Conan O’Brien, the beloved comedian, writer and producer who hosted the 97th Oscars telecast on March 2, has agreed to return and host the 98th Oscars telecast on March 15, 2026, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday.

The O’Brien-hosted Oscars generated many rave reviews (THR’s TV critic was high on O’Brien, if not the telecast overall), attracted a five-year high in both total viewers (19.69 million) and adults 18-49 (4.54 rating), and ranked as the No. 1 primetime entertainment telecast in both total viewers and adults for the 2024-25 season. It also generated 104.2 million total social interactions, ranking as the No. 1 most-socialed TV program season-to-date, outperforming both the Grammys (102.2 million) and the Super Bowl (62.4 million) for the first time.

Also returning alongside O’Brien: executive producers Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan (who served in those capacities for the last two telecasts) and producers Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney.

Conan...

Disney’s live-action “Snow White” remake has finally been unveiled at the movie’s Hollywood premiere, and first reactions are trickling in calling it a dazzling hit for the House of Mouse.

Variety film reporter Katcy Stephan praised star Rachel Zegler as “a shining supernova,” adding that the film is a “visual feast with show-stopping new musical numbers and, of course, dozens of enchanting animated animals. The screenplay wisely gives its heroine newfound depth through her fervent desire to become the leader her father believed she could be, and a love story that’s sweet as apple pie.”

Online critic Christopher Rates It wrote of the film, “‘Snow White’ is not only one of their best live-action remakes in years, but it’s also a film that recaptures the magic of the 1937 movie. Rachel Zegler Is Snow White, and she delivers such a magical performance.”

Filmhounds editor Paul Klein echoed the praise with one caveat,...

Sean Penn is a formidable actor who has built a career defined by intensity, versatility, and an unwavering commitment to complex characters. Over the course of four decades, he has played everything from a stoned high schooler to a hardened ex-con, a devoted activist to a morally conflicted soldier. He disappears into all these roles, consistently turning in some of the most powerful performances in modern cinema.

Malcolm in the Middlestars Frankie Muniz as the titular Malcolm, a scientific genius who is the middle child in a dysfunctional family of four (later five) boys. The show ran for seven seasons from 1999 to 2006 and was adored by many a 00s kid for its portrayal of middle-class family life and the struggle to fit in that comes with adolescence. The show was truly a masterpiece of its time, taking a lot of unorthodox approaches for a TV sitcom, making use of multiple location changes, the single-camera setup, and montages, none of which are typical of sitcoms.

Action movies have continuously been one of the most electrifying and successful genres of films for decades, allowing for cathartic and unrestrained filmmaking that provides the ultimate sense of escapism, tension, or filmmaking prowess. However, the art behind making a truly great action movie is much more than simply having a high-budget explosion on screen and calling it a day, as there is tactful decision-making and intelligence behind weaving and creating a great action movie.

Given that the likelihood of two identical siblings both becoming actors is relatively slim, it is often that films revolving around twins will cast one actor in dual roles. Whether it's Robert Pattinson’s wild performance in Mickey 17 or Lindsay Lohan’s heartwarming turn in The Parent Trap, the notion of one talented performer getting to act against themselves can be a fun storytelling device. That being said, having one actor play two roles is often done for the sake of storytelling convenience, as this technique is used to represent an aspect of reality. However, Jesse Eisenberg played opposite himself in the thrilling science fiction mystery The Double, which took a darkly comedic look at the notion of doppelgangers.

Season 3 of Yellowjackets sees Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) in a post-partum haze, brushing against the levity the other girls are experiencing in springtime. Shauna's growing pains after the tragedy of losing Jackie (Ella Purnell) and her child so close together are complicated by both Coach Ben's (Steven Krueger) abandonment and trial, and the admiration of Melissa (Jenna Burgess). Melissa, seemingly meek, seems interested in not only Shauna’s capacity as a butcher, but in her increasing violence and rage. In Season 3, Episode 5, "Did Tai Do That?",Melissa punctuates this dynamic when she gives Shauna a sheath for her hunting knife and highlights Jackie's past mistreatment of Shauna, as well as Jeff treating her like a "dirty secret."...

Back in 1990, Luc Besson's fourth feature film, La Femme Nikita, hit U.S. arthouses, and few action aficionados could have possibly seen it coming. The French filmmaker was barely known on these shores, but the film's unique premise immediately made waves, as it followed a troubled street criminal, played by Anne Parillaud, whose sentence for murdering a police officer is commuted in exchange for her reinvention as a trained government killer. The late, great film critic Roger Ebertheralded the film, and America ate it up. At the time, Hollywood had mostly become inured to the more passive "Bond girls," who rarely got involved in the action. That would soon change.

