Female Forward: Korean Dramas Evolve With More Women Screenwriters and Complex Protagonists

Joe Leydon Film Critic Just a skosh more than a decade after Fede Alvarez’s carnage-crammed “Evil Dead” reboot jump-started the horror franchise spawned by Sam Raimi’s low-budget 1981 cult favorite, writer-director Lee Cronin has delivered his own imaginatively scary take on the “Book of the Dead” mythos with “Evil Dead Rise.” A kinda-sorta sequel, it offers incontrovertible evidence that predatory and possessive bogeymen are just as frightful when their hunting ground shifts from a cabin in a dark corner of the woods to a gone-to-seed apartment building in downtown Los Angeles.    Said building — aptly described by one holdout resident as a “condemned dump” — just happens to have been built on the site of a long-closed bank that evidently shuttered before certain mystical merchandise could be retrieved from its vault. Specifically, we’re talking about yet another Book of the Dead: an ancient tome with a binding of human skin that can serve as an entryway for savage supernatural creatures eager to infect and forage in our world. This particular edition was locked away along with some 1923-era vinyl recordings of a clergyman’s warnings about the dangers of even glancing between the covers. Trouble is, all it takes is an earthquake, and a curious adolescent living with his family several stories above the buried material, for all hell to break loose.

We can’t get enough of Holly Willoughby’s daily outfits, and it’s safe to say the This Morning presenter has been nailling spring dressing in the last few weeks. Last Tuesday on March 7, Holly wowed viewers with a floral print mini dress from Boden, and good news for fans of the dress; it’s now more than half price in the sale.

Manchester United are 'determined' to win the race for Bayer Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong this summer, according to reports in Germany.

Naman Ramachandran Sky Crime, pay TV operator Sky’s premium crime content channel, has acquired “The Torso Killer Confessions” from Cineflix Productions. The show delves into the decades-long journey to bring justice to the victims of the notorious ‘Torso Killer,’ also known as Richard Cottingham – one of America’s most prolific serial killers. Working in tandem with the cold-case Detective Robert Anzilotti who spent more than 20 years building an investigation and a relationship with Cottingham, Cineflix goes behind-the-scenes to unearth material and conversations linking Cottingham to six additional killings that date back to the 1960s. Sandra Piha, Cineflix Rights’ senior VP of sales, pan-regional, U.K., Ireland and Scandinavia, brokered the deal with Sky U.K.

Hilarie Burton has recounted how her One Tree Hill costar Chad Michael Murray defended her against the show’s creator and showrunner Mark Schwahn during an alleged assault.

Hilarie Burton is opening up about allegedly being assaulted by One Tree Hill creator Mark Schwahn and how her co-star Chad Michael Murray stepped in after he saw it happen.

Emily Longeretta Hilarie Burton is detailing her traumatizing experience on “One Tree Hill.” During the latest episode of the “Drama Queens” podcast, Burton, Bethany Joy Lenz and Sophia Bush recap “It Gets Worse at Night,” the Season 4 episode in which the Tree Hill gang goes to Honey Grove to rescue Mouth (Lee Norris) from jail. Burton, who was one of 18 women of the show who accused creator Mark Schwahn of sexual harrassment, detailed the trauma she endured while filming this episode of the show. She and Schwahn, who she never refers to by name, only by the “boss,” had to travel to Honey Grove, Texas, before filming started to surprise the local high school with news that they’d won a contest to have the CW drama film there.

Everything Everywhere All at Once” — his first major role in 30 years.“Everything is still so fresh in my mind,” he told Variety in an interview published Wednesday. “And that’s why moving forward I’m still really scared.“Even though I just won an Oscar, I’m still really fearful of what tomorrow brings,” he shared.Quan, an immigrant from Vietnam, had his first acting role in the Harrison Ford-starring movie “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” when he was just 12 years old. The next summer, he played Data in the movie “The Goonies” — but that was it.Until now.“I had a conversation with my agent, and I said, ‘I’m so worried that this is only a one-time thing,'” Quan told Variety about his recent successes.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Why did they give Zachary Levi a haircut for “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”? Four years ago, in the first “Shazam,” Levi played a kid in a superhero’s body, and the movie was smart and witty enough to be a caped version of “Big.” Levi’s look was a major part of it. Shazam, with that cheesy lightning bolt and gold belt and white Italian-restaurant tablecloth of a cape, didn’t resemble other recent comic-book-film heroes; he was more like something out of the ’40s. And Levi sealed the deal was his big popping eyes and ingenuous gee-whiz grin (he was, after all, playing a 14-year-old inside), as well as the hair that topped off his boyish spirit. It was dark and shiny and stood up an inch-and-a-half from his head — a ‘do as superhero stylized, in its way, as the old Superman’s.

