There are certain movies with plot twists that everybody still talks about, like The Sixth Sense, Fight Club, and The Usual Suspects.

In fact, some movies are actually known for having bad plot twists, like The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Iron Man 3, and Signs (though I actually like Signs now). These are examples of “twists” that are so horrendous that they actually detract from the overall film rather than enhance it. And then, you have films with tremendous plot twists, but have still been forgotten, with 1999's Arlington Road being one such film.

Perhaps we can blame it on the fact that 1999 is often considered one of the greatest years in cinema history, since we got movies like The Matrix, Toy Story 2, Eyes Wide Shut, and many others. So, here’s why Arlington Road should be remembered, even after all these years.

And yes, spoilers up ahead.

First Of All, The Plot About Domestic Terrorism Still Feels Possible

Post-9/11, the word “terrorism” became synonymous with people from overseas (remember the whole Bush-era “War on Terror”?). However, pre-9/11, the concern was mainly centered on domestic terrorism. This is mostly because of instances such as the Oklahoma City bombing.

You have to understand. While the 1990s are sometimes looked back upon as the halcyon days, the ‘90s were also the era of Columbine and the Ruby Ridge standoff, the latter of which is actually alluded to in this film. Arlington Road speaks to that sense of unease and distrust in fellow Americans, and one could argue that it's still relevant today, similar to the Academy Award-winning picture, One Battle After Another.

In this story, a professor named Michael (Jeff Bridges) teaches about American terrorism at George Washington University. He gets new neighbors named Oliver and Cheryl Lang (portrayed by Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack, respectively), and they seem perfect. Their kids even became fast friends. It all seems like things will work out just fine…until Michael finds out that his neighbors’ real names aren’t Lang at all, but rather Fenimore, and that they may be connected to a terrorist bombing from the past…and that he might strike again.

What follows is a case study in paranoia, which I'll talk about next.

The Sense Of Paranoia Is Ratched Up To Extreme

I hate being paranoid, but I love movies centered around paranoia. It’s why a movie like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas might not be loved by the critics, but I’m a HUGE fan. There’s just something to be said for a movie that can capture that unsettling feeling that things just aren’t right, and you’re stuck right in the middle of it, and Arlington Road captures that feeling to perfection.

Jeff Bridges' character lost his wife in an incident similar to the Ruby Ridge standoff, and ever since then, he’s been peeking through curtains and around corners. Which is why when Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack’s characters seem to be a bit suspicious, it sends him on a tailspin of wondering if the people next door are actually terrorists.

And, here’s the thing. His paranoia is justified since they ARE terrorists. Throughout the film, we’re left wondering if Michael’s suspicions are sound, and when we learn that they are (and that his son is caught in the middle), the tension is ratched up to the extreme.

The whole movie builds, and builds, and builds (and Jeff Bridges gets sweatier, and sweatier, and sweatier), to the point where you’re literally on the edge of your sofa, wondering if the terrorist couple will get away with it…which I’ll get into soon. But first, I want to talk about Tim Robbins, since I think this might be my favorite performance of his.

This Is Definitely One Of Tim Robbins Best Performances

Not too long ago, I wrote about how good Mystic River is, and Tim Robbins won an Oscar for his performance in that movie. And, I’m sure that most people would probably say that their favorite Tim Robbins film is The Shawshank Redemption (though I’m not a huge fan), or maybe even Jacob’s Ladder if you’re a real one. The point I’m trying to make here, though, is that Tim Robbins is a really good actor, and it always surprises me when people bring up some of his other movies, but always neglect to mention Arlington Road.

That might be because the film itself isn't often remembered. In the movie, Robbins has to do what he does best, which is play unassuming characters with rich inner worlds. As a domestic terrorist who's just trying to pass for an everyday citizen, he’s polite, helpful, and neighborly. But, behind closed doors, he's plotting to blow up the J. Edgar Hoover Building, and mostly because he thinks that the country has failed its people.

At no point are you actually rooting for him once Michael uncovers the truth, but you do find him incredibly compelling, especially when it comes to the lengths he's willing to go through in order to see his plan to the end (Joan Cusack also has a standout performance as his like-minded wife).

In the end, though, it's just a stellar performance, and I wish more people talked about it.

And Again, That Twist Ending!

Okay, so now onto the twist, since I did say at the start of this article that there would be spoilers. I honestly think the best swerves are the ones where the protagonists end up growing as a result. That could be why the twist in Arlington Road might be so buried in cinema history, since it’s so damn nihilistic and sad. In a way, it’s sort of like the twist ending of Se7en, where the villain wins, as that’s what happens in Arlington Road. Tim Robbins’ character is victorious.

You see, once Michael uncovers William Fenimore’s plan to blow up the FBI headquarters, he’s actually the one who carries out the explosion by accident, even though he didn’t even realize that he was the one carrying the bomb in the first place. Once he’s at the J. Edgar Hoover Building, the bomb in his car detonates, and HE’S the one who’s viewed as the terrorist. In fact, the news portrays him as a lone wolf, and all of the paranoia that he exhibited earlier in the film only adds fuel to the fire that he was guilty.

The worst part is, his own son will grow up believing that his father was a terrorist, when in actuality, he was trying to stop the terrorists. Mr. and Mrs. Fenimore, aka Mr. and Mrs. Lang, get away with it, preparing to move to another suburb, free to strike again scot-free.

It’s a really depressing twist, and one that solidifies Arlington Road as being one of the best movies of 1999 that you may not have seen.

As a kid, my parents’ movie library was an important resource for my cinematic education. And you could bet that we had a copy of The Shawshank Redemption on VHS, just waiting for me to eventually one of the best ‘90s movies to ever exist. Upon rewatching Frank Darabont’s iconic Stephen King adaptation, I certainly had some thoughts, and they further proved why this movie has endured.

I’m Kind Of Surprised Andy Dufresne Was Even Convicted

I know if Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) doesn’t get convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, there’s no Shawshank Redemption. But between our protagonist’s profession, and the infidelities being visited upon him, do you seriously mean to tell me a 1950s jury wouldn’t side with these implied actions?

I Can’t Think Of Anyone Else Playing Andy Or Red

Here’s a piece of Shawshank Redemption trivia you may not have known: Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford were among the potential pairs considered to play Andy and Red. I’m all for considering “what if…” scenarios when it comes to classic films, but I honestly can’t think of anyone else matching the chemistry of Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman’s friendship on screen.

The Shawshank Redemption’s Casting Game Has Always Been Strong

Every time I watch this movie, I swear I notice new actors that I either forgot or hadn’t noticed were part of the cast. This time around I “discovered” that Robocop and E.R. vet Paul McCrane was one of the guards, and was reminded that 24’s Jude Ciccolella was also a screw at Shawshank. Meanwhile, every go-round reminds me how I'll always recognize Jeffrey DeMunn after his short but powerful turn as the lawyer who sends Andy up the river.

Stephen King Knows How To Write Grounded Adult Fairy Tales

While Red (Morgan Freeman) delivers the line “Prison is no fairy tale world” in The Shawshank Redemption, I still consider it an example of realism meeting such morally tinged fables for adults. The fact that Stephen King would not only go on to write The Green Mile as a sort of “Shawshank meets magical thinking” heartbreaker, with Frank Darabont returning for its 1999 adaptation, only proves my point.

Bob Gunton’s Introduction Is So Subtly Chilling

Throughout the entirety of this prison drama, we see Bob Gunton's Warden Samuel Norton barely raise his voice, except for when he discovers Andy’s escape. Revisiting his chilling introduction through Andy Dufrense’s arrival at Shawshank, I was reminded that vocal hysterics are no match for wielding a bible, and knowing how to hurt someone with just a nod.

Jake Is One Of The Many Clever Ways The Passage Of Time Is Shown At Shawshank

Most movies show time passing with either obvious dialogue or handy title cards. There are moments in The Shawshank Redemption where dialogue helps contextualize when we are in the story, but it’s never clunky. Also, with the added device of Jake the crow growing from a baby to a full-grown buddy, we’re shown progress without needing to put a calendar right under our noses.

Clancy Brown Plays The Line Between Menace And Authority To A Tee

When your kids are old enough, show them The Shawshank Redemption, then a random episode of Spongebob Squarepants. It’ll blow their minds by connecting Mr. Brown’s roles of Byron Hadley and Mr. Krabs, and it’s only another example of versatile performers filling Frank Darabont’s cast. While he’s not always turned up to 11, the shifts between unchecked menace and simple authority are so seamless.

I Wish I Could Tell You Andy Dufresne's First Encounter With The Sisters Wasn’t Tragic

One of the emotional moments that never fails to maintain its tragedy is when Bogs (Mark Rolston) and the rest of The Sisters gang up on Andy in the prison laundry. We don’t see the brutality, relying on Morgan Freeman’s narration to confirm that the worst had indeed happened. Each time that scene comes on, expect your heart to sink.

The Roofing Crew Scene May Be The Best Scene In The Shawshank Redemption

If there is one scene that ties all of The Shawshank Redemption’s perfection into a subtle package, it’s when Andy and his fellow prisoners enjoy that cold bohemian beer after tarring a roof. It’s idyllic, visually stunning, and gives the audience the same temporary moment of unbridled joy as Andy Dufresne. Other moments may be more pronounced, but the joy truly sneaks up on you every time, even if it’s a consequence of Brooks Hadley threatening to cause Andy “accidental” harm.

Thomas Newman Really Poured His Heart Into The Shawshank Redemption Score

Andy's escape into the rain. Red's arrival on the beach in Zihuatanejo. Brooks' sad end. All of those moments are cinematic history in The Shawshank Redemption, and their perfection is aided by composer Thomas Newman's emotionally charged musical score. Good luck trying to drive if "Brooks Was Here" comes up on shuffle.

The Shawshank Redemption Helped Me See Beyond Stephen King’s Horror Writing

Growing up, I was introduced to Stephen King as “The Master of Horror.” That image only grew through my eventual initiation through watching miniseries like 1990’s IT. But when I saw that The Shawshank Redemption was written by the same man who masterminded such frights, it was a watershed moment that helped me look past the stereotype and love the man’s work even more.

If Anyone Should Have Remade The Stand, It Should Have Been Frank Darabont

Mick Garris’ 1994 miniseries adaptation of The Stand, in my mind, has never been topped. I’ve slowly slogged through the 2020 Paramount+ remake, and with all due respect to the talent involved, it pales in comparison. But now that I’ve rewatched The Shawshank Redemption, I can’t help but wish that Frank Darabont’s Randall Flagg easter egg led to an alternate universe where he got to do his thing with the epic clash between the disciples of The Walkin’ Dude and Mother Abigail.

Brooks’ “Easy Peasy” Line Holds Up, Even If It’s Of Questionable Taste

“Easy peasy, Japanese-y.” I know it’s not a terribly offensive line, but hearing the sweet Brooks Hadlen (James Whitmore) utter that line always gave me pause. Upon this most recent viewing, however, I realized that this line is another clever way of showing character. Thanks to the institutionalization of Brooks, we get a window into what the world was like when he was a free man; back when that sort of phrase was probably more prevalent.

Andy’s Story Doesn’t Forget To Include Moments Of Levity

I’ll never look at a copy of Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo without thinking of William Sadler, Tim Robbins, and Morgan Freeman debating where to file it in the prison library. Humor and warmth go hand in hand with tragedy and tears in The Shawshank Redemption, allowing for organic breaks from the harsh realities of incarceration. Frank Darabont’s sensibilities as the writer/director of this film are sharp as the rock hammer Andy uses to get his freedom, knowing when to lean into either extreme.

No Letter Writing Campaign Could Ever Beat Andy Dufrense’s Quest For Books

A former friend of mine and I used to love referencing the moment when Andy Dufrense petitioned his local government officials for better resources in Shawshank’s prison library. As someone who loves a good story where a dedicated fanbase gets something done through letter-writing, I have to say that Dufrense’s triumph is probably the greatest example of this time-tested form of protest winning the day.

How In The Name Of Castle Rock Did The Shawshank Redemption Bomb At The Box Office?

The weekend of September 23, 1994, had some pretty decent movies in the box office top 10…and somehow The Shawshank Redemption wasn’t one of them. That’s right, the only reason we’re still talking about this picture is thanks to video rentals and constant airings on TNT in the years that followed. How did people let this happen?!

Shawshank Is A Masterclass In Patient Storytelling

In a little under two and a half hours, you really feel like you’ve gotten to know Andy Dufresne and some of his pals at Shawshank State Prison. It consistently amazes me that I can still feel this way about a movie I’ve watched frequently over its three decades of existence. There’s never a moment where it feels like you could either skip or fast forward to the next, putting the pacing in that sweet spot where you don’t want it to end, but can’t think of anything to add.

William Sadler Really Is One Of The Best Actors We Have

I originally thought that The Shawshank Redemption proved that William Sadler was one of the best character actors on the scene. Upon further thought, I'd say he's one of the best performers out there, period. The dude's range has seen him hang with the Crypt Keeper, tangle with John McClane, and try to reap the souls of Bill and Ted. Watching him as Heywood always puts a smile on my face, because how can you begrudge a man just listening to his Hank Williams records?

Brooks’ Epilogue Still Crushes My Heart Every Single Time

You don't even have to show a person the entirety of this film to bring them to tears. While having the background on Brooks' character does make his eventual fate all the more tragic, you could merely show them his final scenes on the outside of Shawshank. No matter how many times I see James Whitmore play the end to his arc, I always hope that Jake found Brooks somehow, somewhere far away from that pain.

This Movie Pivots Perfectly Between Emotional Ups And Downs

In the span of a handful of minutes, The Shawshank Redemption goes from Brooks’ tragic suicide to Andy’s triumphant book delivery, which then turns to our humble bank manager’s solitary confinement. Just those moments piled on top of each other are an emotional roller coaster, but they all land perfectly, without losing a step to any potential tonal whiplash.

Frank Darabont Truly Understands Stephen King’s Work

Adapting The Green Mile into a Tom Hanks-starring tear-jerker was the next step in Frank Darabont’s King canon journey, but giving The Mist its soul-crushing ending was probably the greatest sign that Darabont truly understands Stephen King’s work. Especially because according to his own account, Frank Darabont was inspired by King’s original text to get to that traumatizing finale.

You Could Frame That Shot Of Andy Escaping The Tunnels

The moment that Andy Dufrense escapes those tunnels of…waste in The Shawshank Redemption, he bathes in the rain of liberation in a moment you could practically frame and hang on your wall. Considering it went on to become the original poster art for the 1994 release campaign, I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought so.

How Is This Picture Only 142 Minutes?

There is no way that The Shawshank Redemption is only a couple minutes short of two and a half hours. It never feels anything shorter than perfect, which is honestly thanks to the pacing of the storytelling and every factor being top-shelf. Honestly, this is probably why The Green Mile would eventually be allowed to slightly exceed the 3-hour mark when it was released.

The Shawshank Redemption Counts As A Heist Movie

I never really thought of Andy Dufresne’s antics as a secret heist movie, but that’s exactly what I came away thinking this time out. Years before Danny Ocean and his ten friends would knock off Las Vegas, Andy used accounting, knowledge of the banking system, and some geological know-how to make his great escape. Is it too late to give Andy a role in the Ocean’s Eleven prequel?

Tommy Williams’ Fate Is Even Crueler Than That Of Brooks Hadlen

If anyone got a worse deal than Brooks Hadlen, it had to be Tommy Williams (Gil Bellows). Sent to prison for burglary, he wasn’t nearly as hardened as some of the criminals who walked the halls of Shawshank State Prison. Yet thanks to his ability to exonerate Andy Dufresne, the young man who could have had a bright future was taken out with another one of Warden Norton’s patented nods.

Roger Deakins’ Cinematography Helped Make This A Timeless Classic

Everyone knows that cinematographer Roger Deakins is a GOAT when it comes to his craft. The Shawshank Redemption is a key piece of proof as to how he’s maintained such a reputation, as his eye helps this picture evade any sort of signs of aging. It looks timeless, and feels just as preserved through never being approached as a “‘90s movie.”

Without Question, Shawshank Is A ‘Remote Drop’ Movie

Thanks to Christopher Nolan’s love for Talladega Nights, the world now knows to call something you can never turn away from on TV a “remote drop” movie. The Shawshank Redemption is absolutely such a gem, as no matter what point in the story you’re at, no matter how many times you’ve seen it before, you’re in for the duration once it’s caught your eye.

Frank Darabont Might Actually Get Me To Watch Stranger Things Season 5

I haven’t cared about Stranger Things since completing Season 2, but have kept up with the series as a responsible journalist. I’ll do the same when its final season debuts, but knowing that Frank Darabont came out of retirement to direct a Season 5 episode has given me a smidgen of incentive to finish the journey.

I Can’t Believe The Shawshank Redemption Almost Didn’t Show Us Andy And Red’s Reunion

It took notes from a test screening, and the reluctance of Morgan Freeman, to give The Shawshank Redemption an ending where we actually saw Red and Andy reunite on the shores of Zihuatanejo. I refuse to accept a world where that true moment of redemption doesn’t exist.

The Shawshank Redemption Is Still A Perfect Movie

A little over a decade ago, I wrote about perfect Shawshank moments in a bid to show that I felt it was a perfect movie. I stand by my feelings to this day, and I don’t think that’s going to change any time soon.

How Did Forrest Gump Win Best Picture In 1995?

The 67th Academy Awards in 1995 saw Tom Hanks’ bittersweet nostalgia trip Forrest Gump winning Best Picture. The rest of the field was occupied by Pulp Fiction, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Quiz Show, and The Shawshank Redemption. Is anyone else ready to send someone to Shawshank for letting this happen?

This Is One Of The Most Rewatchable Films In History

If The Shawshank Redemption was a storybook, I imagine I’d have several copies that are worn to varying degrees. It’s something you can always return to and enjoy freshly while reflecting on those peaks and valleys of emotion that pop up along the way. Which reminds me...I'm long overdue to pick up the 4K disc, even if the cover art isn't the gorgeous Drew Struzan poster that adorned the Blu-ray set.

Through Silo Season 2’s return to the 2024 TV schedule, the further mystery behind Silo 17’s past and Silo 18’s future continues to intrigue. With the fallout of Juliette’s exile in Silo Season 2’s early episodes coloring what we’ve seen so far, it appeared that this new round of author Hugh Howey’s best-selling dystopia was going to break into a more segmented sort of drama that would alternate between those two stories. However, Episode 3 proved that that format wasn't sticking around for long.

After seeing Episode 3, “Solo,” learning more about Steve Zahn’s enigmatic presence wasn’t the only clue we got for what the future will hold. The narrative has also now returned to a more traditional back and forth between “A” and “B” stories, and after speaking with showrunner Graham Yost, the reason for that decision was pretty clear.

