But First... Box Office vs Return on Investment

Among the highest-grossing films of all time you'll find megahits like Avatar and Avengers: Endgame. They movies made billions of dollars worldwide.

But those numbers are less impressive when you consider the costs to make them. Endgame, for example, reportedly cost somewhere between $350 and $400 million to make.

The following films were made for next to nothing, compared to the massive amounts they earned.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

These days, a phenomenon like The Blair Witch Project would be almost impossible to muster, and the social media chatter around such a movie would be largely unbearable. It’s not the first found-footage horror film, but it helped take the concept to new heights commercially and bolstered a doubling down on the style going forward.

All the marketing posited that The Blair Witch Project was a documentary, not a work of fiction. The actors, all unknown, were posited as real missing/presumed dead. It helped that the internet was starting to grow significantly in 1999, helping to market the movie as well. In time, it would become clear that it was a work of fiction, though in truth the whole “witch” part should have been a giveaway.

Nevertheless, the phenomenon brought in $248.6 million worldwide off of a budget that came in under $1 million.

Mad Max (1979)

Mad Max: Fury Road cost somewhere between $150 and $185 million to make, but George Miller took quite the journey to get there. Before he could make one of the quintessential bombastic action films, he was a guy making experimental short films.

Made on the cheap, Mad Max is much grittier and less baroque than the later films in the series. You know, the ones with money. Miller made his film in his native Australia, and cast an unknown actor named Mel Gibson in the lead role. Mad Max was made for A$400,000, which is to say 400,000 Australian dollars.

These days, that would be equivalent to a little over $250,000. Speaking of American currency, Mad Max has made $100 million on that front. Not only is it on our list of movies that made 100 times their budget, but it also spawned a franchise that continues next month with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

Halloween (1978)

We could have done a list just of horror films that qualified for this list. Halloween is already the second, and there will be a couple more we felt we should include, but we aimed for variety. That being said, Halloween had to be included, because John Carpenter helped change horror movies. Also, it still rips as far as horror movies go.

The idea that Halloween invented the slasher film has been bandied about by some in the past, which isn’t true. Bob Clark’s Black Christmas predates it, as do some Italian horror films. Halloween did popularize the genre in America, though, and did help codify some of the elements.

Also, it made a ton of money. Carpenter’s film cost something around $300,000 to make, but it would end up making $70 million worldwide.

Super Size Me (2004)

Many hit documentaries could make this list of list of movies that made 100 times their budget, as documentaries don’t tend to cost a lot of money. To represent the genre, we're going with one of the most-famous docs, and also one that provided particular bang for the buck. That would be Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me.

Coming out of the “stunt documentary” subgenre, Spurlock, just a random dude, ate only McDonald’s for a month to see what it did to his health. It got a lot of people talking, changed some minds about fast food, and basically ended the Super Size option at McDonald’s, and similar options elsewhere. Oh, and it made a ton of money.

Off of a budget of $65,000, it made $22 million.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is both a proto-slasher and a proto-found footage horror movie. It was positioned as being based on a true story, though it wasn't, as a criticism of sensationalistic "if it bleeds, it leads" news of the era. On top of that, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is arguably a top-10 movie title of all-time, and the tagline, "Who will survive and what will be left of them?" is also an all-timer.

Tobe Hooper's film was made on the cheap, which you can do when your biggest special effect is, you know, a chainsaw. The movie was made for less than $140,000, with some estimates as low as $80,000. It would make $30.9 million, a huge return on that investment, and influence generations of horror directors to come.

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Gone with the Wind was a massive phenomenon. The sweeping epic won Best Picture at the Oscars, but it was also a huge hit. It remains, to date, the highest-grossing film ever adjusting for inflation. Adjusted to 2022 numbers, it made the equivalent of $4.2 billion dollars. This is a fun bit of trivia, but we did not get into inflation adjustments for this list, because it was not pertinent (and also because we would have spent so much time laying those details out and your eyes would have glazed over).

Yeah, the story of Scarlett and Rhett and a bunch of rich Southerners was a sensation. Of course, back in 1939, there was no TV, and also you could only see a movie in theaters. We did not have to adjust for inflation to include Gone with the Wind, either. It cost $3.85 million, which in 1939 was not cheap.

While the exact box office numbers are not provided with the same accuracy as these days, it is reported to have brought in over $390 million. That is staggering. We aren’t signing off on everything depicted in the movie, but this old-school blockbuster represents a different kind of movie that made 100 times its budget.

