Hero Initiative is helping writer Mike W. Barr through a series of health problems. If you'd like to contribute directly to Mike as well, go HERE: www.gofundme.com/f/rally-for-...

At MZS.press, we love telling readers about unusual books that might've escaped their attention on 1st release—such as Black Hollywood, by photographer Carell Augustus, recreating scenes from old Hollywood with Black performers. 40% off the cover price. We have 10 copies: mzs.press/Black-Hollyw...

"From his work with Ridley Scott on Blade Runner to his striking designs for the light cycles in Tron to his imposing concept art for the U.S.S. Sulaco in James Cameron’s Aliens, Syd Mead has played a pivotal role in shaping cinema’s vision of the future." We have 4 copies. mzs.press/The-Movie-Ar...

Not planning to talk politics at my T-giving gathering, but intend to stir up some shit with this hot take: the age difference thing in “Stranger Things” is no big deal and people should just roll with it already.

"Every video is now Schrodinger’s video: it’s both real and not real. We can take the liar’s dividend one frightening step further. In this brave new world, no claim that a video is real will ever be fully persuasive."--deeply researched, powerful piece by @alissawilkinson.bsky.social

One of those days where I am confronted anew by what a sleazy, shitty, dumb, demeaning business Hollywood can be.

There's a Go Fund Me to support the family of a vendor taken by ICE from Swap O Rama in Melrose Park (fwiw, on its site, Swap O Rama made a statement that it did *not* consent to let ICE in, not that ICE would care about that) www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...

If there’s any kind of go fund me for legal bills or bail, I’d love to know about it. This woman is a hero.

I know it’s awkward to write an accurate headline about this, but this is actively misleading.

If “The Chair Company” is a Pynchonesque cringe comedy version of “The Death of Ivan Ilyich,” I’m all in. If it isn’t, also all in. Whatever the hell it is: all in!

"The original cut of Annie Hall ran nearly two-and-a-half hours, and according to its editor Ralph Rosenblum was a shapeless mass of bits. "And so we began cutting in the direction of that relationship,” he wrote. Result: 4 Oscars. www.vulture.com/article/the-...

If you join any Facebook group for parents of kids with disabilities the first thing that hits you is how geographically and politically diverse our population is, and how protective we are of our kids. This is a moral fuckup but also just a massive political one.

Back when it aired, and still to this day, it was genius to me. It brought back so much of the weirdness that #Twinpeaks was lacking for a bit. There are so many wonderful scenes in it, starting with the Nadine/Norma/Ed scene which is staged wonderfully. #dianekeaton #dianekeatonRIP #RIP #Davidlynch

There are so many Diane Keaton performances to remember, but a lot of people haven't seen Reds, and A) my God, see it, it is a masterpiece and B) her performance as Louise Bryant is one of the bravest, toughest, least sympathy-courting pieces of work by an American actress in the last 50 years.

The Kimmel monologue was 18 minutes of extraordinary, raw television that will be hated by the people who wanted him off the air for good. Trump and Brendan Carr lost this one as badly as it's possible to lose.

I love Jimmy Kimmel. This is so good.

In today's free What's Alan Watching? newsletter, I run through what was a, um, eventful week for me, and preview all the stuff that's coming up if you become a paid subscriber. Read! Subscribe! Share! Put the face-hugger under your bed!

All right, here we go: an appreciation of Robert Redford's acting, his undeniable beauty, and how he leveraged both to become a legendary figure in cinema. Great photos, selected by the @vulture.com art department! www.vulture.com/article/robe...

It's hard to believe Robert Redford is gone. He was so many things, to so many people, for so long. I tried to scratch the surface here for Esquire. There is much more to say ...

What Robert Redford contributed to American films via Sundance is genuinely immeasurable. He was also an extraordinarily talented director--Ordinary People and Quiz Show are two of the best American studio movies of their eras--and an actor who somehow wore his incredible charisma almost shyly. RIP.

Very few care more about television than I do. This guy cares FIVE TIMES as much. Great analysis, great writing, ever word honest and brutal and full of love for the medium. Please, if you can, subscribe… not as a favor to him, but to yourself. alansepinwall.ghost.io/dont-stop-be...

Sometimes I get asked if there is an equivalent to Roger Ebert today. I tell them yes, there is, but he's in television criticism, and his name is Alan Sepinwall.