Silo Season 2 Almost Alternated Between Silos For Its Story

Adding to everything we know about Silo Season 2 is the fact that the two stories in focus are parallels that set up a potentially explosive collision. As Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) continues to learn more about Solo (Steve Zahn) and the revolution that seemed to tear apart Silo 17, Bernard (Tim Robbins) is focused on taking the steps needed to prevent this seemingly foretold event from happening at Silo 18.

The first two episodes of this season had me anticipating an alternating story structure that would have focused solely on one side each week. And to that point, Graham Yost did say that this was on the table as a concept. However, he also revealed to CinemaBlend that the following concern for the audience took that off the table pretty quickly:

I can definitely see why the Silo team wouldn’t want to frustrate the audience when returning to the hit Apple TV+ drama. We’re in a phase now where Season 1’s status as a breakout hit will either prove to be a fluke or a lasting pattern. This is important as the trilogy of Hugh Howey’s books has been earmarked for a potential four-season run, with a possibility for the final two batches to be filmed back to back.

However, that didn’t stop the first couple of episodes from having that more insular focus. And in further remarks about the matter, the Justified mastermind explained to me in greater detail why this compromise was the best-case scenario.

How Graham Yost And The Silo Team Better Defined Season 2’s Story

Giving me further insight into why Silo’s episodic alternating approach wouldn’t have worked for every episode, Yost divulged a piece of knowledge from his showrunner mind that surely convinced me.

Using Rebecca Ferguson’s series lead as the pivot point, and taking into account Season 1’s finale shocking us all with Juliette Nichols walking into the wastes of the apocalypse, here’s how he and his team defined Season 2’s best point of entry:

Admittedly, if Silo was supposed to leave us with the impression that Juliette was going to die, it probably should have ended with Silo 18’s doors opening, followed by a quick cut to black. I’m glad that wasn’t the case, because not only were we assured of the pretty obvious answer to how long she’d survive in the wild, but it also pushed the story team and the showrunner to come up with some new twists that’ll enhance this tale’s progression.

Now’s not the time to fall into a predictable rhythm anyway, what with the inhabitants of Silo 18 starting to rebel against “The Order” in their own ways. There’s now a ticking clock on both ends of this story, as Juliette’s race to uncover the past could help or hinder Bernard’s countdown to a potentially volatile situation with the folks of Mechanical.

With seven episodes left in Season 2, it’s only a matter of time before someone makes a move that only further fans these flames; and the results promise to be as carefully constructed as Graham Yost’s comments suggest. Looking back on talking about Silo's amazing Season 1 cliffhangers with the cast, it only heightens my anticipation for what happens next.

Silo Season 2 continues to unfold for those with an Apple TV+ subscription, with new episodes debuting on Fridays until the season finale on January 17th, 2025. And if you’ve somehow stumbled into this write-up without watching an episode, don’t worry! You can also catch up on Season 1’s stories in that very same location.

Warning: Spoilers for Silo’s Season 1 finale and Season 2 premiere are in play. If you haven’t re-entered Silo 18 just yet, you’ve been warned.

It’s been a little over a year since Rebecca Ferguson’s Juliette Nichols went outside to discover a new world beyond her Silo. As the Apple TV+ original has freshly returned to the 2024 TV schedule with its latest premiere episode “The Engineer,” we’re squarely focused on the Mission: Impossible star’s exploits outside of her former home.

However, that doesn’t mean the residents of Silo 18 are doing nothing in her absence. Several members of the cast were able to speak about what’s known about Silo Season 2, with the specific lens of what their fictional figures have been doing in the wake of Season 1’s massive finale.

Silo Season 2 Sees Judicial Turning Up The Heat, Especially Bernard

I was on hand for the Silo Season 2 press day, and thankfully it wasn’t too much of a spoiler to ask how everyone’s taking the former Engineer-turned-Sheriff’s exile at the beginning of this new season. At the same time, Tim Robbins was extremely careful with what he said about Bernard, as he naturally doesn’t want to reveal any of the twists this Hugh Howey adaptation holds.

Much like a member of Judicial during a potential rebellion, every word counts in this situation. So when I asked if Juliette's not-so-grand escape could drive a rift between Bernard and Sims (Common), he was pretty tight-lipped. However, Robbins did share this intriguing hint at what’s to come with CinemaBlend:

Always the complicated character, Bernard and his right-hand agent Sims were personally responsible for the false claim that Juliette uttered those most fateful words anyone can say in Silo’s world: “I want to go outside.” That phrase echoes pretty loudly at the beginning of Season 2, especially with the premiere being a dialogue-lite affair that sees Rebecca Ferguson putting her Mission: Impossible action skills to work in the remains of Silo 17.

While next week’s episode will be giving us more of a window into what the world of Silo 18 has been doing, as Episode 2 - “Order,” I can assure you that there will be a lot more dialogue on hand as we return to the other characters in this sphere. And that’s our cue to speak to Harriet Walter and Clare Perkins, whose Martha and Carla seem to be getting reacquainted in the wake of Silo’s Season 1 shakeup.

Silo's Martha And Carla Could Become Bound By More Than Heat Tape (Again)

If it wasn’t for Supply workers Martha Walker (Harriet Walter) and her ex-wife Clara (Clare Perkins), Juliette Nichols’ walk outside at the end of Silo would have ended like all the others we saw: with death. Thanks to the ladies smuggling her a superior quality sealing tape from IT, that shocking Season 1 finale was allowed to take place.

But when I got to speak with Ms. Walter and Perkins, they both reminded me just how much their characters owed to this moment in the story. When it comes to Harriet Walter’s recollection, she started her statement to CinemaBlend with the following:

Even in this very early state, I hope that Walker and Clara make peace and reconcile in Silo 18. However, the outlook on that particular wish is rather unclear, as revolution is brewing in light of the departure of Juliette.

Then again, as the Downton Abbey vet in question has highlighted in her thoughts, the fragility of life is on everyone's minds in the aftermath of the end of Season 1. That added context informed Clare Perkins comments about the situation between this potentially reconciling pair, as follows:

Touching upon that point again in her own way, here’s the rest of Harriet Walter’s answer:

Revolution doesn’t always bring people together, as we’ll see in our next pair of participants: Shane McRae and Remmie Milner, the mother and father of Mechanical in Silo 18. Bound by their similar vocation, their personal ideologies are about to complicate an already chaotic ecosphere.

Knox And Shirley’s Relationship In Mechanical Is Going To Be A Bit Pressured

Knox’s reaction to Juliette Nichols leaving the scene in Silo’s previous season finale isn’t as cut and dry as some might think. Though the Chicago Fire star’s actions did lead to the ultimate result, Shane MacRae admits that this decision starts to weigh on Knox’s head and heart a little more than he may have counted for. Here’s how he teased his character’s arc for Season 2:

Leave it to Shane McRae to go all Star Trek on us and use Mr. Spock’s analogy of how “the needs of The Many outway the needs of The Few, or The One.” Of course, for Remmie Milner’s Shirley, The Many are of equal importance to her, and her views on the budding Flamekeeper revolution. We get a taste of where that sort of action could head in those initial flashbacks to Silo 17’s unfortunate fate, which sets the table for the rough seas ahead in Season 2.

Tying into that notion by discussing her character, this is what Ms. Milner shared with CinemaBlend:

I know we're sidestepping around quite a few Silo Season 2 secrets at the moment, but this is what we fans kind of expect in the gap between seasons, isn't it? Your worries about spoilers are still safely unfounded though, as we're definitely saving the exciting revelations for after they play out on your screens.

However, I will tease that you should stay tuned as the fantastic Apple TV+ show airs, because the insanely vague remarks from Shane McRae below, pertaining to Knox and Shirley's fates, will make a lot more sense later on:

We're only at the first episode of Season 2 and Silo is already shaping up to be mysterious in all the right ways. Which is good, considering there was a moment where it looked like the wait would be much longer than the one we've currently come out of.

The Resilience Of Silo’s Season 2 Crew Helped Keep The Show On Track During The 2023 Strikes

Silo is an epic story that has a lot of moving parts to keep in mind when tracking its ensemble-led tale. That very reality could have impacted Season 2 in a pretty huge way, as Silo’s 2023 strike hiatus could have postponed the series’ Apple TV+ return. It wouldn’t have been a problem, as most films and TV shows in production during that work stoppage have seen originally intended debuts rescheduled to keep up with the times.

However, Silo had two advantages on its side, the first being that between the mix of SAG and non-SAG actors, certain portions of the story were either completed or close to completed when the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike took effect. And as Silo showrunner/creator Graham Yost revealed in his interview with CinemaBlend, a very crucial team of wizards was able to get what was shot into fighting shape in the interim:

Obviously, the gains pursued by all who took part in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes of last year were a worthy cause worth fighting for. Doing his own part to highlight that fact, Graham Yost doubled down on the fact that while there was a gap in production, nothing was touched by members of either guild represented until the all-clear was given. Even then, it sounds like Apple was super understanding in letting the writer’s room get itself together to do whatever post-strike reworking they needed to do.

The result that you’ll see before you over the next nine weeks is a testament to how Silo’s cast and crew truly love the story they’re telling. This makes it easier for us fans to return for new installments as they debut each Friday for those of you with an active Apple TV+ subscription!

Few films have offered a captivating and inspiring meditation on the power and importance of hope quite as effectively as 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption. Writer and director Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novella, “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” chronicles the friendship between two incarcerated men and how their bond serves as a much-needed silver lining while serving at the titular penitentiary.

Nominated for seven Academy Awards and currently sitting at #1 on IMDb’s Top 250 Movies (as voted by users), the drama is widely considered to be one of the best movies of the 1990s (if not the best) and some of the most essential reasons why are the powerful performances by its talented ensemble. Let’s take a look back at the Shawshank Redemption cast, who they played in the classic Stephen King movie, and what they have been up to since they were released.

Tim Robbins (Andy Dufresne)

Leading the Shawshank Redemption cast as Andy Dufresne, a banker convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, is Tim Robbins. Two years later, he received his first Oscar nomination for directing Dead Man Walking and later won for 2003’s Mystic River.

Other notable credits since Shawshank include Arlington Road, the funny spoof movie Austin Powers the Spy Who Shagged Me (as the President), and the classic music movie High Fidelity with friend John Cusack. Robbins more recently returned to the world of Stephen King with a role in Season 2 of the horror anthology TV show, Castle Rock, and revisited themes of isolation as part of the Silo cast for Apple TV+.

Morgan Freeman (Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding)

Playing contraband smuggler and Andy’s friend, “Red,” earned Morgan Freeman his third of five Academy Award nominations. The rest were for 1987’s Street Smart, Best Picture Oscar winner Driving Miss Daisy, 2004’s Million Dollar Baby (which he won), and Invictus in 2010.

Some of his many other acclaimed post-Shawshank performances include playing two iconic Black detectives (Somerset in Se7en and Alex Cross in two films), portraying God in Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty, Lucius Fox in three live-action Batman movies, and narrating the likes of March of the Penguins and Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds (which also starred Robbins) in 2005. Freeman recently starred in director Zach Braff’s A Good Person and is set to star in the upcoming Now You See Me 3, reprising Thaddeus Bradley.

Bob Gunton (Samuel Norton)

The corrupt, sadistic warden of Shawshank is played by Bob Gunton, who starred in an adaptation of King’s Delores Clairborne the following year. Some of his most notable cinematic credits since include 2000’s The Perfect Storm, The Lincoln Lawyer with Matthew McConaughey, and Argo in 2012.

You may recognize him from the small screen for his recurring role on Desperate Housewives, playing Ethan Kanin on 24, and the first season of Daredevil. Gunton more recently filled in for the late Harold Ramis as Egon in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, starred in a new horror movie in 2024 called The Inheritance, and has a couple of other spooky titles in the works called Purgatory Station and Ghostkiller.

William Sadler (Heywood)

Starting with his role in Shawshank as fellow longtime inmate Heywood, William Sadler (whose ad-libbing had major effects on the role) has starred in multiple Stephen King adaptations, most of which were helmed by Frank Darabont. He would portray Klaus Detterick in the 1999 adaptation of The Green Mile, later starred in Darabont’s devastating take on The Mist as Jim in 2007, and plays Constable Parkins Gillespie in the new Salem’s Lot movie, which will be available with a Max subscription on October 3, 2024.

He would also earn Scream King status for flicks like Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight and his starring role on Roswell, became part of the MCU as President Ellis in the 2013 Marvel movie Iron Man 3, and also appeared in several made-for-TV Jesse Stone adaptations opposite Tom Selleck. Sadler more recently reprised the Grim Reaper in 2020’s Bill & Ted Face the Music, played Michael Flynn in Showtime’s The Comey Rule that same year, and was in a Max original miniseries called Full Circle in 2023.

Clancy Brown (Byron Hadley)

One of Warden Norton’s most brutal guards is Byron Hadley, played by Clancy Brown, who has played his fair share of villains outside of Shawshank. He was The Kurgan in 1986’s Highlander, voiced Lex Luthor in several animated DC adaptations, was Surtur in Thor: Ragnarok (one of two MCU roles he played), and joined the Dexter: New Blood cast as the main antagonist, Kurt Cadwell.

Modern audiences probably know the actor best, however, as the voice of Mr. Krabs on SongeBob Squarepants. Some of Brown’s most notable recent credits include the Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman, the fourth John Wick movie as The Harbinger, and the fact-based dramedy Dumb Money. He is portraying another comic book villain, Salvatore Maroni, in the upcoming DC TV show, The Penguin.

Gil Bellows (Tommy Williams)

Young, doomed Shawshank prisoner Tommy Williams was one of the first major movie roles for Gil Bellows. He would go on to star in films like 2005’s The Weather Man, the fact-based Parkland in 2013, and the 2019 horror anthology movie, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

The Canadian actor would become even better known for his small screen work, such as playing Billy Thomas on Ally McBeal, his recurring role on Patriot as Lawrence Lacroix, and earning an Emmy for producing the HBO movie, Temple Grandin, in 2010. Bellows most recently earned stints on hit series Alert: Missing Persons Unit and Chucky.

Mark Rolston (Bogs Diamond)

Another one of Shawshank’s most notorious villainous faces is Bogs Diamond, which is one of the best known roles of Mark Rolston, which is really saying something. He had previously played Private Drake in Aliens and Hans in Lethal Weapon 2, for instance, and went on to work in hit films like Rush Hour, Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, and a few installments of the Saw movies.

Some of Rolston’s other most notable credits include cop shows like FX’s The Shield, several voice acting gigs in shows like Young Justice and video games like PlayStation’s Spider-Man franchise, and an episode of the recent Star Wars TV show, Ahsoka, in 2023. Rolston is set to voice James Gordon in the upcoming video game, Batman: Arkham Shadow.

James Whitmore (Brooks Hatlen)

One of Shawshank’s longest-serving inmates, librarian Brooks Hatlen, was played by James Whitmore. The veteran actor had previously earned two Academy Award nominations for this performances in 1949’s Battleground and as Harry S. Truman in 1975’s Give ’em Hell, Harry!

After appearing in the 1997 horror flick, The Relic, he would work with Darabont again when he starred in 2001’s The Majestic but most of his acting work since was appearances on TV shows like The Practice and the short-lived Mister Sterling. He gave his final performance in a 2007 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation before he passed away in 2009 at the age of 87.

The Shawshank Redemption is rightfully considered a movie that will effectively inspire you to stay out of jail. However, it also makes prison life look somewhat tolerable if you have people like Andy, Red, or Heywood by your side. Be sure to also check out what other movies like The Shawshank Redemption are available to stream now.

Acting and directing are two very different skills, and for someone to be able to do both is a mark of a hard-working and talented person. It doesn't always work out for actors, but it's remarkable how often it does. Here are 32 such examples of great actors who became great directors as well. 

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood's career has lasted an unbelievable eight decades. He started humbling with small roles in the '50s and as the decades have gone on, he's only gotten bigger and bigger. After directing his first movie, 1971's Play Misty for Me, he's gone on to helm a remarkable 39 more and has won 2 Best Director Oscars, for 1993's Unforgiven and 2005's Million Dollar Baby.

Ron Howard

Ron Howard has been in the lives and living rooms of Americans since he was just a kid as an actor on The Andy Griffith Show. He went on to star in Happy Days in the 1970s before directing his first low-budget film, Grand Theft Auto, in 1977. He's since gone on to direct such classics as Splash, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and many others. 

Bradley Cooper

If the start of Bradley Cooper's directing career is any indication, you can expect huge things. So far, the actor-turned-director has only helmed two movies, A Star Is Born and Maestro and both have been nominated for Best Picture Oscars. Not a shabby record. 

Penny Marshall

Penny Marshall got her first big break on the sitcom The Odd Couple but became a household name as Lavern in Lavern & Shirley. She didn't stay in TV though, instead, she started directing and made two of the most beloved Gen X movies of all time, Big and A League of Their Own. 

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck might not have been the first actor you picked to become a director, but his stellar career as an actor is matched by his work as a director. In fact, though he's never won an acting Oscar (something that should be remedied), he did win Best Director for Argo. 

Robert Redford

By the time Robert Redford directed his first movie, Ordinary People, in 1980, he was already one of the most legendary film stars ever. The second half of his career is as known for his directing as it is for his acting, with movies like Quiz Show and A River Runs Through It.

Jon Favreau

Jon Favreau's acting career started humbling with supporting roles in movies like Rudy and PCU. After he wrote and starred in Swingers, his star shined a little brighter. That was only the beginning though. Favreau has the honor of directing the movie that launched the most successful film franchise of all time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Iron Man and its sequel. He's since moved on to Disney live-action remakes with The Lion King and The Jungle Book. Oh, and he also directed one of the most beloved holiday movies ever with. Elf.

Mel Gibson

The controversial career of Mel Gibson began with a small movie that made huge waves in his native Australia. Mad Max made him famous and by the late late-'80s, he was one of the biggest stars in the world. He then moved into directing and reached his pinnacle early with Braveheart for which he won Best Director. 

Richard Attenborough

As an actor, Richard Attenborough starred in massive hits across generations with movies like The Great Escape and Jurassic Park. As a director, he helmed some of the best biopics of all time, like Gandhi, A Cry Freedom, and Chaplin as well a the legendary war flick, A Bridge Too Far. 

Regina King

Regina King's directorial career is only getting started, but judging by her first movie, One Night In Miami, the future is bright. So far, the Academy Award-winning actress has mostly directed TV shows, but you can be sure more films will be coming her way.

