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
‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ Visual Effects Reel Highlights Some Incredible CGI
Having visited the set of a few Marvel movies, we can say that there are a lot of fully-constructed sets and practical effects in use on their big superhero movies. But, watching this new highlight reel from ILM on the making of ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ it’s pretty remarkable to see how they’re able to create full shots out of almost nothing.
‘The Interview’ to Begin Streaming Online Starting Today; $6 to Rent, $15 to Buy
Just last week it seemed possible that 'The Interview' may never be seen anytime soon as Sony Pictures canceled the theatrical release and claimed they had no immediate plans for a VOD debut. But, following yesterday's news that 'The Interview' will run in select theaters on Christmas Day, comes more details on their plans to simultaneously stream the film online.
Meet Your New ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ Character: Captain Phasma
Last week saw the official announcement of some of the new 'Star Wars: Episode 7' characters' names. There was Kylo Ren, Finn, Rey, BB-8, and who could forget Poe Dameron. But, there's one more new 'Star Wars' character whose name has been revealed and if you thought "Kylo Ren" sounded silly, wait until you hear this: Captain Phasma.
Chris Pratt, Channing Tatum and Ryan Gosling All Interested in ‘Ghostbusters’ Role
The current plan for the next ‘Ghostbusters’ film is the all-female reboot, which will be directed by Paul Feig (‘Bridesmaids’). We’ve heard that Feig has spoke with Jennifer Lawrence (who would make a great Venkman, BTW), Emma Stone and Rebel Wilson about parts in the film and it seems like a very exciting cast is coming together. So…what’s this talk of Channing Tatum, Chris Pratt and Ryan Gosling wanting to star in a ‘Ghostbusters’ movie?
James Gunn Says You Shouldn’t Expect the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers to Crossover
Everyone has assumed that, at some point towards the end of this current Marvel Cinematic Universe, the paths of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers would cross. Yes, one superhero team is busy protecting Earth, and the other occupied in outer space, it makes too much sense to not have them meet up in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ right? Never mind the “it makes sense” part, we just really want this to happen. Well, we might never happen according to ‘Guardians’ director James Gunn who warns fans about making such assumptions.
George Lucas Hasn’t Seen the ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ Trailer, “Not Really” Interested in the Movie
Pretty much everyone has seen the 'Star Wars: Episode 7' trailer at this point. It was the most-viewed trailer of 2014 and is on track to become the most-viewed trailer of the internet age. It has been viewed over 72 million times and has spawned countless parodies and memes but, there's still one person who hasn't seen it: George Lucas. The man who created the franchise says that he hasn't seen the 'Force Awakens' trailer and has no plans to. In fact, he's not even that interested at all.
‘Frozen’ Short Film “Frozen Fever” to Debut in Theaters With ‘Cinderella’
Guess what, parents? You're going to see Disney's live-action 'Cinderella' remake in theaters. Possibly more than once. Because that is when you, and more importantly the kids in your life, will be able to see the next 'Frozen' adventure—the short film "Frozen Fever"—for the first time.
Next ‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ Trailer to Be Attached to ‘Avengers 2′
The ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ trailer just premiered online last week, but if you’re already starved for new footage (and, who could blame you after that teaser), we’ve got word on when you can see the next ‘Star Wars’ trailer. The bad news is you’re going to have to wait a while. The good news is, you were going to see ‘Avengers 2’ anyway, so now you have the added bonus of seeing a new ‘Star Wars: Episode 7' trailer before Iron Man and Captain America start punching on some evil robots.
‘Avengers 2’ Cast Assembling For Reshoots; Possibly Filming the Post-Credits Scene
‘Avengers 2’ director is reassembling almost his entire cast for two weeks in January to film reshoots for ‘Age of Ultron’ and this, in and of itself, is not particularly interesting. It used to be that reshoots were indicative of a larger problem—”the movie isn’t working, so we need to go back and fix it”—but that simply isn’t the case anymore. Every big-budget blockbuster budgets time and money for reshoots into the original production schedule these days. But, what’s interesting in the case of ‘Avengers 2' isn’t that they’re filming something, it’s what they’re filming and who is involved.
‘Jurassic Park 4’ Trailer: Welcome to Jurassic World!
“You just went and made a new dinosaur? Probably not a good idea.”
And, there’s the ‘Jurassic Park 4’ trailer summed up for you in pretty much one exchange. While the previous ‘Jurassic Park’ films dealt with the folly of John Hammond’s original plans for the park, this new film imagines a world where Jurassic Park is now up and running. The kinks have been worked out. Raptors are trained. But, people are still people and that means they do really stupid things. Like create massive “hybrid” dinosaurs to goose attendance at their park.
‘Star Wars: Episode 7′ Star Oscar Isaac to Play the Title Villain in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’
From one major geek-friendly franchise to another. Oscar Isaac, who'll appear next year in 'Star Wars: Episode 7,' has signed on to star as the titular villain in 'X-Men: Apocalypse', which will open in theaters just six months later.
Who Will Play Cyclops and Jean Grey in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’?
With every new ‘X-Men’ movie comes new mutants (no, not the New Mutants) and ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ will be no exception. While some may say that the ‘X-Men’ films are perhaps a little too overstuffed with every mutant they can get their hands on (did we really need Sunspot or Blink?), it’s hard to deny to return of Cyclops and Jean Grey; major characters and core mutants who will make their long-awaited appearance in the new era of “young” ‘X-Men’ films. So, now that we know we’ll see these characters, it’s time to find out who is going to play them in the movie.