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Time Magazine
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
'Clueless' Proved Amy Heckerling Was Brilliant. But It's Not Her Only Stroke of Genius
How do you measure the worth of a filmmaker's career? Do you tick off box-office returns, or the awards lined up on a shelf? Which is a better determination of success, a string of hits or a film that lives on in the cultural imagination for decades, and counting? Or how about this: Can you measure a career in terms of generosity of spirit? Writer-director Amy Heckerling's Clueless turns 30 on Aug. 19, and if she'd made no other movies, this delightful modern reimagining of Jane Austen's Emma would have been an accomplishment by itself. Alicia Silverstone's Cher, a Beverly Hills high school student with a closet of riotous and costly mix-and-match outfits and a knack for negotiating higher grades without actually earning them, comes off as shallow and spoiled. But there's kindness and decency there too: she tries her hand at matchmaking, at first to further her own aims, only to realize that she likes bringing people together. She's too pragmatic to want love for herself, until she's forced to acknowledge that she's fallen for the guy she'd always thought of as an annoying brother figure, Paul Rudd's Josh, the son of her father's ex-wife. Clueless is both original (credit Heckerling with bringing the phrase As if! into the lexicon) and expertly crafted (its smart, breezy gags are strung together as gracefully as a strand of pearls). It also shows great affection for its characters, even while mocking them gently. When Cher refers to one of the great sword-and-sandal epics as 'Sporadicus,' you love her more, not less: she's not demeaning movies and experiences that are unfamiliar to her—she's just so eager that she bungles some of the specifics. That's the Heckerling touch, the mark of a filmmaker who has always led with confidence rather than ego—which is why the industry, incapable of grasping the difference between the two, never knew what to make of her, not even after she'd made one of the greatest teen movies of the 1980s, if not all time, 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Maybe it takes an outlier to make comedies that endure, as Clueless and Fast Times have. And maybe the lesson of Heckerling's checkerboard career isn't that today's fractured world of filmmaking needs more people who know how to play the game—it's that we need more outliers who play on their own terms. Today we regularly and openly champion women filmmakers, to the point where it can feel performative. But Heckerling and a small group of her contemporaries—like her friend Joan Micklin Silver, who'd self-financed her first film, the marvelous immigrant-in-New York story Hester Street (1975)—were striving to make films when women directors were still treated as interlopers, not to be trusted with big studio budgets. At 28 the Bronx-born Heckerling—a graduate of New York University, with a master's in film from the American Film Institute—made her feature debut with Fast Times, adapted from Cameron Crowe's book about teenage life in a Southern California high school. Fast Times was like no other teen movie at the time, particularly for the unvarnished way it presented teen pregnancy—and abortion. Universal, the studio behind the film, nearly backed off when early test audiences responded negatively to that abortion subplot. The executives eventually relented, and Fast Times did well enough at the box office that Heckerling got to make two more films in quick succession: 1984's gangster spoof Johnny Dangerously, which didn't make money, and 1985's National Lampoon's European Vacation, which did. But Heckerling's biggest hit would be the 1989 comedy Look Who's Talking, starring Kirstie Alley as a single mother whose son—first as an infant and then as a toddler—wisecracks like a sailor on shore leave, though only the audience can hear it. (Bruce Willis provides the kid's voice.) The gimmick looks broad on paper, but the movie is both fun and stealthily forthright, a mischievously sympathetic film about a modern mom trying to hold it all together by herself. Sometimes the best way to deal with the most serious subjects is to treat them like a lark. Next, Heckerling took on one of the movie's two sequels, 1990's Look Who's Talking Too. Clueless would arrive five years later—but as adored as the film is today, it was only a moderate hit at the time. Heckerling's language has always been the mainstream comedy—a surefire way to get the guys at the top to take you seriously—which may explain why, since Clueless, she's never had the career she deserved. Her last feature was 2012's amiable horror comedy Vamps, starring Silverstone and Krysten Ritter as vampire girls who strive to hang on to their vampirific youth (they feast only on rats' blood) rather than be forced to age like humans. Since then, Heckerling has worked in television—directing episodes of Gossip Girl and Amazon Prime's Red Oaks—and has turned Clueless into a musical, now playing in London's West End. But let's track back to the idea of what it means to get 'the career you deserve.' That's what happens when you deliver profits to executives. But what if you've made good or even terrific movies that have simply failed to land? Heckerling's so-called failures are better movies, with more heart, than many other comedy directors' successes. In the 2000 Loser, Jason Biggs plays Paul, a sweet but unhip Midwestern kid who gets a scholarship to NYU, only to be met with the sneering savagery of his rich-kid roommates. His crush, Mena Suvari's spiky, perceptive Dora, is involved with one of her professors (a weaselly Greg Kinnear). Loser is sharp and unyielding when it comes to human cruelty and boorishness; as always, Heckerling reserves her scrappy tenderness for the characters who deserve it. You really see that affection in 2007's I Could Never Be Your Woman, a film that, thanks to distribution-rights issues beyond Heckerling's control, was never released in U.S. theaters, going straight to DVD. