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
Disney to Face Criminal Charges Over Harrison Ford’s ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Injury
Back in June of last year, Harrison Ford was injured on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens when the door of the Millennium Falcon fell, dislocating his ankle and breaking his leg in two places. The production was put on hold for six months while Ford recuperated and director J.J. Abrams would later say of the incident, “Once we knew that Harrison was going to be okay, we all realized this was this greatest gift to the movie.” Abrams, and his bosses at Lucasfilm and Disney, may be disagreeing with that sentiment today as officials in London have brought four criminal charges against the Star Wars: The Force Awakens production company.
The 20 Worst Movies to Ever Have a Super Bowl Trailer
Everyone watching the Super Bowl last night may spend a lot of time getting excited about upcoming movies based on the trailers that ran during the big game. Their designed to wow and impress in just 30 seconds, getting people ready for appointment viewing in the theater. But for every big success, there are a lot of let downs. Not every trailer you saw last night is going to result in a great movie (we’re looking at you Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows). We know this because we looked back at the history of Super Bowl movie trailers and noticed that some very generous studios were willing to spend a lot of money on some really crappy movies.
A Yoda Cameo Was Cut From ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
Though Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place over 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, director J.J. Abrams still found a way to work on some classic characters who had long since passed on. Kylo Ren has a conversation with Darth Vader’s helmet. Obi-Wan speaks to Rey during her Force vision. And, there was one additional cameo that ultimately was cut from the film: Yoda.
‘Fast and Furious’ 9 and 10 Get Official Release Dates
Though Fast and Furious 7 seemed like an obvious, but tragic way to bring the franchise to a close, there was no way Universal Pictures was going to walk away from a franchise that was still bringing in over $350 million. So, Vin Diesel did what he does: he announced a new Fast and Furious trilogy last year that would end the franchise for good (and by “for good” we mean for a few years until they reboot it with a new cast). Fast and Furious 8 had already been scheduled for a April 14, 2017 release, but now Universal Pictures has given those last two Fast and Furious movies release dates as well.
Counterpoint: Scooby-Doo Is Not Dumb
My colleague, “esteemed” film critic Matt Singer, thinks Scooby-Doo is dumb. I know this because he wrote an article about it. You can read that article here, though I suggest you don’t — you’ll just be wasting your time, because Scooby-Doo is not dumb...
Watch the First Trailer For ‘Pee-wee’s Big Holiday’
Since the Judd Apatow produced Pee-wee Herman movie made its move from movie theaters to Netflix (Universal passed on the film and Netflix quickly picked up the rights), we’ve been anxiously awaiting more from the first Pee-wee movie in over 25 years...
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Passes ‘Avatar’ to Become Biggest Movie of All-Time
As was widely expected, Star Wars: The Force Awakens passed Avatar as the highest grossing movie of all-time on Wednesday morning. It was a record many, including George Lucas, thought would never be broken; The Force Awakens did it in just 20 da
‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’ Looking to Cast Kurt Russell as Peter Quill’s Father
After Matthew McConaughey reportedly turned down a major role in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Marvel and director James Gunn went back to the drawing board, looking to attract a big star for the upcoming sequel. It turns out they may have found their man...
Here’s Oscar Isaac Playing Bass in a Ska Band in 1996
Before he was Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Oscar Isaac was Oscar Hernandez, a high school kid growing up in Delray Beach, Florida who, like many high school kids, played in a local band. Being the mid-90s, ska-punk was making a resurgence (anyone remember Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake?) and Isaac, a singer, guitarist and bassist, was a big part of the local scene with his bands, The Worms and Blinking Underdogs. Whereas video of most of our crappy high school bands remains buried forever, Oscar Isaac is in the new Star Wars movie, so we did some digging and found video from 1996 of one of his sets at Ray’s Downtown Blues in West Palm Beac
Chinese ‘Star Wars’ Poster Shrinks Black Lead Actor, John Boyega
Despite some early concerns, most would agree that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a diverse film. The three leads are a woman, a black man and a Cuban man. One of the main enemies is a woman. One of the major new characters is played by a black woman. Princess Leia is now General Leia Organa. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s a very solid step in the right direction. Unfortunately, it may have been a little too far in the right direction for some countries. A new Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster from China has been revealed and, despite being one of the two main stars of the film, they’ve shrunk down black actor John Boyega in half.
Ansel Elgort, Dave Franco and Miles Teller Among the Many Auditioning For ‘Han Solo’ Movie
With Star Wars: The Force Awakens just about two weeks ago, it may seem strange to now look ahead to a Star Wars film that isn’t coming out until May, 2018, but when that film is Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Han Solo spinoff, you’ll forgive us for jumping out ahead. Though filming on the Han Solo project isn’t expected to begin for over a year, Lord and Miller have already started auditioning a slew of young Hollywood actors for the project and some of the names may surprise you.
George Lucas Quit the Internet After ‘The Phantom Menace’ Opened
Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace opened in theaters in May of 1999. Despite what you might think about that movie now, when it opened the reception wasn’t completely negative. Roger Ebert gave it 3½ stars saying it was “an astonishing achievement in imaginative filmmaking.” The public consensus remained mostly enthusiastic at first as fans tried desperately to talk themselves into the fact that The Phantom Menace was a good movie. As the months ticked on though, and as the internet began to blossom, most Star Wars fans could no longer convince themselves, or others, that it wasn’t a good movie. More over, that it was actually a pretty terrible movie. And that’s when George Lucas decided to get the f— off the internet for good.