Free Republic

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-enduring-lessons-of-star-trek

Ben-Hur? More like Ben-Horrendous. The ancient tale directed by Timur Bekmambetov is officially the biggest bust of summer 2016 and is on track to lose an epic $120 million or more, according to sources close to the film and multiple box-office analysts consulted by The Hollywood Reporter. The Paramount/MGM release has grossed just $54.1 million to date at the global box office since its mid-August debut, including a dismal $25 million domestically. While it has several major foreign markets yet to open, the film is fading fast and will have a hard time getting past $75 million globally, say knowledgeable...

One Clinton supporter is “bugging all my friends to do something” Hollywood Democrats are getting nervous about recent polls that show the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump tightening. “I’m freaked out,” David Schneiderman, co-owner and founder of Seismic Productions and prominent Clinton supporter, told TheWrap. “I now post stuff on Facebook every day bugging all my friends to do something. No one wants to wake up to Donald Trump on November 8.” A Tuesday CNN/ORC poll showing Trump leading Clinton in a head-to-head match for the first time in six weeks caught some of Clinton’s staunchest industry supporters...

The Beverly House is located just a few blocks from Sunset Boulevard and is set on six acres of land. The sprawling estate, built in the 1920s, appears in several films including The Bodyguard - The Kennedys, Rihanna and the Prince of Monaco are among the property's famous guests. Estate includes a 50,000 square foot house, cascading waterfalls and a two-story library...

Glenn Beck’s financially troubled multimedia empire took another hit over Labor Day Weekend as Beck announced that Mercury Radio Arts, his privately held umbrella company, has abruptly stopped producing scripted film and television projects under his once-cherished subsidiary American Dream Labs. In a statement posted on his website, Beck characterized the apparent shutdown as a “divorce” because American Dream Labs “needs to exist separate and apart from Mercury in order to spread its wings.” The demise of the Beck subsidiary is the latest troubling development for a once-flourishing enterprise that in the past year has terminated nearly half its estimated...

While he finds Donald Trump’s popularity unbelievable, Brad Pitt is trying to understand why people are supporting the Republican presidential candidate. “I can’t bring myself to think that Trump will be in charge. In the simplest terms, what brings us together is good, and what separates us is bad,” the 52-year-old actor tells The New York Times’ T Magazine. Pitt quotes the Oscar-winning film “The Big Short” and says, “When things are going wrong and we can’t find the reason for it, we just start creating enemies.” “You gotta understand,” he tells the magazine, “that it’s also in our DNA....

When you think of Disney movies, you think of safe, wholesome fun for the entire family. But based on this list, maybe instead you should think about sad orphans and the literal embodiment of death appearing in a man's eyes shortly before he meets his grisly demise. Here are some of the most controversial moments hidden in Disney movies...

Dubai Municipality has, for the first time in the Middle East, launched a robot as a rescuer on public beaches for the security and safety of beach-goers in the emirate. Alya Al Harmoudi, Director of the Environment Department at DM, said: "The move is also in response to Dubai government directives to keep up with the latest technologies and innovations in this area as well as to ensure that all the necessary requirements and precautions are in place to enhance the rescue operations on the public beaches of Dubai." The robot, which can reach a speed of 35 Kph, or...

Hugh O'Brian, who helped tame the Wild West as the star of TV's “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp” and was the founder of a long-running youth leadership development organization, has died. He was 91.

Gene Wilder, star and writer of some of Hollywood’s greatest comedy classics, passed away this week at 83 years of age from complications of Alzheimer’s. He partnered with Mel Brooks for the best work both of them have done, including the original version of The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and one of my all-time favorite films, Blazing Saddles. Those films and others have long been in rotation on the movie channels and even on cable and broadcast outlets, albeit with heavy editing, but have been absent from the big screen for decades. Those who never caught Blazing Saddles on the big...

<p>Just what we need in these fractured times — a smart parable about open-mindedness and unification.</p> <p>Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner play academics enlisted by the military to make contact when alien spacecraft land on Earth in Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi drama.</p>

A new documentary is challenging Star Wars fans to unlearn what they have learned about the awful prequels that ruined our childhoods and stole our innocence about future Star Wars films. Not that I’m bitter. Anyway, a handful of prequels fans decided a few years ago to crowdfund The Prequels Strike Back, a documentary that is supposed to give people a fresh new perspective on The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, based on scholarly commentary from no less than arts expert Camille Paglia and Jonathan Young, a Joseph Campbell scholar.

OS ANGELES -- Gene Wilder, the frizzy-haired actor who brought his deft comedic touch to such unforgettable roles as the neurotic accountant in "The Producers" and the deranged animator of "Young Frankenstein," has died. He was 83. Wilder's nephew said Monday that the actor and writer died late Sunday at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications from Alzheimer's disease. Jordan Walker-Pearlman said in a statement that Wilder was diagnosed with the disease three years ago, but kept the condition private so as not to disappoint fans. "He simply couldn't bear the idea of one less smile in the world,"...

Sabo, a conservative street artist known for creating fake ads and traffic signs and affixing them illegally to bus stops and light poles in the dead of night, also has targeted Leonardo DiCaprio and Nate Parker in previously displayed art. Hillary Clinton is tattooed and mostly naked in Hollywood. About 20 posters featuring an unflattering image of the Democratic nominee for president were hung Monday morning in the area by Sabo, a conservative street artist known for creating fake ads and traffic signs and affixing them illegally to bus stops and light poles in the dead of night. His...

Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83. He had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.

Very funny guy. RIP Gene

<p>MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A plane crash in western Montana has killed a star of the History channel reality show "Ice Road Truckers" and another man.</p> <p>History spokeswoman Susan Ievoli confirmed Monday that 52-year-old Darrell Ward died Sunday in the fiery crash on the shoulder of Interstate 90, southeast of Missoula.</p>

Ann Coulter was encouraged to commit suicide during Saturday’s taping of “The Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe.” “Ann is one of the most repugnant, hateful, hatchet-face b----es alive,” British comedian Jimmy Carr declared, as audience members cheered. “It’s not too late to change, Ann. You could kill yourself!” The conservative commentator — eager to promote her new book, “In Trump We Trust” — was one of nine celebrities invited to take pot shots at the star of “The West Wing” and “St. Elmo’s Fire.”

The Forbes list of the world’s richest actresses provides a heaven-sent opportunity to slaver over photos of beautiful women and very large sums of money: solemnly recorded figures that can really be no more than intelligent guesswork. In pretty much the same spirit, Forbes regularly provides an enjoyable ranking of the richest fictional people, from Jay Gatsby to Smaug, complete with estimated dollar amounts. This year, Jennifer Lawrence is top of the actress list, with a supposed pre-tax income of $46m. Melissa McCarthy comes in second with a putative $33m and Scarlett Johansson gets bronze with what could plausibly be...

In recent days, a bunch of entertainment industry denizens gathered together behind a phalanx of armed guards at Justin Timberlake’s mansion to sip chardonnay and celebrate Hillary Clinton’s commitment to the poor and gun control. She came out of witness protection long enough to pocket some cash before returning to her previously scheduled indifference to the people flooded out in Louisiana. In Martha’s Vineyard, Barack Obama donned his mom shorts to chip some balls with that tiresome guy from Curb Your Enthusiasm before petulantly visiting the waterlogged South. And noted disaster logistics specialist Samuel L. Jackson smirked over a photo...