Britt Hayes is a writer, movie lover, and sensible sweater enthusiast living in Austin, Texas. She watches too much TV and never eats her vegetables.
Britt Hayes
New Netflix Instant Releases: May 2017
The ratio of Netflix Originals to acquired content continues to skew more toward the former each month, and May is absolutely stacked with fresh original films, comedy specials and TV shows — including new season premieres of some of our favorite series, like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Master of None (finally!), Sense8, Bloodline, House of Cards and more. As for original films, next month’s additions include War Machine, along with specials from beloved comedians like Marie Bamford and Tracy Morgan.
Lin-Manuel Miranda Will Bring a ‘Hamilton’ Movie to the Masses, Eventually
Today in news filed under No Doy, Lin-Manuel Miranda has confirmed what we’ve all suspected ever since Hamilton became a Broadway sensation: The inevitable film adaptation is definitely coming…just, not anytime in the imminent future. Between plotting epic fantasy franchises and working on animated feature projects, Miranda is a pretty busy guy, to say the least. Besides, he just finished his run on the hit historical musical. Give the man a moment, will you?
Margot Robbie Hits the Ice (And the Hair Products) for Tonya Harding Role in ‘I, Tonya’
Margot Robbie wasted no time leveraging her stardom into producing her own projects, including an upcoming DC all-female super-villain ensemble film (in which she’ll reprise the role of Harley Quinn) and, perhaps more interestingly, a biopic about disgraced former figure skater Tonya Harding. Today brings our first look at Robbie’s transformation for the title role in I, Tonya, which is a bit more physically involved than you might expect.
Tilikum, Subject of Killer Whale Doc ‘Blackfish’, Dies in Captivity
In 2010, an orca named Tilikum made headlines when he killed SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau in Orlando, Florida — Brancheau wasn’t the first person killed by the park’s troubled resident; then again, Tilikum wasn’t the first (or the last) captive orca to attack a human being. Three years later, he became newsworthy again as the subject of Blackfish, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s eye-opening documentary which used the story of Tilikum to shine a light on the horrors lurking within sea parks (spoiler: it’s the humans you need to worry about). Four years later, Tilikum is making headlines again, as the now-infamous orca has passed away at the estimated age of 36.
Carrie Fisher’s Obituary Request Was Typically Witty and Wonderful
Today we mourn the loss of Carrie Fisher: Iconic actor, talented author, brilliant script doctor and, most of all, an incomparable force to be reckoned with. There are so many great adjectives you could use to describe Fisher: Uncompromising, unapologetic, fierce, witty, relatable, real, honest. She took all of those qualities and put them to work in her books — from memoirs to novels, Fisher had a knack for telling poignant and painful stories with wit and wisdom. Writing a worthy obituary for one of the best and boldest women on this planet or any other is surely an impossible task…so it’s a good thing that the perfect obit basically already exists, and unsurprisingly, Fisher came up with it herself.
Jimmy Kimmel Will Host the 2017 Academy Awards
Not long after setting Mike DeLuca and Jennifer Todd as showrunners, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has officially selected the host of the 2017 Oscars telecast. Drumroll please…oh, forget it, you saw the headline. It’s Jimmy Kimmel, comedian, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and, most importantly, the guy who brought you celebrities reading mean tweets about themselves for your entertainment.
‘Enchanted’ Sequel Lands ‘Rock of Ages’ Director Adam Shankman
It’s been a little over two years since Disney officially announced a sequel to 2007’s delightful live-action fairy tale comedy Enchanted. In the time since then, the studio has been loading up on live-action remakes of older classics, and though you’d think Enchanted 2 would fit right in with their current release plan, there’s been no further talk of it — until today, that is, as Disney has tapped Rock of Ages director Adam Shankman to work his magic on the long-awaited sequel.
The Best and Boldest Genre Films From Fantastic Fest 2016
For over a decade, Fantastic Fest has been home to some of the most interesting genre films from around the world. It’s where fans of subversive, unique, inventive and truly challenging cinema discover new and exciting filmmakers and share memorable movie experiences. Although the Alamo Drafthouse’s annual festival does include highly-anticipated studio films like Arrival and A Monster Calls, those films are deliberately programmed to coincide with the fest’s smaller genre offerings — these are the titles that remind us that original voices and stories are still out there, that get us excited about the future of cinema, and the ones we’ll be urging fans to seek out and see over the next several months.
First ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Teaser Invites You to Slip Into Something That’s Probably a Lot Less Comfortable
Hey, remember that brief, wacky moment in pop culture history when Fifty Shades of Grey dominated (sorry) the media and resulted in several awkward phone calls with your mom? Yeah? Good. You might also remember that we still have two sequels to look forward to based on E.L. James’ trilogy of erotic novels, and the teaser for the first, Fifty Shades Darker, has arrived along with a new poster that cordially invites you to the premiere of the first full trailer.
James Cameron Says ‘Avatar’ Sequels Are About Family. You Know, Just Like the ‘Fast and Furious’ Movies
At this point, it might be more interesting if James Cameron’s Avatar sequels never come to fruition — like maybe this is his most elaborate project of all, a practical joke that spans years or even decades. That doesn’t seem to be the case, as Cameron’s ambitious plans have only grown more so, swelling to four sequels that he plans to release, well, eventually. Movie magic takes time, people. But for now, Cameron has some new plot details to support the bold claim that he’s making three more installments in the franchise.