E. Oliver Whitney is a senior editor at ScreenCrush. When not talking Game of Thrones theories or waiting for the next Terrence Malick film, Oliver is probably having an SVU marathon. Oliver was formerly an entertainment editor at Huff Post and has written for Variety, New York magazine, Indiewire, Moviefone, and Backstage.
E. Oliver Whitney
2017 Oscar Nominations: ‘La La Land’ Leads with a Record-Tying 14 Nominations
Ah, can you smell it? The aroma of scorching hot awards season debates is already in the air! The nominees for the 2017 Oscars were announced bright and early this morning – or should we say dark and early, as the ScreenCrush team beat the sunrise for the big announcement.
An Ugly History of Rob Schneider’s Racist and Stereotyped Characters
It’s not even Inauguration Day yet and white dudes are already ruining everything. On Monday, Rob Schneider, you know, the guy from all the Adam Sandler movies, decided he would be the ideal person to explain Martin Luther King Jr.’s Civil Rights achievements to a legendary Civil Rights hero. Oh, and to make it even worse, this happened on MLK day.
A ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ Remake Is In the Works From ‘Black-ish’ Creator Kenya Barris
What’s the future of cinema without a slew of remakes and reboots? The latest film to get the remake treatment is Rob Shelton’s 1992 sports comedy White Man Can’t Jump. According to a new piece from The Hollywood Reporter, the film is getting remade by Kenya Barris, the creator behind ABC’s Black-ish.
Javier Bardem Looks Ghostly in New ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ Photo
Over the years Disney has made their Pirates of the Caribbean villains more and more ridiculous. The films began with Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Barbossa (no doubt the best bad guy of the series), then became super CGI heavy with Billy Nighy’s tentacled Davy Jones, and seemingly went back to basics with Ian McShane’s Blackbeard, but he used voodoo, so not the most traditional of pirates. (I still have no memory of who the villain was in At World’s End, but that movie was a ridiculous mess overall.) And now for the fifth installment in the Pirates franchise nobody asked for, Disney is going back to a CG villain.
Annette Bening on Trying Not to Laugh Through One of the Funniest Scenes of the Year
There’s a scene in Mike Mills’ 20th Century Women that will be remembered as the film’s funniest, a moment that perfectly captures the essence of its trio of titular female characters. With a tinge of annoyance, Annette Bening’s Dorothea calls out her tenant Abbie, a red-haired punk, for dozing off on the table during a dinner party. “I’m menstruating,” Abbie grumpily retorts. Much to Dorothea’s embarrassment, Abbie then prompts the men at the table to confidently utter the word “menstruation.” Capping off the scene, Elle Fanning’s rebellious 16-year-old Julie breaks into an awkward story about losing her virginity. Three women across three generations, all with varying barometers of what it means to be a woman, and what it means to harness femininity.
First ‘War For the Planet of the Apes’ Trailer, Plus Details on Three New Clips
On Thursday, 20th Century Fox showed journalists some sneak peek footage from the upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes. I got to see some brand new unreleased footage, hear some details from director Matt Reeves, and see the new trailer.
‘Fast 8’ Gets an Official Title, ‘The Fate of the Furious,’ and Teaser Trailer
Years ago, when The Fast and Furious franchise first began, there’s no way we could’ve fathomed the myriad ways Universal would rework the words “fast” and “furious” into sequel titles. “No,” they said, “We will not simply call these movies The Fast and the Furious 1 - 8. We are creatives!” That creativity peaked with 2 Fast 2 Furious, (prayer emoji hands for whoever originally came up with that one), then along the way they sort of lost their mojo. But now, finally, with the eight installment we’re back on track with a brand new f-word added to the title. So long “fast,” this movie is all about fate!
New ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Trailer Is Full of Shower Sex and Elevator Fondling
I really wish the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise would leave Beyonce’s discography alone. Don’t get me wrong, I love “Crazy in Love,” but did those lyrics really match the events of Fifty Shades of Grey? Do they express the total craziness that’s supposedly at the heart of the sequel Fifty Shades Darker? No, not at all! Case in point: this new trailer.
The Secret Connection Between ‘Fantastic Beasts’ and ‘Harry Potter’
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opens this week, but is the Harry Potter spinoff enough to kick off a brand new franchise? Will J.K. Rowling’s new movie connect to the Potter book series? ScreenCrush has new fan theories that could tie everything together. You might want to sit down for this.
How Well Does a Casual ‘Harry Potter’ Viewer Know the ‘Harry Potter’ Movies?
Fifteen years ago this week we met a little boy with glasses and a lightening bolt scar on his forehead. He went to a magical school, learned how to fly, made some friends, made some enemies, and went on to defeat one of the worst movie villains of all time. You probably know that his name is Harry Potter, but how well do you know the Harry Potter movies?
‘Hidden Figures’ Has a New Trailer, Can We Get This Movie Now, Please?
There are few things I’m more excited about right now than the start of Janelle Monae’s acting career. The R&B funk singer made her big screen debut earlier this year in Barry Jenkins Moonlight, which she is wonderful in, and next up she’ll crack some quips in Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures. That film, which also stars Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer, is the next thing I’m most excited about.
The Best Horror Movie References From ‘American Horror Story’
It’s no surprise that Ryan Murphy loves to sprinkle horror movie references throughout ‘American Horror Story.’ Remember that time Kit Walker was tortured ‘A Clockwork Orange’-style? How about the use of Bernard Herrmann’s ‘Psycho’ score to amp up the creep factor in one of the scariest episodes of ‘Murder House?’ Or the time Twisty popped out of the hedges à la Michael Myers?