American Graffiti (1973)

Star Wars made George Lucas an icon. That movie birthed an empire (in multiple ways) and made $775.4 million on a budget of $11 million. How did Lucas help earn the chance to bring his space opera to life, though? Because, a few years earlier, he had another big success in American Graffiti.

Laying the groundwork for Happy Days, American Graffiti is a coming-of-age tale set in 1962. It's built upon driving around in cars, trying to get some sexual action going, and listening to Wolfman Jack. In the cast you will find, among others, Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss, plus a small role for a carpenter named Harrison Ford. American Graffiti struck a chord with audiences. Made for only $770,000 it made $140 million, and also earned five Oscar nominations.

So yeah, that's how Lucas got to make Star Wars — by breaking out by making one of the rare movies that made 100 times their budget.

Friday the 13th (1980)

What if you took the lessons of Halloween, but turned them into something nastier and more prurient? Well, you don’t get a stone-cold classic, but you do get a bit hit — and another of those horror movies that made 100 times their budget.

Friday the 13th became the foremost slasher series in the United States, never artistically minded, but always delivering what it promised.

Kudos to director Sean S. Cunningham, who bought an ad in Variety in 1979 basically telling studios, “Hey, did you like Halloween? Then check out what I’ve got cooking!” You probably know by now that Jason Vorhees isn’t the killer in the first movie, and that a young Kevin Bacon had a role. What you may not know is that Friday the 13th was made for $550,000 and made $59.8 million.

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

The title Napoleon Dynamite could have turned people off. You could say that about the unusual aesthetic as well, or the cast of largely unknowns, or…a lot of data points seemed to point to Napoleon Dynamite being a total shrug. Instead, it became one of the foremost cult classics of the 2000s — and one of the comedy movies that made 100 times their budget.

Jared Hess shot the film in his native Idaho, and cast his college buddy Jon Heder in the league role. Napoleon is a specific character. Everything about Napoleon Dynamite is a bit off, and certainly some find it alienating. We didn’t say the movie became the highest-grossing film in history. It did make $46.1 million worldwide, though, and that was for a film that cost $400,000 to make.

Paranormal Activity (2009)

Alright, one last horror film. We wanted to include Paranormal Activity because it basically built the career of producer Jason Blum, and also kicked off a series of imitators trying to make a ton of money off of basically no budget. It’s with Paranormal Activity that studios seemed to really recognize that horror fans are less picky than fans of other genres, and that the movies tend to be fairly cheap to make.

It’s a found footage movie shot with a stationary home video camera. Seriously, it could not be more lo-fi. Oren Peli’s initial production cost a mere $15,000, though once Paramount signed on they asked for a bit of a glow up, and a new ending, that cost $215,000.

Even so, Paranormal Activity was a horror hit, making $194.2 million and generating several sequels. It's like the scary poster child for movies that made 100 times their budget.

Once (2007)

The power of a song. Once became an unexpected hit thanks to the soundtrack, specifically the song “Falling Slowly.” The movie, set in Ireland, follows two unnamed musicians who meet, make music, and seemingly fall in unrequited love. Among the songs they write in the film is “Falling Slowly.”

That song would go on to win Best Original Song at the Oscars. It would rise to 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. Once only cost $150,000 to make, as it is quite a small story (with big emotions). The film made $23.3 million, but will also always have that Academy Award.

It's falling slowly.... onto our list of movies that made 100 times their budget.

Rocky (1976)

Speaking of the Academy Awards, we end with, fittingly, an underdog story. That is true of Rocky Balboa, but also the movie Rocky. Sylvester Stallone would go on to be one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and the Rocky sequels would get so over-the-top Rocky basically ends the Cold War in the fourth one. Back in the mid-1970s, though, Stallone was a struggling actor. He wrote Rocky, hoping to earn a nice role for himself, the journey there was as notable as the Italian Stallion’s.

First, ABC bought it to turn it into a made-for-TV movie, but they wanted to hire writers for rewrites, so Stallone’s Lords of Flatbush co-star Henry Winkler used his Happy Days cache to manage to get them to sell him the rights back. Stallone took it to United Artists, which wanted to make it, but as a vehicle for an established star. Stallone and his agents said he would star or nobody would.

The studio said fine, but in turn only gave the film a budget of about $1 million. Cut to Rocky winning Best Picture for 1976 while making $225 million at the box office. Yo, Adrian. He did it.

