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
Stephen Colbert Predicts the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Ending
Stephen Colbert may be the wildly successful host of a popular late night talk show on a major television network, but that doesn’t change who he really is: a huge nerd. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson said of Colbert, “I have never met a bigger Tolkien geek in my life.” The Late Show host appeared in The Desolation of Smaug and hosted a Hobbit panel at Comic-Con. But his geek cred is not limited to Middle Earth. Last night, Colbert delivered an impassioned prediction of how Star Wars: The Force Awakens will end, and the funniest thing is, he wasn’t joking.
Netflix Negotiating With Disney For ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Streaming Rights
Back in 2012, Disney and Netflix struck a deal that would allow all of Disney’s films — including Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars properties — to stream exclusively on Netflix Instant, starting on January 1, 2016. As that date approaches, many have speculated openly about the Star Wars films finally coming to Netflix. There were even rumors recently that Netflix was prepping their database for the Star Wars movies, though Netflix denied those reports. While they have yet to comment specifically on the existing six films in the Star Wars library, Netflix did confirm that, as of now, they do not have the rights to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but are currently in negotiations to bring that title to their streaming library.
Disney Developing New ‘Mary Poppins’ Movie, Not a Sequel or Reboot
As they have grown rather fond of doing, Disney is looking back at one of their past hits in order to create some future success. After modern day versions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland (not to mention, upcoming versions of Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book), Disney has hired Rob Marshall (Chicago, Into the Woods) to direct a new Mary Poppins musical based on P.L. Travers’ original children’s books.
‘Spectre’ May Be Daniel Craig’s Last James Bond Movie
Daniel Craig was cast as James Bond back in October 2005 and almost immediately there was controversy. A London newspaper ran the headline the next morning “The Name’s Bland – James Bland” and fans started up the site danielcraigisnotbond.com urging moviegoers to boycott Casino Royale. Now, three films into Craig’s era as 007 (with the last being the most critically and commercially successful James Bond film of all-time), the actor is talking about leaving the franchise and, in a sign of how far public opinion has reversed, fans couldn’t be more upset.
‘Concussion’ Trailer: Will Smith Takes on the NFL
As of December 2012, thirty-three former NFL players have been formally diagnosed post-mortem with CTE. As the NFL continues to try to bury the issue (they recently denied permission to Seau’s daughter to speak in-person at her father’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony over fears she would publicize the CTE debate), a new film looks to tackle the issue head on and today we have our first look at Concussion.
New ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Teaser: ‘There Has Been an Awakening…’
As both Comic-Con and D23 went by without a new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer we were left to wonder when exactly we’d see the next footage from the upcoming. Well, get ready. That time is now. “Have you felt it?”
‘Goonies’ House Closed to Fans After Harassment, Vandalism From Visitors
The real-life Goonies house in Astoria, Oregon has becoming something of a mecca for fans of the 80s cult classic. They would stop by, take pictures, do the Truffle Shuffle and all was good. But all of that Pacific Northwest hospitality has disappeared as the owner of the house has gotten sick of the attention and blocked access to the property, including covering the outside of the house in tarps. Hey, you guyyyyyys…get off my lawn!
New ‘Steve Jobs’ Trailer: A Fascinating Look at the Late Apple CEO
The first trailer for the new Steve Jobs biopic (titled Steve Jobs) didn’t show much from the film, specifically Michael Fassbender’s performance as that late Apple head. Today, a new trailer has been released that gives us a much better look into the film (and the life of Steve Jobs) and that’s both a great thing, and a not-so-great thing.
Watch David Letterman’s Final, Star-Studded Top Ten List
There were no scheduled guests on the final episode of The Late Show With David Letterman (minus The Foo Fighters, who closed out the night with a performance of “Everlong”), but that didn’t mean that a few of Letterman’s old friends didn’t stop by to say goodbye one last time. Some of the funniest people alive all came together to present one final Top Ten list, Things I've Always Wanted to Say To Dave.
The Latest Actor to Join ‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ Could Be…You?!
Do you want to star in 'Star Wars: Episode 7'? No, seriously. Today, J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm announced one of the biggest 'Star Wars' contests ever, with the grand prize including being cast as an original character in 'Star Wars: Episode 7'. So, what do you need to do to win?