Barry Levinson’s John F. Kennedy mystery conspiracy thriller “Assassination” just got a massive injection of talent. Already starring Levinson mainstay Al Pacino, joining what now feels like an all-star ensemble is Academy Award–winner Jessica Chastain (“Eyes of Tammy Faye,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Interstellar”), Academy Award-winner Brendan Fraser (“The Whale,” “Killers of the Flower Moon)”, and Academy Award-nominee Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad,” “Trumbo”).

Continue reading Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston & Brendan Fraser Join Al Pacino In Barry Levinson’s JFK ‘Assassination’ Thriller at The Playlist.

A trio of Oscar favorites are about to take a deep dive into history. Kerry Condon is the latest actor to join Anthony Maras’ “Pressure” which will begin shooting in the U.K. next month. The Working Title and StudioCanal title also features Emmy nominee Andrew Scott and Oscar winner Brendan Fraser.

READ MORE: Kerry Condon on Iron Man’s “Endgame” Death: Keeping Marvel secrets will “Drive you to Drink”

The World War II drama is the true story of the United Kingdom’s Chief Meteorological Officer James Stagg (Scott), who was responsible for keeping Dwight D.

Continue reading Kerry Condon Joins Andrew Scott & Brendan Fraser In WWII Drama ‘Pressure’ at The Playlist.

As the Cannes Film Festival fast approaches, some cinephiles anticipate who will win the 2024 edition’s Palme d’Or. Others, however, like to predict the buzziest film to hit the Cannes market, and there may be a new frontrunner there. Deadline reports that “Athena” director Romain Gavras will have his latest project for sale on the Croisette in a couple of weeks, and he’s assembled quite the cast for it.  

Continue reading ‘Sacrifice’: Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, Salma Hayek Pinault & Brendan Fraser To Star In New Movie From ‘Athena’ Director Romain Gavras at The Playlist.

I am still searching for my words; my thoughts first ran dry in the opening minutes of the shattering and evocative “Killers of the Flower Moon.” It begins with the Osage tribal elders mourning the loss of their language and customs as they bury a sacred pipe. The scene breaks, next revealing these Indigenous folks — forcibly moved from Missouri to present-day Oklahoma (thought to be terrible, barren land) — discovering oil as psychedelic music erupts with the splash of the black liquid.

Continue reading ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Review: Lily Gladstone Is Devastating In Martin Scorsese’s Indigenous Epic [Cannes] at The Playlist.

Unlike 2022, which featured the infamous slap moment, this year’s Oscars telecast went on without a hitch. No major drama. Not really any massive upsets. Instead, viewers got a chance to focus on what did happen, which is a bunch of deserving people won awards, and many of them gave memorable speeches.

READ MORE: Best and Worst Of An ‘Everything’ Oscars: Jimmy Kimmel, Lady Gaga, Ke Huy Quan

Obviously, we’re not going to recap the entire event, but there were some Oscars speeches that stood out among the very best of the night.

Continue reading Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser & More Deliver Emotional Oscars Acceptance Speeches at The Playlist.

“So this is what the multiverse looks like,” Brendan Fraser said as he accepted the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in “The Whale.” In his emotional speech, the longtime actor thanked his collaborators and recounted the long road that it took to get to this moment.

READ MORE: Brendan Fraser Says Golden Globes Nomination “Doesn’t Matter” & Called The Award A “Hood Ornament”

Fraser has a decade-spanning over three years in the movie business.

Continue reading Brendan Fraser Wins The Best Actor Oscar Home For ‘The Whale’ at The Playlist.

In an awards season dominated by Oscars rules discussion and the multiversal “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the night is finally here. And guess what? Everything went just about as expected. Daniels‘ “Everything Everywhere All at Once” dominated the categories it was predicted to win, including the coveted Best Picture. And “All Quiet on the Western Front,” by director Edward Berger, ended up winning quite a few technical categories, as well as Best International Film.

Continue reading ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ Wins Best Picture & Dominates The 2023 Oscars [Full Winners List] at The Playlist.

The 2023 SAG Awards were utterly dominated by “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” It was such a media sweep that many viewers probably closed their YouTube window completely forgetting “The White Lotus” won Outstanding Cast for a Drama Series and that Jennifer Coolidge took the Female Actress in a Drama Series award over fellow HBO star and two-time Emmy Award winner, Zendaya. Throw in Brendan Fraser taking Male Actor in A Motion Picture and it was simply a breathtaking night for A24 Films.

Continue reading ‘Everything’ We Learned From The 2023 SAG Awards at The Playlist.

It’s been nearly twenty years since he rode high in Hollywood with “The Mummy,” Trilogy, and the ‘90s films that made him famous (“Airheads,” “George of The Jungle”), but Brendan Fraser has been experiencing the Brendassaince thanks to his comeback role in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” a performance he’s been Oscar-nominated for and arguably remains the frontrunner (he was nominated for a Golden Globe, but has no love for that organization).

