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Teri Garr, the Oscar-nominated actress who capitalized on her adorable flightiness in such films as Tootsie and Young Frankenstein before her career was derailed by multiple sclerosis, died Tuesday. She was 79.

Garr, who started out as a background dancer working alongside Elvis Presley in several 1960s party films, died at her home in Los Angeles “surrounded by family and friends,” publicist Heidi Schaeffer told The Hollywood Reporter.

Garr revealed that she had Ms, the chronic, degenerative disease of the nervous system, on Larry King’s CNN show in October 2002, and she survived emergency surgery to treat a brain aneurysm four years later. Her final onscreen appearance came in 2011.

Garr’s career breakthrough came as Gene Wilder’s comely Transylvanian lab assistant in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1974). She received her supporting actress Oscar nomination for playing Dustin Hoffman’s insecure actress friend in Sydney Pollack’s Tootsie (1982).

Those films ranked Nos.

On Monday, Louisiana’s controversial Ten Commandments law had its first hearing in federal court in Baton Rouge.

The law, which was signed by Gov. Jeff Landry (R) in June, would require the Ten Commandments be displayed on posters in every one of the state’s classrooms, including K-12 public schools, and all classrooms in any college or university that accepts state dollars. The American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations are representing a multi-faith group of nine families with children in public schools, who are suing the state in the case Rev.

A mutant stalks the Earth when the body of a dead astronaut is used as an alien incubator … Meanwhile, people are being attacked by giant leeches … It doesn’t get any more revolting (or entertaining) than that in this ‘50s creature double feature from producer Roger Corman and Emmy-nominated director Bernard Kowalski (Hot Car Girl).

Night of the Blood Beast (1958)—with an extensive restoration, a new 4K scan from original 35mm archival elements—and Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)—newly restored in HD—will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on 12th November 2024, in a special collector’s two-disc edition from Film Masters.

Night Of The Blood Beast (1958)

Astronaut John Corcoran (Michael Emmet) dies upon returning to Earth following a space mission, but mysteriously comes back to life! As the scientists at a remote space research station investigate Corcoran’s revival, they discover that a parasitic, alien lifeform is utilizing...

Director Ridley Scott's historical feature "1492: Conquest of Paradise" (1992) dramatizes Italian explorer 'Christopher Columbus' and his travels to the 'New World', starring Gérard Depardieu, Armand Assante and Sigourney Weaver:

"...'Columbus' (Depardieu) is obsessed with making a trip westwards to Asia, but lacks crew and a ship. He is approached by 'Martín Pinzon', a shipowner from 'Palos', who introduces Columbus to the banker 'Santángel'. 

"'Queen Isabella I' (Weaver) owes money to Santángel. Columbus meets with the queen, who grants him his journey in exchange for his promise to bring back sufficient amounts of riches in gold.

"Columbus tricks many crewmen by telling them that the voyage would only last seven weeks. Nine weeks go by and still no sign of land. At night, Columbus notices mosquitoes on the deck, indicating that land is not far off. 

"Some days later, Columbus and the crew spot an albatross flying around the ship,...

Image Source: 20th Century Studios For decades, movie heroes were overwhelmingly male. But in 1979, Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of Ellen Ripley in Alien shattered that mold. Ripley proved that women could be just as heroic, resourceful, and compelling as their male counterparts. Her strength and resilience in the face of unimaginable terror inspired generations of young women. Weaver reprised the iconic role in three sequels, including Aliens (1986), widely considered one of the greatest sci-fi action films ever made. Over the years, we’ve had the opportunity to speak with Weaver, and she has often acknowledged the impact Ripley has had on audiences. She credits the writers and directors she collaborated with – including Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and David Fincher – for shaping the character’s enduring legacy.(Click on the media bar below to hear Sigourney Weaver) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sigournwy-Weaverripley.mp3 Weaver’s Alien films – Alien, Aliens,...

Three-time Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver has proven herself a capable leading lady in a variety of genres, including science fiction, fantasy, comedy, horror and drama. Let’s take a look back at 16 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.

Weaver made her film debut with a walk-on role as Woody Allen‘s girlfriend in “Annie Hall” (1977). Her breakthrough came just two years later for Ridley Scott‘s landmark sci-fi thriller “Alien” (1979). As Ripley, the lone survivor aboard a spacecraft besieged by a snarling, ferocious extra-terrestrial, Weaver broke down barriers for female action stars and helped launch a franchise that led to three sequels: James Cameron‘s “Aliens” (1986), David Fincher‘s “Alien 3” (1992), and Jean-Pierre Jeunet‘s “Alien: Resurrection” (1997).

