Ever since we learned Sunrise on the Reaping would not only be the latest Hunger Games novel but a film on the 2026 movie schedule, it shot straight to the top of upcoming book-to-screen adaptations I’ve been looking forward to. But how will the new Haymitch actor stack up to Woody Harrelson’s performance in the original trilogy? Well, the latest look at the movie proved why we should be very excited for newcomer Joseph Zada's take on the role.

Joseph Zada Opens Up About Playing A Younger Haymitch

In the Hunger Games movies, July 4th is both Haymitch Abernathy’s birthday and Reaping Day. In celebration of the notable day, Lionsgate just released an in-depth featurette (which you can watch above) about Sunrise on the Reaping, and it’s got me double-circling the movie’s release date on my calendar.

Joseph Zada was officially cast as Haymitch over a year ago, which he calls the “most life-changing experience” for him in the video. Can you imagine going from being a pretty much unknown actor to leading one of the most iconic franchises of the 21st century? With that question in mind, I totally get why he said the following about Woody Harrelson:

Zada is a 20-year-old newcomer who hails from Australia, and most recently starred in the Prime series We Were Liars last summer. Sunrise on the Reaping is no doubt his biggest part so far. So, he got candid about the pressure that comes with playing the character previously made famous by Harrelson. And I totally get why it would be an intense experience.

However, I’m getting more excited about his performance purely from seeing more clips from the film along with other cast members talking about it.

Why I Think Joseph Zada Will Be Spot On In Sunrise On The Reaping

After seeing this featurette, there’s one moment that really has me thinking Zada is going to do the role justice. Late in the new sneak peek, there are side-by-side shots of Zada and Harrelson giving a subtle nod that made me feel completely like I was watching a flashback of the same person. I know it’s a small thing, but it makes me think that Zada really studied his predecessor's performance and made sure to add some of his mannerisms throughout the movie.

The featurette also talks about how the movie will get into the rebellious spirit of Haymitch before he wins the Hunger Games and becomes Katniss and Peeta’s mentors. It's all in the details, and I see them coming to life in front of my eyes. Now, I feel really confident that Zada is going to get it right.

And, hopefully Woody Harrelson will get to return to the role, too, at the end of the movie. In the Sunrise on the Reaping book, an older Haymitch recounts his life, so I would love to see the actor come back as well. Plus, that would help hammer home the parallels between his original performance and Zada's take on Haymitch in this new movie.

Sunrise on the Reaping is set to come to theaters on November 20, so let the countdown begin!

I don’t know about you, but I’ll never forget reading George Orwell’s Animal Farm in high school. It’s one of those core-memory books I have because of how timeless the allegorical novella from 1945 is. Well, now Animal Farm is among the upcoming book-to-screen adaptations on the 2026 movie schedule, and the new trailer previews Andy Serkis’ approach to it.

Now, Andy Serkis has been working on helming an Animal Farm movie since back in 2012, originally as a performance capture movie. Ultimately, the director/voice actor decided to make it as a traditional 3D animated film geared toward ages 11 and up. While the previous trailer for it showcased the more lighthearted aspects of the film, this new look at Animal Farm (in the video above) offers perhaps a more balanced showcase of how the classic is being handled.

The movie starts with a group of animals thinking they are “going on vacation” before they realize they’re being sent to a slaughterhouse and rebel against their humans. Just like the novella, they decide to take over the farm for themselves, thus calling it “Animal Farm.” Once they do so, they have to decide how the farm will be ruled. Two pigs ultimately assume command and start to adopt rules on the farm that create inequality among the different animals, thus becoming a dictatorship.

While there’s definitely some cute family-friendly elements to this Animal Farm that may seem off-kilter to those who read the novella, this new look seems to skew closer to the source material. About halfway through this trailer, you can see how some of Animal Farm’s residents start to be treated unfairly. Though there is a key difference to note in this Animal Farm, with the protagonist being a new character, a piglet named Lucky, who decides to “rebel” against the dictatorship.

The animated film was initially going to be produced by Netflix back in 2018, but was ultimately made by Cinesite, Aniventure, and Imaginarium Productions. It is being distributed through Angel Studios. The movie boasts a star-studded cast, with Seth Rogen as Napoleon, Gaten Matarazzo as Lucky, along with Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Steve Buscemi, Laverne Cox, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, and Iman Vellani among the voice cast.

Per a press release by Angel Studios, the producers of this Animal Farm worked closely with George Orwell’s estate to “intentionally” reimagine “certain roles and character identities to broaden the film’s appeal to younger audiences.” When speaking about his film, Serkis said he wanted this version of the classic to “feel contemporary and genuinely connect with younger audiences”.

Previously, Animal Farm was adapted into movies in 1954 and as a live-action movie in 1999. This new Animal Farm is coming to theaters on May 1.

True Detective had a lot of success after its inaugural run with many talented actors attached, and yet people still yearn for Season 1. While it can still be easily streamed via HBO Max subscription, it seems people want more of Matthew McConaughey's Rust Cohle and Woody Harrelson's Marty Hart. Before McConaughey started rumors that the characters may get back together, the duo went into how filming that dynamic impacted their personal friendship.

Harrelson and esteemed Emmy winner Ted Danson brought McConaughey on as a guest for their podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Name, which led the White Men Can't Jump star to recall his initial distaste for the specific way McConaughey played his chain-smoking investigator. Harrelson even said he wanted to punch his buddy in the face, mainly because the entire time they were on set, he wouldn't break character to fall back into his usual personality. As Harrelson put it:

Fortunately, Matthew McConaughey didn't let his acting partner's angst rattle him, and continued to embody Rust Cohle during and between scenes the way he saw fit. The result was a critically acclaimed season that, more than 10 years later, still stands the test of time as one of the best modern crime television stories.

McConaughey remembered Harrelson's frustration during production, and even recalled a conversation they had about Marty and Cohle's dynamic. Although his paraphrasing of Harrelson's words at the time are far more eloquent and verbose than simply stating the wish to smack his co-star in the face. As McConaughey put it:

McConaughey went on to point out that when watching True Detective, however, Marty's reaction to Cohle's bizarre behavior or cryptic sayings becomes a source of comedy in the series. It had me wondering if Woody Harrelson's actual frustration with his friend in as much on the screen as Marty's own emotions, which I think is what the actor was getting at.

This isn't the first time that either actor has spoken about this, as Harrelson told the same story back in 2022. I think it's funnier to hear it a second time years later, because it adds authenticity to how angry Harrelson was at the time.

Those waiting to see Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey get back together for another project are in luck. The duo is slated to star in an Apple TV+ series, Brother From Another Mother, though it's been a while since we've seen updates on it. In the time since its announcement, we've learned that the actors may actually be related, but that's not what the show is about. It may be a while before we learn more about it, as development paused in 2025 after Deadline reported the showrunner exited. Could it be because a True Detective reunion is on the way?

All we know right now is that True Detective Season 5 is coming to HBO in 2027. I can't wait to see who is ultimately involved in the next chapter of the true crime series, and if we will get a callback to the actors who first got the show rolling.

Matthew McConaughey has the kind of persona where he always seems to be projecting seriousness, while also always seemingly a split-second away from breaking into full-face grins. As such, it can be hard to tell when the actor is in a no-bullshit frame of mind and when he’s actually just pulling everyone’s leg. And when the concept is “possible follow-up to True Detective’s highly acclaimed first season,” one wants to be damned sure there’s no leg-pulling involved.

True Detective Season 5 is on the way from showrunner Issa López, with Nicolas Cage reportedly heading up the cast, but the Rust Cohle portrayer stoked the mystery drama’s fandom with an Instagram post alongside former co-star Woody Harrelson and T.D. creator Nic Pizzolatto. It’s the caption that really sends one’s imagination back to Carcosa. Check it out!

So many ways to take the phrase "original band." Or wait, no, it's mostly just the one way that directly points at Rust and Marty's dysfunctional relationship being explored anew. Or maybe even that McConaughey and Harrelson would be playing completely different characters, where one of them may opine that time is another type of flat shape.

For all that I'd love to cannonball dive right into this speculation, the logistics side of my brain can't let go of the idea that this post is nothing more than a moment in time where three friends stood together for a picture that has no bearing on the future. (Which Nic Pizzolatto's wife, musician Suzanne Santo, apparently took, per her comment.) The former showrunner himself spoke to idea that McConaghey was just blowing smoke, saying:

True Detective rumors are going to spread even without any actual former co-stars involved, so that's less of an issue to me. I'm more concerned with all the fans out there who see this without having that nagging sense of logic tamping down expectations.

Just look at this smattering of fan reactions, which came between endless Rust Cohle GIFs and "alright, alright, alright" chants.

• BRO DON’T GIVE ME HOPE 😭😭😭
• don't. don't give me hope. my heart just can't. please don't.
• Please don't play with my feelings...
• Don’t tease us … but also do
• WHAT DOES THIS MEAN
• Bring Rust and Marty back, please 😭😭😭😭
• Peak holy shit
• this is what the fans wanna see

In all the comment-scrolling, not once did I see a single reaction that could be viewed as negative. (Save for the takes where fans called Season 1 the only one worth watching.) Obviously social media comments aren't anything for HBO execs to base programming decisions on, but I have to think that another True Detective season with McConaughey and Harrelson would rank among the highest-rated originals in the network's history. (More so if they worked dragons into it, maybe, but not really.)

Of course, to go that route for a possible sixth season, HBO would possibly need to take the reins away from Issa López after Season 5, and that doesn't seem like it could happen amicably without agreements from all parties. So even if it is real, it's still complicated and not coming very soon.

Harrelson and McConaughey signed on to co-star in a completely different kind of TV show, the reality-skewing Apple TV+ comedy Brothers, which taps into the actors’ dovetailing bloodlines. However, back in June 2025, production was suspended reportedly for creative reasons, and it’s unclear what’s happening with that project currently.

Stream all four seasons of True Detective via HBO Max subscription, and stay tuned for more info about the next big case.

James L. Brooks has had a celebrated career, co-creating classic series including The Simpsons and directing movies like As Good as It Gets and Terms of Endearment, which won him an Academy Award for Best Director. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like they can all be great. Ella McCay is the latest project from Brooks, hitting the 2025 movie calendar on December 12. Critics have seen the political dramedy, and their reviews are pretty harsh, calling the movie “borderline abysmal” and a “sloppy slog.”

Ella McCay is set in 2008 and stars Sex Education’s Emma Mackey as the title character who suddenly is appointed governor. As she navigates her new position, she faces challenges including a potential scandal and accidentally getting high on her brother’s edibles. Playing on one of the director’s hits, Nick Schager of the Daily Beast calls it “as bad as it gets,” and, according to Schager, that may be wittier than anything he saw in Ella McCay, which is lacking charm but full of generic, hokey idealism. He continues:

Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post jests, “My kingdom for a Spanglish!” as he rates Ella McCay 1 out of 4 stars, calling it “cheesy and interminable.” It’s depressing, Oleksinski writes, that such a talented director could give us something so “cloying and empty-headed.” He continues:

David Rooney of THR says he possibly speaks for most critics when he acknowledges how painful it is to lambaste the work of such a beloved titan of the entertainment industry. His hope is that Ella McCay is quickly forgotten in order to avoid tarnishing James L. Brooks’ legacy. Rooney writes:

Courtney Small of Exclaim! says Ella McCay is drunk on nostalgia, stumbling across numerous conflicts but failing to explore any of them. According to the critic, the movie “preaches the importance of finding the strength to have honest and healing conversations, but has nothing of note to say.” Small continues:

Meanwhile, some critics are able to find the James L. Brooks charm. Pete Hammond of Deadline hopes that audiences will give this unassuming and all-too-rare throwback comedy a chance. The director has once again created a richly interesting and conflicted woman, and the critic thinks audiences will see a star being born in Emma Mackey’s performance. Hammond continues:

While some are finding the good in the classic filmmaker’s first movie in 15 years, the majority seem to have trouble getting past a tonal imbalance, an outdated sense of idealism and nostalgia for 2008-era politics. It currently holds a 22% on Rotten Tomatoes from 45 reviews.

However, if this sounds like the boost your holiday needs, and you want to see Emma Mackey tackle the gubernatorial world, Ella McCay arrives in theaters on Friday, December 12.

Ever since I read Sunrise on the Reaping, I've been wondering about whether one of the most hyped of upcoming book adaptations coming out on the 2026 movie schedule would go back to its roots and include Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson's Peeta Mellark, but I figured it would be a secret Lionsgate would hold close to their vest until release weekend. Well, thanks to a new report, we know it's apparently already a done deal. The District 12 tributes of the 74th Hunger Games are heading back to the big screen.

The Hollywood Reporter says it has "confirmed" that the two actors will make appearances in the next Hunger Games movie following the pair leaving the franchise a decade ago with Mockingjay Part 2. As a longtime fan, I'm very happy to hear this news, but now that it's here I do have two things on my mind.

Will Woody Harrelson Join Them?

Harrelson famously plays Haymitch in the original Hunger Games movies, and his character is the subject of Sunrise on the Reaping after all. I'm so perplexed that we've heard about the return of Lawrence and Hutcherson before his name coming up first. You can hear his voice briefly in the Sunrise on the Reaping trailer below, but I've been curious if he'll be narrating the story, or will he show up when Katniss and Peeta do.

From a practical point of view, Sunrise on the Reaping already sounds like a very expensive film from the casting before adding Lawrence and Hutcherson. It's got the likes of Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee along with Glenn Close as a new character named Drusilla Sickle, among others.

Will Their Role Be Bigger Than It Is In The Book?

This is where we get into SPOILER territory for the Sunrise on the Reaping book.

In the latest prequel, Katniss and Peeta are included in the storyline, but merely in the epilogue when the story jumps to present day. Since the movie got these two, I have to wonder if there will be more in the movie to pay tribute (pun intended) to the character's legacy, or if it will be a short cameo like the book.

The original Hunger Games saga had its finale with 2015's Mockingjay Part 2 where Katniss put an end to the Games and ended up settling down with Peeta and their kids. In the Sunrise on the Reaping book, once the tragic events of Haymitch's Games are told, the story jumps forward in time where the character can find some joy in helping end the Games as her mentor, and counts Katniss and Peeta as his family.

The report suggests they will likely in a "flash-forward", before saying "No details have been disclosed". We'll find out for sure once Sunrise on the Reaping hits theaters on November 20, 2026.

It’s been nine years since we last saw Daniel Atlas and his crew use their magic skills to pull off a heist, and now they’re back for Now You See Me, Now You Don’t. The third movie in the Jesse Eisenberg-led series hits the 2025 movie calendar on November 14. Combining magic with a good heist movie made for a lot of fun in the first movies (horrible plot twists notwithstanding), and the cast is bursting with talent, both old and new. But does that translate into positive reviews? Let’s see what the critics have up their sleeves.

Work on Now You See Me 3 started 10 years ago, and the three-quel has gone through changes in screenwriter and director over the years. Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer ended up landing the gig for another project with Jesse Eisenberg, who is rejoined by Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher as their characters recruit some new illusionists to assist in a big diamond heist. And according to Caroline Siede of AV Club they all seem to be having a blast. She gives the movie a B, saying:

Mark Kennedy of the AP says the old gang’s still got it, and the future is in good hands, as Now You See Me 3 introduces a trio of Gen Z illusionists, played by Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa and Ariana Greenblatt. The critic appreciates this offering not relying on CGI as much as the 2016 sequel, rating the movie 3 out of 4 stars and writing:

Owen Gleiberman of Variety says it’s a worthy continuation of the franchise, and Jesse Eisenberg is “gripping” as the leader of the Four Horsemen. Daniel Atlas? Try “Danny Ocean reborn as a terse megalomaniac of illusion.” Gleiberman continues:

Chris Hayner of Polygon, meanwhile, says the trick of Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is actually being played on the audience. The movie isn’t actually a sequel but a reboot that’s seemingly passing the torch to a new generation of Horsemen. In the end, it’s a fine movie, the critic says, despite flaws like replacing magic with puzzles. In Hayner’s words:

Eric Goldman of IGN gives it an “Okay” 6 out of 10. As with the two that came before it, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t coasts on the charm of its ensemble cast but never fully realizes the potential of its concept. Goldman says:

Well, it sounds like Now You See Me 3 definitely has some issues, but regardless, Jesse Eisenberg and company are still game to entertain audiences. The movie currently stands with a 64% Rotten Tomatoes score, but if the first two movies are any indication, the audience will likely rate the movie higher than critics.

If you want to refresh yourself on the first two movies (or if you, ahem, didn’t realize there were two other movies) they can both be streamed with a Peacock subscription. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t hits theaters on Friday, November 14.

Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson set the box office on fire with their 1992 sports comedy White Men Can’t Jump. However, there is another sports comedy from even earlier in their careers that I think is just as funny: Wildcats from 1986, which you can watch for free on YouTube. It doesn’t hurt that the star of the movie is the legendary Goldie Hawn, who plays a high school football coach who is discriminated for her gender and takes a job at a rundown high school with a team full of misfits, led by Harrelson and Snipes’ characters.

Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson Are So Young!

Wildcats is the first credited movie role for both Harrelson and Snipes. It's, well, wild that two soon-to-be superstars debut together. It was also only the third credited role for the great Mykelti Williamson, who would break out many years later as Bubba in one of the best movies of the ‘90s, Forrest Gump. If that’s not enough, future SNL star, the late Jan Hooks, also pops up in one of her first roles (after Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, of course). LL Cool J even has a cameo as a rapper just as his career was taking off. They all seem like kids, even if both Snipes and Harrelson were in their mid-20s playing high school students.

The young cast is joined by some serious comedy veterans. Along with Goldie Hawn, there is also Swoosie Kurtz as Hawn’s sister, Bruce McGill as Hawn’s ex-boss and rival coach, and the late, great Nipsey Russell as the inner city school’s loquacious principal. Russell is especially funny here, and his recurring joke about selling peanut brittle as a fundraiser for the school is something I still quote all the time, all these years later.

Goldie Hawn Is Wonderful

The star of the movie, in every way, is, of course, Goldie Hawn. Her take on a talented, yet under-appreciated football coach is simply hilarious and fantastic. She has just enough toughness offset by her vulnerability that her character is completely believable. She walks the line between confidence and doubt brilliantly. Like every great Hawn role, though, it’s her comedic timing that makes the movie so damn funny.

Wildcats kicked off another high point in Hawn’s stellar career after working selectively in the early ‘80s as she took time from work to raise her young kids, Oliver and Kate Hudson. Her next movie would be Overboard a year later. How this one gets lost in her filmography, I’ll never know, because it was truly one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. If there is one legitimate complaint about Wildcats, it’s Hawn’s character being a “white savior,” but that really doesn’t take away from the humor of the movie.

It’s rare that a movie that features a cast of up-and-comers like Wildcats doesn’t get a lot of attention, but with the movie streaming for free, now’s a good time to revisit this underrated comedy. It might not be one of the best movies of the ‘80s, but you can decide for yourself if it should be more lauded like I do.

After years and years of waiting, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t will finally be released on the 2025 movie schedule this fall. It will also return with almost all of its original cast, too, as Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco are all back as the Four Horsemen, along with Morgan Freeman and some new faces. We got to see all of them in action in the new trailer as well, which got me all kinds of excited.

However, it also left me with a question about Mark Ruffalo’s character and how he could be involved in this third Now You See Me movie.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t's Second Trailer Shows The Old And New Cast In Action

Now, the trailer opens with Woody Harrelson’s hypnotist Merritt McKinney explaining why the Four Horsemen haven’t worked together in a long time. He notes that they tripped up a few times, saying:

However, now they’re back together and back in action. They also have some new people working with them, as Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblat and Justice Smith have joined the cast as the new (and younger) magicians in the crew. While it’s not explained how exactly all these folks come together, we know it happens, and that they’ll all be working on a mission to stop Rosamund Pike’s Veronika Vanderberg.

So, yeah, it's pretty epic to see Jesse Eisenberg and Dominic Sessa in an upside-down room, Dave Franco throwing cards and being upstaged by Ariana Greenblatt’s character while trying to pick a lock, and some epic sleight of hand. It’s everything I want in a Now You See Me movie.

A highlight of the trailer, in fact, was when we learned about Pike’s character and her money laundering schemes. As that was explained, we also got a peek at the heist they’re seemingly trying to pull off, which included Eisenberg’s J. Daniel Atlas holding up a diamond after making the one in Veronika’s hand explode.

Although, while I love seeing the Horsemen back in action, I can’t help but wonder if Mark Ruffalo’s Dylan Rhodes, the man behind the tricks, will be involved somehow.

Could The Calling Card Used In The Trailer Have Anything To Do With Mark Ruffalo’s Character?

In the first two trailers for Now You See Me 3, we have not seen Mark Ruffalo. He’s also not featured or named on the film’s poster. However, according to Variety, he will be returning. So, if he’s coming back, I have a feeling it will have something to do with the Tarot card referenced in the trailer, as J. Daniel Atlas said in reference to it:

In the first Now You See Me (which you can currently stream with a Netflix subscription), Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Woody Harrelson’s characters are brought together with Tarot cards. It’s then revealed later in the film that the man who orchestrated that was Ruffalo’s Dylan Rhodes, the FBI agent who had spent the movie seemingly trying to catch them.

So, I’m now wondering if this new card that brought the magicians together was sent by Rhodes. If it was, that would explain how Mark Ruffalo is involved in the third Now You See Me flick. However, as of right now, we still really have no clue if he’ll appear.

But we do know the Now You See Me cast is thrilled to be back, and that there’s an epic plot twist in Now You Don’t that even Jesse Eisenberg was ticked by. So, I have a feeling that no matter how Mark Ruffalo comes or doesn't come into play will be surprising and very entertaining.

