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A trickle is becoming a flood for Bluesky, the social media company that has seen spectacular growth since the presidential election. On Tuesday, the microblogging platform hit 20 million users, after averaging 1 million new users per day over the past five days.

According to a Nov. 13 post by Bluesky CEO Jay Graber, the site had 6 million users in late August, nearly 11 million in late October and hit 15 million users on Nov. 15. It added another 5 million users in just five days, with the explosive growth seen since Nov. 5, the day of the election, accelerating.

Bluesky has been one of the main beneficiaries of millions of users leaving Elon Musk’s X, as the site formerly known as Twitter descends into a mess of bots, extreme content, crypto scams, ads, pornography, racism, transphobia and misinformation.

Hollywood has been quick to adopt Bluesky, particularly with the entertainment industry’s aversion to the political views of Musk,...

Call it a blue wave. A host of actors, directors, musicians, journalists and other prominent people are dumping X (formerly Twitter) and flocking to social media platform Bluesky.

In the past week, an increasing number of bold-faced names have announced that they plan to post less on X, or leave the platform altogether, citing myriad issues with the social media company, including far right content, hate speech, transphobia, racism, harassment, pornography, crypto scams, bots and the political views of owner Elon Musk, the billionaire oligarch who is a vocal supporter and financial backer of Donald Trump.

Musk’s ownership of X and his updates to content moderation on the platform have been pushing brands and media groups closer and closer to the exit. This week, The Guardian media group announced that it will stop posting on X, describing the site as a “toxic media platform.” On Nov. 4, the Berlin Film...

Writer/director Jennifer Kent’s horror film The Babadook is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year – and in the midst of the celebration, we might have just found out what her next genre movie is going to be. Back in September, Kent told Gizmodo that she’s developing an adaptation of “a very well-known horror book,” and now World of Reel reports the Rumor that the book in question is Clive Barker’s 1992 novel The Thief of Always!

According to World of Reel, Kent’s take on The Thief of Always is “currently in the advanced stages of development. You can expect this one to be officially announced very soon.”

Barker’s novel has the following description: Mr. Hood’s Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles where every childhood whim may be satisfied. There is a price to be paid,...

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"Men in Black" is the best kind of blockbuster. It's uncommonly smart, riotously funny, exciting, heartwarming in spots, mean-spirited in others and, best of all, short. Yes, Roger Ebert was right when he said that no good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough, but big summer movies have a tendency to give 'em too much of what they want. Sometimes, it's okay to leave the audience wanting more -- and by this I do not mean a post-credits stinger hyping the next movie in the franchise (although I am old enough to remember the thrill of waiting through the credits of a new 007 movie so I could see the "James Bond will return in..." title that typically gave viewers the title of the MI6 agent's next adventure).

At 98 minutes, "Men in Black" zips by.

Forget Will Smith’s infamous fart story that cleared a set for three hours—Tommy Lee Jones brought his own brand of chaos to Men in Black. While Smith’s gas incident might’ve been a literal stink bomb, Jones’ tough-guy attitude made things pretty tense behind the scenes. Known for being a no-nonsense guy, Tommy didn’t exactly vibe with the film’s lighthearted tone, and that clash made filming Men in Black a little more challenging than expected.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black | Credit: Columbia Pictures

Crew members quickly realized that dealing with Jones wasn’t as easy as erasing memories with a neuralyzer. As much as fans loved the on-screen duo, working with them? Well, that was a whole different story.

Tommy Lee Jones: The Real Challenge Behind Men in Black Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black | Credit:...

Una cirujana enfrentada a secretos oscuros.

De acuerdo con Deadline, Kate Winslet protagonizará la serie dramática de A24 y 20th Television, titulada The Spot, que se emitirá en Hulu.

The Spot sigue a una cirujana de éxito (Winslet) y a su marido, profesor de escuela, que sospechan que ella podría ser la responsable de la muerte de un niño atropellado. Mientras investigan el asunto, se revelan oscuros secretos que pondrán a prueba su relación al enfrentarse a la posibilidad de una culpa y una traición ocultas.

La serie ha sido creada, escrita y será dirigida por Ed Solomon y Winslet, además de protagonizar la serie, también desempeñará el rol de productora ejecutiva.

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The post Kate Winslet protagonizará la nueva serie dramática de A24 y Hulu, ‘The Spot’, del director Ed Solomon. first appeared on mundoCine.

The post Kate Winslet protagonizará la nueva serie dramática de A24 y Hulu,...

Emmy-winning actress Kate Winslet will take on her next gripping lead role in an upcoming Hulu series called “The Spot.” The thriller was created by acclaimed screenwriter Ed Solomon and gained a direct pickup order from the streaming service. Winslet will play a successful surgeon embroiled in mystery alongside her schoolteacher husband.

