It appears the New Girl cast and creator aren’t exactly on the same page about the rumored reunion.
After Max Greenfield, who played Schmidt on the hit sitcom, fueled speculation that the gang might be getting back together, creator Liz Meriwether playfully took to Instagram to offer her thoughts on the matter.
“As far as I know, it’s happening,” Greenfield recently said on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle about a potential New Girl reunion. He added that he’s “seen scripts” Meriwether’s written and that they’re “amazing.”
However, according to Meriwether, Greenfield actually wasn’t a big fan of her alleged scripts. “Max told everybody that there’s amazing scripts of a New Girl reunion that I’ve written. Um — and just an update on that — the scripts were pretty good until everybody just started giving me notes on every little thing,” she joked.
The creator then went on to list all of the script changes that she claimed each actor requested. “Jake wants Nick to be, like, really thin — and wants to kind of be naked a lot, showing off his body,” Meriwether quipped of Jake Johnson, who played Nick on the show. “He asked to have a dance number with him, fully nude, dancing to ‘Levitating,’ by Dua Lipa.”
Meriwether said that “it didn’t really make any sense in the story,” so she had to figure out a way to shut down Johnson’s idea. She joked that he got “really upset” in response.
As for Lamorne Morris, who played Winston Bishop, the creator quipped, “Lamorne keeps asking for more and more jewelry. For his character, he wants a very long chain, like a chain all the way down to his knees.”
Lastly, she said Greenfield “has been very adamantly asking to be the new girl. Like, he wants the title to be, ‘Max Greenfield is the New Girl.’”
“Again, I thought that would throw audiences and, you know, nobody really wanted that,” Meriwether jokingly added. “I wasn’t going to say any of this publicly, but then Max decided to make it all public, so again, I have to comment.”
While there’s been no official confirmation of a New Girl reunion, aside from Greenfield trolling fans, it’s safe to say no one will be returning to apartment 4D until they all get on the same page about these rumored scripts that everyone keeps talking about.
Johnson also joked on his Instagram Story Monday that he thinks Greenfield was confused when he called the reunion scripts amazing. “I think I figured out what happened with this Max Greenfield and the script thing for New Girl. I just saw Liz Meriwether’s new show, Furious. I think Max read those scripts,” he said. “I totally get it. It happened to me too many times. I love you, Max, but that’s a different show, my brother.”
New Girl, which also starred Zooey Deschanel, Hannah Simone and Damon Wayans Jr., ran for seven seasons from 2011 to 2018.
CBS has given a pilot order to a comedy series titled “Hilda! (In Lights!)” about an elderly woman who moves to New York City to pursue her Broadway dreams.
Three scripts for the single-camera project, from writer and executive producer Abbey Caldwell, were announced as being in development at the studio in April. The logline reads: “One of those classic shows about a plucky small-town optimist who moves to the big city to pursue her lifelong dream of starring on Broadway. There’s just one teeny, tiny, totally inconsequential difference… our hero Hilda is a 70-year-old woman from Nebraska with absolutely no experience.”
Caldwell’s non-writing executive producers include Will Graham, Max Linsky and Tonia Davis for Invitation Media. The project is produced by CBS Studios.
The “Hilda! (In Lights!)” news comes as CBS has taken bets on a handful of new, original projects. “Eternally Yours,” a vampire comedy from “Ghosts” duo Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, is premiering on Oct. 8 alongside the Silicon Valley-set legal drama “Cupertino” from Robert and Michelle King. Tara Hernandez’s comedy pilot “The Tillbrooks” (formerly known as “Regency”) — a historical spin on the classic multi-camera family sitcom — was also ordered to pilot but will not be moving forward.
On the CBS 2026-2027 schedule is the new “NCIS” spinoff “NCIS: New York,” which will see LL Cool J reprising his role as Sam Hanna. That show will debut on Oct. 6.
New series “Einstein,” a dramedy starring Matthew Gray Gubler as the brilliant but directionless great-grandson of Albert Einstein, will premiere in the second half of the season.
News broke on Friday that Dermot Mulroneywill leave NBC’s “Chicago Fire” in its upcoming 15th season. During a recent appearance at Flash Weekend Chicago Horror Convention (via People), Mulroney opened up about his exit.
“Loved every minute of it. Became friends with this incredible crew of people,” Mulroney said. He later noted that the show gave him some “incredibly challenging scenes,” but luckily, he had an “incredible cast” to back him up.
