SAM NEILL (1947 - 2026)

Sam Neill, the charismatic character actor turned movie star, has sadly passed away on July 13th. The New Zealand actor had been struggling with stage 3 T-cell lymphoma over the last three years but he had recently revealed that the chemotherapy was no longer working. Neill died from pneumonia in Sydney, Australia at the age of seventy-eight.

Neill began his professional career on the stage in the 1969 production of "Marat/Sade" in Wellington, New Zealand. He would find work in several television and film productions with a standout performance in the New Zealand feature, "Sleeping Dogs" in 1977. After moving to Australia, Neill would appear on the popular television drama, "The Sullivans" and a co-starring role in Gillian Armstrong's 1979 feature, "My Brilliant Career" with Judy Davis, which achieved international acclaim. This helped Neill land roles in the third "The Omen" film, "The Final Conflict" and "Possession", Andrzej Żuławski's psychological horror drama with Isabelle Adjani that has since gone on to become a cult classic.

"Dead Calm", the psychological thriller set in Australia, would be a major breakthrough for Neill as well as for co-star, Nicole Kidman and director, Phillip Noyce. This helped Neill be viewed as a leading man and would go on to star in "A Cry in the Dark (Evil Angels)", "The Hunt for Red October", "Jurassic Park", "Sirens", "Event Horizon", "In the Mouth of Madness", "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" and "The Piano", the Oscar-winning film from Jane Campion.

He was born Nigel John Dermot Neill on September 14th in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, to an English mother and a New Zealand father. When he was five, the family relocated to New Zealand and settled in the Christchurch suburb of Cashmere. As a child, Neill had a stammer but would outgrown this condition. He began calling himself "Sam" because there were several other boys named "Nigel" in grade school.

It had been said that Neill had been one of the leading contenders to succeed Roger Moore as James Bond, but the role would ultimately go to Timothy Dalton. He would reprise his role of Dr. Alan Grant in "Jurassic Park III" and for the final time in "Jurassic World Dominion" in 2022. He wrote a Memoir, "Did I Ever Tell You This?" which was published in 2023.

SUPERGIRL (2026)

Written by Ana Nogueira

Directed by Craig Gillespie


Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA. July 7, 2026 4:00 PM


Near the conclusion of the latest reboot of "Superman" from writer/director, James Gunn, we were briefly introduced to Kara, played by Milly Alcock, who is a relative of the hero from Krypton and the only other survivor from their dead planet. This has led to a movie, "Supergirl" that spotlights this other super-powered visitor from Krypton. Unlike her cousin, Supergirl is edgy, disheveled and far from what many would consider heroic. Yet this coming-of-age, sci-fi adventure from Craig Gillespie winds up feeling disappointing due to a lack of an inventive style and persuasive thrills.

We first see Kara (Alcock) traveling the galaxy with her dog, Krypto, bar hopping from planet to planet, drinking heavily in a solitary celebration of her twenty-third birthday. Her cousin, Clark (David Corenswet) attempts to contact her to check in, concerned that she's having difficulty adjusting to life on Earth, but she tries to avoid his call.

On one of her stops, Kara's partying is interrupted by Ruthye (Eve Ridley), a young girl searching for someone to help her kill Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), the ruthless leader of the space pirates, Brigands who murdered her entire family, in exchange for the majestic sword her father designed. No one in the bar is interested, particularly Kara. But an imposing alien decides to just take the sword from Ruthye which causes Kara to forcefully get it back, solely on principal.

But Krem had been following Ruthye. After disabling Kara's spacecraft, Krem shoots a charging Krypto with a deadly poison that will slowly kill him within three days. Now she must track down the dangerous space pirate for the antidote to save her dog while reluctantly taking Ruthye along who still wants revenge.

As Supergirl begins her pursuit of Krem, she discovers that these pirates are kidnapping young girls to use as sex slaves while another entire family is wiped out by trying to save their child from this murderous crew. I usually appreciate when these super-hero films make an effort to expand beyond the expected plot beats of this genre. But this all just feels far too dark and bleak, creating a harsh and unpleasant tone that just drags this movie down. This isn't helped by the screenplay from Ana Nogueira, which was adapted from the comic-book mini-series, "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow", that fails to drive up the thrills with its plodding narrative filled with clunky one-liners and underdeveloped characters.

We are given Kara's back story, told throughout the film, where her parents, scientist, Zor-El (David Krumholtz) and his wife, Alura (Emily Beecham) manages to save a large section of Argo City with a force field system that separate and protects the city after Krypton explodes. Kara is born eight years later but is sent to Earth after the survivors in Argo City are slowly being poisoned from exposed Kryptonite. Alcock certainly captures a scrappy, party girl vibe as Kara but her character is not fully fleshed out enough to help us really understand her brooding, self-serving nature.

