of schedule strategy is a common among dramas that hope to win the love of the Academy. Notably, last year Zero Dark Thirty utilized this method, opening in New York and Los Angeles on December 21st, making the Academy rules deadlines for eligible releases. Then, they opened wide on January 11th, hoping award buzz would boost the film’s box office. While the film was robbed of its shot at major awards—arguably because of an unfair scandal—it did prove a major hit, pulling in more than $95 million domestically, which is more than five times what director Kathryn Bigelow’s Academy-Award winning predecessor The Hurt Locker netted.

For Her, this date shift also means a change in competition. Instead off against the box office force that The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is expected to be, this tender tale of unconventional love will initially open two days ahead of Anchorman: The Legend Continues, Saving Mr. Banks, and George Clooney’s award season contender The Monuments Men. Of course, in limited release it’s not really expected to compete there. It’s wide release competition is far less frightening at present, consisting of a horror-thriller called Jessabelle that lacks any major stars, and the wide release expansion of Peter Berg’s Battleship follow-up Lone Survivor. But judging from the trailer below, these features will likely have little first-wave audience crossover.

Beyond that, Her is riding a wave of good press between this compelling first trailer and news that the film will close out this year’s New York Film Festival, which is usually a slate stacked with exceptional cinema. While the concept of “man falls in love with computer” could come off as trite, Jonze’s reputation for delicately detailing the inner emotional lives of his characters—be it in Where The Wild Things Are, Being John Malkovich or Adaptation--gives me faith that Her will be a story about man and machine that is deeply humane. Look for our review when NYFF kicks off next month.

We should have seen it coming. In the last few weeks, every new film that has debuted a stunning trailer has, the next day, gone on to become part of the New York Film Festival lineup. First it was the Tom Hanks starring Captain Phillips, which will open the fest, then it was Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which will be the centerpiece. Today it's Spike Jonze's Her, today announced by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as the closing night film of the festival, which kicks off on September 13. Her will conclude things on October 13. Here's that incredible trailer that debuted yesterday, in case you missed it:

In an interview at FilmLinc.com that accompanied the announcement, Jonze talked about the film in depth for the first time, describing it first and foremost as "a relationship movie," though imbued with high-concept ideas about technology and how we relate to it. Joaquin Phoenix plays a lonely city-dweller who downloads a software program that is a female voice (Scarlett Johansson), but also a personality that he slowly falls in love with. Set in the near-ish future and in Los Angeles, Jonze says the film required that he establish a specific vision of the future, in which Los Angeles is an even more comfortable place to live than it is now, but still isolating:

His most fascinating comment, though, was about the look of the film from Danish cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who Jonze says brought a "feminine" aesthetic to Her:

I don't totally know that Jonze means by "feminine," but given that the supporting cast includes Rooney Mara, Amy Adams and Olivia Wilde, there's more than enough attention-getting female power to go around. A film like Her is in danger of falling into the "bland young man is transformed by a quirky young woman" trap-- even if that quirky young woman happens to be a computer. The notion that Jonze wants more emphasis on his female cast is a strong sign he's going somewhere different with it-- though given that he's the director of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, we really shouldn't have expected anything different.

After its NYFF premiere, Her will open in theaters November 20. We'll have full coverage of the New York Film Festival starting in September, so get ready! Festival season isn't far away at all.

Is it possible for a love story between a man and his computer to break your heart? If Spike Jonze has anything to do with it, yes. The first trailer for Jonze's first film in 4 years has debuted online, and you can either watch it above or in HD at Apple. It starts with tinkling piano music from Aphex Twin and only gets more plaintive from there.

Jonze has obviously hit the art house casting grand slam, not just with recent The Master standout Joaquin Phoenix in the crucial lead role, but with Amy Adams and Rooney Mara in supporting parts, and even Scarlett Johansson (recently on board in place of Samantha Morton) as the voice of the computer who woos Phoenix's lonely character, with the inimitable name "Theodore Twombly." The trailer only builds up to the inevitable point where you know things will get less isolatingly beautiful and more creepy, with Samantha leading Theodore right up to the verge of initiating cybersex… with a machine. That can't end well. But it will probably be a gorgeous journey get there.

Her, with a supporting cast that also includes Chris Pratt and Olivia Wilde, comes to theaters on November 20. Here's the official synopsis below, along with the newly revealed poster, also via Apple.