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Rosie, a writer and producer on a TV show about entitled but seemingly average teenagers. (Heckerling based the movie on her own experience adapting Clueless into a television series in the late 1990s.) Rosie is in her mid-40s and divorced, with an 11-year-old daughter (Saoirse Ronan, in her film debut). She hasn't dated in forever. Then a new actor, Paul Rudd's late-20-something Adam, signs on for her show. She's reluctantly attracted to him. Is she too old? Is he too young? Most men wouldn't entertain those questions for long, but they hit Rosie hard. Pfeiffer vests Rosie's self-doubt with effervescent energy. There's no need to feel sorry for her—but you can't help wanting the best for her. Though Paramount had initially bought the script for I Could Never Be Your Woman, the studio declined to make the movie. 'There was some concern about doing a movie with an older female protagonist—not everybody's favorite demographic,' Heckerling told Entertainment Weekly in 2008. She went with an independent producer, which is where the movie's distribution woes began. Today, it's easy to stream if you seek it out, though relatively few people even know it exists. And that's how a brisk, intelligent movie ends up languishing. It could happen to anyone, and it happened to Heckerling. In the early 2000s, when many of us were complaining about the lack of smart romantic comedies for adults, this picture, one with charm and bite, was hiding in plain view. Now, at a time when the big-studio theatrical release barely exists, it's like a shining relic from a lost era. If this is what you leave behind when you haven't had the career you deserve, maybe that just means you've made a series of right choices. Anyone who thinks of them as wrong turns is the real loser.
Business Upturn
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Upturn
Big Little Lies Season 3: Release date speculation, cast and plot details – Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on July 12, 2025, 19:30 IST Last updated July 12, 2025, 14:10 IST Fans of Big Little Lies have been eagerly awaiting news about a potential third season since the gripping Season 2 finale aired in 2019. The HBO series, known for its stellar cast, intricate storytelling, and breathtaking Monterey backdrop, has kept viewers hooked with its mix of drama, mystery, and complex female friendships. With recent updates from stars like Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, the buzz around Season 3 is stronger than ever. Here's everything we know so far about Big Little Lies Season 3. Big Little Lies Season 3 Potential Release Date No official release date yet, but we are piecing together the clues. Nicole dropped a hint in April 2024 at the American Film Institute's Gala, saying, 'It's not this year, but next year.' That points to a 2026 premiere, which makes sense if you look at Season 2's timeline—filming started in March 2018, and it hit screens in June 2019, about 15 months later. The big holdup? Liane Moriarty's still working on the book that'll shape Season 3. In October 2024, Reese told E! News , 'We're just waiting on Liane to finish it—she's almost there.' HBO's Francesca Orsi said in March 2025 that Liane's got 150 pages done, and they'll kick things into high gear once the manuscript's complete. Liane's been busy with her 2024 novel Here One Moment , so I'm guessing she'll wrap up the Big Little Lies book by mid-2025. If filming starts late 2025 or early 2026, we could be binge-watching by summer or fall 2026. Fingers crossed! Big Little Lies Season 3 Expected Cast The Monterey Five are the heart of the show, and it sounds like they're all eager to return. Here's who we expect to see, though nothing's locked in yet: Nicole Kidman as Celeste, the grieving widow with a fierce spirit. Reese Witherspoon as Madeline, the fiery mom with a knack for drama. Shailene Woodley as Jane, who's rebuilding her life after trauma. Zoë Kravitz as Bonnie, whose Season 2 confession could shake things up. Laura Dern as Renata, the powerhouse who doesn't mess around. Zoë told ELLE in March 2025, 'I'd be thrilled to get back with everyone—it's such a fun group.' Shailene got fans excited in a December 2023 Harper's Bazaar chat, hinting at how the kids in the show are now teens, which could bring fresh stories. Laura and Reese have also said they're game, with Reese joking to Vanity Fair years ago, 'Let's do this!' Other familiar faces likely to pop up include: Adam Scott as Ed, Madeline's steady husband. Kathryn Newton as Abigail, Madeline's daughter, who told The Hollywood Reporter in February 2024, 'I'm ready—just call me!' Iain Armitage as Ziggy, Jane's son, now a teenager. James Tupper