News

George Clooney will continue to make Broadway history with his record-breaking play Good Night, and Good Luck.

The play already has the distinction of holding the record for highest-grossing week for a Broadway play, a record that it has broken over-and-over throughout its run so far.

Now, Good Night, and Good Luck will become the first play to have a live performance televised on TV.

Keep reading to find out more…

CNN will broadcast the Saturday, June 7 performance at 7pm Et across CNN properties.

“I can’t tell you how exciting it is to do something that’s never been done. CNN is the perfect place to bring this story of courage to so many more people than we could have ever hoped. Live TV. No net. Buckle up everyone,” George said in a statement.

“Good Night, and Good Luck is not just a celebration of a golden age in TV journalism,...

CNN will air “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the Tony-nominated play by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, live on Saturday, June 7, the network announced Thursday.

The penultimate performance at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre will air live in a historic Broadway first.

“I can’t tell you how exciting it is to do something that’s never been done. CNN is the perfect place to bring this story of courage to so many more people than we could have ever hoped. Live TV. No net. Buckle up everyone,” Clooney said in a statement.

“’Good Night, and Good Luck’ is not just a celebration of a golden age in TV journalism,” CNN Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement. “It’s also about the importance of the free press and the need for strong news organizations to report the facts in a fair-minded way. That’s something we still care deeply about.

Pete Rose, one of baseball’s greatest baseball players who was banned from the sport for life in 1989, will finally be eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame after a ruling handed down Tuesday by the commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Rob Manfred ruled that MLB’s policy shall be that “permanent ineligibility ends upon the passing of the disciplined individual.” Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader and a 17-time All-Star, died in September at age 83.

The ruling was spurred by an application by Rose’s lawyer and family, and came about as Rose was the first player banned after the tenure of baseball’s first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis — who originated the rule of no gambling in baseball in 1921 — to die while still on the list.

Rose was banned from the game in 1989 after an investigation found he bet on games — a violation of MLB’s Rule 21 — while manager of the Cincinnati Reds,...

What do you do after creating some of the greatest comedies of all time, The Office, Parks and Rec, and The Good Place? If you’re Mike Schur, you take a wild left turn into heart-tugging mystery territory with A Man on the Inside.

This isn’t what Schur usually does, it has got a Ted Danson undercover in a retirement home. Based on an Oscar-nominated documentary, the show mixes Schur’s signature traits with a surprisingly sharp twist. And guess what? He says this might be his most intense project yet, and honestly, it sounds way more exciting than an Office reboot.

Why Michael Schur took on A Man on the Inside!

Michael Schur isn’t exactly hurting for hits. He’s one of the minds behind The Office, Parks and Rec, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The Good Place, with a comedy resume so stacked it could probably qualify for its own Emmy category.

We’re still waiting for a new Pope, but blessings are flowing in the indie film sector. “A Little Prayer,” the acclaimed drama that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023, has secured North American distribution after the breakdown of its original deal.

Written and directed by “Junebug” scribe Angus MacLachlan, “A Little Prayer” resonated with Sundance audiences thanks to its small, grounded storytelling and emotional performances from leads David Strathairn and Jane Levy. Music Box Films will now take the film out for a theatrical release later in 2025.

Two years ago, Sony Pictures Classics scooped up the project in Park City. In late 2023, the Writers Guld of America kicked off what would become painful dual Hollywood labor strikes, forcing talent to join picket lines and many films to delay release. Somewhere in work stoppages, individuals familiar with “A Little Prayer” said, the SPC acquisition could not be finalized. The...

“The Luckiest Man in America” (2025) feels like a time capsule to a world we have left behind. Directed and co-written by Samir Oliveros, it is based on a true story from 1984 when an ice cream truck driver earned a fortune on a television game show. Most of its runtime is devoted to recreating the events from this well-known scandal. It stars Paul Walter Hauser as the said show contestant Michael Larson, while David Strathairn, Shamier Anderson, Walton Goggins, and Patti Harrison round out the remaining central cast. Through their characters, the film critiques the venerated American Dream.

Spoilers Ahead

The Luckiest Man in America (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:

Written by Maggie Briggs and Samir Oliveros, “The Luckiest Man in America” follows Michael Larson’s game show appearance that earned him a fortune, much to the network’s chagrin.

What happens in ‘The Luckiest Man in America’?

The film revolves around Press Your Luck,...

Olivia Newman’s adaptation of Delia Owens’ best-selling novel Where the Crawdads Sing is such a mind-numbingly superficial film that die-hard fans of the source material will love it even more while the uninitiated will leave the theater wondering how the book ever sold millions of copies in the first place. The longer it proclaims to be fully invested in developing its protagonist, Catherine “Kya” Clarke (Daisy Edgar-Jones), as a figure of resilience and independence, the further it devolves into a preachy, predictable, and stodgy melodrama that thinks it can hide its glaringly obvious nods to Nicholas Sparks. With that kind of valiant effort, it does much to downplay the circumstances and urgency of those who have been brought up in the same kind of lower class lifestyle it purports to depict.