As production begins, Winslet is tackling another complex character after major successes on television. She won an Emmy for “Mare of Easttown” on HBO and starred in their series “The Regime.” Though she rose to fame through film, her recent small screen performances have drawn wide acclaim. Winslet said she enjoys exploring layered characters over several episodes.

In “The Spot,” Winslet’s surgeon may have caused a hit-and-run accident that killed a child. She and her husband then embark on an investigation riddled with distrust and hidden secrets. Solomon will write and executive produce the series through his...

Auf dem Filmfest München wurde die Oscargewinnerin in diesem Jahr mit dem CineMerit Award ausgezeichnet, beim Zurich Film Festival wird sie mit dem Golden Icon Award geehrt. Jetzt steht das nächste Projekt von Kate Winslet fest.

Kate Winslet übernimmt die Hauptrolle in der Hulu-Serie „The Spot“ (Credit: Frederic Auerbach)

Kate Winslet übernimmt die Hauptrolle in der Hulu-Serie „The Spot“. Wie US-Branchenmedien berichten, wird Winslet mit ihrer Juggle Productions auch als Executive Producer fungieren. Als weiterer Executive Producer, Drehbuchautor und Showrunner ist Ed Solomon an Bord. „The Spot“ entsteht als Koproduktion von A24 20th Television.

In „The Spot“ spielt Winslet eine erfolgreiche Chirurgin, die zusammen mit ihrem Ehemann, einem Lehrer, den schrecklichen Verdacht hat, an einem Unfall mit Fahrerflucht beteiligt gewesen zu sein, bei dem ein Kind ums Leben kam. Auf der Suche nach der Wahrheit geraten sie in ein Netz aus wachsendem Misstrauen und dunklen Geheimnissen, wodurch ihre Beziehung...

After lighting up television screens with unforgettable performances in series like HBO‘s Mare of Easttown and The Regime, Kate Winslet is getting behind the wheel of Ed Solomon’s upcoming drama series The Spot. Winslet boards the project to lead the show and executive produce with A24 and 20th Television. The Spot got a straight-to-series order after Hulu beat other platforms in a hotly-contested situation.

In addition to creating The Spot, Ed Solomon showruns, with the plot following a successful surgeon (Winslet) and her school teacher husband who suspect she could be responsible for a child’s hit-and-run death. While investigating the dark truth, unspeakable secrets reveal unknowns that test the couple’s relationship as they confront the possibility of hidden guilt and betrayal.

Kate Winslet’s latest feature is Ellen Kuras’ biographical war drama Lee, which portrays a pivotal decade in the life of American war correspondent and...

Kate Winslet is starring in a new Hulu series.

The 48-year-old Titanic alum will appear in A24, Ed Solomon and 20th Television’s The Spot, which she will also executive produce, in a straight-to-series order, via Deadline.

Keep reading to find out more…

Created and written by Ed Solomon, who will serve as showrunner, The Spot “follows a successful surgeon (Winslet) and her school teacher husband who suspect she might be responsible for a child’s hit-and-run death. While looking into the matter, dark secrets are revealed that will test their relationship as they confront the possibility of hidden guilt and betrayal.”

Ed began his career as a writer on ABC TV’s Laverne & Shirley, wrote Men In Black and worked on the Now You See Me movies, among many other accomplishments.

Find out which TV shows Hulu has renewed and cancelled so far in 2024.

Kate Winslet is set to star in The Spot, a drama from screenwriter Ed Solomon and A24 ordered straight to series by Hulu.

The show, also from 20th Television, centers on a successful surgeon and her schoolteacher husband starting to suspect she may be responsible for a child’s hit-and-run death. Their quest for truth only spirals into a web of mounting suspicion and dark secrets, testing their resolve and their relationship as they confront the possibility of hidden guilt and betrayal.

Solomon created, wrote and will showrun The Spot, while also executive producing along with Winslet and her Juggle Productions banner and A24. Winslet, best known as a movie actor since breaking out in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures in 1994, has earned two Emmys for Mildred Pierce and Mare of Easttown.

She also starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic and has other movie credits like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,...

Kate Winslet just can’t get enough of prestige TV, huh? After recent forays into the small screen like “The Regime” and “Mare of Easttown,” as well as the recently announced “Trust,” it appears Winslet is going back for more with the upcoming drama, “The Spot.”

Read More: ‘Trust’: Todd Haynes To Write & Direct New HBO Series Starring Kate Winslet

According to Deadline, Kate Winslet is set to star in a new drama series, “The Spot,” coming to Hulu.

Continue reading ‘The Spot’: Kate Winslet To Star In New Hulu Drama Series From Creator Ed Solomon at The Playlist.

Kate Winslet will star in and executive produce a new crime drama series for Hulu, titled “The Spot.”

