Mike Sampson is the Editor-in-Chief of ScreenCrush. He studied to become a lawyer and worked as an architectural planner after graduating college but neither of these professions afforded him the opportunity to watch movies and TV for a living. He previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of JoBlo.com for 10 years. He lives in New Jersey and probably spends too much time playing video games and overthinking things.
Mike Sampson
‘Southpaw’ Trailer: Jake Gyllenhaal Fights For His Family
Remember that photo from a few months ago of a completely ripped Jake Gyllenhaal in a boxing movie? If you’ve wanted to see more from that movie, today brings us the official trailer for Southpaw, with Jake Gyllenhaal in a role like you've never seen him before.
‘Batman vs. Superman’ First Look: Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor!
Batman vs. Superman has remarkably kept the look of their villain — Lex Luthor — under wraps to the point where we still had no idea whether Jesse Eisenberg would go bald for the role. Today, we get our first look at the villainous Lex Luthor and, indeed, he's bald.
Director James Wan Still Has Trouble Watching the ‘Furious 7’ Ending
Fast and Furious 7 is an emotional movie; there's no getting around that. There were few dry eyes after the screening we attended. But, if it's this emotional for people who are watching the movie, can you imagine what it must be like for the people who made the movie, and knew Paul Walker? We spoke to director James Wan who told us that it's still so hard, he has to get up and leave the theater during the film's ending.
‘Captain America: Civil War’ Plot Revealed and Start Date Announced
Avengers 2 doesn't open for another few weeks, but deep inside Marvel headquarters they've already begun turning their attention to the next big movie: Captain America: Civil War. Frequently referred to as Avengers 2.5 because of the sheer amount of superheroes packed into this one film — Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Falcon, Black Panther, Spider-Man and Hawkeye are all confirmed to star — the third Captain America movie might be the biggest superhero film yet. As Marvel gets ready to begin filming, a casting call has given us our first look at the film's plot.
Watch Vin Diesel’s Emotional Introduction to a ‘Fast and Furious 7’ Screening
Earlier this week, we were among those in the audience for the first ever Fast and Furious 7 screening at SXSW. It was an emotional affair, to say the least. It's not often you watch a movie where The Rock walks down a street shooting a helicopter out of the sky with a massive gatling gun that ends with everyone in the audience crying, but there we were. An entire audience still processing the grief and sadness of the death of Paul Walker. A few days after that screening, Vin Diesel hosted a similar screening in Los Angeles and introduced the film to the crowd. It was about as sad as you can imagine.
J.J. Abrams Returning to Direct ‘Star Wars: Episode 9’?
When Rian Johnson was officially announced as the Star Wars: Episode 8 director last week, one name was conspicuously absent from the initial press release: J.J. Abrams. Among the producers listed — Kathleen Kennedy, Ram Bergman (Looper) and Johnson — Abrams was nowhere to be found. An updated release was later sent with Abrams noted as an Executive Producer, but it only fueled the flames that J.J. Abrams may be one-and-done with the Star Wars franchise. Not so fast.
‘Pixels’ Trailer: It’s On Like Donkey Kong
Lately there haven't been many video game movies that have been very good. There also haven't been many Adam Sandler movies that have been very good. So, how about this Adam Sandler video game movie?... Wait, where are you going?! Pixels is not your standard Adam Sandler or video game movie and, based on this trailer, you might want to give it a chance.
First ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Officially Titled ‘Rogue One’
Star Wars details have always been difficult to come by, but they've proven even more difficult with the upcoming spinoff. Other than confirmation that Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will direct, we know very little about the film. Well, now we at least know what it will be called. Disney and Lucasfilm today confirmed that the first ever Star Wars spinoff will be officially called Rogue One.
Marvel Studios Skipping Comic-Con 2015 Says ‘Guardians’ Director James Gunn
Nobody — and we mean nobody — does Comic-Con quite like Marvel. In 2006 Marvel Studios held their first ever Comic-Con panel (announcing the Captain America and Thor movies) and has returned every year since. They've ruled the roost with dynamic, exciting presentations that mix showmanship with big announcements. But, that's all about to change. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn confirmed last night that, for the first time in nine years, Marvel Studios is skipping Comic-Con.
The New ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ Trailer is Ready and Here Is a Detailed Description
As we all breathe a sigh of relief that Harrison Ford appears to have suffered no life-threatening injuries in yesterday's plane crash, we can turn our attention to more trivial Star Wars matters: namely the new Star Wars: Episode 7 trailer. We had previously reported that the new Star Wars trailer will be in theaters with Avengers 2 and will make it's public premiere at Star Wars Celebration in mid-April. Now comes word that the new trailer is ready and a lucky few have reportedly already seen it. The good news is they were kind enough to pass along a brief description.
Pee-wee Herman’s Next Film ‘Pee-wee’s Big Holiday’ Officially Begins Filming in March
After four years of development, Pee-wee Herman's next movie is official! Netflix announced today that filming on Pee-wee's Big Holiday is set to begin in March, with Judd Apatow producing and John Lee (Inside Amy Schumer) making his directorial debut.
Watch How the LEGO Oscar Trophies Were Made
The LEGO Movie may not have been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2015 Oscars, but one of the highlights of the show was still the performance of “Everything is Awesome” by The Lonely Island with Tegan & Sara. During the song, dancers from the stage came down into the audience and handed out LEGO Oscar trophies to Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Oprah, who was really excited.