The film follows Kya as she builds a life of solitude for herself deep in the marshes of...

Hugh Laurie is The Wanted Man.

The House vet will star in Apple TV+’s upcoming thriller from Lupin and Hijack creator George Kay, TVLine has learned.

More from TVLineCasting News: 9-1-1: Nashville Adds Two, Morris Chestnut Returns to Reasonable Doubt and MoreBlue Bloods Offshoot Adds Sonequa Martin-Green; Donnie Wahlberg Says Fans Will Be 'Very Happy' With SeriesCasting News: Lincoln Lawyer Adds Emmanuelle Chriqui, Kevin Pollak Joins Tulsa King and More

The eight-episode drama “charts the rise and fall of Felix Carmichael (Laurie), the elusive and powerful head of notorious British crime syndicate ‘The Capital,'” reads the official synopsis.

Writer-director Guillermo del Toro and co-writer Kim Morgan will present a never-before-seen extended cut of Nightmare Alley in black -and-white as the closing film at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs, CA, this Sunday, May 11.

“I know Guillermo’s very excited about this,” festival director Alan K. Rode tells Variety. “He and Kim are nice enough to come out and spend some time introducing the film and watching it. I’m honored that he’s coming out to do this, and I’m really looking forward to introducing his black-and-white extended cut from one of our most honored filmmakers. He’s treating it kind of as a premiere, which is very exciting.”

Del Toro and Morgan will be in attendance to participate in a post-screening conversation with Rode. Tickets are on sale now for $32.64.

Based on William Lindsay Gresham‘s 1946 novel of the same name, which was...

A Little Prayer

Playwright and filmmaker Angus MacLachlan's A Little Prayer follows Bill (David Strathairn), an elderly father who desperately wants to protect his daughter-in-law Tammy (Jane Levy) after he discovers his son David (Will Pullen) is having an affair. Meanwhile, daughter Patti (Anna Camp), who has walked out on her husband again, turns up with her little girl Hadley (Billie Roy). Bill does his best to keep his suspicions from his wife Venida (Cecilia Weston), but struggling to engage his son in conversation, reminders of his own mistakes resurface.

MacLachlan directorial credits include the 2014 comedy-drama Goodbye To All That, about a man who experiences a series of one night stands after his wife suddenly announces she wants a divorce, and 2017's Abundant Acreage Available, which follows two siblings confront a surprising revelation after their father's death. He has also written the plays Junebug and The Dead Eye Boy.

Netflix has added a slew of new cast members (and potential suspects) to the star-studded line-up of A Man on the InsideSeason 2, which is set to premiere on the streaming service sometime in 2025. The comedy ensemble has grown substantially, with nearly a dozen actors joining Ted Danson, who reprises his role as retiree-turned-private-investigator Charles Nieuwendyk. Now there are a lot more men and women on the inside, likely to play a role in the character's sleuthing shenanigans during the sophomore outing of the series.

The newest additions to A Man on the Inside Season 2 include several sitcom favorites and plenty of familiar names, including Gary Cole (NCIS), Michaela Conlin (Bones), Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood), Sam Huntington (Superman Returns), Jason Mantzoukas (Big Mouth), Constance Marie (With Love), David Strathairn (The Bourne Legacy), Jill Talley (Mr. Show), Madison Hu (The Brothers Sun), Lisa Gilroy (Interior Chinatown), and Linda Park (Bosch). Netflix also...

Charles Nieuwendyk's case in A Man on the Inside season 2 just a got a little more interesting with the reveal of the critically acclaimed mystery comedy's new cast members. Of course, Ted Danson will return as the titular man on the inside, a retired widow who gets back out into society as a spy for hire working with private investigator Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada).

Richcreek Estrada will also be back in her role, as Variety confirms, but season 2 has also gained a fully rounded out cast after adding Danson's real-life wife Mary Steenburgen in a major role. Viewers will be excited to see some talented familiar faces from shows like Veep, Bones, New Girl, Switched at Birth, Being Human, and more small screen favorites.

Constance Marie, David Strathairn, Gary Cole, Jason Mantzoukas, Jill Talley, Linda Park, Lisa Gilroy, Madison Hu, Max Greenfield, Michaela Conlin, and Sam Huntington are the...

Casting finishes up on ‘A Man on the Inside’ season 2 (Photo Credit: Netflix)

Ted Danson and season two newbie (and Danson’s spouse) Mary Steenbergen will have plenty of company on the upcoming season of Netflix’s A Man on the Inside. The streamer just announced the final key players are in place and provided teasing tidbits on who they’ll be playing.