Denzel Washington

What can we say about Denzel Washington that hasn't already been said? He's a living legend at this point, as a multiple Oscar winner and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He's also one heck of a director with movies like Fences and The Great Debaters.

John Krasinski

John Krasinski became part of our collective family as Jim on The Office. Who would have thought from that role, his career in Hollywood would reach the point that he is a major power player? Now that he's moved into directing, the sky is truly the limit. The first movie Krasinski directed, The Hollars, made for a humble beginning, but his second, A Quiet Place established him as a force to reckon with and it's since become a franchise.

Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks might not have been an actor you'd have guessed would go into directing, like others on this list, but she has in a big way. She has shown she can direct blockbusters like Pitch Perfect 2 and indie darlings like that one about the bear who indulges in some, uh, white powder he finds, and goes on a rampage.

Greta Gerwig

Greta Gerwig is quickly becoming a voice of a generation. Her direction and writing of Barbie has been praised far and wide for its snappy dialog and heartfelt message. Gerwig's acting career started in the mid-'00s when she was mostly in smaller, supporting roles. Since moving into directing, she's become a huge star.

Jordan Peele

Key & Peele was a huge hit for Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key, and made them both stars. No one expected Peele to turn to directing horror movies, but that's exactly what he did and we should all be grateful for it. With massive hits like Get Out, Nope, and Us, the future is bright for Peele and for all of us too, who will get to watch his work.

Rob Reiner

Though he had a leg up coming from a Hollywood family, Rob Reiner has staked out a claim all his own in the entertainment business. First as an actor on the hit show All in the Family, then as the director of some of the most loved movies of all time. Starting with his first movie, This is Spinal Tap, and running through the '80s and early '90s, he had an unbelievable run that included The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, and Misery. Wow!

George Clooney

Not only is George Clooney one of the most bankable movie stars ever, he's also a fantastic director. His acting career is legendary and his directing career, while not quite at the level of his acting, is still fantastic. He's directed TV (Catch-22) and movies (The Boys In The Boat, The Midnight Sky, Good Night, and Good Luck, among others) and you can be sure there will be more from him.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie's directing career hasn't always gotten the best reviews, but I'd say her movies are very underrated. The talented actress has an eye for behind the camera as well, and movies like Unbroken and First They Killed My Father are powerful movies.

Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton's acting career came on as a slow burn to fame, but his directing career started with a band. His first film was a masterpiece called Sling Blade. he followed that up with the underrated All The Pretty Horse and a few others, though his pace has slowed over the last couple of decades. Let's hope he finds that directing bug again. 

Ben Stiller

There was a time in the '90s and '00s when it seemed like Ben Stiller was in every movie released. Not only was he working hard in front of the camera, he was killing it behind the camera as well. Starting really with Reality Bites, and moving on to great movies like the controversial but hilarious Tropic Thunder, and the Zoolander movies. 

Jodie Foster

The great Jodie Foster has been an acclaimed actor and star since her teenage years and of course, that talent has translated to directing. Though lately she's done mostly TV work like directing episodes of Black Mirror and Orange is the New Black, she's done a few movies too, like Little Man Tate and Money Monster.

Kevin Costner

In addition to being one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, Kevin Costner has never shied away from making epic films. Though he's only directed four movies in his career, they have all been big films. Starting with Dances With Wolves in 1990, he's since directed The Postman, Open Range, and 2024's Horizon: An American Saga.

Tim Robbins

The directing bug caught Tim Robbins in the early '90s and he directed a couple of great movies with Bob Roberts and Dead Man Walking. He's directed a smattering of movies and TV shows more recently, but he's mostly stuck to acting over the last few years. 

Sean Penn

Since the early 1980s, Sean Penn has been wowing moviegoers with his impressive acting chops and diversity. In the '90s he dipped his toe into directing with his first film, The Indian Runner and has directed a good handful of movies since, with his best being Into The Wild in 2007. 

Zach Braff

Acting-wise Zach Braff's big break came as a regular cast member of the hit sitcom Scrubs. As a directed, he burst onto the scene with his very first movie, Garden State in 2004. He's continued directing here and there over the last 20 years, including the great movie about getting older, Going In Style, and a few others, in addition to some TV work. 

Warren Beatty

In the 1970s, there was no bigger movie star than Warren Beatty. By the end of the decade, he had moved into directing as well, starting with 1978's Heaven Can Wait and continuing the '80s and '90s with acclaimed movies like Red and maybe his most remembered, Dick Tracy in 1990.

Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton is a force of nature. For decades she's been one of the best and most popular actresses in Hollywood, and though she's only dipped her toes into directing, mostly in TV, she's on this list for one important reason. Keaton directed the music video for "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" by Belinda Carlisle and that is a stone-cold Gen X classic. 

Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh might be as well known for his directing as he is for his acting, and that's really saying something. Not only has he directed some of the best Shakespeare adaptions for the silver screen, but more recently he's been killing it with his Agatha Christie adaptations. 

Leonard Nimoy

Appropriately, Leonard Nimoy's first foray into feature film direction came in the Star Trek franchise when he directed both Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Outside of the iconic franchise he helped make famous he also directed the beloved Three Men and a Baby. 

Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone has always been a self-starter. His work to get the original Rocky made is legendary and after it made him a huge star, he wasted no time getting into directing, starting with Rocky II and adding Rocky III, Rocky IV, and 2006's Rocky Balboa as well. Of course, he's also directed in two other franchises he was at the center of with 2008's Rambo and the first Expendable movie. 

Helen Hunt

This one might surprise you, but Helen Hunt has had an impressive career as a director. Most of her work has been on television on shows varying from her own Mad About You and This Is Us. She also has two feature films under her belt with 2007's Then She Found Me and 2014's Ride. 

Joel Edgerton

Joel Edgerton is seemingly everywhere these days, popping up in all kinds of movies and TV shows from Star Wars stuff to Dark Matter. He's also started directing, but his output is limited, with 2015's underrated The Gift and 2018 Boy Erased. Let's hope he finds more time to direct in his busy schedule. 

You know what all of the best sports movies have in common? Well, besides featuring stories centered around football, baseball, and even roller derby? They all include tremendous performances by actors that are believable and help the audience suspend disbelief, if only for a couple of hours. However, there are also movies where the actors, despite trying their best, are a little bit outside. 

Here are 32 times actors played professional athletes and whether or not they were believable.

Burt Reynolds (The Longest Yard)

Considered to be one of the best football movies of all time, The Longest Yard (the 1974 version) features a tremendous performance by the late Burt Reynolds as Paul Crewe, a former pro quarterback who ends up in prison and leads a group of prisoners against the guards in the annual football game. At the top of his game, Reynolds is a lights-out QB and play-caller in this iconic comedy.

Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)

Margot Robbie is to die for in the 2017 sports biopic, I, Tonya, which sees her take on the role of Tonya Harding, the talented and raw figure skater who made a mark on the sport before being tied up in its most notorious controversy. While Robbie’s off-the-ice scenes are superb, her figure skating was just as impressive, which should come as no surprise.

Jamie Foxx (Any Given Sunday)

Oliver Stone’s 1999 satirical sports dramedy, Any Given Sunday, sees Jamie Foxx portray Willie "Steamin" Beamen, the third-string quarterback for the fictional Miami Sharks football team. Foxx is outstanding in his take on the young QB and does a wonderful job of showcasing the character’s on-field talents and off-the-field escapades.

Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)

Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald in Best Picture winner, Million Dollar Baby, and rightfully so. The talented actress told CBS News she spent three months training at a Brooklyn boxing gym before filming Clint Eastwood’s 2004 sports drama, and it shows.

Sylvester Stallone (Rocky)

Rocky is without a doubt the most well-known boxing movie of all time, and that’s mostly due to Sylvester Stallone’s commitment to the role of Rocky Balboa. Though not as bulked up as he was in later films in the franchise, Stallone has a great physical presence and ring awareness in his breakout role.

Kevin Costner (Tin Cup)

If Kevin Costner isn’t believable as a down-on-his-luck and washed-up golf pro looking for a shot at redemption and to settle an old score in Tin Cup, then I don’t know what will sell it to you. Sure, Costner seems more comfortable in baseball movies like Bull Durham and For Love of the Game, but his take on Roy McAvoy is top-notch. 

Emma Stone (Battle Of The Sexes) 

Emma Stone played tennis trailblazer Bille Jean King in the 2017 sports biopic, Battle of the Sexes, which saw her take on Steve Carell’s Bobby Riggs in the famous 1973 match of the same name. The Oscar winner does a great job when it comes to every aspect of the role, including those tense tennis scenes.

Geena Davis (A League Of Their Own)

Geena Davis looks, feels, and acts like a professional baseball player in A League of Their Own. There’s no need to suspend your disbelief when watching Davis’ Dottie Hinson lead the Rockford Peaches to one victory after another. The physicality, the presence, the believability are all there.

Chadwick Boseman (42)

Chadwick Boseman became a massive star in 2013 thanks to his celebrated portrayal of Jackie Robinson, the Professional Baseball Hall of Famer who broke the color barrier more than a half-century earlier. Boseman, who died in August 2020, was phenomenal in his performance and made the film’s various baseball sequences incredibly realistic.

Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire)

Okay, Cuba Gooding Jr.’s take on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire is killer, even when you take out the classic “Show me the money” scene. He’s cocky, brash, and hard to deal with, but he can back it up and makes the big catch to earn his team a playoff berth. We’ll let the off-field antics slide…

Tim Robbins (Bull Durham)

Bull Durham, one of the best baseball movies of all time, sees Tim Robbins play Ebby “Nuke” LaLoosh, a hot-shot young pitcher with a “million-dollar arm, but a five-cent head.” And the six-foot-five-inch Robbins very much looked and acted like a talented yet undisciplined ball player. 

Wesley Snipes (Major League)

Wesley Snipes’ Wille Mays Hayes, who could run like Hayes but not hit like Mays in Major League, was a convincing ball player in the 1989 sports classic. Yeah, he had trouble hitting the ball (part of his character), but he had unmatched speed. The scene where he runs in his pajamas in spring training is still the stuff of legend.

Charlie Sheen (Major League)

If you were to build the ultimate baseball movie team, Charlie Sheen’s Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn from Major League would have a permanent spot as the closer. To pull off the dominant pitcher’s fastball, Sheen took it to the extreme and tried out steroids, as he later told Sports Illustrated. 

Damon Wayans (The Last Boy Scout)

Tony Scott’s The Last Boy Scout is an all-time great buddy action movie, one that also features a former professional football player, or at least an actor playing one. Though we don’t see his character in action on the field, Damon Wayans just gives off the energy of a pro quarterback who lost it all. 

Carl Weathers (Rocky)

Carl Weathers’ Apollo Creed was one of the linchpins of the Rocky franchise and served as one of Sylvester Stallone’s best on-screen opponents. Weathers not only looked like a boxer with that ridiculous physique of his (especially in the later movies), but he also had that “it” factor needed to play such a flashy character.

Tom Berenger (Major League)

It’s hard to imagine anyone besides Tom Berenger playing Jake Taylor, the veteran catcher with bad knees and just enough gas left in the tank, in Major League. Throughout the movie, it feels like the Cleveland Indians’ senior slugger has been through the wringer multiple times, and that’s thanks to the incredible work of Berenger.

Chris Hemsworth (Rush)

Ron Howard’s 2013 sports biopic, Rush, features top-notch performances by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl as James Hunt and Niki Lauda, respectively. While Brühl is great with his cool and collected demeanor, it’s Hemsworth who steals the show with his take on the self-confident and talented Formula One driver, thanks in part to the actor’s electric personality and physicality.

Paul Newman (Slap Shot)

There was no way we weren’t going to talk about Paul Newman in Slap Shot. Seriously, try to think about this beloved hockey movie with anyone else taking on Charlestown Chiefs player/coach Reggie Dunlop. Is he the most talented skater on the ice? No. But is believable in his portrayal of good, old-fashioned hockey? You bet! 

James Caan (Brian's Song)

Though James Caan was mostly recognized for his work in the latter half of Brian’s Song, this shouldn’t discount his portrayal of Brian Piccolo before he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. His take on the Chicago Bears halfback, along with Billie Dee Williams’ Gale Sayers, is phenomenal, to say the least.

Denzel Washington (The Hurricane)

Denzel Washington gave a commanding performance in the 1999 sports biopic, The Hurricane, which saw him take on the role of middleweight boxer Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter, who spent nearly 20 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of murder. Washington, once again proving he’s one of the greatest to do it, excels in the ring.

Keanu Reeves (The Replacements)

Audiences never got to see Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Utah throw a pass in Point Break, but we did get to watch the actor play another left-handed quarterback from Ohio State with his portrayal of Shane Falco in The Replacements. This is a "whatever" movie if there’s ever been one, but Reeves looks at home leading the Washington Sentinels after the regular players go on strike.

John Goodman (The Babe)

John Goodman looks like Babe Ruth in the 1992 sports biopic, The Babe, but he doesn’t really play like the Great Bambino. This isn’t a knock on Goodman’s talents as an actor, it’s just that it’s impossible to accurately imitate the unmatched talents of one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore)

Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore will probably always be considered one of the best sports comedies of all time. The movie is heavy on both humor and sports (especially if you include the hockey scenes), and Sandler pulls off both things really well. 

Raquel Welch (Kansas City Bomber)

In the 1972 sports drama, Kansas City Bomber, the late Raquel Welch played K.C. Carr, a recently retired roller games star who returns to sport to settle an old score. No surprise, Welch was great in the movie and was a dominant physical force on skates.

Robert De Niro (Raging Bull)

One of Robert De Niro’s best movies, Raging Bull, sees the Oscar winner take on the role of middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta at various stages in his life and career. De Niro, who went through a physical transformation for the part, could hold his own in the movie’s various boxing sequences and never looked out of place.

Robert Redford (The Natural)

Would saying Robert Redford looked natural in his take on Roy Hobbs in The Natural be too on the nose? Who cares! Redford’s boyish charm and remarkable swing of his trusty bat, “Wonderboy,” helped make Barry Levinson’s 1972 sports drama an all-time classic. 

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Not only was Mickey Rourke outstanding in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, but the actor’s portrayal of a washed-up Randy Robinson was also incredibly realistic. Whether he was in the ring or trying to fix the broken pieces of his life in the real world, Rourke bled, cried, and sweated like someone who had been in the squared circle for decades, not months.  

Tom Selleck (Mr. Baseball)

Mr. Baseball is one of those movies that feels like it should have been a much bigger deal, but here we are 30-plus years later with a baseball comedy that never really gets talked about anywhere besides the MLB Network. Despite this, Tom Selleck’s take on Jack Elliot, a New York Yankee who joins the Nagoya Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League, is both fun and believable. Come on, the Blood Bloods star even took an at-bat in an MLB spring training game a year before the film’s release.

Dwayne Johnson (The Tooth Fairy)

Dwayne Johnson, one of the greatest WWE Champions of all time, and a former college football player for the Miami Hurricanes, played a hockey player in the 2010 Disney movie, The Tooth Fairy. The Rock is great in just about anything, but not so much on the ice.

Will Smith (Ali)

Will Smith received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in Michael Mann’s 2001 epic sports biopic, Ali, and he did a decent enough job. The major problem with Smith’s performance doesn’t really have much to do with the actor, but instead, the man he was playing. Smith is great in the boxing sequences, but it’s hard to believe that he’s the greatest of all time and not an actor playing the iconic sports figure.

Dennis Quaid (The Rookie)

Dennis Quaid’s portrayal of Jim Morris in The Rookie is nothing short of magical. The way Quaid plays the high school chemistry teacher who becomes a major league pitcher more than a decade after his baseball dreams died is a lot of fun and believable. He has the heart and determination of the real-life Tamp Bay Devil Rays pitcher, which really carries the film.

Steve McQueen (Le Mans)

If there was a movie where Steve McQueen drives a car at a high rate of speed, you can guarantee the legendary actor looked natural doing so. That’s the case with the 1971 film, Le Mans, in which McQueen played Michael Delaney, a racer with a guilty conscience following a tragic accident. McQueen, who had experience as a race driver, looked like a natural.

Playing a professional sport is no easy task and takes years of training and dedication, but these actors did a fine job of playing athletes on the big screen. While some were better than others, each gave all they had.

Have you ever felt trapped by your environment, longing for something more beyond the cramped quarters you call “home”? That, essentially, describes the feelings of Rebecca Ferguson’s character in Silo, but her situation is a far more mysterious and volatile case of being trapped.

Developed by Justified creator Graham Yost and based on a trilogy of novels by Hugh Howey, this new Apple TV+ original series is a dystopian tale of a community living in the titular underground chamber (the origins of which remain unknown) in order to shelter themselves from the uninhabitable Earth outside (the accuracy of which is uncertain in the eyes of some). With an Apple TV+ subscription, you can learn the truth behind these people’s claustrophobic existence — but, first, let’s take a look at who makes up the Silo cast, along with a tip of where you may have seen them before.

Rebecca Ferguson

In addition to leading the Silo cast, Rebecca Ferguson serves as executive producer — the first time she has held this position for a TV series and, not to mention, her first time starring on a TV series since Lifetime’s The Red Tent, on which she appeared a year after playing Queen Elizabeth on Starz’s 2013 miniseries, The White Queen. The Swedish actor is better known on the big screen, stealing the show in 2017’s The Greatest Showman cast or playing one of the greatest modern horror villains, Rose the Hat, in Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep. Ferguson is also returning to the big screen in 2023 by reprising her roles in the Mission: Impossible movies and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation in their new, highly anticipated follow-ups.

Avi Nash

The last time Avi Nash starred on a post-apocalyptic TV series was when he joined AMC’s The Walking Dead cast from Season 8 to Season 10 as Siddiq. Before then, he made his feature film debut opposite Patricia Clarkson and Sir Ben Kingsley in the 2014 dramedy Learning to Drive, had a small role opposite Jason Biggs in the 2016 comedy Amateur Night, and that same year played a young Barack Obama’s college buddy, Saleem, in the Netflix original biopic, Barry. Nash also appeared in a couple episodes of Silicon Valley and more recently starred in the Covid-era ensemble comedy, There There.

Common

Grammy-winning rap artist Lonnie Rashid Lynn (better known as Common) has portrayed himself a number of times onscreen — such as in movies like Ocean’s Eight and Girls Trip and TV shows like The Simpsons. However, he also gained a reputation for his genuine talent in portraying other, complex characters — such as one of the John Wick movies’ most memorable adversaries, Cassian, or Elam Ferguson, an emancipated slave who becomes the chief of the railroad police, on AMC’s Hell on Wheels. He also played civil rights leader James Bevel in 2015’s Selma — the film that also earned him and John Legend Oscars for their original song, “Glory.”

