movies

Alexa Swinton, David Arquette To Star In ‘Wreckless’ Drama (EXCLUSIVE)

Published

1 hour ago

August 10, 2026

EXCLUSIVE: Alexa Swinton (Behemoth!), David Arquette (Scarpetta), Wyatt Oleff (It) and Sawyer Spielberg (Masters of the Air) are underway on the Minnesota shoot for Wreckless, an indie sports drama marking the directorial debut of Kayla Arend, who’s working from a script she wrote with Mickey Falcone.

Set within the male-dominated demolition derby community of rural Minnesota, Wreckless is a father/daughter story about addiction, grief, and recovery centered on Joni (Swinton), a reckless teenager who has learned to live with pain, and her father Larry (Arquette), a recovering addict who has spent years trying to outrun his own mistakes. When Joni enters the demolition derby, the father and daughter are forced to confront the past and rebuild their relationship in the most unlikely of arenas.

The film is shooting amidst the real demolition derby community of Rochester, Minnesota, with Oleff playing Atlas, Joni’s magnetic but troubled boyfriend, and Spielberg as Bo, Larry’s neighbor and sponsor. The cast also includes Rochester native Mohamed Khalid Mohamed as Ahmed, Joni’s best friend and co-worker, and other locals.

A graduate of NYU’s Graduate Film program whose thesis film, Leaving Yellowstone, was executive produced by Spike Lee, Arend said: “This story is important to me as the child of a man who battled addiction. The unwavering support that I received from this community is something I am eternally grateful for and will never take for granted. I cannot fathom making this film anywhere else. Wreckless is very much a modern portrait of the Midwest that I know and love.”

Clément Bauer (True Spirit, Sitting in Bars with Cake), who’s producing for Resonate Entertainment alongside Vic Brandt (She’s the He), added: “Kayla and I both grew up in this pocket of Minnesota, and we knew it was the only place to tell this story, not just to reflect on where we come from, but to shine a light on a community that rarely gets represented on screen.”

Cast by Barbara J. McCarthy (Sovereign, Sitting in Bars with Cake), Wreckless is exec produced by George Hubbard, Teresa Tsai, Timothy Carpenter, John Siff, Inna Swinton and Rolfe Swinton.

Best known for roles on the shows And Just Like That… and Billions, Swinton’s film credits include M. Night Shyamalan’s Old, Bradley Cooper’s Maestro and Jake Schreier’s Marvel entry Thunderbolts*. Upcoming, she’ll be seen in Tony Gilroy’s Searchlight drama Behemoth!, set in the world of classical music, which is out December 4. She is repped by Osbrink, Untitled Entertainment and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols.

Coming off an appearance in Scream 7, Arquette’s upcoming slate includes Scarpetta Season 2 for Prime Video, as well as such indies as Wildcard, The Night Driver, The Mess We Made and Killing Hitler. He is repped by Artium and Lighthouse Entertainment.

Most recently seen in Karate Kid: Legends and the Apple show City on Fire, Oleff’s also known for his work in the recent It films from New Line, the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, where he played a young version of Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill, and the Netflix series I Am Not Okay with This. He is repped by Gersh, Untitled Entertainment and Myman Greenspan.

Spielberg has appeared in the Apple series Masters of the Air, the Cannes-premiering Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point, A24’s Materialists from Celine Song, and more. He is repped by Swiontek Entertainment and Gang, Tyre, Ramer.

movies

Jon Cypher Dead: ‘Hill Street Blues’ & ‘Major Dad’ Actor Was 94

Published

22 minutes ago

August 10, 2026

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Jon Cypher, who played Chief Daniels in scores of Hill Street Blues episodes, was He-Man’s chief ally in 1987’s Masters of the Universe, starred on Major Dad and appeared in dozens of other TV series and films over nearly a half-century, died August 3 at his home in Central Point, Oregon. He was 94.

His family told local news outlet Ashland News that he died with his wife by his side but did not reveal a cause of death.

Cypher probably is best known for his role as the politics-savvy and sometimes duplicitous Police Chief Fletcher Daniels in more than 70 episodes of NBC’s 1980s cop drama Hill Street Blues from 1981-87. Although the series created by Steven Bochco-Michael Kozoll never was a big ratings hit — ranking only 27th among primetime series in its first season and never breaking the Top 20 in a three-network universe — its influence was undeniable as critics swooned. The series amassed 26 Emmys, dozens more nominations and was the first show to win four consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series, from 1981-84.

