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HBO’s 'Task' Is One of This Fall’s Best TV Shows, While Sony’s 'Caught Stealing' Ends Summer With a Bang
Plus, a hot below-the-line scoop about 'Star Wars: Starfighter,' the casting of Karen Read, the reinvention of Pedro Pascal, and the trailer for Shane Black's 'Play Dirty.'
Jeff Sneider
August 28, 2025
Happy Thursday, folks!
This week, Variety quoted a source saying that Bryan Singer’s anti-Israel movie starring Jon Voight has “awards-season potential,” Denzel Washington says he “doesn’t watch” movies anymore, and The Ringer named Naomi Watts’ turn in Mulholland Drive as the single-best performance of the 21st century — so yes, we’re truly living in the end times now.
I honestly don’t know which of those three things is crazier, but it may just be The Ringer’s list, which also included Kirsten Dunst’s performance in Melancholia among its Top 10. Yikes!
Today, Lucasfilm announced that newcomer Flynn Gray will star opposite Ryan Gosling in Star Wars: Starfighter. He’ll be joined by rising star Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams, who will play Gray’s mother, according to sources.
Meanwhile, you may be wondering who is shooting this movie for director Shawn Levy, and I can exclusively report that Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda will serve as the DP on Starfighter. He won his Oscar for Life of Pi and was also nominated for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
More recently, Miranda shot Top Gun: Maverick and F1: The Movie for director Joseph Kosinski, which should give you some idea of what Levy is going for — visually, at least — in Starfighter, which will hit theaters on May 28, 2027.
If you appreciate that free little tidbit, consider subscribing to the newsletter for a month, though a one-year subscription costs less. And if you’re an intern or an assistant in Hollywood and you need a discount, just let me know.
Tonight, I have reviews of HBO’s upcoming crime series Task starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey, and Darren Aronofsky’s new crime movie Caught Stealing starring Austin Butler. I also offer my thoughts on Elizabeth Banks’ casting as Karen Read, whose story has all corners of the industry salivating.
There are also items about Pedro Pascal starring in a gay romance, the distribution fate of Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut, the latest SNL exits, Pete Davidson’s new Bitcoin movie, the young leads of Oz Perkins’ next film, the release date for the new season of Monster on Netflix, and the actors who have been cast in separate projects as Sylvester Stallone and Rupert Murdoch, followed by my thoughts on the trailer for Shane Black’s new action-comedy Play Dirty starring Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield.
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