Season one was set in a retirement home, and season two will take the action to a college campus where Charles will be hanging out undercover. Steenbergen is on board as Mona Margadoff, “a former musician who factors heavily in the case Charles is trying to solve.”

A Man on the Inside Season 2 New Cast and Characters Constance Marie (George Lopez) as “Vanessa” – a former con-artist, serves as a part-time-source on the criminal underworld for Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada). David Strathairn (The Bourne Legacy) as “Dr. Cole...

Netflix has rounded out the cast of A Man on the Inside’s second season, adding 11 actors to the comedy’s ensemble.

Constance Marie, David Strathairn, Gary Cole, Jason Mantzoukas, Jill Talley, Linda Park, Lisa Gilroy, Madison Hu, Max Greenfield, Michaela Conlin and Sam Huntington have joined the series from creator Mike Schur (Parks and Recreation, The Good Place) and Universal Television. Mary Steenburgen was previously cast in season two; Ted Danson and Lilah Richcreek Estrada will reprise their roles from the first season.

The first season of A Man on the Inside followed Charles Nieuwendyk (Danson), a retired professor who took a job with private investigator Julie (Estrada) and went undercover in a retirement home to see who was behind a robbery there. Season two will see Charles taking on a new assignment at a college.

Steenburgen (who is married to Danson) will play a former musician who plays...

“A Man on the Inside” Season 2 is rounding out its main cast with nearly a dozen new additions.

Variety has learned that the following actors have joined the sophomore season of the comedy series: Constance Marie, David Strathairn, Gary Cole, Jason Mantzoukas, Jill Talley, Linda Park, Lisa Gilroy, Madison Hu, Max Greenfield, Michaela Conlin, and Sam Huntington.

Full character descriptions for the new cast members can be found below. They join fellow Season 2 star Mary Steenburgen as well as returning cast members Ted Danson and Lilah Richcreek Estrada.

Production on Season 2 is now underway. While exact details are under wraps, the second season will see Charles (Danson) undertaking a new investigation at a college.

“A Man on the Inside” Season 1 debuted in November 2024 to a glowing reception from both audiences and critics. The single-cam comedy remained in the Netflix Top 10 English TV chart for five weeks, while Danson received both...

Netflix has rounded out its Season 2 cast for A Man On The Inside, adding 11 to the comedy series starring Ted Danson. Constance Marie (With Love), David Strathairn (The Bourne Legacy), Gary Cole (NCIS), Jason Mantzoukas (Taskmaster), Jill Talley (Mr. Show), Linda Park (Bosch), Lisa Gilroy (Interior Chinatown), Madison Hu (The Brothers Sun), Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood), Michaela Conlin (Bones) and Sam Huntington (Superman Returns) join previously announced Mary Steenburgen.

Created by Mike Schur, A Man on the Inside centers on Charles (Danson), a retired man who gets a new lease on life when he answers an ad from a Pi and becomes a mole in a secret investigation. Season 2 will see Charles (Danson) going undercover at a college.

Clockwise Top L-r: David Strathairn, Jason Mantzoukas, Max Greenfield, Jill Talley, Linda Park, Lisa Gilroy, Madison Hu and Michaela Conlin

Marie will play Vanessa, a former con-artist who serves as a part-time-source...

Gold Derby's top news stories for May 6, 2025.

DGA Awards sets 2026 date

The Directors Guild of America Awards has set the date for its 78th annual show. The DGA Awards will take place Feb. 6, 2026 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Beth McCarthy-Miller will return as Chair of the Awards for the fifth consecutive year. “DGA Awards is a unique opportunity to celebrate excellence in our craft, and I could not be more honored to serve another year as Chair of this important event,” McCarthy-Miller said in a statement. “I thank DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter for appointing me to this role, and I look forward to celebrating with all of the incredible 2025 nominees and honorees!”

Practical Magic 2 sets release date

Practical Magic 2, the long-awaited sequel to Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman's fan-favorite 1998 romantic fantasy, will be in theaters on Sept. 18, 2026, Warner Bros. announced. The sequel will reportedly be based...

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Rachel Brosnahan is one of the most talented yet underrated actors in the film industry right now. After beginning her acting career with a small role in the Michael Bay-produced film The Unborn, she gained critical success with her role in Netflix’s original series House of Cards and gained mainstream success after her amazing leading role in Prime Video’s The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel. She is currently starring in James Hawes‘s vigilante spy thriller film The Amateur opposite Rami Malek, and just like me, everyone is awaiting her role of Lois Lane in James Gunn’s upcoming superhero film Superman. So, if you loved Brosnahan’s performances, here are the best movies and TV shows starring Rachel Brosnahan that you should not miss out on.