The “My Best Friend’s Wedding” star explained that he only has one more episode left in Season 15, and then “they write the character off.” He said of his time on “Chicago Fire,” “We gave it our all for two seasons.”
“They wrote an incredible storyline that put me as an actor on [a] high challenge,” Mulroney added. “I loved every minute of it. Sad to see it go.”
Mulroney joined “Chicago Fire” in Season 13 as Chief Dom Pascal. His exit is expected to come early in Season 15, which premieres on Oct. 7 at 9 p.m. ET.
“I can’t tell you how many people come up, and they’d much rather have an autograph on ‘Scream VI,’ but [they ask for] Chief Pascal for their dad,” he later shared. “It’s an amazing thing to see and that’s how meaningful that is. Which makes it that much more, I won’t say bittersweet. It’s bitter to have to leave that.”
Mulroney’s “Chicago Fire” exit came just a couple of days after it was revealed that original cast member Joe Miñoso would also soon leave the drama series. Miñoso’s character, firefighter Joe Cruz, will likewise be written off in Season 15.
Shares of Snap were up 12 percent after hours Monday as the social media platform beat second-quarter revenue expectations.
Revenue increased 19 percent year-over-year to $1.60 billion, as monthly active users grew to 971 million, up from 956 million in the prior quarter, and daily active users reached 493 million, up from 483 million in the prior quarter. The company reported a net loss of $164 million, after a net loss of $263 million in the prior year, as part of its renewed focus to reach profitability.
But beyond the current revenue growth that’s being seen around the app, and the company’s new “more focused, AI-enabled operating model.” CEO Evan Spiegel outlined that he sees the company’s future in its newest version of wearable technology.
“Our largest long-term opportunity is SPECS, a new kind of computer built into see-through glasses. SPECS are designed for a future in which AI does more work on our behalf and people spend less time operating screens. I believe we can pursue that future from a much stronger position by continuing to improve our core business and remaining disciplined about how we invest,” Spiegel said in the press release.
Snap announced the new wearable glasses in June, setting up pre-orders of the $2,195 glasses with expected shipment this fall in the United States, United Kingdom, and France. The glasses were described as a mix of other AI glasses and VR headsets, offering tech such as directions, AI assistance, the ability to stream content and overlay interactive lessons onto surfaces. The glasses don’t officially launch until Sept. 16.
Still, Snap has attempted glasses in the past and has not seen big returns. The company launched Spectacles, camera-equipped sunglasses that recorded short videos, in 2016. These were not big sellers and caused the company, in 2017, to report losses due to excess orders. The company later released updated versions of the glasses and then new AR glasses in 2021.
The company said the investment in SPECS is included in its full-year adjusted operating expense outlook, which remains $2.75 billion. Snap’s guidance range for Q3 revenue is $1.70 billion to $1.74 billion, and the company also expect infrastructure costs to grow modestly with full-year costs of $1.65 billion to $1.70 billion due to continued investments in the company’s AI-enabled operating model.
All of this comes after the company laid off 1,000 employees, including 16 percent of full time employees, were laid off at the company in April. The company said the layoffs would reduce the company’s annualized cost base by more than $500 million by the second half of 2026, which would help the company get closer to profitability.
“Last fall, I described Snap as facing a crucible moment, requiring a new way of working that is faster and more efficient, while pivoting towards profitable growth. Over the past several months, we have carefully reviewed the work required to best serve our community and partners and made tough choices to prioritize the investments we believe are most likely to create long-term value,” Spiegel said at the time.
One possible obstacle for the business moving forward, as the company noted, is a number of trials as well as “regulatory scrutiny” related to the use of the app by younger generations.
“We continue to monitor the evolving legal and regulatory landscape in the United States and internationally that could materially impact our business and financial results, including increased regulatory scrutiny on youth-related issues and several trials scheduled in the United States later this year. While outcomes remain uncertain, they may result in significant changes to our products and business practices, increased compliance requirements and legal costs, increased payments for legal judgments and settlements, and negative impacts to user growth and engagement,” CFO Doug Hott said.
Phil Collins has revealed that he nearly died from alcohol abuse a little over two years ago.
The singer-drummer told the U.K.’s Sunday Times magazine that in April 2024, he was in the hospital, after years of alcohol abuse, unconscious, when his manager summoned his five children to his bedside as it seemed he was on the verge of dying.
