
Charles Bramesco


Crossing $11 Billion Mark, Hollywood Poised for Biggest Year to Date
Even if it feels like things are getting worse all the time, with Hollywood delivering an unholy crop of expensive flops amidst murmurs of cinema’s death in 2016, that may not be the case. At the very least, the American film industry isn’t in danger of collapsing any time soon — quite the opposite, in fact. If we’re to take the total sum of money generated by ticket sales in a given year as a barometer of the industry’s overall health, Tinseltown’s still as strong as an ox, Ben-hur remake or no.

Tighten Those Whiteys, Here’s the First Look at ‘Captain Underpants’
A longtime boon to children looking to placate mothers who wish they’d read more, the Captain Underpants series of chapter books was the pinnacle of toilet humor to kids in the ’90s and early ’00s. Over 12 books and three spin-offs, author Dav Pilkey generated gaggles of giggles with the superheroic adventures of a crimefighter clad only in a red cape and tightened whiteys, who used a plunger in his unending battle against bathroom-appropriate crime. Such nefarious villains as Doctor Diaper, the Turbo Toilet 2000, and Professor Pippy Pee-Pee Poopypants (a phrase I like to imagine executives at 20th Century Fox saying out loud, usually while seated at a long conference table) all crossed paths with the minimally-clothed defender of truth, justice, and excretive freedoms.

Channing Tatum, ‘Furious 7’ Declared Everyone’s Favorites at 2016 People’s Choice Awards
If the Oscars are like the electoral college, selecting the cream of the crop through an arcane and confusing process available only to an older, white, male elite population, then that makes the People’s Choice Awards the popular vote. It m...

Jared Leto Thinks Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson’s Jokers Would Be Proud of Him
Jared Leto took to Twitter to reassure his 2.14 million fans that he had the situation well in hand. He did so by posting the following image:

Reese Witherspoon Developing Plastic, Fantastic Biopic of Barbie Creator
Reese Witherspoon has begun development on a biopic of Ruth Handler, best known as the creator behind the Barbie doll.

Sight and Sound Names Best Films of 2015; ‘The Assassin,’ ‘Carol’ and ‘Fury Road’ Come Out on Top
The British Film Institute’s official publication brings a global perspective to their rulings, having polled 168 critics worldwide on their favorite releases of the past calendar year.

Emma Stone to Take the Court as Tennis Legend Billie Jean King in ‘Battle of the Sexes’
This larger-than-life story will form the basis of The Battle of the Sexes, a planned film with Emma Stone and Steve Carell in the starring roles. Variety reported on Stone’s involvement with the picture late last night, confirming that the star of Easy A and Aloha would replace Brie Larson (who had to drop out to star in The Glass Castle) for the Billie Jean King part.

Val Kilmer Says He’s Officially Returning For ‘Top Gun 2’
Val Kilmer has taken to his personal Facebook page to post a Top Gun 2 status update with ramifications on a scale that we can only describe as tectonic.

Porsche Responds to Lawsuit, Says Paul Walker’s Death Was His Own Fault
Walker’s daughter Meadow filed a lawsuit against Porsche under the banner of “wrongful death,” attributing her father’s untimely death to numerous defects in the car’s design. Industry trade papers are now reporting that officials from Porsche have handed down a response to the lawsuit, claiming that the accident and any injuries sustained therein were ultimately Walker and Rodas’ “own comparative fault.”