The new series, which hails from creator and showrunner Ed Solomon, received a straight-to-series order from the Disney-owned streamer in a competitive situation.

Solomon will serve as creator, showrunner and writer and will executive produce the series alongside Winslet, who EPs for Juggle Productions, and A24, which is the lead studio. “The Spot” is also a coproduction with 20th Television.

The official logline for “The Spot” is as follows: “When a successful surgeon and her schoolteacher husband begin to suspect that she may be responsible for a child’s hit-and-run death, their quest for truth spirals into a web of mounting suspicion and dark secrets, testing their resolve and their relationship as they confront the possibility of hidden guilt and betrayal.”

Winslet recently starred as Chancellor Elena Vernham in HBO’s “The Regime,...

Kate Winslet is set to star in a new Hulu series from writer Ed Solomon and A24. Titled “The Spot,” the show has received a straight to series order at the streamer.

The official logline states, “When a successful surgeon (Winslet) and her schoolteacher husband begin to suspect that she may be responsible for a child’s hit-and-run death, their quest for truth spirals into a web of mounting suspicion and dark secrets, testing their resolve and their relationship as they confront the possibility of hidden guilt and betrayal.”

Solomon serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner of “The Spot.” Winslet will executive produce in addition to starring under her Juggle Productions banner. A24 is the lead studio in co-production with 20th Television.

Winslet has been a force to be reckoned with in TV in the past several years. She most recently starred in the HBO limited series “The Regime.

Exclusive: In a very competitive situation, Hulu has landed drama The Spot, starring and executive produced by Oscar and Emmy winner Kate Winslet, with a straight-to-series order, sources tell Deadline. The project comes from Ed Solomon, A24 and 20th Television.

Created and written by Solomon, who will serve as showrunner, The Spot follows a successful surgeon (Winslet) and her school teacher husband who suspect she might be responsible for a child’s hit-and-run death. While looking into the matter, dark secrets are revealed that will test their relationship as they confront the possibility of hidden guilt and betrayal.

Related: Robert & Michelle King Take On Silicon Valley With ‘Cupertino’ Legal Drama In Works At CBS

Winslet executive produces for her Juggle Productions alongside Solomon and A24. The project was developed and shopped by A24, which will serve as lead studio, co-producing...

The latest entry into the Bad Boys film franchise titled Ride or Die is finally out and seems to be rejuvenating the 2024 summer box office single-handedly. Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Bad Boys: Ride or Die becomes the fourth film in a franchise started by Michael Bay. Stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return to reprise their iconic roles of Detective Mike Lowery and Detective Marcus Miles Burnett, and once again, both of their characters get into some tricky situations, and the only way to get out is some cool action sequences and hilarious comedic bits. So, if you love the Bad Boys franchise and love the latest film, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, here are some similar films you could watch next.

Beverly Hills Cop Credit – Paramount Pictures

Beverly Hills Cop is an action comedy film directed by Martin Brest with a screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr....

Starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, the 1997 film Men In Black was a huge hit upon its release, earning critical and commercial success, which was followed by two sequels along with a stand-alone fourth installment. However, crafting the intricate world of aliens and secret agents proved a formidable challenge for the creators.

Men in Black | Credit: Columbia Pictures

In a 2022 oral history of Men In Black discussion, director Barry Sonnenfeld, production designer Bo Welch, and screenwriter Ed Solomon reflected on the process of making the movie and revealed how they spent close to $1 million on an animatronic bug, ultimately abandoning its use in the final cut.

Men in Black Spent $1 Million in an Unused Giant Animatronic Bug

The first film in the Men in Black franchise follows Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) and Agent J (Will Smith) as they investigate a series of alien-related incidents, and across a dangerous...

Update, 3:08 Pm: Apple CEO Tim Cook’s X post on the much condemned “Crush” ad for the new iPad Pro has been viewed around 53 million times and the in-house produced promo is still on the tech giant’s YouTube page, but Apple is now saying sorry.

“Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad,” Apple marketing kingpin Tor Myhren told Ad Age today as the backlash intensified. “We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”

Well, maybe not that sorry – as after two days they still haven’t taken the literally and figuratively destructive ad down.

Previously May 8 Am: Apple’s new iPad Pro isn’t hitting the shelves for another week, but the self-described “thinnest Apple product yet” is already being crushed because of a new ad.

Released yesterday at a virtual...

As Hollywood agencies and production companies increasingly turn to artificial intelligence to evaluate screenplays, a group of writers and creatives have come together to design a so-called barrier against the incursion.

Shane Black (“Iron Man 3”), Jim Herzfeld (“Meet the Parents”) and Akela Cooper (“M3GAN”) are among two dozen industryites who collaborated on the development of a new tech platform, dubbed the Gauntlet, in an effort to keep humans assessing screenplays at the gate-keeper stage rather than AI.

