Entertainment
Every actor who has played James Bond on the big screen, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig
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Denis Villeneuve’s hunt for a new 007 is heating up.
Entertainment
Chelsea Handler Slams Spencer Pratt’s Bid in LA Mayoral Race
Chelsea Handler implored her followers against voting for Spencer Pratt to become the next Los Angeles mayor.
“Oh, hi, if you’re seeing this video, this is a reminder that a straight, white male [who is a] former reality star that has no previous experience in government should not be a legitimate political candidate,” Handler, 51, said in a Friday, May 15, video shared via TikTok. “Have we learned anything yet?”
Handler uploaded a photo of Pratt, 42, next to one of President Donald Trump, who famously hosted The Apprentice nearly a decade before running for office. (Trump, 79, was elected president non-consecutively in 2016 and 2024.)
“The bar is on the f***ing floor, people,” Handler lamented on Friday. “I need you to jump over it. OK thank you, have a nice day!”
Pratt, best known for his appearance on MTV’s The Hills alongside wife Heidi Montag, announced his candidacy for mayor in January.
“The only way I see God letting my parents’ house burn down and my house burn down is that God knows it’s the only way to turn me against a system that lets this happen to tens of thousands of people,” Pratt exclusively told Us Weekly in his cover story. “In a best-case scenario, I would have helped at least 10,000 people to get 70 percent of what they got taken from them. That would be poetic.”
He continued, “Winning the mayor’s race will be a victory for truth and transparency, which is what I’ve been fighting for this whole year. The end goal is the same: to shine a light into the darkness.”
Pratt and Montag, 39, lost their home in the devastating wildfires that swept through Los Angeles in January 2025.
“We put all of our money into our house and our life to build something for our kids to put in their name and every detail we just kept on every year for the last eight years,” Pratt told Us last year. “Our house was 3,000 square feet. It is not a mansion in the Palisades. Everything was perfect from the stoves to the washing machines.”
He added at the time, “That’s all we put our money into — and then we go and eat nice groceries at Erewhon. But our life was like, ‘Put our money into our house, eat clean groceries and that’s it.’ We go on one trip a year to see Heidi’s parents in Colorado.”
As Pratt is focused on his campaign, he’s received mixed reviews of his candidacy but continues to remain unbothered about any backlash.
Entertainment
James Cameron’s Extremely R-Rated 90s Sci-Fi Thriller Is Impossible To Watch Online
By Robert Scucci
| Published

One of the hardest things about enjoying dystopian sci-fi is how time continues to march forward, and suddenly we’re looking back at 1995’s Strange Days in the year 2026, knowing full well that Y2K’s initial threat never came close to living up to expectations. It’s easy to write off films like Strange Days for this reason alone because we all lived to see another day, despite the many kernels of truth peppered throughout the film’s premise. It’s worth noting, though, that the film isn’t nearly as dated as you might think, as it taps into present-day issues like police brutality, government overreach, device addiction, and a general sense of technology-driven apathy and malaise.
One of the unfortunate realities about Strange Days is that it’s nearly impossible to watch online. However, this isn’t due to some grand Orwellian conspiracy once you look at the numbers. Even though Roger Ebert gave Strange Days a perfect four-star rating, and the film currently boasts a 71 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, the simple fact of the matter is that it only grossed $17 million at the box office against its reported $42 million production budget.

In other words, Strange Days, despite its acclaim, is still very much in the red, and when you consider the complicated, longstanding rights issues associated with the film, it’s not exactly a desirable IP for streaming platforms to pick up.
One SQUID To Rule Them All

Strange Days opens with a literal bang as we witness a Chinese restaurant getting held up at gunpoint. It’s shot from a frantic first-person perspective, and the robbery quickly goes off the rails. The building is surrounded by police, there’s a frenetic chase sequence, and after trying to jump from one city rooftop to the next, the person whose head we’re living in loses his grip and falls to his death, which introduces us to our protagonist, Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes).