7. The Finest Hours (Disney+ & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Walt...

Only four people have been named People’s Magazine’s Sexiest Man of the Year on two separate occasions. Richard Gere, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and George Clooney. You would probably find all four of those men in most women’s top-10 hottest actors list, without a question. But if there’s one guy who defined the term Silver Fox in Hollywood, it’s Gorgeous George. And this goes without any disrespect to Mr. Gere.

But what happens when your Silver Fox isn’t all that… silver anymore? Well, that is the current situation a lot of fans are dealing with, since Clooney is donning an entirely different ‘do. The Ocean’s ringleader has ditched his signature salt-and-pepper look for a darker, more clean-cut image. Now, he has his reasons. But will those reasons fly with the legions who swooned for the silver?

A new haircut sparks nostalgia and debate...

Exclusive: The Inspection‘s Elegance Bratton has added seven to the cast of his new crime thriller, By Any Means: Emmy nominee Nicole Beharie (The Morning Show), 5x Emmy nom Giancarlo Esposito (Captain America: Brave New World), Josh Lucas (Palm Royale), Oscar nominee David Strathairn (The Luckiest Man in America), Ethan Embry (Scream 7), LisaGay Hamilton (The Dropout), and multiple Tony Award winner Lachanze (The Outsiders).

We’re told Esposito will play Vernon Dahmer, an NAACP leader murdered by the KKK for his work on voter recruitment, though details on the other roles haven’t been disclosed. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Mark Wahlberg lead the ensemble, as previously announced. Production kicked off in Atlanta yesterday.

Based on the Black List script CI34 by Sascha Penn, with revisions by Theodore Witcher, By Any Means tells the incredible true story of the notorious mafia hitman who was hired by Hoover’s...

Ilana Glazer spent several years wanting to do a Broadway play, but never elevated the thought to a formal goal. The logistics involved — eight shows a week, working (almost) every night — seemed unreasonable. “The time and the money just don’t add up for a working mom,” she says. And then, last September, Grant Heslov and George Clooney asked her to participate in a two-day workshop for their forthcoming adaptation of their 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck. The experience, and the opportunity therein, was (finally) rich enough to justify the potential scheduling downsides. “In my mind, and in my husband’s mind, too, it was going to feed our family system in the long term,” adds Glazer. “It’s worth the time away.”

Now, the Broad City creator has made her Broadway debut in the play (of the same name) as Shirley Wershba, whom she describes as one of...

Less than a week after HBO's original movie Mountainhead received a title and a premiere date, it's already ski jumped into the top five in Gold Derby's Best TV Movie Emmy predictions.

Why? The telefilm about a group of billionaire friends who deal with a financial crisis while at a swanky ski resort has an awards-worthy pedigree both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. Mountainhead is written and directed by Jesse Armstrong, the seven-time Emmy winner for Succession. This marks his directorial debut.

The cast is led by Steve Carell , Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, and Ramy Youssef as the four main billionaires. They're joined by Hadley Robinson, Andy Daly, Ali Kinkade, Daniel Oreskes, David Thompson, Amie MacKenzie, and Ava Kostia.

Recent Emmy history has been a wipeout for made-for-television movies, particularly in the acting categories, as the format has mostly been abandoned in favor of limited series.

Update April 7, 2025: A Minecraft Movie demolished box-office expectations with a record-shattering $162 million opening over the April 4-6 weekend. It’s the biggest-ever debut for a video game adaptation, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which earned $146 million the first weekend of April, 2023. The newly-minted blockbuster starring Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and Danielle Brooks also had the biggest opening of 2025, leapfrogging Marvel’s Captain America: A Brave New World, which took in $88 million back in February. The Warner Bros. movie provides a much needed boost for movie theaters after earnings had dropped 13 percent compared to last year, according to Comscore.

Rounding out the top five moneymakers for the April 4-6 weekend were Amazon MGM Studios’ A Working Man with $7.3 million, Fatham’s The Chosen: Last Supper — Part 2 with $7 million, Disney’s Snow White with $5.9 million, and Universal’s The Woman in the Yard with $4.5 million.

Original story published April...

The pace is picking up with studio wide release A Minecraft Movie booming and plenty of indie fare to fill out behind from Neon’s Hell of a Summer and IFC Films’ The Luckiest Man in America to Fathom’s next installment of The Chosen and expansions of The Friend from Bleecker Street and Gkids’ re-release of Princess Mononoke.

CinemaCon, the biggest annual gathering of theater owners and studios, wrapped last night in Las Vegas. Exhibitors’ tempers were strained by a sour first quarter at the box office and there was an explosion of talk around longer theatrical windows which will for sure remain an ongoing conversation. That said, Q1 is behind us so here’s to hoping for a sustained period of more movies — many highlighted in Vegas — and higher-grossing movies to lift all boats.

Neon opens Hell Of A Summer on 1,255 screens after Thursday previews and early shows took in $215k.