ScriptHop, a Hollywood tech company founded by former UTA story department head Scott Foster and tech entrepreneur Brian Austin, is launching the Gauntlet Tuesday with 30 freelance script analysts from such high-profile companies as HBO and Lucasfilm, becoming the largest organized group of professional readers in the industry.

ScriptHop advisory board member and screenwriter Herzfeld came up with the idea that sees screenwriters pay a $380 fee to run their script through a “gauntlet” of professional story analysts.

2020’s Bill & Ted Face the Music felt like a fitting enough way to bid a bodacious farewell to the titular time traveling rockers. But if Alex Winter aka Bill S. Preston, Esquire, is to be believed, the pair may be partying on yet again for a Bill & Ted 4.

Appearing on The Sarah O’Connell Show, Winter said Bill & Ted 4 is already in the preliminary stages of being planned, citing trilogy writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. “The gang…we’re tinkering with a fourth movie idea that all of us like… and the guys are going to write, so we’ll see. I mean it takes us time to get these things going, and we never want to do them unless they’re great.” He went on to call the writers “super talented” but noted that “they feel the same way: it has to be right…We love [the movies] because...

The core creative team are ‘tinkering’ with an idea for Bill & Ted 4, reveals Alex Winter.

It’s far from assured, but it seems that the creative minds behind 2020’s Bill & Ted Face The Music are playing with the idea of revisiting the series’ beloved characters once more.

Alex Winter forms one half of the titular duo, and while out on the press tour for Destroy All Neighbors, he spoke on The Sarah O’Connell Show about the prospect of re-teaming with co-star Keanu Reeves for another turn as Bill S Preston Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan, the beloved pair of slackers who are eternally on the verge of actually doing something meaningful with their lives.

Apparently, Winter and Reeves are working with the series’ writers Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson to figure out if there’s another story to tell… and it looks like that might possibly be the case.

Writers of nine limited series ranging from “A Murder at the End of the World” to “Tiny Beautiful Things” traded shop talk and stories of how they crafted muscular worlds to tell extended, standalone stories.

Ed Solomon of Max’s “Full Circle” astounded the crowd at Variety’s A Night in the Writers Room at Hollywood’s NeueHouse with the origin story of his 586-page spec script for the twisty thriller. “And then Steven [Soderbergh] decided to direct it and that led it to be great.”

Andy Breckman, of Peacock’s “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie,” explained to moderator Jazz Tangcay, Variety’s senior artisans editor, how he had to pad the original 2002 pilot for the detective franchise into a USA Network TV movie – because star Tony Shalhoub was contractually prohibited against starring in a competing pilot. “I had to fatten up the animal and get it to 90 minutes...

Following the resolution of the writers’ strike, Variety’s “A Night in the Writers’ Room” returns Nov. 30 in-person, featuring three panels moderated by Variety’s esteemed journalists, Michael Schneider and Emily Longeretta, with this year’s Emmy-contending writers in the drama, comedy and limited series categories.

An invite-only audience of industry voters will attend the event which features a cocktail reception prior to the panels.

The Comedy panel features:

Duffy Boudreau, “Barry” Michele Fazekas, “Gen V” Justin Halpern, “Abbott Elementary” John Hoffmann, “Only Murders in the Building” Chris Harris, “Frasier” Bill Lawrence, “Shrinking” Judah Miller, “Bupkis” Migizi Pensoneau, “Reservation Dogs” Boots Riley, “I’m A Virgo”

The Drama panel features:

Debora Cahn, “The Diplomat” Michael Dinner, “Justified: City Primeval” Craig Mazin, “The Last of Us” Charlotte Stoudt, “The Morning Show” Sonja Warfield, “The Gilded Age”

The Limited Series panel features:

Andy Breckman, “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie” Lee Eisenberg,...

Barry Sonnenfeld's 1997 film "Men in Black" was the highest-grossing film (domestically) of 1997. Derived from then-hip urban legends about alien abductions and the suit-clad mystery men called in to cover up the evidence, "Men in Black" hit a sweet spot with audiences, blending sci-fi mayhem, quirky special effects, and the sheer overwhelming star power of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones to create one of the decade's defining blockbusters. Although the more significant cinematic advances of the decade were being made within a growing, robust indie scene, over on the studio side of the fence, audiences were in the mood for high-profile sci-fi. 1996 saw the ultra-success of "Independence Day," and films like "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" and "Armageddon" made almost half a billion between them. 

Geeks were also at the beginning of an ascendency, as proven by the 1997 release of the "Star Wars" Special Editions. Filmmaker George Lucas, armed...

In 1989 Orion Pictures, along with Nelson Entertainment released Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The film was widely loved, and still is, to this day by both critics and fans alike. Because the film was so popular, spawned tons of merchandise and even had two spinoff shows…a sequel was inevitable.

