In a romance and adventure worthy of the big screen, a Pennsylvania couple is preserving the past and forging a future as the owners of the world’s oldest drive-in movie theater. Matt McClanahan and Lauren McChesney bought Shankweiler’s Drive-In in Oreland, Pennsylvania, in 2022 after learning the property might be sold to developers. They supplemented their own savings with a $1 million small business loan. The theater’s original owner, Wilson Shankweiler, was a prominent hotel owner and movie buff. He opened what was then called Shankweiler’s Park-In Theatre on April 15, 1934. It was Pennsylvania’s first drive-in and only the second in the nation. The business has succeeded by offering year-round operations and special events.
“Weapons” crawled its way back to the top of the box office during the Labor Day weekend. The movie generated $10.2 million during its fourth weekend in theaters. Universal’s 50th rerelease of “Jaws” also made a splash in theaters, securing the second spot with $8.1 million domestically. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for the data firm Comscore, says this summer's box office is likely to narrowly miss last year's summer earnings, and failed to meet the typical pre-pandemic summer box office benchmark of $4 billion. He says that “there were casualties this summer. It’s a very crowded summer, very competitive."
Jude Law transforms into Vladimir Putin in “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” which premiered Sunday at the Venice Film Festival. The film, directed by Olivier Assayas, adapts Giuliano da Empoli’s bestselling book about Putin's rise to power. Paul Dano plays a fictional adviser inspired by real political strategist Vladislav Surkov. The film's release coincides with Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. This marks Assayas’s English-language debut. Filming took place in Latvia due to restrictions in Russia. Assayas describes the film as a reflection on modern politics and its deceptive nature.
Guillermo del Toro has made his mark in horror and built a hefty memorabilia collection along the way. The filmmaker announced Thursday he's teaming up with Heritage Auctions to auction hundreds of the 5,000 items in his collection. The items range from works by comic luminaries to exclusive items from his own classics. The auction was not an easy decision for del Toro, who joked that each item in his collection feels like a child of his own. The auction opened for online bidding Thursday and is the first of a three-part series with Heritage Auctions. The auction will take place on Sept. 26.
Actor Jerry Adler has died at 96. Adler started his career behind the scenes in theater and worked on more than 50 Broadway productions. He later transitioned to acting in his 60s, gaining fame for roles on “The Sopranos” and “The Good Wife.” A New York funeral home confirmed he died Saturday. Adler's acting career spanned more than 30 years, with appearances in shows like “Rescue Me” and “Mad About You.” He also returned to Broadway, onstage this time. He hailed from an entertainment family. His father worked in the theater industry and his cousin was famed acting teacher Stella Adler.
Rival studios on Sunday estimated that the Netflix film, “KPop Demon Hunters” led all films in the box office this weekend with $16-18 million in ticket sales. The numbers were shared by three studios on the condition of anonymity because the streaming company has a policy of not reporting ticket sales. Following a dominating few weeks as one of the most popular Netflix releases ever, the streamer put the film into 1,750 theaters for sing-along screenings Saturday and Sunday. David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe, calls it “a completely unique two-day musical event.”
Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi announced on Instagram that they've recently adopted a daughter. The young couple got married in a private ceremony last year. They shared Thursday that they “are beyond excited to embark on this beautiful next chapter of parenthood in both peace and privacy.” No further details were released. Brown gained recognition for her starring role as Eleven in the Duffer brothers’ sci-fi series “Stranger Things.” The fifth and final season will air in November and December. Bongiovi is the son of Jon Bon Jovi and debuted his acting career in “Rockbottom” last year.
Aubrey Plaza has described her grief over husband Jeff Baena’s death, likening it to “a giant ocean of awfulness.” The actor spoke on the podcast ’’Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” telling her former “Parks and Recreation” costar in her most detailed public remarks to date that it’s been “a daily struggle” to overcome the tragedy. Writer-director Baena’s January death at age 47 was ruled a suicide. Plaza tells Poehler that her grief feels like an image from a horror movie “The Gorge” in which a gorge between two cliffs is filled with monsters.
The new Netflix documentary “Devo” explores the Ohio-born art-rock band known for their quirky style and misunderstood message. The film debuts on Tuesday and features archival footage and interviews, including appearances by fans like David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Devo's music, including hits like “Whip It,” was infused with powerful art and literary ideas, critiquing societal “devolution.” Co-founder Gerald Casale explains that the band was often trivialized, but their work was a multimedia approach to protest and commentary. Despite challenges, Devo's influence endures, with a new tour planned alongside the B-52s.