At the risk of invoking a cliché, “Only the Lonely” feels like the kind of movie they just don’t make anymore: a modest, unassuming, character-driven comedy/drama but produced and released by a major studio (20th Century Fox, in this case), and featuring a major star (John Candy) playing somewhat against type. Yet even when it was released, 30 years ago this week, “Only the Lonely” was a long shot – a blank check project, as they say these days, written by Fox as a reward for the massive success of “Home Alone.” That film was written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus; this one was produced by Hughes, and written and directed by Columbus.

Continue reading ‘Only the Lonely’ At 30: A Forgotten John Candy Gem Loaded With Untapped Potential at The Playlist.

Director Chris Columbus set the record straight regarding rumors of the existence of an NC-17 cut of the beloved family film “Mrs. Doubtfire,” denying that ridiculous notion, right before he went ahead and confirmed there is an R-rated cut of the Robin Williams film.

READ MORE: ‘Robin’s Wish’ Is A Tender, But Scattered Look At Robin Williams’ Final Days [Review]

The viral tweet was referencing a 2015 interview with Columbus who said that Williams’ knack for improv, there were PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 cuts of “Mrs.

Continue reading ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Director Confirms There’s An R-Rated Cut Of The Film at The Playlist.

When re-watching the “Harry Potter” movies, it’s easy to forget just how important Chris Columbus‘s adaptation of the first two books were, and just how much the franchise changed after he left. Turns out, Columbus wanted to return for the final two films in the franchise, but didn’t when David Yates decided to take on the job himself.

READ MORE: ‘Fantastic Beasts 3’: It’s Official, Mads Mikkelsen Will Replace Johnny Depp As Grindelwald

Collider has the scoop, with an interview with Chris Columbus to promote his new Netflix film, “The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two.” The filmmaker also discussed his work on the wizarding franchise, and how much anticipation was on the first film.

Continue reading Chris Columbus Wanted To Return For Last Two ‘Harry Potter’ Movies at The Playlist.

Just as we received news that Disney will remake “Lilo & Stitch” as a live-action film, so comes Chris Columbus with the perfect response to Disney remaking beloved films, as he recently slammed the upcoming remake of “Home Alone.”

READ MORE: ‘Dial Code Santa Claus’ Trailer: Newly Restored ’80s French Christmas Film Is ‘Home Alone’ Meets ‘Rambo’

In an extensive new interview with Insider, Columbus talked about the recently announced “Home Alone” reboot for Disney+, which actually has a pretty decent cast including Kenan Thompson, Rob Delaney, Ellie Kemper, and “Jojo Rabbit’s” Archie Yates for 2021, and it seems like Columbus isn’t sold.

Continue reading ‘Home Alone’: Chris Columbus Says Disney Is “Wasting Its Time” With Reboot at The Playlist.

Odds are, if you celebrate Christmas, you’re well aware of the lore surrounding the holiday, specifically the story of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. But just how well do you know about Belsnickel? Well, the upcoming Netflix holiday film, “The Christmas Chronicles: Part 2” pits the most badass Santa around (Kurt Russell) against his anti-holiday foe, Belsnickel, with the fate of Christmas hanging in the balance.

READ MORE: ‘Used Cars’ At 40: How The Cynical Black Comedy Became A Preview Of The Reagan Era

As seen in the trailer, Belsnickel is far from the character Dwight Schrute portrayed in “The Office.” Instead, the villain is played by Julian Dennison.

Continue reading ‘The Christmas Chronicles: Part 2’ Trailer: Kurt Russell Returns As Santa To Take On Belsnickel In The Netflix Sequel at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage, and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching. 

Charlie Kaufman is back to rearrange your brain, Kelly Reichardt is back to reconfigure your toxic masculinity, Universal is back to sell you those Hitchcock movies all over again (and they will), and Criterion is back to see you those Jules Dassin movies all over again (ditto).

Continue reading The 8 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘First Cow,’ ‘I’m Thinking Of Ending Things’ & More at The Playlist.