This isn’t just any sequel, it’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. At the time regarded as a love it or hate it film and was considered a box office failure. So let’s go to hell, visit heaven, build some evil and good robots and face off in the Battle of Bands as we check out Bill & Ted’s bonkers follow up on this episode of Revisited.

As stated earlier, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure was released in February 1989 and became a huge success. People couldn’t get enough of the two brain dead yet incredibly...

Film fans talk about the 1990s as another Golden Age of cinema. Not only is there the jam-packed year of 1999, which gave us classics such as The Matrix, Toy Story 2, and The Talented Mr. Ripley, but the 90s also saw the rise of new auteurs, including Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, and Guillermo del Toro. Hollywood turned its attention to indie and foreign films, enriching a moviegoing experience that still featured fan-favorite blockbusters.

But to really see how good the 90s were, we can’t just look at the hits. Rather, the flops tell us the true tale of the decade’s quality – the movies that audiences skipped at the time but have proven their worth in the years that followed. Here are the best flops of the 1990s; films that couldn’t find a wide enough audience upon release, but still deserve attention today.

Mom and Dad Save the World...

We love rock & roll, and so do most moviegoers, which is why cinema is filled with heroes who get together with their friends to pound out some numbers. Whether they do it for fame and fortune or to just hang out with buddies, pop bands are inherently cinematic, tying together moving images and sound to create something spectacular. That’s particularly true of fictional groups, who often draw from real-world inspirations and transform them into moving protagonists or hated villains.

This list covers ten of the best fictional bands in cinema history. The key word here is “bands,” as we ignore solo acts, even from really good films. So Mac Sledge from Tender Mercies won’t show up, nor will Noni Jean from Beyond the Lights. Also, we’re looking at fictional groups here, so the Ramones from Rock & Roll High School don’t show up, nor do Talking Heads,...

With TV and films stalled due to the ongoing writers and actors strike, director Judd Apatow and filmmaker J.J. Abrams sat down for a virtual conversation with Ed Solomon on Tuesday evening to talk in-depth about their writing process and working alongside filmmaker Matt Reeves as teenagers. During the 11th episode of The Black List’s Word by Word, the trio steered clear of conversations about the double strike.

At the start of the conversation, Solomon shared that Abrams and Apatow were eager to jump on the episode when learning...

On June 10, 2023, screenwriter Ed Solomon ("Men in Black," "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," "Full Circle") tweeted the following:

"Wanted to gauge interest on something. If I were to do a series of Zoom workshops during the strike (was thinking Q & A sessions on various parts of the craft of writing), would anyone show up?"

Within minutes, he received a Dm from The Black List founder Franklin Leonard, who, along with his team, including the company's senior vice president Megan Halpern, was offering to help facilitate the types of conversations Solomon wanted to have. A couple of weeks later, Word By Word was officially up and running.

With its title taking inspiration from Anne Lamott's writing book "Bird By Bird," which Solomon calls "the best book [he's] ever read on writing," the weekly Zoom sessions are free and open to the public, feature major figures from the world of screenwriting as guests,...

Making a top ten list of your favourite movies can be difficult, but is it any easier when you narrow that list down to a single decade? IndieWire asked dozens of filmmakers to put together a list of their favourite 80s movies, and the results are as widely varied as the decade itself. Which 80s movies does Bill Hader hold dear to his heart? What are some of Nia DaCosta’s favourites? Can Edgar Wright actually contain himself to just ten movies? What horror movies of the 80s top Eli Roth’s list?

Bill Hader’s (Barry) Favourite 80s Movies:

Thin Blue Line Road Warrior Blood Simple Evil Dead 1&2 Raging Bull Naked Gun The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On The Hit Raising Arizona Crimes and Misdemeanors Blue Velvet Where is the Friends House Pee Wees Big Adventure Midnight Run Come and See Do the Right Thing My Neighbor Totoro Die Hard Paris,...

You know the difference between Will Smith and any other young star of the mid-90s? He makes alien policing look good. As new recruit Agent J, Smith brought perfect energy to bounce off of crusty veteran Agent K, played by Tommy Lee Jones. With those two in the lead, Men in Black became an instant classic, brimming with buddy chemistry as the titular agents hunt down a rogue bug alien played by a transcendent Vincent D’Onofrio.

And yet, it took one of the most powerful men in Hollywood to get Will Smith on board. The rapper-turned-actor was a known quality during the long pre-production of Men in Black, having transitioned from sitcom star of The Fresh Prince of Bel–Air to blockbuster star with the back-to-back hits of Bad Boys and Independence Day. So when he was pitched a role in a Barry Sonnenfeld-directed adaptation of a little-known comic book,...

