Mike Sampson is the Editor-in-Chief of ScreenCrush. He studied to become a lawyer and worked as an architectural planner after graduating college but neither of these professions afforded him the opportunity to watch movies and TV for a living. He previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of JoBlo.com for 10 years. He lives in New Jersey and probably spends too much time playing video games and overthinking things.
Mike Sampson
‘Captain America: Civil War’ Directors Say You’ll ‘S— Yourself’ Over Spider-Man
The big Spider-Man reveal at the end of the Captain America: Civil War trailer certainly got the internet, and all of superhero fandom, in a tizzy. There were those that absolutely loved it and then there were those who were left disappointed...
Theater Owners Shoot Down Proposed Plan to Release New Films at Home on Opening Day
Two weeks ago came word of a controversial, yet intriguing concept proposed to both Hollywood studios and theater owners: a new encrypted set-top box that would allow moviegoers to watch new releases the same day they open in theaters. So, for example, you could watch Batman vs. Superman on March 25 on your couch for $50. The plan was generating some buzz and support from filmmakers like J.J. Abrams and Peter Jackson, but received its biggest setback today as the National Organization of Theater Owners have officially dismissed the proposal.
‘Tomb Raider’ Reboot Wants Daisy Ridley as New Lara Croft
Not sure if you saw that Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie that came out a few months ago, but if you missed it, I’ll let you in on a little something: actress Daisy Ridley is pretty great! You can have your beefs with J.J. Abrams and his lens flares and mystery boxes all you want, but you can’t deny that the man has a remarkable eye for talent...
‘Justice League’ Casts J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon
Just last week Oscar winner J.K. Simmons commented on fans hoping he’d return as J. Jonah Jameson in Marvel’s new Spider-Man reboot. Simmons diplomatically said, “I’ll never close the door on anything.” Well, this may slam, lock and barricade that door. The Whiplash actor has just been cast as Commissioner Gordon in Warner Bros.’ two-part Justice League movie.
Did ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’ Just Add Sylvester Stallone to the Cast?
Last month when Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 director James Gunn revealed on Facebook that Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Debicki and Chris Sullivan had joined the cast of his sequel, he promised “We’ll have more surprises for you in the coming months.” Has one of those surprises already been spoiled?
‘Suicide Squad’ Ignores the ‘Deadpool Effect,’ Won’t Be Rated R
After Deadpool opened in theaters to over $130 million, the so-called “Deadpool Effect” started trickling through Hollywood. PG-13 movies like Wolverine 3 and X-Force were immediately considered to be R-rated films, and other projects that were R-rated were finding new life in development...
‘Ghostbusters’ Trailer: These Women Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost
Ever since the Ghostbusters reboot has been announced (with an all-female cast) the film has been harshly judged, sight unseen. Today, director Paul Feig has officially revealed the Ghostbusters trailer, so now we can judge the film on its own merits...
Lionsgate Announces ‘John Wick: Chapter Two’ Release Date
It’s very easy to get caught up in all the Deadpool 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 craziness, but don’t let yourself forget one extremely important thing: John Wick 2 is coming. The sequel to Keanu Reeves’ modern action masterpiece is on its way and now, courtesy of Lionsgate, we know exactly what date to circle on our calendars.
Hugh Jackman’s Final Wolverine Movie May Also Get an R Rating
The Deadpool Effect is now officially a thing. As many predicted and suspected following Deadpool’s surprising success at the box office this past weekend, movie studios would try to capitalize on the success of that film by making their superhero movies R-rated (ignoring the fact that that was just a very small part of why Deadpool was successful). Just this morning we brought you the news that the X-Force movie could be rated R and now comes word that Hugh Jackman’s still untitled final Wolverine movie (Wolverine 3? The Wolverine 2?) is being planned as an R-rated film.
‘X-Force’ Movie Could be R-Rated Thanks to ‘Deadpool’ Success
Just a few days after Deadpool’s record-breaking haul at the box-office (the biggest opening for a film released in February, the biggest opening for an R-rated film, the biggest opening weekend in 20th Century Fox history and the biggest opening of any X-Men film), studios are already adapting to the massive success of an R-rated superhero film and adjusting accordingly. X-Men and Deadpool producer Simon Kinberg has said that while he doesn’t see the X-Men universe changing much after Deadpool’s success, he said he could definitely see another mutant-oriented superhero film getting an R-rating.
BB-8 Originally Spoke Written Dialogue in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
If you stuck around through the Star Wars: The Force Awakens credits (perhaps waiting in vain for a post-credits scene), you may have noticed that both Bill Hader and Ben Schwartz were credited as “BB-8 Voice Consultants” for the film. Hader spoke about his involvement only briefly saying, “JJ f–-ing around with this sound effects app on his iPad that was attached to a talk box operated by me.” Now Schwartz has spoken about his contributions revealing that he was originally reciting written dialogue.
Josh Brolin on His ‘Jonah Hex’ Movie: ‘Hated it. Hated It.’
Josh Brolin is very excited about his place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where he’s playing Thanos, the villainous mastermind scheming to destroy Earth and The Avengers. He is not so excited about his first role in a comic book movie, 2010’s Jonah Hex, based the DC Comics character of the same name. Brolin did not mince words recently when he said he “hated it.” And if you didn’t quite understand how serious he was, he repeated it one more time. “Hated it.”