“Aliens” brought Weaver her first Oscar nomination as Best Actress, a rarity for the genre. Not to be typecast, she found further success in a variety of roles that didn’t require donning a space helmet.

Dean Parisot's 1999 sci-fi/comedy "Galaxy Quest" puts an interesting spin on the traditional "Seven Samurai" formula. In Kurosawa's classic, an impoverished village, regularly beset by food-thieving bandits, seeks out an army of samurai protectors to defend them. The villagers, however, have no money, and only manage to attract seven samurai in dire straits of their own. The samurai, however, find a certain kind of weary, bemused nobility in their job, and agree to stage the best possible defense they can.

In Parisot's film, the beleaguered villagers are innocent, defenseless space aliens who are being murdered off by genocidal reptile men. The aliens, called Thermians, travel to Earth looking for brave space-faring heroes to defend them, specifically, they are looking for the stars of "Galaxy Quest," a decades-old "Star Trek"-like sci-fi TV series. The aliens have been watching rogue TV signals for years, and came to assume that "Galaxy Quest" was nonfiction.

Paul Feig never intended to make “who you gonna call?” such a politically-charged question.

The Emmy-nominated writer and director explained that he made his 2016 female-led Ghostbusters reboot as it would have “felt weird” to continue with only part of the original cast after star Bill Murray publicly shot down the idea of a sequel.

“It had been 30 years and Bill and the gang were so iconic; I didn’t want to do anything that hurt the original movies,” Feig told The Guardian.

The reboot stars Kristen Wiig as physicist Erin Gilbert and Melissa McCarthy as paranormal researcher Abby Yates, who reunite years after trying to prove that ghosts exist in modern society. When strange apparitions pop up in Manhattan, they turn to engineer Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) and lifelong New Yorker Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) for help.

“The political climate of the time was really weird, with Hillary Clinton running for office in 2016,” explained Feig.

Black Ops 6 is expected to be the savior for the Call of Duty video game series after Modern Warfare 3, which was more or less a disaster. The Black Ops subseries is associated with dark, gritty operators and the entire timeline spans seven titles.

However, if you are looking forward to playing Black Ops 6, especially the campaign, you need to be up to speed with all that’s happened. So, here is everything one would be expected to know before booting up the Black Ops 6 campaign.

Throwing It Way Back: Call of Duty World at War Viktor Reznov, remember the name. Image Credits: Activision.

The tale began in 1942 when World War 2 was in full flow. In Call of Duty World At War, there is a section where you play as Private Dimitri Petrenko of the Ussr Armed Forces. Here you also rendezvous with Sergeant Viktor Reznov, a name you should remember for future reference.

From sitcoms and rom-coms to crime-thrillers and superhero flicks, Jean Smart has never once shied away from delivering perfectly. With her brilliant acting chops, she brings something new to the table every time, never ceasing to amuse fans and live up to their expectations. The same happened while she was working on her 2019 drama Watchmen as well.

Jean Smart. | Credits: Gage Skidmore/Cca-by-sa-2.0/Wikimedia Commons.

Widely regarded as one of her best works to date, not only did it become a worthy addition to her already star-studded resume but also added to her many gleaming Emmy nods and wins. But surprisingly enough, her role in the series wasn’t originally meant to be hers. If anything, Smart will forever be indebted to Sigourney Weaver for gifting her one of the best roles of her career!

Jean Smart Owes Her Watchmen Role to Sigourney Weaver

Over the years, actress Jean Smart...

With Women Of Action, Caroline Siede digs into the history of women-driven action movies to explore what these stories say about gender and how depictions of female action heroes have evolved over time.

After The A.V. Club said yes to my pitch for a column about women-led action movies, I...

New York Fashion Week is all about the outfits, the front row, the gossip and, naturally, the parties! As the runway presentations continue to roll out, the champagne continues to pour at high-energy gatherings and events across Manhattan. From Rihanna and Chloe Sevigny to Megan Thee Stallion and even Matt Damon, find out who is on the scene at Nyfw.

Rihanna and Jahleel Weaver attend The Daily Front Row’s Fashion Media Awards at New York’s Rainbow Room on Sept. 6, 2024. Honorees included Weaver and Katie Grand for Perfect (magazine of the year), Trey Laird for Donna Karan New York (campaign of the year), Steven Lagos (fashion innovator), Maria Klaumann (breakthrough model of the year), Guess (iconic brand), Anna Sui (lifetime achievement), Selma Blair (style star of the year), Ana Sky (emerging artist) and Jerry Hall (fashion legend). Chloe Fineman attends The Daily Front Row’s 11th annual Fashion Media...