Jonás Cuarón is preparing for a new film. After co-writing the award-winning “Gravity” with his father Alfonso Cuarón, and directing the underrated thriller “Desierto,” Jonás Cuarón has been tapped to direct an untitled feature film for Netflix about the legendary creature chupacabra. It appears that this will not be a horror movie, but a family film in the vein of “E.T.

Continue reading ‘Gravity’ Co-Writer Jonás Cuarón Is Directing An Untitled Chupacabra Film For Netflix; Chris Columbus Producing at The Playlist.

Back before filmmaker Chris Columbus was the go-to director of family films, which included “Home Alone” and “Mrs. Doubtfire,” he was a writer that had a couple huge hits on his hands. In 1984 and 1985, respectively, two Columbus-written films hit the big screen, “Gremlins” and “The Goonies.” These two films went on to be classics and are still viewed today as some of the best films of the ‘80s.

Continue reading Chris Columbus Gives Updates On ‘Gremlins’ Reboot And ‘Goonies 2’ at The Playlist.

Watch: Arcade Video Games Classics Attack Adam Sandler & Earth In The First Trailer For ‘Pixels’

Continue reading Watch: Arcade Video Games Classics Attack Adam Sandler & Earth In The First Trailer For ‘Pixels’ at The Playlist.

‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Sequel Is In The Works, Robin Williams & Chris Columbus Will Return

Continue reading ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Sequel Is In The Works, Robin Williams & Chris Columbus Will Return at The Playlist.

Continue reading Adam Sandler To Star In A Movie About A Suicidal Man Haunted By Ghosts. It’s A Comedy. at The Playlist.

Continue reading Helen Mirren May Take A ‘Hundred-Foot Journey’ With Lasse Halstrom; Chris Columbus & Robert Schwentke Line Up Gigs at The Playlist.

5 Things You Might Not Know About Joe Dante's 'Gremlins'

Continue reading 5 Things You Might Not Know About Joe Dante’s ‘Gremlins’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Chris Columbus Plays Ball, Michael Rapaport Goes Noir & Brad Peyton Shakes The Earth For New Directing Gigs at The Playlist.

Continue reading ‘Trollhunter’ Director Andre Øvredal To Make Hollywood Debut With ‘Carpe Demon: Adventures Of A Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Chris Columbus Enabling Jerks Who Won’t Read Subtitles, Producing American ‘Trollhunter’ Remake at The Playlist.

Continue reading Korean Remakes: Chris Columbus Takes On ‘Hello Ghost’; Mark Waters Helms ‘Castaway On The Moon’ at The Playlist.

After courting nearly every male actor in town (and to be fair, finally landing two strong leads in the shape of Tom Hardy and Chris Pine) for the action-rom-com “This Means War,” which will also star Reese Witherspoon and Chelsea Handler, filming’s finally underway on that project in Vancouver, so those of you who’ve been missing your fix of hollow, idea-free action movies are in luck.

Continue reading McG To Direct ‘300’-Style Christopher Columbus Film; Halle Berry & Stephen Merchant Join Peter Farrelly’s ‘Truth Or Dare’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading Emma Stone To Play The Lead In ‘The Help’ at The Playlist.

Continue reading In Theaters: ‘Valentine’s Day,’ ‘Percy Jackson,’ ‘The Wolfman’ at The Playlist.

Steve Coogan and Rosario Dawson have joined the cast of “Percy Jackson” and will play the husband and wife team of Hades and Persephone. If you remember your greek mythology, the two are not on good terms (she’s held captive and forced into marriage) and Dawson’s Persephone will reportedly carry on a flirtation with Glover, a teenage character played Coogan’s “Tropic Thunder” costar, Brandon T.

Continue reading Steve Coogan & Rosario Dawson To Play Hades n’ Persephone In ‘Percy Jackson’ at The Playlist.

Columbus plans to direct the film, which will presumably follow Kennedy’s presidential campaign right up to his assassination, and with his stances on the Vietnam war, racism and poverty his campaign stances are sure to resonate with modern day audiences (and the ever-growing Kennedy obsession never hurts).

Continue reading Chris Columbus To Direct Film On Robert Kennedy at The Playlist.