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for The Pitt Episode 11.With each episode, The Pitt has earned increasingly higher praise for accurately depicting — give or take some necessary dramatic license — the routine chaos unfolding inside America's emergency rooms. The frantic pace, the intricate medical procedures, and the disturbingly high levels of violence against healthcare workers all coalesce to set this particular medical drama apart from its many predecessors. Those prototype series, like Grey’s Anatomy, House, Chicago Med, and even ER — the latter famous for introducing primetime network audiences to a then-unprecedented level of medical authenticity — all tend to prioritize soap opera-esque character dynamics. Interpersonal drama is the beating heart of any series, and pulpy melodrama holds a unique appeal. Still, all those star-crossed love triangles and suspension-of-disbelief-shattering geological disasters bear only a passing resemblance to the day-to-day interactions of real human beings striving to keep their heads above water.

With Ted Lasso officially renewed for Season 4, casting is now underway—but not just for new characters. The beloved Apple TV+ comedy is making a key recasting change before production begins. According to a report by Deadline this evening, it seems like the show is searching for a new actor to portray Henry Lasso, Ted's (Jason Sudeikis) 12-year-old son. Previously played by Gus Turner throughout the first three seasons, Henry was mainly seen through FaceTime calls with Ted, as he remained in Kansas with his mother, Michelle (Andrea Anders), while Ted was over in London coaching AFC Richmond, Of course, the series ended with Ted leaving the club and returning home to Kansas, where Henry ran to greet him.

Maybe people aren't aware of everything that goes into making movies or the casting process, but a few prominent actors have been learning that social media plays a much larger part in casting and financing films than anyone may have realized. This recent revelation came out when Maya Hawkementioned in an interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast that she's been involved with productions that have been encouraged to cast actors with larger Instagram followings to secure financing and a greenlight. A few weeks later, actor Scarlett Johanssonspoke out about a studio asking her to join social media to help promote her upcoming film, Jurassic World Rebirth.

Colleen Hoover must be a pretty busy woman because the phenomenon that is the world of her writing is continuing to expand. Following the massive success ofIt Ends With Us, Universal is moving forward with another Hoover adaptation—this time, Reminders of Him. Now, Maika Monroe has been cast in the lead role, with Vanessa Caswill set to direct the film. Hoover has written the screenplay herself alongside Lauren Levine, which makes this the most direct adaptation of her work to date. First published in 2022, Reminders of Him has sold over 6 million copies in the U.S. alone, which isn't too bad either.

Documentaries should educate, inform, expose, or provoke thought, and some of the best ones do all of those things at once. A documentary doesn’t have to be objective to be a great documentary, especially if the intention is more to argue a point or show something from a particular point of view. If a movie captures some kind of reality or events of a more ordinary nature (compared to say blockbusters) and without actors, then it’s probably a documentary.

Ever since it pretty much launched the era of streaming service content, Netflix has been leading the charge when it comes to original streaming content. They began the surge for more streaming services and for the borderline death of network television and while other companies like Amazon Prime Video are excelling, Netflix will always be where this era truly began. With shows like Stranger Things under their belt, they continue to stand strong among the competition.

For a long time, women in anime were simply background characters, eye candy for the male characters, mother figures, or quiet wives waiting on their men. Luckily, most anime has moved on, and now, women are getting the exciting and complex stories they deserve. And while they might still be wives, girlfriends, or mothers, they are no longer defined by those roles.

One day after filing for voluntary redundancy, a lawyer for

Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (Vreg) said the company is “open to all bids” for its film library that includes the Matrix films and Joker.

According to a report by Reuters, a lawyer for Los Angeles-based Vreg said the embattled company is aiming to hold an auction in May.

Vreg filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcyon Monday with a tentative agreement to sell the library to investors Content Partners for $365m, on the understanding that other higher bids may come in. The library is said to generate approximately $50m in annual revenues.

The...

Due to its widespread notion of being one of the most popular and versatile genres for franchises and blockbuster filmmaking, audiences prove to be more passionate about action movies than any other genre. This appeal is a double-edged sword, as while it can result in massive amounts of acclaim and success for action movies that electrify and work well for audiences, action movies deemed bad in the eyes of audiences can be given an inescapable death knell in terms of reputation.