So, to see the Four Horsemen and co. back in action, and to see if the man who put them together returns, you can catch Now You See Me: Now You Don’t in theaters on November 14.

There are a lot of exciting things happening on the 2025 movie calendar these days. Superman is kicking off the DCU, fast zombies are a thing again in 28 Years Later, and I couldn’t be more excited for the upcoming Naked Gun reboot. I’m also intrigued by the heist movie Now You See Me: Now You Don’t that’s coming in November, and I’m actually really embarrassed that I’m only finding out now that it’s the third movie in a series.

I think I’ve been tricked. It’s the only explanation. Allow me to explain how I came to realize that the Jesse Eisenberg flick has two predecessors, as well as how finally checking out the first movie (available via Netflix subscription) affected my opinion of Now You See Me 3.

I Was Interested In Now You See Me: Now You Don’t Without Even Knowing About The Previous Movies

In my defense, if the three-quel were actually called Now You See Me 3, this wouldn’t have been an issue. This story won’t do much to prove otherwise, but I’d consider myself a fairly intelligent human being. However, this movie is called Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. (The colon is a bit of a hint, but the title in the trailer did not include the colon, and honestly, with movie titles these days, you can never really tell.)

The trailer for the upcoming heist movie played when my daughter and I went to see Jurassic World Rebirth. Admittedly, I didn’t pay too much attention to it, because I don’t like when previews give too much away. I saw Jesse Eisenberg surrounded by a great cast, I saw heists, I saw magic. Sold. That’s all I needed to know … so I thought.

When I returned home, I was recalling the trailers we’d seen — The Running Man remake, The Odyssey teaser, Wicked: For Good — and I mentioned Now You See Me: Now You Don’t to my husband (a fellow CinemaBlend employee) and asked him if he’d heard of it. That was when he broke the news to me: Two other magic heist movies had come before. Not only that, but apparently he’s seen them both and mentioned them to me several times.

*Starts playing air violin to prove I’ve been hypnotized by Woody Harrelson’s Merritt to forget such things.*

How Did Now You See Me Pull Off This Disappearing Act In My Memory?

It seems ridiculous that I hadn’t heard of 2013’s Now You See Me and 2016’s Now You See Me 2. The really annoying part is that I did know about Isla Fisher almost drowning in a water stunt and heard colleagues discussing why the third movie has another water tank scene. I just didn’t know what movie they were talking about.

I have to admit, with this ensemble cast — Jesse Eisenberg, Morgan Freeman, Dave Franco, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher and more, many of whom are apparently returning for Now You See Me: Now You Don’t — it’s actually unreal that I never paid this movie any attention.

My only guess — outside of sorcery, which I’m sticking with as my official defense — is that in the years that both of those movies came out, I had infants in the house. I was barely sleeping and was consumed by a different job that was not as conducive as my current one to keeping me in the know about fun movies about magic.

Quick Note From The Aforementioned Loving Husband

• "While I can safely say with confidence that I'd suggested both the first and second NYSM movies to Heidi around the time of their respective releases, I can also speak to the fact that both of our children were slightly more attention-worthy than any Hollywood directors' efforts at the time. To her credit, I probably couldn't pick the second movie's plot out of a lineup, while I could easily pick at least one of our children out of that same lineup. "

Also, apparently my Netflix algorithm hasn’t been given the information it needs to know that heist films — especially ones with horribly ridiculous plot twists like we get in Now You See Me — are right up my alley. Hopefully I’m on my way to remedying that situation, because I have now watched the 2013 installment of the Four Horsemen’s hijinks, and it made me even more excited for what’s to come.

After Finally Watching The First Movie, I Can’t Wait For The Second And Third

Just in case anyone else is as thick-headed as myself and somehow missed the memo (or rather, saw the memo that was sent multiple times but still threw it away, as some might contend) that a decade ago an all-star Hollywood cast put out two perfectly binge-worthy heist movies revolving around magic, I’m going to keep this spoiler-free. I will, however, say that I understand why some moments from Now You See Me still bother people. Also, I really don’t know what the ending with the carousel was all about.

Absolutely none of that has done anything to dampen my spirits about the second and third movies. I don’t need my heist movies to be realistic any more than I need to know how a magic trick was performed. In fact, if magic is the point of the heist movie, being able to explain everything that happens could suck the fun right out of it.

I may not be able to explain how the Now You See Me 3 trailer is my first conscious awareness of this franchise, but I have to believe there are others out there like me. Maybe there are people who are unfamiliar with the 2013 movie but are just excited to see any film that reunites Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson with Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer (that alone is reason enough for me to buy a ticket).

Or maybe you also saw the three-quel’s trailer at a showing of Jurassic World Rebirth and thought it sounded like a blast, even if it felt a little like the Four Horsemen’s story was starting in the middle. You can actually check it out below:

Whichever way you've come to the movie, now that we’ve taken off our blindfolds and awoken from our hypnotic trance, there’s plenty of time to get caught up before Now You See Me: Now You Don’t arrives in theaters on Friday, November 14.

Whether you’re watching for the first time or need a refresher on those wild plot twists, both Now You See Me and Now You See Me 2 are available to stream on Netflix.

As a longtime Hunger Games fan, Sunrise on the Reaping has been my most anticipated of the upcoming book-to-screen adaptations since it was announced (and all the SOTR casting news that even the lead actor is learning about as we are is only elevating that feeling). But, I’ll admit it took me some time to finish the book. Now, I’ve finally read Suzanne Collins’ new dystopian novel cover to cover, and I’m going to need something related to the original trilogy to happen in order to make it through seeing the book’s tragic ending on the big screen.

So, I Just Finished Sunrise On The Reaping, And I’m Not OK

I absolutely loved this installment of the Hunger Games books, but wow, does it end with an arrow through the heart. A young Haymitch hasn’t even processed watching a number of his friends die in the arena (including the particularly heartbreaking death of young Ampert) when he becomes the Quarter Quell victor. And once he returns home, things only get worse. First, he watches his childhood home burn to the ground while his Ma and brother Sid are inside the house.

But then here's the real kicker. He reunites with his love, Lenore Dove, after being worried and missing her during the whole game. They have one beautiful moment where they are back together and happy, but then Lenore takes a bite of a gumdrop that turns out to be laced with poison, courtesy of the Capitol, of course.

Haymitch watches her die, and lives with the guilt that he didn’t check them before allowing her to eat them. Sure, I’ll admit I’m morbidly excited to see how it’s translated for the movie, but my goodness, is the ending dark. I’m already bracing myself for a chilling Ralph Fiennes performance with the actor set to play a middle-aged President Snow.

So, considering all that, I'm going to need the movie to feature that epilogue scene too, which is where the direct Hunger Games connection comes in.

I’m Going To Need The Epilogue In Order To Cope With The Ending, And That Means Three Original Hunger Games Actors Need To Return

Thankfully, Collins included an epilogue in Sunrise on the Reaping that follows Haymitch closer to the age we initially got to know him as after the events of the original Hunger Games trilogy. He's gone through a lot of pain, but he's also seen the end of Panem’s violent tradition thanks to his mentee Katniss leading the rebellion as the Mockingjay. We learn he shares his story with Katniss and Peeta, and a day later, Katniss shows up at his door with Peeta and goose eggs so that he can keep them in memory of his lost love.

I honestly needed the levity of the epilogue in the book to help me recover from all the trauma Haymitch deals with as a teenager, and I absolutely need it to happen in the movie now as well.

This would mean Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson would need to come back to make a cameo at the end of the movie. And while there are some cameos that I don’t find necessary, I think seeing this scene in the movie would allow audiences to experience the levity the book's epilogue provides. Audiences would get to feel Haymitch’s full-circle journey of how his intense experiences ultimately were not for nothing, while ultimately helping tie up Sunrise on the Reaping as a story.

I don't expect Lionsgate to announce this publicly, but now I'm counting on it. Lawrence, Harrelson and Hutcherson seem to love each other so much that it would have to be a no-brainer, and how cool would it be to see them back together again as their iconic characters?! Either way, the movie doesn't come out until November 20, 2026, and it'll take that long for me to emotionally prepare.

For over a decade, since the first Hunger Games movie came out, the role of Haymitch Abernathy has belonged solely to Woody Harrelson. However, now that one of the upcoming book adaptations is a prequel called Sunrise on the Reaping that explores the character’s own Hunger Games experiences as a teenager, newcomer Joseph Zada has been cast as a young Haymitch alongside a dream cast including Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close and more. Ahead of the movie soon filming this summer, yes, Zada heard from the original Haymitch.

The New Haymitch Actor Has Heard From Woody Harrelson

Joseph Zada has been promoting his new series We Were Liars recently, and with that, we’ve learned a lot more about the actor’s experience so far with being the new Hunger Games lead. For one, he told CinemaBlend that he’s learning about the cast the same way we are after being put through the ringer to get the role. Here’s what Zada said about connecting with Harrelson:

Even though Harrelson isn’t one to use a phone, Zada told Vanity Fair that he’s received a message from the actor’s niece to communicate his support for him taking on the role after him. How sweet is that?

Wait.. Why Doesn’t Woody Harrelson Have A Phone?

If you’re wondering why the heck a movie star like Woody Harrelson doesn’t have a phone, the actor actually talked about it last year on his podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Name (via THR). While in conversation with his co-host and Cheers co-star Ted Danson, revealed the piece of information before Harrelson expanded on why. Here’s his take:

Harrelson apparently gave up having a phone around four years ago because he realized he would spend way too much time on it. As he continued:

Hey, I’m sure a lot of us can relate to that! And as proved by what Joseph Zada said about his interaction with Harrelson, the actor still takes the time to communicate with people even if he doesn’t have his own phone. Woody Harrelson’s role in The Hunger Games movies is one of his best roles, so it’s great to hear he’s happy about the pick!

There are all kinds of exciting upcoming 2025 movies I’m looking forward to as we soon enter the second half of the year, but since the Now You See Me movies arrived for those with a Netflix subscription I’ve been getting more amped for the third movie, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. When I caught the trailer this week, I wasn’t expecting it to call back to a dangerous stunt from the original film. I need to talk about it.

That Time Isla Fisher Almost Died Filming Now You See Me

Have you heard the story from Now You See Me regarding the water tank scene? Well, I was recently reminded of the story behind it when I came across an old interview on Instagram. Here’s what Isla Fisher told On Demand Entertainment when she was on the Now You See Me press tour:

As you may recall, early in the 2013 movie, Isla Fisher’s magician character of Henley Reeves performs an escapist act where she attempts to get out of being handcuffed in a water tank in under a minute before piranhas are unleashed on her. During the scene, Fisher fakes out the audience by pretending there’s a problem and banging on the glass. Here’s what happened when Fisher really felt trapped in the tank in her words:

I can’t even imagine! There’s been a lot of actors who have incidents while filming movies, but this one is especially scary because she actually could have died if the crew never caught on that she wasn’t acting, but really needed help.

So Why Does Now You See Me 3 Have A Water Tank Scene, Too?

That brings me to what we know about Now You See Me 3, which is officially called Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. The movie’s first trailer dropped in late April to introduce what to expect, which is the return of The Four Horsemen, consisting of Jesse Eisenberg’s J. Daniel Atlas, Woody Harrelson’s Merritt McKinney, Isla Fisher’s Henley Reeves and Dave Franco’s Jack Wilder.

This time they’ll be teaming up with a younger group of magicians played by Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa and Ariana Greenblatt for a heist involving the world’s largest queen diamond from a family crime syndicate. Check out the trailer below:

If you look closely at around two minutes, you’ll see that there’s a scene being previewed where not only Henley, but all the Horsemen are dropped into a water tank and one shot calls back to the original with Fisher’s character banging on the glass. The trailer shows that the Four Horseman definitely finds a way out of the tank somehow, but I’m so curious about how the stunt was accomplished and how Fisher felt about the whole thing after her traumatizing moment on the set of the original.

It is kind of sweet that all the other main leads did it with her, and I'm excited by the scene, I've got to say. But I need to know more about how and why another water tank scene got written and approved after the hullabaloo surrounding the first movie’s stunt. Anyways, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t hits theaters on November 14, 2025.

Spoiler Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Last Breath. If you’ve yet to watch the rescue thriller, please return to the surface and check it out with a Peacock subscription before going any deeper.

There are quite a few 2025 movies I’ve been able to take in on the big screen this year, but I haven’t been able to see everything I originally planned to catch in theaters. That’s the case for Last Breath, the “stressful” survival thriller about a saturation diver being separated from his crew during a massive storm on the North Sea. I did get to watch it at home when the film made its streaming debut, and while I did enjoy it, I still can’t help but feel like I missed out on something grand.

Don’t get me wrong, this white-knuckle thriller based on a true story starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole checked all the boxes, left me on the edge of my seat, and had me pacing around my bedroom a few times. However, there were a handful of intense scenes that would have been even better had I made time to catch this on the biggest screen possible.

Chris And David's Attempt To Reach The Diving Bell Was Probably So Intense On The Big Screen

Before the ship malfunctions and Chris Lemons (Finn Cole) is sent to the bottom of the North Sea with only minutes of oxygen in his suit, the saturation diver and his partner, David Yuasa (Simu Liu) are sent to conduct scheduled maintenance on several gas lines 300 feet below the surface. But, a routine task soon becomes anything but when the ship’s positioning system goes haywire in the middle of a storm, meaning they only have seconds to get back to their diving bell or risk being left at the bottom of the sea.

This sequence, which comes about 30 minutes into Last Breath, is a terrifying race to safety as the two experienced divers attempt to reach the bell and go back to the surface. I was on pins and needles watching from the comfort of my own home, I can only imagine how extreme this had to have been in a dark theater with a massive screen.

But the movie was just getting started…

The Moment Chris' Line Snapped, Pulling Him To The Seabed, Had To Have Been Terrifying

Though the Last Breath trailer (and all the TV spots) heavily teased the moment Chris’ line breaks just before he can reach safety and is flung to the bottom of the sea, the sequence didn’t lose any of its intensity when I was watching the new movie streaming on Peacock. In fact, knowing that it was coming, but not exactly when, made the whole sequence all the more nerve-wracking and exciting, to say the least.

I was watching this all go down in my bedroom as I folded laundry on a Sunday afternoon (this is a perfect Sunday afternoon movie, by the way), so I can only imagine how nightmarish it was seeing it while surrounded by strangers on my local AMC Theaters’ Dolby Cinema screen. I would have been jumping, biting my nails, and stress-eating a box of Milk Duds by that point.

I Would Have Loved To Have Experienced The Deafening Silence Of Chris' Attempt To Reach The Manifold

Another moment I think would have been great on the big screen was the sequence in which Chris is at the bottom of the sea, trying to make his way back to the manifold so he can await rescue. Though not as action-packed as the rest of the film, this short segment has a deafening silence and sense of dread that’s honestly breathtaking (no pun intended). Stuck in a state of fear, contemplation, and doom, this short sequence of events was one of my favorite parts of the entire movie.

There are those moments in theaters where everyone is stuck in a state of silence as the music and background noise of the movie fades away that are just so enchanting, and I’m sure this would have been no different.

The Whole Race By The Bridge To Get The Ship Operational Had Me On The Edge Of My Seat

Like other disaster films from the past, Last Breath isn’t solely focused on what’s going on below the water. Throughout the movie, we’re thrown onto the bridge of the ship with Captain Andre Jenson (Cliff Curtis) as he and his crew attempt to save Chris from ending up dead on the bottom of the sea while also preventing an environmental disaster by accidentally disrupting an underwater gas line.

This whole section of the movie, which is cut with footage of the underwater operation and Chris trying to survive without oxygen or a tether to the diving bell, is exhilarating, to say the least. Multiple characters get time to shine and attempt to save lives (both under and above the water), which adds a dizzying yet satisfying element to the story. My TV’s speakers aren’t what they used to be, so I’m sure the whole series of events was even more chaotic while watching the movie the way it was meant to be seen.

I Can Only Imagine How I Would Have Reacted To Those Terrifying Shots Of The North Sea

I know I keep talking about the North Sea, but have you all watched any real-life videos from the massive and dangerous body of water connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the English Channel? Just go onto TikTok, X, or any other social media platform and you’ll see what I mean. Throughout the movie, the sea is treated like a monster, one that is trying to claim the lives of anyone who enters its turbulent and frigid waters (two degrees above freezing, according to one character).

Sunny or stormy, day or night, it doesn’t matter; the North Sea is formidable throughout the film, and I cannot imagine how ferocious those swells looked and felt in a theater with state-of-the-art picture and sound and not a 42-inch Samsung from 2013. Breathtaking doesn’t even begin to describe it.

I Would Have Loved To See How Audiences Would Have Reacted To David Rescuing Chris At The End

One of my favorite parts about going to a movie is listening to the audience talk about it as they walk out. Good or bad, these comments help me figure out how people in general receive the movie. I would have loved to hear what folks had to say about this thriller, especially when it came to David rescuing Chris at the end of the movie.

I don’t think it would be on the level of Cap saying “Avengers… assemble” in Avengers: Endgame’s epic battle sequence, but I bet it was awesome and received at least one cheer and some clapping scattered throughout the theater. Instead, it was just me jumping up and knocking over laundry while my cat stared at me before going back to sleep.

All in all, I’m glad I finally watched Last Breath, even if I didn’t get to enjoy it in its original format. Though it’s not my favorite movie of the year so far, it was a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Since we heard that The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is among upcoming book adaptations, we've been curious about who could play a young Haymitch Abernathy after Woody Harrelson debuted the role in the original trilogy. Well, the day is finally here, and while the actor is an unknown, I totally see the resemblance to Harrelson.

As reported by Deadline, Joseph Zada has been cast as Haymitch alongside Whitney Peak, set to play Haymitch's girlfriend, Lenore Dove Baird. Check out the announcement:

While there's been a lot of talk about who could be cast as Haymitch since the movie has been confirmed in the works, The Hunger Games is continuing what has done well along, which is casting unknowns and jumpstarting new careers. (I mean just look at Jennifer Lawrence!) Plus, it'll be easier to immerse ourselves into the Hunger Games origin story if we are not overly familiar the actor – oh, and he looks like a dead ringer for a young Woody Harrelson.

If you've never seen Joseph Zada's face before, you're not alone. The actor is just getting started in Hollywood. So far, he's already filmed two other book adaptations, but they just haven't been released yet. Zada's set to be in the We Were Liars for Amazon Prime, coming June 18, and he'll also be in Netflix's East of Eden TV show alongside Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist.

As mentioned earlier, playing Haymitch's girlfriend and a member of Covey, just like Rachel Zegler's The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes character, is Whitney Peak, who got her own announcement post as well:

The 22-year-old was most famously in the Gossip Girl reboot as Zoya Lott for two seasons before the series was cancelled. She also starred in Hocus Pocus 2 alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Midler.

At the top of the month, the official logo for Sunrise on the Reaping was unveiled at CinemaCon along with new details from director Francis Lawrence. He called the upcoming movie a "return to form" for the franchise, especially since the second Quarter Quell is much closer on the timeline to Katniss and Peeta's games.

While Suzanne Collins has shared that she thought about having the book include a Woody Harrelson-aged Haymitch narrate the story, she ultimately decided it would have been "harder to pull off" the story from his reflective perspective. So the jury is still out regarding whether Harrelson will be in this version in any capacity.

Now that the production has cast its leads, there's a lot more great characters for the movie to cast next, like Mags, Drusilla (basically Effie from Haymitch's games), Plutarch Heavensbee (previously played by Philip Seymour Hoffman), Coriolanus Snow and Beetee Latier.

We can't wait for so much more casting news to roll out. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is set to hit theaters on November 20, 2026.

The No. 1 bestselling novel right now is currently one of the most exciting upcoming book adaptations being made into a movie, and I can’t wait for casting announcements to start to drop. I’m of course talking about the next Hunger Games prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, which is set to hit theaters in fall 2026. After the director shared new details about it at CinemaCon this week, he revealed the reason why we don’t know who’s playing young Haymitch yet.

During the Lionsgate CinemaCon Panel on Tuesday in Las Vegas, Francis Lawrence, who has helmed all the Hunger Games movies prior except for the first, unveiled the movie logo for the new movie along with talking about how it will be a “return to form” from the trilogy. However, it’s a bit surprising that the production wouldn’t use the event as a moment to present the movie’s lead, isn’t it? Here’s what Lawrence had to say:

When the filmmaker spoke to Entertainment Tonight backstage at CinemaCon, he shared that they hadn't been able to get started on casting the role of Haymitch until a couple of weeks ago due to the novel not being out yet. Now that the book is out in the world, the proverbial handcuffs are off, and we should expect to find out who Haymitch will be in the prequel very soon. Francis Lawrence also shared:

Lawrence had the chance to work with Woody Harrelson’s memorable portrayal of Haymitch during the original Hunger Games movies when the character was an advisor to Katniss and Peeta. This time, audiences will get to see Haymitch’s heartbreaking Games during the second Quarter Quell for the big screen, and it has all sorts of connections to the original books.

Months prior to the novel being released, fans have already been trying to fancast the character, with House of the Dragon’s Tom Glynn Carney being a popular pick. We’ll certainly have to wait and see. When it came to the previous Hunger Games movies, a mix of unknowns and established stars have been cast in the franchise before.

In Sunrise on the Reaping, Haymitch is 16 years old, so they are looking for a much younger actor than some of the ideas out there. The movie is set to hit theaters on November 20, 2026. Over the next few months, we expect to learn a lot more about the cast.

While most upcoming book adaptations happen years after the release of a given novel, the latest Hunger Games book was announced at the same time as its movie counterpart last summer. Suzanne Collins’ novel has been in fans’ hands for just a little less than three weeks at this point, and many are still emotionally processing the full story behind Haymitch Abernathy’s Hunger Games. Wildly enough, though the author recently provided some really interesting insight into the book's development.

