News

Mika Abdalla has been tapped for a recurring role in Max’s upcoming medical drama “The Pitt.” Although details surrounding her character remain under wraps, her arc will span the show’s entire 15-episode season.

Abdalla joins previously announced cast members Noah Wyle, Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Ball, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, Shabana Azeez and Katherine Lanasa. Other recent adds include Shawn Hatosy, Michael Hyatt, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Brandon Mendez Homer, Kristin Villanueva, Amielynn Abellera, Alexandra Metz, Krystel V. McNeil and Deepti Gupta.

According to an official logline, “‘The Pitt’ is a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh.” Production for “The Pitt” began back in August. The first episode is set to release in 2025.

On the film side, Abdalla recently starred in Adam Rehmeier...

Saturday Night star Gabriel Labelle never imagined he’d become a specialist in playing titans of the entertainment industry.

In Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical drama The Fabelmans (2022), the Canadian actor played Spielberg’s teenage surrogate character, Sammy Fabelman, whose emerging filmmaking prowess intersected with his family’s divorce. To capture the essence of an adolescent Spielberg in the ‘60s, Labelle had every possible resource at his disposal, as the Oscar-winning filmmaker opened up his family’s vault in more ways than one.

When The Fabelmans debuted in London at the start of 2023, Jason Reitman ventured over to the premiere event after spending a day on the set of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Impressed by Labelle’s performance, Reitman initiated a get-together the following day, and some time spent together that included coffee and a showing of the American Psycho musical, the Canadian American filmmaker knew he’d found his Lorne Michaels for Saturday Night.

(Welcome to Under the Radar, a column where we spotlight specific movies, shows, trends, performances, or scenes that caught our eye and deserved more attention ... but otherwise flew under the radar. In this edition: Jeremy Saulnier's action flick "Rebel Ridge," the coming-of-age comedy "Snack Shack," and the wonderful Studio Ghibli documentary "Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron.")

Don't look now, but 2024 is almost completely in our rearview mirror and you, our loyal /Film readers, must know what that means. Putting the finishing touches on our top 10 lists, engaging in unnecessarily angry debates about the buzziest Oscar-worthy movies, and cramming multiple disparate holidays into one hazy, months-long exercise in stream of consciousness are what the autumn and winter seasons were made for! But as this year in film begins to wind to a close, let not a single film enthusiast forget their most sacred duty of all. Of the many benefits of this column,...

You know what they say: Two is a trend. When most audiences first met Canadian rising star Gabriel Labelle, it was with Steven Spielberg’s 2022 “The Fabelmans,” in which the beloved American auteur told his own semi-autobiographical origin story, with Labelle starring as his cinematic avatar, budding filmmaker Sammy Fabelman. Kind of a crazy introduction to Hollywood, right?

But while Labelle relished the role — and earned plenty of acclaim for it, including winning Best Young Performer at the 28th Critics’ Choice Awards and the award for Breakthrough Performance from the National Board of Review (an accolade he shared with “Till” standout Danielle Deadwyler) — he was also eager to embrace original films. That included Adam Carter Rehmeier’s well-regarded coming-of-age charmer “Snack Shack,” a ’90s-set comedy that helped scratch Labelle’s itch to fully craft a character (and a part he won while still in production on “The Fabelmans”).

But true...

Exclusive: Samara Weaving (Ready Or Not), Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) and Jon Gries (The White Lotus) have been set to star in romantic crime thriller Carolina Caroline, which is now filming in Kentucky.

The film follows the story of a young woman (Weaving) who skips her small town — in search of her estranged mother (Sedgwick) — alongside a charismatic con man (Gallner) on the run from the law. The duo leave a wave of crime and passion behind them as they hustle their way through the Southeast.

Written by Tom Dean and directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier (Dinner In America). Producers include Bee-Hive Productions’ Stephen Braun (Sacramento), Star Thrower Entertainment’s Tim & Trevor White (King Richard), The Wonder Company’s Eric B. Fleischman and Chris Abernathy (Sacramento) and Create & Complete Entertainment’s Chris Ward.

Verve Ventures, CAA Media Finance and UTA Independent Film Group are co-representing worldwide rights.

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As winter approaches we are all in need of something spicy to watch to make our temperature rise and if you are a fan of romantic comedies, then we have the perfect recommendations for you. From critically acclaimed movies like The Big Sick to new and popular romantic comedy movies like The Idea of You, Prime Video has everything you need. So, here are the 7 best R-rated romantic comedy movies available on Prime Video right now.

If you want to watch more R-rated romantic comedy movies here are some more recommendations for you available on Netflix, Hulu, and Max (formerly known as HBO Max).

The Idea of You Credit – Prime Video

The Idea of You is a romantic comedy-drama film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay co-written by Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt. Based on the 2017 novel of...

