Mike Sampson is the Editor-in-Chief of ScreenCrush. He studied to become a lawyer and worked as an architectural planner after graduating college but neither of these professions afforded him the opportunity to watch movies and TV for a living. He previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of JoBlo.com for 10 years. He lives in New Jersey and probably spends too much time playing video games and overthinking things.
Mike Sampson
Daniel Fleetwood, Terminally Ill ‘Star Wars’ Fan Behind #ForceForDaniel, Dies at Age 32
Back in October, Ashley Fleetwood, the wife of Daniel Fleetwood, a terminally ill Star Wars fan, started the #ForceForDaniel campaign to help her husband see Star Wars: The Force Awakens before he died. Daniel, a lifelong fan who camped out for tickets to see the prequel trilogy, was given only two months to live in July and both he and his wife knew he wasn’t going to be able to make it until opening day. On November 5, Disney, Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams made Daniel’s dying wish come true by bringing Star Wars: The Force Awakens to his home in Spring, Texas.
Daniel Fleetwood died last night, just five days after his Star Wars screening, at the age of 32.
New Japanese ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Trailer With Tons of New Footage!
J.J. Abrams recently said that the third Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer that debuted back on October 19 would be the last trailer we would see for the upcoming Star Wars film. Turns out, even J.J. Abrams is wrong sometimes. Today, a new Japanese Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer appeared online with lots of new footage and BB-8 fans are going to love this.
Netflix Negotiating With Disney For ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Streaming Rights
Back in 2012, Disney and Netflix struck a deal that would allow all of Disney’s films — including Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars properties — to stream exclusively on Netflix Instant, starting on January 1, 2016. As that date approaches, many have speculated openly about the Star Wars films finally coming to Netflix. There were even rumors recently that Netflix was prepping their database for the Star Wars movies, though Netflix denied those reports. While they have yet to comment specifically on the existing six films in the Star Wars library, Netflix did confirm that, as of now, they do not have the rights to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but are currently in negotiations to bring that title to their streaming library.
What’s Expiring on Netflix Instant: October 2015
Normally the lists of what is disappearing from Netflix in any given month isn’t that long. Last month it was 15 total titles. But, October is the Great Netflix Cleansing as a whopping 45 movies are expiring. And these aren’t just generic B-movies, these are legit classics like Annie Hall, This is Spinal Tap, The Big Lebowski, The Exorcist and Kangaroo Jack. Not you too, Kangaroo Jack!
Disney Developing New ‘Mary Poppins’ Movie, Not a Sequel or Reboot
As they have grown rather fond of doing, Disney is looking back at one of their past hits in order to create some future success. After modern day versions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Alice in Wonderland (not to mention, upcoming versions of Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book), Disney has hired Rob Marshall (Chicago, Into the Woods) to direct a new Mary Poppins musical based on P.L. Travers’ original children’s books.
Win a Sphero BB-8, One of the Coolest ‘Star Wars’ Toys Ever Made!
There were a lot of exciting toys announced yesterday during the epic 18-hour Star Wars Force Friday reveals, but none as exciting as the BB-8 toy from Sphero. We’ve been gushing about BB-8 since Star Wars Celebration and counting down the days until we could own one. And now that the day is here, it is perhaps even more fun than we imagined.
New ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Teaser: ‘There Has Been an Awakening…’
As both Comic-Con and D23 went by without a new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer we were left to wonder when exactly we’d see the next footage from the upcoming. Well, get ready. That time is now. “Have you felt it?”
Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer Teaming Up to Write and Star in Upcoming Comedy
Earlier this summer, Trainwreck star Amy Schumer tweeted photos of her partying with newfound BFF Jennifer Lawrence in The Hamptons. Now, it seems like Schumer and Lawrence are more than just party pals, they’re future co-stars. Lawrence revealed the new friends are currently writing a script together that they plan to star in.
‘Goonies’ House Closed to Fans After Harassment, Vandalism From Visitors
The real-life Goonies house in Astoria, Oregon has becoming something of a mecca for fans of the 80s cult classic. They would stop by, take pictures, do the Truffle Shuffle and all was good. But all of that Pacific Northwest hospitality has disappeared as the owner of the house has gotten sick of the attention and blocked access to the property, including covering the outside of the house in tarps. Hey, you guyyyyyys…get off my lawn!
Watch the Best Moments From Jon Stewart’s Final ‘Daily Show’
Jon Stewart said goodbye to The Daily Show last night in equal parts star-studded and quiet, personal fashion as former correspondents like Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Olivia Munn returned to pay their respects, while Bruce Springsteen closed out the slow with a performance — at Stewart’s request — of his 1999 song “The Land of Hopes and Dreams” and, for his fellow New Jerseyan, “Born to Run”.