“Because there were some decisions to be made about ‘Do we keep Phil on life support?’ kind of thing,” he recalled. “My kidneys were packing up, my organs were just seizing up. People were coming to say goodbye. But I don’t remember them coming, I didn’t have no idea this was going on. They were all worried that they wouldn’t see me again. It could all have gone so terribly wrong.”
Collins added that since he was discharged from the hospital, after having spent seven months there, he hasn’t had a drink.
Still, the U.K. Times reports, his pancreas is scarred and kidneys are barely functioning after years of alcoholism, which he wrote about in his 2016 autobiography.
Collins is also dealing with type 2 diabetes, nerve damage that has left him unable to hold drumsticks and and has to use crutches after back and knee surgeries. And he has a 24/7 live-in nurse.
But he’s grateful he made it through his time in the hospital, calling himself “very lucky” and spent four memorable days with his family at the end of last year.
He recalls a moment with his daughter, Emily in Paris star Lily Collins, in which she “was sitting beside me in tears, saying, ‘I never thought I’d get these moments.’ We had an incredible time. I can’t overemphasize how fantastic it was.”
Dave Bautista could be the next “God of War.” Variety has learned from sources that Bautista is currently in talks for the role of Kratos in the Amazon Prime Video series based on the popular video game franchise.
The news comes after it was reported that Ryan Hurst, who was originally cast in the role of the titular god in January 2026, suffered a torn bicep on the set of the series that would have delayed a return to production until 2027, ultimately leading Amazon and Sony to recast the part. The plan is to get the production back up and running by the fall.
Reps for Amazon declined to comment.
There are few better suited for the role of Kratos than Bautista. Aside from the fact he is an accomplished actor, he is one of few in Hollywood who could step into the role on short notice in the physical shape it requires. Kratos is known for his incredibly muscular physique in the games, and Bautista has been in remarkable shape throughout his career. Thus, he would not need months of prep time to prepare for the role.
He also has an existing relationship with Amazon MGM Studios. He previously starred in the Amazon movies “The Wrecking Crew,” “My Spy,” and “My Spy: The Eternal City,” while he is set to appear in both “Road House 2” and the remake of “Highlander” for Amazon.
Bautista first broke out as a star in WWE before he transitioned to a highly successful and diverse acting career. He has played Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe across six movies, while he also appeared in the first two “Dune” films from Denis Villeneuve. He also recently lent his voice to the animated film “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender,” and has previously starred in films like “Blade Runner 2049,” “Knock at the Cabin,” “Spectre,” and “Army of the Dead.”
He is repped by WME and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Prime Video has given “God of War” a two-season order. As previously reported, the series will pick up with the story of the two most recent “God of War” games, in which Kratos must raise his ten-year old son Atreus while battling gods of the Norse pantheon. Per the logline, “Father and son Kratos and Atreus embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye. Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.”
Callum Vinson remains attached to play Kratos’ son Atreus. Additional cast members include Max Parker as Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Thor, Mandy Patinkin as Odin, Alastair Duncan as Mimir, Danny Woodburn and Jeff Gulka as as brothers Brok and Sindri, and Ed Skrein as Baldur.
Ronald D. Moore is the writer, executive producer, and showrunner on “God of War” under his Tall Ship Productions banner.
Frederick E.O. Toye will direct the first two episodes of “God of War.” Maril Davis of Tall Ship also executive produces alongside Cory Barlog, Naren Shankar, Matthew Graham, Asad Qizilbash, Jeff Ketcham, Hermen Hulst, Roy Lee, and Brad Van Arragon. Joe Menosky, Marc Bernardin, Tania Lotia, and Ben McGinnis serve as co-executive producers on the series. The series is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios in association with PlayStation Productions and Tall Ship Productions.
Prime Video‘s God of War series may be on the way to finding a new lead actor to replace the injured Ryan Hurst.
Dave Bautista is in talks to take on the role of Kratos in the series, which is based on the long-running video game franchise. Hurst (The Odyssey, Sons of Anarchy) was originally cast in the role but had to step aside after tearing a bicep while performing a stunt on set.
Prime Video declined comment.
Bautista would be a known quantity to both viewers — via Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy films, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Dune Part Two, plus his time as a WWE star — and Amazon MGM Studios, which is producing God of War with Sony Pictures Television. Bautista has appeared in Amazon MGM’s two My Spy movies and The Wrecking Crew and has roles in the studio’s forthcoming features Highlander and Road House 2.