Our top pick this week already won an Academy Award: “The Boy and the Heron,” the 2024 winner for Best Animated Feature, is now available on Max, where it joins the rest of the streamer’s Studio Ghibli collection, alongside classics like “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke.”

“The Boy and the Heron” comes from anime legend Hayao Miyazaki, and may be the 83-year-old filmmaker’s last film. It’s an allegorically autobiographical film about a boy named Mahito Maki (voiced by Luca Padovan in the English-language dub). He is grieving the death of his mother when a trickster heron tells him he can reunite with her, sparking an unpredictable journey into a spirit realm. It’s a thematically rich and beautifully animated film that moves with Miyazaki’s inimitable dream logic. The voice cast also includes Christian Bale, Florence Pugh, Mark Hamill, and Willem Dafoe, among many others.

Here are some...

After a busy August with the Season 2 premiere of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which continues throughout September with new episodes through Oct. 3, “Batman: Caped Crusader,” and more, Amazon streaming services Prime Video and Freevee will have a comparably quiet September.

Most of the action for the month will come from Prime Video’s sports options. After the Sept. 5 Kickoff Game at Arrowhead Stadium with the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs going up against the Baltimore Ravens, Prime Video’s third season of Thursday Night Football begins with AFC East champs Buffalo Bills taking on the Miami Dolphins in Miami. The WNBA and Nwsl also continue their seasons on Prime Video, with matches all month long from New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Angel City Fc, and more top teams.

But Prime Video will welcome a few new series this month, including the highly publicized...

This September, Prime Video is bringing you a lot of entertainment with a royal drama series titled A Very Royal Scandal and a brilliant coming-of-age film Snack Shack. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Prime Video this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 5 best films that are coming to Prime Video in September 2024 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Drag Me to Hell (September 1)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Drag Me to Hell is a supernatural horror film directed by Sam Raimi from a screenplay co-written by Sam and Ivan Raimi. The 2009 film follows the story of Christine Brown, a loan officer who rejects an elderly woman’s loan application due to pressure from her boss. In retaliation, the elderly woman puts a curse on her in which she will suffer in extreme...

Stars: Conor Sherry, Gabriel Labelle, Mika Abdalla, Nick Robinson | Written and Directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier

Following the underseen Dinner In America, a punk-rock masterpiece with a heart of gold, writer/director Adam Carter Rehmeier crafts a nostalgic follow-up with Snack Shack. Set during the ‘90s summer, inseparable best friends A.J. (Conor Sherry) & Moose (Gabriel Labelle) have a moneymaking plan to sell home-brewed beer. After that falls apart once their parents find out, the pair change plans to run the local pool’s snack shack. Those plans for financial success are put at risk when they both fall for effortlessly cool lifeguard, Brooke (Mika Abdalla).

The yin/yang of this friendship is well established early on, as A.J. acts cautiously with a mindset of quitting while he’s ahead, while Moose is willing to take risks for the potential victory. With his actions repeatedly disappointing his parents, A.

The logline for Snack Shack—two teenaged best friends spend the summer of 1991 working at a community pool food stand and get up to shenanigans—suggests a hyper-generic “one crazy summer”-type coming-of-age flick, but the film distinguishes itself with specifics almost immediately. It opens with Aj (Connor Sherry) and Moose (Gabriel Labelle) at an off-track betting parlor intently watching the races with lit cigarettes dangling from their mouths. They exchange gambling strategies and profane insults before deciding to bet their new winnings on one more long-shot race. They hit big, but upon leaving they see someone swipe their cab, making it […]

The post “You Can’t Go Into Your Hometown and Not Shoot Cinemascope”: Writer/Director Adam Rehmeier on His Early ’90s Nebraska-Set Comedy, Snack Shack first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

The logline for Snack Shack—two teenaged best friends spend the summer of 1991 working at a community pool food stand and get up to shenanigans—suggests a hyper-generic “one crazy summer”-type coming-of-age flick, but the film distinguishes itself with specifics almost immediately. It opens with Aj (Connor Sherry) and Moose (Gabriel Labelle) at an off-track betting parlor intently watching the races with lit cigarettes dangling from their mouths. They exchange gambling strategies and profane insults before deciding to bet their new winnings on one more long-shot race. They hit big, but upon leaving they see someone swipe their cab, making it […]

The post “You Can’t Go Into Your Hometown and Not Shoot Cinemascope”: Writer/Director Adam Rehmeier on His Early ’90s Nebraska-Set Comedy, Snack Shack first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Exclusive: Theo Rossi (Emily the Criminal), Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy), David Costabile (Lincoln) and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) have wrapped production in Arkansas on In Fortune’s Shadow, a new thriller from writer-director David L. Hunt (Greater) and his 2521 Entertainment.

