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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is making some major changes to next year’s Oscar ceremony, with the standout being a brand new category honoring “outstanding achievement in popular film.” This means that mainstream tentpole movies like Black Panther, Ready Player One, and Mission: Impossible - Fallout have a shot at winning in a non-technical category. The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, exists to honor excellence in cinematic achievements, dating all the way back to its first ceremony in 1929....

One of the worst things that can happen to an actor is to get constantly typecast. If someone becomes associated with playing a certain kind of role, like Michael Cera did for Arrested Development and Superbad, it’s hard for audiences to see them as any other kind of character. That’s why it’s best for actors to establish a wide range of performances in order to not get pigeonholed into specific roles....

Dreams offer us a gateway into our subconscious, revealing ideas or feelings we’ve buried deep inside. Cinema has always taken advantage of the mystery that surrounds dreams and nightmares, and dream sequences have been a staple in movies for decades. They are often used to give us a glimpse into the inner workings of a character’s mind, revealing their fears, passions, and obsessions. Sometimes these sequences work, and other times not so much....

If you’ve been a fan of Shondaland shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice, and How to Get Away With Murder, you might have started to hear a little bit about what goes on behind the scenes. Even before the advent of social media, we could tell that there was nearly as much drama going on behind the scenes of Seattle Grace as there was when the cameras were rolling....

There is nothing more frustrating than starting a brand new television program, getting invested in the character’s lives, friendships, and relationships, just to have that program ripped from you. As an audience, all we want is a little bit of closure – and one more season of our new favorites! It’s hard to say goodbye to a cancelled series when all you can see is its potential. Over the last couple of years, the world has had its fair share of brilliant scripted dramas that were taken from us too soon....

Supergirl is officially heading to The CW in the fall, which can only mean one thing: those Flarrow crossovers are about to get a massive upgrade. The network is now home to four DC properties: Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow, and CW chief Mark Pedowitz revealed that they have every intention of making the most of their superhero wealth. “Just imagine what our superhero crossover episode is going to look like come December,” he said during the CW upfronts....

We live in the age of the movie franchise. As Hollywood studios become more and more adverse to taking risks on new, untried stories, they double down on the production of remakes, reboots, sequels and prequels. These new/old movies often fuel nostalgic discussions among the viewers about the good old days and cinematic masterpieces from those times. However, not all remakes are created equal. Only some of them match the movies that inspire them and other times even surpass them....

South Park has become an American classic over its 20 seasons. It is second only to The Simpsons in terms of longevity for a cartoon, and has fought its way from the fringe of subculture to the mainstream. It’s hard to believe that after so many season, South Park continues to stay fresh. Everyone wants to know what Trey Parker and Matt Stone will have to say about the political climate, as they are some of the most adept social commentators of our time....

Since he was first introduced to audiences in 1977, Darth Vader has become one of the most recognizable and iconic movie villains of all time. In the original Star Wars trilogy, he’s basically the Emperor’s attack dog, inspiring fear not only in the Rebel alliance, but in his own men, especially since he doesn’t take bad news well. Just ask Captain Needa. Vader had countless appearances in various Star Wars media since then, including the prequel trilogy, tie-in novels, comic books, video games, and television shows, and the character’s popularity doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon....

Ah, horror films. They may be the black sheep of the cinematic world, never earning the sort of respect that more serious films are bestowed with, but there is something primal about horror films that speaks to each and every moviegoer, not just the gorehounds or adrenaline junkies. Since the aim of horror films is to scare, most put more effort into things like atmosphere and creature design, rather than big name actors....

Breaking into Hollywood isn’t easy. It takes talent, determination, persistence through years of rejections, and an it-factor that’s difficult to describe. Breaking into Hollywood as a child can be even more difficult since success relies much more on luck than talent. (After all, how talented can a one-year-old really be?) Despite all this, there are some entire families that have taken Hollywood by storm and turned several members into mainstream stars....

The whole joy of Pokémon revolves around the lofty task of trying to catch them all. With each new game in the series, there continues to be a growing tally of new Pokémon that join the staggering Pokédex. With such a high number of creatures out there, it’s easy to catch a lot of the more common Pokémon and build up a respectable collection as a Pokémon trainer. However, there are always going to be a number of Pokémon that people are convinced don’t even exist because they’re never seen one appear in the game....

Given the state of television and movies as of late, the idea that FOX would ever let the 24 series lie dormant for an extended period of time was incredibly unlikely. The series lasted for nearly a decade, providing audiences with a collection of violent day-in-the-life stories from the perspective of hero Jack Bauer. Kiefer Sutherland’s performance in the role played a huge part in the show’s success, proving that even after Jack put in his notice with the CTU, the character could come back and lead a smaller-sized story to another ratings victory....

Of all of the sitcoms to be aired in the past couple of decades, there are not many as iconic and beloved as The Office. When The Office first began, it wasn’t really the most popular show on television. It wasn’t until the show’s true target audience was discovered to be college students and graduates that The Office really started to get moving. The hit series ended up receiving 9 seasons, with 188 hilarious episodes....

When it comes to Netflix, it has built its reputation on presenting people with original series that you won’t see on any other network. Not only that, but Netflix offers American fans TV shows from all over the world. Whereas it used to be impossible to see international television, Netflix has made it a standard affair. This includes several excellent TV series from the United Kingdom and Britain in particular. Netflix has signed deals to show British television series, they have partnered with the BBC to co-produce great television shows, and has gone abroad to license shows made in the U....

If you can think back on all your favorite shows, every character you’ve sympathized with and every actor that left midway through the series, then you will recall how each of those series changed since their first episode. Things rarely stay the same years later. If they did, shows would never wear out their welcome and the golden age of television would have many more series hovering around double digit series runs....

We really didn’t deserve True Blood. Alan Ball’s adaptation of Charlaine Harris’ The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series was campy, trashy, and surprisingly effective. We spent seven seasons with Bon Temps and its population of humans, vampires, and myriad other supernatural creatures. The fun part of the show was that every time we thought we knew what lurked beneath the realms of known science, some other strange and magical species or creature popped up....

The Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off in 2008 with Iron Man. After working on a co-produced Incredible Hulk with their second movie, the MCU was off to the races, introducing everyone from Captain America and Thor to The Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers. Superheroes had their own solo movies, joined teams, and made cameos in other hero’s movies along the way. It probably comes as no surprise that two of the first four main heroes introduced have appeared in more movies than anyone else, especially when those two men pretty much are the heart and soul of the MCU....

Musical movies have come back into vogue the past couple of decades, and with this renaissance have also come a reappraisal of the genre as a whole. In the days before music videos, MTV and remixes, musicals satisfied the needs of viewers to enjoy pop hits along with a story thanks to the medium of film. Unlike music videos, however, performers in musical film need to sustain a performance over a much longer runtime....

The name Nintendo will forever be a part of the pop culture pantheon, and with good reason. Their video games and consoles have been lighting up living rooms and imaginations for more than thirty years, bringing elation to countless gamers while constantly innovating and redefining what gaming can be. To this day, the company still produces games that keep veteran fans coming back for more and enticing a whole new generation of young minds....