Disney’s Star Wars universe has been met with quite a lot of heartwarming plotlines and wholesome moments as well as heartwrenching storylines and bitter farewells. Just like Pedro Pascal’s absolutely painful goodbye scene with Grogu aka Baby Yoda in the finale of The Mandalorian season 2, which had pretty much every single viewer bawling their eyes out.

The Star Wars lore. | Credit: StarWars.com.

But while this scene won a majority of the fandom over (if not all of it), fans weren’t allowed to revel in the misery of this scene for long. If anything, it made that one gutwrenching arc in Din Djarin’s storyline seem completely useless by making Pascal’s Mando meet with Grogu a bit too sooner than expected with a grave mistake in The Book of Boba Fett.

Pedro Pascal’s Heartbreaking Arc Went to Waste by Tbobf

Regarded as one of the...

As a filmmaker, knowing the right balance to tell the perfect cinematic story can be challenging. While on set, you film everything you think you’ll need to create a great film, but when you hit the editing bay, you realize that some stuff may not work. Scenes that add different aspects may end up on the cutting room floor. Not all of them actually take away from the film, but they add some more layers to it that add a lot. It could be a case of budget or just for time, but some things need to be chopped. What are some deleted scenes that changed the movie?

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Fans fell in love with everyone’s favorite anti-authority high schooler when the film hit the big screen. As the secretary says, “He’s a righteous dude.” The big key was keeping the viewer on his...

Call of Duty can be more fun with crossovers in its single-player campaigns. Captain John Price is tasked with infiltrating a facility in Khe Sahn said to be hiding a high-value target. The operation is oversaw by Kate Laswell and will report directly to Russell Adler.

That’s one imaginary story, but who knows something like that may come to fruition? After all, both the acclaimed franchises, Modern Warfare and Black Ops, hold some of the interesting story arcs in the game. And there are Easter eggs that may hint of a link between the two.

7. The Most Obvious Easter Egg Would be Imran Zakhaev Imran Zakhaev was the main antagonist in the original Modern Warfare. Credits: ScereBro Psnu on YouTube

Imran Zakhaev is among the most interesting Call of Duty villains to have appeared throughout the series. Certainly, Captain Price blowing his head off in Pripyat has become an iconic moment in the game.

In our current franchise-dominated landscape, it's hard to imagine an actor having the brass to insist their character be killed off. But that's what living legend Sigourney Weaver did when she made 1992's "Alien 3," reasoning that her "Alien" heroine — the plucky blue-collar space trucker turned badass Xenomorph slayer Ellen Ripley — had endured more than her fair share of bad luck by that point. She would backtrack on that five years later for "Alien: Resurrection," intrigued by the idea of reprising not the Ripley we knew and loved, but a hybrid alien/human clone with her own quirks and personality (not to mention a killer behind-the-back basketball shot). Weaver would then come precariously close to reprising Ripley proper for Neill Blomkamp's scrapped "Alien 5," a sequel that, in a stunt similar to the one David Gordon Green's "Halloween" pulled, planned to ignore the prior two sequels by taking the...

Where are all my ‘Avatar’ lovers? We’ve just gotten new updates about the two upcoming ‘Avatar’ films. Both movies in the franchise so far have managed to snag a global audience and gross over a billion dollars. So what’s next for a franchise this big? ‘Avatar’s’ Sigourney Weaver has given us some insight.

Sigourney Weaver – Promises More “Hard-hitting” ‘Avatar’ Sequels

Buckle up, if you thought ‘Avatar 2’ was an emotional rollercoaster, prepare your mind and emotions for the coming ones.

For those who can’t recognize Sigourney Weaver underneath all that blue, she plays Kiri and Dr. Grace Augustine in the franchise: the adopted daughter of Jake Sully and Neytiri. Kiri was born from Dr. Grace’s Avatar, even though her biological father remains a mystery.

With her unusual abilities and connection to the Na’vi god, Eywa, some speculate that she may not even have a biological father.

The recent release of Alien: Romulus has led to speculation of a potential bigger reboot, with more movies expected to come out in due time. The franchise has given fans some iconic characters during its run, with Romulus being the 9th film in the series.

That includes Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of protagonist Ellen Ripley, with the actress also expected to reprise her role eventually. While Weaver had initially refused the possibility of her return to the franchise, her recent comments have once again sparked hope. The actress suggested in a Deadline review that she is merely looking for a script that she wants to do. This, as one would expect, has brought a range of reactions from fans.

Fans respond to Sigourney Weaver’s latest comments about Alien return

Ridley Scott and Sigourney Weaver | Alien (1979)

A number of fans simply did not know how to respond to the actress’s latest comments.

