“A producer wanted her to audition for The Exorcist. However, her mother, Janet Leigh, shut down the opportunity, protecting her then 12-year-old daughter from early fame and any potential trauma that came with starring in one of the scariest movies ever made.” - Variety
Choosing only one post from these annual critic chats is a challenge, but this 10th in the series features the weirdly, deeply American Roofman (though for the sake of improving both brain and watchlist, read through the entire discussion). - Slate
“Does the Sad Art Dad regret his choices? Is making great art—which, in these films, has a capacious, allegorical quality—worth ruining your relationship with your kids?” - The Atlantic
“What Reiner’s vastly differing films all share is the generous and empathetic heart of their director, a deep sense of humanity, and a relentless curiosity about and love of people, in all their imperfections and quirks.” - Los Angeles Review of Books
Worth a read just for the pans: “This listless and supercilious musical – ostensibly on the theme of heartwarming home town values – ... flatlines like a hedgehog run over by an 18-wheeler.” Ouch. - The Guardian (UK)
Love it or hate it, Hallmark movies are big business in B.C., where the company films the about 40 per cent of its content — Christmas and year-round programming. When Hallmark films in B.C., it hires almost exclusively local workers to make it happen. The province estimates about 100 local crew members are hired for each movie. - CBC
The artifacts of 20th-century cinema are being preserved in museums, archives and other august institutions. But they are surviving, too, in the care of private film collectors like Mr. Darwas, who has amassed hundreds of movie prints at his home in Westchester County. - The New York Times
“Every year, studios, publicists and talent huddle to determine categories for the acting contenders on the bubble between lead and supporting. And many film fans step in to disagree, … debating how the system has been unfairly gamed. … But of course this kind of strategizing is what the Oscars are all about.” - The Hollywood Reporter
Disney is the first and only studio to cross $6B this year, the next best major is Warner Bros with $4.3B. 2025 repped Disney’s biggest year at the B.O. since 2019 when it earned an all-time $13.1B ($11.1B from Disney titles alone, the rest being 20th Century Studios and Searchlight). - Deadline
Central Casting — now so eponymous that its name has become a cultural phrase — celebrated its 100th anniversary earlier this month. Remember the long lines for casting calls? No more. - Los Angeles Times
The series is called Finding Mr. Christmas. “What is fascinating about the premise is that it’s television for women about men making television for women. It’s the hosts and judges evaluating, week by week, what makes a man appealing to a likely female Hallmark viewer.” - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
“Connecticut — the location for at least 22 holiday films by Hallmark, Lifetime and others — is promoting tours of the quaint Christmas-card cities and towns featured in this booming movie (genre).” You even get to watch the matching films while on the bus between stops. - AP
“On Monday, Skydance-owned Paramount announced that Larry Ellison — the founder of Oracle and father of Paramount CEO David Ellison — had personally agreed to be responsible for $40.4 billion of equity financing for the company’s offer (to buy Warner Bros. Discovery), as well as any damage claims.” - AP
In 2023, “Meyers had written a semi-autobiographical rom-com called Paris Paramount. She’d originally written it for Netflix, but they did not want to give her the budget she needed.” And that was all the news - until this weekend. - Vulture