Even though Paramount+ is one of the relatively new services on the streaming scene, it has a ton of great content. Paramount+ was made by the combination of CBS All Access and Viacom after their merger in 2019. Since that merger, they have had access to a healthy amount of content for a mixture of audiences. With Nickelodeon for the kids, Star Trek for some sci-fi fans, plus a good amount of docu-series and TV shows, Paramount+ is an excellent option. And whether you're just considering a subscription or if you're already on the service, this guide will help you find the best shows to watch on Paramount+. Ready? Let's begin then!

South Korea’s Lyd is to handle international sales of upcoming Japanese drama On Summer Sand as it continues to expand its slate of non-Korean films.

The company, known for handling hit K-drama series including Mr. Queen and My Love From The Star, has also invested in the production and will handle non-theatrical distribution in Japan.

Prolific actor Joe Odagiri stars in the adaptation of an award-winning play of the same name by Masataka Matsuda.

Set in Nagasaki, Odagiri plays an unemployed man named Koura who is dealing with the loss of his four-year-old son and separation from his wife.

The New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff) is preparing for its upcoming 24th edition by making two key additions to its programming team.

Anna Page joins as a programmer after a 15-year tenure at the Hawai‘i International Film Festival (Hiff), where she most recently served as director of programming. Beyond festival curation, she has experience in festival development and also works as a film acquisitions consultant for Hawai‘i-based Japanese-language cable channel Nippon Golden Network (Ngn).

Also joining the team as guest curator is Aimee Long, a filmmaker known for her feature A Shot Through the Wall, which screened...

Amid signs of China relaxing its long-standing restrictions on K-content, Korean firms at Filmart are pinning their hopes on resuming business with the global superpower.

Many feel that the Korean content freeze “has been too long” and are taking meetings here with Chinese buyers for a clearer vision.

“There have been visible, positive movements since the beginning of this year, so I have been particularly looking forward to meeting Chinese buyers,” said Rachel Joo, head of sales at Seoul-based M-Line Distribution.

“We’ve already seen some early signs of change, such as the resumption of cultural exchanges and discussions about reestablishing cooperation.

Hong Kong-based Medialink, a specialist distributor of Japanese manga and animations, has lined up several major releases in the region in the coming months.

While Dream Animals The Movie, the first film based on the animal biscuit characters, is set for a summer release in Hong Kong, both Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon, featuring a recap of season one and a new original episode, and Gintama On Theatre 2D Kintama-hen, part of the Gintama’s 20th anniversary celebration, will be released in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Publicly listed Hong Kong company Medialink has operations in mainland China, Japan,...

Twin has landed Japan distribution rights to Stuntman and is set to release in July, riding on the recent surge of interest in Hong Kong films led by the commercial success of Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In.

Hong Kong sales agent Entertaining Power has revealed the deal at Filmart. In their directorial feature debut, twin brothers Albert and Herbert Leung pay homage to stuntmen from the golden age of Hong Kong action cinema. It stars Tung Wai, a seven-time Hong Kong Film Awards and two-time Golden Horse Awards winner for action choreography, as a once-famous stunt director making a comeback.

Thailand’s 13 Studio is making its market debut at Filmart with its first two horror projects: Attack 13 by Death Whisperer director Taweewat Wantha and Kijsada Paradise by Phontharis Chotkijsadarsopon.

The Bangkok-based production company, which launched in January and specialises in Thai horror films, was founded by Tanapol Thanarungrot from Phranakorn Film, whose career has spanned more than three decades, with credits including the successful The Holy Man film franchise.

Director Taweewat is taking the lead as CEO of 13 Studio. Last year’s Death Whisperer 2, also by Taweewat, became the biggest Thai film of all time with takings of more...

Horror has been top of the shopping list for many buyers at this year’s Filmart, which has been more focussed in terms of attendees but no less busy as visitors filled the market hall.

“I can sense that has been smaller than the last few years, although it is still very busy,” said Joy Kim, manager of international sales at South Korean film production and distribution company Showbox.

“We’ve seen buyers with an increased interest in genre movies such as horror, which is cost-efficient in many aspects compared to larger-scale, blockbusters.”

More than 750 exhibitors from over 30 countries and...