"Alien 3" is one of the more controversial "Alien" movies. For one thing, the development of the project went through fits and starts. For another, David Fincher, who made his feature directorial debut on the sequel, had notorious behind-the-scenes problems and has more or less disowned the movie entirely. And then there's the fact that the film is unapologetically bleak, including an opening that kills off fan-favorite characters like space Marine Hicks and precocious child Newt. Just to seal the deal, the movie then ends by killing off Sigourney Weaver's Ripley, who was the franchise's main character.

All that said, the film still has its fans. But even when you take into account the fact that "Alien 3" has its supporters, it's not unfair to say the film is flawed and not held in as high regard as Ridley Scott's original "Alien" or James Cameron's blockbuster sequel "Aliens.

The upcoming new Star Wars film has just added a sci-fi icon to the cast! Find out who's joining the Mandalorian and Grogu and what role is perfect for them!

Star Wars is experiencing some ups and downs as of late. They've still had some good TV successes with Ahsoka and the acclaimed Andor series. However, The Acolyte was canceled after one poorly received season, a blow to the franchise's success. 

However, there are still plans for movies, including a new franchise that will take place 15 years after Rise of Skywalker, with Rey (Daisy Ridley) trying to restart a new Jedi Order. Before that, we're getting The Mandalorian and Grogu, bringing the biggest Disney+ Star Wars hit to the big screen.

The plot details are being kept under wraps, but the film will be written and directed by Jon Favreau, the show's creator. Pedro Pascal will reprise his role as Din Djarin,...

La actriz se mostró muy emocionada. © Getty Images

La actriz Sigourney Weaver fue galardonada con el prestigioso León de Oro Honórífico en la Biennale di Venezia, en reconocimiento a su impresionante carrera de más de 45 años. La ceremonia tuvo lugar durante la gala inaugural del Festival de Cine de Venecia, justo antes del estreno mundial de la película de apertura del festival, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, dirigida por Tim Burton.

Durante dicha ceremonia se proyectó un emotivo vídeo homenaje en el que James Cameron le deseaba «una enorme enhorabuena».

Al recibir el más que merecido galardón, la actriz no pudo evitar emocionarse y dijo: «Estoy segura de que estoy soñando. Gracias por este combustible de estímulo». Después, Weaver describió el León de Oro como «el honor más asombroso que puedo imaginar». Añadió con humor que la estatuilla del premio estará «sentada a mi lado en el avión, estará al lado en la...

Sigourney Weaver was the star of the Alien franchise for four movies straight. She played heroine Ellen Ripley in Ridley Scott’s Alien, James Cameron’s Aliens, and David Fincher’s Alien 3… and even though Ripley didn’t make it out of Alien 3 alive, Weaver still returned to play a clone of the character in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Alien: Resurrection. 27 years have gone by since the last time Weaver starred in an Alien movie, and the franchise has continued without her through the crossover movies Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, the prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the “mid-quel” (it slots in between the events of Alien and Aliens) Alien: Romulus, and the upcoming TV series Alien: Earth. But during a recent interview with Deadline, Weaver confirmed that she would “consider” returning to the role of Ripley if the offer came up.

When asked if there’s...

One of this year's most highly anticipated horror movies hit theaters on Aug. 16, and tons of people headed to the theaters to see it. Of course, we're talking about Alien: Romulus, which ended up being a box office hit, grossing $229 million worldwide against a $80 million budget. In fact, it's currently one of the highest-grossing horror films of 2024.

Since its release, it's been the talk of the town, with many people wondering if an additional installment is in the works. Unfortunately, this isn't the case at the moment, but Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez already has some ideas for a potential sequel. So, I'd say things are moving in the right direction!

With all this talk of Alien: Romulus, of course the Alien franchise's star Sigourney Weaver would eventually be brought up in conversations. People want to know if she'd ever come back and reprise her role as Ellen Ripley in a future Alien movie.

That galaxy far, far away just gained another resident.

Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver has revealed that she’ll appear in The Mandalorian & Grogu, the upcoming big-screen film based on Disney+’s The Mandalorian series.

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Weaver shared her casting with our sister site Deadline earlier this week. Though she kept mum about the details of her character,...

Facehugging foes. All-time-great action heroes. A sense of sheer unknowable terror. Over four decades since the Alien saga first hatched from a mysterious pulsing egg – and burst out of John Hurt’s chest – the sci-fi horror franchise remains one of the all-time greats. Spanning an incredible 45 years and nine instalments (counting the Alien Vs Predator crossovers), the franchise continues to reinvent itself with each entry – from haunted house movie, to war actioner, to prison drama, to existential sci-fi exploration.

With director Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus in cinemas – and Noah Hawley’s upcoming TV series Alien: Earth soon to scare us on the small screen – Empire hopped on a ship to Lv-426 to argue the toss over which Alien movie is the best. Read the official ranking below.

9) Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem

The Brothers Strause’s disastrous 2007 sequel Avp: Requiem continued the multi-franchise crossover between the cinema’s two most beloved extraterrestrial horror creatures.

Sigourney Weaver delivered a career-spanning masterclass at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, and of course touched on her time leading the “Alien” franchise as Ellen Ripley.

Ridley Scott directed the first film in 1979 before James Cameron came on board to helm sequel “Aliens” seven years later. This marked Weaver’s first time meeting Cameron, who would go on to also direct her in the “Avatar” films. The two immediately hit it off, except for one thing: Weaver didn’t realize how many guns Cameron had written into the script.

“He was just so open to any thoughts that I might have, and I just felt his instincts were amazing,” Weaver said of Cameron. “The one thing, of course, I wasn’t thrilled about was all the guns. I read very quickly because I’m trying to experience the story and I had left out reading a lot of the stage directions,...

Sigourney Weaver is passing through the Venice Film Festival, speaking with the press and fans, after receiving a career achievement award at the Italian fest’s opening ceremony on Wednesday.

This afternoon during a masterclass session with young students and journalists, Weaver shared a nugget from her work on Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi flick Alien.

“I remember Ridley didn’t really know how to end it,” Weaver said of the film.

“Ridley was making all these drawings. And he thought he’d keep on shooting until he figured it out. But they told him he had to finish in three days. So they did all these quick experiments and they realized if they have water against the Alien it will look like it’s burning up. It all happened so fast. It was total improvisation.”

Weaver added that throughout the production of Alien, Scott and his DoP Derek Vanlint...

With Alien: Romulus now playing in theaters, franchise star Sigourney Weaver is naturally being asked questions about the four Alien movies she starred in. In a chat with Deadline this week, Weaver reflects on one sequel in particular, while also answering a big question about the potential future of Ellen Ripley: would she ever play the character one more time?

But first, Weaver reflects on David Fincher’s Alien 3, which has become something of a cult classic for Alien fans over the years. The nihilistic film picks up after the events of Aliens, killing off Newt and Hicks entirely off-screen and stranding Ellen Ripley on a harsh prison planet.

We know that Fincher himself has essentially disowned the polarizing third installment in the franchise, but how does Sigourney Weaver feel about 1992’s Alien 3 all these years later?

“Well, I could feel that David had to get on...

Following Alien and Aliens was never going to be easy, but if anyone was capable of doing it, it would surely be filmmaker David Fincher. Unfortunately, the movie underperformed at the box office in 1992 and received mixed-to-negative reviews.

Despite struggling at the North American box office, Alien 3 did earn $100 million overseas. Fincher has since disowned the movie, arguing it was unfaithful to his original vision thanks to studio interference.

Deadline (via SFFGazette.com) recently spoke with Ripley actor Sigourney Weaver and asked for her thoughts on the threequel and the many challenges she and the cast and crew faced during production.

"Well, I could feel that David had to get on the phone and fight every day for us to shoot what he wanted to the next day. And I’m sorry that he didn’t get a chance to make the script his own before we started. That makes filmmaking very difficult.

The Mandalorian & Grogu is the next highly anticipated installment in the Star Wars franchise. Directed by Jon Favreau and co-written with Dave Filoni, the film continues the story from the Disney+ series The Mandalorian and stars Pedro Pascal. Production on the fourth season of The Mandalorian was delayed due to the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, prompting Lucasfilm to focus on this film instead. Announced in January 2024, it began filming in California in August 2024.

Currently, details about the movie are scarce, with most information coming from a leaked D23 trailer.

Pedro Pascal will return to voice the titular character, The Mandalorian, and Grogu will also be featured in the film. The trailer has also revealed that Zeb Orrelion, reprising his role from Star Wars Rebels, will make an appearance.

Additionally, Sigourney Weaver has recently joined the cast, as confirmed by Deadline. She has already met Grogu and will be part of the movie.

‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ is the next Star Wars installment that fans can look forward to. The movie is directed by Jon Favreau and co-written with Dave Filoni. Set in the Star Wars universe, it continues the story from the Disney+ series ‘The Mandalorian’ and stars Pedro Pascal. Production of the fourth season of ‘The Mandalorian’ was delayed due to the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, leading Lucasfilm to prioritize this film instead. Announced in January 2024, the film began filming in California in August 2024.

Virtually nothing is known about the movie except for what we’ve been able to find out as the D23 trailer leaked.

We know that Pedro Pascal will return to voice the main star, The Mandalorian, and that obviously, Grogu will appear in the movie alongside him. The trailer also confirmed that we can expect Zeb Orrelion to appear in the movie, reprising his ‘Star Wars Rebels’ role.