as Nathan, Bonnie's husband. Jeffrey Nordling as Gordon, Renata's ex. Big Little Lies Season 3 Potential Plot The Season 2 finale left us hanging—Bonnie texted the group, ready to confess to pushing Perry down the stairs, and the Monterey Five walked into the police station together. Season 3 will likely pick up there, diving into what happens when their secret comes out. Will Bonnie face legal trouble? How will Celeste cope, knowing Perry's death ties back to her abusive marriage? The story will come from Liane Moriarty's new book, which catches up with the characters years later. Reese mentioned in October 2024 that the kids, like Ziggy and Abigail, are now teens, opening up new drama. Shailene told Harper's Bazaar , 'Those kids aren't little anymore—that's what makes Season 3 so exciting.' I'm picturing teenage rebellion, family secrets, and maybe some new faces stirring things up in Monterey. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Metro
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
7 of the highest-rated Amazon Prime Video films with 50% off for Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day has rolled around once more with a fresh array of deals to take advantage of. Whether you want to get a headstart on the Christmas shopping or fancy a little treat, there's plenty to choose from electronics to health and beauty, garden essentials, and homeware. For film lovers who also happen to have an Amazon Prime membership, you can take advantage of up to 50% off selected HD movies. Some films have been lowered to just £1.99, including Shudder hit The Ugly Stepsister, Oscar-winning La La Land, and star-studded thriller Black Bag. There's a huge array to choose from, and that can be daunting when trying to pick which deals to nab. But never fear, we've rounded up seven of the highest-rated picks on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes that are on offer right now as part of Prime Day 2025. With Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations under its belt, Past Lives took audiences by storm in 2023, being named one of the best films of the year by the American Film Institute. The drama follows Nora and Hae Sung, two childhood friends who are torn apart when Nora's family moves from South Korea to Canada, and the pair lose contact. Decades later, they are reunited and question what their relationship could have been had Nora never moved from Korea. The critics' consensus reads: A remarkable debut for writer-director Celine Song, Past Lives uses the bonds between its sensitively sketched central characters to support trenchant observations on the human condition. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Earlier this year, more than 20 years after the release of the first film, Bridget Jones returned in her fourth outing, Mad About The Boy. The eagerly-anticipated sequel joins Bridget (Renée Zellweger) in a very different place in her life, matured into a mother but unexpectedly alone again after the tragic offscreen death of husband Mark Darcy (Colin Firth). Dating again, she finds herself torn between younger man Roxster (Leo Woodall), and her son's science teacher, Scott (Chiwetel Ejiofor). The critics' consensus reads: A bittersweet romp about new beginnings with another sparkling turn by Renée Zellweger, Mad About the Boy gracefully closes the book on Bridget Jones' diary. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Ahead of the release of Wicked: For Good in November, enjoy the first film with major savings right now. Starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, and many more, hit musical Wicked was transformed into a big-screen success last year that stormed the Oscars. Set in the Land of Oz prior to Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, Wicked explores the early relationship between Elphaba (Erivo), the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda (Grande), who becomes Glinda the Good, during their time at Shiz University. The critics' consensus reads: Defying gravity with its magical pairing of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Wicked's sheer bravura and charm make for an irresistible invitation to Oz. 8 Mile The 40-Year-Old Virgin 127 Hours 300 Ali G In Da House Airplane Annabelle Apocalypse Now Aquaman As Above So Below The Big Lebowski Blended Blow Boiling Point The Black Phone Bruce Almighty A Complete Unknown The Descent Donnie Darko Evil Dead Rise Heat Home Alone Insidious It Feeds Lights Out Lolita Marching Power The Mummy Pans Labyrinth The Pianist Quadrophenia Road House Scary Movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Scream The Simpsons Movie Slumdog Millionaire Taken Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny They Live Tombstone Twilight The Virgin Suicides The Visit War Horse The VVitch The Woman in Black View the full list of films on offer here The Crow, the final film of the late Brandon Lee, is a cult classic that inspired three sequels, a television series, and a trashed 2024 reboot. The night before their wedding, Eric Draven (Lee) and his fiancée Shelly Webster (Sofia Shinas) are brutally murdered by members of a violent gang. On the anniversary of their death, Draven rises from the dead to avenge Shelly's death by tracking them down and making the gangsters pay for their crimes. The critics' consensus reads: Filled with style and dark, lurid energy, The Crow is an action-packed