It’sLord of the Ringsweek, apparently. Fresh off the 4K releases ofPeter Jackson’sLOTRandHobbittrilogies, Amazon Studios today announced 20 new cast members that are joining the ensemble for their highly anticipatedLord of the RingsTV series. Set in Middle-earth, this new TV adaptation is said to be a prequel of sorts toThe Fellowship of the Ring, covering events that precede what happened in Jackson’s iconic feature film trilogy. “The world that J.R.R. Tolkien created is epic, diverse, and filled with heart,” said series’ executive producers/showrunnersJ....

As far as network television is concerned, few channels have been so regularly fruitful as FX, the network that gave iconic series ranging fromThe ShieldandLouietoJustifiedandArchera happy home. The network could release nothing else this year on their channel but movies and repeats, and they would still be a major part of the best TV of 2016 conversation for the fourth season ofThe AmericansandArcher’s seventh season alone. Thankfully, thats not exactly how TV networks think and schedule, so we’ll have a whole new roster of shows in the second half of the year from FX, and this morning, the network revealed the release dates for three of its biggest projects....

InThis Week in Animation News,I’ll take a look at the previous week in the world of animation in order to get you caught up on everything you might have missed. It’s your one-stop shop for news regarding cartoons, anime, and animated web series. We’re talking movies, TV shows, digital shorts, and everything in between! If the rumors are true,Steven Spielbergmay be joining the team behind a possibleAnimaniacsreboot, bringing the popular 1990s series into the modern era....

Now playing in limited release is writer-director-cinematographerSean Ellis’Anthropoid. The film is based on the extraordinary true story of “Operation Anthropoid,” the code name for the mission to assassinate SS officer Reinhard Heydrich during World War II. If you’re not familiar with the awful human being named Reinhard Heydrich, he was the main architect behind the Final Solution and the third in command behind Hitler and Himmler and the leader of Nazi forces in Czechoslovakia....

The world has become more globalized. Now, thanks to modern advances in communication and transportation, it’s easier than it ever has been to consume and interact with media from all over the world. Why then does the world of animation remain so insular? So much of the animated content we see in the West primarily comes from America, France, or Japan. If asked about animated shows or movies from Asia, many folks would probably be inclined to think firstly - and only - about Japanese anime....

The trailerfor 2016’sRogue One: A Star Wars Storyis one of the coolest pieces ofStar Warscontent that The Walt Disney Company has ever released. The film itself, unfortunately, is a bit of a mixed bag. Although directorGareth Edwardswanted to create theSaving Private Ryanof theStar Warsuniverse,extensive reshootsand post-production work changed the direction of the film completely. Writer and directorTony Gilroywas brought into save the film, saying that “they were in so much terrible, terrible trouble that all you could do was improve their position....

After becoming a festival darling and Shudder streaming favorite with the knockout fantasy-horrorTigers Are Not Afraid, filmmakerIssa Lopezis heading to Blumhouse for a new supernatural-tinged tale of societal woes – this time, mass hysteria! Lopez is set to write and directOur Lady of Tears, a film adaptation ofDaniel Hernandez’s article, “The Haunting of Girlstown,” which was published by Epic Magazine and Vox. Per the press release, the film focuses on “a mass hysteria epidemic with supernatural roots, that in 2007 spread through Villa de las Niñas, an all girls, Catholic boarding school in the outskirts of Mexico City....

Just a couple of days ago,Fox pushed pause on their Queen biopicBohemian Rhapsodyciting the “unexpected unavailability” of directorBryan Singer. It turns out that the oddly phrased excuse was a bit of a dig at Singer himself since the other executives in charge of the 20th Century Fox production had apparently grown tired with Singer’s absences. Those conflicts have now resulted in Singer being fired from the project. THRreports that difficulties between singer and lead actorRami Malekhad been mounting, and Singer’s absence from the London-based set led to his firing....

Chris Reddnever thought he was going to be a comedian. Not that he didn’t think he was funny, it just wasn’t a profession he ever considered. Growing up in Chicago, all Redd wanted to do was be a rapper. Or a dancer. (Or both.) It wasn’t until a commercial for the iconic improvisational school Second City caught his attention at the exact right time that making people laugh for a living was a possibility....

Claude Lelouch’sThe Best Years of a Lifepremiered out of competition in Cannes. The film follows up on Lelouch’s monumental 1966 filmA Man and a Woman. “Da da da da da, da da da da da” rang out in the main Cannes auditorium with a huge show of emotion from the crowd as they recalled the film’s famous anthem. In 1966-67 Claude Lelouch’sA Man and a Womanwas a phenomenon. After winning the 1966 Cannes Palme d’Or the hugely romantic, exquisitely shot film with FrancisLai’s killer song went on to win the best foreign film Oscar and Golden Globe....

Steve Carell’sThe Patienthas addedDomhnall Gleesonfor the series fromThe AmericanscreatorJoe Weisbergand writer and producer Joel Fields.The Patienthas also addedSuccessionandLodge 49starLinda Emond,This Is UsalumLaura Niemi,andZoey’s Extraordinary PlayliststarAndrew Leedsand begins production this week. Carell is playing Alexander Strauss, a psychotherapist who is being held prisoner by a serial killer (Gleeson). Alexander begins to unpack the mind of the man keeping him captive and thus explores his own trauma and past. He’s being held captive to help this killer curb his homicidal urges....

Fred Hechingeris having quite the year right now, but I’d like to bet you’ve witnessed how immensely talented he is even before seeingFear StreetandThe White Lotus. While his role inBo Burnham’sEighth Gradeis small, it does wind up being an especially memorable sequence of the movie. And then on top of that, he doesn’t just hold his own oppositeTom HanksinNews of the World; he downright shines in that role. With the recent release of theFear Streetmovies on Netflix and withThe White Lotuscurrently underway on HBO, Hechinger took the time to join us for an extended interview to talk about those new projects, but also to revisit his journey in the industry thus far, beginning withEighth Grade....

The October movie season kicked off with the definition of variety—would you like to seeLady Gagabreak hearts orTom Hardydevour heads?—and the result is a massive, record-breaking start to the month. Sony’sVenomis the big winner, gobbling up $32.7 million on Friday night on its way to amassiveprojected total of $80 million. (For what it’s worth, Sony itself is thinking more like $70 million.) Either way, shouldRuben Fleischer’s anti-hero holds steady, that opening weekend haul would easily overtake the October record fromGravity’s $55....