Javier Grillo-Marxuach, a veteran of the TV space who has most recently served as both a writer and EP on Netflix’s The Witcher — prior to the start of the dual strikes — has come forward to address accusations of “scabbing” prompted by his posts on social media.

Grillo-Marxuach joins a growing list of guild members, between WGA and SAG-AFTRA, that have faced harsh rebukes from peers of activity that is, in fact, guild-approved. Inciting this particular incident were social posts promoting the aforementioned fantasy drama, which as he notes, were made with WGA dictates in mind.

“Today i was accused of scabbing for posting about, and showing the title card and promo for #TheWitcher – which i did of my own volition and not at the request of my corporate overlords – and for engaging with fans of the show,” wrote Grillo-Marxuach. “While my actions are completely within the guild’s strike...

With Hollywood largely in lockdown due to two historic strikes and studios digging in their heels for what’s increasingly looking like a many months-long war of attrition, sensitivities amid the union ranks have never been higher.

So when an executive producer and writer for Netflix’s The Witcher tweeted about the show’s new episodes, it’s perhaps unsurprising the comments received blowback.

“Today i was accused of scabbing for posting about, and showing the title card and promo for #TheWitcher – which i did of my own volition and not at the request of my corporate overlords – and for engaging with fans of the show,” wrote TV veteran Javier Grillo-Marxuach. “While my actions are completely within the guild’s strike rules as you can see below, i can also understand how they can offend others and appear as a lapse in solidarity … so i’m taking my posts down.

[This story contains spoilers from Max’s Full Circle.]

Max’s Full Circle garnered interest even before it premiered due to its star-studded cast. But while viewers may have originally tuned in to see Claire Danes, Dennis Quaid, Timothy Olyphant, Zazie Beetz and Jim Gaffigan, those who stayed with the limited series saw a story take center stage of two Guyanese teenagers stuck in New York and desperately trying to get home.

This “bait-and-switch aspect” is part of what appealed to director Steven Soderbergh when writer Ed Solomon presented the project to him. Soderbergh helmed all six episodes of the series, about the fallout from a botched kidnapping.

“You think it’s about this group of well-off white people being victimized. And then over the course of the show, the whole thing starts to tilt,” Soderbergh told a group of reporters in a June roundtable discussion. “By the end of it, we’re in a very different place than where we started.

“Full Circle” came to an exceptionally satisfying end July 27, as director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon elegantly pulled together the varied storylines and themes that comprised its sprawling, penetrating narrative while leaving just enough unanswered questions to tantalize the viewer. Soderbergh looked back on the making of the Max limited series in a wide-ranging roundtable interview that touched on a number of subjects both directly and indirectly related to “Full Circle,” from why he likes to shoot quickly to what he learned from the New York cop movies of the 1970s. Here are some highlights from the conversation.

On the influence of William Friedkin and Sidney Lumet.

While preparing for “Full Circle,” Soderbergh looked at William Friedkin’s “The French Connection” and Sidney Lumet cop movies like “Serpico.” “There can be something compelling and arresting about an approach that’s really direct and doesn’t have a lot of filigree in it,...

Editor’s note: The following article contains spoilers for “Full Circle” Episodes 5 and 6.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind — even if it brings things full circle. The final episodes of Max’s “Full Circle” from Steven Soderbergh and Ed Solomon reveal a broken cycle of violence, greed, and secrecy that does not ultimately heal from retaliation, but resolution/healing/absolution.

“Full Circle” stars a large ensemble, but the Mahabir side especially spotlights key players at different times. If Episodes 1 and 2 belonged to Aked (Jharrel Jerome), then 3 and 4 were focused on Louis (Gerald Jones) and 5 and 6 spotlight Xavier (Sheyi Cole). Each member of the young crew tasked with doing Savitri’s (Cch Pounder) bidding experiences degrees of panic, fear, and regret after the kidnapping, the specific cocktail of these determining their actions in the final hours. 3 and 4 depict Louis trying to right his wrongs, to return Nicky...

Spoiler Alert: This interview discusses the final episode of “Full Circle,” now streaming on Max.

It’s fitting that everyone ends up back where they started at the conclusion of “Full Circle” – well, everyone that’s not dead or in police custody.

Things comes crashing into each other before those final moments, though. Parallel storylines reach a shared — and complicated — dramatic climax when Louis (Gerald Jones) sneaks into the Browne family’s spacious New York apartment to snag an expensive painting that can give him and his sister, Natalia (Adia), enough leverage to return to their home country Guyana, away from the Mafia war in which they’ve become entangled. But Samantha (Claire Danes) is on the premises, pulling a gun on Louis and demanding that he leave. The two are strangers, but a key exchange sparks a realization for Sam: Louis says he is from Essequibo, a riverside area...