David Oyelowo

Speaking of Selma, portraying Martin Luther King Jr. in Ava DuVernay’s biopic (which deserved an Oscar nomination) is what David Oyelowo is best known to many for. Previously, the English actor earned acclaim for his performances in Oscar favorites like 2005’s The Last King of Scotland, 2011’s The Help, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, and Lee Daniels’ The Butler, to name a few. Since then, his most notable credits have included the Netflix original sci-fi flick The Cloverfield Paradox; the 2018 dark comedy, Gringo; Doug Liman’s adaptation of the sci-fi novel, Chaos Walking; and the 2022 whodunit, See How They Run.

Harriet Walter

Dame Harriet Walter is a highly acclaimed veteran actress with many award nominations to show for it — including three Emmy nominations for her guest appearances on HBO’s Succession and the hit Apple TV+ original series, Ted Lasso. Some of her most notable big screen credits include the 1995 Jane Austen adaptation, Sense and Sensibility; J.J. Abrams’ 2025 revival of the Star Wars movies, The Force Awakens; the 2019 Elton John biopic, Rocketman, and Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel. Audiences may also recognize her from the small screen as Lady Shackleton on Downton Abbey, Clemmie Churchill from Netflix’s hit historical drama, The Crown; or as Dasha on Killing Eve. 

Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones’ Silo role marks a bit of change of pace for the actor, who is best known for making people laugh as part of the Parks and Recreation cast or as the title role of TBS’ cop show spoof, Angie Tribeca. However, the daughter of legendary musician Quincy Jones and late actor Peggy Lipton has appeared in her fair share of dramas — such as 2010’s The Social Network — and even wrote one of the most heart-wrenching, let alone best, episodes of Black Mirror: “Nosedive.” Some of Jones’ other notable acting roles include Louisa Fenn on Boston Public, her recurring role as Karen alongside NBC’s The Office cast, and movies like I Love You, Man and Inside Out.

Chinaza Uche

Like some of his fellow Silo cast members, Chinaza Uche also previously racked up a post-apocalyptic title on his resume in the form of an episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead, in Season 6. Before then, he appeared in a 2013 movie alongside The Walking Dead star Danai Gurira called Mother of George, shared the screen with Oscar winner Meryl Streep in 2015’s Rikki and the Flash, and made guest appearances in other series like Blue Bloods and The Blacklist. He could more recently be seen playing Henry in Apple TV+’s biographiccal period drama, Dickinson, and starring in writer and director Zach Braff’s moving drama, A Good Person.

Tim Robbins

Tim Robbins also has a few apocalyptic titles under his belt — namely Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds and another literary adaptation about a community mysteriously forced underground called City of Ember. Of course, the Academy Award winner (for 2003’s Mystic River) has led a career defined by a variety of different genres and themes — such as classic sports movies like Bull Durham, Stephen King adaptations like The Shawshank Redemption and Season 2 of the Hulu original horror TV show, Castle Rock, and twisted psychological thrillers like Jacob’s Ladder. Robbins was also in classics like 1986’s Top Gun, 2000’s High Fidelity, and 2006’s Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny.

See this talented ensemble in action and, hopefully, learn the truth about what lies beyond their characters’ cramped community when you stream Silo on Apple TV+, which is available now.

There’s been a lot of focus in recent months on the children of Hollywood’s biggest stars and the unique experience that comes with that. Much of the attention has been around the opportunities that the “nepo babies” are afforded if they want to follow their parents into the entertainment business, but being raised amongst celebrities and accompanying your parents to wherever their next project was filming is a wholly different upbringing than most of us experienced. Eva Amurri, daughter of Susan Sarandon, recently let her followers in on what it was like growing up on movie sets and her relationships with other A-listers’ children.

Eva Amurri, who was part of the cast of Fox musical drama Monarch with her mom Susan Sarandon, said some people compare the experience of growing up in Hollywood to being raised “in the circus,” and she confirmed on TikTok that she grew up around the children of not just her parents’ co-stars, but those of the directors and other crew members as well. She said: 

That does sound like a pretty unique experience — and a jarring one — to form bonds with other children who understand the situation you’re in, only to lose contact with that found family altogether once a movie or TV show is finished. 

I’d have to imagine that’s different today, with the availability of social media, but back then, Eva Amurri — whose father is Italian director Franco Amurri but was raised by her mother’s longtime partner Tim Robbins — said she and her family were able to keep in touch with some families more than others. She continued: 

It’s easy to see how children who grow up under such circumstances would become fast friends with others who understand that lifestyle, or, as Eva Amurri said, always feel a common thread with other so-called nepo babies. 

Eva Amurri appeared in the movie Saved! in 2009 and played Jackie in Californication Season 3. She also had a guest role on Friends alongside her mother. You can see her portraying a younger version of Susan Sarandon’s character Dottie on Monarch, whose lone season is available to stream with a Hulu subscription. You can also keep an eye out for Sarandon on the 2023 Movie Release Schedule, as she was announced to be joining the DC Extended Universe film Blue Beetle set for release later this year. 

Throughout his career, Tim Robbins has proven time and time again that not only is he one of the most prolific actors of his time, he’s also one of the most versatile and likable (even when he’s playing jerks with oversized egos). Seriously, it doesn’t matter if he’s playing a beloved character like Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption or the easy-to-hate titular politician in Bob Roberts, the Academy Award winner and two-time Golden Globe winner is perfect in just about everything.

If you are looking for the best Tim Robbins movies that are available either streaming, through online rentals, or on good old-fashioned physical media, look no further, because we have you covered.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Quite possibly the role for which he is best known, Tim Robbins plays convicted killer (and innocent man) Andy Dufresne in Frank Darabont’s 1994 prison drama, The Shawshank Redemption. Over the course of several decades, Dufresne, a brilliant accountant and all-around likable guy attempts to prove his innocence while at the same time planning his eventual escape from the hellish penitentiary in this surprising box office bomb.

Seriously, if you had HBO or TNT in the 1990s there’s a chance you’ve seen this classic Stephen King adaptation at least 100 times by now. It’s one of those movies you can’t help but watch whenever it’s on, and a lot of that is thanks to Robbins’ outstanding performance and his on-screen friendship with Morgan Freeman’s Red.

Stream The Shawshank Redemption on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy The Shawshank Redemption on Amazon.
Get it on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Mystic River (2003)

Tim Robbins received his first (and so for, only) Academy Award for his incredible portrayal of Dave Boyle in Clint Eastwood’s 2003 murder mystery drama, Mystic River. In the movie, Robbins’ character, emotionally and mentally scarred from being kidnapped and subjected to extreme sexual abuse as a young child, is accused of killing the daughter of his longtime best friend, Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn), while another buddy, Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon), investigates.

Mystic River is admittedly hard to get through, not because it’s a bad movie (it’s not) but because of the dark and depressing nature of its story. To see three childhood best friends torn apart over a parent’s worst nightmare is harrowing to say the least, but there is beauty in this painful narrative.

Stream Mystic River on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy Mystic River on Amazon.
Get it on DVD on Amazon.

The Player (1992)

While Tim Robbins was falsely accused of murder in the previous two titles on this list, there’s no denying the fact that his character, Hollywood producer Griffin Mill is guilty of killing screenwriter David Kahane (Vincent D’Onofrio) in Robert Altman’s 1992 dark comedy, The Player. 

If the premise, pacing, and cast (Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Sydney Pollock, etc.) weren’t enough, The Player also features what is perhaps the greatest single shot opening sequence (clocking in at like eight minutes in length) that just gets better each time.

Stream The Player on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy The Player on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Bull Durham (1988)

One of the best baseball movies of all time, and one that will forever have a soft spot in my heart, Bull Durham spends a season with Single-A minor league baseball team the Durham Bulls and the personalities that make up the team. For the most part, the film centers on Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh (Tim Robbins), a pitcher with “a million-dollar arm but a five-cent head” and his on-field relationship with Lawrence “Crash” Davis (Kevin Costner), and Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon), a woman who has her eyes on both.

If you’ve already watched Bull Durham multiple times over the years, give it another spin, but just focus on Tim Robbins whenever he’s on screen. His facial expressions, body language, and everything else about his performance is just perfect, absolutely perfect.

Stream Bull Durham on Prime Video.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Arlington Road (1999)

Although it doesn’t seem to get brought up in conversation nearly as much as it used to, Mark Pellington’s 1999 thriller, Arlington Road, is one hell of a ride. The movie follows Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges), a college professor who is still trying to come terms with the death of his wife, an FBI agent, at the hands of a terrorist group. Michael’s life takes yet another turn when he meets his new neighbors, Oliver (Tim Robbins) and Cheryl Lang (Joan Cusack) whose stories and behaviors don’t add up.

Arlington Road is one of those movies that is best enjoyed with having very little knowledge about the story going in. But just know it’s going to take you through all sorts of twists and turns before it’s over.

Stream Arlington Road on Starz.

Dark Waters (2019)

One of the better recent examples of movies based on true stories, Todd Haynes’ 2019 emotional thriller, Dark Waters, follows successful lawyer Rob Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) as he attempts to get to the bottom of an incredible story about sudden and unexplained animal deaths in West Virginia. Risking his career, reputation, and even safety, Bilot goes to Hell and back to make Dupont pay for their supposed crimes.

Everyone in the Dark Waters cast, which also includes names like Anne Hathaway, Bill Camp, and Bill Pullman, is on top of their game here, and that goes for Tim Robbins as well. His portrayal of one of the high-ranking partners at Bilott’s firm is phenomenal and full of surprises.

Stream Dark Waters on Peacock.
Rent/Buy Dark Waters on Amazon.
Get it on DVD on Amazon.

Zathura (2005)

In what is essentially Jumanji In Space, Jon Favreau’s Zathura follows two brothers played by Jonah Bobo and Josh Hutcherson, as they discover an old board game that turns a seemingly normal, boring afternoon into anything but.

Sure, Tim Robbins only appears in the movie for the first 10 minutes (and then again at the very end) as the father of the two boys who has to leave to print out a new drawing of a car, but the movie is just too much fun not to include on this list. It’s full of thrills, chills, and spills, as well as a great supporting cast that includes Kristen Stewart and Dax Shepard.

Stream Zathura on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy Zathura on Amazon.
Get it on DVD on Amazon.

War Of The Worlds (2005)

Steven Spielberg’s 2005 adaptation of War of the Worlds has the same premise as H.G. Wells’ 1897 novel, but both deviates and expands upon the story over the course of the movie. Despite some differences, the movie is an all-out popcorn movie following Ray Ferrier's (Tom Cruise) attempt to get his two children to safety as technologically-advanced aliens known as the tripods start to takeover.

Tim Robbins only appears briefly but he more than makes up for his time on screen with an unforgettable performance. About halfway through the movie, his character, Harlan Ogilvy, shows up and offers Ray and his daughter, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) refuge while they figure out what to do next. But, as the pressure begins to build and the tripods close-in on their location, Harlan goes off the deep end.

Stream War of the Worlds on Netflix.
Rent/Buy War of the Worlds on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

The Coen Brothers’ 1994 dark comedy, The Hudsucker Proxy, sees Tim Robbins’ character, Norville Barnes, become the figurehead at the top of Hudsucker Industries after a greedy executive named Sidney J. Mussburger (Paul Newman) sees it as a way to tank the company’s value and swoop in and take it for himself.

There is something so earnest and lovable about Tim Robbins throughout The Hudsucker Proxy that makes the movie so much fun to watch. The way his innocent nature is juxtaposed with that of Mussburger creates a hilarious dynamic throughout. Also, the movie had a big influence on Loki, surprisingly enough. 

Stream The Hudsucker Proxy on Kanopy.
Rent/buy The Hudsucker Proxy on Amazon.
Get it on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Cinema Verite (2011)

David Seltzer’s 2011 HBO original movie, Cinema Verite provides a fictionalized account of the production the 1970s PBS docuseries, An American Family, with Diane Lane and Tim Robbins playing Pat and Bill Loud (the family at the center of the story), and James Gandolfini as the show’s producer, Craig Gilbert. Over the course of the 90-minute film, each and every one of the family’s flaws are exposed in front of a film crew who then turn the drama into must-watch TV.

Remember how I mentioned earlier that Tim Robbins plays a good jerk? Well, this further backs up that claim. He plays an unlikable, intolerable, and downright awful character in Cinema Verite, but you can’t help but look anyway. These flaws help make the character all the more realized, turning the performance into something great.

Stream Cinema Verite on HBO Max.
Buy Cinema Verite on Amazon.

Bob Roberts (1992)

The 1992 politically-charged satirical comedy, Bob Roberts, sees Tim Robbins take on the role of a right-wing millionaire as he runs to unseat an incumbent United States Senator. On the campaign trail, the over-the-top Roberts creates a firestorm by spewing all kinds of nonsensical rhetoric that pleases conservatives and angers just about everyone else.

The movie, which was also written and directed by Robbins, is equal parts hilarious and mean-spirited with its portrayal of populist politicians on the campaign trail and sees the actor playing one of the most ridiculous characters of his career. Oh, and the supporting cast includes Alan Rickman, Jack Black, Giancarlo Esposito, and other great actors.

Get it on DVD on Amazon.

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

After returning from the Vietnam War a broken and deeply troubled man, Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) begins to experience incredibly terrifying hallucinations that cause him to further lose touch with the world around him and reality in general. 

One of the most unsettling psychological horror movies of all time, Jacob’s Ladder showed audiences a different side of Tim Robbins upon release and allowed the actor to go all-in on a portrayal of an unhinged yet sympathetic character. And let’s not forget the great performance by Macaulay Culkin as Jacob’s dead son.

Stream Jacob’s Ladder on Paramount+.
Rent Jacob’s Ladder on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

As you can see, the best Tim Robbins movies aren't limited to comedy or drama, but can be found all across the spectrum, which honestly makes his contributions all the better.

It has been more than a decade since the 2011 release of Green Lantern, the movie based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name that was, at one point, supposed to kick off the massive cinematic universe. And even though the movie was a critical and commercial failure that forced DC and Warner Bros. to change their plans (and cancel any future installments), the actors who appeared in the movie have gone on to have a great deal of success both in front of the camera and behind it.

I recently watched the movie with my nephews for the first time since its release, and I couldn’t help but be blown away by the number of great actors in the Green Lantern cast. One thing led to another and now I’m here, sharing with you what everyone, including Ryan Reynolds, has been up to as of late. Well, besides dogging on the movie at every opportunity.

Ryan Reynolds (Hal Jordan)

Ryan Reynolds led the Green Lantern cast as hot-shot test pilot Hal Jordan, who became the newest member of the Green Lantern Corps after being chosen by Abin Sur in the intergalactic peacekeeper’s final moments.

Though no stranger to fame by the time he joined the cast of the ill-fate superhero movie, Reynolds’ star power has only grown in the 11 years since its release, and it doesn’t look like that is going to slow down anytime soon. In the past few years, Reynolds has starred in Detective Pikachu, Free Guy, Red Notice, and action-packed and emotionally-heavy The Adam Project. And with Reynolds’ Deadpool joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the near future, it looks like he’ll keep on playing superheroes for quite some time.

Blake Lively (Carol Ferris)

Blake Lively appeared in the Green Lantern cast as Carol Ferris, the vice president of Ferris Aircraft who had a complicated history with Hal Jordan.

Besides killing it on social media with her former Green Lantern co-star and husband Ryan Reynolds and getting caught up in his ongoing "feud" with Hugh Jackman, Lively has spent the past decade doing much of what she did in the first part of her career: appearing in a variety of movies that showcase her versatile acting talents. In the past few years she’s appeared in movies like The Shallows, Café Society, All I See Is You, A Simple Favor, and most recently, the 2020 action thriller, The Rhythm Section.

Peter Sarsgaard (Hector Hammond)

Peter Sarsgaard showed up in Green Lantern as Hector Hammond, the intelligent yet easily corruptible scientist who turned into one of the movie’s main antagonists after being exposed to Parallax’s fear energy, which caused his brain to grow exponentially and give him deadly powers.

The Golden Globe-nominated actor (Shattered Glass) continues to be one of the more prolific film and TV actors in the years since Green Lantern’s release, appearing in recent small-screen and streaming series like The Looming Tower, Interrogation, and Dopesick. And that’s on top of his recent film work, which includes The Lost Daughter, The Survivor, and Matt Reeves’ recently released, The Batman, which saw him play corrupt Gotham District Attorney Gil Colson.

Mark Strong (Thaal Sinestro)

Mark Strong appeared throughout Green Lantern as Thaal Sinestro, Hal Jordan’s reluctant mentor within the Green Lantern Corps who was weary to trust the new recruit before making a dreadful decision of his own.

A few years after appearing in Green Lantern, Strong took on a more likable role in Kingsman: The Secret Service, portraying Merlin, a role he would reprise three years later in 2017’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle. More recently, Strong has appeared in Shazam!, 1917, and Cruella. He is set to appear in Adam Sandler’s upcoming sequel, Murder Mystery 2, on Netflix at some point down the line. Strong has also worked on other Netflix projects, including Home Game and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

Angela Bassett (Amanda Waller)

Although not one of the best Angela Bassett movies, the Golden Globe winner (What's Love Got to Do with It) was outstanding in her portrayal of government agent Amanda Waller in Green Lantern, five years before Viola Davis portrayed the ambitious and cutthroat character.

Over the course of the past few years, Bassett has joined the list of other actors who have appeared in both DC Comics and Marvel movies with her turn as Ramonda in Black Panther, a role she will reprise in the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is scheduled for a November 11, 2022 release. Her other recent film work includes Soul, Gunpowder Milkshake, and the 2021 Tina Turner documentary Tina. Bassett is also currently one of the stars of the successful Fox first-responder drama, 9-1-1.

Tim Robbins (Robert Hammond)

Tim Robbins showed up in Green Lantern as United States Senator Robert Hammond, the father of Hector Hammond and part of the reason for his transformation.

In the years since the release of Green Lantern, the Academy Award-winning actor (Mystic River) has gone on to appear in a number of film projects, including A Perfect Day, Marjorie Prime, VHYes, and Dark Waters. During that same stretch of time, Robbins had major roles on shows like The Brink, Here and Now, and Castle Rock (his second appearance in a Stephen King adaptation, the first being The Shawshank Redemption). Robbins is next set to appear on the upcoming Amazing Prime Video series, The Power.

Temuera Morrison (Abin Sur)

Temuera Morrison, who has one of the most recognizable voices and faces in science-fiction and comic book adaptations, took on the role of Abin Sur, the Green Lantern who crash-landed on Earth and gave his powerful ring to Hal Jordan before dying in Green Lantern.

