Adam Epstein

Black Panther can’t stop making history.

Gandalf told Frodo to keep the ring secret and safe. Amazon is taking that advice to heart.

With no host, an underwhelming slate of films, and the entirety of Hollywood upset over its many planning debacles, the Oscars very well may be a train wreck this year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should hope so—maybe then people will actually tune in.

In a desperate effort to appeal to the masses, the Oscars have totally alienated the few loyal viewers the show still has left. First there was the misguided “Popular Film” award, which was immediately abandoned after unanimous backlash. Then, of course, came the Kevin Hart snafu, leaving the show hostless for the first time since 1989.

It has become increasingly clear as we approach the 2019 Oscars that the Motion Picture Academy has absolutely no idea what it’s doing. And now a group of legendary Hollywood filmmakers has about had enough.

HBO released the first images of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones last week, sending enthusiasts of the hit fantasy series into a frenzy trying to deduce some meaning from the characters’ wardrobes, hand placements, and backdrops. It’s a stretch, given that the images are pointedly generic publicity stills for the show, which premieres in April. If there is one thing about them that stands out, it’s that all the characters look so very, very sad.

A year after the Grammys were deservingly called “irrelevant” at best, “sexist” and “racist” at worst, the world’s biggest night in music took a small but palpable step forward.

Aladdin purists, avert your eyes.

It’s not the size of the crowd in the fight. It’s the size of the fight in the crowd.

Last year’s top American Society of Cinematographers award went to a film renowned for its vibrant, creative colors. This year’s top award went to a film noted for its absence of them.

Anyone who’s ever played in a school band will see themselves in the fourth episode of Hulu’s new comedy series PEN15, which came out in full on the streaming service Friday (Feb. 8). No TV show or film has ever so perfectly captured the cringeworthy essence that makes those performances so memorable.

It hasn’t taken long for the AOC effect to make its way into the world of film. A new documentary featuring freshman US Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shattered sales records at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

HBO released the first trailer for its true crime docuseries The Case Against Adnan Syed Feb. 5, promising to take a fresh look at the murder of Hae Min Lee that the Serial podcast turned into a global phenomenon in 2014. The premium cable channel has already proven it can deliver a valuable reexamination of a decades-old murder case, but this one seems different. This one seems misguided, and maybe even harmful.

As you may have heard, Donald Trump will give the annual State of the Union address tonight (Feb. 5) at 9pm US eastern time. All major American broadcast networks, as well as most cable news channels, will carry the address live. Democratic rising star Stacey Abrams will deliver her party’s rebuttal to the president’s remarks.

As both NFL offenses floundered in what was an utterly forgettable Super Bowl last night (Feb. 3), one man dominated the proceedings from start to finish—and he wasn’t a football player.

The New York Knicks are the worst, most mismanaged team in the National Basketball Association. Its parent company, however, is doing just fine.

I’ve held out for this long, CBS, but I think I may just have to subscribe to All Access now.

Netflix says it wants people to stop lusting after Ted Bundy, because that’s what it has to say. But make no mistake, the streaming service is loving all the memes and tweets about the infamous serial killer’s “hotness.”

Actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Kumail Nanjiani announced the nominees for the 91st Academy Awards this morning (Jan. 22), and as usual, there was a mix of good, bad, and very bad.

The nominees for the 91st annual Academy Awards will be announced live on Tuesday, Jan. 22, by actors Kumail Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross. After an awards season filled with controversy, anger, and weirdness, the nominations announcement is sure to send social media into a tizzy, no matter what ends up happening.

J.J. Abrams has amassed a huge Hollywood empire, and now every company in town badly wants a piece of it.

The transaction is simple, though unspoken: Netflix showers awards voters with chocolates, coffee-table books, signed posters, and other such items of reasonable value, in addition to invitations to lavish parties hosted by A-listers like Angelina Jolie. In theory, they then vote for Netflix shows and movies to win awards. It doesn’t always work, but the deep-pocketed streaming service can damn well afford to try.

Who could forget the Pinkerton National Detective Agency—the private American security company known best for protecting Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War (whoops); waging a bloody battle against a union of steelworkers on strike; and, most recently, demanding that the publisher of Red Dead Redemption 2 pay it royalties for the use of the agency’s name in the video game.

Who needs film school when you can just follow Guillermo del Toro on Twitter?