Should Bautista’s deal go through, the goal is to get God of War back into production in Vancouver in the fall. The show’s cast also includes Callum Vinson, Mandy Patinkin, Ed Skrein, Max Parker, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Teresa Palmer, Alastair Duncan, Jeff Gulka and Danny Woodburn.
The series will follow Kratos and his son, Atreus, as they “embark on a journey to spread the ashes of their wife and mother, Faye,” per the show’s logline. “Through their adventures, Kratos tries to teach his son to be a better god, while Atreus tries to teach his father how to be a better human.” The series will be based primarily on the two most recent installments of the game franchise, which introduced Atreus.
Ronald D. Moore (For All Mankind, Outlander), who has an overall deal at Sony, is the showrunner and executive produces with Maril Davis, Cory Barlog, Naren Shankar, Matthew Graham, Asad Qizilbash, Jeff Ketcham, Hermen Hulst, Roy Lee, and Brad Van Arragon. Joe Menosky, Marc Bernardin, Tania Lotia, and Ben McGinnis are co-EPs. Frederick E.O. Toye is set to direct the first two episodes. Sony and Amazon MGM are producing God of War with PlayStation Productions and Moore’s Tall Ship Productions.
Did you think landing Imax 70mm tickets to “The Odyssey” was hard? Trying landing those tickets and snagging one of the limited-edition popcorn buckets tied to the recent release of Christopher Nolan’s epic, which included designs of the iconic Trojan Horse and a replica of the Imax camera (complete with a real viewfinder!) that the film was famously shot on by Hoyte van Hoytema.
The craze around these popcorn buckets, and the conversations they spark on social media, is nothing new. Just this past weekend, the box office juggernaut that is “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” came with its own set of popular buckets, including a replica of Spider-Man’s head and a drink-popcorn combo featuring a web-slinger shooting out of Peter Parker’s hand.
The craze has gotten so overwhelming that these premium buckets can sell out in minutes after dropping online. For “The Odyssey,” Imax got involved with movie merchandise for the first time to bring a realistic replica of its 15/65mm camera to life. But this growing excitement has also caused some theater chains to limit how many buckets guests can purchase per visit for certain releases, and scalpers have taken to eBay to sell these limited-edition items for increasingly high price tags — and have seen success in doing so.
With the box office on track to have its strongest year since 2019, premium popcorn buckets have only become bigger money drivers for theater chains, which heavily rely on merchandise and concession sales since they typically only keep around half the revenue generated from ticket sales. In 2025, AMC Theatres reported $80 million globally from merchandise sales (including their international Odeon Cinemas) and is on track for a $100 million gross for 2026, according to Nels Storm, AMC’s VP of food and beverage.
“It’s become a vehicle for the future of moviegoing,” Storm tells Variety. “These are tangible movie memories. They’re the concert T-shirts of our industry.”
Chains like Regal estimate that the total number of premium buckets they offer throughout the year will total 50, and that figure extends to over 100 when including collectible popcorn tins.
The level to which directors get involved with designs can vary. “The Odyssey” Imax bucket is a key example of how theater chains and studios are celebrating the filmmakers getting audiences excited to go to the movies again, as Imax has become synonymous with Nolan’s brand over the years.
“The persona rubs off, and it’s like a parasocial relationship,” says Russell Belk, a professor of marketing at York University. “Cross marketing is usually part of the plan from the start. The film studios and now the actors involved are trying to get a piece of the action as well.”
Storm says: “There is so much respect for moviemaking that went into this camera. When you think about how a director like Christopher Nolan likes to film his movies and likes for them to be shown, this was a natural transition to be able to do something like this.”
Imax CEO Rich Gelfond says the camera bucket sold out in 90 minutes, and they had to borrow more from China to meet the high demand: “The scope of this is larger than anything we’ve done before, and it certainly shows the promise of a bigger merchandising effort among Imax fans. I’m a really optimistic guy, but the crazy interest in Imax among the fans would have been hard to predict.”
Courtesy of AMC Theatres
Kristy Breneman, Regal’s director of food and beverage activations, confirms that filmmakers are involved with the bucket designs: “As we’re seeing these concepts, if any changes are asked for, we do hear that everything has to go through the filmmaker for approval on certain projects.”
Going to the movies and buying a tub of hot popcorn have long gone together. But these collectible buckets aren’t always the most practical for moviegoers hoping to actually munch on some food throughout a long movie — a frequent topic of discussion online.