If you liked this list, you might also like this list of the 13 Funniest Movies We've Ever Seen.

And we'd love for you to follow us for more stories like this.

Main image: Friday the 13th. Paramount.

Since then, WEG has produced several feature films, screened projects at 200 festivals including Tribeca, Slamdance, and the Miami Film Festival, and handed out roughly $250,000 to South Florida projects. This past weekend, their success was on vibrant display at the South Florida Film Forum, a packed gathering of panels, workshops and parties. WEG produces the event in partnership with Broward County, Film Lauderdale and MAD Arts.

About a thousand artists — including actors, producers, writers and directors — packed the dreamy MAD Arts immersive arts museum to talk about the state of filmmaking in the area. MovieMaker was honored to be in attendance, and to learn more about a fast-to-adapt film community.

The energy was high — so high that a workshop on the fairly niche subject of how to distress wardrobe got a burst of applause so loud you could hear it down the hall. (Respect to the workshop's leader, Logan Moises, a costume designer whose credits include the locally shot Apple TV show Bad Monkey.)

South Florida's film and TV industry is sustained by commercial work, but the region also gets its share of big movie and TV productions. (On the weekend of the Film Forum, for example, ABC's series RJ Decker happened to be shooting in town.) The area also has a sizable share of influencers, and, perhaps most importantly, indie producers working on self-generated projects like those taken on by the White Elephant team.

Many at the Film Forum were working on or planning their own projects, while paying the bills with studio work. So they had a stake in South Florida both continuing to draw industry employers, and fostering a community that rewards creativity and drive.

The South Florida Film Forum panels were generally off the record, but we got permission from several participants to share the following takeaways from their talks. They range from from big-picture industry trends on verticals and AI to very specific pieces of advice that will help local actors. For the off-the-record detail, we recommend attending in person.

Advantages of South Florida

Fort Lauderdale is one of the top cities on MovieMaker's latest list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a MovieMaker, thanks to busy shooting schedule, diverse locations, strong local incentives, and a diversity of productions.

Marlis Pujol, a producer who has worked on shows including Mythic Quest, Ballers, True Blood, The Wire and The Sopranos, noted that the weather in South Florida is so mild that when she worked on a season of HBO's Ballers just over a decade ago, the show could shoot almost everything outdoors, with no sound stages.

"We were able to really showcase Miami, Fort, Lauderdale, everywhere that we filmed," she said. "We did not have a studio. We shot on location the entire season, and the Florida weather was so amazing."

There was only one day of rain, and that was on a day the show was already scheduled to shoot indoors.

Though statewide incentives were discontinued a decade ago, local commissions like Film Lauderdale have stepped up in a big way to keep production going strong. Broward County offers up to 30% in rebates, and the county also offers a $10,000 Emerging Filmmakers Grant to support resident filmmakers on the rise. 

Fort Lauderdale film commissioner Sandy Lighterman also leads Film Florida, a nonprofit devoted to building a robust and retentive film industry in the Sunshine State.

Take Risks

One recurring piece of advice was for creatives to take big swings and create their own stories instead of waiting around, hoping for a greenlight from above.

Miami-based producer and showrunner Eric Gaunaurd noted that the industry has made tremendous progress in de-risking projects, or reducing the potential for losses. Producers have tried, for example, to establish built-in audiences by casting stars with large followings online.

But at times, all that de-risking has made projects feel too safe, he said.

"You're all about mitigating your risk, but you have to find your balance," Gaunaurd explained. "What's happened a lot in the system over the last, I think, 5 to 10, years, is there's been too much of a focus of mitigating risk. Some of the best films you've ever seen came from people who were bold, and they took creative risks... you don't see as much of that anymore, but it's still happening."

Vertical Pros and Cons

Verticals came up often at the South Florida Film Forum, including in a Saturday evening panel on Distribution in a Digital Age.

For the uninitiated, verticals are long-form stories broken into short segments and created for phones.

As a medium, they got off to a rocky start with Quibi, a short-lived streaming service founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg and led by Meg Whitman that offered vertical stories and failed for a number of reasons. It raised more than $1.75 billion from investors, but spent splashily on lucrative payments to creators, then generated a lack of interest among audiences.

Today's verticals are different. They're often relationship- or romance-oriented, and are often distributed on platforms like ReelShort, which provide a few episodes for free, with the rest behind a paywall. Most episodes are a couple of minutes long.