In the final two episodes of Full Circle, a mystery of sorts is solved, though it's more like the final few layers of an onion are peeled. Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ed Solomon didn't set up some grand whodunit, nor have they laid out bread crumbs or red herrings in order to encourage the audience to try to figure it out. There are things we didn't know headed into the finale that we now know. But the real surprise comes via a final rapprochement between two characters who, up to this point, really couldn't stand each other.

[Editor’s Note: This post contains spoilers for Full Circle through Episode 6, "Essequibo."]...

When screenwriter Ed Solomon says that putting together “Full Circle,” a mystery-driven Max limited series directed by Steven Soderbergh, was the hardest work he’s ever done, he well and truly means it. Not just because the story of “Full Circle” was so intricate — chronicling a botched kidnapping from the perspectives of the perpetrators, victim, law enforcement and all manner of individuals tangentially connected to the crime — but also because the project started as a sprawling branching narrative like his first project with Soderbergh, HBO’s “Mosaic.”

The ”branching narrative” of “Mosaic” allowed viewers to choose which narrative path they followed after every scene via a now-defunct app, and hasn’t been replicated since. Solomon and Soderbergh planned to make “Full Circle” as both a linear limited series and a branching narrative, using different cameras and aesthetics for the branching narrative portion. But six months before production, Solomon said they decided to refine their approach.

Note: This interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Steven Soderbergh’s Max series “Full Circle” throws its viewers into a tangled web of moral ambiguity faced by a slew of characters, including Jharrel Jerome’s Aked, a young man whose familial obligation tasks him with kidnapping a teenage boy.

The series, the first four episodes of which are now streaming on Max, parses together bits and pieces of a revenge kidnapping plot orchestrated by Guyanese matriarch Savitri Mahabir (Cch Pounder) — which goes sideways under the watch of her nephew, Aked, when the group picks up the wrong kid — and again when Aked’s girlfriend and her brother, attempt to save him.

With the reasoning for the kidnapping — and its subsequent botching — kept hidden from Aked, Jerome only read through the script for the six-episode limited series once and promised not to do so again.

“It would definitely interfere with...

Editors note: the following article contains spoilers for “Full Circle” Episodes 3 and 4.

Nothing is as satisfying as a big TV twist — a jaw-dropping finale or midseason moment that reinforces why the audience gravitated to an exceptional show to begin with, and why they’ll either come back for more or forever crave it.

Max’s “Full Circle” isn’t dealing in excessive convolution — not yet anyway — but Episodes 3 and 4 meter out small twists in just the right dosage, counteracting some slow plot development with clarity about past and current events. Written by Ed Solomon and directed by Steven Soderbergh, “Jared’s Body” divulges more about Nicky (Lucian Zanes) and his connection to the Brownes, while “Safe in the Circle” peels away at the link between the McCusker and Mahabir families.

Episode 3 is the slower of the two for most of its runtime, redeemed toward the end by the reveal that Nicky is Derek’s son.

Editor’s Note: In solidarity with the WGA strike, Ed Solomon is not participating in Max-generated promotional events or press for “Full Circle,” only in interviews arranged through personal connections like this one.

The Max series “Full Circle” is one of the most ambitious, audacious, and satisfying thrillers to hit streaming in years, an intricately structured and consistently surprising ensemble piece that’s as broad in its scope as it is deep in its insights. The botched kidnapping at the story’s center brings together a wide array of fascinating characters from different backgrounds, ranging from the struggling to the wealthy and from criminals to law enforcement agents working for the U.S. postal service, all of whom are rendered with precise journalistic detail and profound empathy. It’s remarkably complex and complicated — but according to writer Ed Solomon, it was even more complicated in its original conception.

“This began...

The first season of Christopher Miller’s “The Afterparty” put a twist on the ageless murder mystery by having each episode take the form of a unique film genre that corresponded to the personality and perspective of the person being interrogated. The Apple TV+ show (which arguably should have been nominated for Best Music and Lyrics for the original songs in the musical episode), is back for a 10-episode second season that revolves around a murder at a wedding and utilizes several new genres to figure out whodunnit.

Sam Richardson, a two-time Emmy nominee for “Ted Lasso,” returns as Aniq, while Zoë Chao is back as his now-girlfriend Zoe. After the groom, who happens to be Zoe’s new brother-in-law, is murdered on his wedding night, the two begin their own investigation, eventually calling in Tiffany Haddish’s detective from Season 1 to assist. With a cast that includes everyone from...

HBO has been known for bringing out some groundbreaking television shows over the years. Television shows in the mafia genre like The Sopranos were HBO’s flagship stories, which remain cult classics. Full Circle, created by Ed Solomon and directed by Steven Soderbergh, gives us a glimpse into a Guyanese family living in New York City and the mafia ring they have been running for some time. The crimes they are committing and who they are targeting is what the first episode is all about.