I know I certainly imagined a reality where Sunrise on the Reaping was told from the perspective of the Haymitch introduced in the original Hunger Games trilogy. Suzanne Collins just shared that she actually considered going in that direction. As for why she decided to write the novel from a teen Haymitch’s point of view, she said the following:

After they check out her interview with Scholastic Books, some fans may find it interesting that Collins did indeed spend some time writing Sunrise on the Reaping from an older Haymitch’s perspective. Had she gone in that direction, it could've had a major effect on the upcoming film. It could've theoretically meant that the movie would be narrated by Haymitch actor Woody Harrelson.

Ultimately, I can understand why she decided to forgo the "older" approach to the story and frame it in the same way she did for Katniss Everdeen and Coriolanus Snow's arcs.

The author's approach makes sense given Sunrise On The Reaping and all the Hunger Games books are written for a young adult audience. (Of course, members of any other demographic can certainly pick up the books as well.) Perhaps a 40-year-old drunkard wouldn’t necessarily be as appealing to readers aged twelve to eighteen… or their parents.

While speaking about the book, Suzanne Collins was also asked how writing the book perhaps changed her perspective on the character of Haymitch. As she shared:

Collins also talked about how she enjoyed the chance of pace from Snow, who is a character she called “endlessly manipulative and controlling”. She described Haymitch as a tribute with a much “greater capacity for hope and love and joy” than even Katniss.

The writer's sentiments about the Hunger Games book are especially interesting after CinemaCon’s Lionsgate panel, during which new details about the movie were divulged. Amid that event, it was said that the upcoming flick will apparently be a “return to form” to the original trilogy for director Francis Lawrence.

As of this writing, fans are still waiting to learn who'll play young Haymitch following Woody Harrelson’s performance. On top of that, the Lionsgate production may also cast younger versions of Katniss’s parents, Caesar Flickerman, Plutarch Heavensbee and Coriolanus Snow for this Hunger Games movie. Ultimately, I'm glad Suzanne Collins landed on this specific direction for the book, and I'm hopeful that it all translates well to the adaptation.

You can read Sunrise on the Reaping now, and know that the movie is set to hit theaters on November 20, 2026.

As one of the best TV sitcoms of all time, Cheers’ legacy continues to reign supreme, and a lot of that is due to the Boston bar’s cast of characters. ​And, of course, there’s no reminiscing about the cast without mention of Ted Danson or Woody Harrelson. On that note, when the latter joined the cast in Season 4, the rest of the actors, including Danson, went from competing against to pranking their newest member. Now, The Good Place actor has revealed why their plans pivoted from challenging Harrelson to regularly trying to pull a fast one on him.

The longtime friends and past peers are reliving the best of Cheers with their popular podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name. During an interview with director James Burrow, he praised what a great addition Harrelson was to the iconic series. Danson quickly agreed, noting that it was his youthful energy that riled up the rest of his male co-stars. While that annoyed them at first, they eventually came to terms with it, as Danson explained:

The onboarding of Woody Harrelson eliciting this dynamic from the 30-something Ted Danson and company makes complete sense. As he describes, the realization of knowing you’re no longer in your 20s can make you do wild things, especially when there is someone that age in front of your face. But when no one could outdo that newcomer, the cast of Cheers got creative with how they razzed him.

As mentioned, the men pivoted to pulling pranks on the actor who played Woody Boyd. Regardless of when a gag was hatched, it was always saved for the 25-year-old. And though it all sounds like chaos on set, Danson recalled loving the fun of it all, and it was thanks to his podcast co-host:

While the conversation of their attempted Harrelson antics isn’t anything new, it’s great to know the countless behind-the-scenes bits were all good-spirited and birthed an undeniable kinship between the pals. Of course, the feeling shone through the rest of the cast of lovable drinking buddies and workers, too. Plus, this chemistry was one of the things that was undeniable to audiences and fans.

The silly signature and magnetic styles of these actors still radiate through their individual careers, too, including Harrelson's many films and Danson's hit A Man on the Inside, which was renewed for Season 2 and is available to stream with a Netflix subscription.

I'd like to think these antics behind the camera between Danson, Harrelson and co. aided the longevity of Cheers’ success. At the very least, it makes it clear that these folks had a grand time working together for so long. Now, learning about the competitive prank pipeline tidbits makes me want to use my Paramount+ subscription to commit to a rewatch and return to the bar where everybody knows your name.

This week, Hunger Games fans have been blessed with another installment of Suzanne Collins’ franchise with Sunrise on the Reaping. With the new novel already soaring to the top of bestseller lists, Lionsgate is in tandem currently working on the movie being one of the upcoming book adaptations with a 2026 release set. But now that fans are opening the pages of the new novel, how are things going with the movie? A producer has just shared the latest.

Nina Jacobson, who has been a vital part of the Hunger Games movies from the beginning, recently spoke to Variety about what’s going on with the Sunrise on the Reaping movie since it was announced to be coming last summer. In her words:

Sunrise on the Reaping marks the first time a new book from Suzanne Collins has been announced at the same time as its book adaptation – which is rather rare in of itself. During Jacobson’s interview, she shared that soon after Collins was done with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, she called her and said she had “another book” and she wanted the producer to “read it” and tell her whether she thought “it’s a movie or not.”

Jacobson read the novel at Suzanne Collins’ agent's house before Hunger Games franchise director Francis Lawrence also read the book in the same top secret fashion. Jacobson said she was “on the edge” of her seat “crying” while reading it. Obviously, from there Lionsgate made a deal with Collins to get rights for the new novel, and now they are in the pre-production phase of the process.

Ever since the book and movie was announced, fans have been curious about who could play the role of Haymitch after Woody Harrelson. Jacobson also spoke to the casting process:

Hunger Games fans have already been on the case when it comes to fancasting the role, with House of the Dragon’s Tom Glynn Carney being a favorite, along with Cobra Kai’s Tanner Buchanan having the best response to having his name being thrown out as well. As fans get heartbroken over Haymitch’s origin story in Sunrise on the Reaping, we can’t wait for more news to come out regarding the title.

It won’t be long until we meet the young Haymitch. The movie adaptation is set to be released in theaters on November 20, 2026.

The best true-story survival movies have a way of captivating audiences and making them wonder what they would do and how they would react to similar dire situations. Moviegoers will get the chance to do that when Last Breath — starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu and Finn Cole — hits the 2025 movie calendar February 28. Critics have had the opportunity to screen the film ahead of its release, and their opinions are split on how suspenseful it actually is.

Last Breath is the remake of a 2019 documentary of the same name by the same director, Alex Parkinson, and it tells the harrowing story of the three saturation divers who run into trouble 300 feet below the surface when a storm causes their positioning system to fail and Chris Lemons’ (Finn Cole) tether to the vessel is severed. As terrifying as that scenario sounds, Eric Eisenberg says in CinemaBlend’s review of Last Breath the tension fails to translate to the screen. He gives the “shockingly boring” movie 2 out of 5 stars, writing:

Gregory Nussen of Deadline agrees that the film lacks urgency, saying that as astonishing as Chris Lemons’ survival is, the narrative telling of it is lacking in almost every way. Nussen writes:

IndieWire’s David Ehrlich says there’s not much depth to the Last Breath, and it’s creatively redundant, with its 2019 documentary. However, as a “simple but suspenseful” genre exercise, it works because some situations are so unbelievable they belong in a Hollywood script. He grades it a B- and says:

Indeed, some critics got exactly what they wanted out of the survival flick. Emma Stefansky of IGN rates Last Breath a “Great” 8 out of 10, writing that it’s full of inspiring moments of human endurance, made only better by the fact that it’s a true story about a fascinatingly tough job. Stefansky continues:

Mae Abdulbaki of ScreenRant couldn’t look away from this “gritty, grounded thriller,” praising the way it trusts the audience to engage in its humble storytelling without glitzy action sequences. The critic was on the edge of her seat the whole time and also gives the movie an 8 out of 10, writing:

It seems the critics agree that the divers’ tale and efforts to rescue Chris Lemons are worthy of being told, but they don’t necessarily agree on how well Last Breath accomplishes its goal of roping audiences in. If this story sounds like one you want to hear more about, the movie hits theaters on Friday, February 28.

I don’t consider myself a stickler when it comes to defining the parameters of genre, but I also think that each one comes pre-packaged with expectations if not outright promises. If a movie calls itself a romance, I think it’s fair to anticipate that the story will feature two or more characters falling in love. If a movie calls itself horror, I sit down in the theater bracing myself for scares. And if a movie calls itself a thriller, I assume it will make every attempt to raise my blood pressure and keep my ass balancing on the edge of my chair.

So allow this to be my formal complaint about director Alex Parkinson’s Last Breath and its genre classification. The new film certainly has markings of a thriller – it’s based on a true story of survival and has life-or-death stakes play out hundreds of feet beneath the ocean – but there are exactly zero thrills to offer. It adapts the details of a harrowing event and provides audiences with a look into the dangerous world of being a saturation diver, but it’s also shockingly boring in doing so and fails to translate the terrible tension of the reality on the screen.

Parkinson previously directed the documentary of the same name from 2019, and while I admit that I have not seen that feature, I’m left imagining that the feature adaptation must hone extremely close to the facts, as it’s the only logical excuse for why the new film is as dull as it is. It features some extremely talented actors in key roles, but their personalities never evolve beyond tropes, and the film is wholly lacking in compelling narrative developments after the inciting incident. Last Breath thankfully doesn’t overplay its hand, its final cut being a brisk 93 minutes, but it’s not an entertaining way to spend an hour-and-a-half.

Finn Cole plays Chris Lemons, a young man employed in one of the world’s most dangerous jobs. He is a saturation diver, which means that he is trained to perform long term deep-sea operations, and he is tapped for his first mission to do maintenance on an oil pipeline in the North Sea. He is teamed with Duncan Allcock (Woody Harrelson), a veteran and paternal figure who is being forced into retirement following one last job, and David Yuasa (Simu Liu), a stoic who keeps his colleagues at a distance. After days of preparing their bodies for the literal pressure of their job, they set off to the repair site.

While Duncan stays in a diving bell secured to a support vessel on the surface, Chris and David plunge to the ocean floor. Everything goes wrong when the support vessel’s dynamic positioning system fails during a storm, and as the ship begins to drift, it results in Chris’ umbilical tether being severed. David is able to make it back to the diving bell, but his colleague is left at the oil pipeline with an extremely limited air supply. Every minute counts in finding Chris and getting him to safety, which sounds thrilling… but it’s really not.

Reality is treated as a strength by Last Breath, but it’s very much a weakness.

When filmmakers discuss diversions from reality in the making of movies “based on a true story,” the general excuse is that they aren’t making a documentary; there should be a natural understanding from the audience in the making of any narrative feature that some liberties are taken. It’s kind of a cop out, but I very much wish that there was more of that energy in Last Breath, as this is a case of the details of the true story ultimately failing to be cinematic.

I went into my screening not knowing anything about the real events that the film is based on, but being the veteran moviegoer that I am, I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to be watching a story about a man who, despite the best efforts of his colleagues, tragically died on the floor of the ocean as a result of a technical failure. This in mind, my hopes for entertainment instead rested on being surprised by the inventive and compelling maneuvers by the supporting characters that would result in the protagonist being saved. This expectation was never satisfied. The most “interesting” thing that happens in the rescue mission is a crew member of the support vessel (Josef Altin) going into a server room and rewiring some cables so that the dynamic positioning system will take seconds to reboot instead of an hour. It’s a snore.

Why cast Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu if you’re not going to let them do anything?

One would think that the casting of charismatic stars like Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu would be utilized as a remedy for this narrative issue, as any conflict can be compelling if you deeply care about the characters living through it – but this is just another one of Last Breath’s shortcomings. In describing Duncan and David above, I wasn’t being purposefully brief or tactful in saving surprises for the big screen; there simply isn’t anything else more to their presented personalities. One is a blend of affable and wistful as he mentors Chris and says goodbye to a profession he loves, and the other is emotionally cold, but reveals passion in the effort to save his colleague. Harrelson and Liu (not to mention Cliff Curtis, who plays the personality-less captain for the support vessel) are capable of much more, but there is nothing for them to do with the material.

Last Breath features some interesting cinematography at least.

In collaboration with director of photography Nick Remy Matthews, Alex Parkinson utilizes diverse cinematography that adds layers of realism, with mounted cameras inside the atmosphere-adjusted pods and video from diving suits, and there are some stellar-looking sequences. The best of the runtime is following Chris after he has been untethered and is making his way back to the oil pipeline repair site – his only source of light being a flare that illuminates the water with a nightmarish red shade. It’s beautiful… but also far too brief.

I have nothing but sympathy for the trauma endured by the real people depicted in this story and respect for the rescue efforts, but as harrowing as the true events must have been, that tension is simply not properly translated as a narrative feature in Last Breath. Not all tales of rescue and defying impossible odds are cinematic unto themselves, and this film exists as proof.

There are a lot of things to love about the Saturday Night Live reunion specials, but I think my favorite random little one might be the A-list audience. Most SNL episodes are full of randoms absolutely stoked to be there, but SNL 40 and last night’s SNL 50 have crowds full of former hosts, massive stars and ex-cast members. It makes the crowd interaction bits that much more fun, as we saw last night with a Q&A segment, numerous audience cut-tos and my favorite, a ridiculous Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte song that trapped Jenna Ortega and Kevin Costner in the middle.

I have absolutely no idea if Ortega and Costner were in on the bit. People on social media were just as confused as I was, but watching the two Hollywood stars being bumped into and pushed together by Sudeikis and Forte, who were dressed up Times Square favorites a pimp and a cartoon character, was something else. Check out this madness below, which was part of a John Mulaney tribe to New York City musical sketch…

This clip is barely twenty seconds long, and it’s overflowing with things to discuss. Let’s just run some of them down real quick. 1) I love Jenna Ortega’s face when her personal space first starts to get invaded. She calmly moves her shoulders and head more to the center, thinking she solved the problem and having absolutely no idea Sudeikis is just gonna eat that space up like they’re playing Risk. 2) I love Kevin Costner calmly putting on his glasses like he doesn’t have a care in the world. There’s no rush or hurry. It’s like he needs to get them out to do a crossword puzzle on a lazy weekend morning.

3) I love Jason Sudeikis literally hitting Jenna in the face with the back of his hand. It’s like he decided to just take the bit as far as possible and literally push her face. He doesn’t do it hard, but it’s just flagrantly disrespectful and leads to some more fantastic facial reactions. 4) I love the various celebrity reactions you can see around them. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is just eating up every second of this sketch. Chris Rock is watching with his arms folded like a judgmental former cast member, wondering where the bit is going. Woody Harrelson and Jason Momoa look weirded out in a bemused way, which feels on brand.

You could go on and on. I’ve watched the clip like 10 times, and I’ve found new things to make me smile every single time. Fortunately, you could say the same thing about much of the rest of the night. SNL 50 was slammed with absolute legends of the sketch comedy game and Hollywood royalty having the best time. Some of them crushed their bits. Others flubbed lines in amusing ways, and some looked uncomfortable as they were crushed between Sudeikis and Forte who were so committed to the bit they didn’t even seem to notice.

SNL hasn't announced any of its upcoming hosts yet, but it'll return on March 1st with a regular episode. Fingers crossed they'll just keep rolling with all the fun cameos by former stars the rest of the season though.

Ted Danson has never been one to shy away from being humorously candid on-screen and off. With characters like Sam Malone from Cheers and Frasier to Michael in The Good Place, he’s always ready to bring something new to the table. So when you think about it, there’s no surprise he revealed recently that an A-list co-star's "[vegan] farts" used to clear a scene.

Simu Liu was interviewed by the Cheers alum along with Woody Harrelson, on their aptly named podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name. The trio discussed Liu and Harrelson’s new movie Last Breath which you can find on our 2025 Movie Release schedule.

Liu shared some details of the various levels of intensive training the two went through in prepping for the film, including what to do if the equipment stopped working while underwater. After marveling at the commitment of the other two, Danson continued to ask about other stages they worked on within the film. He then injected an acrid anecdote that involved Harrelson:

Leave it to Sam ‘Mayday’ Malone to resurface some interesting tidbits about Woody Boyd and share some insight into their past relationship. The story gave the podcasters and Liu a good laugh, and a slight insight into Harrelson’s habits today–which Liu attests sound better than they did. If you’re interested in heading back to or visiting the bar where everybody knows your name, you can stream Cheers if you have a Hulu subscription or Paramount+ subscription.

For those interested in current watches with Danson, keep an eye out for Michael Schur’s A Man on the Inside with our 2024 TV Schedule coming to Netflix in November. Catch some big hitters like Bored to Death or The Good Place available with multiple streaming platforms if you have subscriptions.

Woody Harrelson fans probably already know about his 2024 films Suncoast (available to stream with a Hulu subscription or Disney+ subscription) and Fly Me to the Moon (available to rent on streaming services), both of which are out. This coming year will bring a lot more projects for the Zombieland alum, including Last Breath.

If you can’t wait for the Last Breath, you can catch Liu in multiple television and movies in 2024 like Jackpot! and Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, with more on the way in 2025. He’s continued to grow exponentially in his career, spanning just over a decade. We can’t wait to see where it heads for him, maybe something with Danson?

It’s good to know that Harrelson’s flatulence hasn’t been anyone's "last breath" and all are alive to tell the tale. We look forward to the more candid moments between the two podcasters and the deep sea film that lies ahead.

Back in 1994, audiences witnessed arguably Robert Downey Jr.'s most engaging film and role of the entire decade, with respects to Chaplin, in the form of Oliver Stone's wildly chaotic mass-murder romance Natural Born Killers. Downey's enjoyably over-the-top performance as tabloid TV journalist Wayne Gale is on par with the film itself, and he's spoken up about just how blitzed he'd get during the production.

Technically, the Natural Born Killers oral history from Esquire goes into detail about quite a few cast members being under one influence or another during the production. But it's the future MCU Doctor Doom who seemingly put himself in the roughest positions when it came to getting the job done.

The Oscar-winning actor talked candidly about a worst-case, anti-FOMO scenario that formed when his decision to get ripped colldied with a filming schedule shift for the big prison interview that led to the deadly riot. As Downey put it:

Without going into too much speculation about what might have been included in that "vitamin" booster that he was given, I can attest as a viewer that it did the trick. Especially as a younger viewer first watching Natural Born Killers in the '90s, I never would have guessed that the prison interview was such a miserable experience for RDJ. Whatever ups and downs his sobriety took during that shoot, it all fits amazingly well within Stone's madcap reality. (Who knows how it would have fared with Quentin Tarantino's fued-sparking original screenplay still intact?)

It speaks to Robert Downey Jr.'s professionalism that the production didn't have to trash that entire day of filming the way that things may have gone for other actors in that position. He continued his reflection by pointing how prepared he already was going into that scene, even if everything happened hours earlier than expected.

I can imagine how stressful it might have been for the cast and crew that day, not quite knowing how things would go with Downey, and then hitting that endpoint (presumably) without any outright disasters happening. It might still be worth applauding in some of their minds.

For all that it turned out to be a success, though, I will still happily go the rest of my life without having a similar experience if possible. So I guess it's a "good" thing I don't have any big Hollywood movies coming with Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis? Wait, maybe there is a bit of FOMO for me to gnaw on....

To rewatch Downey's performance, or to see it for the first time, Natural Born Killers can be streamed now with a Netflix subscription, and for those who enjoy Oliver Stone's darker instincts, read why you should watchThe Hand, his 1981 horror film co-starring Michael Caine and Andrea Marcovicci.

Ever since it was announced that another Hunger Games prequel was on the way, fans have been wondering who could play a young Haymitch as he becomes a tribute in the 50th Hunger Games. As an exciting casting rumor currently circulates about Sunrise on the Reaping, fans are wondering if another fan-favorite character could be showing up in the 2026 release.

New Rumor Claims Mike Faist Has Been Cast In The Hunger Games Prequel 

On the Hunger Games Reddit, one fan took to the franchise’s board to share a viral piece of information from Production Weekly about Sunrise on the Reaping. The source is a production resource that offers updates on projects in development. In a screenshot from the subscriber-based site, Challengers’ actor Mike Faist is “mentioned for the male lead.”

Mike Faist is a 32-year-old actor who was one-third of the trio of Challengers alongside Zendaya and Josh O’Connor as Art Donaldson. Faist has actually been in two 2024 movies already, starring in The Bikeriders as well. You may have also seen him in West Side Story as Riff, or on stage in the Dear Evan Hansen musical or the West End production of Brokeback Mountain.

Faist’s Casting Rumors Is Inspiring Ideas For The Return Of Another Great Hunger Games Character

When one thinks about Sunrise on the Reaping's male lead, of course the first thought goes to the role of Haymitch, who has yet to be cast. Fans have been putting up their thoughts left and right though, with House of the Dragon’s Tom Glynn-Carney perhaps taking up the role being the current most popular pick. Now, Faist does look like an actor who could play Haymitch. He shares a certain likeness to Harrelson and would be amazing in the part. However, the actor is also in his 30s, and Haymitch will be 16 for the Games.

Due to this, some fans are throwing out another name as the male lead of Sunrise on the Reaping Faist could play: Plutarch Heavensbee. Yes, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Plutarch Heavensbee. In the original Hunger Games movies, Plutarch is the head gamemaker after Seneca Crane before being revealed as a member of a rebel group that plans to overthrow the Capitol. In the Mockingjay movies, Plutarch works with Katniss to do that, and during the ending of the Hunger Games movie, they are victorious.

We don’t know if Plutarch Heavensbee will actually even be in Sunrise on the Reaping at all, but between Mike Faist’s rumored casting and the fact that the character would be alive and around the Capitol, fans are suggesting he could be a mentor in the Capitol. Faist could also look like a young Hoffman as well!.