visual feast that also has a soul in the performance of the late Brandon Lee. If you're a fan of Timothee Chalamet from the likes of Wonka or A Complete Unknown, you'll never look at him the same way after watching Bones and All. Maren (Taylor Russell) learns from a tape left by her estranged father that she is a cannibal, with her parent detailing her cannibalistic urges from a young age in the video and explaining he hopes she can overcome them. While trying to track him down, Maren meets Lee (Chalamet), a fellow 'eater' who guides her to learn more about herself, with love blossoming between the two. The critics' consensus reads: Although its subject matter may be hard to stomach, Bones and All proves a deeply romantic and thought-provoking treat. Martin Scorsese's epic crime drama Casino nabbed a Golden Globe for its lead actress, Sharon Stone, as well as an Academy Award nod. Adapted from Nicholas Pileggi's book of the same name, Casino follows low-level mobster Sam 'Ace' Rothstein (Robert De Niro), who is sent by his bosses to run to Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. The film follows Ace across the years as he deals with his loose-cannon enforcer Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), his ex-hustler wife Ginger (Stone), and corrupt politicians who threaten the entire outfit's safety. The critics' consensus reads: Impressive ambition and bravura performances from an outstanding cast help Casino pay off in spite of a familiar narrative that may strike some viewers as a safe bet for director Martin Scorsese. Luc Besson began writing The Fifth Element when he was just 16 years old, and when he was 38, it finally hit cinema screens. More Trending In the distant future, Earth is about to be destroyed by an enormous fireball heading towards the planet. There is one man who knows how to stop it – Cornelius (Ian Holm) – and he enlists the help of taxi driver and former secret agent Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) and mysterious woman Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) to help. The critics' consensus reads: Visually inventive and gleefully over the top, Luc Besson's The Fifth Element is a fantastic piece of pop sci-fi that never takes itself too seriously. Amazon Prime Day runs from July 8 to 11 online for Amazon Prime members Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Boots launches epic 48-hour sale with 50% off Maybelline, L'Oreal, Garnier to rival Prime Day MORE: Superman's new Lois Lane hopes latest superhero reboot 'does the fans proud' MORE: 12 best early Prime Day deals to shop on Amazon now – from beauty, fashion to home gadgets
Daily Record
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Kill Bill star Michael Madsen dies after being 'found unresponsive'
The star had been working on new films for the last two years. Hollywood actor Michael Madsen, known for appearing in Kill Bill and Reservoir Dogs, has died at the age of 67. The star was "found unresponsive at home" in Malibu on Thursday, July 3. His manager confirmed his death was caused by cardiac arrest. Across a 40-year career, he was best known for his iconic parts in several Quentin Tarantino films. He starred in Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Reservoir Dogs, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Representatives said he was due to be involved in a number of upcoming releases, and had spent the last two years working on independent films, the Mirror reports. They included feature films such as Resurrection Road, Concessions, and Cookbook for Southern Housewives. His performance as Mr Blonde in Reservoir Dogs, which was a low-budget Tarantino production, cemented his place in film history. His acting as the sadistic and trigger happy villain earned him a nomination for the American Film Institute's list of the greatest movie villains of all time. We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story. Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you. Follow us on Twitter @Daily_Record - the official Daily Record Twitter account - real news in real time. We're also on Facebook - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Daily Record, Sunday Mail and Record Online
Daily Mirror
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Reservoir Dogs star Michael Madsen found dead at home
Hollywood star Michael Madsen dies after being 'found unresponsive at home'. The Kill Bill and Reservoir Dogs actor was aged 67. The actor was found in his Malibu home on Thursday morning. His manager confirmed he had died from cardiac arrest. Michael was best known for his iconic roles in a number of Quentin Tarantino movies over his 40 years in showbiz. He featured in hit films, including Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Reservoir Dogs, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He was expected to be involved in a number of upcoming movies, too. The star's representatives said the actor had spent the last two years working on independent films. They included feature films such as Resurrection Road, Concessions, and Cookbook for Southern Housewives. His performance in Reservoir Dogs, which was a low-budget Tarantino production, earned him a place in film history. His role as Mr Blonde - a sadistic and trigger happy bad guy - earned him a place in the nomination list for the American Film Institute's list of the all-time greatest movie villains.
