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
J.J. Abrams Returning to Direct ‘Star Wars: Episode 9’?
When Rian Johnson was officially announced as the Star Wars: Episode 8 director last week, one name was conspicuously absent from the initial press release: J.J. Abrams. Among the producers listed — Kathleen Kennedy, Ram Bergman (Looper) and Johnson — Abrams was nowhere to be found. An updated release was later sent with Abrams noted as an Executive Producer, but it only fueled the flames that J.J. Abrams may be one-and-done with the Star Wars franchise. Not so fast.
First ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Officially Titled ‘Rogue One’
Star Wars details have always been difficult to come by, but they've proven even more difficult with the upcoming spinoff. Other than confirmation that Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will direct, we know very little about the film. Well, now we at least know what it will be called. Disney and Lucasfilm today confirmed that the first ever Star Wars spinoff will be officially called Rogue One.
How Apple Helped J.J. Abrams Design the New ‘Star Wars’ Lightsaber
The new Star Wars: Episode 7 lightsaber was the most hotly debated topic that came out of the first teaser trailer. What is this thing? Where did it come from? It turns out those answers might come from a very unlikely source: Apple.
‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2’ Will Be Released in IMAX 3D
For the past two years, ‘The Hunger Games’ movies have topped the yearly box-office charts, beating two Marvel movies (‘Iron Man 3’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’) without the help of 3D ticket sales. Well, today Lionsgate announced that ‘Mockingjay, Part 2’ will be released in IMAX and 3D, which should put it squarely in the running with ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ and ‘Avengers 2’ as the biggest movie of 2015.
‘Minions’ Trailer: Doesn’t It Feel So Good to Be Bad?
A ‘Minions’ movie shouldn't work. They were undoubtedly the best part of the ‘Despicable Me’ movies, and a very large part of why those films were successful. But, could they actually support their own movie? That would be like giving Kramer his own ‘Seinfeld’ spinoff. Yet, watching this new ‘Minions’ trailer has us totally hooked. This could actually work.
‘Frozen Fever’ Photos: Anna, Elsa and the Whole Gang Are Back
You love ‘Frozen’, but you've already seen the movie and listened to the soundtrack an infinite amount of times. What to do? Well, just keep counting down the days until March 13, when an all-new ‘Frozen’ adventure—‘Frozen Fever’—opens in theaters with Disney's ‘Cinderella’.
Meet the Cast of the All-Female ‘Ghostbusters’ Movie!
Since the news of an all-female 'Ghostbusters' was announced, we've all had lots of fun attempting to reverse-gender cast the film. Melissa McCarthy! Amy Poehler! Emma Stone!! All that speculation has come to an end. Director Paul Feig tweeted a picture of four women that serves as your an official reveal of the new 'Ghostbusters' cast.
The Worst Oscar-Nominated Movies of All Time
Every year, when the Oscar nominations are announced, a considerable amount of time is spent debating who was snubbed. But for every film that was expecting to get nominated and didn't, there's a film that no one was expecting to get nominated and did. This is the story of those films. The movies you'll look back on and wonder exactly how the heck it ever got nominated for an Oscar.
‘Gremlins’ Remake Likely Dead, World Rejoices
A lot of your favorite 80s classics have been rebooted or remade into not-so-classics. It's the unfortunate state of the movie business. But, today, we get one back. The proposed ‘Gremlins’ remake, that was on the “fast track” as recently as this past April, may be as dead as a Gremlin in a hot tub.
‘The Interview’ to Begin Streaming Online Starting Today; $6 to Rent, $15 to Buy
Just last week it seemed possible that 'The Interview' may never be seen anytime soon as Sony Pictures canceled the theatrical release and claimed they had no immediate plans for a VOD debut. But, following yesterday's news that 'The Interview' will run in select theaters on Christmas Day, comes more details on their plans to simultaneously stream the film online.