This is all rumors and guesswork for now, but it has us thinking about what’s in store for Sunrise on the Reaping. Suzanne Collins’ novel will hit bookshelves on March 18, 2025, and the movie is set for release on November 20, 2026.

There has been a lot of talk about "nepo babies" over the last few years, and while it may seem like every actor has famous parents. That is hardly the case though, of course. Many of our favorite actors come from much more humble roots. So let's celebrate those stars with this list of actors who came from blue-collar backgrounds. 

Sarah Jessica Parker

Growing up in Ohio Sarah Jessica Parker had a huge family, with seven siblings and step-siblings. She's talked about how there were times her parents struggled to pay the bills and were even on welfare for a time. Though her mom ran a nursery and her stepdad was a truck driver, they still found a way to support Parker's show business dreams and eventually moved to New York so she could star on Broadway. 

James Dean

James Dean is one of the most tragic stories in Hollywood history, and his upbringing was pretty rough too. His father left when he was a toddler and his mother supported the two of them as a single mother during The Depression. That is until she passed away when Dean was only nine. He moved to Ohio and lived with his aunt and uncle where things stabilized for him. After graduating high school, he moved to LA and embarked on his all-too-brief career. 

Maisie Williams

Though she found fame at early age with Game of Thrones Maisie Williams' family struggled when she was younger. She was raised in a council house (public housing in the UK) until she was cast in the hit HBO show at age 12. 

Jeremy Strong

Jeremy Strong may play a scion to one of the wealthiest families on TV in Succession, but in real life, he had a much more humble upbringing. Strong grew up in the blue-collar area of Jamaica Plain in Boston and his father was a guard in juvenile jails in town. Eventually the family moved to the more upscale town of Sudbury, where he went to high school and discovered acting. 

Samuel L. Jackson

For most of his career, Samuel L. Jackson was a blue-collar actor working as much as he could. That makes with his upbringing as the son of a single mother who worked in a factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Shania Twain

Shaina Twain is best known as a country singer, of course, but she's done a little acting over her impressive career as well. It's a career that has taken far away from her humble roots outside Toronto, Ontario, where the family struggled. Those struggles led to her finding gigs as a singer at a young age and the rest is history.

Samantha Morton

Samantha Morton had a rough upbringing in the UK. Nine of her formative years were spent in foster care when her parents, who were addicts, weren't able to care for her. She had a couple of scraps with the law herself but started getting acting work in her teens and it all came together. 

Dolly Parton

There is no more revered person in Hollywood (or Nashville) than the great Dolly Parton. She's often talked about her humble beginnings in rural Tennessee as one of 12 children. She has always praised how her mother kept the family together through hard times and when Parton was 18 she moved to Nashville and hit the big time pretty quickly as a songwriter and a singer. 

Adam Driver

Megalopolis star Adam Driver moved around a lot as a kid, living all over from San Diego to Indiana. His stepfather was a Baptist preacher, but he was mostly raised by his mother in Indiana. After the September 11th attacks, he joined the Marines and served, like many other actors have over the years, for a few years before being discharged for a medical reason and starting his acting career. 

Al Pacino

Al Pacino grew up mostly in the South Bronx, and anyone from New York can tell you that the South Bronx in the '40s and '50s was a tough place to live. By his own admission he got in trouble a lot, as often happens with kids with hard working parents. Even as a actor early in his career he couch-surfed with friends until he started landing gigs regularly. 

Dax Shepard

Dax Shepard's family experienced the American Dream, according to the actor and podcast host. His mom worked at GM while he was growing up near Detroit and the family struggled, but as he got older, his mom's career grew and she moved up the ranks from janitor to executive, so by the time Shepard was in high school, she was quite successful. 

Ice Cube

Any fan of N.W.A. knows about Ice Cube's roots in South Central LA as the son of a janitor and a groundskeeper. As a result of desegregation, Ice Cube had the opportunity to get bussed out of Compton and out to the suburbs, where he thrived in English class, something he would make good use of later in life as the principal lyricist for one of the most successful rap acts of all time. 

Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson, who has won the famed EGOT, was raised with her two siblings by a single mother on the South Side of Chicago. She started working in local theater at a young age and famously worked on the Disney Cruise line before auditioning for American Idol in the show's third season, which was, of course, her big break. 

Mel Brooks

The legendary Mel Brooks, like so many of his generation, was the child of immigrants. He was raised very poor in Brooklyn surrounded by people who worked in the garment industry. Instead of following in their footsteps, he went into show business and the world is luckier for it. 

Joan Crawford

Screen legend Joan Crawford would die a very rich woman, but she started life as the daughter of a construction worker in Texas. After her parents split up and her mother remarried, her stepfather got in trouble in Texas and the family moved to Kansas City where Crawford attended Catholic school as a work student. 

Jim Carrey

At one point Jim Carrey was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, which is far cry from his humble beginnings in and around Toronto. For a time, Carrey has admitted, they were even homeless. Eventually his father found more stable employment and after dropping out of high school Carrey worked on his stand up routine and took shifts at a nearby factory. 

Misha Collins

Supernatural star Misha Collins grew up working class in Boston and he has said in the past that his family spent some time unhoused. He was lucky enough to gain admission to a prep school, which led him to the University of Chicago and eventually an internship at The White House during the Clinton administration before he concentrated on his acting career. 

Rosario Dawson

Rosario Dawson has been a part of two of the biggest franchises in Hollywood, Star Wars and the MCU. It wasn't always the big time for her though. Her mother was a teenager when she was born and never married Dawson's father, but did marry another man, from whom Dawson takes her last name. He was a construction worker first in New York and later in Texas. 

Jessica Chastain

Though she doesn't talk much about her upbringing, we do know that Jessica Chastain's stepfather was a firefighter and that her family life was a struggle growing up. She grew up in Sacramento with four siblings, though she lost one to suicide when she was in her early 20s. Chastain started acting as a kid and her career would eventually take off and she would become one of the most beloved and acclaimed actors of her generation. 

Daniel Kaluuya

Born of Uganda immigrants in London, Daniel Kaluuya was raised on a council estate in one of the city's most famous blue-collar areas, Camden. He didn't know his father growing up, but he excelled in school and started acting in plays while there. he started landing paying gigs in his teens and the rest is history.

Hilary Swank

Though she has humble roots as the daughter of an army soldier, Hilary Swank grew up in a stable household and even after her parents split up when she was 15, her mother moved with Swank to the LA area so she could try her hand at Hollywood. That bet paid off as Swank has been one of the best actresses around for decades. 

Charlie Chaplin

It could be argued that Charlie Chaplin was the first bonafide superstar of the silver screen. While he would eventually become Hollywood's biggest star and one of the most financially successful moviemakers of his era, his childhood was a hardscrabble upbringing in central London. His parents had no capacity to raise children and he bounced around reform schools and other group homes as a kid before finding his way, first in the theater then later in silent films. 

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez famously grew up "on the 6," meaning the 6-Train through the Bronx in New York City. Her father had a job as a computer technician and Lopez had a solid, yet definitely blue-collar upbringing. 

Woody Harrelson

Woody Harrelson has starred in some of the best roles in Hollywood over the last four decades, and one of them, Woody Boyd on Cheers, reflected his actual blue-collar roots in Indiana. The story of Woody Boyd and Woody Harrelson are pretty similar, as both were raised in rural Indiana. Harrelson was famously locked up in prison for most of his upbringing, and he eventually died in prison after Harrelson's career had taken off. 

Viola Davis

Viola Davis was actually born on plantation in South Carolina, if you can believe it. She was raised mostly in Rhode Island, however, but it was a hard upbringing which has described of being very financially unstable. 

Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig may be famous for playing suave, debonair, and sophisticated characters, but that's nothing like his upbringing. His father was a construction worker and bar manager, though Craig does have aristocratic ancestors. 

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Phoenix (and his late brother River) had a wild upbringing. His parent were part of a cult called the Children of God and Phoenix spent much of his early life living in South America as his parents traveled as missionaries for the religious group. Eventually, the family left the cult, adopting the name "Phoenix" as a sign of their rebirth as a family in a new life.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is famously one of the richest people in Hollywood, but that's not how she started out. Her mother was a teenager in Milwaukee, but before long Winfrey found herself in Nashville living with the man she considers her father. While still a teen in Nashville, she started working in radio, which would eventually lead to her media empire. 

Bella Thorne

The whole reason Bella Thorne became a professional actor was to help support her family growing up. After her father was killed in a car wreck when she was ten, Thorne's mother was left to raise four children on her own. It was a tough upbringing, but the acting gigs started coming more and more often and got her big break on the Disney Channel's Shake It Up in 2010. 

James Caan

James Caan was in some of the best movies in Hollywood history. The list of Caan's best movies is incredible. His father was a deli meat salesman and he grew up in the blue-collar neighborhood of Sunnyside, Queens, in New York City. He found acting while he briefly attended Hofstra, where he would also meet Francis Ford Coppola, who would give the role of Sonny in The Godfather years later. 

Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez was raised by a single mother who had Gomez when she was just 16. Gomez has never been resentful, it seems, and credits her with raising her under such trying conditions. Gomez caught the acting bug at a pretty young age and ws soon landing shows on kids shows, leading to the insanely successful career we all know and love. 

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington had the definition of a blue-collar upbringing as the son of a beautician and an employee of the water company in his hometown of New York City. His parent worked hard to make sure he got a good education and after graduating from Fordham, he embarked on one of the most successful Hollywood careers of all time. 

It’s been about a month since Sunrise on the Reaping -- the Haymitch Hunger Games prequel -- was announced, and the fancasting hasn’t slowed down. People are throwing all sorts of names into the ring to play Woody Harrelson’s character, including House of the Dragon’s Tom Glynn-Carney, and now a Cobra Kai star is being championed by some of the fans. While this notion of Tanner Buchanan playing the younger version of the District 12 mentor is already great, his reaction to learning that fans see him as the character makes it even better.

For a bit of context, Season 6 of Cobra Kai just premiered on the 2024 TV schedule, and Tanner Buchanan – who plays Johnny’s son, Robby – was asked about the upcoming Hunger Games project at the premiere. He really perked up when asked about the fancast and the potential of playing the beloved character. He said:

Now, you can read the enthusiasm in this quote. However, seeing the Cobra Kai cast member’s facial expressions makes it even better, take a look at THR’s video:

Honestly, I think Tanner Buchanan would be a great choice for this character. While I am a big fan of Glynn-Carney’s fancast, he’s a bit old for the role. This movie will follow Haymitch’s games, and he’ll be a teen. While the Designated Survivor actor is 25, he’s been playing a high schooler on Cobra Kai for years now, and he can pull it off.

Plus, he has the look for it. Across Cobra Kai he’s been rocking a long-ish hairdo that is reminiscent of Haymitch’s look in The Hunger Games. Also, he recently went platinum blonde, and that showed me that he could for sure pull off the look of the District 12 tribute:

When The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes came out, we saw Tom Blyth transform into President Snow, and kill his performance as the character Donald Sutherland played in the OG trilogy. I could see Tanner Buchanan taking on the part of Haymitch just as successfully.

Of course, we don’t know who will actually play Haymitch in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel. However, fans have been fancasting the lead character nonstop, loudly noting that Kiefer Sutherland should play President Snow in it, and fantasizing about Finnick getting a prequel next. Readers and viewers can’t wait for this long-awaited story, and they’ve thrown some fantastic casting and story ideas out there. It’ll be interesting to see if any of them actually come to fruition.

Clearly, Tanner Buchanan is excited about the prospect of playing the character, and so am I!

As we learn more about who will play Haymitch Abernathy, we’ll be sure to keep you posted. For now, you can stream Cobra Kai (which is one of Netflix’s best shows) with a Netflix subscription to draw your own conclusions about whether he’d be a good choice for the character.

After Suzanne Collins and Lionsgate successfully orchestrated a triumphant return to Panem with last year’s prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Hunger Games is set to return to bookshelves and big screens alike. As announced last month, the next novel/movie to come from the franchise will tell Haymitch Abernathy’s story. House Of The Dragon fans already have an idea of who should play a young version of the character, and now, the actor has reacted. 

House Of The Dragon’s Tom Glynn-Carney Reacts To Hunger Games Fancasting

Suzanne Collins’ next Hunger Games book will be Sunrise on the Reaping, which will be available for fans to read on March 18, 2025. The story will revolve around the 50th Hunger Games (the Second Quarter Quell) where Haymitch competed. What was particularly notable about these games was that the Capitol decided to have twice the number of tributes kill one another for survival. 

Pretty soon after the announcement, Twitter put Tom Glynn-Carney’s name into the ring to be the next actor to play Haymitch, following Woody Harrelson's run as the character in the original Hunger Games movies. During a recent interview with Vestal Mag, the House of the Dragon actor reacted to the fancasting by saying, 

The 29-year-old actor who plays King Aegon in the HBO series House Of The Dragon was totally happy to be associated with the famed franchise and be in the running (at least among fans) for the franchise's next leading role.

Why Tom Glynn-Carney Is A Great Pick For Haymitch

Now, yes Tom Glynn-Carney is over a decade older than Haymitch will be in Sunrise on the Reaping (he was 16 when he was a Hunger Games tribute), but I totally get why fans are putting him in the arena for the role. For one, if you look at pictures of the actor without the trademark Targaryen white hair in House of the Dragon, his current and actual haircut/overall look very much gives Haymitch Abernathy. 

It’s not just the look either. Tom Glynn-Carney is killing it as King Aegon in House of the Dragon. CinemaBlend’s own Riley Utley even argued that he’s currently the most interesting character on the show, particularly for how well he’s able to bring humanity to a role that can also be so flawed and bothersome. Woody Harrelson was able to bring a lot of depth to the District 12 mentor in the original trilogy, and Glynn-Carney is the kind of young talent who could really bring justice to the fan favorite character.

While we don’t know when Sunrise on the Reaping is looking to go into production, you can check out what upcoming book adaptations to look forward to this year and beyond here on CinemaBlend. And you can watch Glynn-Carney on House of the Dragon with a Max subscription. 

When you picture the cast of one of the best sitcoms of all time, Cheers, you likely see Woody Harrelson in the group. He’s such an indelible part of the Cheers cast, a series that is still frequently referenced in other shows, that it’s easy to forget that he joined the series mid-way through its run during a major cast shake-up. It turns out that the core cast, including Ted Danson, decided to have a bit of fun with their new, much younger, castmate, which went very badly for all of them.

Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson both appear in a new episode of the Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast, where The Good Place actor reveals that the rest of the cast, who were all much older, wanted to show the new kid who was boss. They thought they would beat him at sports, but Harrelson showed them quickly that that wasn’t going to work for them. Danson explained:

Woody Harrelson would, of course, go on to star in the movie White Men Can’t Jump with Wesley Snipes, which is all about basketball. But Cheers was the actor’s first major role, one Harrelson has said he didn't really want, and so nobody knew anything about him, including that he was quite good at the game.

The image of Pixar stalwart John Ratzenberger and Woody Harrelson leg wrestling is hilarious, as is the image of Woody beating the guy, which he apparently did quite easily.

The Cheers crew didn’t stop there, however. They tried even more ways to beat the kid and even tried to outthink him when they realized they were bested physically, but that didn’t work either. Danson continued:

It sounds like the “not hazing” of Woody Harrelson went on for some time in the form of pranks. At some point, however, he became part of the team. Harrelson and Danson are clearly friends now, having a blast together on the podcast, laughing at the story. Of course, it’s easy for Harrelson to enjoy the story, he won.

To go back and watch these two legends on Cheers, you can stream it with a Paramount+ subscription.

Now You See Me is about to be a trilogy, as the third movie in the franchise is in the works.

For some time, we didn't really know if Now You See Me 3 was going to happen. While the second film was released in 2016 to mixed reviews, it was a commercial success, and a sequel for a third film was confirmed only a short time after. However, we didn't get much news about the movie until 2024.

Now You See Me 3 is officially happening and taking huge steps forward, and there is so much we know. Let’s get into it.

What Is The Now You See Me 3 Release Date?

At the time of updating this in December 2024, Now You See Me 3 will be released on November 14, 2025, according to Deadline. This means that it’ll be a part of our 2025 movie schedule.

The Now You See Me 3 Cast

We do have an idea of who will return for Now You See Me 3. According to an article from The Hollywood Reporter released in April 2024, four cast members from previous Now You See Me films are expected to return:

Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas

Jesse Eisenberg is expected to return as J. Daniel Atlas in Now You See Me 3. Since 2016's release of the sequel, Eisenberg has appeared in Justice League, Vivarium, The Hummingbird Project, Resistance, Manodrome and many other films. He also was the star of the Fleishman is in Trouble cast on Hulu.

Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney

Woody Harrelson is expected to return as Merritt McKinney for Now You See Me 3. Harrelson has since appeared in films like Wilson, War for the Planet of the Apes, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Midway, Triangle of Sadness, and Champions. He also had a starring role in True Detective and a main role in The Freak Brothers.

Dave Franco as Jack Wilder

Dave Franco is expected to return as Jack Wilder for Now You See Me 3. Since the second film, plenty of Dave Franco movies have been released, including If Beale Street Could Talk, 6 Underground, Day Shift, The Disaster Artist, Nerve, and more. He was even in the 2024 film Love Lies Bleeding.

Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves

Isla Fisher is expected to return as Henley Reeves in Now You See Me 3. She wasn't in the second film but is expected to return for the third. Since the first movie, she's appeared in movies like Tag, Grimsby, Greed, Strays, Godmothered, and more. She also holds a lead role in the show Wolf Like Me.

Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley

At first, we didn't know if Morgan Freeman would return for Now You See Me 3, but The Hollywood Reporter said in May 2024 that he's expected to return as Thaddeus Bradley for the third film. Morgan Freeman's best films span decades, but since the 2016 sequel, he's appeared in movies like Coming 2 America, Paradise Highway, Vanquish, and more.

So far, it's been unconfirmed if Mark Ruffalo will return as Dylan Rhodes, although according to IMDB, it does say he’ll be back. Right now, it’s still up in the air, as no official first look of him in the movie has been released. GamesRadar also reported in an interview with Eisenberg in October 2024 that Ruffalo is a part of the cast, so we just might see him again.,

We actually have some additional cast members who have signed on for Now You See Me 3, some of whom are newer-ish faces to the industry and will be welcome additions to the franchise.

Ariana Greenblatt

According to The Hollywood Reporter article above, Ariana Greenblatt is set to appear in Now You See Me 3. The young actress has been on a roll the last few years with several small but meaningful roles – like Avengers: Infinity War, Ahsoka, In The Heights, and more – and has only since grown into more prominent roles, like her big part in the Barbie cast, and the upcoming Fear Street: Prom Queen.

Justice Smith

According to The Hollywood Reporter, in April 2024, it was confirmed that Justice Smith had signed on for a part in Now You See Me 3. The actor has appeared in various movies, including Paper Towns, All The Bright Places, Pokemon Detective Pikachu (which I still want a sequel for), Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Sharper, and many more. I know him best from the underrated and canceled too-soon TV show The Get-Down.

Dominic Sessa

Also confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter article in April 2024 regarding Justice Smith was that Dominic Sessa had also joined the NYSM3 cast. Sessa is a fresh face to Hollywood, as his debut role was in The Holdovers.

Rosamund Pike

As said in The Hollywood Reporter article in May 2024, Rosamund Pike is set to join the cast of Now You See Me 3. The actress has appeared in Gone Girl, Saltburn, A United Kingdom, A Private War, I Care a Lot, and more.

Talk about a stacked cast – one that's only going to get bigger.

What Is Now You See Me 3 About?

So far, there are really no plot details out there that we can dig into deeply. However, the Hollywood Reporter articles said that the third film would follow what the last two films did – the lives of the illusionists known as the Four Horsemen, who use their tricks for their heists. Beyond that, we'll have to wait and see what challenges the characters are facing next.

Ruben Fleischer Will Direct The Third Film

It was confirmed by Deadline back in September 2022 that Ruben Fleischer will direct Now You See Me 3. He has directed films like Zombieland, Venom, Uncharted, Gangster Squad and more. Also confirmed in that Deadline article is that Seth Grahame-Smith wrote the script for the film.

Filming Is Complete

The last thing we know is that filming for Now You See Me 3 has officially concluded. The official X (formerly Twitter) for the film tweeted out a few first-looks of the movie now that filming had wrapped, showing off the cast:

This just makes me more excited for 2025 to come.

What are you the most excited about when it comes to Now You See Me 3? I'm so eager to witness where it goes from here – or at least attempt to, as they do tricks beyond my very eyes.

Everything is bigger in Texas, they say, and that certainly includes the star power of its homegrown celebrities. From the biggest stars in music to the biggest on the silver screen, the biggest celebs in the squared circle, and almost everywhere else, Texas has bred them all. 

California may be home to Hollywood, but there might not be a Hollywood without its biggest legends who hail from the Lone Star State, so here is our list of some of the biggest stars from Texas

Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas, raised mostly in Longview, TX, went to college in Austin, and got his first big break in show business in Dazed & Confused, which was, of course, filmed in Texas. McConaughey still lives in Austin. It makes sense that the proud Texan wants to see more movies made in his home state. McConaughey has also sparked rumors in the past that he might be interested in running for political office in Texas, though he's usually brushed them aside. Politician or not, the man sure loves his home state. 

Renée Zellweger

She may have won accolades for playing an English woman, but Renée Zellweger is Texas through and through. The Bridget Jones' Diary star was born outside Houston in Katy, TX, and grew up there before attending the University of Texas. It was in Austin that she discovered her love for acting and she landed her first on-screen role as an extra in Dazed & Confused. 

