Did you know that Frankie Valli has a talented granddaughter?
30.05.2022 - 20:35 / variety.com
Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterWith “Top Gun: Maverick,” Tom Cruise pulled off a seemingly impossible mission: Getting moviegoers to leave their house and pay money to watch a sequel to a 36-year-old film.The follow-up to 1986’s “Top Gun” jetted past box office expectations, collecting $154 million over the long Memorial Day weekend in North America and $248 million worldwide. COVID times or not, those are impressive ticket sales, as well as a career-best start for Cruise.
What’s particularly notable is that they were racked up by a film that doesn’t involve superheroes, intense CGI (yes, Cruise is really flying those jets), lightsabers or a rogue Tyrannosaurus.Of course, nostalgia worked as a superpower for “Top Gun: Maverick.” But sentimentality alone did not translate to stratospheric ticket sales. Rapturous reviews (it has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes) and strong word of mouth (it landed a coveted “A+” CinemaScore) were integral in getting butts in seats.
In other words, audience members — and not just those who loved the first film — really liked the latest “Top Gun.” Many people, including Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge, admitted to be shocked by how much they liked “Maverick.” In his review, he wrote, “Hardly anything in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ will surprise you, except how well it does nearly all the things audiences want and expect it to do.” Megan Colligan, the president of Imax Entertainment, says “often in Hollywood, people get excited about the prospect of making money and think about the script later.” But “Top Gun: Maverick,” she says, was not one of those instances. “This is one of those where the team was super protective about making sure the movie was going to be great before [greenlighting
.Did you know that Frankie Valli has a talented granddaughter?
Courtney Howard Many in Hollywood value golden statues, but some put more value into the golden rule: treat others as you want to be treated. The folks who run the Motion Picture Television Fund take the notion of caring for their colleagues to heart, lending a helping hand to industry members who need extra assistance during difficult times.
Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorVictoria Alonso is getting ready to share her story.The top Marvel Studios executive is going to publish her first book, “Possibility Is Your Superpower,” a memoir about her Hollywood career after growing up in La Plata, Argentina.“You don’t need a cape, you don’t need a hammer, you don’t need a shield. Your superpower is your voice, and your voice will create change for yourself, for society and for those who you love,” Alonso says. “If you use your voice, you will create the kind of energy that will bring change to us.
Amy Schumer, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo have joined more than 200 US actors, directors, producers and writers in signing an open letter calling for a change to gun portrayal in Hollywood films and TV shows.This year has already seen over 250 mass shootings in the US, with recent events in Buffalo and Uvalde provoking further debate in a country where more than 40,000 people are shot and killed with guns every year.The newly published letter from the Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence – also signed by Shonda Rhimes, J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, Judd Apatow, and Jimmy Kimmel, among others – attributes the problem to “lax gun laws” and politicians “more afraid of losing power than saving lives”, but notes that representations in film and TV can play a part.It's up to us to make sure senators #DontLookAway from our country's gun violence crisis.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, author James Patterson lamented the struggle he says white men now face find writing jobs in film, theater, TV and publishing industries. He called it “just another form of racism.”
Brooke Shields is getting candid on life after 50 in Hollywood. On Monday, the actress appeared on the "Verywell Mind" podcast and spoke to host and licensed therapist Amy Morin about her experience aging in the public eye. "I've been fighting ageism in Hollywood probably since I was about seven," said the 57-year-old.
Brooke Shields is opening up about life after 50.
“What I don’t want to do, and I’m not being facetious, is I don’t want to emulate Trump’s abuse of the Constitution, and constitutional authority,” President Joe Biden told Jimmy Kimmel today of why he hasn’t inked an Executive Order to try to stop the murderous gun violence that America has tragically seen in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, to name a few, in recent weeks.
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly have shocked the world with tales of drinking each other blood, but when it comes to what makes the actress happy, it’s something we can all work on. Fox talked to E! News for her boohoo clothing drop where she revealed what the most romantic thing is she thinks someone could do: listen.
The debate of the best Hollywood Chris is never ending.
Yellowjackets star recently told , "It’s been a very long journey. I fought against it for a very long time—the shape that my body’s supposed to be." Lynskey, who who trolled her for her appearance, recalled suffering from an , saying, "I spent many years not really eating, and being very worried about what I look like."Saying what many of us have felt, Lynskey added, "[it's] hard to be a size 10 next to a size 0."This content can also be viewed on the site it from.These days, though, the actor is happy to be a role model for both viewers and her daughter, whom she shares with husband Jason Ritter.
UPDATED, 1:00 p.m.: Apple Studios has locked in its deal to acquire Top Gun: Maverick helmer Joseph Kosinski’s Formula One racing film, starring Academy Award winner Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood). The streamer entered exclusive negotiations to pick up the project back in January, as we told you first.
Ukraine by going pirate.After Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed a brutal assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24 — a war officially dubbed a “special military operation” — hundreds of major western corporations, including the Hollywood majors, withdrew from the Russian market.More than three months into the war, reports are surfacing about illicit screenings of Hollywood movies at Russian cinemas, with initial reports naming “The Batman,” “Red Notice,” Disney animation “Turning Red” and Michael Bay crime actioner “Ambulance.”According to the Russian edition of Esquire, “The Batman” has been screened at Moscow’s WIP theater, as well as at Greenwich Cinema in the Urlas city of Yekaterinburg and at regional theaters in the Far East of Russia.
SPOILER ALERT! Do not read unless you have seen the second season finale of Hacks on HBO Max.
Cynthia Littleton Business EditorThe original “Top Gun” is a study in Hollywood moviemaking of a certain era — an era captured in the pages of Variety as the movie was birthed starting in mid-1983 until its triumphant release by Paramount Pictures three years later.The movie came together during the period when Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer were at the peak of their powers as red-hot producers of culture-shaking films such as 1983’s “Flashdance” and 1984’s “Beverly Hills Cop.” The film that the pair crafted with numerous screenwriters (more on that in the clips), director Tony Scott and veteran producer Bill Badalato launched Tom Cruise to a new level of stardom and created a legacy sturdy enough for Cruise, Bruckheimer and Paramount to leap back to the top of the box office nearly 40 years later with the long-delayed, made-for-movie-screens sequel “Top Gun: Maverick.”As demonstrated by the steady pace of news about “Top Gun,” Simpson and Bruckheimer had a ton of clout with Paramount and the industry at the time. They even were able to control the rights to the soundtrack for the film — something they learned from the success of “Flashdance” and “Beverly Hills Cop.” Simpson-Bruckheimer Prods.
Jon Hamm and his Top Gun co-star Miles Teller may be big names in Hollywood, but even they get a little tongue-tied when they meet members of the royal family.MORE: Prince William reveals George, Charlotte and Louis's reaction to their parents' glitzy Top Gun outingLast week, the actors were introduced to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick in London - an encounter that neither stars will forget in a hurry.WATCH: Tom Cruise talks about bond with Prince WilliamAppearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the 51-year-old Mad Men star revealed: "It was black-tie, so we're all in tuxedos. And Prince William had on his tuxedo shoes, embroidered F-18s."MORE: Jennifer Connelly opens up about 'special' moment with Prince William at Top Gun premiereREAD: Inside Kate Middleton's inner circle of close friendsHe added: "Very cool Top Gun tuxedo shoes… that means you made it.