Continue reading Brendan Fraser Says He Lost ‘Superman’ Role To “Shenanigans And Studio Politics” at The Playlist.

Brendan Fraser is having a moment right now. After his acclaimed performance in “The Whale,” he’s gone on to earn a ton of awards recognition, including the recently announced Oscars nom for Best Actor. However, one of the awards he was nominated for, a Golden Globe, did not excite him. In fact, he didn’t think the results of that nomination mattered at all.

READ MORE: Oscar Nominations Reactions: Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser & More

Speaking on the Howard Stern Show (via EW), Brendan Fraser talked about his years-long drama with the Golden Globes and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Continue reading Brendan Fraser Says Golden Globes Nomination “Doesn’t Matter” & Called The Award A “Hood Ornament” at The Playlist.

Nothing is better during awards season than Oscar nomination morning. Why? Because so many people are genuinely overjoyed over their nominations. They don’t have to pretend the “nomination was the win” after the ceremony or try to smile at the SAG or PGA Awards when they didn’t get a bit of that Academy Awards’ glow. And you know Michelle Yeoh, Colin Farrell, and Jamie Lee Curtis were excited over earning their first Oscar noms.

Continue reading Oscar Nominations Reactions: Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser & More at The Playlist.

To say that A24 has deployed an interesting marketing strategy for “The Whale” is an understatement. After a rapturous debut at the Venice Film Festival, where critics were falling over themselves to give the Oscar to Brendan Fraser right then and there, there were months without any new marketing materials for the film. And finally, about a month before the film was released, there was one trailer, which didn’t even really talk about the plot of the film or offer a real glimpse at this amazing performance that people were raving about.

Continue reading ‘The Whale’ Trailer: Brendan Fraser Gives It His All In Darren Aronofsky’s Family Drama at The Playlist.

After a hugely positive reception when the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, it seemed as if Brendan Fraser was going to run away with all of the Best Acting awards thanks to his performance in “The Whale.” However, with the film being seen by a wider audience since its debut in theaters, there are folks who are upset with Darren Aronofsky’s film and its portrayal of a fat person. 

Continue reading Darren Aronofsky Says ‘The Whale’ Fat Suit Controversy “Makes No Sense To Me” at The Playlist.

Now that we’ve started our process of looking back at the Best Films of 2022, it’s time to dig deeper into one facet that can make them so impactful—the mesmerizing work of their actors. Of course, every great film year leads to a surplus of great performances, and our favorites from 2022 are picked from quiet Sundance fare, auteur-driven blockbusters, future Oscar nominees, and much more. As with every year, not everything could fit on this list; and fitting to such a rewarding and challenging year of film, in particular, some of these picks will undoubtedly surprise you (or hopefully inspire you to check out what you haven’t seen). 

READ MORE: The 25 Best Films of 2022

To keep things interesting, and because it truly was hard to choose these performances, we also opted for some double picks, honoring two performances from the same movie that we find inextricable from the film’s quality. 

Follow along with all our Best Of 2022 coverage here.

Continue reading The Best Movie Performances Of 2022 at The Playlist.

One of the biggest stories out of Hollywood this summer was Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav‘s cancellation of the HBO Max film “Batgirl” following the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger. Scrapping a $90 million movie in post-production is an unprecedented move, and those involved with the film are still reeling from Zaslav’s decision. Add Brendan Fraser, who played the villain in “Batgirl,” to that list.

Continue reading ‘Batgirl’: Brendan Fraser Says Film’s “Tragic” Cancellation “Doesn’t Engender Trust” With Filmmakers at The Playlist.

Last month, Darren Aronofsky‘s first film in five years, “The Whale,” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, with critics praising Brendan Fraser‘s performance as a 600-pound gay man. But EW reports (via an interview with Variety), that Aronofsky initially attempted to cast an obese actor in the part before going with Fraser. And since Fraser looks to be the Oscar Best Actor frontrunner at the moment, it’s fascinating that Aronofsky looked elsewhere for the role first.

Continue reading ‘The Whale’: Darren Aronofsky Says He Couldn’t Find An Obese Actor Who Could ‘Pull Off The Emotion’ Before He Cast Brendan Fraser at The Playlist.

When you think about Brendan Fraser’s greatest film moments, almost all of them will be from some point in the ‘90s. That was just prime Fraser-ness. For some people, those highlights come partially from his ‘Mummy’ franchise films, which saw the first debut in 1999. Though the drop-off in quality was significant from film to film in the trilogy, there are still those who are diehard fans. And if you’re one of those people, you are in luck because apparently, Fraser is willing to return to “The Mummy” in the future.

Continue reading Brendan Fraser Thinks Tom Cruise’s ‘Mummy’ Reboot Failed Because It Wasn’t “Fun” at The Playlist.