Morrison, who first played Jango Fett in 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones before providing the voice for his character’s clone Boba Fett in the special editions of the original Star Wars trilogy, returned to play the young bounty hunter on the Disney+ original series The Mandalorian in the show’s second season. After that, Morrison led a show of his own with the spinoff series The Book of Boba Fett. Outside of the galaxy far, far away, Morrison has portrayed Jason Momoa’s on-screen dad, Thomas Curry, in Aquaman and will reprise the role in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Flash, both of which are scheduled for release in 2023.

Geoffrey Rush (Tomar-Re)

Academy Award winner (Shine) Geoffrey Rush popped up in Green Lantern as Tomar-Re, the bird-like member of the Green Lantern Corps who provided Hal Jordan with guidance throughout his early days of being an intergalactic hero.

A veteran of film, TV, and the theater, Rush has spent the past few years appearing in movies like Final Portrait, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Storm Boy, shows like Genius, and stage productions of King Lear. The two-time Golden Globe winner (Shine, The King’s Speech) is next set to appear in the Groucho Marx biopic Raised Eyebrows, which will see the actor take on the role of the famous entertainer, according to Variety.

Michael Clarke Duncan (Kilowog)

Michael Clarke Duncan appeared in Green Lantern as Kilowog, the massive drill sergeant for the Green Lantern Corps who whipped Hal Jordan into shape when the human first joined the group’s ranks.

Sadly, the Academy Award-nominated actor (The Green Mile) passed away at the age of 54 on September 3, 2012, just a little more than a year after Green Lantern opened in theaters. Duncan’s final film credits include In the Hive, A Resurrection, From the Rough, and The Challenger, all of which were released following his death. His posthumous TV credits include Ultimate Spider-Man and Fish Hooks.

Taika Waititi (Thomas Kalmaku)

Before he was making superhero movies of his own like the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waiti showed up in Green Lantern as Thomas Kalmaku, a Ferris Aircraft engineer. 

In the past few years, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker has written, directed, and starred in movies like Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit, while also appearing in The Suicide Squad, Free Guy (also with Ryan Reynolds), and several others. Waititi’s upcoming projects, outside of his return to the MCU, include Lightyear and Next Goal Wins, the latter of which he wrote and directed.

Clancy Brown (Parallax)

Providing the voice for the villainous Parallax in Green Lantern was none other than Clancy Brown, whose list of credits (both live-action and voice work) could go toe-to-toe with just about anyone out there.

In the past few years, Brown has appeared in movies like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Promising Young Woman, shows like Billions, The Crown, The Mandalorian, and Dexter: New Blood, and voice roles in programs like Invincible, What If…?, and The Patrick Star Show, voicing Mr. Krabs once again.

Jay O. Sanders (Carl Ferris)

Jay O. Sanders appeared in Green Lantern as Carl Ferris, the founder of Ferris Aircraft.

Recently, Sanders has made appearances in movies like Search for the Super Battery, The Assistant, and the A24 film, When You Finish Saving the World. The longtime actor has also shown up on shows like Blindspot, Sneaky Pete, The Sinner, and Manhunt: Deadly Games in just the past few years.

As you can see, the Green Lantern cast has mostly remained quite busy in the past several years since the movie released, so while it may not have set the box office on fire, it certainly didn't hurt any careers.

When any individual finds success, it’s always wonderful to see them turn around and work to try and help others in their field, and while Stephen King has made all kinds of support and outreach efforts to other creatives over the course of his career, one of the earliest moves he made in that regard was establishing what is referred to as the Dollar Baby Program. In the late 1970s, he was regularly getting requests from student filmmakers hoping to get permission to adapt his short stories, and while his lawyers saw it as a potential legal quagmire, the author created a policy that would allow select works be available for the price of $1 under three conditions: 1) King would retain all rights to the original story; 2) the resulting movie wouldn’t be exhibited commercially without permission; and 3) a copy of the finished work would be sent to him to watch.

In the last four decades, many young writer/directors have taken advantage of this program, but there is no question whatsoever that the standout work among all those completed is an adaptation of “The Woman In The Room” that was made in 1983. Featured in the collection Night Shift, the short story is an emotional and melancholy piece about terminal illness and euthanasia, and the 30-minute movie is a haunting and powerful incarnation. Stephen King was impressed and shocked by the quality, and made a point of remembering the name of the young filmmaker responsible for making it: Frank Darabont.

Around 1987, Darabont reached out to King again, but this time not about a Dollar Baby short; he wanted permission to take a crack at adapting “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption,” a prison-set novella from 1982’s Different Seasons. The author didn’t quite see the cinematic potential in the story, but he trusted the material in the hands of the man who made The Woman In The Room and granted the filmmaker the option. After years of procrastination, Darabont wrote the script on spec in the span of eight weeks, and when shopping it around to studios, he only ended up having to go to Castle Rock Entertainment – the production company behind Stand By Me, Misery, and Needful Things – to get a “yes.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, Frank Darabont was offered $2.4 million to sell the script to Castle Rock so that Rob Reiner could direct, but Darabont refused, wanting to direct the movie himself, and he instead took an offer for $750,000 plus a percentage of future profits. Thus began the journey making 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption – a film that is now regarded as one of the best movies of the '90s, most beloved of all time, and is the subject of this week’s Adapting Stephen King.

What “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption” Is About

The novella has never precisely been the most desired medium in the business side of the literary industry, but they have been a staple of the Stephen King canon nearly from the beginning. Being the exceptionally dedicated and prolific writer that he is, King fell into a pattern in the early years of his career that saw him complete a novel and then follow it up with a shorter work that was too long to be classified a short story. The first four in this pattern were ultimately collected in the aforementioned Different Seasons. Per Douglas Winter’s Stephen King: The Art Of Darkness, he wrote “The Body” after completing work on Salem’s Lot; “Apt Pupil” was penned after The Shining; “The Breathing Method” was imagined in the wake of Cujo; and “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption” poured from his exhausted mind after finishing the marathon that was The Stand.

According to Stephen King’s essay “Rita Hayworth And The Darabont Redemption” (included as an introduction in The Shawshank Redemption’s published screenplay), original inspiration for the story came out of a desire to echo the style of author Max Brand, a.k.a. Frederick Schiller Faust. Brand’s books would often feature a “plain-spun narrator” telling stories about their amazing friend – but at the same time be telling a story about themselves. Writes King,

As “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption” began to flow out of his mind and out through his fingertips, the narrator in question became Red, a veteran prisoner in a Maine penitentiary named Shawshank Prison, and his heroic secondary character was revealed as unassuming, determined banker Andy Dufresne. With those two spectacular protagonists, King weaved a remarkable journey about indelible friendship, the secret strength embedded in hope, and the powerful optimism understanding that “no good thing ever dies.”

Beginning in 1948 and spanning nearly 30 years, “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption” chronicles Andy Dufresne’s time as a convicted innocent man learning how to survive all the horrors that transpire inside prison walls. Written as a memoir from Red’s perspective, who during his time on the inside is known as a man who knows how to get things, the story goes from seeing Andy as an introverted loner, to impressive hero, to mythic figure.

How Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption Differs From “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption”

On the page, “Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption” doesn’t come off the page as being particularly cinematic (as recognized by the author himself in the quote above), but when Frank Darabont read it, he saw something that even Stephen King didn’t recognize. The purest proof of this is that there is very little about the material that is changed in the journey across mediums – and the stuff that is altered is perfectly sensible.

The most sensible change made between the novella and The Shawshank Redemption is in the realm of character amalgamation. In the text, Shawshank Prison is overseen by multiple wardens during the tenure of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), but the movie simplifies things by just having Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton) be the one in charge for the entire duration. Similarly, the role of Brooks (James Whitmore) has story bits that come from multiple sources in Stephen King’s novella, but he is constructed in the film to be the perfect personification of institutionalization.

Another significant modification involving the warden involves the fate of Tommy Williams (Gil Bellows), the young prisoner whom Andy helps get an education and could hold the key to his freedom. In a surprise twist, the film version is actually much darker than what Stephen King originally wrote, which simply sees Tommy transferred out of Shawshank to a minimum security prison. With this change, it was Frank Darabont’s intention to really drive home the extreme villainy of Warden Norton, and in that mission he is certainly successful.

One of the very few straight-up additions made by Frank Darabont to the story is the sequence where Andy locks himself in the warden’s office and plays Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” over the PA system. The filmmaker was inspired to include the moment because he was listening to the music as he was writing the screenplay, though it’s a scene that Stephen King isn’t particularly enamored with, as he writes that he “never liked” it in his essay about the film in Stephen King Goes To The Movies.

Perhaps the most famous difference between the Stephen King story and The Shawshank Redemption is the ending. Red (Morgan Freeman) – who, it should be noted, is a white guy with red hair in the source material – never actually reunites with Andy in Zihuatanejo, Mexico; he simply rides the bus to El Paso, Texas with hope in his heart that he will see his friend again. Frank Darabont originally planned to have that be the ending of the film as well, but Castle Rock insisted that he at the very least shoot a scene with the characters reuniting. It was left to be the writer/director’s choice whether or not to keep or cut the moment on the beach, and he chose the former.

The last change I’ll note is the secretly established identity that Andy takes on following his prison escape. In the novella, Andy winds up going by “Peter Stevens,” but that was nixed by the production due to concerns of possibility of being sued by an actual person with that name. Frank Darabont fixed it to be “Randall Stevens” instead, with “Randall” being a direct reference to the villainous Randall Flagg from The Stand, Eyes Of The Dragon, and the Dark Tower novels.

Is It Worthy Of The King?

That header, a repeated feature of this column, seems silly in light of the reputation that Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption has earned in the 27 years since its original release, so I’ll be brief in directly addressing it: unquestionably. As a Stephen King adaptation, it is a film that uncovers and exposes the gorgeous and precious soul of the novella that inspired it, and every choice made in bringing it to life – casting, direction, cinematography, editing, and so on – is remarkable.

Its great power is in its earnestness. Hollywood has spent so many decades overloading us with schmaltz that our cynicism drives go into overload when faced with attempts at pure optimism, and more often than not the wholly appropriate reaction is a hefty and obvious eye roll. The Shawshank Redemption defies that instinct. The love that it has for its characters seeps out of the screen and infects the audience, creating a deep appreciation of their humanity and making it a pressing need to see them free. Its themes about institutionalization and, yes, redemption, are spectacularly complicated to convey, particularly when you’re talking about an ensemble of protagonists who have all been convicted of violent offenses, but it’s magical in its translation of perspective and in its stimulus of empathy.

Both Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins deliver performances that they’ll be forever remembered for – which is an opinion meant to both express the extraordinary quality of their work in the movie, and also the wide-spread love that it has earned since it was declared a flop during its theatrical run. Stephen King touches on the phenomenon of ubiquitous appreciation in Stephen King Goes To The Movies, and credits a great deal of it to the man who originally inspired its creation:

The Shawshank Redemption may be less than 30 years old, but it’s not a controversial statement to say that it has already earned the status of timeless classic, and it will forever be recognized as a special title in the Hollywood legacy of Stephen King.

How To Watch Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption

It should be surprising to literally nobody that it is spectacularly easy in the internet age to watch Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption. It is currently streaming on HBO Max, but even if you don’t have a subscription you can rent or purchase it digitally via Amazon, Vudu, Google, or Apple. If you’re looking for the most pristine version available and/or you collect physical media, a 4K Blu-ray was just released a couple months ago.

Next week will be a very different edition of Adapting Stephen King, as we’ll be going from the Oscar-nominated prestige of The Shawshank Redemption to the grim/silly horror of Tobe Hooper’s The Mangler. Look for it here on CinemaBlend next Wednesday, and to explore all of the previous installments of this column, click through the banners below!

After its successful first season introduced viewers to new and twisted worlds inspired by Stephen King, Hulu's Castle Rock is returning for another novel-mashing season of psychological terror, and the critically acclaimed anthology series has dropped its first extended trailer. The pulse-pounding promo did not disappoint by way of letting viewers know just how freaky the new season will be when it arrives in late October, and it contained a fair amount of characters and moments that will likely be familiar to the King of Horror's faithful fanbase.

While there's no doubt that Castle Rock Season 2 will deliver a smorgasbord of Stephen King easter eggs whenever it actually premieres, we've gathered together all of the trailer's big King references to try and get an idea of what we're all in for this season. Understandably, our discussion begins with the unsettling woman at the center of it all.

Annie Wilkes, From Misery

Masters of Sex and Party Down vet Lizzy Caplan is set to portray one of Stephen King's most chillingly human villains, the obsession-driven caretaker Annie Wilkes who first appeared in the harrowing 1987 novel Misery. However, it doesn't appear that Annie will be taking any bestselling authors hostage in Castle Rock, which she did with Paul Sheldon in King's novel. But she apparently will maintain her disinterest in profanity, as she's heard using a signature "cockadoodie" reference in the trailer.

For Hulu's TV show, Lizzy Caplan's Annie Wilkes is a nurse who's going through some psychotic tendencies while caught up in King's notorious town of Castle Rock. Interestingly, this version of Annie is the mother of a young teen daughter Joy, as played by Eight Grade's Elsie Fisher. Does that mean we'll get introduced to Misery Annie's ex-husband Ralph Dugan, or does Elsie have another father?

Annie Wilkes' History, From Misery

Though Castle Rock Season 2 is apparently changing up parts of Annie Wilkes' story from how it was laid out in Stephen King's novel Misery, it appears as if the creative team is indeed keeping the character's sordid past intact. In the book, Paul Sheldon stumbles upon a scrapbook revealing a whole host of murders that Annie had committed in years past, cluing him in on just how dangerous a situation he was in. It only got worse soon after, when Annie lopped his foot off with an axe. (Note the trailer's nod to Rob Reiner's change for his superb film, when Caplan's Annie picks up that mallet.)

As seen in the trailer, Annie Marie Wilkes is definitely not a symbol of the medical industry's innocence, and she is in fact being sought out by the FBI after skipping town to avoid being prosecuted for murder. Will she indeed by a patient-killing Angel of Mercy as it went in Stephen King's source material? Also, will this version of Annie be responsible for killing her own father, too?

Shawshank Prison, From "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption"

One of the most famous prisons in modern fiction, Stephen King’s iconic Shawshank Prison first appeared in his 1972 short story The Fifth Quarter, initially written under the pen name John Swithen and later collected within the pages of Nightmares and Dreamscapes. The novella-filled Different Seasons is where Shawshank got fully developed, though, largely through the tale Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, which was later adapted into the universally beloved movie starring Castle Rock’s Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

Castle Rock fans are also aware that Shawshank played heavily into Season 1, as it was the prison where Bill Skarsgård's The Boy was first found, and where Noel Fisher's correctional officer went berserk. It's unclear, however, if Shawshank will be making any official appearances in Castle Rock Season 2, or if the sign above was just shown in the trailer to indicate that the upcoming storyline is set at least 18 miles away.

Marsten House, From 'Salem's Lot

Stephen King's 1975 novel 'Salem's Lot remains one of the most strikingly memorable vampire novels in horror, and it's no surprise that Castle Rock's creators are bringing the town of Jerusalem's Lot to live-action. While Season 2 has offered up no signs thus far that bloodsuckers will enter the mix as a threat against Annie Wilkes or others, the trailer specifically shows audiences a sign for Marsten House, a very specific reference that could lead to many more.

In 'Salem's Lot, Marsten House is a magnet for evil, and was the home of serial killer Hubie Marsten, who'd killed himself and his wife Birdie before the events of the novel. The character Ben Mears moves back to Jerusalem's Lot in order to write about the spooky old house, and discovers its new resident is Kurt Barlow, an Austrian vampire that looks like a slightly chubby Nosferatu. My money is on Ben Mears popping up in Castle Rock Season 2 as a journalist, though I would be ecstatic if Stephen King's Kurt Barlow would find new life beyond the 1979 and 2004 miniseries.

Reginald "Pop" Merrill, From "The Sun Dog"

As it was mentioned previously, actor Tim Robbins was in one of the most celebrated Stephen King adaptations of all time, The Shawshank Redemption. He returns to King's universe for Castle Rock Season 2, where he'll be playing another familiar character, though one who isn't exactly the most respectable person. As Reginald "Pop" Merrill, Robbins will be heading up the Merrill crime family, though his days as a leader are numbered, with cancer threatening his life.

In Stephen King's world, Pop Merrill shows up most prominently in the Four Past Midnight novella "The Sun Dog," which centers on a teen's cursed Polaroid camera that threatens to rip the fabric of reality thanks to the titular entity that unexplainably appears in every single photo. Pop Merrill ran a junk shop called The Emporium Galorium, where the teenaged Kevin took his camera for potential repairs that never happened. Things did not go well for Pop by the end of that story, later allowing for Leland Gaunt to freely open his Needful Things shop in Castle Rock, which obviously occurs in the novel Needful Things, in which Pop gets name-checked.

John "Ace" Merrill, From "The Body," Needful Things

Since you can't have one bad apple Merrill family member without another one nearby, Castle Rock Season 2 is also introducing viewers to Pop's nephew John "Ace" Merrill, as portrayed by House of Cards vet Paul Sparks. (Matthew Alan will portray Ace's brother Chris Merrill, though Chris doesn't seem to exist in Stephen King's works.) Ace is looking to take over the family business when Pop dies, and I can't imagine that will go over well for anyone, considering Ace shows up in the trailer in quietly menacing ways.

Without a protagonistic bone in his body, Ace Merrill factored heavily into the short story "The Body" as the leader of a gang of bullies aiming to stop the story's main characters from finding the dead body they're looking for. (He was portrayed by Kiefer Sutherland in Rob Reiner's adaptation Stand By Me.) Ace was also a secondary villain in the aforementioned Needful Things, where he becomes a loyal assistant to the evil Leland Gaunt. Interestingly, Ace's main foe in that book was Sheriff Alan Pangborn, who was portrayed in Castle Rock Season 1 by Scott Glenn.

Song "I'll Be Seeing You," From The Stand

While everything else on this list is fixated on visual elements seen in the trailer, Castle Rock's Season 2 promo also contains an audio reference from Stephen King's bibliography. The song that's heard during the trailer, which picks up more intensity near the end, is the track "I'll Be Seeing You," which was penned in 1938 and has been recorded by everyone from Bing Crosby to Frank Sinatra to Jimmy Durante to Linda Ronstadt. The trailer version is obviously a more haunting and freaky version.

Within Stephen King's works, the song "I'll Be Seeing You" pops up in what is arguably the author's magnum opus, The Stand, which is one of King's most musically geared stories. Within the apocalyptic novel's uncut version released in 1990, Billie Holiday's version of "I'll Be Seeing You" pops up near the end of Book II.

