Month: April 2025

Netflix is previewing its upcoming comedy film Nonnas, starring Vince Vaughn and Susan Sarandon. Inspired by the life story of Jody Scaravella, Nonnas is directed by ‘The Perks of Being a Flower’ author and director Stephen Chbosky, from a screenplay written by Liz Maccie.

Vaughn, who also serves as an executive producer, portrays Joe Scaravella, an MTA employee mourning his mother’s death.  He says in the trailer: “I’m going through my mom and nonna’s recipes, and then I realized food is love. So, I want to open an Italian restaurant.”

An official film synopsis reads: “In the film, after the loss of his mother, a man risks everything to honor her by opening an Italian restaurant with a group of local grandmothers as the chefs. Joe opens Enoteca Maria, an old-school Italian spot that staffs four grandmothers, or ‘nonnas,’ from different cities in Italy, who share their dishes with the neighborhood.”

The cast also includes Lorraine Bracco as Roberta, Talia Shire as Teresa, Brenda Vaccaro as Antonella, Joe Manganiello as Bruno, Drea de Matteo as Stella, Linda Cardellini as Olivia, Campbell Scott, and Michael Rispoli.

The movie will be available for streaming starting on May 9, 2025; see the trailer for Nonnas – HERE.

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Paramount+ renewed Taylor Sherian’s Tulsa King for Season 3, which has started production in Atlanta and Oklahoma. More than 21 million people tuned in for the Season 2 premiere in September; a release date for Season 3 has not yet been announced.

Sylvester Stallone will return as Oklahoma crime boss Dwight “The General” Manfredi, who was previously a gangster in New York and is now seeking power in Oklahoma. Stallone is among the executive producers alongside Sheridan.

Paramount+ also announced that 1923’s Robert Patrick and actor Beau Knapp have joined the cast of Season 3; Patrick and Knapp will portray father-son duo Jeremiah and Cole Dunmire, respectively. In a press release, Jeremiah is described as “a powerful, forceful man with deep pockets in the liquor business,” while his Cole is “a trust fund country boy with crazy in his eyes.”

The actors join Stallone as well as series stars Martin Starr, Jay Will, Annabella Sciorra, Neal McDonough, Frank Grillo, Garrett Hedlund and Dana Delaney.

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The trailer for Alec Baldwin’s western drama “Rust,” which was plagued by controversy following the fatal on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021, has been released. The film, directed by Joel Souza, first premiered at Poland’s Camerimage Festival in November, with Souza and cinematographer Bianca Cline (who took over following Hutchins’ death) in attendance.

The film, set in the 1880s, stars Baldwin as notorious outlaw Harland Rust, who breaks his 13-year-old grandson (Patrick Scott McDermott) out of jail after he accidentally kills a rancher and is sentenced to death. Together, they flee the country on the run towards Mexico — but before reaching that safe haven, they must defend themselves against an unforgiving wilderness and the relentless pursuit of U.S. Marshal Wood Helm (Josh Hopkins) and a ruthless bounty hunter named Preacher (Travis Fimmel).

The film also stars Frances Fisher, Devon Werkheiser, Rhys Coiro, Xander Berkeley, Jake Busey, Abraham Benrubi, Travis Hammer, Nick Farnell, Sam Carson, Richard Gunn, and Easton Malcolm.

Hutchins died in an accidental shooting after Baldwin’s prop gun discharged a live round at the Bonanza Creek Ranch during production (director Joel Souza was also injured in the incident, but recovered). After the shooting, filming on the movie was shut down for more than a year but resumed in April 2023 in Montana rather than New Mexico.

Hutchins’ widower Matthew Hutchins is an executive producer on the film, a title that came after he and his late wife’s family reached a settlement with Baldwin and other producers in their wrongful death lawsuit. A press release states that the movie’s original producers will not profit financially from it; instead Matthew Hutchins and their son Andros will receive profits from the film as part of the terms of his wrongful death settlement.

Rust arrives in theaters and on VOD on May 2; see the trailer – HERE.

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“Severance” has been renewed for Season 3, with the news coming shortly after the Season 2 finale of the Apple TV+ thriller. Apple TV posted: “Cue the choreography and merriment. #Severance has been renewed for Season 3.”