Lenny is a former LAPD officer turned black market purveyor of the highly illegal, highly addictive SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device), a sort of virtual reality technology that allows its users to live somebody else’s memories as if they were their own. Lenny gets a kick out of watching the memories, which are stored on small CD-ROMS, when he retrieves them from his hookup, Tick (Richard Edson), before selling them off for a profit. He’s essentially a drug dealer because people become addicted to the dopamine rush that comes from living vicariously through somebody else’s memories and experiencing every sensation as if they were their own.

In between his black market business ventures, Lenny often throws on discs featuring memories with his rock band fronting ex-girlfriend, Faith (Juliette Lewis), while downplaying his obsession whenever he’s around Mace (Angela Bassett), a limo driver and bodyguard who doesn’t like how deep into the SQUID technology he’s getting. She doesn’t want to see him go off the deep end because when he was a cop, he functioned as a father figure to her young son after her abusive boyfriend was arrested and Lenny was the officer on the scene.
When a SQUID disc depicting a murder is dropped through the sunroof of Lenny’s car by a frightened prostitute named Iris (Brigitte Bako), Lenny, Mace, and private investigator Max (Tom Sizemore) try to figure out exactly what’s going on. While this initial murder investigation is underway, a far more sinister plot emerges involving Faith’s new record executive boyfriend, Philo Gant (Michael Wincott), and the recently murdered rapper and activist he used to manage, Jeriko One (Glenn Plummer).
When Cyberpunk And Neo-Noir Aesthetics Collide

Like most dystopian films, everything looks simultaneously modern and rundown, and the LA backdrop does so much heavy lifting in Strange Days. Really, all you need to make the imagery pop is wet streets and plenty of neon, and there’s no shortage of either here. Throw in police-state chaos and a murder mystery that slowly unfolds through the voyeuristic SQUID technology as Lenny finds more discs pointing him in the right direction, and you have a solid neo-noir plot where nobody can be trusted because everybody’s up to something.
Lenny and Mace keep the whole film grounded because they trust each other, but with everybody else whispering in their ears, they’re truly going it alone, which becomes terrifying once you consider Lenny’s increasing dependence on SQUID and Mace’s unwillingness to watch somebody she loves destroy himself.

Everything about Strange Days still holds up today if you ignore the whole Y2K angle, but in my mind, that just makes it a time capsule from a very specific moment in history. The SQUID technology is more relevant than ever because it hints at the kind of media addiction we live with today. The Jeriko One storyline points to much larger systemic issues involving racism and the horrors of living in a police state where every officer is corrupt and pushing some sort of ulterior agenda. But what makes Strange Days a truly timeless piece of cinematic art is its gritty aesthetic, shifts in perspective, and willingness to hold back major reveals until absolutely necessary, giving the mystery layer upon layer that rewards multiple viewings.
Strange Days is uncomfortable, addictive, and, at its core, a thrilling mystery that slowly unravels across 145 minutes without ever skimping on style or favoring it over substance. James Cameron was right to pen the screenplay with director Kathryn Bigelow in mind because she clearly understood the assignment.


As of this writing, Strange Days is not available on streaming or on demand. The best way to watch the film is to track down a physical copy on Amazon or keep your eyes peeled the next time you’re at the thrift store. Even then, you might have a hard time finding it because it’s been out of print for quite some time.
Entertainment
10 Director’s Cuts That Are Far Better Than the Movie Everyone Saw
Sometimes the version of a film that audiences first see isn’t the one the director actually intended. Several factors, including studio interference and runtime constraints, can often shape a movie into something more digestible but less complete. The director’s cut, when it exists, is an attempt to reclaim that lost vision.