Owen Wilson

Dallas-born Owen Wilson has played a lot of fantastic roles over the years, but none better than his many roles in the films of Wes Anderson. Wilson and fellow Texan Anderson have been friends since their college days at the University of Texas. It's also worth noting that both of Owen Wilson's brothers, Luke and Andrew, also hail from Texas, of course. 

Jim Parsons

While some people ooze "Texas," Houston native Jim Parsons doesn't, really. You might guess he'd be from New York or Chicago, but nope, he's a Texan. Born and raised in the suburbs of Houston, he also attended the University of Houston before striking out for Hollywood and making it big. 

Carol Burnett

Comedy legend Carol Burnett grew up in California, attending high school right in Hollywood, but the Annie star was born deep in the heart of Texas, in San Antonio in 1933. Though her vast career has taken her far from Texas, the state can still call her one of its own. 

Beyoncé

If the stars are brighter and everything is bigger in Texas, then it only makes sense that one of the biggest stars would come from Houston. There is no bigger star on the planet than Beyoncé, who was born and raised in Texas along with her sister Solange and her Destiny's Child bandmate, LaTavia Roberson. 

Selena Gomez

Like many other native Texas, Selena Gomez is proud of her Mexican heritage. The Only Murders In The Building star was born in Grand Prairie, Texas, near Dallas, and although her many acting roles and career took her to California early in life, her family's roots are firmly in the Lone Star State. Gomez is named for another Texas native as well, the late Tejano superstar Selena, who was murdered in Corpus Christi in 1995. 

Woody Harrelson

Woody Harrelson first got famous playing a farm boy-turned-bartender from Indiana on Cheers, and while he moved to Ohio as a teenager, Harrelson was born in Midland, Texas. He's also tight with his occasional co-star and fellow Texan, Matthew McConaughey, and, according to McConaughey, the two could even be brothers! 

Tommy Lee Jones

Sure, he was roommates at Harvard with Al Gore, but Tommy Lee Jones is all Texan. The No Country For Old Men star was born in the small town of San Saba, Texas, and raised in Midland. He's never really strayed far either, as he has resided in Terrell Hills, TX, near San Antonio, for years. He's also a member of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Texas Film Hall of Fame. There really isn't another actor who screams "Texas" like Jones, is there?

Steve Martin

Waco-born Steve Martin is one of the funniest people in film history. While he grew up mostly in Southern California, his roots are originally in central Texas, where he was born in Waco, on August 14th, 1945, the same day that the Japanese surrendered in World War II. 

Jamie Foxx

The multi-talented Jamie Foxx started acquiring his many skills as a kid in Terrell, TX, outside Dallas, where he was born and raised. As a kid, he played piano and excelled at sports at Terrell High School. He moved to Southern California after school and in 1991, scored a role on In Living Color, and the rest is history. 

Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner moved to West Virginia when she was just three, so she probably doesn't remember much of anything from her early life in Texas, but the Daredevil star was born in Houston. 

Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson exploded into show business by winning the first-ever season of American Idol and she's been a star ever since. It's a journey that started when she was born in Forth Worth, TX, and raised in the suburb of Burleson, just outside the city. While her career may have taken her to LA and New York, her heart (and sports allegiance) has stayed in Texas.

Wes Anderson

People love to debate what the best Wes Anderson movie is, but if you are wondering what is his most personal, it's probably Bottle Rocket, which was filmed almost entirely in Anderson's home state of Texas. It stars a couple of fellow Texans as well, Owen and Luke Wilson. While the Wilsons are from Dallas originally, Anderson hails from Houston. 

Megan Thee Stallion

Megan Thee Stallion is a triple threat. She proved herself on the mic, and on the dance floor, first, then she started taking over TV and movies by starring in her first film in 2023. Before all that happened, though, she grew up in and around Houston. The “H-town Hottie” even got her nickname, Stallion, in the city. 

Michelle Rodriguez

Michelle Rodriguez has been in some huge film franchises, like Fast & Furious and Avatar. She kind of grew up all over, including in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, but she was born and lived for a few years of her life in San Antonio, TX. 

Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke's parents were high school sweethearts who had Ethan shortly after they were married. Born in 1970 in Austin, TX, Hawke moved to the Northeast with his mother but spent his summers in Fort Worth with his dad. His grandfather even served in the Texas House of Representatives for 10 years. He has deep Texas roots that he is proud of. 

Hilary Duff

Lizzie McGuire star Hilary Duff is another Texas girl. Born in Houston, her family also spent time in San Antonio before moving to California when Duff was still young to pursue her acting career. Boy did that pay off quickly! 

Jennifer Love Hewitt

From a young age, Jennifer Love Hewitt was showing off her talents, singing and dancing across Texas, where she was born in 1979. Eventually, even the Lone Star State could not contain her and she moved to LA with her family, where she soon landed her first starring role on the legendary Party Of Five, after having roles on the Disney Channel and elsewhere as a kid. 

Eva Longoria

Born in Corpus Christi, TX in 1975, Eva Longoria has always been proud of her Tejano roots. In fact, her ancestry and culture are so important to her that she returned to college to earn a Master's degree in Chicano studies from Cal State-Northridge.

Forest Whitaker

Though he went to high school in Los Angeles, Forest Whitaker's life began in Longview, Texas. Every summer of his youth, he spent time with his grandparents in Longview and still has family all over Texas. 

Taylor Sheridan

It's no surprise that Taylor Sheridan is from Texas. While he was actually born in North Carolina, the Yellowstone creator is the definition of a true Texan. Not only did he grow up in Fort Worth, but he owns a working ranch in the Lone Star state called 6666 Ranch. He and his family live in Weatherford, Texas.

Farrah Fawcett

She might have had the reputation of being the all-American blonde from California, but Farrah Fawcett was born and raised in Texas. After high school in Corpus Christi, she attended the University of Texas before heading to Hollywood where she immediately started landing acting and modeling jobs. Once she scored her role on Charlie's Angels, the rest is history. 

Isaiah Washington

Controversial actor Isaiah Washington's most prominent role was in the first three seasons of Grey's Anatomy. Since then, he's worked on numerous films and TV shows, before announcing his retirement in 2023. He was born and raised in Houston. 

William Jackson Harper

Star of The Good Place William Jackson Harper is a native Texan, born in Dallas and raised in Garland, TX, where he first started acting in high school. His Texas-sized determination kept him going when he struggled early in his career, before finding a starring role on the Kristen Bell-led sitcom. 

Dakota Johnson

It might be surprising to learn that despite being the daughter of Hollywood royalty, Dakota Johnson was born in Texas. She was born to Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson in Austin while her father shot a movie in the Lone Star State. The star was then raised in Los Angeles, of course, but Austin will always be where she came into this world. Since then, she's built a great career. 

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin

Steven James Anderson loves his home state so much, that he took a name based on its capital, Austin. Better known as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, the WWE superstar was, in fact, born in Austin, though he was raised mostly in Edna, TX. The wrestler still owns property in the state, Broken Skull Ranch, near Tilden, TX. It's not like he hides his love for the state either, as one of his many nicknames is "The Texas Rattlesnake."

Gary Busey

People sometimes forget that Gary Busey was once nominated for an Oscar for playing Texan Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story, and the actor also hails from Holly's home state. Busey was born in the Houston area; Baytown, Texas, to be exact. He moved to Oklahoma in elementary school and it was in Tulsa that the enigmatic actor began his show biz career. One of his first big breaks in Hollywood was a TV show that was set in Texas called, appropriately, The Texas Wheelers.

Gina Carano

Gina Carano was controversially dismissed from The Mandalorian and whether you agree with the decision or not, it's hard to argue that the MMA star brought a little bit of that strong individualism Texas is known for to the role and her career. Something that might be inherent in her, as she was born in Dallas County Texas.

Shaquille O'Neal

Texas is a huge state, with a lot of personality, so it only makes sense that a celebrity who's physically large and has a personality to match would hail from the state. Shaquille O’Neal is an Army brat, so he moved around a lot as a kid, including being born in New Jersey. It's in Texas, however, where the world started to pay attention to O'Neal as he became a standout basketball star, eventually becoming a top college recruit and going to LSU for school. He was drafted into the NBA as the #1 overall pick in 1992, and the rest is history.  

Robin Wright

Robin Wright might be best known for playing a Washington insider on House Of Cards and a Buttercup in The Princess Bride, but before all that, she was born in Dallas in 1966. Her parents divorced when she was young and her family moved to Southern California, but for those two years, she was a Texan. 

Michael Strahan

He first made a name for himself playing football in New York, and now he's known for hosting Good Morning America in New York, but Michael Strahan is a born and bred Texan. He was born in Houston, and went to high school there, though for a little while he lived with his family in Germany where his father was stationed in the Army. 

There you have it, a list that proves everything is, indeed, bigger in Texas. The toast, the steer, the plains, and the stars. Not just the stars in the sky, but the stars in Hollywood and beyond. Few states can compete with the Lone Star state when it comes to star power. 

Have you ever caught a rerun of an older TV show and during the opening credits sequence, you spotted someone who made you say, “Hey, I know that person!”? This is actually a more common occurrence than you may realize, as there many A-list celebrities whose first IMDb credit (or one of the first) was a supporting role on a series long before they earned the honor of being a leading presence on the big (or small) screen. The following are some of our favorite examples of famous actors who appeared a bit further down the the line on the call sheet on a TV show when they were starting out.

Chris Pratt (Everwood)

Before Guardians of the Galaxy made him a leading man, Chris Pratt really began to gain traction from starring in the Parks and Recreation cast as Andy Dwyer. However, even earlier than that, he starred on a WB family drama called Everwood as high school joke Bright Abbott alongside fellow future MCU star Emily VanCamp, who played his sister, Amy.

Jennifer Lawrence (The Bill Engvall Show)

Before her Academy Award-nominated performance in 2010’s Winter’s Bone, her star-making role as Katniss in The Hunger Games and Oscar-winning turn in Silver Lining’s Playbook, Jennifer Lawrence was a sitcom star — specifically a cable network sitcom star. On The Bill Engvall Show, which lasted three seasons on TBS, she starred opposite the eponymous stand-up comedian as his on-screen alter ego’s teenage daughter, Lauren Pearson,

Austin Butler (Zoey 101)

The musical talents that earned Austin Butler the title role of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis can be traced back to his part on Ruby & the Rockits, which lasted 10 episodes on ABC Family (now Freeform) in 2009. However, the Oscar nominee’s first major TV role was on the final season of Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101 as James Garrett — a character missing from Paramount+’s feature-length follow-up, Zoey 102.

Margot Robbie (Pan Am)

While her earliest role was actually the long-running soap opera, Neighbours — much like many other Aussie A-listers — we thought we would highlight American audiences’ first true introduction to Margot Robbie on Pan Am. An interesting fact about Robbie is that the future Oscar nominee and DC movies star was actually roommates with co-star Christina Ricci while playing 1960s-era flight attendant Laura Cameron on the short-lived ABC drama from 2011 to 2012.

Seth Rogen (Freaks And Geeks)

While still part of the main ensemble, Seth Rogen’s role as the initially arrogant Ken Miller pretty much got the short end of the stick amongst the Freaks and Geeks cast, for the most part. Ironically, Rogen, arguably, went on to become the painfully short-lived coming-of-age dramedy’s biggest star, which is really saying something, given his co-stars include Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, and John Francis Daley.

Brie Larson (Raising Dad)

A notable moment in Academy Award winner Brie Larson’s evolution from child star to modern A-list actor was her role as the late Bob Saget’s youngest on-screen daughter on Raising Dad — a sitcom that ran for one season on The WB (now The CW) in the early 2000s. Following her success as the MCU’s Captain Marvel, Larson returned to TV in 2023 — reprising her Scott Pilgrim vs. the World role for Netflix’s animated series reboot, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and leading the Lessons in Chemistry cast for Apple TV+.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Growing Pains)

While doing press for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt recalled how they both appeared on the hit ABC sitcom Growing Pains much earlier in their career. Of course, Pitt had a one-episode guest appearance while the Oscar-winning The Revenant star and Titanic cast member had a prominent role as Luke Brewer — a homeless teen taken in by the Seavers in Season 7. 

Ana De Armas (The Boarding School)

One of the films that earned Academy Award nominee Ana de Armas a spot on the A-list was Rian Johnson’s hit whodunit, Knives Out, from 2019. More than a decade earlier, the Cuban-born actor landed a role on a coming-of-age mystery TV show called El Internado (or The Boarding School), which originally aired in Spain from 2007 to 2010.

Michael B. Jordan (The Wire)

After getting his start as a Toys ‘R Us kid, the fascinating Michael B. Jordan made his official acting debut on an episode of The Sopranos, but later landed a more prominent role on another acclaimed, gritty HBO series in 2002. He appeared amongst The Wire cast as Wallace — an orphan whose tragic story had a profound impact on the Emmy-nominated series beyond his 13-episode stint.

Anne Hathaway (Get Real)

Anne Hathaway fans should know that before she broke into the mainstream by leading Disney’s The Princess Diaries cast, the Academy Award winner made her acting debut on a 1999 Fox TV show called Get Real as a high school senior who shocks her family with the decision to refuse college. Coincidentally, the short-lived dramedy was also the debut of Hathaway’s Rio co-star, Jesse Eisenberg, and was an early gig for NCIS' Eric Christian Olsen as well.

Denzel Washington (St. Elsewhere)

With two Oscars to his name, it’s hard to imagine a TV screen big enough to contain the talent of one Denzel Washington, yet it was a TV show that helped launched the young actor’s career in the early 1980s. Following his official debut in the 1977 TV movie Wilma, the future Training Day lead played Dr. Philip Chandler on NBC’s hit medical drama, St. Elsewhere.

Michelle Williams (Dawson's Creek)

For years, Michelle Williams was known best from the Dawson’s Creek cast as Jen Lindley. Now — after receiving multiple Academy Award nominations for acclaimed dramas like Manchester by the Sea and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans — that role on the hit teen drama is, typically, among the last things mentioned in regards to her career.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock From The Sun)

As a child actor, Joseph Gordon-Levitt starred in some good movies and made a few notable TV guest appearances before landing his first successful series regular gig with 3rd Rock from the Sun. He played the eldest member of a group of extra-terrestrial visitors, and the character resembles a teenager in human form on the Emmy-winning sci-fi sitcom.

George Clooney (The Facts Of Life)

As a TV star, George Clooney is best known from his main role on the popular ‘90s show, ER, on which he played Doug Ross. Much earlier, however, the future two-time Oscar winner had a memorable recurring role on Diff’rent Strokes' (very different) spin-off, The Facts of Life, as George Burnett — a carpenter who would become close to the girls living under Mrs. Garrett’s roof.

Woody Harrelson (Cheers)

With multiple Academy Award nominations to his name, Woody Harrelson is known today as one of Hollywood’s most versatile movie stars, but his first big break came when he joined the Cheers cast in the mid-1980s. In fact, he won his first Emmy Award for playing the naive, but lovable, Woody Byrd, whom Sam (Ted Danson) hires on as a new barkeep following he death of Coach (Nicholas Colasanto).

Jason Bateman (Little House On The Prairie)

At least before he led Netflix’s Ozark cast, Jason Bateman has always best known on the small screen as a sitcom star, with his roles as David Hogan on Valerie (later changed to The Hogan Family) and Michael Bluth on Arrested Development being the famous examples. However, his very first gig was playing James Cooper Ingalls for 21 episodes of Little House on the Prairie during the early 1980s.

Don Cheadle (The Golden Palace)

An early Don Cheadle role you may have forgotten about was featured on a TV show spin-off you may not have heard of, either. The future Academy Award nominee and MCU actor starred alongside most of the Golden Girls cast on The Golden Palace as Roland Wilson — the young manager of the titular hotel where the short-lived sitcom took place. 

Jason Momoa (Baywatch)

Even long before he landed the role of Aquaman in the DC movies, Jason Momoa was no stranger to saving lives in the water. The Hawaiian-born actor made his debut in his home state when he joined the Baywatch cast as a character also named Jason from 1999 to 2001.

Marisa Tomei (A Different World)

We know her from her Academy Award-winning role in My Cousin Vinny as Mona Lisa Vito (who she'd love to revisit) or as Peter Parker’s (reinvented) Aunt May in the MCU, to name a few examples. Yet before many people knew who Marisa Tomei was, she was on the first season of The Cosby Show spin-off, A Different World, as Hillman student Maggie Lauten.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (The Get Down)

One interesting fact about Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: before he was an Emmy-winning DC TV show star (for playing Cal Abar on HBO’s Watchmen) and a scene-stealing DC movie villain (Black Manta in Aquaman), he worked as a San Francisco city planner until he was laid off in 2010. The role that first helped him make a name for himself as an actor was night club owner Clarene “Cadillac” Caldwell in Netflix’s musical period drama series, The Get Down, from co-creator Baz Luhrmann.

Alexandra Daddario (All My Children)

Speaking to Women’s Health in 2022, Alexandra Daddario recalls that she was fired from the long-running daytime soap opera, All My Children, which she actually found to be a liberating, educational experience. It led to seek improvement in her acting skills and pave the way for her to breakthrough in the Percy Jackson movies, give an Emmy-nominated performance as part of the HBO’s The White Lotus cast, and star in many other notable works.

Adam Driver (Girls)

Without Lena Dunham, there might not be a Kylo Ren — or at least, the memorable version of the Sith Lord we got in the hands Adam Driver. The former Marine’s scene-stealing role on HBO’s Girls as Adam Sackler is what got Hollywood to take notice of his talent, leading to his casting in the Star Wars movies and his Oscar-nominated performances in BlacKkKlansman and Marriage Story.

Melissa McCarthy (Gilmore Girls)

Gilmore Girls proved to be a launch pad for many A-listers — few of which would blow up quite like Melissa McCarthy, who played Sookie St. James on the hit dramedy.  She later won an Emmy for her leading role on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly and received an Academy Award nomination for her supporting role as a member of the Bridesmaids cast. And that film skyrocketed her to the A-list as a trusted name in comedy and more.

Drake (Degrassi: The Next Generation)

One of the most memorable and important characters from Degrassi: The Next Generation is Jimmy Brooks, who served as an inspirational representation for wheelchair users on the long-running Canadian coming-of-age drama. The role was played by an actor named Aubrey Graham, who still acts on occasion — an Anchorman 2 cameo, for instance — but primarily performs as a rapper under the moniker Drake.

Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men)

At just eight years old, Kiernan Shipka proved to be a stand-out alongside AMC’s Mad Men cast with her performance as Sally Draper. She later went on to lead her own TV show (Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and headline movies like Amazon Prime’s horror-comedy, Totally Killer and The Silence.

Ryan Reynolds (Fifteen)

Despite his many earnest roles over the years, it may be hard to picture Ryan Reynolds as anything other than the smarmy goof he plays in the likes of the Deadpool movies and National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, for instance. Perhaps watching him make his debut in the Canadian coming-of-age drama Fifteen will help audiences see another side of him.

Tommy Lee Jones (One Life To Live)

It is amazing to think about how many acclaimed and even legendary actors started out on soap operas, such as Tommy Lee Jones. One of the earliest roles for the Academy Award-winning star of The Fugitive and the Men in Black movies was the ill-fated Mark Toland on One Life to Live from 1971 to 1975.

John Travolta (Welcome Back, Kotter)

Before his Academy Award-nominated role in 1977’s Saturday Night Fever — and its fantastic movie soundtrack — made him one of the biggest stars of all time, John Travolta was better known by another name: Vinnie Barbarino. That was the future Pulp Fiction cast member’s character on Welcome Back, Kotter — a hit sitcom that never made it to 100 episodes. He practically stole the show from star and co-creator Gabe Kaplan with his famous catchphrase, “Up your nose with a rubber hose!”

Jennifer Love Hewitt (Kids Incorporated)

Her role as Sarah Reeves on the original Party of Five may have made Jennifer Love Hewitt a teen idol, but it was not her first major TV gig. The Ghost Whisperer star was 10 when she demonstrated her multiple talents on Disney Channel’s Kids Incorporated, which focuses on the lives of a group of young artists who perform live music at a club for children.

Benedict Cumberbatch (Fortysomething)

It was his eponymous role on the modern crime drama Sherlock that made Benedict Cumberbatch a nigh-unpronounceable household name, but his first starring role on a TV series was Fortysomething. The MCU’s Doctor Strange actor played the on-screen son of none other than House’s Hugh Laurie on the English dramedy that lasted six episodes.

Jared Leto (My So-Called Life)

In one of the best ‘90s shows that ended too soon, My So-Called Life, Jared Leto portrayed what would become his first iconic role: high school heartthrob Jordan Catalano. The much celebrated coming-of-age drama also marked one for the first times the future Academy Award winner acted alongside his sibling and Thirty Seconds to Mars bandmate, Shannon.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Passions)

Movie star Mary Elizabeth Winstead has more than a few very notable small-screen roles — such as a leading stint in Fargo Season 3 and Hera Syndulla alongside the Ahsoka cast for Disney+. The Scott Pilgrim vs. The World cast member’s earliest major TV gig, however, was on the supernatural soap opera Passions.

For any TV actors out there hoping one day to make it onto the big screen, let these stories serve as proof that your dreams may not be far away from becoming a reality.

Many Hollywood stars don't actually live in California these days. While some of the stars on this list might have a home in LA, they certainly seem to prefer to spend their off time very far away from the glitz and the glamour. Here are just some of the many stars that live outside of the Golden State. 

Nicole Kidman - Nashville

Nicole Kidman and her husband (and fellow Aussie) Keith Urban have quite a few homes around the world, including LA and their native Australia, but it's the greater Nashville area that they call home most of the time. 