“The Luckiest Man in America”, directed by Samir Oliveros, is a new live-action drama feature, set in 1984, starring Paul Walter Hauser, Walton Goggins, Shamier Anderson, David Strathairn, Maisie Williams, Patti Harrison, Brian Geraghty, Haley Bennett and Johnny Knoxville, releasing April 4, 2025 in theaters:

“…the new film depicts the 1984 scandal orchestrated by ‘Michael Larson;, who figured out the timing of light patterns…

“…when he appeared on and won big money on the game show ‘Press Your Luck’…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Twenty years after bringing the story of newsman Edward R. Murrow and his efforts to thwart Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare to the screen in Good Night, and Good Luck — a work that earned six Oscar nominations — George Clooney has adapted the film for the Broadway stage. Two decades older now, too, Clooney makes his Broadway debut playing Murrow, who was portrayed in the film by David Strathairn in an Oscar-nominated performance. Tony winner David Cromer takes the reins from Clooney as director, pulling double duty this spring with this massive screen-to-stage adaptation and the much-anticipated new musical Dead Outlaw.

Reviews of Good Night, and Good Luck, which opened on Thursday, April 4 at the historic Winter Garden Theatre and stars an ensemble of 20-plus performers, were decidedly mixed.

Jesse Green of The New York Times deems the new play a Critic's Pick, calling it "powerful" with "suave direction" from Cromer.

Late in the action of Good Night, and Good Luck, Clark Gregg — in a moving performance as CBS newscaster Don Hollenbeck, banged up by his recent divorce and a persistent smear campaign branding him as a “pinko” — makes the melancholy observation: “I wake up in the morning, and I don’t recognize anything. I feel like I went to sleep three years ago, and somebody hijacked … as if all reasonable people took a plane to Europe and left us behind.” You know you’re in a New York City audience in 2025 when those words are followed by showstopping applause.

Whatever gains are made in reworking George Clooney’s terrific 2005 feature of the same name — his second outing as director and still his best — for the stage, the material’s timeliness packs a wallop. When the movie was released, questions of media responsibility and freedom to voice political dissent were already pertinent to the national discourse.

George Clooney is making his Broadway debut in the play Good Night, and Good Luck and we have new production photos from the show!

The Oscar-winning actor co-wrote the play with his longtime creative partner Grant Heslov and it’s based on the film that they also wrote together.

In the movie, George played the supporting role of Fred Friendly, but is now moving into the lead role of Edward R. Murrow, played by David Strathairn in the film.

In Good Night, and Good Luck, we tune in to the golden age of broadcast journalism and Edward R. Murrow’s legendary, history-altering, on-air showdown with Senator Joseph McCarthy. As McCarthyism casts a shadow over America, Murrow and his news team choose to confront the growing tide of paranoia and propaganda, even if it means turning the federal government and a worried nation against them. The play chronicles a time in...

Exclusive: Ahead of the April 4th theatrical release of his latest film, The Luckiest Man in America, Samir Oliveros — writer, director, producer, and co-founder of filmmaking collective Plenty Good — has signed with Cinetic Media for management.

A Colombia-born, U.S.-based talent who has leveraged partnerships at home in Latin America to create film and television for global audiences, Olivero’s Luckiest Man is a starry Colombia-based production that sold to IFC Films and Sapan Studio after premiering at TIFF 2024, in one of the few deals of the festival. The stranger-than-fiction story, based on true events, follows an unemployed ice cream truck driver who, in 1984, drives from Ohio to California to become a contestant on the popular game show Press Your Luck and goes on an unprecedented winning streak, all while keeping a big secret.

The project features a stacked cast led by Paul Walter Hauser, which also includes David Strathairn,...

After his big break in a scene-stealing supporting role in I, Tonya, Paul Walter Hauser has become one of Hollywood’s most unlikely leading men. Working with such acclaimed filmmakers as Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods) and Clint Eastwood (Richard Jewell), and starring in franchises like Cobra Kai and the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Hauser is one of the most reliably great actors working today.

Hauser’s latest role is as the lead in The Luckiest Man in America, a thriller in which he plays an unemployed ice cream truck driver who beats the odds to rack up the record for highest winnings on the game show Press Your Luck. To the role, he brings not only his signature charm but also the depth and humility that makes his work so special.

We at FandomWire got to speak with Paul Walter Hauser about his gameshow fandom, playing...

There have been countless scandals involving game shows over the years. The most famous adaptation of such an event was Robert Redford’s acclaimed Quiz Show, starring Ralph Fiennes and John Turturro. Still, there have been more recent instances, including a bizarre one in 1984 involving a man who figured out how to beat one of the most popular game shows on American television, Press Your Luck. The Luckiest Man in America dramatizes that event with a fantastic cast led by Paul Walter Hauser.