  
Gillespie has a history of making engagingly quirky films like "Lars and the Real Girl", "I, Tonya" and "Cruella", each elevated by an offbeat charm and unhinged humor. However I don't know what happened with "Supergirl". Perhaps the studio gatekeepers held him back on a firm leash but this movie feels constrained, needing a serious infusion of wacky levity and weirdness to offset the overly grim setting. Supergirl repeatedly getting drunk at a bar and showing her severely hungover the next day is about as wild as the film gets. We do get Jason Momoa who shows up as the shadowy bounty hunter, Lobo to apparently add more menacing gruffness and star power to the film. But the striking actor, in his brief appearance, doesn't end up really contributing much that is crucial or memorable.

The first time "Supergirl" made it on to the big screen was back in 1984 with a solid Helen Slater as the girl from Krypton and a grandiose Faye Dunaway as the glamourous villain. This banal, campy movie ended up being a critical and box-office flop. The new filmed version of "Supergirl" seemed like an opportunity to give this character another fighting chance to soar high above this previous cinematic misstep. Yet this latest attempt from Gillespie has run into much of the same problems as the first film with "Supergirl" having an aimless narrative, inconsistent characterizations and a serious lack of entertaining fun.

2026 OUTFESTNEXT

After beginning a new chapter last year, OutfestNext returns with a summer film festival that celebrates LGBTQ+ experiences through cinema. For four days, July 23 to July 26, the fest will offer independent queer feature films, shorts, documentaries and engaging conversations. The screenings will be held at the LGBT Center Renberg Theater and Micro Cinema in Los Angeles.

Some of the films that will be featured include "I Want Your Sex", the first feature film in over a decade from filmmaker, Gregg Araki, one of the pioneers of the New Queer Cinema movement. This erotic comedy stars Olivia Wilde as an art-world provocateur and Cooper Hoffman as her new young assistant that she turns into her sexual plaything. Charli XCX, Margaret Cho and Johnny Knoxville also star. "Test" from director, Sam McConnell follows an amateur bodybuilder (Brock Yurich who also wrote the screenplay) in working-class Ohio who is working hard to achieve his dream of becoming a champion. But to afford his daily regime of meds required to bulk up, he discretely performs on the web for men. 

William Friedkin’s 1980 film "Cruising" was the controversial mainstream movie to depict gay life which involved a cop going undercover to solve a murder. The documentary from Jeffrey Schwarz, "Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders" examines the real-life killings that inspired the main narrative of "Cruising" while also exploring the legacy of this film today. This year's winner of the Teddy Award at the Berlin Film Festival from director, Brydie O'Connor, "Barbara Forever" looks at the life and work of the late, pioneering lesbian filmmaker, Barbara Hammer. "Maspalomas", from Spanish directors, Aitor Arregi and Jose Mari Goenaga, tells the story of an elderly man (José Ramón Sorois) who came out late in life and is now making up for lost time in the gay paradise of Maspalomas in the Canary Islands. But a stroke changes his life with his daughter moving him against his wishes into a conservative nursing home. And "Dreamboi", an erotically charged horror film set in the Philippines from director, Rodina Singh that was recently banned by that country's motion picture review board.









For the complete list of films and to purchase tickets, please click below:

OutfestNext 2026

WHAT IS THE DEFINITIVE MOVIE ABOUT AMERICA?

As the United States has reached it's two hundred and fifty years as a nation today, the New York Times has assembled ten of their writers to select a film that best represents this country and why. Each of these films manages to capture a little insight into how we might view ourselves as a country and how the rest of the world possibly perceives us because of our cinema. The nation is currently in a severely political divided state of mind (with a perfect example being the muddled events that have been put together to celebrate our country's milestone) but I still believe that we still remain united, bound by our shared history, a deep love of country and a strong desire for a more perfect union.

Please click below to read the selections and here are a few trailers for some of these films:

NYT: What Is the Definitive Movie About America?

COMING SOON

"Klara and the Sun", based on the popular novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, will be coming to movie screens this fall. Jenna Ortega plays Klara, a solar-powered, artificial friend who is in search of the perfect home. When Klara is purchased for an ailing Josie (Mia Tharia), they immediately make a deep connection with each other. But Josie has a complicated relationship with her mother (Amy Adams) but Klara’s positive energy and unwavering loyalty begins to help heal the family. Taika Waititi, the Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker behind "Jojo Rabbit", has adapted the book with Dahvi Waller and directed the film. Natasha Lyonne and Steve Buscemi also star.

