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
Alien Day Brings With It Our First Look at ‘Alien: Covenant’
Yesterday was “Alien Day,” the latest “holiday” concocted by studio marketing teams to continue interest in their franchises (see also: Star Wars Day, Force Friday and Back to the Future Day). The crass commercialization can almost be overlooked because Alien Day actually had some cool events for fans, including screenings with cast members and some cool new collectibles that only the luckiest fan
‘Guardians of the Galaxy 2’ Casts Nathan Fillion as Wonder Man
James Gunn and Nathan Fillion have worked together on a number of projects from Slither to Super to the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Fillion has become the John Ratzenberger of the works of James Gunn. That collaboration is set to continue in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol...
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‘Magnificent Seven’ First Look: Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt Saddle Up
After the huge success of Guardians of the Galaxy, newly-minted A-list star Chris Pratt had his pick of projects. He quickly signed on to star in another franchise, Jurassic World, which somehow made him an even bigger star. Then came a more curious choice: a remake of The Magnificent Seven...
Watch the First Trailer For ‘Pee-wee’s Big Holiday’
Since the Judd Apatow produced Pee-wee Herman movie made its move from movie theaters to Netflix (Universal passed on the film and Netflix quickly picked up the rights), we’ve been anxiously awaiting more from the first Pee-wee movie in over 25 years...
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Passes ‘Avatar’ to Become Biggest Movie of All-Time
As was widely expected, Star Wars: The Force Awakens passed Avatar as the highest grossing movie of all-time on Wednesday morning. It was a record many, including George Lucas, thought would never be broken; The Force Awakens did it in just 20 da
Here’s Oscar Isaac Playing Bass in a Ska Band in 1996
Before he was Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Oscar Isaac was Oscar Hernandez, a high school kid growing up in Delray Beach, Florida who, like many high school kids, played in a local band. Being the mid-90s, ska-punk was making a resurgence (anyone remember Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake?) and Isaac, a singer, guitarist and bassist, was a big part of the local scene with his bands, The Worms and Blinking Underdogs. Whereas video of most of our crappy high school bands remains buried forever, Oscar Isaac is in the new Star Wars movie, so we did some digging and found video from 1996 of one of his sets at Ray’s Downtown Blues in West Palm Beac
Chinese ‘Star Wars’ Poster Shrinks Black Lead Actor, John Boyega
Despite some early concerns, most would agree that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a diverse film. The three leads are a woman, a black man and a Cuban man. One of the main enemies is a woman. One of the major new characters is played by a black woman. Princess Leia is now General Leia Organa. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s a very solid step in the right direction. Unfortunately, it may have been a little too far in the right direction for some countries. A new Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster from China has been revealed and, despite being one of the two main stars of the film, they’ve shrunk down black actor John Boyega in half.
Tom Cruise in Talks to Star in Universal’s Mummy Reboot
There were not many ways to get me excited in a Mummy reboot, the first in a planned series of connected movies linking The Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein and more, but Universal has found a way. Tom Cruise is in talks to star in The Mummy and is expected to take a major role in developing the new monster universe.
‘Finding Dory’ Trailer: Pixar Returns With an Unforgettable Adventure
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Finding Nemo didn’t really need a sequel. It was a completely charming, yet contained adventure, wrapped up pretty neatly. But, it was a very, very successful Pixar movie and, these days, that means sequel. Of the first seven Pixar movies, only Finding Nemo and A Bug’s Life (which has seemed to be almost ret-conned out of existence in the Pixar universe) hadn’t yet had sequels, but that’s about to change next summer as Finding Dory opens in theaters.
Daniel Fleetwood, Terminally Ill ‘Star Wars’ Fan Behind #ForceForDaniel, Dies at Age 32
Back in October, Ashley Fleetwood, the wife of Daniel Fleetwood, a terminally ill Star Wars fan, started the #ForceForDaniel campaign to help her husband see Star Wars: The Force Awakens before he died. Daniel, a lifelong fan who camped out for tickets to see the prequel trilogy, was given only two months to live in July and both he and his wife knew he wasn’t going to be able to make it until opening day. On November 5, Disney, Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams made Daniel’s dying wish come true by bringing Star Wars: The Force Awakens to his home in Spring, Texas.
Daniel Fleetwood died last night, just five days after his Star Wars screening, at the age of 32.