More than £10,000 of booze has been seized from a shop which had previously been banned from selling alcohol. When officers attended Ramiro’s Off Licence, St Helen’s Road, last year they found the huge haul of beer, wine and spirits, despite them being stripped of their licence after an earlier illegal tobacco sting.

A good day for business. Ryan Reynolds revealed that T-Mobile will acquire his phone company, Mint Mobile, for $1.35 billion.

John Wick series will be put on a “rest” after John Wick: Chapter 4 makes its way onto movie screens.The franchise’s director Chad Stahelski has said that both he and Keanu Reeves are “done for the moment” with the films. Telling The Hollywood Reporter that the character needs to be left alone for a while, adding that it has created a backlog of work for him.Asked if there was the possibility of a fifth instalment in the works, Stahleski replied: “In our minds, Keanu and I are done for the moment. We’re going to give John Wick a rest.

Kendall Jenner strips down for Calvin Klein’s new Spring 2023 underwear campaign, leading a cast of global stars who were photographed for the brand’s latest collection.

Ke Huy Quan is living a dream.

EXCLUSIVE: Tony Award nominees Jennifer Simard (Company) and Adam Godley (The Lehman Trilogy) have joined the cast of Broadway’s upcoming Britney Spears musical Once Upon A One More Time.

premiered on Apple TV+ and would forever change life as he knew it. The British actor, comedian, and writer was already carving out a name for himself in the business—but playing Roy Kent, an aging all-star soccer player with a penchant for foul language and a heart of gold, has earned him multiple Emmys, a global following, and coveted (by my standards, at least) appearances on Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock. And yet, on that late summer night, he wasn't sure if anyone would watch Ted Lasso, let alone become obsessed with it. “I was terrified,” Goldstein tells Glamour via Zoom ahead of the season three premiere in Los Angeles.

was an emotional reunion with Ford, Quan’s co-star in 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” — and the origin of that friendship can be seen in newly released photos, shot by Eva Sereny, as they hung out while filming.“Temple of Doom,” in which Quan played Indy’s chatty kid sidekick Short Round, was his first film as an actor. He was just 12, and superstar Ford was 40.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Time to get more sand for the hourglass. “Days of Our Lives” has been renewed by Peacock for two more seasons, which means the iconic soap opera will make it to at least its landmark 60th season. “Days of Our Lives” moved to Peacock in September, having previously aired on NBC since 1965. “Days” was NBC’s longest-running drama series before switching to Peacock in 2022. This new two-year deal for Seasons 59 and 60 reps a much swifter and calmer renewal for “Days” than it has experienced in recent years, when deal between NBC and Sony Pictures Television (which distributes the soap) seemed to always come down to the wire. As ratings declined for soaps, that has been a perennial issue at the networks (where the tally on broadcast nets now stands at just three — two on CBS and one on ABC).

Sticking up for her. Hilarie Burton Morgan recalled how former costar Chad Michael Murray attempted to defend her amid an alleged assault during One Tree Hill season 4.

Law Roach is more than a stylist — he’s an artist. Through the years, the fashion expert has created memorable red carpet moments for Hollywood’s biggest names, from Zendaya to Celine Dion. 

Kyle Chrisley has dealt with many ups and downs through the years.

told fans that had the move not happened, the beloved soap’s chances for survival might have been in danger. He also assured fans “there will be no perceptible change to the show as it moves from NBC to Peacock.”All of your favorite characters will remain on the show for the foreseeable future,” McKinsey shared in the Facebook post.

They’re taking it off! Kendall Jenner, Michael B. Jordan and more stars stripped down to their underwear for Calvin Klein’s spring 2023 campaign.   

Erling Haaland wants Manchester City to continue to put pressure on opponents as they did in the astonishing 7-0 win over RB Leipzig on Tuesday.

When it was announced that Netflix was going to foot the $130 million bill for the new Nancy Meyers rom-com with an A-list cast, there were many (myself included) who thought it was a bit crazy. That’s a superhero film budget, not necessarily the type of money you throw at an adult-focused romantic comedy.

