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
‘Gremlins’ Remake Likely Dead, World Rejoices
A lot of your favorite 80s classics have been rebooted or remade into not-so-classics. It's the unfortunate state of the movie business. But, today, we get one back. The proposed ‘Gremlins’ remake, that was on the “fast track” as recently as this past April, may be as dead as a Gremlin in a hot tub.
Tom Hardy Drops Out of DC’s ‘Suicide Squad’ Movie, Jake Gyllenhaal to Step In?
Tom Hardy was one of many high-profile actors who, last month, signed on to star in Warner Bros.’ adaptation of the DC Comics title ‘Suicide Squad’. His co-stars included Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto and Jai Courtney. But, the Squad will have to move on without its leader as Hardy has abruptly dropped out of the project.
James Cameron Says ‘Avatar 2’ Has Been Delayed Until 2017
Not long ago, we wondered aloud why James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ had been largely forgotten about only five years later, despite being the biggest movie of all-time. It doesn’t even seem like there is a lot of anticipation for ‘Avatar 2’, which Cameron is developing concurrently with Parts 3 & 4. Well, people will suddenly have a little more time to start getting excited for an ‘Avatar 2’, because Cameron announced today that the upcoming sequel has been pushed back a full year, to December 2017.
Report: Marvel and Sony Deal Done, Spider-Man to Debut in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
It was one of the most enticing bits of news to come out of the Sony e-mail hack: Marvel and Sony had deep discussions about introducing Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel badly wanted Spider-Man to be a part of 'Captain America: Civil War', but despite the best intentions from all parties, a deal was never struck and progress was reset back to square one. But, has hope been restored? A new report suggests that Marvel and Sony returned to the negotiating table and have struck a deal for Spidey to make his spectacular debut in 'Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1'.
George Lucas Wanted to Direct ‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ Himself
Last month, George Lucas was asked if he had seen the ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ trailer, and what his reaction was. He said he hadn’t watched the ‘Force Awakens’ trailer, had no plans to and was “not really” interested in the movie. We made him sad, we wrote at the time. But, maybe it wasn’t us that made him sad. While out promoting his new animated movie ‘Strange Magic’, Lucas reveals that he himself wanted to direct ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’.
New ‘Ant-Man’ Photos Give Us a Different Look at Paul Rudd’s Costume
If you watched the new ‘Ant-Man’ trailer during the premiere of ‘Agent Carter’ earlier this week, you caught the note at the end to logon to EW.com to see more from the movie. Unfortunately, if you logged on, you didn’t really see anything, because all that stuff was actually in the magazine. But, now Entertainment Weekly’s new ‘Ant-Man’ images have finally appeared online and we get a good look at Paul Rudd in and out of the Ant-Man costume, as well as a new shot of Evangeline Lilly.
‘Deadpool’ Movie Looking to Cast T.J. Miller, ‘Game of Thrones’ Star Ed Skrein
Because rumors of a ‘Deadpool’ movie have lingered for many years and years, we’ll always remain a little skeptical that this movie is actually happening for real this time. But, following the news that Ryan Reynolds has officially signed on to star, comes word that casting on the project is ramping up as T.J. Miller (‘Silicon Valley’, ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’) and Ed Skrein (formerly of ‘Game of Thrones’) are in talks to join the upcoming project.
New ‘Avengers 2′ Pic Shows the Team at Their Unlikely New Hideout
A new ‘Avengers 2’ trailer is coming in less than a week (airing on January 12 during the College Football National Championship on ESPN) and when it arrives we’ll start to know a little bit more about the very secretive plot. As a little tease before the new trailer, we have a new photo from the film that gives us some insight as to how the Avengers deal with Ultron’s nefarious plot.
‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ Visual Effects Reel Highlights Some Incredible CGI
Having visited the set of a few Marvel movies, we can say that there are a lot of fully-constructed sets and practical effects in use on their big superhero movies. But, watching this new highlight reel from ILM on the making of ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ it’s pretty remarkable to see how they’re able to create full shots out of almost nothing.
Meet Your New ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ Character: Captain Phasma
Last week saw the official announcement of some of the new 'Star Wars: Episode 7' characters' names. There was Kylo Ren, Finn, Rey, BB-8, and who could forget Poe Dameron. But, there's one more new 'Star Wars' character whose name has been revealed and if you thought "Kylo Ren" sounded silly, wait until you hear this: Captain Phasma.
Chris Pratt, Channing Tatum and Ryan Gosling All Interested in ‘Ghostbusters’ Role
The current plan for the next ‘Ghostbusters’ film is the all-female reboot, which will be directed by Paul Feig (‘Bridesmaids’). We’ve heard that Feig has spoke with Jennifer Lawrence (who would make a great Venkman, BTW), Emma Stone and Rebel Wilson about parts in the film and it seems like a very exciting cast is coming together. So…what’s this talk of Channing Tatum, Chris Pratt and Ryan Gosling wanting to star in a ‘Ghostbusters’ movie?
George Lucas Hasn’t Seen the ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ Trailer, “Not Really” Interested in the Movie
Pretty much everyone has seen the 'Star Wars: Episode 7' trailer at this point. It was the most-viewed trailer of 2014 and is on track to become the most-viewed trailer of the internet age. It has been viewed over 72 million times and has spawned countless parodies and memes but, there's still one person who hasn't seen it: George Lucas. The man who created the franchise says that he hasn't seen the 'Force Awakens' trailer and has no plans to. In fact, he's not even that interested at all.