With that in mind, this list looks at the most striking cases where the filmmaker’s preferred version was a significant step up from the theatrical release. In some cases, these alternate versions merely add interesting material or improve upon the existing version by adding more details, fleshing out characters, or maybe even reframing the action. In others, they completely transform the movie itself, resulting in something that feels entirely different.
‘Blood Simple’ (1984)
“You’re not that smart, Marty.” In the Coen brothers‘ feature debut, a bar owner (Dan Hedaya) hires a private investigator (M. Emmet Walsh) to kill his wife (Frances McDormand) and her lover (John Getz), setting off a chain of misunderstandings and escalating violence. It’s a noirish, brutal story shot through with delectably dark humor. The original theatrical version is already a tightly wound thriller, but the director’s cut trims and refines key moments.
Unusually, this is an instance where the director’s cut is actually shorter than the original, in this case by 2 minutes and 35 seconds. It nixes some short filler scenes and unnecessary shots and adds in a few extended shots, and also changes one of the songs in the soundtrack. This version shows how small adjustments, like slight edits and subtly restructured sequences, can significantly improve a movie’s flow.
‘Almost Famous’ (2000)
“I am a golden god!” This gem from Cameron Crowe follows William Miller (Patrick Fugit), a teenage journalist who goes on tour with a rising rock band in the 1970s. It’s a funny, touching story populated by complex and vivid characters. The DVD release came with a director’s cut that adds a whopping 40 minutes of additional footage, which most fans consider to be the definitive version.
This extra runtime gives the movie a lot more room to breathe. Characters like Elaine Miller (Frances McDormand), Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), and even the band members themselves gain additional scenes that make them feel more even human and layered. It really adds to the immersion (while also making certain gags even funnier). This cut is less polished than the theatrical release, but that’s part of its charm.
‘Watchmen’ (2009)
“I’m not locked in here with you. You’re locked in here with me!” Zack Snyder‘s name is the first that comes to mind when you think “director’s cut,” most famously with regard to Justice League. However, his preferred version of Watchmen is also superior to the original release. Based on the legendary comics by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the movie follows a group of retired vigilante superheroes investigating the murder of one of their own.
The “Ultimate Cut” version adds a full 53 minutes of content, including the Tales of the Black Freighter animated sequence. This version is truer to the source material and adds new layers to the story, giving us more insight into the characters’ psychology. Sure, casual viewers may find this longer cut overwhelming, but diehard fans are likely to find it more satisfying.
‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ (2021)
“We’re asking people we don’t know to risk their lives.” Justice League sees Batman (Ben Affleck) recruiting Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) to stop the alien conqueror Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) from collecting the Mother Boxes and transforming Earth into a wasteland. Notoriously, the movie was heavily reshaped by Joss Whedon after Snyder stepped away during post-production, with most fans disappointed in the theatrical release.
The Snyder Cut quickly became a Holy Grail among fans, who clamored for its release. Their wishes were granted in 2021, when HBO Max released Snyder’s preferred version, which includes many scenes that Whedon had removed. These add some much-needed world-building and generally expand the film’s mythology. Fans and critics alike preferred this cut, though it’s admittedly pretty long at 242 minutes (the theatrical cut is just 120). The Snyder Cut is among the rare cases when the director’s cut is an outright different movie, and it’s for the best.
‘The Abyss’ (1989)
“You have to look with better eyes than that.” One of James Cameron‘s most underrated movies, The Abyss centers on a team of underwater oil drillers recruited by the U.S. Navy to investigate a sunken submarine, only to encounter something far more mysterious beneath the ocean’s surface. Unfortunately, the original theatrical release was heavily trimmed due to production problems and studio concerns about runtime, weakening the film.
Cameron’s preferred Special Edition was eventually released in 1993, and it’s dramatically better than the theatrical cut. This version is 26 minutes longer and restores some crucial scenes, while also adding great new special effects. It lets the awe and mystery of the underwater environment settle in more deeply instead of constantly rushing toward the next plot beat. Overall, this cut feels much more immersive.