Others set to star include Alexander Kane (A Day to Die), Leonard Wu (American Born Chinese), Lawrence Kao (Walker: Independence), and Billy Choi (The Affair). Check out a first-look still above.

The first film in a planned series titled The Underneath, In Fortune’s Shadow is billed as John Woo meets The Matrix or It’s a Wonderful Life with guns. The film centers on a legendary Keyser Soze-type figure known as The Man with the Answers, an ex-Knight of the Round Table now wandering in today’s underworld. The legend says that if you can find The Man and eat with him in a Chinese restaurant,...

Snack Shack is a movie written and directed by Adam Rehmeier starring Conor Sherry and Gabriel Labelle.

Like déjà vu, “Snack Shack” takes us back once again to adolescence and its familiar scenarios like growing up, friendships, the awakening of love, and money.

A film that charmingly transports us back to the 90s with a stylish photographic flair and solid performances from its two main leads… And not much more.

About the movie

Adolescence, yet again summer adolescence in a film that serves as a refreshing spring moment, and rather stays there: in a comedy that doesn’t quite want to be a full-fledged comedy and in a relationship of common landscapes that, while pleasant, are unvaryingly repetitive (we’ve seen the same movie for several generations now).

A proper recreation of the 90s that catches the eye with photography, shot in tones of the era that today, the younger ones might say,...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Astrakan (David Depesseville)

Astrakhan fur is unique: dark, beautiful, and stripped exclusively from newborn lambs, even ones killed in their mother’s womb. (Stella McCarthy once said it’s like wearing a fetus.) That ruthlessness—a sense of lost innocence; blood sacrifice—runs deep in Astrakan, a new film from France and one of the better in Locarno this year; and if that title isn’t enough to give pause, plenty else in the opening exchanges will. The first act is a procession of flags, both red and false: at the opening the protagonist, Samuel, lightly goads a snake in the reptile house of a zoo; moments later a rabbit is hung and skinned in his kitchen with all the ceremony of...

Janet Planet Screenshot: A24/YouTube It appears we’ve reached some sort of millennial inflection point wherein all the new nostalgic coming-of-age films are set in the summer of 1991. But where Snack Shack was a rowdy, boisterous midwestern romp, the trailer for A24’s Janet Planet, premiering June 21, is a...

Janet PlanetScreenshot: A24/YouTube

It appears we’ve reached some sort of millennial inflection point wherein all the new nostalgic coming-of-age films are set in the summer of 1991. But where Snack Shack was a rowdy, boisterous midwestern romp, the trailer for A24’s Janet Planet, premiering June 21, is a quiet...

Indies in moderate-wide release claimed the nos. 6, 8 and 9 spots at the domestic box office led by Love Lies Bleeding. Kristin Steward toplines the Berlin-premiering film by Rose Glass that expanded nationwide, grossing $2.5 million for the weekend on 1,362 screens (up from five theaters opening week). The steamy crime thriller from A24 also stars Katy O’Brian with an ensemble featuring Ed Harris, Anna Baryshnikov Dave Franco and Jenna Malone. It’s 88% Certified Fresh with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes (92% critics score).

Stewart plays a reclusive gym manager who falls hard for an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream as the pair is pulled into the web of Lou’s criminal family. Weekend breakdown: Friday, $1.1 million; Saturday, $790k; Sunday; $592k.

One Life by James Hawes pulled in a $1.7+ million debut 983 screens. The Bleecker Street film, starring Anthony Hopkins as a British stockbroker who helped rescued hundreds of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia,...

Can you remember how you spent your childhood summers? Were they by the pool eating concession stand junk? Biking everywhere you went? Fist-fighting your best friend? Falling for a girl from out of town? Something along those lines? Or maybe you just saw a movie like that. That kind of easy familiarity is what teen comedy “Snack Shack” comfortably sets up shop on. Armed with a talented cast, writer-director Adam Rehmeier’s 1991-set feature happily squares itself in a tradition of teenage hedonism and broad learning opportunities, settling into a generic but warm glow.

Early-20s actors Conor Sherry and Gabriel Labelle lead the film, stretching the laws of verisimilitude playing 14-year-old best friends, but emerging plausibly teenaged with their lame-brain rapport. The two play Aj and Moose, a pair of hustlers hunting for their next score after home-brewing a “drinkable as fuck” beer. When the friendly college-aged lifeguard Shane...

Exclusive: Iconic filmmakers Joe Dante and Roger Corman are teaming with Emmy-nominated veteran producer Brad Krevoy, CEO of Mpca, on Little Shop of Halloween Horrors, a reboot of Corman’s famed 1960 horror comedy, Little Shop of Horrors.

