Robert Rodriguez Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Don’t trust anything you see or hear in “Hypnotic,” a noggin-jogging thriller with more twists than Minnie’s tightly braided ponytail. Who’s Minnie? She’s the girl who goes missing in the movie’s opening scene, while police detective dad Daniel Rourke (Ben Affleck) looks away for a second. Or does she? Depending how your mind works, there’s a chance Minnie doesn’t even exist. The perp was caught, but Minnie’s body was never found — which is a clue that this wasn’t a typical disappearance. Your typical popcorn-munching multiplex patron would never suspect how deep this Russian-doll mystery goes. Better to strap in and go along for the ride in the latest example of creativity-within-constraints from resourceful writer-director Robert Rodriguez. Taking a page from “The Matrix,” “Limitless” and “Memento” — along with whole chapters from sci-fi trickster Philip K. Dick — this slick mix of special effects and practical ingenuity puts Affleck in a fun position, and the slightly grizzled star’s still got the clench-jawed charisma to pull it off.

The Oscars didn’t rain on Robert Rodriguez’s parade tonight as the filmmaker debuted his long-in-the-works Hypnotic at SXSW’s Paramount Theatre, with crowds being turned away.

TriStar Pictures has acquired Spyglass Media Group‘s “Thanksgiving,” a full-length slasher film inspired by the fake trailer from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s double feature “Grindhouse,” according to an insider with knowledge of the project.Roth is attached to direct the horror thriller film. “Thanksgiving” is co-written by Roth and Jeff Rendell, with Roger Birnbaum, Roth and Rendell producing.Chatter has existed about turning the jokey trailer into an actual movie, with Roth having written a screenplay over a dozen years ago.

The Mandalorian has finally returned to screens, taking fans on more adventures through the Star Wars universe. The hit Disney+ series – created by filmmaker John Favreau – follows lone bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) as he becomes the adoptive father figure of a little green critter called Grogu – AKA Baby Yoda.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer One of Austin’s hometown filmmakers is bringing his next movie to SXSW. Director Robert Rodriguez will screen a work-in-progress cut of his crime thriller “Hypnotic,” starring Ben Affleck, for fans at the SXSW Film Festival in the Texas capital on March 12. In the film, written by Rodriguez and Max Borenstein (“Godzilla vs. Kong,” HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”), Affleck plays a detective who is investigating a series of inexplicable crimes while searching for his missing daughter, whose disappearance is somehow involved with a secret government program.

Producers Guild Awards have revealed its presenters list for the 34th annual awards show, which will take place Saturday at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.Kate Hudson, Angela Bassett, Austin Butler, Brendan Fraser, Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michelle Williams, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Ron Howard and Sandra Oh lead the notable star-studded list who will take the stage to present at the PGA Awards.Additionally, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Billy Eichner, Bob Odenkirk, Danielle Deadwyler, Dave Burd, Diego Luna, Eugenio Derbez, Hannah Einbinder, Hong Chau, Jay Ellis, Kerry Condon, Leslie Odom, Jr., Mo Amer, Monica Barbaro, Nicole Byer, Paul Dano, Robert Rodriguez, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sherry Lansing and Stephanie Hsu will also present throughout the evening.The PGA Awards honors producers, industry leaders and their producing teams to celebrate the art and craft of producing by honoring the producers behind the top films, TV shows and new media projects of the past year. Previously announced honorees at this year's ceremony include Tom Cruise (David O. Selznick Award); Mindy Kaling (Norman Lear Award); Warner Bros.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) has revealed the presenters lineup for the 34th Annual Producers Guild Awards, to be held on Saturday, February 25, at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Addison Rae, scream queen? The TikTok star is expanding her film repertoire, joining the cast of director Eli Roth’s slasher “Thanksgiving.” Spyglass Media is backing the thriller, which follows a killer who visits a small town in Massachusetts with the hopes of creating a carving board out of the town’s turkey-loving inhabitants. The story is based on the fake trailer that Roth made 16 years ago for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s double feature “Grindhouse.” Rae confirmed the news, which was first reported by Deadline, on Instagram with the caption “Let’s eat.”