Meryl Streep - Connecticut

21-time Oscar nominee Meryl Streep was born in New Jersey, went to school at Vassar and Yale, and certainly strikes me as an east coast type of person. While she's lived in LA at times throughout her career, it's Connecticut that she's called home for most of her adult life. She's lived in Salisbury for decades now. 

John Goodman - New Orleans

John Goodman spent years living in LA, but in the '90s he'd had enough of California and he and his Louisiana-born wife made a choice between his hometown of St. Louis, and her home state. They moved to New Orleans, where they've been ever since. 

Matthew McConaughey - Austin

You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the boy. Matthew McConaughey was born in Uvalde, TX, went to school in Austin, and has long lived on a ranch near the Texas state capital and getting fed up with the paparazzi in Malibu.

Bill Murray - Charleston, SC

Bill Murray has lived all over the place, LA, NYC, and Chicago... but he's a known fixture around Charleston, South Carolina and even owns his own restaurant in town called Harold's Cabin. He's also invested in the Charleston minor league baseball team. 

Harrison Ford - Jackson Hole, WY

Harrison Ford moved to LA in the '60s to follow his acting dreams, but once he hit it big, he bailed out. While he does own a home in Brentwood, he spends most of his time at his 800-acre ranch outside Jackson Hole, WY. The ranch has been his primary residence since the 1980s and it seems he prefers to call that home. 

Demi Moore - Idaho

When Covid hit in early 2020, Demi Moore and her daughters holed up together in her longtime house in Sun Valley, Idaho. They were soon joined by her ex-husband and father to her daughters, Bruce Willis. Eventually, Willis' current wife Emma Heming, and her child with Willis also joined the big happy family. Moore has lived in Sun Valley for years and it's often featured on her Instagram page.

Jeff Daniels - Chelsea, MI

Jeff Daniels grew up in the small town of Chelsea, Michigan and as soon as he could after finding success in Hollywood, he moved back. He's a true small-town kind of guy and it makes perfect sense. While he makes his money in Hollywood, his heart is always in Michigan. 

Chris Rock - New Jersey

Chris Rock has always been an East Coast guy. Though he was born in South Carolina, his family moved to Brooklyn when he was a baby. He grew up in Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy. He started his comedy career in New York City, and for a couple of decades has lived in Alpine, New Jersey.

John Travolta - Ocala, FL

John Travolta loves to fly and is a first-class plane spotter. As such, he seems to have found the perfect place to live. The Pulp Fiction star has called Ocala, FL home for decades now. While that might sound odd, it's not when you find out his house backs up to an actual airport, so he can park his planes right at home. Sounds pretty awesome. 

Tom Cruise - Clearwater, FL

Superstar Tom Cruise actually has houses all over the world. LA and London, for starters. The most surprising place he's owns property though has to be Clearwater, FL. Cruise has what's described in the Tampa newspaper as a "sprawling penthouse" just blocks from the headquarters of the Church of Scientology, to which he has long been an outspoken member, so it makes sense. 

Taylor Swift - Nashville

Music star Taylor Swift grew up in Pennsylvania and Nashville and still has a home in the latter, where she seems to spend a lot of her time when she's not on the road. In fact, she has homes all over the place, including LA, Rhode Island, and New York City. 

Chris Evans

Chris Evans grew up just outside of Boston in the suburb of Sudbury, MA. Even though he's become one of the biggest stars in the world, he's stayed close to home. He and his new bride live nearby where he grew up in Massachusetts, after getting married in Boston. 

Chris Hemsworth - Byron Bay

The Australian native Chris Hemsworth couldn't ignore the siren call of home. After years in Hollywood becoming one of the biggest stars in the world, he decided it was time to move home. He and his wife Elsa Pataky settled in a small surfing community south of Brisbane called Byron Bay in 2015 and have never looked back. 

Tommy Lee Jones - Texas

Tommy Lee Jones doesn't seem to care much for the trappings of fame, though he has used some of the money he's earned as an actor to buy a huge tract of land in Texas. Jones might be Harvard-educated and work in Hollywood, but he's Texas through and through. 

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani - Tishomingo, OK

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani might be Hollywood's most unlikely couple, at least until you see them together. Less surprising is that they split time between her home stomping grounds in LA and his in Oklahoma. The two built a house on Shelton's ranch in Tishomingo, OK, where they spend most of their time. 

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds - Bedford, NY

The enduring couple of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds don't seem to be interested in big city living, instead opting for the small upstate town of Bedford, NY They maintain a couple of other houses, but their real home is in Westchester County, NY, where they live a quiet, but luxurious life in a small enclave with some celebrity neighbors including Martha Stewart and Micheal Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. 

Mark Ruffalo - Callicoon, NY

Mark Ruffalo is another actor who prefers the peace and quiet of small-town America to the bright lights of Hollywood. The Avengers star and his wife Sunny live in the tiny berg of Callicoon in the Catskill mountains of New York State. 

Elijah Wood - Austin

Elijah Wood doesn't actually live in a shire, like his Lord of the Rings character, but he doesn't live in a huge city, either. Wood has called Austin, TX home for years and a when he was on Hot Ones, he explained where to get all the best meals in town. 

Dave Chappelle - Yellow Springs, OH

Yellow Springs, Ohio might be the last place you'd expect to find a celebrity living among us, but when you understand Dave Chappelle's background, it makes perfect sense. The legendary comedian grew up in Yellow Springs and though he's made a name for himself in Hollywood, the Ohio town is clearly the place he calls home. 

Julia Roberts - Taos, NM

Many years ago, Julia Roberts bought a ranch in Taos, NM, and it seems every year, she spends more and more time there. She even married her husband Danny Moder there. While she does split time in a house in Malibu, closer to work, she seems to prefer the peaceful life of Taos, as she's explained in the past. 

Daniel Day-Lewis - Ireland

Long before Daniel Day-Lewis decided to retire from acting, he had settled into living in Ireland’s County Wicklow. It's hardly surprising that an actor like Lewis would shun the spotlight, after all, he really only worked when the part really fascinated him, and he retired in 2017 despite unparalleled success as a performer. 

John Cena - Land o' Lakes, Florida

Don't confuse John Cena's hometown of Land o' Lakes, Florida for a stick of butter. The Fast X star has lived in the town outside Tampa for a long time. Even as his star has risen in Hollywood, with a major role in the DCEU as Peacemaker both in The Suicide Squad and his own show, The Peacemaker, Cena has resisted moving to California. 

Vera Farmiga - Woodstock, NY

Upstate New York is a popular place for stars to escape the public eye and Vera Farmiga is one of the stars that prefers it that way. The Many Saints of Newark actor lives in the famous artist colony of Woodstock in the Hudson Valley, following in a long tradition of celebrities retreating to the woods to get out of the spotlight, even when she's popping into rock shows in Woodstock to play Iron Maiden covers in a bar band. 

Woody Harrelson - Maui, HI

Woody Harrelson is definitely a man who moves to the beat of his own drummer, so the fact that he lives in Hawaii is hardly a shock. He even semi-retired for a while at the height of his career. While he's not "off the grid", he's certainly off the beaten path. Thankfully, his home was unaffected by the tragic wildfires earlier this year. 

John Mayer - Livingstone, MT

John Mayer has settled down into a much quieter life in recent years. The Dead & Co guitar player has found peace and quiet in the small Montana town of Livingstone. While life on the road certainly has its wild times, one would think, it must be nice for Mayer to get back home for some relaxing peace. 

Ken Jennings - Seattle, WA

Despite being named co-host of Jeopardy! a couple of years ago, and really taking a shine to the gig that shoots in LA, Ken Jennings does not seem to have plans to permanently relocate to Southern California. Jennings and his family have long called Seattle home and it seems he's happy to commute when it's time to shoot new episodes of the legendary game show. 

Robert De Niro - New York City

It's hard to imagine Robert De Niro living anywhere but New York. He just doesn't seem to be a California type of guy at all, right? He even helped get the Tribeca Film Festival off the ground, which bolstered not only NYC but the actual neighborhood he lives in in Manhattan as it struggled to recover from the 9/11 attacks. 

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence is bi-coastal, for sure. She does have a house in LA, but her husband Cooke Maroney is an art dealer whose business and gallery are in New York City, so she seems to spend most of the time she's not working in the Big Apple. 

Dan Aykroyd - Sydenham, Ontario

Dan Aykroyd has always been proud to be Canadian and he's been a longtime resident of Sydenham, Ontario, near Kingston, ON, not too far from where he grew up in Ottawa. 

Jennifer Hudson - Chicagoland Area

Superstar Jennifer Hudson is a Chicago girl and as such, she's stayed close to home. She may be a worldwide star, but Chicago is what made her who she is today and despite the means to live anywhere, Hudson chooses to live in the suburb of Burr Ridge, outside Chi-Town. 

Nikki Glaser - St. Louis, MO

Despite being the hometown of a lot of huge stars like John Goodman, Sterling K. Brown, Jenna Fischer, and Jon Hamm, most don't stay in town. The exception to that rule is comedian and comedy roast specialist Nikki Glaser. She moved back during the pandemic and found it much more fulfilling to live in her hometown than on either coast. 

While Los Angeles may be the city of dreams, it's not always the city of permanent residence for stars that have reached those lofty heights. Most may get their start on the West Coast but many of the biggest stars in the world don't live in California. 

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are best buddies for life. They starred opposite each other on HBO’s True Detective, and have often enjoyed traveling together with their families, and shouting each other out on their birthdays. While they may be brothers by choice — each one's kids even refer to the opposite actor as “uncle” — they also may be brothers by blood. Both have revealed that there is a possibility that they may share a father. While I definitely want a definitive answer to this, McConaughey apparently doesn’t, and he’s explained why in past interviews. 

The Dallas Buyers Club star recently sat down with E! News to discuss his new children’s book, "Just Because." When the conversation turned to Woody Harrelson, McConaughey was shown a video featuring longtime talk show host and paternity "expert" Maury Povich, who offered to come out of retirement to find out if the True Detective actors really do share a parent. Here's how Povich laid his offer out:

McConaughey politely declined the offer, but was seemingly into the opportunity to chat about his old friend, though possibly in another context however. He said:

The reason the two might be brothers is because McConaughey’s mother had admitted to knowing Harrelson’s father intimately, and after timelines were compared, the results were a real possibility the two are related. The excitement of having a new brother that they are already close with is real but for McConaughey, the truth is more complicated than that.

Why Matthew McConaughey Isn't Into Having A Paternity Test

While I was surprised that the Interstellar actor was uninterested in getting answers, McConaughey has explained his apprehension in the past. Harrelson would just be getting a new brother if the paternity test proved it, but for the Oscar winner, his entire truth about his father would be altered, which would be a very emotional experience.

Harrelson’s father’s identity specifically complicates things. The Cheers alum’s father, Charles Harrelson, was a contract killer and was heavily involved in organized crime. This possible shared history makes things even more complex, so it makes even more sense that McConaughey wouldn’t want to damage his own familial perception. Here's how he'd put it previously:

While the possibility is ever intriguing, these two are currently just enjoying their own created brotherhood without needing a DNA test to assert their close bond. Blood brothers or not, Harrelson and McConaughey are besties for life. 

However, there is a possibility the former and future co-stars could change their mind, and I have to admit, a prime time special hosted by Maury Povich would be pretty exciting. The ratings could be astronomical, not to mention social media reactions, as fan curiosity is strong. Maybe doing the show for charity would also be a way to make the experience more meaningful and a strong incentive for the stars. Harrelson might be game, but it would take a lot of convincing for McConaughey. We may never have true answers, but the prospect is interesting enough, and I have to admit, I kind of see the resemblance. 

You can see the brothers at heart starring alongside each other in the first season of True Detective, which is currently streaming for Max subscribers. Another, different series starring Harrelson and McConaughey was also recently ordered by AppleTV+, so make sure you have an AppleTV+ subscription for when that oddball comedy finally hits the small screen. 

Recently I was out having a pint with some of my buddies, and as much as I enjoy their company, I kept thinking about which Cheers character with whom I would rather be at the bar. Like any neighborhood watering hole, Cheers was frequented by an array of different people and personalities, and since I spent a lot of time in my youth obsessing over the show, and the city of Boston, I thought “Why not rank the Cheers characters in the order I’d most like to sit down at a bar with”? So here we go. 

11. Rebecca

This is a tough choice here. I absolutely adore Rebecca Howe and the beloved, late Kirstie Alley’s portrayal of her is fantastic. I know at the time fans were upset about the change in the show after Diane left, but I don’t think the show missed a beat by adding Rebecca. That said, I’m not sure I’d ever want to have a drink with her. In her finest moments, she was a strong, confident boss who navigated the pressures of having a corporate overlord watching the bar’s every choice, but in her lowest moments, she could be an emotional wreck. I’ve tipped back a few in my day with people like that and I’d be very nervous that after a couple of drinks, she’d break down. I’d rather be out with someone having a good time. 

10. Fraiser

Dr. Fraiser Crane, brilliantly played by Kelsey Grammer was a staple on NBC for two decades, first on Cheers and then its spinoff, Fraiser (which is being revived on Paramount+). Grammer won all kinds of awards for playing the character on both shows, which he richly deserved. Let’s be honest here though, it might be a bit of a bore to hang out with Frasier for some drinks. His pompous nature would likely get very grating. On the positive side, whenever someone on the show had a problem, he was happy to provide free counseling, so maybe if times were tough, he’d be the perfect bar mate. On the other hand, sometimes the last thing I wanted was to get unsolicited advice from a guy at a bar, which was another of Frasier’s less endearing qualities.

9. Lilith

Frasier’s wife on Cheers, Dr. Lilith Crane (Bebe Neuwirth), has a lot of the same qualities as Frasier. She’s sort of annoying, she’s a snob (maybe a bigger one than he is) and she’s uptight. She’s also incredibly witty and snarky, which are two qualities I love in a drinking buddy. It would be a lot easier to get past the snobbery after a couple of glasses of wine and Lilith started relaxing and letting her tight bun of hair down. I think she’d be very funny to hang out with once her guard qa down, and a little liquid courage would go a long way there. There’s just something about her wry wit underneath her icy, robotic outer shell that seems like it would be a lot of fun to experience. I can't wait to see how she shows up in the new Frasier series. 

8. Woody

Ok, so what do you do with Woody? I don’t mean where do I put him on this list, I literally mean what do you do with him? Woody, played by Woody Harrelson in a role he wasn’t interested in at first, is easily the most lovable character on Cheers. He’s a country-bumpkin in the best sense of the term. He’s honest, he’s forthright, and he’s kind. He’s often accidentally funny, but who wants to drink with someone they are laughing at rather than with? Not me. I have nothing against Woody at all, so there are good reasons to avoid having a tipple with the man, but I worry I would spend a lot of my time bored and looking at my phone as Woody rambles on about how terrible French Lick, Indiana is compared to his hometown of Hanover, IN. While I’m here for trashing talking Larry Bird, that’s probably where my interests end, right?

7. Evan Drake

Over its 11 seasons, Cheers had a lot of guest stars, and for the most part, this list would get pretty out of control if I thought about all of them. However, one who I would love to have a drink with is Rebecca’s boss, Evan Drake. Mr. Drake, played by the always cool Tom Skerritt, is everything you want in a drinking buddy. He’s funny and he goes with the flow, no matter how nuts it gets. He navigates Rebecca’s overzealous crush on him well and seems to have a good time with all the shenanigans the Cheers regulars commit. He even hired Norm to paint his apartment. Plus, being as rich as he is, I’d count on him paying for the really good stuff on the top shelf. 

6. Diane

Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) gets a bum rap from the other Cheers characters. As was too often common in that era, the smart person is the subject of ridicule rather than praise. She’d be fascinating to have a drink with. Who doesn’t want to sit around with someone and talk late into the night about all the great books of history, and Diane has a vast knowledge of them all. Plus, we have a lot in common. We’re both writers, we both attended Boston University and we both left Boston to start our careers, so we’d certainly have plenty of fodder to keep the conversation going! 

5. Coach

Now we’re getting to the nitty gritty, the Cheers characters who really seem like they’d most fun to drink with. For pure hilarity and fun, you have to think Ernie "Coach" Pantusso, played by Nicholas Colasanto in a role that could’ve gone to Sid Caesar, if you can believe it, would be at the top. Sure, he’s kind of an idiot, like Woody, but Coach lived a whole more life than Woody ever did. He’s a former baseball coach, hence the nickname. He also served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. There would be all kinds of cool stories to share over a beer, assuming he remembers them all. Even if he forgot half of each story, he’d still be a blast to hang out with at the bar. 

4. Cliff

Cliff Claven, played by Pixar superstar John Ratzenberger, might not seem like a top choice here, but let me explain. Ask any of my friends, like the ones I was hanging with recently, and they’ll tell you I have the same knack for peppering in useless trivia into all my conversations. I say, “You know,” as often as Cliff does. I’ve long secretly dreamt of being on Jeopardy! and I love going to pub trivia nights at my local watering hole. Just imagine walking into your local dive for trivia with a former Jeopardy! almost champion who knows more useless facts than anyone you’ve ever met. We’d be unstoppable, which would mean free pitchers all night as the winners of every round! 

3. Carla

Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) on Cheers is everything I look for in a dive bar waitress. Most importantly, she’s snarky as hell. I have to admit, after a couple of beers, I can get pretty cynical and snarky, and I love someone who can match witty barbs thrown at other people. It’s not my best trait, but it’s one I share with Carla. I can totally see myself sitting on a patio in front of a bar on a busy street in Boston’s Back Bay throwing shade on everyone walking by with Carla. It would be one of those nights that I would laugh so hard it would hurt, especially because Carla wouldn’t even crack a smile as she wisecracked her way to last call. 

2. Sam

This one gets a little weird because fans of the show will note that Sam Malone (Ted Danson) is a recovering alcoholic, so maybe having a drink isn’t the best idea. Well, I disagree. We might not end up getting whacky on the sauce together, but that wouldn’t stop me from having a great time hanging out with a former Red Sox pitcher with friends like Kevin McHale and Wade Boggs! I also really need to know exactly what happened with his sailboat that he bought with the money he got for selling Cheers when it ran aground between Seasons 5 and 6. I’ll still have a whisky, he’ll have club soda, or whatever. 

1. Norm

Could there be anyone else at the top of the list of Cheers characters you’d want to have a drink with other than Norm Peterson? He's the every man, the salt of the earth, the guy that everyone is so happy to see when he darkens the door of Cheers that they all yell his name. Just like it says in the theme song, I want to go where everyone knows my name, just like Norm. George Wendt’s portrayal of Norm is just perfect. He’s happy-go-lucky when he needs to be and he’s the quippiest part of the gang of regulars. He’s loyal to his friends, especially Cliff, and he’s the one who everyone in the bar would choose to have a drink with, so who am I to disagree?

In my imaginary world where I don’t leave Boston after college, I think of myself walking down those stairs and feeling “home” with all the regulars at Cheers. The characters on Cheers feel, like so many of our favorite TV characters, like my buddies. It’s so good to know that even now, all these years later, those buddies are still everyone’s friends, and the show’s enduring appeal is due in large part to how great they are.  

Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey go way back to the ‘90s when they starred in EDtv together and, 15 years later, they showed fans how much chemistry they had during the first season of True Detective (which can be streamed with an HBO Max subscription). Their on-screen chemistry may be partially due to shared blood, though, as the colleagues and real-life BFFs recently revealed that they may actually be half-brothers. McConaughey has opened up about being a little reluctant to find out the truth of their relationship, however, and his reason is super valid.

When serving as a guest on Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast, Matthew McConaughey got into his long-standing relationship with Woody Harrelson, saying their kids respectively call the other “uncle.” Their families are clearly close, and McConaughey’s mom let slip that she knew Harrelson’s dad, which raised more than one eyebrow.

He went on to explain that after checking timelines, it would actually be very possible that the Zombieland actor’s father is the Oscar winner’s as well. This would, of course, mean that the latter’s parentage would change and that the former’s would not – and after knowing one man as your father for a lifetime, this could be monumental. Here is what the Failure to Launch star says exactly in regards to officially finding out if Harrelson is his blood brother:

Fans who have been keeping up with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson for some time may be pretty thrilled to know that the two besties could be actual brothers, and it would actually make a ton of sense. The two share a good amount of characteristics when it comes to their personalities and looks as well as talent. As close as the two actors are, though, McConaughey may have some serious emotional turmoil if they do indeed share a dad.

Aside from the notion of the man who he has called dad his whole life not being his blood father, the possibility of being Woody Harrelson’s half brother could carry some other hard-hitting weight. Harrelson’s dad was a convicted hitman. In addition to assassinating a federal judge, Charles Harrelson is thought by some to have had a hand in killing U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Losing a firm grip on your own father while finding out your blood father was an assassin? That would be a lot for anyone to process.

Luckily, though, the two A-listers already consider themselves to be brothers in a sense so, if a DNA test does end up happening and they do end up being blood relatives, Matthew McConaughey will have someone to lean on. It may be worthwhile to also note that McConaughey’s father passed away decades ago, and the Cheers star’ pop wasn’t too far behind him. So neither patriarch would be affected by the news. Time will tell how the two choose to proceed.

Both Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson have upcoming projects fans can look forward to. In fact, in addition to having co-starred in one of the grittiest shows on HBO, McConaughey and Harrelson will be starring in a new, very different series together. Blood brothers or not, you’ll be able to catch the two together again on and all you’ll need is an Apple TV subscription.

In recent years, Hollywood has been having a larger conversation about what needs to change when it comes to representation of minorities from all walks of life. There has certainly been a lot of moves in the right direction, such as the 2023 Academy Awards honoring Everything Everywhere All At Once over the weekend, a movie especially important to the Asian-American community. Another example is 2022 being a big year for Native American diversity on television. There are so many facets of diversity to be explored, including for segments of the disabled community, which is in the forefront of the basketball comedy Champions. 

