Strangely enough, we’ve gotten to the point where all of Back to the Future happened in the past. The time-traveling trilogy — which took us from 1985 to 1955, 2015, and 1885 — has only grown in stature over time, in part because of Steven Spielberg’s refusal to sign off on a reboot in his lifetime. Next spring, the first Back to the Future celebrates its 35th anniversary, and it will be honored with a screening and cast reunion, featuring star Michael J. Fox. Fox has a lot of love for the trilogy; although Family Ties had already made him a well-known celebrity, the Back to the Future movies took him to the next level. Although he loves all three of the Future films, he admitted he’s got a soft spot for one of them in particular. (Click on the media to hear Michael J. Fox)
The Back to the Future reunion will take place during the TCM Classic Film Festival, starting April 16 in Los Angeles.
The rebooted version of Jumanjiis a video game that plays by its own rules, So, although the game’s avatars — played by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black — may stay the same, the game’s players have changed. So instead of channeling the personality of a teenage kid, like he did in Welcome to the Jungle, Johnson gets to channel a character played by Danny DeVito in The Next Level. For Johnson, it was an amazing opportunity, because he told us he’s been a fan of DeVito’s for years. (Click on the media bar below to hear Dwayne Johnson)
Jumanji: The Next Level is playing now in theaters.
The cult classic, which launched Pee Wee Herman, to superstardom, will indeed celebrate its 35th anniversary next year, and it’ll be doing it in style. Pee Wee Herman will be taking it on the road, screening it in theaters across the country, complete with Q&A session and a chance for die-hard fans to meet the man himself. Of course, nobody’s more surprised that this is happening than Pee Wee himself, who is amazed (and grateful) that ’80s nostalgia is back in full bloom. (Click on the media bar to hear Pee Wee Herman)
The 35th anniversary tour of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure kicks off February 14 in Portland, OR.
Clint Eastwood may have slowed down his output as an actor, having only appeared in seven films since the turn of the century. As a director, though, he hasn’t slowed down at all — Richard Jewell is his 17th feature film since the year 2000. What makes it even more amazing is that these movies have all come after Eastwood’s 70th birthday. At a time when most people have long since retired, the 89-year-old Eastwood is still going strong. When we spoke to the Hollywood icon, he told us he loves the challenge of making movies too much to think about retirement. (Click on the media bar below to hear Clint Eastwood)
In the film Ford v. Ferrari, Christian Bale plays British race car driver Ken Miles, the man who is tasked with driving the Ford car specifically designed to take on the world’s most acclaimed sports car in a race. The fact that the film — along with all of its characters — is based on something that happened in real life made preparing for the role much easier for Bale. He explained that, with so much information available about the man he was playing, he didn’t have to fill in as many gaps as he does with fictional characters. (Click on the media bar below to hear Christian Bale)
Children loved watching Mister Rogers’s Neighborhood for decades. And parents loved having a show for their children that they could trust. Every episode of Mister Rogers’s Neighborhood was build upon the ideals of kindness, acceptance, and inclusion — you know, all those things it takes to be a good neighbor — and Fred Rogers could be counted upon to consistently deliver good lessons. As he played Rogers during shooting for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Tom Hanks had plenty of time and opportunity to reflect on the things that made Rogers so beloved, and he says one of his favorites is that Rogers treated everyone he met with an equal level of respect. (Click on the media bar below to hear Tom Hanks)
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is playing now in theaters.
As Supernaturalinches toward the finish line after 15 seasons on the air, everyone associated with the show is still in awe of the fact that they’ve made it this far. It is, without a doubt, the longest-running show ever to air on The CW — its first season aired before it was even called The CW — and it’s outlasted more than 99% of the other shows in television history. Why has Supernatural had such super staying power? Jared Padalecki has plenty of reasons to share, but he gives a lot of the credit to current showrunners Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming, along with co-stars Jensen Ackles,Misha Collins, and Alexander Calvert. (Click on the media bar below to hear Jared Padalecki)
It’s not a coincidence that the store in Superstore is located in America’s heartland. Like some other shows, most notably Roseanne (now The Conners) and The Middle, the writers and producers of the show have set out to make a show that will resonate with a wide range of Americans. Do they touch on some of the hot-button social issues facing America today? Yes, but star Ben Feldman told us that they won’t do that unless there’s some good humor that goes with it. (Click on the media bar below to hear Ben Feldman)
While she was starring on How I Met Your Mother, Cobie Smulders was on a relatively forgiving sitcom shooting schedule. Now that she’s got a new series, Stumptown, she’s discovered that making an hour-long drama is a lot more difficult and time-consuming. It’s had a big impact on her family life, she told us, but she also wants to make sure she’s being a strong role model for her daughters. (Click on the media bar below to hear Cobie Smulders)
Now that Tom Holland is so recognizable to movie audiences as Peter Parker in Marvel’s Spider-Man series, he’s finding other ways to make movies. In the next four months, he’s voicing characters in three different animated or live action/CGI hybrid movies — Spies in Disguise, Doolittle, and Onward. The first is Spies in Disguise; he plays a character named Walter Beckett, a scientist who gives a spy colleague the ultimate cover: He turns him into a pigeon. Obviously, it’s a comedy, but there was a problem. Holland told us he’s not very good at laughing. (Click on the media bar below to hear Tom Holland)
Spies in Disguise opens in theaters on Christmas Day.
Strangely enough, we’ve gotten to the point where all of Back to the Future happened in the past. The time-traveling trilogy — which took us from 1985 to 1955, 2015, and 1885 — has only grown in stature over time, in part because of Steven Spielberg’s refusal to sign off on a reboot in his lifetime. Next spring, the first Back to the Future celebrates its 35th anniversary, and it will be honored with a screening and cast reunion, featuring star Michael J. Fox. Fox has a lot of love for the trilogy; although Family Ties had already made him a well-known celebrity, the Back to the Future movies took him to the next level. Although he loves all three of the Future films, he admitted he’s got a soft spot for one of them in particular. (Click on the media to hear Michael J. Fox)