Big payments for creators and stars have mostly gone the way of Quibi. Though verticals provide welcome, steady work for many actors and filmmakers, the productions are typically non-union and low-budget, with commensurate low payment.

Gaunaurd noted that most producers want to be paid well, or at least proud of their work creatively. "If I'm not making money in a project, it better be creatively just amazing," he said.

One way to make verticals profitable is through volume, he said — packaging several vertical projects together with a well-established partner. He said verticals can be worthwhile "if you have multiple projects in mind that maybe you can find financing for — or you can partner up with the ReelShort or one of these other companies that are producing those, and take a few projects to them."

Incentives Are Essential

Daleen Buter, head of Global Production Incentives at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, noted that incentives have become much more essential to film and TV.

"When I started in 2012 at Warner Brothers, in features, we were probably making 85 to 90% of our films with incentives," Buter said. "Now I don't speak for my Warner Brothers, because I'm not there, but I can say at Amazon, it's 100%. There's no project that is being made on the series side or the feature side that doesn't have some kind of incentive. And often I have four to five incentives on one project to manage."

Additionally, several speakers called for a nationwide film tax incentive to help bring productions that have fled overseas back to the United States.

Be Flexible

Filmmakers and showrunners should be flexible if they want to get things made, Buter noted. If filmmakers are wedded to a particular location, for example, they have less chance of getting their project made, because incentives may not be strong in that region.

"The ones that I work with that have the most flexibility and willingness to hear what people have to say are usually the most successful," she noted. "The people we work with the best, whether it's in series or movies, are those who say, 'This is my script. This is my project. But you want to hear what you have to say as well.'"

Tourism and Film Should Be Friends

Joe Chianese, the senior vice president and practice leader on production incentives for Entertainment Partners, said film commissions should work hand-in-hand with tourism departments to attract projects that will entice visitors.

That's especially true in a place like Florida, known for blue skies and beaches. And the projects don't have to be features or TV shows, he noted — commercials and reality shows can also draw tourism.

"I tell film commissions to talk to their tourism department, because it just makes so much sense. I mean, think about Real Housewives — those are commercials to go to New York City," he said. "There's a Real Housewives of Rhode Island. Now there's a London one. They're really commercials for tourism at the end of the day."

AI Is Popping Up in Post

Many audience questions focused on AI, and whether it could replace human jobs. The consensus was yes — but maybe not in the way people fear.

Pujol said she hasn't seen AI being used to create scripts, but does see it being used in post-production, to help assistant editors organize footage for editing, for example. She said they don't use AI to make cuts, but could use it for something like comparing clips. She had understandably mixed feelings.

"It hasn't quite made its way into my production world yet," she said. "I say yet, because, you know, at some point we're going to find ways to bring it in there."

Negotiate to Protect Your Job From AI

The recent writers and actors' strikes put many protections in place to prevent AI from replacing union members. But AI is being used, for example, to reduce background work for actors on non-union jobs.

All non-union actors need to read their contracts carefully, because in some cases they sign documents without realizing they're consenting to having their faces scanned and used in ways they didn't anticipate. An actor could be unwittingly duplicated into numerous crowd scenes, for example.

"Non-union jobs will sneak it into the contract," said Kelly Vaughn, president of the SAG-AFTRA Miami Local Board, during a panel called SAG-AFTRA 101.

Micheel Viera, executive director of the SAG-AFTRA's Miami Local, said such productions will often sneak it into the "Work for Hire" section of a contract. So if you're a non-union actor, you should read your contract — but especially the Work for Hire section.

Kelly Paige, a talent agent who is the owner and president of Level Talent Group, noted that union acting contracts typically have standard provisions about how actors' images can and can't be used. She said that when a big production recently planned to use AI on actors' faces, "they sent us a separate rider for AI that spelled out everything that they were going to intend to do with our actors image."

She welcomed the level of detail.

"With AI, I was concerned," she said. "But they've done a great job in spelling out everything."

Viera said that while many would love to just ban AI, it isn't going to happen — so creators need to get ahead of the technology, and negotiate to protect themselves. He noted that creators have had to adjust to past paradigm shifts, including the advent of TV, home video, and streaming.

"We know that change is inevitable, and we acknowledge it. We don't ignore it. So we have to come to the table with these people and deal with it and contend with it," he said.

Advice for South Florida Actors on the Rise

This might sound surprising, coming from the executive director of the SAG-AFTRA's Miami Local, but Viera doesn't think actors need to join SAG-AFTRA at the start of their careers. He suggests they gain experience first on non-union productions.