“The rule is it has to hold popcorn, and that’s where the rules stop!” Storm says with a laugh, referencing the tiny Bowser key chain that was sold with the release of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” earlier this year.
However, not being able to fit much popcorn into certain buckets doesn’t seem to make a difference in which designs fly off the shelves.
“We try to think about what comes after. It may be a piggy bank for somebody, it may be a toy bucket for someone, and it may be a really neat, sculpted item to put on a shelf,” says David Haywood, Cinemark‘s SVP of food and beverage. “We never try to box people into how they’re going to use it.”
Haywood, of course, adds that Cinemark gives out extra popcorn to guests buying certain buckets to ensure that no one leaves the theater on an empty stomach.
Since a majority of these buckets are sold across all the major chains, one way for competing theater chains to distinguish themselves is by securing an exclusive on certain designs that then get promoted online. This comes from locking in a certain number of buckets they want to buy far in advance, according to Haywood.
AMC’s biggest exclusive this year has been the bucket shaped entirely around Spider-Man’s head, which goes for $34.99 and is currently sold out on the theater’s website. “This is the first time that vessel has existed in this way ever,” Storm says, with Marvel and Sony’s input making sure it was as size-accurate as possible.
Courtesy of AMC Theatres
Another popular bucket, the iconic “Devil Wears Prada 2″ purse, started out as a Cinemark exclusive before becoming more widely available, selling online for $39.95.
Courtesy of AMC Theatres
Popular membership programs like AMC A-List and Regal Unlimited, which encourage frequent moviegoing, also provide greater incentives for guests to spend money on these buckets since they’re not paying out-of-pocket for individual tickets each time they go to the theater.
“Not to give too much away about what we’re planning, but we absolutely want to incentivize those loyal customers who do purchase more,” Breneman teases.
But just as scalpers have snatched up coveted tickets for big blockbuster releases, they have found their way into the popcorn bucket craze. For “The Odyssey’s” Trojan Horse, for example, one eBay seller has it currently listed as high as $165, compared to its original $69.99 listing, and has actually sold some at or near that inflated price tag. The same can be said of the “Spider-Man” buckets, which are listed for up to $110.
“That’s been a big topic of conversation recently,” Breneman says. “It’s definitely a challenge for us and we are continuing to learn from these different experiences. Whenever you have products that are limited to a specific release, there’s naturally going to be strong interest from collectors. From our perspective, our priority is to make sure the guests have the opportunity to purchase these items as part of their visit to the theater.”
To meet the high demand for “The Odyssey,” Regal instituted a one-bucket-per-guest limit — something they’ve never had to do before. “And it is possible that it’ll be something we implement moving forward,” Breneman says.
Belk adds that having a short supply of limited-edition items can be a strategic tool to encourage customers to spend more on a whim.
“If you have a limited-time option and you’re not announcing when that’s going to be ahead of time, people that are young and don’t have jobs have a lot of time to hang out online and wait for it,” he says. “You need to find ways to make it seem scarce. It’s a way of generating excitement.”
As these buckets are typically made from plastic, Storm says that theater chain owners and manufacturing companies like Zinc, Golden Link and Snap have been conscious of designing them to “not be disposable,” when asked about any potential pushback from environmental groups.
That points to perhaps the biggest appeal of these popcorn buckets — they’ve become some of the hottest collector items on the market, designed to sit on someone’s shelf for years to come as a token of their favorite moviegoing experiences. Add them next to your favorite Funko pop!
“The fans are now making the moviegoing experience more personal than they ever have before, and these collectibles give them a tangible way to extend that experience all the way to their house,” Haywood says. “People always say, ‘If you don’t show it, it didn’t happen!’”
But with the increasing out-there designs, from the infamous “Dune: Part Two” sandworm-mouth popcorn bucket to the overwhelmingly giant Trojan horse, is there growing pressure for studios and theater chains to keep topping themselves in order to generate online conversation, especially for upcoming major releases like “Dune: Part Three” and “Avengers: Doomsday?”
“The excitement and reaction on social media has definitely raised the bar for everyone involved,” Breneman says. “That doesn’t necessarily mean we need to make things bigger and more elaborate every time. But when there is that opportunity to have something more interactive, if it really goes with the storytelling and is authentic to the film, I do see them pressing the limits.”