The film tells the story of ice cream truck driver Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser), an unemployed ice cream truck driver from Ohio who cons his way onto Press Your Luck. As he begins to win record-breaking prizes, those behind the scenes figure out he may be doing more than just playing the game. As the truth becomes apparent, Michael’s true motivations become evident, revealing a...

Slumdog Millionaire. Quiz Show. There have been some great films made that center around some of the most stranger-than-fiction stories involving game show contestants. Thanks to a phenomenal cast and strong, tense filmmaking, The Luckiest Man in America manages to be an entertaining thriller despite its lack of depth.

The Luckiest Man in America Review

The Luckiest Man in America tells the story of Michael Larson, a man who set a record to become the then-winningest contestant in game show history by memorizing the patterns of the Press Your Luck “Big Board.” Samir Oliveros and Maggie Briggs’s script takes this story that has been told several times in documentary format before and makes a tense, near-real-time thriller out of it — creating an effective, if somewhat shallow genre exercise.

The most effective thing about The Luckiest Man in America is its nuanced approach to its protagonist. Larson is a unique individual,...

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MobLand is a British crime drama series created by Ronan Bennett. The Paramount+ series is set in London, and it follows Harry Da Souza, a fixer working for the Harrigan crime family, as they get into a gang war with a rival crime family, the Stevensons, because of a missing young boy. MobLand stars Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Paddy Considine, Joanne Froggatt, Lara Pulver, Anson Boon, Jasmine Jobson, Mandeep Dhillon, Daniel Betts, and Helen Mirren. So, if you loved the thrilling crime drama, occasional dark humor, and compelling characters in MobLand, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Top Boy (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

Top Boy is a British crime thriller drama series created by Ronan Bennett. The Channel 4 and later Netflix series is set in the fictional Summerhouse estate in East London, and it revolves around Dushane and Sully,...

Editor’s Note: This review was originally published during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. IFC Films opens “The Luckiest Man in America” on April 4, 2025.

At their best, game shows have always been defined by their juxtaposition of genuine stakes and utter ridiculousness. Audiences see flashing lights, gaudy neon color palettes, and spray-tanned hosts with unconvincingly dyed hair, but contestants see a battlefield where fortunes can be won and lost. Daytime shows revolve around games of chance deemed simple enough to provide the most mindless of background noise while people do chores around the house, but the money involved often has life-changing implications for those involved.

Samir Oliveros’ “The Luckiest Man in America” successfully exploits that tension in its semi-fictionalized telling of Michael Larson’s (Paul Walter Hauser) record shattering 1984 win on “Press Your Luck,” in which he took home over $110,000 by figuring out that the show’s seemingly randomized wheel...

Many A-list actors have begun their careers with modest salaries before they hiked it up to millions of dollars. Then, there are actors like Ryan Gosling and George Clooney, who willingly agree to work for breadcrumbs because they see the potential in those films. There are even actors who worked for free just because they were so passionate about the film.

Ryan Gosling as Dan Dunne in Half Nelson | Credits: THINKFilm; George Clooney as Fred W. Friendly in Good Night, and Good Luck. | Credits: Warner Independent Pictures

From Jennifer Lopez to Hilary Swank, the shockingly low salaries of these actors are bound to make you surprised. And fans may weirdly notice the pattern that all of the films in this list of lowest-paid roles are critical and commercial hits.

7. Jennifer Lopez – Hustlers (2019) Jennifer Lopez as Ramona Vega in Hustlers | Credits: STXfilms

Jennifer Lopez worked for free in the critically acclaimed film,...

A couple of days after Hollywood star George Clooneyappeared on the CBS news program 60 Minutes to promote his new Broadway show, President Donald Trump has responded to the actor via social media. Although Clooney did not exactly point fingers during his appearance on the CBS show, he did say that "governments don't like the freedom of the press." It appears that he may have hit a nerve, and once again, Trump has expressed his disdain for the actor, calling him a "second rate movie star."

As reported by Variety, Clooney is currently promoting the stage version of Good Night, and Good Luck, his 2005 Academy Award-nominated movie starring David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow. The film portrays the journalist's clash (usually broadcast live on television) against U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy in the times of McCarthyism, and the witch hunt that ensued when far too many Americans were accused of communism.

George Clooney is arguably one of the most popular leading men in Hollywood. However, the actor says he no longer has much interest in the romance genre.

"Look, I'm 63 years old. I'm not trying to compete with 25-year-old leading men," Clooney told 60 Minutes. That's not my job. I'm not doing romantic films anymore," he added. The actor is currently preparing for his Broadway debut in the upcoming production of Good Night, and Good Luck. The stage play is adapted from the 2005 film of the same name which starred David Strathairn as the newsman.

Clooney, who appeared in the movie as Fred Friendly, co-wrote the play with Grant Heslov. When asked if he wished he had made the move to Broadway sooner, the actor was candid with his response. "I don't know that I could have. I didn't do the work required to get there," he explained. "There isn't a...