Ke Huy Quan was on a mission. He’d just been named best supporting actor for his performance as Waymond Wang, the goofy husband of a laundromat owner in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and he wanted to experience the moment with Steven Spielberg. Spielberg, you see, was the filmmaker who cast him in his breakout role in 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” when Quan was 12 years old. So during a commercial break in the Academy Awards telecast, Quan, 51, went over to where Spielberg was sitting with his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, whom Quan hadn’t seen since they co-starred in “Temple of Doom” four decades earlier. After hugs all around, Spielberg put his hands on Quan’s shoulders and said, “You are now an Oscar-winning actor.”

Scots crime author Denise Mina is set to have her Morrow book series turned into a multi-season TV show.

Hollywood Reporter.The company gave her a cap of $130 million, according to the report, but the filmmaker requested $150 million.The flick had Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Michael Fassbender and Owen Wilson in talks to star.The name was allegedly titled “Paris Paramount” and Meyers was set to write, direct and produce the feature.The project was announced last year and the plot would have chronicled a young writer-director who falls head over heels for a movie producer.The Post reached out to Meyers for comment.The synopsis is semi-autobiographical for Meyers, as she was married to director Charles Shyer for almost two decades.The duo worked on a few iconic comedies over the years such as “Private Benjamin,” “Baby Boom” and “Father of the Bride.”The movie would have been Meyer’s first flick since the 2015 Anne Hathaway rom-com “The Intern.”In December 2022, Meyers responded to rumors about a sequel to her much-loved 2006 film, “The Holiday.”But she shot down any chatter about a second installment on social media at the time, saying: “So many DM’s about this — sorry but it’s not true.” It was reported previously that the possible sequel had returning stars Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black on board, with production beginning earlier this year.The “Titanic” star, 47, also separately denied that there was a sequel for “The Holiday” in place.“I read something about that, but it’s the first I’ve heard of it,” Winslet told People at the time. “I promise you not an agent or a representative or anyone from the first one around has had any conversation with me about that.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “We 12,” a movie featuring the entire group of 12 Mirror Canto-pop stars is part of the expanding production slate of Makerville, the talent and production arm of Hong Kong telecoms and TV group PCCW. The development is paralleled by an expansion of the production operations of Viu, PCCW’s multi-territory video streamer which recently confirmed its profitability. Makerville is the talent agency behind Mirror, which was created in 2018 through the “Good Night Show – Kingmaker” talent show on ViuTV, a PCCW terrestrial channel. And it was able to put all the band members on stage Wednesday at a promotional event within the FilMart rights market in Hong Kong.

Todd and Julie Chrisley’s daughter Savannah is standing by her parents. During an interview, Savannah claimed her parents are not guilty amid their tax fraud sentencing. While her parents are set to file an appeal this month, Savannah suggested Todd and Julie are "100%" not guilty and hopes that this appeal "will show those things" on the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristow" podcast.  When asked if Savannah had any resentment toward her parents after their financial crimes, she said that she did not.

Back in 2017, director Denis Villeneuve and producer Ridley Scott delivered “Blade Runner 2049,” a legacy sequel to the 1982 film that brought back Harrison Ford as the titular Blade Runner, Deckard. The events of that film left the door open for a direct sequel with a replicant uprising, however, plans for a spinoff series “Blade Runner 2099” from Alcon Entertainment and Scott Free Productions became the priority as it landed at Amazon.

After Boots sold out of a £45 Mother's Day Beauty Box containing more than £302-worth of premium beauty, skincare and fragrance products last week, shoppers were left gutted. But now another beauty box, which of equally brilliant value, has caught the eye of people looking to save hundreds on makeup, beauty and skincare products.

Katie Price’s daughter Bunny, eight, is still proudly showcasing her waist-length braids despite Kieran Hayler’s calls for them to be taken out. Kieran, who shares two kids with Katie, hit out at his ex wife’s decision to allow their daughter to get their braids done while on holiday. Katie, 44, whisked her youngest children Bunny and Jett, nine, away to Thailand last month and shared a snap of her daughter’s bold new look to Instagram.

New research suggests that more than half of people living in Scotland are spending their time at home in the cold and dark for fear of rising household bills during the ongoing cost of living crisis.

DEALSConcord Music Publishing has signed Australian band Coterie to a worldwide publishing deal. “There is a deep connection and understanding that flows through their songs”, says Jaime Gough, MD at Concord Music Publishing ANZ.

With Ed Sheeran's newly-announced - (Subtract) record, Jonas Brothers' much-anticipated comeback and Miley Cyrus, Mimi Webb and Metallica's new LPs, 2023's release schedule is already looking pretty packed.