While there were obviously a decent number of Stephen King references to be found above, several were surface-level, and fans are no doubt in store for lots more to come once the ten-episode season kicks off in earnest. Could King have tipped them off to details about his latest novel The Institute – which already has a limited TV series in the works from David E. Kelley – for some super-current easter eggs?

Sharpen your horror wits for the return of Castle Rock when Season 2 premieres on Hulu on Wednesday, October 23, at 12:01 a.m. PT.

It's 2019, and the world is jam-packed with adaptations from one of the greatest authors of the modern era. From the slew of Stephen King adaptations that are out there, however, there is one newer one that dares to make an original tale using characters from the author's novels, references, and his most iconic fictional location. Castle Rock was an ambitious idea, but a strong cast and great story made it one of 2018's best shows.

Now, the series is set for Season 2, and is looking to re-invent the wheel with a fresh story that, as of this writing, doesn't seem to have a major connection to Season 1's story. Here's what we know about the upcoming season so far, including who's involved, and what Stephen King works fans may want to check out ahead of its airing.

What Will Castle Rock Season 2 Be About?

The official synopsis for Castle Rock Season 2 tells of a feud between warring clans that will boil over when a very famous Stephen King character gets stuck in Castle Rock. That character is none other than Annie Wilkes, who audiences may remember from the hit novel and film Misery. The synopsis sounds a lot like a prequel of sorts to Misery, as the character is only characterized as a "budding psychopath."

Annie isn't the only Stephen King character along for the ride, as Reginald "Pop" Merrill and John "Ace" Merrill will be featured in an adventure that seemingly pits the family against a budding Somali community in Castle Rock. Explicit tensions have yet to be laid out, but we do know that a Somali community center is planned for the area, which could have those against the Somali presence up in arms. For now, we can only speculate!

When Will Castle Rock Season 2 Premiere?

While Castle Rock was given a season renewal fairly early into its Season 1 run, we still have yet to receive a timetable for when to expect it. Season 1 was a summer release, but with production on Season 2 only just starting in March, it doesn't seem likely the show will be ready by this summer. Still, with production underway, it's not entirely impossible for this to arrive sometime before 2019's end.

Who Has Been Cast For Castle Rock Season 2?

Season 1 of Castle Rock featured an impressive cast, and it looks like Season 2 will have the same level of talent on board. The Season 2 cast is stacked with talented veterans, actors and actresses in their prime, and young rising stars with promising futures. Let's take a look at the famous faces set to appear in the anthology's next chapter.

Lizzy Caplan - Annie Wilkes

The Mean Girls and Masters of Sex actress is playing the role of Annie Wilkes, which was formerly played on screen by Kathy Bates. Bates won an Oscar for her portrayal, so Caplan has some shoes to fill as she'll try to play the character in the days before she was trapping authors within her house and breaking their ankles in a gruesome way. Ugh, hopefully there won't be any of that in Castle Rock.

Elsie Fisher - Joy

Eighth Grade breakout actress Elsie Fisher has landed yet another big role, and Castle Rock has her in a part that will play right off of Lizzy Caplan. Fisher will play Annie Wilkes' home-schooled teenage daughter, Joy, who begins to wonder if her mother is going off the deep end. We're assuming she eventually finds out that's the case, and hopefully gets away from her mother before some of that rubs off on her (or she ends up dead)!

Tim Robbins - Reginald "Pop" Merrill

Castle Rock is continuing its trend of enlisting actors with a history of appearing in Stephen King films by tapping The Shawshank Redemption's Tim Robbins to play a character from King's works: Reginald "Pop" Merrill. Things aren't looking great for Pop as he's said to be dying of cancer and facing a "reckoning" of sorts with his crime family. Not an ideal situation, but a role that Robbins will surely knock out of the park.

Paul Sparks - John "Ace" Merrill

Another member of the Merrill family is on board, as House Of Cards' Paul Sparks is taking on the role of John "Ace" Merrill. Ace is taking over the family's criminal business and apparently causing some mess with the neighboring Jerusalem's Lot that could cause some issues. That's not surprising, given Ace isn't an upstanding character in The Stand or the Stephen King novel Needful Things, so don't expect too much positivism from this character.

Matthew Alan - Chris Merrill

13 Reasons Why actor Matthew Alan is coming on as yet another member of the Merrill family, although it sounds as though he'll be more of a peacekeeper in the Merrill family. He's looking to keep tensions low between the family and the Somalians, probably because he's aware more than anyone how ugly things can get if tensions boil over.

Yusra Warsama - Dr. Nadia Omar

Yusra Warsama is one of the fresher faces on Castle Rock, with Hulu's original series listed as one of her more prominent roles. She's had some other work in shows like Call The Midwife, but her role as Dr. Nadia Omar may be a bigger chance to showcase her acting talents. Dr. Omar is a Somali medical director at a hospital in Jerusalem's Lot that will face some challenges which will put her knowledge to the test.

Barkhad Abdi - Abdi Omar

Captain Phillips breakout actor Barkhad Abdi is in Castle Rock, although sadly, not as a captain. Instead, he'll play Dr. Nadia's older brother who is leading a charge to build a Somalian community center in the area, and help deepen the group's roots in the area. He's also noted to be tough, so don't be surprised if he'll push back should the Merrill family or anyone else attempts to stop his plans.

Will Castle Rock Season 2 Connect To Season 1?

For now, it appears as though the stories of Castle Rock Season 2 and Season 1 are separate. With that said, both are set in the iconic town, and there's been no definitive word that none of the characters or events of Season 1 will be referenced or appear in the new adventure. As of this writing, however, we haven't learned that any actors from Season 1 will be reprising their roles.

Which is disappointing in some respects, especially with that surprising reveal at the end of Season 1 that teased one character with a huge connection to The Shining. Again, there's still a chance that that reveal or something else from Season 1 comes into the Season 2 story in some way, but we just don't know. For now, it appears this tale is strictly about the Merrills battling with Somalians, and Annie Wilkes slowly losing her mind.

What Stephen King Works Will Castle Rock Season 2 Reference?

Castle Rock isn't an adaptation of any particular Stephen King work, but rather a universe where the characters of his books co-exist and appear in entirely new adventures. Season 1 had a fair amount of references to Stephen King works, and it looks like quite a few King books and their characters will come into play in Season 2.

Misery

Misery is the tale of Paul Sheldon, who ends up injured and in the care of his super fan Annie Wilkes. It doesn't take long for Paul to realize Annie has a couple of screws loose, and he eventually learns she's a prolific killer who has killed some 70 odd people throughout her life. Infants, the elderly, the severely injured, and many other types have fallen victim to Annie, who just can't quit killing.

As previously mentioned, Season 2 of Castle Rock is a prequel to Misery. Given the character's age in the show, we can safely assume Annie's killed a healthy number at this stage in her life. This may speak further to that mental decline she's suffering from, which may slowly transition her to the person fans know from the book and movie. Her having a daughter was previously unknown, so we can't wait to see what happens there.

The Sun Dog

The Sun Dog is a novella that's a part of Stephen King's collection Four Past Midnight. It's the story "Pop" Merrill primarily appears in, and one that details his business as a money lender at high interest rates. He's also a dealer of paranormal goods on the side, which is primarily what The Sun Dog is about. Without getting into spoilers, one can assume Castle Rock Season 2 takes place before the events of this novella.

We're not for sure, but there's a good chance Pop's shop The Emporium Galorium will appear in this season, as well as some paranormal goods that could impact other characters. Castle Rock may sidestep that part completely, of course, although chances are Pop and the Merrill family have been brought into this adventure for more than just name recognition.

The Body

Another Stephen King novella, which many people more commonly associate with the wonderful film adaptation Stand By Me. This is an adventure that features a teenage John "Ace" Merrill, who is a rather brutal teenage bully of the young boys in the book. He's later revealed to have chilled out in his older years, and described as haggard later in life.

Adult John Merrill may not be as dangerous as he was in his youth, but it's never too late for that type of behavior to resurface at any point in life. John seems to play some part in the tension between the Somalians in Season 2, so don't be surprised if he isn't as relaxed in this adventure as latter King works he was featured in may imply.

Needful Things

Needful Things follows a future arc in Ace Merrill's story, in which he returns to Castle Rock desperate for money to pay off some drug dealers he's indebted to. He finds work, which inevitably finds him at odds with Sheriff Alan Pangborn. The two clash throughout the novel at various points, and while Ace isn't quite the dominant teenage bully he was, he's still capable of some truly wicked things.

The important thing to note here is the history Ace has with Alan Pangborn, who was one of the central characters in Castle Rock Season 1. Obviously, the Alan Pangborn we know who was played by Scott Glenn was killed at the end of Season 1, so, unless there are more transdimensional breaks the only option for Glenn to reprise his role as the sheriff would be a flashback to when Pangborn and Ace had their issues. Obviously, neither of these possibilities have been confirmed right now, so we'll have to wait to see what happens.

Who Will Serve As Castle Rock's Creative Team For Season 2?

Castle Rock Season 1 showrunners Dustin Thomason and Sam Shaw did a great job bringing Stephen King characters together for a critically acclaimed original story. Fans will be happy to know that both men will be returning for Season 2, and hopefully avoiding a sophomore slump as they essentially try to make lightning strike twice with a fresh concept.

Also back on board behind the scenes are executive producers J.J. Abrams, and the man who made this all possible: Stephen King. King's continued involvement is no surprise, especially given he was so high up on the show in Season 1. King's not above bashing things based on his work, and when someone is bold enough to be critical of a master filmmaker like Stanley Kubrick, it's safe to say no adaptation of King's work is above the author's criticism.

Where Can I Watch Castle Rock Season 1?

Castle Rock Season 1 is currently streaming on Hulu, and a great watch for those looking for a classical creepy Stephen King-inspired tale. Binge it now, or re-watch the episodes as CinemaBlend continues to seek out updates on Season 2 and what's in store for the show's next chapter.

Yes, Annie Wilkes and her cock-a-doodie fan stalking are getting something of an origin story in Castle Rock Season 2! Hulu has cast Lizzy Caplan (Mean Girls, Masters of Sex) as younger "budding psychopath" Annie in a prequel to the Misery role that earned Kathy Bates an Oscar.

And that's not all...

Castle Rock Season 2 will also see the addition of several other characters, per THR, including more you may recall from previous Stephen King stories. But first, here's more of the plot:

• Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) will play Annie’s home-schooled teenage daughter, Joy, who is starting to have questions about her mother's sanity. Pray for that poor child.

• Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption) is returning to Stephen King country as Reginald "Pop" Merrill. Pop -- a character from Stephen King's 1990 novella The Sun Dog who was also mentioned in Needful Things -- is the head of the Merrill crime family. He's dying of cancer and at a reckoning with his family.

• Garrett Hedlund (Triple Frontier) will play Pop's nephew John "Ace" Merrill, who is taking over his uncle’s businesses and threatening a fragile peace with nearby Jerusalem’s Lot. Fun fact: Ace Merrill was in Stephen King's novella The Body, which became the movie Stand By Me. He was played by Kiefer Sutherland in the movie. Ace was also a character in Needful Things.

• Matthew Alan (13 Reasons Why) will play Chris Merrill, Pop's nephew and Ace's brother, who struggles to keep peace between the Merrills and the Somali community.

• Yusra Warsama (Call the Midwife) will play Dr. Nadia Omar, the Harvard-trained Somali medical director of a rural hospital in Jerusalem's Lot. Her rational and scientific mind will be put to the test.

• Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) will play Abdi Omar, Nadia's tough, older brother who leads the charge to build a Somali community center that will deepen the roots of his people in Maine.

That cast. Season 2 already sounds amazing.

When Hulu renewed Castle Rock for Season 2, we already knew it would come with a new cast and a new story. It's not clear yet how much it may intersect with the events of Season 1, which starred André Holland, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Lynskey, Bill Skarsgard, and Jane Levy. It did seem like Jane Levy's Jackie Torrance might have more to say, so we'll have to see if that The Shining tie-in plays out further in Season 2.

Obviously, Lizzy Caplan has the major role in Season 2 as younger Annie Wilkes. Kathy Bates played Annie Wilkes in the 1990 movie Misery, adapting Stephen King's 1987 novel, with James Caan as famous author Paul Sheldon. Annie was Paul's "number one fan," but also a first-class psycho. It should be interesting to see a little more of how she got that way, perhaps akin to Bates Motel showing Norman Bates' journey to his Psycho state.

Castle Rock Season 1 ran for 10 episodes from July to September 2018 on Hulu. Last summer, THR asked co-showrunner Dustin Thomason to clarify the show's vision as an anthology series, asking if fans should expect a hard reset every season. Here's part of Thomason's response:

It sounds like Stephen King fans may want to at least brush up on Misery, Needful Things, The Sun Dog, The Body, and Jerusalem's Lot before Castle Rock Season 2. Hulu has yet to announce a premiere date for the 10 episodes ahead, but stay tuned.

Now is the suspenseful time of the year when the fates of TV shows are decided. Some get much better news than others, and few are ever guaranteed a future on the small screen. HBO has now officially made the decision on Tim Robbins' Here and Now series, and it won't make fans happy. Here and Now has been cancelled after one season on HBO.

Tim Robbins starred on Here and Now as Greg Boatwright, a philosophy professor and husband of therapist Audrey Bayer (Holly Hunter). The show focused on the dynamic of the family, which is comprised of the parents, three adopted children, and one biological child. Ashley (Jerrika Hinton) was born in Liberia and became a creator and owner of a retail fashion website, Duc (Raymond Lee) was born in Vietnam and became a life coach, Ramon (Daniel Zovatto) hails from Colombia and is a college student studying video game design, and Kristen (Sosie Bacon) is the only biological child and a junior in high school.

Here and Now boasted a strong cast and a unique premise all about a contemporary multiracial family, but it failed to capture much of a fanbase. The series premiere debuted to a meager audience of 541,000 viewers. Although the viewership did get a sizable boost when DVR and nonlinear viewing could be taken into account, the ten episodes of the season only averaged 2 million viewers. While HBO surely wasn't expecting another Game of Thrones-sized series out of Here and Now, an average of 2 million viewers must have been significantly below what the network was looking for. THR reports that the numbers for Here and Now were in line with the numbers for another promising HBO series that got an early axe.

All things considered, Tim Robbins has had some bad luck with HBO projects. He starred with Jack Black in the 2015 political comedy series The Brink on HBO. That show actually scored a renewal while it was airing, then had the order yanked and was cancelled after just the one season. Perhaps the fact that Here and Now was cancelled outright rather than given a renewal that would be taken away makes the cancellation a little less painful. Maybe the third time will be the charm?

We'll have to wait and see what happens next for Tim Robbins and the rest of the cast of Here and Now. Only time will tell if they stick to TV or move to the big screen. Tim Robbins and Holly Hunter are both veterans of the big screen, and perhaps Here and Now gave enough exposure to the younger cast members for them to move on to bigger and more promising projects.

Here and Now may not have a future on the small screen, but plenty of other shows are still going. For what you can watch now and in the coming weeks, take a look at our midseason TV premiere guide and our summer TV premiere schedule. If streaming is more your style, take a look at our Netflix rundown and Amazon Prime guide.

It is impossible to truly predict just how much audiences will like a film when it debuts. Some films initially make huge waves, only to fade from memory not long after. Others go unnoticed when they hit theaters, but over time continue to find their audience. Such is the case with The Shawshank Redemption. Frank Darabont's adaptation of Stephen King's story failed to ignite the box office, but is now widely considered to be among the greatest films of all time. Actor Tim Robbins played the iconic Andy Dufresne, and recently spoke about why the infinitely rewatchable film continues to resonate with audiences today, saying:

Character and theme are what makes a film endure the test of time, and that's what Tim Robbins is speaking to here. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in advance of co-star Morgan Freeman's SAG Lifetime Achievement award, Tim Robbins makes an interesting point; the type of loving relationship between two men seen in The Shawshank Redemption is far from commonplace. In a film full of perfect moments, the friendship between Red and Andy is truly the heart of the film. Part of why we care so much about the protagonists is because of how much they care for each other. All friendships are important and they define our lives, but friendships forged under trying circumstances can mean even more. Red and Andy came to know and love one another while suffering the horror, evil, and indignity of life in Shawshank State Penitentiary. This type of bond is unbreakable, and is why it continues to resonate with viewers twenty plus years later.

As Tim Robbins says, the theme of The Shawshank Redemption is also a huge factor in its staying power. While Red worries about Andy throughout the film and discourages him from getting his hopes up, Andy's tale is ultimately one of triumph. Hope, perseverance and never giving in to despair are messages audiences can always find merit in, and apply to their own lives. This is timeless and universal, whether your Zihuatanejo is a town in Mexico or not. The Shawshank Redemption's theme is one that speaks to audiences and shows the value in never giving up hope and continuing to hammer away towards your dream.

It is never an exact science when trying to put your finger on what makes a movie so beloved and rewatchable. Shawshank is #1 all time on IMDb for what that's worth. But Tim Robbins' assessment of why The Shawshank Redemption continues to resonate seems as right as any. Spectacle fades and becomes less exciting as time goes on, but the relationship between characters and the emotional weight of a powerful theme are timeless. This is no easy thing, but every year we get plenty more films and with them the potential for another timeless classic. Check out this years films, big and small in our release schedule.

Great movie chemistry is a difficult thing to find. When you have it, your film can survive based off that alone. When two characters don't mix well, the entire movie falls apart. Sometimes, however, two actors can work so well together that their interaction transcends everything else that happens on screen and they steal every scene together. Sometimes it's a romantic pair, sometimes it's a bromantic pair, but when it works, it works so well that you just want to see it again.

We're not saying that movies these pairs were in together need sequels. In most cases, we don't expect or really want a sequel to the existing film. The chemistry these pairs share transcend the movie they were in. We know they'd be great together in literally any movie. Here are 10 movie pairs we want to see together again, in anything.

Edward Norton & Brad Pitt

Fight Club received most of its acclaim for its unexpected twist ending and its "fight the power" message that resonated with many young people in the 1990s. While I would argue the movie probably hasn't aged as well as you might think and probably isn't as good as it was in college, the performances of its two leading men were rock solid and their interaction was flawless. Both Brad Pitt and Edward Norton have gone to bigger and better things, and since they're two of the greatest actors working today, we'd love to see them on screen again. Maybe in something a little less depressing.