The 2024 Venice Film Festival has officially commenced.

Hard to say whether the audience loved the opening night film “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which scored laughs here and there, and many a gasp or two at the inventive effects that pull the film even more into body horror territory. But its standing ovation at the end was cut short by the venue flashing the lights to signal that the actors needed to leave.

While Jenna Ortega, the primary new addition to the world of “Beetlejuice” had been the draw who has lined hundreds of Italian teenagers along the Lido, inside the theater, it was national icon Monica Bellucci who got the biggest applause, and she also happened to be who director Tim Burton had on his arm entering the theater. They’ve been dating since last year.

Outside of the “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” cast members in attendance — like Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe, and returnees Michael Keaton,...

Cinema isn’t dead, long live cinema! (Pronounced cheenima.)

So the Venice Film Festival — aka La Biennale as it’s known around the Lido — launched into its 81st edition on Wednesday, August 28 with a chatty day of press conferences, a world premiere, and a Golden Lion ceremony for an American screen icon. And it’s an especially hot day with temperatures in the low 30 degrees Celsius (or the upper 80s in Fahrenheit; I’m trying to get into my Italian spin here) and attendees in under-air-conditioned venues like the Sala Grande schvitzing into the night. Heads up: Bring a paper fan.

Last year’s Venice saw a festival deprived of top-drawer talent due to the then-ongoing writers and actors strikes. That’s not the case in 2024, where all the stars of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” could come out for their world premiere, not just Tim Burton and his girlfriend Monica Bellucci (who...

It was reported earlier this year that Sigourney Weaver was in talks to join The Mandalorian & Grogu, which would continue her domination of the science fiction genre. While speaking with Deadline, Weaver confirmed that the Star Wars film is her next project and teased she actually got to meet Grogu.

“I’m playing a role in The Mandalorian & Grogu [which will be directed by Jon Favreau],” Weaver said. “I got to meet Grogu for the first time the other day. I’m filming that before I go to London for The Tempest at the end of the year.” There’s no word on who Weaver will be playing in The Mandalorian & Grogu, but she’s always a fine addition to any project, so I’m pumped to see her join the Star Wars universe.

Related Sigourney Weaver returns to space for The Mandalorian & Grogu?

The Mandalorian & Grogu is currently in...

After a year when Hollywood strikes stripped festival red carpets of their stars, the 81st Venice Film Festival marked a return to oh-so-glamorous form Wednesday night with an A-list opening night.

The Venice fans, many of whom spent up to 10 hours in the searing Italian heat for a glimpse, rarely stopped screaming as one star after the other shimmied past the paparazzi and into the Sala Grande for the opening night ceremony, and world premiere of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Burton and the starry cast of his long-awaited sequel — including Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Willem Defoe, Justin Theroux and Monica Bellucci — grabbed the lion’s share of attention, but there were plenty of whoops and hollers for the other celebrities on offer, including French acting icon Isabelle Huppert, president of this year’s Venice festival jury, and Cate Blanchett, in town for the premiere of her Apple TV+ series Disclaimer.

The Venice Film Festival officially kicked off Wednesday evening with an emotional Sigourney Weaver receiving the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award. Enthused Weaver from the Lido’s Sala Grande stage, “I want to roar!” The three-time Oscar nominee thanked the festival for what she called a “jet-fuel of encouragement,” adding, “I can’t believe I’m here.”

Weaver praised the festival for its “pride of Golden Lions,” saying her statue will be sitting next to her on the plane home and quipping, “My husband will have to get used to having it in bed with me.”

The tribute came during the opening ceremony for the 81st annual Venice fest, which opened tonight with the world premiere of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Related: ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Venice Film Festival World Premiere Photo Gallery

During the Weaver tribute, a videotape message had previously been sent from Weaver’s Aliens and Avatar director...

Sigourney Weaver championed environmental conservation efforts in the Venice area, when receiving her honorary Golden Lion at the opening ceremony for the 81st edition of the city’s film festival.

“The true story of conservation is not a global one of doom and gloom,” said Weaver, having received the award from French actress Camille Cottin. “It is the story of people coming together to take care of their own homes, their own neighbourhoods. Citizens coming together to figure this out and doing everything they can to save their city.”

Weaver cited the Mose project, a system of gates built around...

Sigourney Weaver says “Alien 3” studio 20th Century Fox and the film’s director David Fincher were on different planets while making the 1992 feature film.

Weaver told Deadline that a young Fincher, making his directorial debut, had to “fight every day” for his vision of the third franchise installment. The original “Alien” was directed by Ridley Scott; “Aliens” was directed by James Cameron. A pretty good pedigree there.