‘Aliens’ (1986)
“They mostly come at night… mostly.” Another banger from Cameron. The original release of Aliens is already a masterclass in tension and action, but the director’s cut enriches it even further. It’s 20 minutes longer, with improved pacing and fan-favorite moments like the sentry gun scenes. Other additions expand the colony’s early moments and the buildup to the disaster. Most importantly, though, this version adds a lot of material involving Ripley’s (Sigourney Weaver) daughter.
We learn that Ripley’s daughter Amanda (Elizabeth Inglis) grew old and died while Ripley was in hypersleep. She was just 10 years old when they last saw each other. This information changes the emotional meaning of the entire movie and makes Ripley’s relationship with Newt (Carrie Henn) vastly more powerful. All in all, this cut adds more emotion and melancholy to the action-packed spectacle.
‘Brazil’ (1985)
“We’re all in it together, kid.” Terry Gilliam‘s oddball masterpiece features Jonathan Pryce as Sam Lowry, a low-level bureaucrat in a dystopian society dominated by surveillance, endless paperwork, and more than a little absurdity, as he becomes entangled in a case of mistaken identity. The studio-mandated version attempted to impose a more conventional, optimistic structure on the film. The director’s cut rejects this entirely, embracing the story’s darker, more surreal trajectory.
In this version, which was only released in its full director’s preferred iteration in 1999, the satire becomes sharper, and the story ends on a decidedly bleak note. This movie is not meant to be reassuring, so forcing a happy ending to it was a nonsensical creative decision. The studio version undermines Brazil‘s central idea by pretending the nightmare can simply be outrun. Gilliam’s cut, by contrast, offers no escape.
‘Kingdom of Heaven’ (2005)
“What man is a man who does not make the world better?” Audiences’ expectations for Kingdom of Heaven were sky-high, with many hoping it would be a thrilling historical epic like Gladiator. However, the theatrical release drew mixed reviews, with many criticizing its pacing and lack of depth. Released a few months later, the director’s cut totally transformed the movie’s reputation. It adds 45 minutes of footage and, critically, significantly deepens the main characters’ motivations.
We get emotional subplots, fuller backstories, and even more visceral action scenes. In the original, the protagonist Balian (Orlando Bloom) feels passive and underwritten, but the director’s cut helps explain his crisis of faith and his grief over his wife’s death. It makes his gradual evolution from blacksmith to reluctant leader much more impactful, going from being a one-note figure to a genuinely conflicted hero.
‘Once Upon a Time in America’ (1984)
“I slipped.” Once Upon a Time in America was meant to be Sergio Leone‘s swan song, a sweeping crime opus charting David “Noodles” Aaronson’s (Robert De Niro) rise within the criminal underworld. Sadly, it suffered one of the most infamous studio edits in film history, with its theatrical release drastically restructured and shortened. It chopped the director’s 269-minute version down to a meager 139 minutes, jettisoning so much crucial material.
Needless to say, Leone’s preferred cut is in another league compared to the studio version. It dramatically deepens the relationships between the central gang members, especially Noodles and Max (James Woods). Pacing-wise, Leone’s version allows scenes to unfold slowly, where the theatrical cut tries to force them into a more conventional gangster-film rhythm. The slowness of the director’s cut is essential because the film is fundamentally about time: how decades reshape people, friendships, cities, and dreams.
‘Blade Runner’ (1982)
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe.” Ridley Scott strikes again. His preferred cut of Blade Runner finally came out in 1992, improving the movie in several important ways. Most notably, it leans heavily into the ambiguity of Deckard (Harrison Ford) being a replicant. It does so by removing the protagonist’s voice-over narration and the studio-mandated “happy ending” and adding in the unicorn dream sequence.