During Hill Street‘s run, Cypher was cast as He-Man key ally Duncan, aka Man-at-Large, in the 1987 cult pic Masters of the Universe. Idris Elba plays the character in this year’s reboot starring Nicholas Galitzine. Another big role came around in 1990 when Cypher joined the CBS sitcom Major Dad as Brig. Gen. Marcus Craig for the show’s final three seasons into 1993.

MORE TO COME…

movies

Nikki Glaser Signs With WME

Published

29 minutes ago

August 10, 2026

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Comedian Nikki Glaser has taken on a new agency, signing with WME in all areas.

Glaser currently holds three Emmy nominations for her Hulu special Good Girl and her work as host of the 83rd Annual Golden Globes. She’s been working as a stand-up since the early 2000s but saw her career take off to a new level in 2024.

First, there was Glaser’s acclaimed performance at The Roast of Tom Brady, and shortly thereafter, there was her HBO special Someday You’ll Die, which secured the largest streaming comedy special premiere in the history of HBO Max before going on to earn Emmy, Grammy, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice recognition and a WGA win.

On the heels of her breakout year, Glaser made history in 2025 as the first woman to host the Golde Globes solo. She earned Emmy and WGA Award nominations for her second outing at the dais earlier this year and will return to host the ceremony for a third consecutive year in 2027.

Beyond stand-up, Glaser continues to expand her presence across film and television. Upcoming, she has Netflix’s The Fifth Wheel, directed by Eva Longoria, where she stars opposite Kim Kardashian. Also at Netflix, there’s her animated feature Steps with Amanda Seyfried, which premieres this November. Glaser will additionally co-write, produce and star in an original comedy inspired by the classic game MASH for Paramount Pictures, as well as star in, co-write and produce a new romantic comedy for Universal Pictures with Judd Apatow producing.

Currently performing her The Stunning Tour across North America and Europe, Glaser continues to be represented by Alex Murray at Brillstein and attorney Lev Ginsberg.

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‘Pluribus’: Vince Gilligan And Composer Dave Porter On Series’ Music

Published

1 hour ago

August 10, 2026

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Of the 18 Emmy nominations for Apple TV‘s Pluribus, composer Dave Porter can call dibs on three of ’em: for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series, Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour), and Original Main Title Theme Music.

It’s a sweet moment for Porter, for after his 18-year collaboration with series creator Vince Gilligan on Breaking Bad, spinoff Better Call Saul and now Pluribus, the Television Academy has finally recognized his nuanced sound, which always pushes the boundary of not only score but also story.

We talk with the duo on the latest episode of Deadline’s Crew Call podcast about their roots together, their shorthand and philosophy on scoring, and how that 20-second, New Age, harmonized choral main title theme (or “ear wig,” as Gilligan calls it) came about. In that short time span, the music sets the table for the show’s trippy dystopian future where a woman is one of a few untouched survivors in a world where an extraterrestrial virus has turned the majority of Earth’s denizens into peaceful, hive-minded people. It’s no wonder that Porter started his professional career as an assistant to three-time Oscar-nominated minimalist film composer Philip Glass.

Explains Porter about the melodic, two-part main title performed by Kenya Hathaway: “We’re presenting two sides of this argument. That’s the most interesting part of this show, is all the dichotomies that Vince has created here, and all the ways that we’re hopefully making our audience think and not take a side.”

The composer adds, “We love to leave that ambiguity in there if we possibly can, because we want our audience to come to their own conclusions about this amazing world that Vince and our writers have created.”

“These two vocal parts: sometimes they’re harmonious, sometimes they’re rubbing against each other in a discordant way, and they don’t seem to fit. And then ultimately, we’re leaving our audience there a little bit unsettled, but curious and hopefully humming a little too.”

Says Gilligan about Porter: “[He asks], ‘How do you want the audience to feel? What’s the emotion you’re looking for?’ He always boils it down to that for me. And even then, which I always appreciate, he’s always throwing me a life preserver.”

Below is our conversation; listen through to the end as Gilligan speculates how long he sees Pluribus lasting.