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Dope Thief is a crime drama series created by Peter Craig. Based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Dennis Tafoya, the Apple TV+ series is set in Philadelphia, and it follows two best friends who pose as DEA agents to rob drug dealers’ houses. Still, when they accidentally rob someone extremely dangerous, their and their family’s lives are put in danger. Dope Thief stars Brian Tyree Henry, Wagner Moura, Marin Ireland, Amir Arison, Nesta Cooper, Kate Mulgrew, and Ving Rhames. So, if you loved the intense story, thrilling drama, and compelling characters in Dope Thief, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Banshee (Max & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Cinemax

Banshee is an action crime thriller drama series created by Jonathan Tropper and David Schickler. The Cinemax series is set in the...

"We have a problem... Somebody didn't vet this guy." IFC FIlms has unveiled an official trailer for an indie thriller based on a true story from the 1980s called The Luckiest Man In America, the second feature directed by filmmaker Samir Oliveros. This premiered at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival last year and will debut in US theaters this April. Go behind the scenes of the most infamous episode in game show history, as an ice cream truck driver harboring a powerful secret charms his way onto the game show Press Your Luck on CBS. The Luckiest Man In America is set in May of 1984. An unemployed ice cream truck driver steps onto the game show Press Your Luck harboring a secret: the key to endless money. But his winning streak is threatened when the bewildered executives uncover his real motivations. Starring Paul Walter Hauser as Michael Larson, with Walton Goggins,...

“The Luckiest Man in America”, directed by Samir Oliveros, is a new live-action drama feature, set in 1984, starring Paul Walter Hauser, Walton Goggins, Shamier Anderson, David Strathairn, Maisie Williams, Patti Harrison, Brian Geraghty, Haley Bennett and Johnny Knoxville, releasing April 4, 2025 in theaters:

“…the new film depicts the 1984 scandal orchestrated by ‘Michael Larson;, who figured out the timing of light patterns…

“…when he appeared on and won big money on the game show ‘Press Your Luck’…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

The trailer for The Luckiest Man in America offers the first glimpse of history's most infamous show scandal. Based on the 1984 Press Your Luck game show episode, the movie, directed and co-written by Samir Oliveros, sees an unemployed ice cream truck driver Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser) join the game show as a contestant with a secret.

IFC Films drops the official trailer for The Luckiest Man in America, teasing Hauser's titular character going from being a nobody to winning $110,237 in prize money. In the first look, as Larson's prize money racks up, Host Peter Tomarken (Walton Goggins) watches in amazement, but at the same time, his success raises the suspicion of those behind the game show, who are determined to find out how he cheats the game. Larson is then hunted as a wanted man as many will stop at nothing to uncover his secret. Check out...

George Clooney‘s Broadway debut has arrived and we have the first photo from his performance in the play Good Night, And Good Luck.

The Oscar-winning actor co-wrote the play with his longtime creative partner Grant Heslov and he’s playing the lead role of Edward R. Murrow. See a full photo in the gallery.

George co-wrote and directed the 2005 film version of Good Night, And Good Luck. He also played the supporting role of Fred Friendly, but is now moving into the role played by David Strathairn in the film.

Fans have noticed that George has ditched his signature silver hair for the role.

In Good Night, and Good Luck, we tune in to the golden age of broadcast journalism and Edward R. Murrow’s legendary, history-altering, on-air showdown with Senator Joseph McCarthy. As McCarthyism casts a shadow over America, Murrow and his news team choose to confront the...

Exclusive: The Sonoma International Film Festival announced the lineup for the 28th annual edition of the event, running March 19-23 in California’s bucolic wine country. Kicking off the festival will be the world premiere of Sweet Störy, a documentary that follows “a heartfelt journey to save a charming café” on a remote Swedish island.

Siff also will feature the world premieres of Roush Niaghi and Greg Morris’s Ali Eats America; Fernando Guillermo Barreda Luna’s Cafe Chairel, and Fatal Watch, directed by Mark Benjamin and Katie Carpenter. The festival will host the North American premiere of Dreams, the film directed by Dag Johan Haugerud that won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival last month.

Daisy Edgar-Jones in ‘On Swift Horses’

The Siff Centerpiece Film will be the California premiere of On Swift Horses, the drama starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jacob Elordi that’s based on the Shannon Pufahi novel.

Turns out you don’t have to be Irish to be lucky come March. That’s right, repertory cinemas from coast to coast will be raining down four-leaf clovers in the form of cinematic gems like “Matewan,” “The Watermelon Woman,” “The Cable Guy,” and many more. And we know what you’re thinking…you just got through slamming back Oscar film after Oscar film, maybe it’s time to take a little break from the movies. After all, spring’s around the corner — it might be nice to step outside for a bit, breathe in the fresh air.