The latter scene is perhaps the most famous addition because it radically deepens the film’s central mystery. Indeed, it implies that Deckard’s memories may themselves be artificial. As a result, instead of reassuring the audience, the director’s cut of Blade Runner leaves viewers suspended in uncertainty. That unresolved tension is central to why the film became such a landmark work of science fiction. It restores the movie to the philosophical noir poem it was always meant to be.
Entertainment
Star Trek Actor Narrowly Avoided Getting Fired For Drunken Crimes
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published

Enterprise was the last show from the Golden Age of Star Trek, and it was very different than the series that had come before. This new show wasn’t afraid to be weird and wild, which is why it had both a smoking hot Vulcan lady in a catsuit and an ongoing excuse to have the actors strip down to their undies and massage each other (seriously, every D-Con chamber scene looks like a vintage Cinemax skin flick). Its characters were also much rougher around the edges, which is why characters like Trip Tucker get to be believably flawed compared to more polished characters like Commander Riker or Captain Picard.
In Enterprise, Trip gets into some crazy hijinks, including getting tied up and stripped down while chasing tail on an alien sex planet. As it turns out, though, some of the character’s onscreen misadventures may have taken inspiration from the actor’s own drunken hijinks. While filming the very first episode of Enterprise, Trip Tucker actor Connor Trinneer crashed a Paramount party, abused the open bar, and stole four entire bottles of alcohol from the bar. The next day, he worried about losing his job when he got what every drinker dreads: a surprise phone call from his big boss!
The Sexiest, Sweatiest Star Trek Series

On Enterprise, Connor Trinneer plays Trip Tucker, the friendly chief of engineering. With his southern drawl and amiable demeanor, Trip is one of the warmest members of the entire crew. But he was still rough around the edges, often clashing with the Vulcan T’Pol as part of their compelling “will they, won’t they” dynamic. He also loves to party, which sometimes gets him in trouble. On one occasion, he gets pregnant after hooking up with an exotic alien. On another occasion, he and Reed were so horny on the planet Risa that they followed two alien women into a club’s basement; the “ladies” shapeshift into men, tying up and robbing the Starfleet officers.
Trinneer was always good at bringing his character’s exploits to life. One possible reason for this is that the actor has had a few of his own drunken misadventures over the years. The most notorious of these happened when he was filming “Broken Bow,” the very first episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. The night before some important scenes were scheduled for filming, Trinneer discovered a party on the Paramount lot. The party had nothing to do with Trek; instead, it was a party held to appeal to would-be foreign advertisers. Regardless of who the party was for, though, Trinneer attended and discovered that it had the one thing every boozehound loves to find: free alcohol!
Away Team, Party Of One

On the special features for the Season 1 Enterprise Blu-rays, Connor Trinneer revealed that not only did he crash this particular party, but he also took major advantage of the free hooch. Once he got drunk enough, he decided to keep the party going in the most brazen way. That is, he snuck behind the bar and stole four entire liquor bottles, bringing them all home with him! It really was theft, too: not only was he not an invited guest, but nobody was authorized to walk away with the alcohol behind the bar. But he wasn’t too worried at the time. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?
The next day, the worst did happen: Trinneer got a phone call from Rick Berman. Now, Berman wasn’t just any bigwig. He was the executive producer overseeing the entire franchise and, effectively, the man in charge of all things Star Trek. For the actor, this was like getting a phone call from his boss’s boss’s boss. Like many of us would in his place, Trinneer assumed he was in trouble and thought that he was about to get fired. Understandably, he was full of regret because, as far as he knew, he was about to lose a life-changing acting gig because of a drunken workplace crime.
That Face When Your Boss Calls

As it turns out, though, Rick Berman knew absolutely nothing about Connor Trinneer’s hijinks from the night before. The executive producer was simply calling the actor with news about his Enterprise character. The character’s real name was Charles Tucker, but he was originally going to go by the nickname “Spike.” When Berman called Trinneer, he just wanted him to know that the producers had decided that the character’s nickname was going to be “Trip” instead.