The 2023 new movie release is a remake of the Spanish movie with the same name and premise. Champions revolves around a minor-league basketball coach, in this case played by Woody Harrelson, who gets kicked out of his job and finds himself doing community service for a local basketball team made up of people with disabilities. When CinemaBlend spoke to the movie’s director, Bobby Farrelly, he shared the process of representing people with a range of developmental disabilities in the movie. In his words: 

It’s incredible to see a movie like Champions casting numerous actors who happen to have disabilities with authentic roles that showcase more representation on the big screen. But, as the director shared, so many of the “hundreds” of actors they auditioned had never booked a job prior to Champions coming along. Farrelly shared a fun story while explaining the audition process further. As he continued:  

Casey Metcalfe plays Marlon in Champions, and is part of the team of basketball players called “The Friends” Woody Harrelson’s character coaches in the film. Metcalfe, who has autism, is among many who found their first movie credit with Champions despite a long history as an actor. Metcalfe began acting with a troupe called Actors for Autism back in 2004 in Los Angeles and was featured in the 2009 documentary Kids With Cameras. 

Metcalfe shared with his local news outlet Seven Days in a recent interview that he believes Champions is a “giant step forward for the developmentally disabled community” and shared his belief that it’s “society” that makes him and others feel not included. He hopes the movie will be a “turning point” for the community. 

In recent years, we are seeing more storylines around people with autism in particular have stereotypes challenged, including the Netflix dating show Love On The Spectrum. It’s great to see Champions also do so for big screen audiences. Champions is now playing in theaters, and you can check out our interview with Woody Harrelson about the movie as well here on CinemaBlend. 

Years after Woody Harrelson's Cheers role kicked off his Hollywood career, he returned to the small screen alongside first-time TV star Matthew McConaughey to blow HBO viewers' minds for two months via True Detective. Much splendor was had, and though the standout twisty mystery drama brought in new characters in follow-up seasons, fans such as yours truly have wanted to see the two Texan actors paired up again in for more episodic bliss. Now, we can all rejoice, for that glorious day has come!

At least, the day has come for the announcement part of that process, as Apple TV+ revealed it has ordered to series a new project with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson once more paired up for what will no doubt be amazing television, even if it won’t be anything like True Detective. The currently untitled project is being created by the Emmy-winning David West Read, of Schitt’s Creek fame.

Rather than leaning into their talents for playing against-type characters, the new streaming series will give McConaughey and Harrelson the chance to play heightened versions of themselves. It’s described as a “heartfelt odd couple love story” that will be partially focused on the unique and wonderful kinship that the two friends hold near and dear. The other part of the focus, however, will serve to test that bond as the two actors’ families come together as one to try and live together in peace on McConaughey’s Texas ranch. I’m going to guess that things will go less than alright, alright, alright, or there wouldn’t be much of a point to the show. 

Yeah right. I’d totally watch the Dazed and Confused and Kingpin vets just hanging out all day and shooting the shit without any narrative or format, possibly with a bunch of weed and booze involved. Maybe I also want to “audition” for this “show.”

In any case, Matthew McConaughey and Harrelson will also serve as executive producers for the Apple TV+ comedy, with Skydance Pictures serving as the studio. Also taking on EP duties will be showrunner David West Read, who has already helped to write for some of the funniest TV characters in the modern era, as a writer and producer for Schitt’s Creek starting in its third season. He’s also behind one of the streaming platform’s latest comedies, an adaptation of M.O. Walsh’s novel The Big Door Prize, which features a stacked cast including Chris O’Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Ally Maki, Damon Gupta and Josh Segarra, among others. (I would adore seeing Scream VI and The Other Two’s Segarra also popping up on McConaughey’s farm, if any casting directors are reading this.) 

Woody Harrelson spoke previously about how much his co-star got on his nerves while filming True Detective, in that McConaughey totally immersed himself in the role of Rust Cohle to the point where musings of violence were had. I can’t imagine that’ll be the case, unless there’s a point when Matty Mac becomes too much like himself to be tolerable. Is that the singularity? An apocalypse? 

Everyone with an Apple TV+ subscription can just sit back and relax while waiting for more news about this new comedy series. And that relaxing should probably include checking out our Ted Lasso refresher ahead of watching Season 3 when it premieres on Wednesday, March 15. Not to mention streaming The Big Door Prize for its March 29 debut, with Season 2 of Foundation hitting this summer! 

Over 30 years after starring in one of the all-time great basketball movies, White Men Can’t Jump, Woody Harrelson has returned to play a coach of the sport in Champions. The 2023 new movie release has the actor portraying a man who gets kicked off a minor-league team, and after a run-in with the law, he gets assigned a team of players with intellectual disabilities as his community service. It’s an underdog story both on-screen and behind the scenes, and the leading actor shared that he learned some new things from his co-stars during the filming of the movie. 

The latest Woody Harrelson movie employed a host of first-time actors with similar disabilities to the characters being portrayed in “The Friends” team. When speaking about working with his co-stars in Champions, Harrelson opened up about his experience improvising with the key players, telling CinemaBlend: 

Harrelson spoke fondly of his experience as the unlikely coach of ten teammates who happen to have disabilities, and he worked closely with those actors on Champions. As the actor shared, when audiences watch his character meet “The Friends” in the movie, it was actually the first time he was meeting them in real life. He found his experience working with the young cast to be really authentic throughout shooting, and he felt like he actually was the one who learned something new from them rather than the other way around. 

Champions is based on a 2018 film from Spain with the same name, Campeones, which was inspired by a real Spanish basketball team created by people with intellectual disabilities that won 12 Spanish championships between 1999 and 2014. CinemaBlend also spoke to the movie’s director, Bobby Farrelly, who shared his own experience working with the cast of Champions: 

The cast of Champions was balancing a lot, between having to really play basketball on screen and simulate some funny and endearing moments between the team and Harrelson’s coach character. The movie marks a rare major release starring actors with disabilities in an industry where the community has often been depicted by people without disabilities, stereotyped, and still to this day, not represented much on the big screen. 

Champions is now playing in theaters. Additionally, you can catch Woody Harrelson’s recent induction into the SNL five-timers club after hosting during Season 48, and you can look forward to the White Men Can’t Jump remake starring Jack Harlow, coming out on May 19. 

It’s been three years since the world went into lockdown following the global pandemic. Movie Theaters were closed during that time. Theme Parks were shut down. While the world has largely returned to normal now, and most of the safety requirements that were once in effect no longer are, there are a few places where people are still expected to mask and test and that includes Hollywood productions. Self-proclaimed anarchist Woody Harrelson is not a fan.

Speaking with the New York Times ahead of the release of his new film Champions, Harrelson is honest that he’s frustrated by the rules. He makes it clear that he doesn’t agree with the decisions to force people to mask and vaccinate in order to work on productions, without exception. But he’s also got some more specific complaints about the fact that mandates are still being enforced, and that they are not enforced equally. Harrelson says… 

Certainly, there are some people that agree with the Natural Born Killers star on this one. Requirements over masking and vaccinations in various corners of society led to constant battles between people even three years ago when they were new and the pandemic was having a more significant impact on daily life. 

The NYT interviewer follows this up by pointing out that people tend to have bad judgment when it comes to assessing risk, and Harrelson doesn’t disagree, but he reiterates that he’s an anarchist. If that’s your worldview, you’re going to have a problem with any rules that limit individual freedom, no matter the reason they exist.

Hollywood productions were closed down for months just like the rest of the world when the pandemic started. We saw numerous film productions shut down due to covid outbreaks once filming actually started again. Tom Cruise, whose opinions on the pandemic rules were very different than Harrelson, saw his Mission: Impossible movie closed on multiple times. 

But it also sounds like Woody Harrelson might be more amenable to Covid protocols if they were implemented more fairly. He says that as an actor he’s able to get out of wearing a mask, and he isn't required to test as often as the crew on the set. So there are probably a lot more people who would share this particular frustration. 

Most places have relaxed their pandemic requirements, and if Hollywood productions haven’t done so yet, it seems likely that will happen soon. As Harrelson himself points out, it has been three years since all this started, and for better or worse, the world is in a very different place than it was three years ago. Hopefully, this is something that we never have to deal with again. If we do, we can guess how Woody Harrelson will feel about it. 

It’s a common practice to see American actors play Canadians or the other way around. After all, the accents are not too different from each other. It is another story, however, when an American actor mispronounces the name of the city his character is from throughout the movie. With that in mind, Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson express their deepest apologies to any Canadians who were offended by the mispronunciation of “Toronto” in Netflix’s The Man From Toronto. 

Expect some nervous farts, laughs, and botched Canadian city pronunciations in Netflix’s The Man From Toronto, with the title character being played by Woody Harrelson. Kevin Hart explained in a video call to the Ottawa Sun that it would have been easier to pronounce the Canadian city had the Texas native grown up there:

Even though Woody Harrelson isn't from Toronto in real life, it doesn’t mean he’s never been there. He’s staged two plays in Toronto and has attended the Toronto International Film Festival many times. In his co-star Kevin Hart’s defense, there are other hitmen characters in the movie who are from a bunch of different places, like Miami or Wichita. When people come from different areas, it can be common for different people to have their own pronunciations. Tomayto, tomahto, right? Something tells me if the original choice for the hitman role, British actor Jason Statham, had stayed, maybe he would have had a little trouble himself making sure his Cockney accent wouldn’t get in the way.

No matter what the excuses are for the mispronunciation, Woody Harrelson apologized to all Torontonians, saying:

While The Man From Toronto may have botched up its pronunciation of the Canadian city, one thing it didn’t botch was the chemistry Woody Harrelson had with Kevin Hart. Some of the best movies Kevin Hart has done have been when he partners up with another actor who is just as funny as him, but is more taller and muscular. One example includes when he worked with SNL alum Will Ferrell in the filthy buddy-comedy Get Hard. Hart has also teamed up with The Rock in Central Intelligence and again in the Jumanji movies. You also can’t forget that time Kevin Hart tried to make Josh Gad look cool in The Wedding Ringer, or the heart-warming team-up he had with Bryan Cranston in The Upside. It proves that Kevin Hart has a natural bond with many of the actors he'd worked with.

If you want to see Kevin Hart team up with Woody Harrelson, watch The Man From Toronto on your Netflix subscription. Just remember- it’s pronounced tr-aan-tow.

Mistaken identity is no laughing matter; unless, of course, that scenario is explicitly presented as such. Netflix and Sony’s upcoming movie The Man from Toronto does just that, engaging in a scenario where anxious Kevin Hart has somehow been mistaken for badass Woody Harrelson. Trying to stay alive as a team, Hart and Harrelson get into their share of scuffles, with the former even having a case of the nervous farts. 

The fun starts when a mix up involving a rental property labels run of the mill business man Teddy (Kevin Hart) as a professional killer. As if that wasn't bad enough, an oddly timed FBI raid ultimately forces Hart’s character into maintaining his charade on behalf of law and order. Of course, when the actual man codenamed “Toronto” (Woody Harrelson) shows up, our protagonist is put under even more pressure to be the hardened killer he obviously isn’t. 

The Man from Toronto looks to have a manic comedic energy about it that’s very familiar. That claim is verified because of the fact that The Hitman’s Bodyguard director Patrick Hughes is the helmer behind the film, which was recently acquired by Netflix for streaming as part of the studio's ongoing relationship with Sony. All of a sudden, the bickering and the bullets start to make a lot more sense. 

Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson’s chemistry feels like even more of an advantage when you consider how The Man from Toronto originally cast Jason Statham as its more serious lead. Quick thinking seems to be a strong suit for this project, which is also seen in the fast paced banter and action that are on display in this new trailer.

While some might still be bummed not to see Statham re-team with his Hobbs and Shaw co-star Hart, you can’t deny that Woody feels right at home in this role. However, there is a mini-reunion that should add some excitement, as Kevin Hart and his co-star from The Wedding Ringer Kaley Cuoco are both on hand for The Man from Toronto. 

Though this character is as much of a mystery as whether or not The Flight Attendant will get a Season 3 , you can see Cuoco in a still photo that from The Man from Toronto that shows her character Maggie. Part of the recent press blitz for next month’s big debut, you can see Kaley Cuoco pictured with co-star Jasmine Mathews below: 

Punctuated with some moments of intimidated flatulence, and some accidental ass shooting in what looks like a major action set-piece, The Man from Toronto is definitely going to be a ride. Get ready for Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson to set up shop on your streaming device of choice soon, as the film will premiere on Netflix June 24th. While you're waiting, don't forget to take a look at the full list of 2022 Netflix movie premieres, so you can keep your theatrical hit list in order.

Based on Suzanne Collins’ best-selling trilogy, The Hunger Games movies remain the most successful YA franchise behind the Harry Potter movies. While so many other adaptations of the genre have fallen short, a story centered on a dystopian future where a televised battle between children fighting to the death have really ignited audience interests across over a decade of filmmaking. But, how do each of the installments stack up against one another, if each movie had to fight to the death? 

The Hunger Games was not only early to the game when it comes to Jennifer Lawrence being a massive female lead of a genre franchise before Star Wars, Marvel or DC did it, the universe itself also tells the timely and timeless story of class struggles, excess, and survival. The movie adaptations remain strong films as a whole, even despite some shortcomings, inspiring the 2023 prequel about the origins of President Snow and another one on the way in 2026 based on Haymitch’s games . Now, let’s get to The Hunger Games ranking thus far: 

5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

The 2014 third Hunger Games installment, Mockingjay Part 1, is not unwatchable, and it features some great moments in the franchise, but it’s definitely the weakest link of the five movies. After the previous films were thrilling spectacles that took us to the arena of The Hunger Games, Mockingjay Part 1 brings the series to a major slowdown as Katniss ventures to District 13 and truly learns to become the symbol of the rebellion, the Mockingjay. 

The main reason why Mockingjay Part 1 doesn’t work is probably because it is the result of Lionsgate deciding to split the last Hunger Games book up into two parts, like Twilight did before it, in order to bring in more money for the franchise before it wrapped up. From a business point of view, sure, it makes sense. But in terms of Mockingjay Part 1’s storyline, overall, that book did not need to be split into two parts, and Part 1 particularly suffered because of it. Director Francis Lawrence has even said he “totally regrets” turning the third book into two movies. 

That being said, Mockingjay Part 1 features a number of memorable moments in the franchise and some tension, as Peeta and Katniss separated. Peeta is under the Capitol’s grip as Katniss gets to know Julianne Moore’s President Coin and they work together to make Katniss a brand for the rebellion. Mockingjay Part 1 plays more as a middle-of-the-war film than the other Hunger Games movies. 

4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

The conclusion of The Hunger Games films, 2015’s Mockingjay Part 2 is not the best of the franchise either, but is likely a lot better than you remember it, especially in regards to how the ending was handled. After a disappointing third act in the previous film, Mockingjay Part 2 takes Katniss to the Capitol where she and a group of allies, including Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta and Liam Hemsworth’s Gale, being on one side with Mahershala Ali, Natalie Dormer, and Elden Hensen’s characters leading the rebellion. 

Although Mockingjay Part 2 feels like half of a movie (much like Part 1), it features an incredible finale, including Katniss’ final confrontations with President Snow and a twist ending that really drives home the messages of the franchise. The moment when Snow finally loses power is an all-time goosebump moment, and the time jump that features Katniss and Peeta’s bittersweet ending drives home their incredible performances as the characters. Jennifer Lawrence has a monologue about her “nightmares” from The Hunger Games that still gives fans chills and emotions just at the simple mention of it, and it still plays really well, especially after consecutive watches of all four films. 

3. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes

Nearly a decade after Katniss Everdeen’s hero’s journey came to a close with Mockingjay Part 2, the world of Panem returned with an adaptation of the 2020 novel, The Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes. The movie takes audiences back in time when Corilanus Snow was a teenager long before he became the dystopian world’s president. Tom Blyth does an incredible job of portraying the character as he mentors a District 12 tribute in Rachel Zegler’s Lucy Gray Baird (who is very different from Katniss), and the two form a complicated romantic bond. 

The Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes is a thrilling addition to the franchise, particularly in how the movie’s time period allows fans of the franchise to imagine a much more brutal game, along with deepening Snow’s backstory. However, at the same time, the installment never reaches the heights of Katniss’ original storyline, and can fall into some prequel traps we’ve seen too often in this Hollywood trend. 

2. The Hunger Games

Then, there's’ the  one that started it all, 2012’s The Hunger Games. It’s tough to not make this one No. 1, because without Gary Ross’ work in casting and establishing the world of Panem with his writing and direction, we’d have a very different franchise. The Hunger Games is an incredibly stylish take on Suzanne Collins' source material and will go down in history as one of the best big-screen realizations of a popular genre novel. From the shaky camera work in the arena, to production and costume design, and James Newton Howard’s great score, there’s a lot Ross did right when adapting the source material. 

The Hunger Games is not a perfect movie, but features a number of winning scenes that are iconic to the franchise. Between the interview scenes with Stanley Tucci’s Caesar Flickerman, the heartbreaking Rue moment, and the well-orchestrated final moments between Katniss and Peeta, it’s an impressive adaptation of the story of the Girl on Fire. There’s a refreshing dryness and groundedness about it that is not only tough to accomplish, but sets the bar high for the franchise as a whole to succeed under Francis Lawrence’s direction for the remainder of the series.  

1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 

The best Hunger Games movie remains to be its first sequel, 2013’s Catching Fire. After the first movie established the world and its key characters, this movie elevates what made it great, and ups the stakes. While there’s an inherent awkwardness about the original movie, to the fault of the sometimes alienating material, Catching Fire catches all the moving parts at a more comfortable place and becomes a better version of itself the second time around. 

Lawrence and Hutcherson’s Katniss and Peeta are clearly more comfortable around each other this time around, with the Quarter Quell there’s more room for the movie to build its other contestants and make us care about them. The franchise’s themes are more poignant than ever, especially as Katniss and Peeta tour Panem following their groundbreaking joint-win. There’s a really exciting urgency about Catching Fire that is both incredibly captured into a major, blockbuster popcorn film, and places a large emphasis on the forwarding of its characters, while featuring some show-stopping sequences that remain to signify the best of the Hunger Games legacy thus far. 

Of course, we all have our favorites in the franchise. Overall, The Hunger Games is a rare, strong YA franchise that benefitted from Francis Lawrence remaining at the helm of the films following Gary Ross starting the movies off with the original. The Hunger Games will continue with the prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping. Collins’ novel will be released on March 18, 2025 before the Lionsgate movie heads to theaters on November 20, 2026. Now to wonder, how it will stack up against this list. 

While the conversation surrounding the 2022 Academy Awards has largely revolved around Will Smith slapping Chris Rock and the controversy over Amy Schumer’s bit with Kirsten Dunst, there were plenty of other memorable events from this year’s ceremony. For example, Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes and Rosie Perez reunited onstage for the 30th anniversary of their movie White Men Can’t Jump. However, upon seeing the playback of that moment, Perez has revealed that things humorously didn’t go exactly according to plan that night, and pot may be the reason why.

Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes and Rosie Perez came out during the 2022 Academy Awards to present the Best Cinematography category. However, now Perez has revealed that Harrelson and Snipes didn’t follow her instructions when it came to handling her dress, as The Flight Attendant actress explained while appearing on The Daily Show:

So it turns out that Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes was only supposed to the long, trailing portion of Rosie Perez’s dress prior to going onto the Oscars stage, but instead they kept their grip on it as the trio walked out together, much to Perez’s annoyance. Why did they not follow her instructions? Perez suspects pot to be the culprit, and while we can’t confirm if that is indeed the case, Harrelson has certainly been known to get high from time to time. Granted, Harrelson said in 2017 that he doesn’t smoke pot anymore, but it seems as though he changed his mind since then.

Upon rewatching Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes and Rosie Perez’s portion of the 2022 Academy Awards (which you can do too with a Hulu subscription), going off the way the former two are acting, I could buy that they were high and that they handle Rosie Perez’s dress the way she instructed either because they forgot or thought it would be funny to mess with her. Regardless, in the end, these three got the job done, through both their banter with one another and announcing that Greg Fraser won the Best Cinematography Oscar for his work on Dune. That was one of six Oscars that Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel took home that night.

This segment of the 2022 Academy Awards also served as a reminder for how long it’s been since White Men Can’t Jump came out. The Ron Shelton-written and directed movie remains one of the most notable entries on Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes and Rosie Perez’s respective resumes, and now there’s even a White Men Can’t Jump remake in the works. So far the cast of this new take on White Men Can’t Jump includes Jack Harlow in the Harrelson role and Sinqua Walls in the Snipes role. 

While we wait for more news on how the White Men Can’t Jump remake is coming along, you’re welcome to stream the original on Hulu. If you’re more interested in what the future has in store, scan though the 2022 movie releases.

Kevin Hart has been part of a few legendary buddy comedy pairings over the years, starring alongside Will Ferrell, Ice Cube and, of course his best buddy Dwayne Johnson. Next up, the comedian is pairing up with Venom’s Woody Harrelson for a fun action flick called The Man From Toronto. In a shakeup for the movie, it will be coming to streaming instead of theaters this summer. 

The Man From Toronto will reportedly become available exclusively to those with a Netflix subscription later this year, per Variety. The decision falls under a previous deal Sony and Netflix made one year ago in regards to the streaming service getting the rights to the studio’s films after an 18-month theatrical exclusivity window. Or, in The Man From Toronto’s case, a number of Sony films will instead skip their theatrical runs and go directly to Netflix, in lieu of the studio not having its own streaming service to call its own. 