Continue reading Darren Aronofsky Says His R-Rated ‘Batman’ Reboot Pitch Didn’t Happen Because He Was “10 To 15 Years” Too Early at The Playlist.

Does anyone want a Best Actor nomination? Anyone? After a somewhat competitive 2022, the current crop of Outstanding Lead Actors in A Motion Picture field is decidedly thin. Granted, that’s partially because of the films that are usually considered and what studios/distributors are willing to campaign, but, trust us, this is going to be rough going.

READ MORE: Best Picture Predictions and Contenders for the 2023 Oscars

At this point in the race, there are only two actors who seem pretty likely to earn what will turn out to be their first Oscar nominations: Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin“) and Austin Butler (“Elvis”).

Continue reading Best Actor Oscars 2023 Predictions and Contenders at The Playlist.

Darren Aronofsky loves reclaiming the broken, the damaged, the forgotten. Take his magnum opus, 2008’s “The Wrestler,” the story of an aging WWE entertainer who gives it all for one more shot at glory. While 2005’s “Sin City” had already brought star Mickey Rourke back into the Hollywood fold, here his return was concreted, completed, the talk of the town, and etched onto shining plaques.

Continue reading ‘The Whale’ Review: Brendan Fraser And Sadie Sink Are A Heartbreaking Duo In Darren Aronofsky’s Best Film Since ‘The Wrestler’ [Venice] at The Playlist.

Darren Aronofsky returns to the Venice Film Festival this year with his first movie since 2017’s “mother!,” “The Whale.” There’s plenty to celebrate about the upcoming film. It’s the first film by Aronofsky in five years, A24‘s introduction to the Lido, and the return of Brendan Fraser as a leading man. But Fraser’s starring role in “The Whale” is unlike anything he’s ever done before, and meeting that challenge pushed the actor to new places with his art.

Continue reading Brendan Fraser On His Role In ‘The Whale’: “I Gave It Everything I’ve Got” at The Playlist.

One of the downsides of media outlets reporting about casting before film studios actually officially announce things is that sometimes things get mixed up. Case in point— the news about Brendan Fraser signing on to star as the villain in “Batgirl.” Sure, the actor is likely joining the cast, but there’s more to the story than just that and initial reports seemed to get a key bit of news wrong.

Continue reading ‘Batgirl’: Sylvester Stallone Was Reportedly Approached To Play The Villain Before Brendan Fraser Signed On at The Playlist.

The “Batgirl” movie from DC Films will be the first live-action feature film set in the DCEU that will be made exclusively for HBO Max. Warners and DC have already hired an interesting creative team with the directing duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Ms. Marvel,” “Bad Boys For Life“) working from a script penned by go-to DC writer Christina Hodson (“The Flash,” “Birds of Prey“).

Continue reading ‘Batgirl’: Brendan Fraser Joins The HBO Max Movie As A Villain, Possibly Firefly at The Playlist.

So, are we in the middle of a Fraser-aissance? As in Brendan Fraser? This really started in 2018 with the actor appearing in the Danny Boyle-directed series, “Trust.” From there, he appeared as a voice in the acclaimed DC superhero series “Doom Patrol.” And just this year, he’s already shown up in Steven Soderbergh’s “No Sudden Move.” Let’s not forget he recently signed on to star in Darren Aronofsky’s latest too.

Continue reading Brendan Fraser Lands Roles In Scorsese’s ‘Killers’ & The New Film From ‘Palm Springs’ Director at The Playlist.

Easing back into moviemaking after the months-long covid shutdown seems like a mighty stressful proposition, and from the looks of the cast and crew credits for “No Sudden Move,” Steven Soderbergh decided to alleviate that stress by surrounding himself with people he knew. It’s a picture chock full of reunions: with his frequent star Don Cheadle, with Cheadle’s “Traffic” co-star Benicio del Toro, with Amy Seimetz (of the “Girlfriend Experience” TV adaptation), with Bill Duke of “High Flying Bird”; even Brendan Fraser was previously directed by Soderbergh, on a wonderful episode of the long-forgotten Showtime anthology series “Fallen Angels.” The script is by Ed Solomon, who penned the director’s HBO series “Mosaic”; the music is by his regular collaborator David Holmes; the producer is Casey Silver, who, as head of Universal Pictures, offered Soderbergh the picture that saved his career, “Out of Sight.” (And, of course, he’s again working with director of photography Peter Andrews and editor Mary Ann Bernard, wink wink.)

READ MORE: Summer 2021 Preview: Over 50 Movies To
Watch

Moreover, he’s revisiting his favorite genre, the crime picture.

Continue reading ‘No Sudden Move’: A Thrilling Yet Thoughtful Throwback From Steven Soderbergh [Tribeca Review] at The Playlist.