As we reflect on the amazing life and career of Robert Redford, let us not forget that he was also one heck of an alt-world president. (The least of his accomplishments, for sure.) www.slashfilm.com/570576/rober...

Can someone sit the producers of the Emmys down and explain that we watch for the speeches? And why are they producing the Emmys if they don't know it?

If you haven't seen SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE I truly cannot recommend it enough and i have already recommended it quite a bit. www.vulture.com/article/some...

Just to be blunt, if you want Wired and 404 and The Verge to employ reporters who understand the memes on bullet casings and can connect them to gaming culture while having the legal and support resources to deal with waves of harassment when we do it… you have to subscribe and pay for the work

I love that the breakout character of 2025 sci-fi TV is a violent parasitical multi-irised eyeball with elasti-squid legs that may or may not be a friend to humanity.

“Watch the poop! God! Watch the poop!” Instant classic College GameDay moment in an already unforgettable installment.

After all the fancy constitutional arguments & faux historical glosses, this is the practical endpoint of the unitary executive theory. Because when presidential power is effectively unchecked, the only thing preventing it from devolving into authoritarianism is the decency of the officeholder.

My son just wrapped (and passed) a class where the teacher, increasingly suspicious of rampant AI use, began giving automatic Fs if essays had a single data point that was unsourced or not provided. Students could contest by writing an essay proving process, but best they could get was a B. Fair?

“Weapons” is wicked fun and the darkly funny, totally unhinged vengeful mayhem of the final five minutes was catharsis I didn’t know I needed right now.

Gritting my teeth as I see Terence Stamp, gone today at the age of 87, referred to as "Superman costar" in obit headlines. He was sexier, weirder, darker, so much more interesting than that. Many entry points, but you can't go wrong starting with Billy Budd (1962) and The Collector (1965). RIP.

Robert Scorpio was my James Bond during my GH-loving eighties youth. RIP, TR. variety.com/2025/tv/news...

If you’re in LAUSD, please fight back against Big Tech in our classrooms by joining us at schoolsbeyondscreens.com

Over the years, I’ve been inking some of #GeorgePerez’s #JLAAvengers83 pencil pages from scans I’ve found around the internet. This is just fun for me, cause I love this artwork so much. I’ve been inking them on #procreate. I’ve shared the JLA page before, but the Avengers page is new!

If you cover pop culture on your site or podcast, I’d LOVE to talk to you about @cancergetslost.bsky.social’s online charity auction opening Aug 15! Rare/signed items from 35 shows, 15 films, music, etc! ALL proceeds donated to @lymphomacommunity.bsky.social 💜 www.cancergetslost.org/blog-1/2025-...

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Congrats to the 2025 #Eisner recipients and nominees. And thrilled for my dear friend @philjimeneznyc.bsky.social for his winning short story “Spaces” in DC Pride 2024! www.comicsbeat.com/sdcc-25-anno...

It is fucking insane that we had a decade of people complaining about the dangers of cancel culture, and now literally hundreds of thousands of people are being purged from government jobs for ideological reasons, but that is not cancel culture.

In which I give flowers to my favorite show.

I will say again, generative AI is the non-consensual U2 album of the consumer tech world.

I'm not sure how I missed this article the first time around, but it's really well done. And the black-and-white photos, by Snyder himself, are lovely. I've never seen the b&w version but maybe I will at some point. it reminded me of a silent epic for a lot of reasons. I think it's his best work.

This Colbert news should scare you.

I wrote an entire piece about Nicholas Hoult's brilliant performance as Lex Luther in the new Superman. www.vulture.com/article/in-s...

It's true. @stephenking.bsky.social has joined us as a contributing writer for @benjaminpercy.bsky.social's THE END TIMES. It's also true that, after the first 500 digital subscriptions, we're going to donate $1 from every subscription to @aclu.org. Reading matters. Freedom of speech matters.

I’m amazed that the character under this sheet is now the talk of the 2025 summer movie season. Life can be terrifically strange sometimes.

[MAGA world suddenly looking at the photos and videos of Trump being weird with teenage girls and putting it together like the end of “The Usual Suspects” only it takes three hours because there’s a LOT of material to get through]

Signed copies of Woodworking at Chevalier’s in LA! Please clap!