In normal love stories, the person you cast as one-half of the couple is going to be in the movie the entire time. Spike Jonze movies don't tend to be normal anything, though, and in advance of the November 20 release of his new film Her, he's done the highly unusual: recasting the lead female role, months after shooting wrapped.

It helps, of course, that the female love interest is just a voice, the Siri-like computer operating system who captures the heart of a lonely writer played by Joaquin Phoenix. Samantha Morton had been set to provide the computer's voice, but Jonze has confirmed to Vulture that Morton's work has been replaced by Scarlett Johansson's voice. And from the sound of it, it was a tough decision for Jonze, based on the statement he gave them. Here's an excerpt:

Jonze added that "I love Samantha.I've been friends with her forever," and though there's no telling what kind of conversations the two of them have had, you probably can't apologize enough when you cut your friend from a major role in your next movie. Morton is a major talent and shone in the very trippy Synecdoche New York, but just because she's on Jonze's wavelength doesn't make her perfect for everything he does. Johansson-- an Avenger and action star-- is certainly a different kind of actress, but she'll have no lack of famous company in the cast. Rooney Mara and Lois Lane herself Amy Adams are also in the cast, though the plot description gives no indication of where other characters might fit in alongside the computer and the man who loves her.

Vulture adds the intriguing detail that Jonze will be participating in a retrospective of his work at the Los Angeles FIlm Festival this weekend, and that he might be showing clips from Her-- which, if the computer is as central a character as promised, would almost inevitably include Johansson. If you don't make it to the big event, though, you can find examples of Johansson's gorgeous, low-register voice pretty much anywhere (no, her assets are not just about her fantastic looks). I'm partial to the song "Before My Time" from the documentary Chasing Ice, which was nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar:

While it may seem arbitrary to some, the thought process behind setting a date for a film’s release is a complex web of variables and hypotheses. Oscar worthy? Early winter release. Genre garbage? Early spring release. It’s something of a science. But when a film with an established release date shifts the date months later, it usually means one of two things: the film won’t be ready, or it has some strong box office competition. With this new batch of release date changes, courtesy of Box Office Mojo, let’s find out which is which.

Ken Scott’s comedy Delivery Man, formerly known as Starbuck, stars Vince Vaughn as an ordinary guy who finds out his sperm bank donations have led to him being the biological father of over 500 children. The film was originally going to be released on October 4th, but has changed to November 22nd. Why? I’m not sure, but October 4th happens to be the release date for Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For and Scott Cooper’s Out of the Furnace, which is quite a bit of competition. Sadly, it’s now up against The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, but one competing movie is better than three, I guess.

Bill Condon’s Wikileaks movie The Fifth Estate, not without an touch of controversy, was supposed to come out on November 15th, but it’s now been moved up to October 11th. Could have had something to do with both Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott releasing their new films on that day?

Lastly we have Spike Jonze’s next sci-fi-ish quirk-fest Her, which is just now being placed on the release schedule. Box Office Mojo says the film will be released on Wednesday, November 20th. Its off-kilter plot involves Joaquin Phoenix falling in love with his computer’s operating system. November seems like as good a time as any for this one, but now it’s opening two days before Delivery Man. Isn’t it worried?

It's been 10 years since Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze last collaborated, on the hugely beloved Adaptation, but the distinctive writer and director are gearing up to work together again, with Jonze planning to direct Kaufman's script this year. Amy Adams, Joaquin Phoenix and Samantha Morton are already on board, and though Carey Mulligan had been circling a role for a while, she apparently can't make the schedule work, which leaves an opening that clearly can only be filled by another woman recently Oscar-nominated for her breakthrough role.

According to Variety, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo star Rooney Mara is in final negotiations to join the film, playing an unspecified role in the story about a man who falls in love with the voice of a computer. Mara's currently at work on The Bitter Pill with Steven Soderbergh, but she'll have the time to make the move over to Jonze's movie, which should be ready to go into production fairly soon.

Mara also had Terrence Malick's new film Lawless coming at some point soon, though given Malick's habits you never really know when his films will come out, and presumably she's still on board for The Girl Who Played With Fire, the Dragon Tattoo sequel that as of January was set to shoot at the end of this year. But with David Fincher not looking all that interested in returning for Played with Fire, it wouldn't be hard to imagine that Mara wouldn't be too interested either, so she's cramming her resume full of auteur-driven films before she goes back to the grueling Lisbeth Salander role.