Relief flooded through Trinneer when he discovered the reason for Berman’s call. He had gotten away with it! Not only did he crash a party and get wasted for free, but he came home with plenty of extra alcohol. Considering that he kept his cool and kept his job, he even had a reason to pour himself a glass and celebrate. Of course, you could say that Rick Berman got his own revenge: years later, he killed off Trinneer’s character for no real reason, a decision that the Enterprise fandom still mourns to this day.
Entertainment
Kelly Rutherford’s Midi Dress Gives NYC Rich Mom Vibes
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It’s no secret that Kelly Rutherford has mastered luxe dressing with approachable, fashion-forward pieces that we constantly use for inspiration. Just in time for summer, her latest look included a dreamy white dress that’s at the top of our wish lists, and it’s one we found a surprisingly similar version of for under $40.
The Tributaries actress posted on Instagram, posing in a lightweight white midi dress that gives off total New York City rich mom vibes. She paired it with black cat-eyed sunglasses, a Hermès Birkin bag, ballet flats and leather watch. But let’s face it: Her dress is the main center of attention. While we don’t know exactly where Rutherford snagged hers, we’re willing to bet it cost triple the price of this budget-friendly style.
Get the Prettygarden Summer Puff-Sleeve Maxi Dress for $39 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.
The PrettyGarden summer maxi dress has a smocked bodice, squared neckline and puffed sleeves, just like Rutherford’s choice. Our Amazon pick even has a smocked bodice that’s both bohemian and flattering due to its figure-hugging texture. The only minor difference is the tiered, lined skirt, which if you ask Us, adds an additional luxe detail to the piece. Oh, and it has pockets! No one will know it’s not the exact same dress as the A-lister’s.
Though this flowing midi dress style can be dressed up or down, Rutherford showed an especially chic way to elevate the piece with timeless neutral accessories that streamline look. The combination is undeniably polished, especially with her ballet flats. However, we could also see the dress worn casually with a pair of white sneakers and a denim jacket.
The dress style is also perfect for a vacation to the tropics; wear it with buckled sandals and a woven raffia crossbody bag, and you’re ready to hit the boardwalk. Jewelry like pendant necklaces, bangle bracelets or charm drop earrings will also add a delicate feel to the look, which can easily transition from day to night.
Clearly, Rutherford’s on the right path with her midi dress. Savvy shoppers are also fans, including one reviewer who deemed it as “very attractive” and said they “receive many compliments” while wearing it. Another consumer in her 40’s shared that the style is “comfy, good quality and affordable,” noting that it looked equally wonderful on both her and her teenage daughter. Sounds like a win to Us!
With its flattering, elevated details and versatility, it’s easy to see why a flowing midi dress like Rutherford’s style is a must-have for summer. The piece takes minimal effort to style, and can easily be dressed up or down depending on your needs. Plus, our pick’s light feel, opaque base and pockets are ideal for wearing in warmer weather, especially during long stretches of time. Consider this your new summer uniform.
Get the Prettygarden Summer Puff-Sleeve Maxi Dress for $39 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.
Looking for something else? Explore more summer dresses here and don’t forget to check out all of Amazon’s Daily Deals for more great finds!
Entertainment
20 Years Later, Jason Statham’s Most Chaotic Action Movie Is Leaving Streaming
Fans of Jason Statham ironically chose to shelter in place when they were presented with an opportunity to watch his latest action-thriller, Shelter. The movie grossed just $53 million worldwide against a reported budget of $50 million, emerging as his lowest-grossing release since Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, which was released in 2023. That film, a crime caper directed by Statham’s longtime collaborator Guy Ritchie, grossed $49 million worldwide against a $50 million budget. Over the years, even Statham’s non-franchise titles have become more expensive. There was a time, however, when he was knocking out modestly produced action movies that routinely turned a solid profit.