Shaken, stirred, or even streamed, spy movies make up many of the most exciting, edge-of-your-seat stories the movies have to offer. From the harrowing heights of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise to the suave savvy of six James Bonds, espionage has become the thematic ground on which some of cinema’s most epic dramas, thrillers, and comedies are built. Even films primarily centered on other subject matter make frequent use of spy drama beats, proving it’s a bedrock source for onscreen entertainment.

The espionage genre is as old as filmmaking itself with silent spy movies set against the backdrop of World War I (1914’s “The German Spy Peril” is on YouTube) testing the medium’s limitations early in the 20th century. Literary works inspired many more of the spy movies to follow. Over the years, filmmakers have repeatedly adapted the works of John le Carré, Robert Ludlum, Ian Fleming, and...

Time to bring out the historian in me to set up this story. 25 years. 48 seasons. Somehow, Survivor made history in a never-before-seen moment at Tribal Council. There have been a plethora of moments where the complications of the game have caused Jeff Probst to pull out the Survivor rule book or use a dry-erase board to help us learn how we got to the result we’re at. Thankfully, for long-time fans of the show, history repeated itself, all while reinventing itself.

Black Hawk Down is a 2001 war movie directed by Ridley Scott set during 1993's Battle of Modadishu, one of the largest American military losses in recent memory. At the peak of the Somali Civil War, an American task force is sent in to apprehend the advisors of Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. However, Aidid is prepared for the Americans, and plans to shoot down a chopper before collapsing all of his forces around the crash site.

When Roland Emmerich's "Stargate" hit theaters in 1994, it made more money at the box office than industry experts had predicted. The film's critical reception was mixed, as its premise and execution were deemed terribly clichéd and devoid of genuine spectacle. Despite these flaws, "Stargate" grossed $196.6 million worldwide against a production budget of $55 million, which isn't too shabby, considering this is Emmerich's breakthrough project. In a surprising turn of events, "Stargate" ended up spawning a longstanding and beloved sci-fi franchise, eclipsing the scrappy indie roots of the oft-overlooked 1994 film. Everything that followed after, from "Stargate Sg-1" to "Stargate Universe," has helped flesh out a space saga that started with a metallic arch being dug up from a desert excavation site.

As with any long-running franchise, not every "Stargate" series, comic book, or direct-to-video movie is worth your time. Some spin-offs have been completely forgotten due to their inability to bring anything new to the table,...

The Hollywood greats have been reclaiming their thrones on streaming. Last week, Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx, who have taken a break from acting, came back to set and delivered the action espionage comedy Back in Action – claiming the top spot on streaming. However, this time, the Diaz-Foxx joint takes a back seatin second place, making way for Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoons’ wedding war comedy.

The Solar Opposites are closing up shop at Hulu. As the Shlorpian family prepares to return for their previously announced sixth season, the streamer has revealed that their latest round of sci-fi misadventures will be their last. Mike McMahan's animated comedy has also been confirmed for a fall return, though an exact release date for the final episodes has yet to be set. The end of the series will be a major hit to the streamer's slate of animated comedies, which the Opposites have remained a staple of since the show first crash-landed in 2020.

Amid an awkward divorce from her husband Ralph Pittman, Drew Sidora started off Season 16 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta by being incredibly messy. While Ralph is living in her basement, Drew is hitting the club scene with the co-parent of her one-time friend Porsha Williams,Dennis McKinley. Drew and Dennis claim to have a platonic business relationship, promoting Drew’s music together. But Drew isn’t as innocent as she presents in the series, and the mess she is causing is certainly a bid to keep her storyline interesting on Bravo this season of the reality series.

If every member of a major religion got raptured tomorrow morning, it would probably still be pretty impossible to get funding for an original screenplay idea in Hollywood. Filmmakers have been turning to crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter or Seed&Spark for years as a partial or full alternative to go around studio and streamer “mandates” for content, of course. But as the industry beats on, borne back ceaselessly into the past, filmmakers like Rekha Shankar are finding more and more established peers standing ready to help them do it themselves.

Shankar is the host of Dropout’s “Smartypants,” a Ucb LA regular, former head writer at CollegeHumor, a writer on “Animaniacs” and “Digman!” and screenwriter of “Vidhya’s Guide to the Afterlife,” which she is now crowdfunding on Kickstarter in partnership with production company EffinFunny. The film follows the two leftovers of a Hindu-specific rapture, in which a shady priest (Dhruv Singh...