"Klara and the Sun" is due in US theaters on October 23, 2026

SCARY MOVIE (2026)

Written by Marlon Wayans & Shawn Wayans & Keenen Ivory Wayans & Rick Alvarez



Directed by Michael Tiddes



Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA June 10, 2026 5:10 PM



It has been fourteen years since the last "Scary Movie", a spoof on horror films and other moments in popular culture, last appeared on the big screen. This series of comedies, originally conceived by Marlon and Shawn Wayans along with writing partners, Buddy Johnson and Phil Beauman, is filled with raunchy humor and comedic spins of popular slasher flicks. The first "Scary Move" back in 2000 was directed by their brother, Keenen Ivory Wayans, who was the creator and host of the sketch comedy series, "In Living Color", and went on to become a box-office hit with a sequel quickly released the following year. But by the time for a third film, the Wayans brothers were forced off the film when they could not come to a salary agreement with the studio at time, Miramax. David Zucker, who was a co-creator and director of "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun" films, went on to helm the next two "Scary Movie" sequels with Malcolm D. Lee directing a fifth as the box-office results diminished with each subsequent film.

"Scary Movie" is now back to offer parodies on current horror movies to modern viewers and the Wayans brothers along with stars, Anna Faris and Regina Hall have also returned for this sixth installment of the series. Filled with plenty of sight gags and wacky recreations of characters from popular scary movies, "Scary Movie" also attempts to create humor from the frightening culture wars of today. But this film never feels like it has made any real effort to evolve, remaining stuck retreading stale comedy that was barely funny in the previous era.

Our story opens with goth teenager, Tuesday Campbell (Savannah Lee Nassif) being attacked by the return of the deranged killer, Ghostface. At the hospital, her sister, Sara (Olivia Rose Keegan) along with her boyfriend, Jack (Cameron Scott Roberts) realize that this seems similar to what happened with the girls' estranged mother, Cindy (Faris) twenty-six years ago and decide to go to her for help. Living as a recluse, Cindy is too frightened to get directly involved. Sara and Jack team up with Brad (Gregg Wayans) and Dei (Sydney Park) who happen to be the children of Brenda Meeks (Hall) to try solve who is the killer behind the mask.

As we move through this thin narrative, we are given comic send-ups of the genre movies, "Ma", "Get Out", "M3GAN", "Smile", "Longlegs", "Sinners" and there's even a brief animated sequence inspired by "KPop Demon Hunters". And much like many "Saturday Night Live" skits, these comedy bits loosely strung together throughout the film are hit-or-miss routines, filling the screen with either laugh-out-loud occasions or (more often) plodding, groan inducing moments.

Faris and Hall remain the only noteworthy performers here but these comic vets wind up having to take a backseat to the younger characters who lack presence and serious comedy chops. Others who make a reappearance from the past are Brenda's stoner brother, Shorty (Marlon Wayans), reporter, Gail Hailstorm (Cheri Oteri) and the mentally challenged, Doofy Gilmore (Dave Sheridan) who had turned out to be the original Ghostface. And Teyana Taylor make a brief cameo in the opener playing herself in a spoof of this movie series called "Horror Movie".

Since the very beginning of this franchise, "Scary Movie" has focused far more about being clever than actually funny. The latest version wants to appeal to a new generation yet fails to take into account that the world and comedy has changed considerably since the first movie hit theaters. This "Scary Movie" feels dated, extremely lazy and way too formulaic in it's approach and delivery to succeed in its attempt to find laughs spoofing horror movies.

COMING SOON

William Greaves, who was first an actor before moving behind the camera to become a pioneering documentarian, had invited every surviving creator during the Harlem Renaissance he could locate back in 1972 to Duke Ellington’s home in Harlem for a party. Over the next four hours, Greaves filmed as this group of artists reminisced and debated about their experiences and how they had shaped the culture. 

The director behind the "Symbiopsychotaxiplasm" films struggled for years trying to figure out how to best utilize his footage. But Greaves died in 2014 at the age of eighty-seven with the film incomplete. Louise Greaves, his widow, would go on working on the project until she died in 2023. Then their son, David and daughter, Liani would continue on with this work until they were able to finally complete the film.

"Once Upon a Time in Harlem" made its world premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival where it was well received and highly praised. The documentary will be released theatrically this fall by Neon who won the bidding war following the screening during the fest.

"Once Upon A Time In Harlem" is due in US theaters on October 16, 2026