Meg Ryan & Tom Hanks

Ok, so we already have three movies to enjoy with this classic romantic movie pairing (you probably missed Ithaca). So what? The chemistry between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is absolutely perfect, and just because they've done movies together doesn't mean there isn't an opportunity for more. Great actors always bring something special to the screen, but sometimes when working opposite somebody who knows them well, performances can be brought to the next level. We've seen them fall in love, but as older performers, they could make a romantic movie about people who have spent decades together now, and audiences would buy it because they watched the pair fall in love two and a half decades ago.

The Rock & Jason Statham

The most recent pairing on this list, the Fast and Furious franchise appears to be losing some steam after the most recent entry, but two people you can't blame for that are The Rock and Jason Statham. They both brought their A-game to The Fate of the Furious, but what's more, when the two were on screen together you honestly forget that any other movie was even happening. There's talk of this pair getting their own spinoff film, but it honestly doesn't matter if they do a Furious spin-off or anything else. Cast Jason Statham in any of the 47 movies The Rock currently has in production.

Eddie Murphy & Dan Aykroyd

Trading Places is, almost without question, one of the great comedies of all-time. If that movie had been released in the last 10 years, a sequel would have been greenlit before the movie was out of theaters. Neither Dan Aykroyd or Eddie Murphy is busy making a lot of movies these days, which is why it would be perfect for the two of them to reunite in something new. Seeing either of them in a brand new comedy would be a treat. Seeing what the two of them could do together after all these years would be guaranteed to be hilarious.

Anne Hathaway & Meryl Streep

The Devil Wears Prada was a breakout role for a young Anne Hathaway, acting opposite a multi-time Academy Award winner. Now Hathaway has an Oscar of her own, and the promotional material for a movie that reunites this pair writes itself. Prada certainly requires no sequel, so we imagine these two could do something else together. It could be something dramatic and Oscar worthy, or something lighter in the vein of their previous joint venture. Either way, another project starring these two would be impressive to watch. Ways in which the character dynamic could shift after all these years is exciting to think about.

Josh Gad & Luke Evans

One of the highlights of the recent Beauty and the Beast remake was the pairing of Luke Evans as Gaston and Josh Gad as his friend/sidekick Le Fou. The pair were absolutely hilarious together and after watching them doing press and social media stuff together in the lead up to the film, it's clear the two have a lot of fun together. They could make any comedy together, and we're fairly certain it would be great. Their timing is perfect and every joke in Beauty landed perfectly. Does anybody want to make an Abbott & Costello biopic? Please do so right now.

Arnold Schwarzenegger & Jamie Lee Curtis

With all the blockbuster success that James Cameron has had over the years, his action comedy True Lies is often overlooked. What made that film work so well was the on-screen chemistry between leads Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. If there was a pair on the list that we wanted to see make a true sequel to their previous film, it might be this one. It would be great to see how "Boris and Doris" and doing after all these years of spying together. What does that situation do to a relationship? Are they closer together or falling apart? We're fairly certain they're no less entertaining.

Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones

The Men in Black movies worked because the pairing of the joke-cracking Will Smith and the straight-faced, but no less funny, Tommy Lee Jones, was absolute perfection. If there's a single reason that the third installment of the franchise didn't work, it's because Jones wasn't a big enough part of the movie. So let's move on from Men in Black and find something else for these two to do together. They'd be no less funny in any comedy. Find Jones and Smith a pair of roles with a similar relationship and let the jokes fly.

Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone

While La La Land may not have been Best Picture, it was not from lack of effort from the film's two leads. Of course, that isn't the only movie the two have been in together. They've made three films together in recent years and now we just want to see more. Whether it's musicals, romantic comedies or serious dramas, these two have great chemistry together. We're hoping they continue to make different kinds of movies together and give us even more to enjoy for years to come.

Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman

There may be no greater love story about the relationship between two male friends as The Shawshank Redemption. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, and the characters they played, could not be more different, and yet the relationship between them is one of the strongest in the history of cinema. Both men are older now, but that only changes the circumstances. We bet these two could still deliver powerful performances on screen together. We would never want to see these two follow up their previous film, but anything these two could do with each other would be great.

These days, even booking a small part in a huge superhero movie usually leads to some steady work, and brand recognition. One day you're a side character in a Marvel movie, the next you're leading your own TV show, with two spin-offs to show for it. However, it wasn't always this way, as some big stars landed some small roles back in the wilderness days of comic book films, and then saw them evaporate. Hell, there are even some known names who landed major roles in the past couple of years. Unfortunately, those folks happened to pick the wrong movie to make their four-panel debut, and those roles got buried.

Well today's the day we revisit the hits and misses, in order to remind you that these 15 stars once had roles in some familiar comic franchises. Some you may remember, others you may forget, but all deserve a spot of notoriety on this list!

Ellen Pompeo -- Daredevil

While Grey's Anatomy would eventually see Ellen Pompeo falling for heartthrob of movies and TV, Patrick Dempsey, her role in Fox's Daredevil saw her set-up with a ladies' man of a different caliber. Playing Karen Page to Ben Affleck's Matt Murdock, the would-be love interest may have had a shot at a tender moment with Affleck on screen in a possible sequel. But with the disastrous reception, and the film's focus on the romance between Murdock and Jennifer Garner's assassin Elektra Natchios, it just wasn't meant to be.

Joe Manganiello -- Spider-Man

We can almost guarantee you're going to need to take a breath before reading this next entry, as we were quite surprised when we realized it ourselves. Joe Manganiello, better known as a hunky werewolf from HBO's True Blood or as a hunky stripper in the Magic Mike franchise, was actually in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. Even better still, he played the role of Flash Thompson: bully to Peter Parker, and eventual laughing stock at the hands of Peter's newly developed powers during the first film's early hallway brawl. Something tells us that a modern rematch would go just a little bit differently.

Patton Oswalt -- Blade: Trinity

Before landing a plum role on Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., Patton Oswalt had only one other comic book adaptation credit to his name. Unfortunately for him, it was as Hedges, the vampire hunter / short-lived associate of Ryan Reynolds' Nightstalkers in Blade: Trinity. Though Oswalt's misfortune of being cast in such a lackluster film did come with a hell of a silver lining, as he's periodically shared stories about how Wesley Snipes was so into character that he'd refer to himself as Blade. Not to mention, he also shared the fact that Snipes was blazed pretty much all of the time, giving a plausible explanation to why such an anticipated sequel fell flat on its face.

Elizabeth Banks -- Spider-Man

Let it be said that Sam Raimi has an eye for talent, as he not only discovered Joe Manganiello for a role in his Spider-Man trilogy, but he also found Elizabeth Banks to be the perfect choice for The Daily Bugle's famed administrative assistant, Betty Brant. One of the few romantic foils for Peter Parker in the comics, Banks' Brant was used more as a snarky presence to bounce off of J.K. Simmons' J. Jonah Jameson; though the two did share a bit of a moment in Spider-Man 3. Of course, that was just the Symbiote talking, and since Spider-Man 4 never happened, we never did get to see any sort of fallout from this temporary moment between the two.

Angela Bassett -- Green Lantern

One of the best decisions that the folks behind the 2011 adaptation of Green Lantern could have made, and heavens knows those were far and few between, was the casting of Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller. Should that film have succeeded, we'd more than likely see her not only tell off Batman in the future Justice League films that would have spun off from this film's hypothetical success, but we would have seen her ordering around the Suicide Squad, should that film have also sprung forth from that same scenario. Alas, Green Lantern tanked, and it's Viola Davis' turn to give the DC Universe hell. Still, Bassett's Waller is a beautiful "what if?" we can't seem to shake.

Norman Reedus - Blade II

Before he was cross-bowing zombies and playing The Walking Dead's _Daryl Dixon, Norman Reedus was hunting an entirely different set of beasts altogether: vampires. Guillermo del Toro cast the then unknown actor as Scud: the weapons maker / _Powerpuff Girls fan who would later reveal himself as a familiar for the vampire royal family. It's a shame he had to eventually die an explosive death, but at the very least it lead to a relationship that would have put Norman Reedus in Guillermo del Toro's Silent Hills, which unfortunately was cancelled before it got very far. Still, this was one of those roles that paved the way to Reedus becoming the basic cable badass that he's now primarily known for, and it's made all the difference.

Tim Robbins -- Green Lantern

You can be an Oscar winner/nominee, or just all around well respected actor, and the comic movie bug will eventually bite you. We're about to come up on several more entries of this caliber, starting with Tim Robbins role as Senator Robert Hammond, father to Peter Sarsgaard's villainous Hector, in Green Lantern. While his performance wasn't given the most screen time, he did he best that he could with what material he was given. Much like Angela Bassett before him, Robbins is one of those actors we kind of wish we could have seen in the current DC Universe, as his Senator Hammond would have made a great ally for Holly Hunter's Senator June Finch in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Martin Sheen -- Spawn

Another well respected actor who landed a big part in a comic book film is Martin Sheen, who managed to snag the role of the lead baddie in 1997's mixed-reception classic Spawn. But unlike some of the other luminaries we've got on this list, Sheen's performance as Jason Wynn isn't nearly as redeemable, though we'd like to think that's no one's fault but the writers. Playing a covert ops agent / arms dealer hybrid, Sheen's Jason Wynn was on a strict diet of only the tastiest scenery, and he ate as much as he could chew. Is it a fun performance? We could argue that it was indeed. But is it anywhere near the caliber that Martin Sheen usually delivers to his work? Indeed, it is not.

Jon Cryer -- Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

Before he made a career as the cosmic punching bag Charlie Sheen and Ashton Kutcher took pity on over 12 seasons of Two And A Half Men, Jon Cryer was an outside member of the 1980's society known as "the Brat Pack." That association not only saw him star in the John Hughes movie Pretty In Pink, it also found him taking on a role in the then red-hot Superman franchise. But as any good franchise fan will tell you, the end can come at any moment, turning a sure thing into a dud. Cryer, sadly, was a part of one of the most infamous duds ever, playing the role of Lenny Luthor -- Lex's dim-witted nephew -- in Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. All we have to say about this rather interesting choice is that Lenny's fashion sense is about as ill advised as the rest of the film's missteps, and Cryer obviously bounced back after such a dismal showing.

Christopher Lee -- Captain America 2: Death Too Soon

Even an actor like Christopher Lee can manage to find himself in a film that's incredibly below his talents. Yet being pigeon-holed as a B-movie star in the 1970s lead to his participation in some rather low-quality fare, one such film being Captain America 2: Death Too Soon. But just as he did with every role he'd ever taken, Lee played the role of General Miguel with the same intensity and respect that he gave even his most top-tier resume entries. It may not be a memorable performance, but at the very least it's further proof that Lee could elevate any material he chose to become a part of.

Drew Barrymore -- Batman Forever

When Joel Schumacher took over the Batman franchise, the public should have seen the signs that the series was about to go to a bright, neon-colored hell. Though, to be fair, Batman Forever was nowhere near the abomination that Batman and Robin would become. Still, the third film in the series and the only entry with Val Kilmer playing the Caped Crusader and his alter-ego cast some interesting actors in supporting roles. One such actor, Drew Barrymore, was cast as Sugar -- one of Two Face's two girlfriends, who would cater to his every need. You probably didn't remember her, as she wasn't really given much to do, but trust us -- she's in there for a couple key scenes with Tommy Lee-Jones and Jim Carrey.

Kerry Washington -- Fantastic Four

Kerry Washington is best known for being a Scandal maker on ABC's TGIT line-up. But about a decade before she was raising hell in D.C., Washington was playing the role of Alicia in Fox's Fantastic Four duology. A blind artist who inhabits the world of the first super family in Marvel history, Alicia eventually became the love interest of Ben Grimm, after his transformation into The Thing had left him abandoned by his previous fiancé. Kerry Washington finds herself as only the third alum on this list that was cast in a role that allowed them to appear in a sequel, as her character was also seen in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Ian McKellen -- The Shadow

Some comic book movies don't deserve the pall of anonymity that they've accrued over the years since their release. Russell Mulcahy's The Shadow is definitely one of those films, as it stands with The Rocketeer and Dick Tracy as a retro-themed throwback that got buried at the box-office in the 1990's. While the film boasted Alec Baldwin at the top of his game playing Lamont Cranston / The Shadow, the film also managed to snag Ian McKellen as the atomic scientist / father to Cranston's love interest, Dr. Reinhardt Lane. Considering how early in the days of comic book movies The Shadow was, McKellen's involvement is a keen reminder of how the well-respected, classically trained actor has always had a spot in the geek pantheon with his name on it.

Catherine Zeta-Jones -- The Phantom

Right before she took her breakout role in Martin Campbell's The Mask Of Zorro, Catherine Zeta-Jones would jump on-board another pulpy project, as she was cast in the role of Sala in The Phantom. Another comic book movie that was made before the genre took off, Zeta-Jones was the adversary (and eventual ally) of Billy Zane's "ghost who walks." Interestingly enough, the obscurity of this role didn't seem to stop her from being linked to the proposed sequel that would come to prominence in 2008. But just as quickly as that franchise's return was announced, it was dashed in favor of a now defunct reboot. Still, it just goes to show that if you've lined up a franchise with Billy Zane in the lead, you'll probably want to work with him again, given the chance.

Kevin Smith -- Daredevil

Show us a bigger comic fan in Hollywood than Kevin Smith, and we'll show you either a liar. Smith has not only made his love for all things inked and traced well known, he's taken on some roles in comic properties just for the hell of it. The most obscure of those roles is, of course, as a coroner named "Jack Kirby" in Fox's Daredevil. With his appearance being nothing more than a cameo, Smith takes his place next to Stan Lee and Frank Miller as a comic writer who's made an appearance in the very comic that he's written for. Also, as a slight side-bar, we may never have had a Daredevil starring Ben Affleck if it wasn't for Smith convincing him to take the role, so take that as you may.

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Usually the phrase "studio notes" is one that makes cinephiles sneer. As they set out to make movies that appeal to the masses, studios are regularly regarded as some necessary evil that brings us great spectacle, but willfully dumbs down an auteur's vision. This might be a perception we get because stories about bad studio notes catch on way more often than those about good ones do. Regardless, it turns out studio notes made a major and positive difference on the ending of the much beloved Shawshank Redemption.

In commemoration of The Shawshank Redemption's 20th anniversary, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences held a celebration screening and Q&A at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. In attendance was the movie's writer-director Frank Darabont, as well as its stars, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. While sharing some insights on the film and its making, the trio dropped some shocking truths. Among them that studio notes saved The Shawshank Redemption from an ambiguous ending that may have been too much to take.

Adapted from the Stephen King short story "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption," the early drafts of the script ended with Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding (Morgan Freeman) taking a bus to Andy Dufresne's (Tim Robbins) long-strived-for sanctuary in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Meaning, Darabont's original intention was to leave the audience hanging as to whether or not Red would reunite with his friend Andy or not. As Darabont explains:

We can all agree with that, right? After seeing Andy be raped, beaten and brutalized, taken advantage of for his brain and body, forced to lose friends and his chance at legal redemption, we were owed that reunion. I mean, look at it. It's just warm enough to soothe our aching souls after so much misery, death and mayhem. Can you imagine if it just STOPPED at that bus riding down a rural road?

Excuse me a moment.

For more from this The Shawshank Redemption event, check out THR's rundown.

Twenty years ago this week, the film that we all know and love as The Shawshank Redemption was released in theaters. What started as a theatrical bomb that made little to no noise at the box office turned into a massive home video hit, a cable viewing staple for any good lazy weekend, and the top film on IMDB's top 250 list. What makes Frank Darabont's first motion picture in the director's chair different from any under-appreciated gem in the last 20 years of filmmaking is that for all intents and purposes, it's a perfect film.

Every line, every note, and every moment of The Shawshank Redemption hits you the exact same way that it did the first time you saw it. It's eminently quotable, memorably beautiful, and reads like an adult's bedtime story through the smooth voice of Morgan Freeman. Yet Shawshank's perfection lies not in the fact that everyone remembers a piece of it to call their own favorite moment, but it's the fact that there's such a wealth of moments to enjoy that when the film is mentioned in conversation, its genius is honored in so many different ways. In honor of the 20th anniversary of The Shawshank Redemption, here now are ten of the most iconic moments (besides the obvious choice of Andy in the rain after his escape) that make the story of Andy Dufresne a classic not only in age but also in storytelling.

This feature will contain numerous spoilers for The Shawshank Redemption. You have been warned.

Andy's Moment Of Weakness

We open The Shawshank Redemption with a good look at a drunk and desperate Andy Dufresne, played with expert style and brilliance by Tim Robbins. Drunk as all get out, and loading a gun to presumably kill his wife and her lover, we're shuttled back and forth between the night in question and the legal proceedings that will ultimately send Andy to Shawshank.

If this were any other film, those in charge would probably want us to know flat out that Andy didn't do it. Instead of taking that shortcut, Frank Darabont lets us mull over the possibility of whether Andy murdered the pair or not, so as to make it all the more rewarding when we take a shine to him, only to later find out that he is innocent.

Tommy Acquits Andy

As previously stated, the beginning of The Shawshank Redemption gives the prosecution and the audience a reasonable case to question whether or not Andy Dufrense was capable of murdering his wife and her lover. The state that he's in, matched with the icy demeanor he shows as he's put on trial work against Dufrense's defense, thus dooming him to his incarceration.

Yet one flashback/monologue ultimately acquits the character we've spent the entire film thus far identifying with, getting to know and like. In this acquittal, Frank Darabont not only acquits Andy of any wrongdoing, he acquits the audience for rooting for him. The mix of sorrow and joy is shared by both parties, and what happens after is just as equally invested between both sides of the screen.

Building The Library

Through dogged determination -- as well as a lot of paper, ink, and postage -- Andy Dufrense wages a one-man war with the government of the fine state of Maine. His endgame is to secure funds for the prison library, in hopes that the inmates will be able to enrich their minds and feel just a little bit more like free men in their time of imprisonment. Through one of the film's more comedic moments, his letters are ignored by the government, only to finally be answered.

When Andy Dufrense finds that answer (and it's monetary amount) unsatisfactory, he wages a second campaign that ultimately results in the library being given a regular amount of funding ($500 a year). Andy has proven yet again that he's a force to be reckoned with, and The Shawshank Redemption cements itself as a feel-good movie at its very core. Instead of hitting you over the head with its good deeds, it pokes some good-natured fun at them, while ultimately recognizing their importance.

Brooks' Final Days

As ultimately redeeming as The Shawshank Redemption truly is, it does have its fair share of tragic moments. One such moment is told through the eyes of Brooks Hatlen, a prisoner from the main gang we follow through Shawshank who is paroled after 49 years of institutionalization. While he makes his best effort, Hadlen ultimately can't handle the modern world and its fast paced ways.