One of his earliest and most beloved action hits turns 20 this year. The movie is currently streaming on Peacock in the United States, but it won’t hang around on the streamer for much longer. The film in question was directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who’ve since split up. It stood out in the crowd for the filmmakers’ energetic aesthetic and Statham’s committed performance as an assassin who must constantly keep his adrenalin up or risk death. It also featured Amy Smart and Dwight Yoakam in supporting roles, and was successful enough to spawn a sequel.
Here’s How Long You Have Left To Watch Jason Statham’s Bonkers Action Movie
We’re talking, of course, about Crank. Produced on a reported budget of $12 million, the film grossed more than $40 million worldwide. It now holds a 62% critics’ score and a 71% audience score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Crank‘s assaultive style and gleeful depravity may turn off casual action fans, but audiences seeking a strong dose of adrenaline will be thrilled by Jason Statham’s raucous race against mortality.” The movie was followed by a sequel titled Crank: High Voltage, which was released in 2009. The sequel holds a 64% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, but it grossed $34 million worldwide against a reported budget of $13 million. Statham will next star in Viva La Madness, the new film directed by Ritchie and likely set for a 2027 release. Meanwhile, you can check out Crank on Peacock, but keep in mind that it’ll be removed from the platform on June 1. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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August 31, 2006
- Runtime
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88 minutes
Entertainment
GameStop Finally Going Digital With A Bid To Purchase One Of The Biggest Online Marketplaces
By TeeJay Small
| Published

Consumers of a certain age may have distinct memories of an analog era, before Netflix, Steam, and the App Store shifted every purchase to digital home streaming. Before online retailers were all the rage, GameStop was the premier destination for video games, consoles, and a wide range of Nintendo merchandise. Now, it seems like GameStop is officially preparing to enter the digital era (only about a decade and a half too late,) as Variety reports the business has made a $56 billion bid to acquire eBay. The unsolicited bid has not yet resulted in a sale, though it did drive eBay stock prices up by a margin of 4 percent.
The details of the acquisition are fairly straightforward, if a little unexpected. If and when the sale goes through, GameStop will purchase a 100 percent stake in the online auction outlet, valuing eBay at over $55 billion. Half of the money from the sale will be paid out in cash, and the other half will be covered by GameStop stock shares. The video game retailer also plans to procure a $20 billion loan from TD Bank in order to ensure it has enough cash on hand.
Currently, eBay’s board has expressed that it will “carefully review and consider” the offer, though consumers are a bit skeptical. For now, there’s no word on how the sale would impact either business or if eBay would simply become liquidated as a digital sales outlet for GameStop. If this is the case, GameStop will surely have its work cut out for it, since Steam and other digital game sellers have an insurmountable lead.
Of course, as Variety notes, current GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has been working tirelessly to bring the corporation into the 21st century. Since taking over in 2021, Cohen has added hundreds of millions in net income, all without taking a salary or any cash bonuses. Instead, Cohen receives most of his pay through stock options, so he’s got a serious vested interest in pumping GameStop stock wherever possible. If anyone is capable of handling this transition, he seems primed for the responsibility.
The major question that hangs over this acquisition is, why eBay? Surely it would be cheaper for GameStop to build its own digital library, or even acquire a lesser-known IP and scale to size. The auctioning and bartering system eBay uses isn’t wholly unique to their platform, and the service has already begun to wane in popularity throughout the 2020s. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see if there’s a larger financial play at hand. And perhaps do so while streaming video games directly from the PlayStation Store.
Entertainment
Why Daniel Dae Kim still considers the controversial “Lost” finale 'really satisfying' 16 years later
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“As actors, we could say goodbye to each other in those final scenes,” the star recalled in a new interview.