Addison Rae has her next big role, and it’s in a horror movie called Thanksgiving that has its roots in 2007′s Grindhouse.

Patrick Dempsey is in talks with Spyglass to star in “Thanksgiving,” multiple media outlets have reported. Yes, that’s Eli Roth’s “Thanksgiving,” a violent slasher film based on the fake trailer from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s double feature “Grindhouse” from 16 years ago.  Chatter has existed about turning the jokey trailer into an actual movie, with Roth having written a screenplay over a dozen years ago.

Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving, a full length feature based on the infamous fake trailer from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse pic, is gaining momentum as Patrick Dempsey is in talks to star. Spyglass media is producing the pic with Roth directing. Jeff Rendel penned the script with plans to shoot in March. Roger Birnbaum and Roth are producing.

EXCLUSIVE: Coming into this week’s EFM, Ben Affleck action-thriller Hypnotic was barely on anyone’s radar. However, the movie was quietly one of the market’s X-factors. It’s rare, after all, for a big-budget, finished film with A-list talent and director to still be without a U.S. distributor.

EXCLUSIVE: Gina Rodriguez, star and executive producer of Not Dead Yet, has signed an overall deal with 20th Television, the studio behind the new comedy series which premieres Wednesday on ABC.

James Bond star Eva Green has said she feared making A Patriot could have killed her career as she took the stand in a legal battle with White Lantern Films, producer of the doomed British movie.

Director James Cameron’s Avatar 3 is already in post-production and parts of Avatar 4 have already been filmed. That’s while he’s doing promotional duty with the December release of Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to the original film.

Filmmaker James Cameron is finally back with a long-delayed sequel to his box office juggernaut “Avatar” and even before “Avatar: The Way of Water” has been released the director has teased plans for two more sequels beyond the four installments that have been shot/written. While we’ve been focused mainly on Pandora there is another large effects-driven film that Cameron might be returning to as well.

Antonio Banderas famously portrayed the masked vigilante in 1998’s film The Mask of Zorro and its 2005 follow-up The Legend of Zorro. Banderas recently opened up about being game for a third installment of the franchise and who he would like to pass on the torch to play the titular character.

EXCLUSIVE: Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel) has signed with APA. The always-busy actress joins from UTA and reunites with agent Jason Cunningham, who had previously repped her when both were at Paradigm.

Roku is cooking up a pair of new original non-scripted series.

EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Fahey (Lost, Alita: Battle Angel) has signed on to star in the Salvadoran civil war drama Fireflies at El Mozote, which starts principal photography on location in El Salvador in November.

Director Robert Rodriguez smashed box-office expectations with his cult classic family film Spy Kids.

Disney+ has found its Ezra Bridger. Eman Esfandi has been tapped to play the animated character in Disney+’s live-action Ahsoka series, sources have confirmed to Deadline. Lucasfilm declined comment.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Alexander Rodnyansky, the producer of Oscar nominated films “Leviathan” and “Loveless,” has boarded the next project from Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov (pictured), whose film “Goliath” has its world premiere at Venice Film Festival on Thursday in the Horizons Extra section. The new project, “Nosorog,” tells a contemporary story of Tamara, a distraught woman on a desperate search for her missing son in a small town consumed by violent riots. To help get her son back, she hires a shady detective, Brayuk, with unexpected consequences. Rodnyansky joins producers Aliya Mendygozhina and Olga Khlasheva on the project, which is a co-production between the State Center of Support of the National Cinema of Kazakhstan and Kazakh film company Golden Man Media.

Mean Girls and The Parent Trap star Lindsay Lohan is set to headline the Netflix romantic comedy, Irish Wish, as part of the actress’ two picture creative partnership with the streamer.

A remake of the 1985 sword and sorcery film “Red Sonja” had been in the works for ages at Millennium Media. One incarnation had Robert Rodriguez producing with “Planet Terror” star Rose McGowan attached to play the comic book heroine.