In Brief: Emma Samms back to ‘General Hospital’, and more
Variety reports Emma Samms, whose character Holly Sutton was last seen on General Hospital in 2023, will be returning to the ABC soap in early September. Samms, whose initial run on GH began in 1982, joins Jonathan Jackson, who returns as Lucky Spencer, and Rick Hearst, who’ll reprise his role as Ric Lansing after an eight-year absence. Further details on their comebacks are being kept under wraps …
FX has given a series order to Snowflakes, “a twenty-something ensemble comedy following a group of codependent housemates trying to be good people, despite being neither ‘good’ nor ‘people’ yet,” according to the cable channel. The half-hour comedy, from The Tonight Show writers Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, stars newcomers Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao and Owen Thiele. Snowflakes is set to launch in 2025 …
Netflix has picked up the documentary series Famous Last Words, which showcases “the final major interviews from cultural icons,” according to Variety. Those subjects — including notable musicians, athletes, comedians, actors, business leaders and politicians — secretly film their conversations, which are aired only after the person has died, resulting in “a time capsule containing intimate conversations that capture the heartfelt reflections of luminaries” …
L-R: Reynolds, Jackman, Shawn Levy – Marvel Studios
The weekend box office take for Deadpool & Wolverine has been revised upward to $211 million domestically, with its global take now at $444.1 million — making it the sixth biggest opening of all time.
It was already the highest-grossing debut for an R-rated movie.
Even before all the numbers were in, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were feeling very thankful.
“I couldn’t be happier and more ill-equipped to process any of this,” Reynolds said in part Monday in an Instagram Story.
He continued, “So many people loved this movie into reality. And I’m a f****** mess.” Ryan went on to thank producer Emma Watts for helping launch the first two Deadpool films, in addition to the threequel.
“I’m forever grateful,” Ryan closed.
Over the weekend Ryan and Jackman riffed on a famous image from the old X-Men animated series, which pictured Wolverine stroking a photo of his love, Jean Grey.
Jackman recreated the moment in costume. However, his point of view shows he’s caressing a photo with the words “#1 movie in the world.”
“Thank you ALL!” he captioned the snaps.
Ryan’s version has Deadpool staring lovingly at a framed photo of Jackman’s recreation. “I miss Hugh already,” Reynolds wrote.
On Sunday Guardians of the Galaxy writer-director James Gunn — now the co-head of DC Films — reached across the aisle to congratulate his former employers at Marvel, as well as Hugh, Ryan and director Shawn Levy, for Deadpool & Wolverine‘s success.
Gena Rowlands, the award-winning actress known for her acclaimed roles in A Woman Under the Influence,Gloria and The Notebook, has died. She was 94.
Rowlands’ son, film director Nick Cassavetes, revealed in June 2024 that his mother had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for five years.
Her death was confirmed by The Associated Press.
A four-time Emmy winner and two-time GoldenGlobe winner, as well as the recipient of an Honorary Academy Award, Rowlands’ career in theater, film and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was perhaps best known for her film collaborations with her husband, the late actor and director John Cassavetes, and received two Oscar nominations for her starring roles in his films A Woman Under the Influence and Gloria.
Born Virginia Cathryn Rowlands in Cambria, Wisconsin, she made her Broadway debut in The Seven Year Itch in 1953. Rowlands met John Cassavetes when they were both students at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts and they were married in 1954. She spent the next six years working in TV, including opposite Cassavetes in the detective series Johnny Staccato, in which he starred. She also appeared in hit series like Bonanza, The Virginian, 77 Sunset Strip and Peyton Place.
Rowlands made her film debut in 1958 in The High Cost of Living. In 1963, she starred in her first movie directed by John Cassavetes: A Child Is Waiting. The couple would make nine more films over the next 10 years, including the Oscar-nominated 1968 drama Faces.
One of Rowlands’ most acclaimed roles was in the 1974 drama A Woman Under the Influence, which Cassavetes both wrote and directed as a showcase for her. The film, about the mental and emotional unraveling of a middle-aged, blue-collar housewife, earned Rowlands a best actress Golden Globe win and Academy Award nomination.
She received a second best actress Oscar nod for her 1980 title role in the crime thriller Gloria, also written and directed by Cassavetes, playing a woman who protects the young son of a mob bookkeeper by going on the run with him and an incriminating ledger of mob accounts.
Rowlands continued to work steadily in TV and movies, but arguably, her best-known, and most beloved, later big-screen role was in the 2004 romantic drama The Notebook, directed by Nick Cassavetes. Rowlands portrayed the elderly version of Rachel McAdams‘ character, opposite James Garner as her husband, who was played as a younger man by Ryan Gosling.
Nick Cassavetes directed his mother in three other films – Unhook the Stars, She’s So Lovely and Yellow – while Rowlands’ daughter, Zoe, directed her in 2007’s Broken English.
Later in her career, Rowlands appeared on hit TV shows including Monk and NCIS. Her last credited acting role was in 2014’s Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks.
In addition to Nick and Zoe, Rowlands is survived by her and Cassavetes’ other daughter, Alexandra. Both daughters are actor/directors.
With the 2024 election just months away, Turner Classic Movies has announced it will be showcasing the best examples of where politics and filmmaking have collided.
The network’s “Making Change: The Most Significant Political Films of All Time” campaign will kick off on Sept. 6, with multiple films running through each day for nine consecutive Fridays, wrapping up on Nov. 1 — four days before Election Day on Nov. 5.
Along the way, TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz will converse with stars from the realms of Hollywood, politics, music and journalism. Directors like Steven Spielberg and Spike Lee will take part, as will performers like Sally Field, John Tuturro and Andy Garcia, and those in the know in D.C., like Bill Maher, Maureen Dowd, former Georgia state Democrat Rep. Stacey Abrams and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
In a statement, Mankiewicz notes in part, “This series brings an eclectic mix of filmmakers, actors, political figures and journalists to TCM to discuss a varied selection of brilliant movies. Along the way, we’ll discuss how great films have managed to predict political culture, to reflect it and to challenge it.”
The offerings begin with 1966’s The Battle for Algiers at 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 6.
Spielberg sits down with TCM for the first time with the film that follows, 1949’s All the King’s Men, at 10:15 p.m. ET.
Other classics include 1975’s Three Days of the Condor, 1991’s JFK, 1941’s Citizen Kane and 1962’s The Manchurian Candidate.
Check out the full schedule of movies and special guests here.