Entertainment
Apple TV’s Only Sci-Fi Show Better Than ‘Pluribus’ Is a 10/10 Weekend Binge
Apple TV has become one of the world’s go-to streaming services for the best sci-fi shows, but the platform also offers a host of other originals for fans of all genres. One of Apple TV’s biggest properties that first drew people to the platform back in 2020 was Ted Lasso, which is finally set to return with Season 4 this summer after going on a three-year hiatus. Another Apple TV series that was on the air even before Ted Lasso was See, which was led by Jason Momoa, who returned to the platform last year to star in one of the biggest passion projects of his career, Chief of War. The show was met with praise from both critics and audiences, hailed as the perfect blend of other historical epics like Shōgun and Game of Thrones.
Last year, Apple TV returned to the sci-fi genre to deliver one of its most memorable hits in Pluribus, which hails from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. Pluribus is the second-best sci-fi show Apple TV has ever released, following only behind Severance, which stars Adam Scott and is directed by Ben Stiller. After a three-year wait, Severance returned to Apple TV at the start of 2025 for its second season, and the show was picked up for Season 3 on the day of its Season 2 finale. It’s still unclear at this time when Severance Season 3 is going to be released, though — it’s been well over a year since Season 2 concluded, and production on Season 3 seemingly won’t begin until later this summer. Before Severance’s inevitable return, fans can’t stop watching the show, which has led it back into the Apple TV global top 10 in more than 15 countries around the world.
What Is ‘Severance’ About?
Severance follows a group of employees who work at a mysterious place called Lumon Industries, but they’ve opted to undergo a procedure that completely severs their work lives and personal lives, making the memories of each completely inaccessible to their counterparts. The show may not be hard sci-fi — there are no futuristic spaceships or vaporizing laser guns — but it’s quite dystopian in its version of how it portrays corporate America. Written and created by Dan Erickson, Severance is like a Black Mirror episode come to life over multiple seasons.
Check out the first two seasons of Severance on Apple TV, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Season 3.
- Release Date
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February 17, 2022
- Network
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Apple TV
- Showrunner
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Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman
- Writers
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Anna Ouyang Moench, Wei-Ning Yu
Entertainment
Off Campus Season 2 Could Have Adjustments After Book Changes
The scripts for season 2 of Off Campus are already written — so why is there a chance there could be “adjustments” following several surprise book changes?
“We have all eight scripts written,” creator Louisa Levy exclusively told Us Weekly before the show premiered on Wednesday, May 13. “We’ve given [two] to the actors but the writers’ room is done.”
Levy noted that filming would be happening soon.
“We’re getting ready to dive into production and we’ve got a season mapped out,” she noted. “We know what we want to do — and we’ve got some fun things in store. I’ll just say … book fans are going to be really excited.”
While the scripts have been completed, Levy didn’t rule out changes, adding, “They’re written. It doesn’t mean that we can’t make adjustments. But we do have the plan, we have the map [for the season]. But I’m pretty sure that fans are going to be really excited about it.”
Based on the Off Campus book series by Elle Kennedy, the show follows an elite ice hockey team and the women in their lives as they “grapple with love, heartbreak and self-discovery — forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that come with transitioning into adulthood,” read the official synopsis.
Hannah (Ella Bright) and Garrett’s (Belmont Cameli) love story took center stage in season 1 — with several key moments from their book, The Deal, swapped for an updated version. At the same time, the show set up Allie (Mika Abdalla) and Dean (Stephen Kalyn) as the next possible leads despite them being featured in the third book in the series.
“It’s definitely great to have the blueprint of this fabulous book series to start with, but adapting for a TV show is a little bit different,” Levy told Us. “We need to keep the audience’s focus in a different way.”
Levy broke down the approach from page to screen.
“We have a lot of stories told in different ways. We have eight episodes instead of the whole book,” she noted. “So we really started with the things that were super nonnegotiable — that without those things it wouldn’t be Off Campus.”
She continued: “From there, we added as many of the book moments as we could. We dropped them in like Easter eggs, and we just really spent time taking one’s inside character and externalizing them.”
Off Campus is currently streaming on Prime Video.
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