While Fincher no doubt felt pressure following in those footsteps, Weaver says the studio was “idiotic” to battle the newcomer for creative control.

“I could feel that David had to get on the phone and fight every day for us to shoot what he wanted to the next day. And I’m sorry that he didn’t get a chance to make the script his own before we started,” Weaver said. “That makes filmmaking very difficult.”

She added that the original script,...

Sigourney Weaver took center stage on the opening night of the 2024 Venice Film Festival.

Ahead of the world premiere of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the iconic star of films such as “Alien,” “Avatar” and “Gorillas in the Mist” was awarded the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement in honor of her work spanning 45 years.

“I’m sure I’m dreaming,” she said on receiving the award. “Thank you for this jet fuel of encouragement.” She later said that her Golden Lion was “the most astonishing honor I can imagine,” adding that the statue would be “sitting next to me on the plane, it will be next to be in the gondola and my husband will have to get used to having it in bed with us.”

Before being given the award, there was a surprise video message from Weaver’s “Avatar” director James Cameron, who noted that she was “way over due for that Oscar.

Sigourney Weaver got a bit emotional during the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, after a reporter suggested that the actress’ work might’ve been instrumental in helping Kamala Harris become a presidential candidate.

The “Alien” star was on hand to receive the Career Achievement Golden Lion and during a press conference, was asked how she felt about the idea that movies –and specifically Weaver’s roles in them — “can make it possible that a woman like Kamala Harris would become president of the United States.”

Weaver immediately noted that she loved the question, and is honored by that idea.

At a press conference in Venice, actor Sigourney Weaver got emotional thinking the impact of her work on women, and the rise of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. pic.twitter.com/A6UFky8nar

— The Associated Press (@AP) August 28, 2024

“To think for one moment that my work would have anything...

With a career spanning over 50 years, Sigourney Weaver has showcased her versatility across Broadway, television, and film, creating iconic heroic characters in both dramatic and comedic roles. Her remarkable talent has earned her three Academy Award nominations.

Born Susan Alexandra Weaver on October 8, 1949, in New York City, she adopted the name Sigourney at age 14, inspired by a character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby.

Weaver graduated from Stanford University and obtained a master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama. Even as she found fame and success on the screen, she would maintain her love for the stage throughout her career. Her many theater credits include four Broadway productions: Sir John Gielgud’s production of The Constant Wife in 1975, the groundbreaking 1984 production of David Rabe’s Hurlyburly opposite William Hurt, Harvey Keitel and a newcomer named Cynthia Nixon, and the 1996 production of Sex and Longing, written...

Acting icons don't come much bigger than Sigourney Weaver. She held down the Alien movies for two decades as Ellen Ripley, played the villain in the original Ghostbusters movie and is at the head of the Avatar series, which may end up being the most profitable franchise in film history by the time it's done. And she took on plenty of more straightforward dramatic and comedic roles over the years, but this is WinterIsComing and we're focusing on her role as a queen of sci-fi and fantasy, now and always.

Weaver talked extensively to Deadline about her career, which is still very much ongoing. After playing Dr. Grace Augustine in the first Avatar movie, Weaver returned as the Na'vi teenager Kiri in the sequel, The Way of Water. There are three more Avatar movies to go, and she's in all of them. "Yes, I think I’m allowed to say that.

Sigourney Weaver is a true legend of the sci-fi genre, having appeared in the likes of Ghostbusters, Avatar, and, of course, the Alien movies, which she led as the iconic Ellen Ripley in the first four films prior to the franchise being revived with Ridley Scott's Prometheus in 2012.

Weaver also played the villain in Netflix's The Defenders series, but her MCU stint was short-lived when her character was killed-off by Elektra.

Fans have often wondered if Weaver might take a trip to the Galaxy Far, Far Away at some point, and earlier this year, the trades reported that she was in talks for a key role in Lucasfilm's The Mandalorian and Grogu.

During an interview with Deadline, Weaver confirmed that she has signed on for the movie and is set to begin shooting very soon.

"I’m playing a role in The Mandalorian & Grogu [which will be directed by Jon Favreau]. I...

Sigourney Weaver is a timeless actress and one of the most iconic names in cinematic history. Throughout her career, she has showcased immense versatility by essaying roles in different genres. Many know her as Ellen Ripley from Alien, but her career trajectory is not limited to a single role.

Sigourney Weaver in 1986’s Aliens | Credits: 20th Century Fox

She embraced her comedic side in Ghostbusters and the shift broadened her horizons, adding a significant layer of depth to her already remarkable journey as an artist. Weaver recently reflected on her choices, experimentation with different roles, and the impact it had on her.