In the upcoming action comedy, Woody Harrelson will play the “world’s deadliest assassin,” while Kevin Hart’s character is described as “New York’s biggest screw up.” These two characters end up being confused for one another at an Airbnb rental, and hijinks ensue. Harrelson replaced Jason Statham back in 2020, with Statham abruptly leaving The Man from Toronto reportedly due to “creative differences,” especially in terms of the movie’s planned rating. Statham allegedly wanted The Man From Toronto to be R-rated, whereas the studio was opting for a PG-13 release for a Thanksgiving weekend slot. That never happened anyway thanks to COVID-19 delays. 

Kevin Hart has been frequently seen on Netflix as of late in projects like last year’s touching family movie Fatherhood and the miniseries True Story. In late 2021, he boarded a Netflix action heist film called Lift, along with already having the comedy Me Time for the streaming service. Additionally, Hart will star in the upcoming DC animated movie DC League of Super-Pets, the Borderlands adaptation and the Monopoly movie, based on the game of the same name. 

Woody Harrelson appeared in the 2021 Netflix action flick Kate alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The actor also recently starred as the villain in the Venom sequel Let There Be Carnage recently, along with reprising his Zombieland role in the 2019 followup alongside Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone. 

It'll be exciting to see Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson work next to each other on screen for the first time. The Man From Toronto was directed by Patrick Hughes, who has helmed both The Hitman’s Bodyguard movies starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson. He also was the director behind 2014’s The Expendables 3 starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford. 

The previous release date for The Man From Toronto was August 12, but it’s currently unclear if the date will remain as it moves to Netflix’s 2022 movie schedule. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more about this upcoming action comedy. 

News of a White Men Can’t Jump remake came as a surprise to fans of the original film after years of being dormant. What was even more of a surprise was the casting of popular rapper Jack Harlow in the Woody Harrelson role. While the remake will be Harlow’s first acting role, another popular rap star has been thrown his hat in the ring to play the Wesley Snipes role.

TMZ caught up with rapper Quavo from the rap group Migos as he was boarding a flight at LAX. The popular rapper made it noticeably clear that he wants to be the “Nail Tech” rapper’s co-star in the reboot. He said about wanting to replace the Blade actor in the film:

The “Bad and Boujee” rap star is ready to take the film world by storm with Harlow as his co-pilot. The rap superstar mentioned his fellow rapper “can do everything” before calling him “amazing.” So, he’s ready for his big-screen debut as well.

Unlike Jack Harlow, Quavo has some acting roles under his belt, popping up on shows like Atlanta, black-ish, Ballers, and Narcos: Mexico. But each show was more of a guest spot as he played himself. So if he were to audition or land the role, it would mark his first substantive role since breaking through to the music scene in 2013.

While his acting skills will be up for critique, his skills on the court can’t be questioned. Throughout entertainment, the rapper is known as one of the best celebrity ballers, having displayed his prowess within celebrity basketball leagues. In recent years, Quavo has become a staple in the NBA's annual All-Star Celebrity Game, scoring the MVP title in 2018. His basketball techniques go beyond just the celebrity world as he was tapped to become a playable character in NBA2k22.

The occasional actor has big shoes to fill if he secures the role. The 1992 original film was a commercial hit that shored up Wesley Snipes’ star power and launched Woody Harrelson’s post-Cheers movie career. Snipes and Harrelson played basketball hustlers Syd Deane and Billy Hoyle trying to pay off Hoyle’s mobster debts. The film went on to become a beloved basketball movie.

Right now, no indication on who will replace the Coming 2 America actor as the remake is in development with black-ish creator Kenya Barris set as a producer. So, viewers might have to wait a while to hear if Quavo made the cut or not. There hasn’t been any talk about who will replace Rosie Perez’s Gloria in the reboot. Perez has previously criticized talks of a remake. For any more updates on the White Men Can’t Jump remake, you can check back with CinemaBlend for more news!

To relive all the smack talk from Snipes and Harrelson, you can watch the original film by subscribing to Hulu.

The original Hunger Games franchise may be over, but the power of the Mockingjay symbol lives on. This fall the Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will take us back to the games on the big screen for the first time in seven years with the upcoming book adaptation. As we get ready to return to Panem, it’s time to revisit the epic movies starring Jennifer Lawrence at home. Looking for The Hunger Games movies on streaming? There are multiple options about how to see the four film adaptations based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling YA novels about the Girl on Fire. 

All The Hunger Games movies are not only great interpretations of their source material, it continues to be a chilling science fiction story with roots in real-life, great cinematic moments along with the franchise being a  jumping off point for a number of now-famous actors. Here’s how you can stream each movie:  

The Hunger Games (2012) 

The first Hunger Games film introduced Suzanne Collins’ dystopian world to audiences along with its beloved action hero, Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen before the actress became an Oscar winner months after its release for Silver Linings Playbook. In the blockbuster sci-fi movie, Katniss and Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta Mellark are chosen as the “tributes” for their mining community of District 12 for the 74th Hunger Games. At the games, Katniss and Peeta become reality TV stars who are interviewed, trained and showcased before their tyrannic nation as they are forced to fight the other young people from each District to the death for Panem’s entertainment. 

Stream The Hunger Games on Amazon Prime Video.

Rent/Buy The Hunger Games on Amazon.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire follows Katniss and Peeta after the District 12 tributes make history and both walk out of the competition alive. As Katniss becomes a symbol for a rebellion igniting across Panem, Donald Sutherland’s President Snow hits them with a curveball: Katniss and Peeta and other previous tributes are going back in the ring for the society’s big 75th games. The sequel is our favorite Hunger Games movie from our ranking. Catching Fire also introduces a number of fan-favorites from the book series, including Sam Claflin’s Finnick Odair, Jena Malone’s Johanna Mason and Jeffrey Wright’s Beetee.

Stream The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on Amazon Prime Video.

Rent/Buy The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on Amazon.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) 

The events that go down in the Hunger Games in Catching Fire rocks the corrupt establishment of the Capitol and causes mass destruction across Panem. In the third movie, Katniss finds herself leading a secret rebellion against President Snow in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. Katniss learns of the mysterious District 13 and begins to work with Julianne Moore’s President Coin to truly become the symbol the people need to overthrow Snow, whilst Peeta remains at the grips of the Capitol as leverage for Snow against their cause. 

Stream The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on Amazon Prime Video. 

Rent/Buy The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on Amazon.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) 

The finale to The Hunger Games movies covers the second half of Suzanne Collins’ novel, Mockingjay, started by Mockingjay Part 1 in the movie prior. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 follows Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Finnick and Mahershala Ali’s Boggs venturing into the Capitol to take down President Snow once and for all. The last movie answers the question about whether Katniss and Peeta’s love story for the cameras is real and concludes what 2012’s The Hunger Games started in an epic and emotional way. 

Stream The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 on Amazon Prime Video.

Rent/Buy The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 on Amazon.

The Hunger Games movies are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video alongside other great movies on Amazon Prime Video. The next Hunger Games installment, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is among upcoming 2023 movies, hitting theaters on November 17. 

Woody Harrelson is one of those actors that always delivers amazing performances, no matter what the project is, and there have been many projects since he got his game-changing start on Cheers. In his most high-profile TV role since that iconic bar-set sitcom, Harrelson joined fellow Texan and best buddy Matthew McConaughey for the first season of HBO’s True Detective, in a role that earned him an Emmy nomination. The murder mystery’s intensity was palpable, in part due to McConaughey’s methodical performance as Rust Cohle, which apparently got under Harrelson’s skin during filming.

With their decades-long friendship having been sparked by co-starring in EDtv, Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey made for charismatic co-stars within their respectively haunted roles, and Rust Cohle became a meme machine when the performance meshed up perfectly with Nic Pizzolatto’s dialogue. It was SUCH an effective portrayal that Woody Harrelson immediately brought up how much it irked him when asked about it on the podcast Smartless by Jason Bateman. Here’s what he said, with much stress on the second F-bomb:

What a bizarre situation to work on a project with a friend like Matthew McConaughey, whose laid-back personality becomes something entirely different within a memorable role like Rust Cohle. (Not that there have been a ton of roles like that.) But similar to how most of the people who dealt with Cohle on a regular basis likely wanted to bop him one at a time or twelve, Woody Harrelson clearly harbored many desires to smack the character right out of his co-star. I love it.

Once those barely shrouded feelings were shared, Jason Bateman asked Harrelson was asked if he had a sense of how great the star-stacked thriller would be as they were making it, and while poking fun at the podcast co-host, the True Detective star said:

Woody Harrelson did get into a physical altercation in a Washington D.C. bar back in October, so it’s clearly not impossible to tick the esteemed actor off. But that was, of course, a completely different situation. And it only would have been escalated had a Rust Cohle-esque officer shown up to take a report.

For those who want to relive all the “time is a flat circle” philosophy that True Detective’s first season has to offer, you can find it and the following two seasons (along with lots of other gritty HBO originals) streaming on HBO Max. To see what new murder mysteries are on the horizon, head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule!

As far as his recent box office output is concerned, actor Woody Harrelson couldn’t be more on top of the world. Thanks to Venom: Let There Be Carnage setting a pandemic box office record, Harrelson’s Carnage is making a lot of moviegoers happy with his gleeful madness. But apparently there was someone in Washington D.C. who wasn’t exactly his biggest fan, which reportedly led to a bar scuffle that saw Woody Harrelson defending himself from a physical assault.

The story was reported by The Washington Post, which reports that the incident allegedly started when Woody Harrelson asked a patron at the “Top of the Gate” bar to delete photos he’d reportedly taken of the actor and his daughter. This led to an argument that eventually led to the unnamed participant, who was reported to have been drinking himself, took a run at Harrelson, who then “struck” him in self defence. No charges have been filed at this time, as Washington DC police have come to that same conclusion. 

Thankfully, no serious injuries have been reported from this incident. Reading through the details of the fight itself, it sounds like Woody Harrelson’s would-be attacker “retreated to his room” after being hit. In all seriousness, that one move must have been pretty powerful to seemingly de-escalate the situation that the True Detective star found himself a part of, in the late hours of last night. 

Woody Harrelson is currently in the nation’s capital to film an HBO drama series, The White House Plumbers. A five-part limited series about the Watergate break-in scandal that rocked the Nixon presidency, Harrelson is part of an all-star cast that includes Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Domhnall Gleeson, Game of Thrones veteran Lena Headey, and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star Kiernan Shipka; among others. 

Surely making for an interesting story on the set of The White House Plumbers, Woody Harrelson now has his own personal history with the Watergate Hotel. While nowhere near as earth shattering in its impact as those historical events, it’s an intriguing story nonetheless. Still, the important part is that no one was majorly hurt, and we can look back on this story without a tragic undertone being present. The only wound suffered here, so far, is the pride of the attacker; and that can usually be regained. 

If you want to see Woody Harrelson fighting in a less serious, more spectacle driven fashion, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is currently in theaters. Plus, there’s also his upcoming role in The Man From Toronto, which opens in January 2022. But if you’ve already seen that film, or want to find something that’s not so intense, the 2021 release schedule is your guide to the past, present, and future of this year’s cinematic offerings. 

Some of my earliest childhood memories oddly enough revolve around Woody Harrelson. It sounds strange, I know, but I vividly remember watching reruns of Cheers when I should have been sleeping or catching the White Men Can’t Jump trailer before some random movie on VHS at a friend’s sleepover. And ever since then, Harrelson’s body of work has played a fairly significant role in the direction of my life. I became obsessed with watching movies over and over again after catching Natural Born Killers (or at least the most sensational parts of it) at a neighbor’s house after school one day and decided I wanted to write for the school paper after watching No Country For Old Men on Thanksgiving Eve. The list could go on and on.

That being said, here are some of the best Woody Harrelson movies and TV shows to check out if you want to see what one of the most entertaining living actors is all about.

Triangle Of Sadness (2022)

A superyacht full of celebrities and other wealthy passengers becomes stranded on a desert island where everyone, including the tormented crew, is forced to fight for survival. That’s the basic premise for Ruben Östlund’s 2022 satirical black comedy, Triangle of Sadness, a film that was up for a total of four Academy Awards shortly after its release.

Woody Harrelson, who plays the ship’s drunk and off-kilter captain, is in top form throughout Triangle of Sadness. His performance, which had him take part in a chaotic and vomit-filled dinner scene, steals the show and once again proves that he’s one of the most talented actors around.

Stream Triangle of Sadness on Hulu.
Rent/Buy Triangle of Sadness on Amazon.
Buy Triangle of Sadness on Blu-ray on Amazon.

White House Plumbers (2023)

There have been countless movies and TV shows about the Watergate Scandal and its fallout, but the 2023 HBO original series, White House Plumbers, took a much different and far more humorous approach to one of the biggest political controversies of the 20th century. In the miniseries, Woody Harrelson plays E. Howard Hunt, a CIA officer who works alongside Justin Theroux’s G. Gordon Liddy to find the source behind the Pentagon Papers in a scheme that inadvertently led to the Watergate episode.

Harrelson, who has always been able to bounce between comedy and drama, is masterful in his portrayal of a morally ambiguous government figure, especially whenever he finds himself in the middle of some major disasters.

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North Country (2005)

One of Charlize Theron’s best movies, the 2005 drama, North Country, tells the story of Josey Aimes (Theron), a Minnesota iron mine worker who files a sexual harassment lawsuit after her employer and male coworkers subject her to a vicious cycle of abuse and disturbing behavior in hopes she’ll quit her job.

Woody Harrelson comes into the picture as Bill White, a lawyer who takes up Aimes’ case and helps her get back at those who made her life a living hell just because she wanted to make a living for herself. The scene where Bill cross-examines Bobby Sharp (Jeremy Renner) on the witness stand happens to be some of Harrelson’s best acting.

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War For The Planet Of The Apes (2017)

The final chapter in Matt Reeves’ sci-fi action trilogy, War for the Planet of the Apes features one last showdown between Caesar (Andy Serkis) and his army and a dangerous group of humans led by the tyrannical Colonel (Woody Harrelson). After the leader of the Alpha-Omega militia kills members of the ape leader’s family and closest friends, we’re on our way to full-on war.

Though he plays a downright evil and megalomaniacal character, it’s hard not to enjoy Harrelson’s performance in this 2017 thriller. It’s easy to tell that he was having just as much fun playing a dastardly villain as audiences had watching it in the theater.

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Champions (2023)

If you’re looking for a Woody Harrelson movie that has comedy, drama, and a whole lot of heart, then look no further than Champions. This 2023 inspirational sports film follows Marcus Marakovich (Harrelson), a hot-tempered basketball coach who agrees to lead a team of intellectually disabled players instead of an 18-month prison sentence. Little does he know, but Marcus’ life is about to change… for the better.

This great sports underdog story has all the hallmarks of the genre, and features some killer laughs, emotionally driven drama, and some awesome basketball sequences. Harrelson is both strong and vulnerable throughout, which adds a great deal to this heartwarming film.

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Cheers (1985 - 1993)

Although not one of the original members of the Cheers cast, Woody Harrleson’s dim-witted but beloved Hoosier bartender Woody Boyd quickly became one of the standouts of the long-running NBC sitcom with his introduction at the start of Season 4. After he arrives at Cheers to meet his “pen pal” Coach Emile Pantusso (Nicholas Colasanto), Woody learns of the former bartender’s passing from Sam Malone (Ted Danson) who subsequently offers him a job tending bar, and the rest is history.

Woody Harrelson would be nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards for his Cheers performance, winning one for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1989. Not bad for his first television role.

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White Men Can’t Jump (1992)

In the spring of 1992, Woody Harrelson went from one of the most familiar faces on TV to a promising movie actor with Ron Shelton’s sports comedy White Men Can’t Jump. In the all-time great basketball movie, Harrelson plays Billy Hoyle, a white basketball player who uses his opponents' underestimation of his skills on the court to make big money. One of these hustles puts him face-to-face with Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), who sees the potential of the scheme and partners up with Hoyle to take the scheme all across Los Angeles.

If Cheers put Woody Harrelson on the map, White Men Can’t Jump made him one of the most recognizable faces in young Hollywood and took things to the next level.

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Natural Born Killers (1994)

Directed by Oliver Stone and based on a story written by Quentin Tarantino, the 1994 psychedelic crime drama, Natural Born Killers, tells the story of Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory Knox (Juliette Lewis) two young lovers who stop at nothing to be together, even if that means killing 52 people on a cross-country crime spree that makes them terrifying serial killers to some and cult heroes to others. 

The brilliant thing about Natural Born Killers, well, besides the cast that also includes Robert Downey Jr., Tom Sizemore, and Tommy Lee Jones, is the fact that remains just as relevant now as it was upon its release 30 years ago. Through its attacks on society’s obsession with serial killers and a media with an “if it bleeds, it leads” mentality, Stone’s controversial thrill ride is at times enlightening as much as it is frightening.

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The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

On Christmas Day 1996, Miloš Forman gave the world of cinema an unexpected gift in the form of a biographical drama about one of the most unconventional crusaders for free speech this country has ever seen: Hustler magazine founder and provocateur, the late Larry Flynt. In The People vs. Larry Flynt, we see Woody Harrelson take on the role of the famed pornographer as he and his attorney Alan Isaacman (Edward Norton) take a case involving decency laws all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Oddly inspirational and undoubtedly hilarious, The People vs. Larry Flynt is a biopic befitting of the prominent media figure, especially with the Academy Award-nominated performance of Woody Harrelson and his commitment to the larger-than-life character.

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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Martin McDonagh’s 2017 crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, tells the story of Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand), a woman who will stop at nothing to get justice for her daughter who was raped and murdered several months earlier. Not happy with Police Chief Bill Willoughby’s (Woody Harrelson) investigation that hasn’t turned up any leads, Hayes takes out three billboards outside of town in hopes of getting everyone’s attention. What follows is a tale of determination and redemption in the face of evil and injustice in a small Midwestern town.

Woody Harrelson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (which was won by his co-star Sam Rockwell) for his portrayal of a character who is forced to look at his own mortality dead in its eyes while also facing the biggest professional crisis of his career. While not the most likable character, Harrelson’s performance is beautiful if not a little tragic.

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True Detective (2014)

Told over the course of 17 years and two timelines, True Detective Season 1 follows Louisiana State Police homicide detectives Rustin “Rust” Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin “Marty” Hart (Woody Harrelson) as they investigate the gruesome murder of a young prostitute. As their investigation carries on, the two detectives are forced to reckon with the nature of the case, those who may or may not be involved, and how the uncertainty and brutality of it all impacts them on a personal and spiritual level.

One of the best set of episodes of television of the 21st Century, the first season of Nic Pizzolatto's HBO crime anthology series has great writing, direction byCary Joji Fukunaga), and acting from its leads as well as supporting roles. 

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No Country For Old Men (2007)

What starts as a normal day of hunting in the West Texas desert turns into anything but when Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles across the aftermath of a drug deal gone bad. After discovering a bag of cash, the Vietnam War veteran becomes the hunted when ice-cold assassin Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) comes looking for the lost drug money. What follows in No Country For Old Men, one of the best Western films is a cat-and-mouse chase through the small towns and wide-open spaces of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Just when it doesn’t look like No Country for Old Men could get any better (and deadlier), contract killer Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) makes his big debut as a hired gun sent in to find the missing money and take out Chigurh, even if it’s only for a few minutes.

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The Messenger (2009)

The 2009 military drama The Messenger centers on Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), an injured Iraqi War veteran who joins the U.S. Army’s Casualty Notification service alongside Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). Together, the pair bring families the news no one wants to hear about their sons, daughters, mothers, or fathers. An already tough job is made even more difficult when Will crosses the line with a soldier’s widow.

Woody Harrelson received multiple nominations for his portrayal of the war-torn and emotionally battered Tony Stone and was more than deserving of them all. His pairing with Ben Foster also makes for a great mentor-mentee dynamic that adds much of the emotional weight to this heartbreaking modern war film.

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Kingpin (1996)

Years after losing his hand in a con gone wrong, bowler Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) finds a second chance at fame, glory, and tons of cash, when he takes Amish bowler Ishmael Boorg (Randy Quaid) under his wing. Along the journey, however, Munson comes face-to-face with the man who cost him his career all those years earlier: the scheming Ernie McCracken (Bill Murray).

Despite being one of the Farrelly Brothers movies that doesn’t seem to get talked about as much as the others, Kingpin isn’t one that you should miss. It also features two of the ‘90s cinema’s best scumbags: Roy Munson and Ernie “Big Ern” McCracken.

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Zombieland (2009)

Released at the peak of the early 21st-century zombie craze, Ruben Fleischer’s 2009 horror comedy Zombieland follows a party of four survivors — Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) — as they drive across the country in hopes of reaching Los Angeles where they believe there’s a chance of making it through the undead nightmare. And while safety and security are what they seek, the four quickly find something more: family.

One of the best things about Zombieland (besides its cast and that excellent cameo near the end) is the way it blends elements of comedy, drama, and horror to create this emotionally complex story about survival in the face of certain death. And you’ll never look at Twinkies the same.

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The Edge Of Seventeen (2016)

The 2016 coming-of-age drama The Edge of Seventeen follows awkward, depressed, and disruptive high school junior Nadine Franklin (Hailee Steinfeld) as she tries to find meaning, purpose, and a new support system when her best friend and older brother start dating each other. After striking up a friendship with her teacher Max Bruner (Woody Harrelson), Nadine begins to experience a great deal of change on multiple fronts on an extremely personal journey.

The Edge of Seventeen is made all the better with the pairing of Woody Harrelson and Hailee Steinfeld. There are points in the movie when it feels like you’re watching an actual student and teacher open up with one another, as opposed to two actors on a set, their performances are that effective.

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After looking back on all those great Woody Harrelson movies and TV shows, I know how I will fill up my nights while I wait for all those 2024 new movie releases to make their way to my local theater (or streaming service).