"I think that you should do non-union work in the beginning, because it's a great rehearsal for you guys to become really good actors, and you gain so much experience doing that," said Viera. "Eventually, when you go through your career, you'll want more, and it's OK to ask for more."

He said that while non-union jobs will never pay as well as union jobs, you can learn a lot.

"So, do a bunch of non-union projects. That's where you're going to meet people. You're going to know how to be on a set, know what your marks are, know what good lighting is, know where the camera is. That's where you're going to learn all that stuff," he said. "But eventually, when you're ready to take the next step, when you're ready to invest in yourself and say, 'Hey, I'm going to leave that non-union work behind, because now I want more money, because I've had all this experience behind me' — that's when you decide to go union."

He shared that the national rate to join SAG-AFTRA is $3,121, and the local rate is $1,873. Payment plans are available, and membership means better pay, more protection on projects, and health care access. One benefit people often forget is access to the SAG-AFTRA credit union, which can offer loans.

While you don't need to be in SAG-AFTRA at the beginning, Vaughn urged actors to find an agent as soon as possible if they want to work regularly in South Florida.

"You need an agent here, because most people, when they're casting something, they want it to be turnkey," she said. "This is an industry of relationships... Casting directors have relationships with certain agents, and so they say, 'What have you got today? Show me your roster.'"

And as lovely as the winters are in South Florida, the summers get hot. Most productions take that into account and ensure the comfort of their casts and crews. But Viera and Vaughn noted that actors who are uncomfortable in the heat can ask the unit production manager for a remedy — such as tents. (If they don't want to ask the UPM, they can ask a PA to ask the UPM.) If all else fails, they can always call SAG-AFTRA's 24-hour safety line, which is (844) 723-3773.

South Florida Film Forum Advice on How to Impress Investors

A Sunday evening panel on Film Financing and Global Incentives provided solid insights on how to get funding for your self-generated projects.

Leonidas Oxby, a Miami-based managing partner at Brickell Capital Finance who helps connect filmmakers with family offices, high-net worth individuals and other potential investors, said many of them are interested in film both for creative reasons, and to reduce their taxes.

When he agrees to work with filmmakers, he makes sure they have professional decks and impressive examples of their work. But they also need to know how to present themselves.

"Set realistic expectations. Know your audience. Have a really solid cast, have a really solid director in place," Leonidas said. "People interested in investing are very savvy individuals. They understand how risky the business is, and they can smell whether you're telling a story or whether you're being realistic and honest. So don't make something up or what you think they want to hear. Tell the truth."

Many South Florida Film Festival panelists stressed the importance of being honest, but Viera put it best:

"You can do good business your whole life," he said. "You can do bad business once."

You can learn more about the South Florida Film Forum here, White Elephant Group here, and Film Lauderdale here.

Main image: A packed panel at the South Florida Film Forum. Photo by Sandy Lighterman / Film Lauderdale.

Whether out for themselves, their mother countries, or even, sometimes, James Bond, Bond girls add mystery, style and stakes to stories of glamour and espionage. (And yes, we recognized the term "Bond girls" is anachronistic, but we think it's been grandfathered into the movie lexicon — it even has its own Wikipedia entry.)

Is being a Bond girl as fun as it looks onscreen? These images would suggest that yes, it is.

Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in Dr No (1962)

Though she was preceded onscreen by Sylvia Trench and Miss Taro, Honey Ryder, a Jamaican shell diver played by a dubbed Ursula Andress, is widely considered the first Bond girl.

Perhaps it's because of her unforgettable entrance in Dr. No, emerging from the ocean in a white bikini and belt, bearing shells.

Her chemistry with Bond is one of the driving forces in Dr. No, the film that spawned one of the most successful and longest-running of all film franchises.

Daniela Bianchi as Tatiana Romanova in From Russia With Love (1963)

The first Bond sequel found Bond traveling to Turkey to help Soviet consulate clerk Tatiana Romanova — played by Daniela Bianchi, with Connery above.

Of course, this being a Bond movie, sparks fly. But Tatiana is, of course, a pawn in a plan by SPECTRE to enact vengeance against Bond for some things that happened in Dr. No. But the pawn soon becomes the key player in the film.

She was Miss Universo Italia and first runner up at Miss Universe 1960 before becoming one of the most famous Bond girls. And in 1967, she appeared opposite Connery's brother, Neil Connery, in Operation Kid Brother, a Bond spoof.  