Spoilers Ahead

The Guyanese mafia

The opening credits’ begin with a picture of a rich family, and from the shot, it is clear that the plot of the show will revolve around this family. They would either be the target of some crime, or part of a crime syndicate. The show kicks off with a person being murdered, and the killer runs off with a bag of money.

Leave it to Steven Soderbergh to celebrate the release of his compelling, complex mystery noir series “Full Circle” by announcing the release of another show he made in secret just a few days later. On Friday, the trailer for “Command Z” was released, announcing that the sci-fi comedy series starring Michael Cera will be streaming exclusively on Soderbergh’s website on Monday, July 17.

“I think by now you’re used to me describing the somewhat mercurial behavior of our boss, Mr/Dr Soderbergh, but this most recent development is next level and can’t be kept to myself for reasons you’ll soon understand,” a letter from one Fabrizia del Dongo reads. “This very morning, our fearful leader explained that in three days (July 17th for those who don’t want to do the math) we will be “dropping” a series of some sort called ‘Command Z.’ If I seem hedgy,...

[Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for “Full Circle” Episodes 1 and 2.]

If you find yourself, during the first two episodes of Max’s “Full Circle,” pointing excitedly at the screen when you see the literal circle for which the show is named, you are not alone.

Ed Solomon and Steven Soderbergh’s limited series follows the interconnected lives surrounding a kidnapping in New York City, but those threads are still obscured during the first two episodes which premiered Thursday on Max. Here’s what we know: Savitri Mahabir (Cch Pounder) wants revenge for her brother’s death, and that revenge will be exacted by kidnapping and possibly killing the child of a wealthy white family. Doing this will break the cycle (complete the circle) of her family’s luck and free them of unwanted negative energy. All of that is set up in Episode 1, along with a dizzying number of character introductions. It’s a credit to...

With “Full Circle,” Steven Soderbergh once again immerses us in a multi-character crime caper. Typical of the director’s work, it’s intricate, obsessed with money, cognizant of sociopolitical realities and astute about human nature (if not super illuminating). This six-episode Max limited series is on the more serious end of the Soderbergh spectrum, “Traffic”-like rather than an “Ocean’s” romp, mousetrap-plotted as opposed to experimental. The overall effect is one of the smart, showy filmmaker doing donuts, but spinning the wheels of a well-tuned Escalade.

Written by Ed Solomon, who also provided the scripts for Soderbergh’s earlier mystery projects “Mosaic” and “No Sudden Move,” “Circle” transfers the basic idea of Akira Kurosawa’s procedural “High and Low” to a contemporary New York City with a much denser population of key characters. A scheme to kidnap the son of a wealthy family gets royally and morally screwed up...

Midway through Steven Soderbergh’s new thriller miniseries Full Circle, Sam Browne (Claire Danes) asks her brooding husband Derek (Timothy Olyphant), “Is there something else going on?” The query comes as the Brownes are dealing with a kidnap threat against their son, an apparent murder, and someone targeting the corporate empire that the couple runs on behalf of Sam’s celebrity chef father, Jeff McCusker (Dennis Quaid).

“You mean more than all this?” an incredulous Derek replies.

So, yes, the Brownes are dealing with a lot. And Soderbergh and writer...

Since his “retirement” from filmmaking in 2013, director Steven Soderbergh has never fully backed away from the world of features: He has eight movies to his name in the past decade — more than some of his peers have produced in their entire careers. But Soderbergh did subsequently branch out into the world of TV, a medium he’s approached with the same enterprising, experimental spirit as he does his latter-period films. First came 2014’s “The Knick,” the Cinemax period medical drama helmed entirely by Soderbergh at a time when marquee directors were just starting to dabble in TV; then “Mosaic,” a project released in 2017 as both an interactive app and an HBO series, showing the same interest in new technology that’s led Soderbergh to shoot multiple movies on an iPhone.

“Mosaic” was a collaboration with screenwriter Ed Solomon, who also penned Soderbergh’s 1950s noir “No Sudden Move.” The new...

At a time when overall deals are getting the side-eye, no disapproving stares need be sent toward Steven Soderbergh. The Oscar- and Emmy-winning director signed a three-year deal with WarnerMedia in 2020, when Max was still HBO Max and HBO still had exclusive rights to its original library, and he’s continue to deliver throughout the streamer’s tumultuous transition — one film per year, including the third in his trilogy with Channing Tatum (“Magic Mike’s Last Dance”), a buzzy thriller starring Zoë Kravitz (“Kimi”), and a little movie featuring the one-and-only Meryl Streep (“Let Them All Talk”).

For an artist who once thought he was done with filmmaking for good, Soderbergh has become the portrait of reliability. People can quibble over quality — none of his films have garnered the awards attention seen in his early career or the critical adoration of, say, HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra” — but he’s produced thoughtful stories,...