Severance executive producer Ben Stiller also posted on X:  “So some fans are asking for Season 3 of Severance. What do you say, @timcook?” with the Apple CEO swiftly responded, “Season 3 of Severance is available upon request.”

The sci-fi mystery with a cult following became Apple TV+’s most-watched series ever during its second season run.  The series, created by Dan Erickson and directed/executive produced by Ben Stiller, stars Adam Scot as Mark Scout — a man who undergoes a surgical procedure that split his memory. When he is at work he cannot remember anything about life outside the building, and when he leaves, he cannot remember work. As Mark’s “outie” grieves the loss of his wife, his “innie” lives an entirely different existence behind the walls of the shady biotech company Lumon — but Lumon and its experimental ‘severance procedure’ aren’t exactly what they are advertised to be. “Severance” also stars Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, John Turturro, Tramell Tillman, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Walken, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock and Michael Chernus.

A short clip announcing the renewal begins with an overhead shot of Helly (Lower), Mark (Scott), and Dylan (Cherry) working at their Lumon desks.

In Season 1, Mark and his co-workers Helly (Britt Lower), Dylan (Zach Cherry) and Irving (John Turturro) launch a rebellion against the company by figuring out how to awaken their innie selves in the outside world. In Season 2, they explore and grapple with the disturbing truths they learn about themselves outside the office.

Stiller said in a statement: “Making ‘Severance’ has been one of the most creatively exciting experiences I’ve ever been a part of. While I have no memory of this, I’m told making Season 3 will be equally enjoyable, though any recollection of these future events will be forever and irrevocably wiped from my memory as well.”

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

Netflix has announced a new reality competition series titled The Golden Ticket, inspired by Roald Dahl’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The Golden Ticket will see contestants seek to gain entry to a “retro-futuristic” chocolate factory  and then try to make it through all the challenges they will encounter, in what’s described as a high-stakes social experiment. Participants will adapt and strategize through games, tests and temptations that are designed to prove their resilience and ability to thrive in the candy-colored, retro-futuristic wonderland. The one catch being that only players who find a golden ticket will be allowed to enter the chocolate factory.

Jeff Gaspin, VP of unscripted at Netflix, said in a statement: “We are thrilled to bring the magic of The Chocolate Factory to life like never before. This one-of-a-kind reality competition blends adventure, strategy and social dynamics, creating an experience that is as captivating as it is unpredictable. For the first time, a lucky few won’t just have to imagine the experience — they’ll get to step inside the factory and live it.”

The Golden Ticket has now begun casting for contestants, with applications to appear on the show are now open to legal residents of United States who are at least 18 years or older. The filming location and premiere date have yet to be announced.

See a video clip featuring the series announcement: HERE.

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Paramount+ has renewed its drama series Landman for a second season. The series renewal comes shortly after the show, which originally debuted on Paramount+ in November, concluded its first season in January.

Landman, co-created by Yellowstone’s Taylor Sheridan and starring Billy Bob Thornton, is set in the world of the West Texas oil fields, Thornton plays the titular landman of the series, a fixer who keeps things running and acts as an intermediary between the field workers and the money men in the oil industry. Demi Moore stars alongside Thornton, with a cast including: Andy Garcia, Ali Larter, Jacob Lofland, Michelle Randolph, Paulina Chávez, Kayla Wallace, Mark Collie, James Jordan and Colm Feore. Jon Hamm also starred in season one.

Landman ranked among the top 10 original streaming series during the fourth quarter of last year and racked up almost 9.7 billion minutes of viewing over 11 weeks in Nielsen’s top 10 streaming rankings.  Chris McCarthy, co-CEO of Paramount and president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks, said in a statement: “’Landman’ was one of the biggest shows of the year because of Taylor Sheridan’s unique ability to tap into the cultural zeitgeist, harnessing the neo-Western themes of rugged individualism, ambition and working-class struggles set against contemporary debates around energy, climate change and economic growth. The series has helped drive Paramount+ to new heights as the No. 2 SVOD [service] in the U.S. for original hours watched in Q4.”

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com