The 1970s was a formative and substantial decade for movies. The '70s saw the rise to prominence of some of the most influential filmmakers of all time, including Steven Spielbergand Martin Scorsese. Indie horror exploded onto the scene with genre-defining efforts such as Halloween and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Jaws essentially birthed the very concept of a blockbuster in 1975, changing the film landscape as a whole.

The Wheel of Timeis an epic fantasy series consisting of 15 books written by the late author Robert Jordan. It is widely regarded as one of the hallmark members of epic fantasy, and has served as an inspiration for countless authors and aspiring writers with its expansive narrative, sweeping drama, epic battles, political intrigue, and heart-warming romance. In 2021, the books were adapted into a TV series by Amazon Prime, with its third season being released in 2025.

One time, on "Happy Days," Henry Winkler's Arthur Fonzarelli jumped over a shark while waterskiing. During one episode of "How I Met Your Mother," Josh Radnor and Cobie Smulders' characters Ted Mosby and Robin Scherbatsky start flying at the end of an episode. In "The Big Bang Theory," Howard Wolowitz, Simon Helberg's character (that he almost didn't audition for), goes to space at the end of the show's fifth season and spends a handful of episodes up there in season 6.

I should say that the situation on "The Big Bang Theory" isn't quite as ridiculous as either of those first examples, even though it sounds just as far-fetched as leaping over a shark's fin in midair. Also, to be absolutely fair here, the production staff of "The Big Bang Theory" went to extreme lengths to make Howard's journey to the International Space Station look legitimate. In a 2022 article on Space.com,...

First appearing in 1985, cartoonist and writer Alison Bechdel and her friend Liz Wallace devised the Bechdel Test as a straightforward evaluation method used to explore the representation of gender in entertainment. Three rules must be satisfied for a work to pass the test.(1) at least two women are named and featured, (2) these women talk to each other, and (3) they discuss something other than a man.

During the making of his 2001 film about lesbian and gay Orthodox Jews, Trembling before G-d, documentary filmmaker Sandi DuBowski met one potential subject, rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, a “queer bio-dad” who also founded Lab/Shul, the “everybody-friendly, God-optional” congregation. But, as Dubowski relays below, aside from not really fitting the film’s specific brief, Lau-Levine “was too much of a diva and wanted his own movie.” With his most recent picture, Sabbath Queen, DuBowski has more than obliged, following the dissident rabbi for over 21 years, turning what could have been a straightforward biographical portrait into a rich and complex saga that […]

The post “What Does It Mean to Translate Spirituality into Cinema?”: Sabbath Queen Artist and Filmmaker Danielle Durchslag Interviews Sabbath Queen Director Sandi DuBowski first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

2008 was a fairly significant year at the movies. Major milestones in superhero cinema hit theaters along with heavy hitters from Pixar and other major franchises. There were plenty of essential films from 2008 that made box office or awards history in one way or another, but a number of movies were overlooked and didn't make it onto any best-of retrospective lists.

Whether you’re a fan of bubblegum pop anthems or acoustic ballads, there is undeniably a certain je ne sais quoi that makes a song stand out, and that is stripped-bare songwriting. It's a skill Taylor Swift has in abundance and why she has crafted a legacy in the music industry. Real, poetic, meaningful songwriting has the power to tap into the unspoken truths of a person's soul, capture a moment of nostalgia, a moment of pain, or transport a person back to a single memory. Perhaps what makes songwriting most powerful of all is that writers like Swift are able to connect with someone from a completely different walk of life than their own, simply by sharing their own lived human experience. In many ways, it is one of the few artistic forms that reminds us that we are all inevitably connected as humans by the way we feel so deeply.

For director Dan Reed, “Leaving Neverland” was never about Michael Jackson.

“It was their story,” Reed says over Zoom from London about Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who in his bombshell 2019 documentary alleged that Jackson, the iconic late pop star, had sexually abused them as children. “A lot of people see it as a story about Michael Jackson, but it is literally the story of these two guys. And this film is just what happened next.”

Reed is referring to “Leaving Neverland 2: Surviving Michael Jackson,” his long-gestating follow-up that’s finally debuting on Tuesday — via Channel 4 in the U.K. and on YouTube in the U.S. — after six years. Featuring exclusive access to court hearings, the 50-minute documentary primarily focuses on Robson and Safechuck’s fight for justice after suing Jackson’s companies, which are governed by his estate, for neglecting to protect them from the alleged abuse.