Sigourney Weaver Transitions From Serious to Comedic Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters: Afterlife | credit: Columbia Pictures

Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal in Alien was a transformation for not only her career but also the science-fiction genre. The Ridley Scott directorial catapulted her into stardom and also...

Alien: Romulus closes out the summer with its success at the box office. The movie has been described as Fede Álvarez’s love letter to the franchise as a whole. And as the Venice Film Festival gets underway, the star of the first four movies in the Alien franchise, starting with the 1979 original, Sigourney Weaver is preparing to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award this year with her illustrious career. While she reflects on her career, which also includes being the romantic interest to Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman in the Ghostbusters movies, as well as her humorously antagonistic turn in Working Girl, Weaver talks about the groundbreaking sci-fi film that would solidify her as one of cinema’s greatest heroines.

Deadline spoke with Weaver on the eve of her award and she recounted what it was like to start production on Alien. She recalled, “I had come from off of Broadway.

Sigourney Weaver is one of Hollywood’s most celebrated science fiction actors, right up there with the likes of Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Keanu Reeves. With her being cast as a part of The Mandalorian and Grogu, the actress has managed to cement herself further in the science fiction Hall of Fame, something that only one other actor has been able to do.

Sigourney Weaver in Aliens (1986) || Credit: 20th Century Fox

With her introduction into the Star Wars universe in The Mandalorian and Grogu, the actress is now on par with Keanu Reeves when it comes to the number of science fiction franchises that she has her fingers in. From classics like Aliens to the highest-grossing film in the world, Weaver has decisively left her mark on the science fiction genre of films.

Keanu Reeves and Sigourney Weaver both have five science fiction franchises under their belts Sigourney Weaver...

She’s survived xenomorphs, busted ghosts, lived among the gorillas, and co-starred in the top-grossing blockbuster of all time — and soon she’ll have a Golden Lion. Screen icon Sigourney Weaver, whose stately grace and steely will have captivated filmgoers for nearly 50 years, will be awarded the Venice Film Festival‘s top honor for lifetime achievement at the event’s glamorous 81st opening ceremony. But first, the three-time Oscar nominee met the international press in Venice on Wednesday afternoon for a wide-ranging conversation about her career and the art of cinema.

Within the first five minutes of the sit-down, Weaver was brought to tears by a female journalist’s personal thank you for her pioneering performances as strong women characters — most notably, as the heroine Ripley in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror classic Alien — which shifted perceptions in the industry about the kinds of parts women could play and empowered female viewers everywhere.

Sigourney Weaver welled up Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival as she considered whether her work had impacted the rise of Kamala Harris.

In response to a reporter who linked her role as Ripley in Alien to Harris, Weaver considered the thought and tears filled her eyes as she said: “We’re all so excited about Kamala and to think for one moment that my work would have anything to do with her rise makes me very happy, actually, because it’s true. I have so many women who come and thank me.” She then joked, “Sorry, I need my vodka,” to lighten the mood, as journalists in the room clapped in unison.

Weaver paid tribute to Alien writers David Giler and Walter Hill for writing the Ridley character in Alien. “My character was a person, not a woman,” she said. “They are two of the very few writers who...

Sigourney Weaver got emotional while talking about Kamala Harris during her press conference at Venice Film Festival ahead of receiving a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.

Asked about the impact of her acting in empowering women — specifically her “Alien” character of Ripley — and how it could help make it possible for Harris to become U.S. president, Weaver said she was “so excited about Kamala.”

She then appeared to tear up at the thought of her having any influence. “To think for one moment that my work would have anything to do with her rise makes me very happy, actually, because it’s true,” she said. “I have so many women who come and thank me.”

As she choked up, Weaver reached for her water, joking: “Sorry, I need my vodka.”

Of Harris, she added, “It’s been difficult since 2016, and we’re all very grateful about her.”

Weaver’s...

Lucasfilm has added acclaimed actress Sigourney Weaver to the cast of its next big-screen Star Wars adventure. Weaver will appear in the film “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” set to continue the story of famed bounty hunter Din Djarin, also known as the Mandalorian, and his adopted son Grogu. Directed by Jon Favreau, creator of the hit Disney+ series, the movie is slated for a May 2026 theatrical release.

In a recent interview with entertainment website Deadline, Weaver revealed she is excited about her new role in the Star Wars universe. She also expressed joy at meeting Grogu for the first time during pre-production. While details of her character are still under wraps, Weaver’s casting adds significant star power as the film moves closer to production.

“The Mandalorian and Grogu” will pick up where the television series left off, further exploring the bond between the armored bounty hunter and his small...