So what's this role that both Carey Mulligan and Rooney Mara would be up for playing? Both actresses have incredible ranges from the limited work we've seen from them, so it's fairly hard to guess. Anyone out there want to throw out some wild ideas?

Carey Mulligan’s riding one of the hottest streaks we’ve seen in some time. She regularly works with challenging directors, from Oliver Stone (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) to Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go). This year, she’s co-starring in two instant classics in Drive and Shame. And she’s currently hard at work on Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby opposite Leonard DiCaprio.

Wow.

But don’t think Mulligan’s content to rest on her laurels. Variety reports that the actress has secured two high-profile gigs that would make any talent salivate. The fact that she's in both almost isn’t fair. According to the trade, Mulligan will be the female lead in Joel and Ethan Coen’s folk-music drama Inside Llewyn Davis. Following that, she’ll appear in an as-yet-untitled feature to be directed by Spike Jonze.

Both projects sound great. The Coens already have cast Oscar Isaac as a musician breaking into New York’s scene in the 1960s. As the trade notes, if Mulligan needs to sing, Shame proves the actress has the pipes. As for Jonze’s feature, it reportedly reunites him with screenwriter Charlie Kaufmann (Adaptation) for a film about global leaders having to meet to discuss what Variety calls “cataclysmic events.” Joaquin Phoenix has already been cast in the picture, which would begin shooting next spring.

About the only other actress touching Mulligan’s streak right now is Anne Hathaway, who also continues to add one major project after the next. Actors rarely go wrong collaborating with storytellers like the Coens and Jonze, and we’re happy that a legitimate talent like Mulligan is getting these outstanding chances to flex her muscle and make what we hope are great films.

We learned back in March that Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman, a director and writer who just work better when they're together, had found funding for their next project together thanks to Megan Ellison, the heiress who's using her wealth to save the movie industry by funding projects by people like Paul Thomas Anderson, Kathryn Bigelow, and these guys. Now a major studio and a star have gotten in on the party to make it all seem more real and fantastic. Twitch Film is hearing that Warner Bros. has come on board the project, and Joaquin Phoenix is "attached" to star.

The plot description we heard last says the story is about powerful people who "gather to figure out all the seismic events that will take place in the worlds, from oil prices to wars that will be waged." Presumably, since this will be a film by the guys who brought you Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, it gets a lot more complicated from there. It's no surprise to hear that a studio, even one usually not focused on indie fare like Warner Bros., would want to get on board a project like this. I was thrown a little, though, to see Joaquin Phoenix's name in there. Since his bearded-up I'm Still Here days he has been working hard to shake that bad reputation, and snagged a key role in Paul Thomas Anderson's next film, which sure can't hurt. But I've never really thought of him as a comedy guy, and definitely not the kind of dry, anything-is-possible comedy that Charlie Kaufman usually specializes in. Maybe this is him trying, even more so than in I'm Still Here, to prove exactly how much range he's got?

Twitch says they're aiming to start shooting in March of next year, giving them plenty of time to settle in the rest of the cast and maybe give us a few more tidbits of what we can actually expect from the story. Then again, with Jonze and Kaufman, usually it really is just best to be surprised.

It’s that time of year already. Soon enough, studios will be releasing their Academy Award films. You know the ones. They’re small but have big name actors. They’re about serious subjects or are oftentimes quirky and cute but have deeper themes. Some of them are long and boring. Others are amazing pieces of art. Some just get lost in the flurry.

Not included in any of those categories are the Short Documentaries, an interesting Oscar category that usually houses some of the best pieces of art the award show has to offer. The unfortunate thing is that very few ever get to see them. This list is particularly interesting because it includes Spike Jonze’s latest movie (No, not that one): the documentary he made about Maurice Sendek entitled Tell Them Anything You Want, which premieres on HBO this Wednesday.

Check out the entire list below:

"China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province," Downtown Community Television Center, Inc.

"The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner," Just Media

"The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant," Community Media Prods.

"Lt. Watada," Chanlim Films

"Music by Prudence," iThemba Prods.

"Rabbit a la Berlin," MS Films

"Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak," Outside Prods.

"Woman Rebel," Women Rebel Films