Well, you’re wrong.

Fresh air is for people who can’t appreciate a random assortment of food scents and possibly carbon dioxide from a leaking soda machine tank. You’re of a different breed and as such, we know there’s no better place for you than the comfy cozy darkness of your local cinema.

Quick LinksPhilip Seymour Hoffman Won Best Actor In 2006Philip Seymour Hoffman Was Nominated For Best Supporting Actor 3 TimesPhilip Seymour Hoffman Has 1 Last Chance at Redemption

The Awards season catch up doesn't just begin and end with 2024 movie releases. With the 97th Academy Awards on the horizon, it is time to revisit old winners, and really consider if they deserved that victory. Conversations have emerged on social media recently about which award the academy is most commonly "wrong" about. Unfortunately for fans, the general consensus was that they usually stumble when it comes to one of the most important awards of the night.

Those who don't keep up with the Academy Awards may think that the Best Supporting Actor/Actress award is just a stepping stone to greatness, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Just last year, Robert Downey Jr. tore through the awards season with his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer,...

Hulu is about to get a Steven Spielberg movie that many consider one of the best of his filmmaking career. The Academy Award-winning Lincoln is coming to the streamer next month.

Beginning March 1, Hulu subscribers will be able to stream Lincoln. Released in 2012, the biographical historical film focuses on Lincoln's efforts in January 1865 to abolish slavery and involuntary servitude by having the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution passed by the United States House of Representatives. Acclaimed actor Daniel Day-Lewis gave an Oscar-winning performance as United States President Abraham Lincoln, with Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field receiving nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress for their performances as Republican Congressman Thaddeus Stevens and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, respectively.

Related'Spielberg Played a Big Joke On Him': The Goonies Star Reveals How Harrison Ford Was Pranked During Set Visit

Ke Huy Quan recalls when Steven Spielberg...

When a grieving neuroscientist uses AI technology that allows her to reconnect with her dead father, she finds herself surfing waves of emotion and questioning life itself. That’s the winning premise in O Horizon, writer/director Madeleine Rotzler’s adult fairy tale starring Maria Bakalova, David Strathairn (Nomadland), and — big surprise — Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Aimee Mann, whose music fueled the Magnolia soundtrack and was also featured in Jerry McGuire. “Obviously this is a dream cast,” Rotzler told MovieWeb in a recent interview, adding:

“Great actors make writing great. They're everything. With Aimee, we just got so lucky. I love her music. For her to guide Maria's character and sing music live was a dream. I really wanted the film to cross genres as much as possible, and I’ve always wanted to do live music in a movie. So, having her there, to physically be there singing for us in the film,...

It was challenging for Maria Bakalova to morph into Ivana Trump in The Apprentice, but the Creature Commandos and Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm star is suddenly jazzed about her costars in the film. Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong both nabbed Academy Award nominations for playing Donald Trump and Roy Cohn, respectively, in The Apprentice, the hot topic film that tracks Trump’s rise to power. Speaking with MovieWeb in a recent interview to promote her new film, O Horizon, Bakalova stated:

“I couldn't be more excited that the movie is going to be released again, because we had only a very small theatrical run [...] At the end of the day, I feel it's a very important film. It’s a dive into the individuality of the system, and that's something we need to explore. It's educational in a lot of ways.”

She went on to say that she’s “extremely happy and excited” for Stan.

Maria Bakalova was one of only two survivors in the groovy 2022 Gen Z slasher film, Bodies Bodies Bodies. That horror thrillerhas a curious link to Bakalova’s very different new movie, O Horizon. In a recent MovieWeb interview, the actress revealed that she received the script for the heartwarming indie film on the same day of Bodies Bodies Bodies’ red carpet premiere and the beginning of her New York press tour.

“I was in New York for five days, and it was our press day, the same night we're supposed to be having our premiere,” Bakalova said. “And in between interviews and organizing for the premiere, I was reading the script, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I love this so much.’” She added:

“Everybody was like, well, [today] is basically the only chance to meet the director. And I remember I left immediately from my hotel to meet Madeleine Rotzler,...

O Horizon is bound to be one of the season's sweetest charmers. The heartwarming indie film stars Maria Bakalova as a neuroscientist grieving the loss of her father (David Strathairn of Nomadland and Good Night and Good Luck). There's a nice sci-fi element, too, placing the film in the realm of magical realism and making it an overall celebration of indie cinema. Written and directed by Emmy winner Madeleine Rotzler (Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus), O Horizon is the kind of movie we need more of.

Bakalova evokes great compassion for her character, Abby, who grabs hold of an opportunity to speak and engage with her deceased father, Warren, again — through the use of new AI technology. Trippy. But perhaps not so much, considering the technological advancement these days. The challenge for Abby, however, is that the ripple effects of her actions spread much farther than she ever realized,...