Country music is ruling the roost like never before, at least when it comes specifically to the Billboard Hot 100. For the first time in history, country songs are claiming all five of the top five slots on the Hot 100. That’s thanks to Ella Langley and Morgan Wallen, who currently stand at No. 1 on the singles and albums charts, respectively… and to Taylor Swift‘s return to country for a hit soundtrack… and to newcomer Stella Lefty officially joining the ranks of hitmakers.
To no one’s surprise, Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” the biggest single of 2026 so far, maintains its No. 1 perch in chart results reported by Billboard on Monday. Wallen’s new single, “Been by Now,” premieres at No. 2. Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” gets pushed down one spot on this week’s chart, now landing at No. 3. In the fourth position is a duet between Langley and Wallen, “I Can’t Love You Anymore.” And coming in at No. 5 is Lefty’s career-making “Boston,” down two slots from last week, but still with plenty of room to grow.
So many statistical anomalies are included in this top 5, it’s hard to know where to begin, although the aforementioned stat about this congregation of songs establishing a collective chart record is a good place to start.
The headline any other week might be about Langley’s ongoing winning streak at the top of the chart. This is the 16th week at No. 1 with “Choosin’ Texas,” which puts Langley in ever-more-rarefied territory. “Texas” is now tied for a historic fourth place for the number of weeks spent at No. 1. The three singles it is tied with for that sweet 16 number are Wallen’s “Last Night,” Mariah Carey’s and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” and the Luis Fonsi/Daddy Yankee/Justin Bieber monster “Despacito.”
So, what are the next thresholds for “Choosin’ Texas” to cross? If Langley holds on to No. 1 for just one more week — which is a highly likely prospect — then she will still be in fourth place on the all-time streak chart, just no longer tied for it. The next tier for her would be meeting or surpassing the two songs that are tied for second, at 19 weeks each — Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road.” If she gets to 20 weeks at No. 1, she will hold the record for the most weeks for a non-holiday song. Then, the final frontier would be whether she could beat Mariah Carey’s annual perennial “All I Want for Christmas,” which, at 22 nonconsecutive weeks, is a tough one for anyone to beat. Tagging on seven more weeks to the current 16 to claim the all-time record sounds impossible, but the song has surpassed so many expectations already that it might be foolish to bet against it.
Looking at the top 10 for this week, country has six out of those 10, since Langley’s second-most-popular track, “Be Her” is in at No. 9.
The non-country songs rounding the top 10 this week are Tame Impala and Jennie’s “Dracula” at No. 6, Olivia Dean’s “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” at No. 7, Ariana Grande’s “Hate That I Made You Love Me” at No. 8 and Dean’s “Man I Need” at No. 10.
Dean having two songs in the top 10 and Langley having three (one of them a Wallen collaboration) may provide a glimpse of what the Grammy competition holds in store a few months from now. Voters in the four general categories have turned up their noses at country contenders for years, but Langley will provide the true test of whether the Recording Academy can really keep snubbing country or whether her dominance will mean it’s time to cry uncle.
Harrelson has earned three Oscar nominations, including best actor for The People vs. Larry Flynt and best supporting actor for The Messenger and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. He accrued more critical acclaim for starring in Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness.
“Woody Harrelson is one of those actors you believe in even in the most improbable roles, while at the same time you can easily imagine him as someone you might spend time with every day,” said Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival. “That remarkable ease of performance is, in fact, one of the hardest qualities to achieve on screen, yet he delivers it film after film. His talent, charisma, and boldness serve as an inspiration to many future generations. It is our great honor to present him with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo.”
In honor of Harrelson, Michael Winterbottom’s 1997 film Welcome to Sarajevo, which premiered at Cannes and was also screened at the third-ever Sarajevo Film Festival later that year, will be screened for audiences. The film examines the war in Bosnia in the mid-1990s, and the role of journalists in its media coverage. It is based on journalist Michael Nicholson’s book Natasha’s Story. The screening will take place at the Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema as part of the Open Air program.
He next leads Apple TV’s Brothers alongside Matthew McConaughey, premiering Sept. 23, and stars opposite Kristen Stewart in Quentin Dupieux’s Full Phil, which debuted at Cannes this year. He recently wrapped Netflix’s The Cackling of the Dodos with Sam Rockwell and is producing a documentary on Austin’s iconic Armadillo World Headquarters.
Harrelson also wrote, directed and starred in Lost in London, the first feature film shot in a single continuous take and broadcast live to theaters. His television credits include Cheers, True Detective and The White House Plumbers.
The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival will run Aug. 14-21.