There's no denying that Jason Isaacsplays a great villain. From the Grand Inquisitor in Star Wars Rebelsto General Zhao in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Isaacs has become well-known for utilizing his commanding presence, along with his unique baritone, to bring some grade-a bad guys to life. But Isaacs, who stars in Season 3 of The White Lotus, had the chance to put his own spin on one of the world's greatest heroes with Superman: Red Son.

The Traitors is more than just grade-a reality TV. It's actually an interesting insight into people's characters, and how they handle moments in which their fight of flight mode needs to be engaged, or when they have to make out a dangerous player among all perceived non-threats. Though The Traitors is actually an elevated game of Mafia, its production value allows for the game to show different sides to every person.

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There are certain roles that can change the course of an actor's life. Few of them are quite as big as that of James Bond. The iconic MI6 spy has been a staple of cinema for more than 60 years, dating back to Sean Connery's debut as 007 in "Dr. No." Every actor, save for George Lazenby, has been catapulted to another level of stardom due to their involvement in the "James Bond" franchise. As a result, it's tough to imagine an up-and-coming actor turning the role down. Yet, that's exactly what Christian Bale did.

In the early 2000s, Bale was very much one of Hollywood's most promising stars. From "American Psycho" to "The Machinist," the actor was earning high praise for his deep commitment to various roles. That's probably why the "James Bond" producers, namely Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson,...

It's been ten years since Disney released its live-action version of Cinderella, starring Lily James and Cate Blanchett. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the movie was overall a critical and commercial hit, and ushered in a new era of Disney remakes, kicking off a trend that was already being announced with 2010's Alice in Wonderland and 2014's Maleficent, sparsely produced films that didn't yet give signs of the industrial levels of production that were to come. Indeed, Cinderella is a pretty fun adventure-romance, with good performances and a story and look that don't necessarily follow the 1950 classic all that closely. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the movies that came after it. While some, like the unfortunately direct-to-streaming release Peter Pan & Wendy, are entertaining and inventive. Most, however, like the photorealistic version of The Lion King or the absolute mess that was Pinocchio, are well below the quality standards that...

In 2015, Netflix's street-level spin-off universe of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was born with Daredevil. It immediately caught fans' attention, as it was by far the grittiest, most violent, most dramatic Marvel TV show ever, as well as easily the most mature chapter in the MCU. This was largely thanks to the rich dynamic between the two main characters: The titular hero (Charlie Cox) and his archnemesis, the menacing Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio).

Although Quentin Tarantino had only written a few screenplays before directing his first movie, Reservoir Dogs, the finished product looks like it was helmed by a veteran filmmaker. The story of a diamond heist gone wrong is an exercise in building tension, packed with the snappy, quotable dialogue the director would become known for by the time Pulp Fiction came out years later.

With their ability to explore a larger story and even cover only loosely related tales within the one narrative universe, film franchises offer a uniquely appealing viewing experience for moviegoers to not only enjoy, but invest in over time. The notion of an expanded series of films has exploded into a mainstream sensation throughout the 21st century, with everything from epic action superhero sagas to slasher horror franchises, and even animated family film series making inroads at the box office and influencing pop culture while earning acclaim. However, the notion of such cinematic feats spans back far further than the turn of the century.

Kim Kardashian has featured her legal studies on The Kardashians for several seasons now, making much of her efforts studying to pass the "baby bar" on her unique path towards becoming an attorney. Kim continues to share her prison reform work on her reality series as well, and has even visited the White House on several occasions in relation to her advocacy. While Kim's social justice work has provided her with an interesting storyline in her family reality series season after season, the aspiring lawyer-in-training has had legal troubles of her own brewing close to home lately.

It’s not ripped from the headlines, but Tyler Cornack’s comedy “Mermaid” certainly seems inspired by them — specifically, the strange “Florida Man” news stories that have become a meme-friendly internet fixation.

In the midst of a “Jaws” parody opening centered on a monstrous murder at sea, the film takes a pause for a title card labeling the story as “a love letter to Florida.” But the drug-addled shenanigans that follow strive for more than gawking spectacle. Though assembled from zany fixtures, like a strip club-based mafia and a man-eating fish creature, Cornack’s filmmaking is defined by a disarming soulfulness, marinading in the melancholy of its slacker hero. It makes for a punishing, self-imposed mood of aggrievement, which seems alien and uninformed by the film’s genre-fawning endgame.

Though “Mermaid” doesn’t take long after its opening to arrive at the awkward Doug (Johnny Pemberton), you’d be forgiven...