
Tom Butler - do not use
Tom Butler is the editor of Yahoo Movies in the UK. He studied film production at university so he knows his “mise-en-scene” from his “verisimilitude” and isn’t afraid to drop them in conversations. His love of film was cemented in 1993 with the release of ‘Jurassic Park’, which he still considers the pinnacle of modern cinema, and is happy to feed those who say otherwise to his pet T-Rex.
- Tom Butler
11 times The Simpsons predicted the future with eerie precision
Dismiss ‘The Simpsons’ simply as a cartoon for kids at your peril. Donald Trump may only be a presidential candidate hopeful right now, but his ambition was foreseen by this classic ‘Simpsons’ episode where Bart was shown his future by a Native American. Simon Singh, the author of a book titled ‘The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets’, claims Homer Simpson predicted the mass of the Higgs Boson particle 14 years before it was actually figured out for real by scientists at the Large Hadron Collider.
- Tom Butler
Ron Howard: Women LOVED Tom Hanks' mullet... critics, not so much
This week sees the release of ‘Inferno’, the third Dan Brown film adapted by Ron Howard, starring Tom Hanks as symbology expert Robert Langdon. All of the literary franchise’s usual tropes are present and correct – lavish European locations, mad dashes from museum to museum, symbols and puzzle-solving – but there’s one key factor missing from the new movie: Robert Langdon’s iconic mullet. The character’s flowing locks – the source of much derision when ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was released in 2006 – have gradually retreated over the course of the trilogy, all because the critics didn’t approve.
- Tom Butler
George Takei on the day William Shatner shut down Star Trek in a fit of jealousy
‘Star Trek’ celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, so when Yahoo Movies was offered the chance to speak to George Takei, one of the original USS Enterprise crew members, we jumped at the chance. After the show was cancelled in 1969, he reprised his role in ‘Star Trek: The Animated Series’ (available now on Blu-ray for the first time), and again in six feature-length ‘Star Trek’ movies. Top of the agenda when speaking to the 79-year-old was his long-running feud with William Shatner, the actor who played Captain Kirk.
- Tom Butler
Why Moana is Disney’s most complicated CG animation yet
It’s been three years since Disney Animation Studios released ‘Frozen’, the most successful animated movie of all time, during which time the studio has also released ‘Big Hero 6’ and ‘Zootropolis’ (both big hits in their own rights), all while simultaneously developing its most technically complex movie to date. ‘Moana’ doesn’t just mark the return to the world of musicals for the animation giant, it also marks the return of two of Disney’s most successful co-directors John Musker and Ron Clements, with the filmmakers responsible for ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Aladdin’, and ‘The Princess and the Frog’, making their first ever CG-animated movie. “The majority of the movie is set at sea”, explains producer Osnat Shurer.
- Tom Butler
Luke Evans throws his hat into the ring for James Bond
The 37-year-old Welsh actor, who stars in this week’s new thriller ‘The Girl on the Train’, has admitted he’d love to be the second Welsh James Bond, following in the footsteps of Timothy Dalton. “[The James Bond role] is probably one of the most attractive roles – in a franchise – for a male actor of my age right now,” Evans tells Yahoo Movies. The much-coveted role of James Bond is still – until we hear otherwise – filled by Daniel Craig, who has four films as 007 under his belt.
- Tom Butler
Emily Blunt: I’ve done dangerous things when drunk (exclusive)
The adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ hit novel ‘The Girl on the Train’ hits cinemas this week on 5 October, with Emily Blunt in the lead role as Rachel, the unreliable drunk who gets embroiled in a murder mystery.
- Tom Butler
Fantastic Beasts set visit: Newt Scamander has a dark secret
Newt Scamander, the hero of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’, has a dark secret, “as some of JK Rowlings’ characters do” says director David Yates in a contender for ‘Understatement of the Year 2016’.
- Tom Butler
Terry Jones makes first public appearance since revealing dementia diagnosis
Monty Python star Terry Jones received a standing ovation at the Bafta Cymru Awards last night where he collected a lifetime achievement award for his outstanding contribution to television and film. It was Jones’ first public appearance since it was revealed that he’s been diagnosed with a severe form of dementia, and his Python co-star Michael Palin was there to present him the award. Jones, who collected the Bafta trophy with his son Bill, told the crowd to “quieten down” before his son thanked the audience on his behalf.
- Tom Butler
Johnny Depp absent from first Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge teaser trailer
Disney has released the first trailer for the fifth film in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise, and Johnny Depp is conspicuous in his absence. The title of the film has also been changed for the UK market, so the film known in the rest of the world as ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’, is now ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge’ on these fair shores.
- Tom Butler
Oscars 2016: Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio Take Epic Selfies On The Red Carpet
Anyone familiar with Tom Hardy’s now-defunct MySpace page will know the ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ is a big fan of selfies. It looks like the British star may have surpassed his own incredible self-portrait standards, taking what looks like the greatest selfie of all time at the 2016 Oscars.
- Tom Butler
The 12 Biggest Ever Oscar Travesties
One of the biggest upsets from the 2015 Oscars – aside from John Travolta’s generally distressing behaviour - was ‘Boyhood’ losing out to ‘Birdman’ for Best Picture and Best Director.
- Tom Butler
16 Crazy Actor Weight Loss Transformations
Recently, we showcased the actors who piled on pounds for film roles, but now it’s time to go the other way and look at the actors who dramatically slimmed down. Undoubtedly the harder discipline of the two, some actors took the challenge to crazy extremes as this gallery explains.
- Tom Butler
15 insane actor weight gain transformations
In this age of buff bodied movie stars with their cucumber water and kale smoothies, the attraction of acting roles that require a bit of weight gain must be irresistible. Emma Stone recently revealed she’d added 15lbs to play tennis legend Billie Jean King in ‘Battle of the Sexes’ through protein shakes and hardcore workouts.Here’s 15 more actors who beefed up and bulked out in the name of art.
- Yahoo Magazines PYC
The Greatest Benedict Cumberbatch Moments
This is our tribute to the most preposterously named star since Englebert Humperdinck.
- Yahoo Movies UK
17 Famous Actors You Never Knew Were In Star Wars
When George Lucas was casting for ‘Star Wars’ he auditioned nearly every up-and-coming starlet in Hollywood.
- Tom Butler
Spectre Set Visit – How They Shot The Amazing Rome Car Chase
It’s the middle of a bitterly cold March night in Rome and Yahoo Movies is stood overlooking the river Tiber waiting for James Bond. The cars accelerate off perilously close to the river (both stunt cars are fitted with oxygen tanks and masks, should anything go wrong) careening towards us at breakneck speed.
- Yahoo Movies UK
The Magic Movie Moments That Happened By Mistake
Sometimes, amazing movie scenes happen completely by accident.
- Yahoo Movies UK
Exclusive Ant-Man Poster Reveal
After dominating the early pre-summer blockbuster season with ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron ’, Marvel Studios is about to deliver the second blow in its 2015 box office one-two.
- Yahoo Movies UK
18 Hidden Disney Cameos You May Have Missed
From 2015’s ‘Big Hero 6’ right back to 1961’s ‘101 Dalmatians’, here are the best secret Disney cameos that may have passed you by.