“The Afterparty” has ended. The killer has been caught. But unlike his prison-bound character, the actor behind the “who” in “whodunit” can breathe a little easier — at last. “I’ve been lying to people for a year now.” That’s Ben Schwartz, the actor behind Yasper, an AV technician and aspiring musician who turned out to be the suspect everyone was looking for throughout a tense, clever, and altogether rewarding first season of Christopher Miller’s Apple TV+ murder-mystery....

Warner Bros. Discovery announced the sequel to the 2022 hit that has earned the company $760 millon globally. Also announced is Matt Reeves’ return to direct the follow-up film, which will expand upon Warner Bros.’ sprawling Gotham universe. Plot details remain under wraps. Sequel plans were inevitable following the film’s massive box office success since its March 4 release date, and the 45-day theatrical window before premiering on Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer HBO Max paid off: The film, since dropping on the platform April 18 and despite parallel availability on premium VOD, reached over 4 million households....

From a pure logistical standpoint, no other series has as full a sense of its world’s mechanics quite like “The Expanse.” Much of that comes from its source material, the books written by James S.A. Corey, the pseudonym of writing team Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (who also write a good portion of the scripts for the new Season 6). The long-established geopolitical relationships between citizens of Earth, Mars, and the Belt complement the tactile nature of resources and equipment it takes to travel between those locations (and beyond them)....

An entrant in the 2018 edition of the Brit List (much like the Black List, but for U.K.-based screenplays), the much-anticipated period thriller uses real history to unspool a supernatural thriller. Set in the early winter of 1974, the film picks up during the “Three-Day Week” period in the UK, during which a combination of power conservation and striking miners plunged the country into a planned, partial blackout for over two months....

“I’m thrilled to take on the role of this modern folk antihero,” said Mitchell in a statement. “Joe and I are the same age and like him, I grew up queer in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas so I feel like I know a little bit about this guy and his desperate attempt to conquer an inhospitable world.” Variety first reported the news. “It’s clear that an over-the-top character like Joe needed someone very special,” said Steven O’Neill, who is the executive vice president of casting and talent development for UCP, the producer on the series....

Emmerich and De Luca have more in common than most of the studios’ chess pieces. Both were forged in the scrappy New Line ethos, and they are cinephiles who make risky bets in order to work with top talent. Case in point: Both just debuted big movies at Cannes. That’s because Zaslav has espoused the power of branding a title in theaters. Zas himself attended the lavish Cannes world premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s $150-million music biopic “Elvis”; rising star Austin Butler hung out with Emmerich at the Beach Stephanie afterparty....

It’s sport to make fun of the Oscars and, after April’s anemic pandemic show, there’s nowhere to go but up. But the Oscars are more than shallow red carpet glamour and awarding gold statues to entitled narcissists. With Hollywood studios no longer primarily invested in movies, the film industry’s ecosystem is at stake. We need a revitalized Oscars to save the kind of quality movies that only get made because the awards exist....