A reimagining intended to jumpstart a new franchise, Little Shop of Halloween Horrors will be directed by Dante, from a script by Charles S. Haas (Gremlins 2: The New Batch), with Corman and Krevoy co-producing. Also joining the project is independent producer Charles Cohen, who previously worked at T-Street, where he oversaw and executive produced the Republic Pictures release Snack Shack, in addition to developing other projects for the company.

Originating as a low-budget genre flick directed by Corman and co-starring a young Jack Nicholson, the first Little Shop of Horrors quickly cemented itself as a cult classic following its release in 1960. Shot on a shoestring budget, pic tells the...

Connor Sherry and Gabriel Labelle Photo: Paramount Snack Shack, director Adam Rehmeier’s latest aggro-comedy, opens with an unusual sight: A pair of 14-year-old boys chainsmoking at the dog track. Amid a string of shouted expletives, with the words “fuck” and “pussy” enhancing every other word and giggle, our heroes,...

Connor Sherry and Gabriel Labelle

Photo: Paramount

Snack Shack, director Adam Rehmeier’s latest aggro-comedy, opens with an unusual sight: A pair of 14-year-old boys chainsmoking at the dog track. Amid a string of shouted expletives, with the words “fuck” and “pussy” enhancing every other word and giggle, our heroes,...

The director and cast of the upcoming film Snack Shack talked about how their new film is the perfect nostalgic trip to the '90s.

The film, directed by Adam Reheimer, follows two 14-year-old boys during the summer of 1991 as the best friends take on running their own Snack Shack at a local pool.

Snack Shack Cast and Director Talk About Nebraska City Read full article on The Direct.

“Snack Shack” is a new comedy feature, written and directed by Adam Rehmeier, starring Amber Paul, Melissa Rakiro, Dominick Marrone, Sidi Henderson, Jules Reid, David Costabilenand Mika Abdalla, opening March 15, 2024 in theaters:

“…in Nebraska City, during the summer of 1991, best friends ‘Aj’ and ‘Moose’, seize the opportunity to run the local pool’s rundown snack shack after their plan to gamble on dog races and sell home-brewed beer goes down the drain.

“Dreaming of striking it rich, things take an unexpected turn when they meet summer visitor ‘Brooke’, an effortlessly cool lifeguard who puts their big summer plans…and their friendship at risk…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

"Want a little advice, homie? Make a move. Any move." Paramount has revealed the trailer for a comedy titled Snack Shack, a 90s throwback coming-of-age adventure about two best friends get the chance to run the swimming pool snack shack. This is the next new movie from the same filmmaker who made the punk romcom cult hit Dinner in America a few years ago. The two affable screw-ups decide to invest in a poolside Snack Shack in an effort to make some quick cash and strike it rich. However, the pair gets sidetracked by a beautiful and effortlessly cool lifeguard named Brooke, and their own propensity for getting into trouble. It's described as "a nostalgic journey for those who came of age before the era of cell phones, and a hilarious escape for those who wish they had." This stars Conor Sherry & Gabriel Labelle as Aj & Moose, with Mika Abdalla as Brooke,...

Exclusive: Prime Video has expanded the cast for Season 2 of its neo-Western series Outer Range. Christian James (All American), Megan West (How To Get Away With Murder), Daniel Abeles (Women of the Movement), Kimberly Guerrero (The English) and Monette Moio (The Real Bros Of Simi Valley) have been tapped for recurring roles opposite Josh Brolin in the drama series. Character descriptions are being kept under wraps.

Created by Brian Watkins, Outer Range centers on Royal Abbott (Brolin), a rancher fighting for his land and family, who discovers an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness.

In addition to Brolin, cast also includes Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor, Tamara Podemski, Lewis Pullman, Tom Pelphrey, Noah Reid, Shaun Sipos, Isabel Arraiza, Olive Abercrombie and Will Patton.

The series comes from executive producers Charles Murray, who also serves as showrunner for Season 2, Heather Rae, Josh Brolin, Zev Borow, Watkins, Tony Krantz, and...

Exclusive: Gabriel Labelle (The Fabelmans), Conor Sherry (The Terminal List) and Mika Abdalla (Sex Appeal) will lead the cast of coming-of-age comedy The Snack Shack, which Adam Carter Rehmeier (Dinner in America) wrote and is directing for the collective emerging filmmakers label of MRC Film and T-Street.

The film currently in production in Nebraska is a story about two best friends in 1991 Nebraska City who unexpectedly win the silent auction to run the swimming pool snack shack. The snack shack then becomes the long summer’s epicenter of misdemeanors, personal discovery and budding romance.

Jordan Foley, Ben Cornwell and Nick Smith are producing for Paperclip Ltd, alongside Ben LeClair of T-Street, with Paperclips’ Yeardley Smith serving as executive producer.

“Everyone has the summer that was crucial to their own coming-of-age story. This film explores a beautiful sweet spot, a period in time where kids were still very autonomous and free-range in the summer,...