With no support system and no help on the outside, Brooks ultimately takes his life after one last letter to his pals. At face value, this isn't a moment that would belong on a list like this; but I've chosen to include it because it develops the stakes of the film subtly. The whole time that Andy is yearning for his freedom from the walls of Shawshank, he's living among friends that fear that freedom because it could kill them faster than prison ever could.

Beers On The Roof

Morgan Freeman's role as Red is iconic for so many reasons. Chiefly among them the fact that his voiceover bathes the film's moments -- even the grimy ones -- in the glow of a bedtime story. One such moment that reflects this is the scene where, after Andy squirrels his way into the good graces of the guards on the roof of the prison, he and his compatriots enjoy an "icy cold Bohemia-style beer, courtesy of the hardest screw that ever walked a turn at Shawshank."

It's Morgan Freeman's voice over that ties this film together, both tempering the tragedy and enhancing the humor, but without going overboard on either side of the spectrum. More importantly, through this scene in particular, Red's retelling of Andy's story shows how the man he thought would crack first in his class of prisoners gave everyone he became friends with the hope and humanity that the prison experience took away from them. It's something that later saves Red's life, and in a big way.

Andy The Accountant

Andy Dufrense's usefulness as an accountant, as well as his tenacity, help keep him sane during his almost two decades in prison. In addition to keeping himself sane, it helps keep Andy in the good graces of guards that aren't even in the same prison as he is. After offering some free tax advice (that almost gets him killed), word spreads that Andy's a hell of a money man. In fact, the way that he works his tax magic for everyone and anyone, it's amazing that he wasn't already in prison on some sort of tax fraud charges.

Andy earns favor through his intelligence, and it you can see it make him so happy to be in charge of the guards that are in charge of him for once. If there's anything Andy values above all else in this world, it's his intellect; and his little accounting firm only helps keep him sharp. That sharpness comes in handy, as this not only gives him the cover for his escape, it also helps him net a huge chunk of cash to live on.

Andy Explains The Scheme

While working in his newly built prison library, Andy and Red discuss the financial scheme that he and Warden Norton are embarking upon with all of the kickbacks coming in to Shawshank Prison, courtesy of various public works projects. Red, curious as ever, wonders about the ins and outs of money laundering, as he's concerned about his friend's welfare.

With a smile on his face and a glint in his eye, Andy tells Red that it won't be he who ends up in front of a judge this time... it will be a phantom of a man that does. This moment is so infused with such child-like glee as Tim Robbins' Andy explains to Morgan Freeman's Red just how smart he is when it comes to cooking the books. Robbins' happiness is infectious, because not only does it flavor a standard moment of exposition for setting up the film's third-act twist, it's just so good to see Andy smile like a free man again.

A Day At The Opera

You know those moments where you share a movie or song you love with friends who've never experienced it before, and they turn out to be truly moved by its beauty? That's exactly what Andy attempts, and succeeds in doing, when he takes over the prison loudspeaker and plays "Duettino Sull' Aria from The Marriage Of Figaro, thus landing him in some hot water with the screws.

Andy Dufrense might be a culture vulture, but he's not above sharing with his friends inside. In fact, it helps him teach them the ultimate lesson about how to survive during their time in prison. It's the lesson that all of his actions throughout his tie in Shawshank have sprung out of: hope keeps a man alive. With art and the relative comforts of home, Andy manages to do just that for himself and all of his friends.

"His Judgement Cometh"

Throughout The Shawshank Redemption, Warden Norton (played by the always impressive "that guy," Bob Gunton) is equally a menace and a mentor to Andy. One moment he's swapping bible passages and allowing minor contraband in exchange for some minor money laundering, the next he's killing the only person that knows Dufrense is innocent in order to keep that operation going.

Yet the best moment in Warden Norton's arc has to be his attempted apprehension, and eventual suicide. Frank Darabont, in the injust and cruel world he created in the context of The Shawshank Redemption, manages to prove that even in an unfair world, the scales sometimes tip in the favor of the heroes. It is also a master class in building tension within such a fast-moving scene, especially coming off the high the audience should have experienced when they saw just how Andy escaped.

Thick As Thieves

If Red had killed himself at the end of The Shawshank Redemption, the whole film would have collapsed on itself. While a fair share of people who didn't deserve to die did just that, to have followed up the investment of all that time and energy into Red's parole hearings with a tragic suicide would have just crushed the audience like there's no tomorrow.

That's not the type of movie that Frank Darabont was setting out to make. Nor was it the type of story that Stephen King was setting out to tell in his original novella. The main thrust of The Shawshank Redemption is that no matter how wicked we are, no matter how far gone or ruthless people may see us, you can always turn it around with kindness and generosity.

It's no fluke that The Shawshank Redemption became a slow-burning hit after its home video release. Much like the prisoners who lived in the cells at the jail it told its story in, people believed in the story of Andy Dufrense and his pal Red. They've enjoyed the hell out of it for the two decades it's been around, and it looks like it'll still be going strong more than two decades from this very writing.

Frank Darabont managed one of those rare feats in Hollywood: he knocked it out of the park with his first at bat, and he has continued to impress ever since. The Shawshank Redemption will always be his crown jewel, as it has not aged a day since its first viewing. Like a freshly polished pair of shoes, it stands out if you know what to look for, and it serves you right. I'd ask when the last time you saw The Shawshank Redemption was, but in the spirit of the film and the metaphor, I'll as a more appropriate question. When's the last time you really looked at a man's shoes?

Some of us are still getting over the news that Stephen Merchant's underrated comedy Hello Ladies isn't coming back for a second season, but that's no reason we can't celebrate HBO's decision to move forward with another promising sounding comedy, which will star Tim Robbins and Jack Black.

THR describes The Brink as a comedy that centers on geopolitical crisis and the effect it has on three disparate and desperate men. Robbins is set to star as U.S. secretary of state, while Black will play a lowly foreign service officer caught in the middle of everything.

The series is being executive produced by Jerry Weintraub, Jay Roach and Roberto Benabib. Weintraub's likely better known for his feature work, having produced Ocean's Eleven (and its sequels), Vegas Vacation and all the Karate Kid movies (Parts I, II, III, Next and the remake). But he also produced Behind the Candelabra, which landed at HBO last year, so he's no stranger to the premium cable network. And neither is Jay Roach, who's also likely better known for his feature work but executive produced Game Change for HBO. It's actually Benabib who seems to have the most experience with TV series of this trio, having executive produced Ally McBeal and more recently, Showtime's Weeds. Benabib and his brother Kim are set to pen the script for the comedy, while Roach is on board to direct.

As for the stars, the mentioned trio of disparate and desperate men is one man short by my count, and with big names like Black and Robbins attached, it'll be very interesting to see who plays the third guy. In the meantime, as THR points out, Black and Robbins have worked together before, as Robbins directed Black in Dead Man Walking, and Robbins got involved in one of Black's Tenacious D ventures, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. So these two guys have some history. With that in mind, I'm going to throw a complete guess out there and suggest that Ben Stiller should be the third guy. Not only does he also appear on Pick of Destiny, but he also shares an Anchorman credit with both Robbins and Jack Black. He and Black were also in Tropic Thunder together. And Jay Roach produced and directed Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, which starred Stiller, so there are some little ties that add up enough to make me want to throw his name out there as a not-so-wild guess, even if it's a long-shot. Is it all that impossible? Sure, he's better known for feature work right now, with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty among his recent credits, and he has some other movies lined up, including Night at the Museum 3, but who knows? Maybe he's up for some TV. We'll hopefully find out who's playing the third man soon enough.

In the meantime, while we wait for more casting news on this one, I'll continue to grieve the cancellation of Hello Ladies. Also recently cancelled at HBO was Family Tree. Hopefully The Brink will have better luck with its first season when it airs.

A couple of months ago, we learned that Will Ferrell, frequent partner in crime Adam McKay, and several other Funny or Die guys were bringing an original series to IFC called The Spoils of Babylon. The parody of a television miniseries could potentially make a big impact for the little network and very well may, thanks to the all-star cast that has now signed on for The Spoils of Babylon.

The show has been greenlighted for six episodes at the network and will follow a fake book written by fake author Eric Jonrosh (Ferrell). The story will span multiple generations in the oil industry, also looking at multiple locations, from New York City to Texas. Because it will follow so many different storylines over different time periods, a large ensemble cast will be needed and on Monday, IFC announced a few of the names involved with the production. Tim Robbins, Kristen Wiig, Michael Sheen, Tobey Maguire, Haley Joel Osment, Jessica Alba, Val Kilmer, Steve Tom and Ferrell are all signed on to participate in the short series. You can read more about the The Spoils of Babylon, straight from IFC, below.

Production on the series actually began yesterday in Los Angeles, and The Spoils of Babylon is set for a 2014 premiere. With all of the talent involved in the series as well as a wild premise, the show should have no trouble attracting attention for IFC. Hopefully, it can even manage to find a broader audience than the network’s niche program, Portlandia, and will be able to put IFC on the map. We’ll let you know when IFC’s newest mini gets an official premiere date at the network.

It's been more than a decade since he last did it, but Tim Robbins is stepping back behind the camera again and he's bringing the mother-daughter duo from Tim Burton's Dark Shadows with him. The Academy Award-winning actor is now attached to direct and Chloe Moretz and Michelle Pfeiffer set to star in Man Under, a new indie drama described as being similar in tone to American Beauty and The Royal Tennenbaums.

Variety says that Robbins will also act in the movie, which follows a family from Yonkers that see their lives "changed forever when a photo of them ends up in the Museum of Modern Art." The script was written by Ann Cherkis, whose only previously produced credit is the 2007 film The Secret with David Duchovny and Lili Taylor.

After taking a few years off, Robbins returned to the film world in 2011 to play Senator Hammond in Green Lantern and in 2012 played roles in movies Thanks for Sharing and Back to 1942. He only has three other feautre directing credits in his filmography, including the aforementioned Cradle Will Rock, Dead Man Walking, and Bob Roberts.

While Dark Shadows was Moretz's only film title in 2012, she is set to have a big 2013, the standout titles being the Carrie remake and Kick-Ass 2. Pfeiffer also starred in Alex Kurtzman's People Like Us this past summer and will next appear alongside Robert De Niro in the Luc Besson mob drama Malavita, which is based on the Tonino Benacquista novel "Badfellas" and will be released on October 18, 2013.

It's barely a few weeks after the film’s announcement and already Odd Thomas is one of the most talked about film’s of 2011--or at least the one with the most news happening around it. The lead role has been given to Star Treker Anton Yelchin, who will play a short order cook who hangs out with ghosts and can sense when there’s bad juju around. Addison Timlin recently took a role once rumored for Lily Collins as Yelchin’s sidekick and girlfriend Stormy Llewellyn, and now even more casting news comes our way.

THR has it that long time actor and full-on BAMF Willem Dafoe is in talks to step into the role of the town’s police chief, the only person besides Stormy who knows about Thomas’s gift. This news comes just a few days after it was announced that Tim Robbins could also be joining the cast, though his role has yet to be revealed.

If Odd Thomas lands both of these actors, this will be the film to look out for in 2012. We’re all well aware of Yelchin’s ability, and Timlin gave strong performances in the indie drama Afterschool and Showtime’s comedy Californication; adding Robbins and Dafoe will only solidify the film’s cred. Keep an eye out for these confirmations in the coming weeks.

Welcome back to FlixWorthy, your weekly guide to Netflix streaming. Yet again we're bringing you a handful of new or notable selections from Netflix's streaming catalogue. Some will be classics, some will be little-seen gems, some will be shows you might have missed, and some...some will be crap so awful they simply has to be seen to be believed. Here's what's FlixWorthy this week, kids.

The Pillars of the Earth

(2010, TV-MA)

For those of you without Starz, here's your chance to check out one of the summer's biggest TV events. Starz has been promoting the hell out of this miniseries, which Ken Follett co-wrote with John Pielmeier (Agnes of God), based on Follett's best-selling 1989 historical novel. Centered around the decades-long building of a gothic cathedral in the fictional 12th-century English village of Kingsbridge, The Pillars of the Earth uses the focal point of the cathedral's construction to weave together a tapestry of civil war, religious strife, and the struggle to determine the future of Britain. The outstanding cast includes such talents as Ian McShane, Donald Sutherland, and Rufus Sewell as Tom Builder, the architect whose passion shepherds the cathedral through every challenge. With Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Starz has established itself as a major player, and The Pillars of the Earth further cements that reputation. If you're a fan of elaborate costume dramas or Shakespearean machinations, you'll find plenty to love in The Pillars of the Earth. The show is halfway through its eight-episode run, so you've still got plenty of time to catch up. You can read Kelly's review of the miniseries right here.

Double-Feature It With:

The Tudors

(2007, Not Rated, Two seasons available)

In many ways, The Tudors paved the way for The Pillars of the Earth, along with other elaborate historical dramas such as HBO's excellent Rome and Deadwood. Jonathan Rhys Meyers gives us an appropriately lecherous young King Henry VIII, long before he ballooned into a portly and bearded icon. The Tudors mixes political intrigue with a generous dose of soap opera, and the results are addictive. Only the first two seasons are streaming, but hopefully seasons 3 and 4 will be added at some point.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

(2009, Rated R, 94 min.)

The Men Who Stare at Goats finds George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou? mode, playing a role that deftly undercuts his leading-man looks and charm. In O Brother, he played the leader of a trio of well-meaning doofuses bumbling their way through a Depression-era retelling of Homer's Odyssey. In Goats, he plays Lyn Cassady, an eccentric who claims to have been trained by the United States government to be a psychic "warrior monk"...or, in the common shorthand, a Jedi warrior. After a chance encounter in Iraq introduces Lyn to journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan MacGregor), the two set out on a trip to track down Lyn's mentor (Jeff Bridges), whom Lyn believes needs his help. Along the way, Lyn tells Bob the history of the government's attempts to create an army of soldiers capable of remote viewing, walking through walls, and, of course, killing goats with their minds. Believe it or not, the movie purports to be based on real events, specifically events chronicled in the book of the same name by journalist Jon Ronson. Goats is uneven, but it's surreal, silly, and gains a lot of mileage out of its too-crazy-to-be-true concept.

Double-Feature It With...

The Hudsucker Proxy

(1994, Rated PG, 111 min.)

Not the Coen Brothers' most acclaimed outing, The Hudsucker Proxy has nevertheless attracted a cult following over the years -- and rightly so. Tim Robbins stars as well-meaning but naive mail clerk Norville Barnes, who stumbles into the CEO's chair of Hudsucker Industries after the corporation's patriarch leaps 45 floors to his death (counting the mezzanine). Screwball comedy of the finest sort unfolds, during which Norville invents the hula hoop and hotshot reporter Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) fast-patters with the best of them.

Stargate Universe

(2009, Not Rated, One season available, HD)

I've tried. Over the course of 13 years and multiple spin-offs, I have tried and tried again to get into Stargate. I missed SG-1's original premiere back in the Showtime days, owing to a lack of cable, but I tried it on DVD. I tried it when they attempted to entice us Farscape fans in by casting Ben Browder and Claudia Black. And yes, I tried again when SGU premiered last year. I've finally given up. Much as I like the original Stargate movie, whatever alchemy attracts me to that production just hasn't carried over to any of the series for whatever the reason. Maybe it's the lack of Kurt Freakin' Russell. Nevertheless, I've come to peace with the fact that the multifarious Stargate spin-offs just aren't for me...but they are for quite a few fans, given how the franchise continues to flourish. This latest incarnation aims for more of a Trek/BSG vibe, featuring a crew trapped aboard an ancient, runaway starship and having adventures along the way. Hmm, maybe it's more Lost in Space/Space: 1999 than Trek/BSG...

Double-Feature It With:

Stargate: Atlantis

(2004, Rated TV-PG, All five seasons available, HD)

If SGU appeals to you, you can also watch all five seasons of its predecessor series, Stargate Atlantis. If you want to get the full Stargate experience, you'll actually have to pop some DVDs into your player, because, with the exception of a few standalone movies, none of parent series SG1 is available streaming.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

(1975, Rated R, 100 min.)

Needless to say, watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show in your living room is going to lose a certain something. Unless, of course, you invite over a pack of costumed friends who know all the cues and appropriate things to shout/throw at the screen. On the other hand, you're much less likely to be pulled onstage and humiliated like the lowly "virgin" you are. Rocky featuring an insanely catchy soundtrack and a gleefully twisted storyline involving alien transvestites, cannibalism, and boot-knocking in nearly every conceivable combination. Tim Curry is at his Tim Curry-iest as the cross-dressing Dr. Frank N. Furter, chewing every bit of scenery in his most iconic role. Also along for the ride are Barry Bostwick as Brad Majors (ASSHOLE!) and Susan Sarandon as Janet Weiss (SLUT!). Look, you really ought to just track down a midnight showing of this thing if you've never had the full Rocky Horror experience, but if you're just looking for an excuse to sing along with the soundtrack, this is an acceptable substitute. Barely.

Double-Feature It With:

Cannibal! The Musical

(1996, Rated R, 90 min.)

Speaking of musical cannibalism, why not follow Rocky up with a musical about cannibalism called Cannibal! The Musical? Based on the tale of notorious 19th-century long-pig enthusiast Alfred Packer (played by South Park's Trey Parker), Cannibal! explores the lighter side of killing and eating your fellow man.

Swamp Thing

(1982, Rated PG, 92 min., HD)

We take our current comic-book renaissance for granted these days, what with our Iron Mans and our Dark Knights. We sometimes forget how many forgettable or outright horrible attempts were made during the last few decades to bring various comic-book characters to the screen. From Dolph Lundgren's unfortunate outing as The Punisher to The Hof's blasphemous attempt to channel Nick Fury, the track record prior to X-Men hitting was not a good one. (Although you should totally watch the god-awful '90s Justice League pilot if you can find it.) One of the many dubious entries on this long walk to respectability was Swamp Thing, horror maven Wes Craven's campy adaptation of DC Comics' shambling, eco-friendly plant man. Ray Wise stars as an unfortunate scientist who becomes Swamp Thing after an experiment gone awry, and who then finds himself facing off against rival scientist Anton Arcane (Louis Jordan). Adrienne Barbeau plays an inappropriately cleavage-y government operative so Swamp Thing will have somebody attractive to carry on the movie poster. In the right hands -- Alan Moore, Joshua Dysart -- Swamp Thing can be heady, compelling stuff. Wes Craven was perhaps not the right hands.

Double-Feature It With...

The Toxic Avenger

(1985, Rated R, 82 min.)

One goopy, green mutant deserves another. The Toxic Avenger introduced low-budget experts Troma's best-known character, a hapless janitor who gets dropped into a dump truck filled with toxic waste and then decides to fight crime. With a mop.

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