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
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.
Comedy Central to Cut Paul Walker Jokes From Justin Bieber Roast
Most comedians consider a roast the kind of place where you can joke about anything. Everything is fair game, as they often say. But, a number of controversial jokes about the death of actor Paul Walker at Comedy Central's Roast of Justin Bieber will be cut before the show's broadcast on March 30.
‘Avengers 2’ Poster: Ultron Finally Gets His Own Art
Now that all the Avengers 2 heroes have gotten their own character posters (OK, almost all — we're still waiting for Vision), it's time for the villain to get his due. Here's what may be the final of these set of posters with a shiny new look at Ultron.
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.
‘Hotel Transylvania 2’ Trailer: Things Get Batty in This Adam Sandler Sequel
Adam Sandler’s live-action comedies have been underperforming lately (so much so that he recently signed a deal to make his next movies for Netflix), but 2012’s Hotel Transylvania was one of Sandler's best performing films in years. Because of that success, a new sequel is on the way with the whole “Drac Pack” returning for a spooky adventure.
‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ First Look: So, What’s Outside of the Maze?
The Maze Runner was a surprisingly entertaining movie, even at a time when dystopian young adult adaptations are already feeling stale. There was a lot of inherent mystery built up around the film's central conceit — what the heck is this maze, who built it and can our heroes solve it? — and that was great. But, how will a Maze Runner film work when (spoiler alert) there's no maze? Enter: The Scorch Trials.
‘Zoolander 2’: Derek and Hansel Walk the Runway at Paris Fashion Week to Announce the Sequel!
Zoolander 2 isn't scheduled to officially start filming until later this spring in Rome, but it looks like stars Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson just got a jump on the production. The Zoolander stars showed up in character as Derek and Hansel and closed out the Valentino show at Paris Fashion Week with a walk on the runway.
‘Inside Out’ Trailer: Listen to the Voices in Your Head
It's been almost two years since our last Pixar movie (Monsters University in 2013), but that's thankfully about to change this summer with the release of Inside Out. From Up director Pete Docter, Inside Out is also only the second original Pixar film since 2009, which makes its arrival extra exciting. Today, we have the final Inside Out trailer, which gives us a much better look at the film's plot and the insides of the human mind.