Honor Blackman as Ms Galore in Goldfinger (1963)

Honor Blackman, rehearsing an infamous fight scene with Sean Connery, above, has perhaps the most famous name of any of the Bond girls — and we're not even sure we can print it here given the cautious sensibilities of some of our syndication partners.

Suffice it to say that Blackman, who was also known for the TV series The Avengers, is one of the most iconic Bond girls of all — a woman who could very much hold her own against Bond, or anybody.

Shirley Eaton as Jill Masterson in Goldfinger (1964)

Shirley Eaton played Jill Masterson, aide to the villain who gives Goldfinger its title. When she spends a night with Bond, he enacts a cruel but colorful vengeance: Having her killed via "skin suffocation" from being painted gold.

The image was iconic enough to land Eaton on the cover of LIFE magazine for its November 6, 1964 issue.

If you're wondering, it took about 90 minutes to apply all that gold paint. The task fell to makeup artist Paul Rabiger, who also worked on the Bond movies Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and From Russia With Love.

Claudine Auger as Domino in Thunderball (1965)

Claudine Auger earned the titles of Miss France Monde 1958 and became first runner up in the 1958 Miss World compeition before landing the role of Dominique "Domino" Derval in Thunderball, the fourth Bond film.

Her chemistry with Sean Connery, onscreen and behind the scenes, should be obvious.

She later starred in the 1966 World War II drama Triple Cross, and, in 1968, appeared with fellow Bond girl Ursula Andress in the Italian comedy Anyone Can Play.

Luciana Paluzzi as Fiona Volpe in Thunderball (1965)

Luciana Paluzzi as SPECTRE agent Fiona Volpe helped create the template for the Bond femme fatale. She's one of the fiercest early Bond girls.

Her later roles included playing as a Southern belle in the 1974 film The Klansman — with her voice dubbed — for Thunderball director Terence Young.

Diana Rigg as  Tracy di Vicenzo in Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Diana Rigg (left) is the first of the Bond girls to be arguably more famous than her co-star: She had already the lead of The Avengers when she was cast as new Bond George Lazenby's partner in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Lazenby, an Australian model, played Bond just once before Connery returned for Diamonds Are Forever.

Rigg also holds the distinction of being the only woman to marry Bond — though, horribly, she was murdered moments after their wedding, making On Her Majesty's Secret Service perhaps the biggest bummer of all Bond movies.

Still, Rigg did very well — her many post-Bond roles included playing  Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones. And she played a crucial part in Edgar Wright's 2021 Last Night in Soho, which was completed just before her death.

Gloria Hendry as Rosie Carver in Live and Let Die (1972)

Live and Let Die, the first film to feature Roger Moore as Bond, was produced at the height of the Blaxploitation trend and has several attempts at nods to Black culture, including the casting of Gloria Hendry as Rosie Carver, who is the first Black woman to be romantically entwined with 007 onscreen.

One could argue that Jane Seymour's Solitaire is the most prominent of the movie's Bond girls, but we don't have a picture of Jane Seymour posing behind the scenes by a pinball machine in one of the most gloriously 1970s images ever, so.

Maud Adams as Andrea Anders and Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight in The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)

Oh wait, we may have found a more 1970s image. We hope you'll forgive us for the fact that not one but two Bond girls are in this photo. Maud Adams, left, played Andrea Anders in The Man With the Golden Gun, and returned to play the title character in a 1983 Bond film we don't think we can name here for reasons previously mentioned.

Meanwhile, Britt Ekland, right, played Mary Goodnight. Mary as been derided for being kind of clumsy as Bond girls go — but also praised as one of the most fashionable. Don't blame Ekland for the writing. Director Guy Hamilton has said in audio commentary for the film that she was so "elegant and beautiful that it seemed to me she was the perfect Bond girl."

And yes, that's Fantasy Island star Hervé Villechaize, who also starred in the film, hanging out with Moore, Adams and Ekland.

Barbara Bach as Major Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Perhaps reflecting the advances of the women's liberation movement, Soviet spy Major Anya Amasova is one of the most coolly capable of all the women in Bond movies — though even she needs an assist against the hulking Jaws (Richard Kiel).

Almost to the final seconds of The Spy Who Loved Me, we don't know if Amasova loves Bond or wants to kill him or both.

Grace Jones as May Day and Tanya Roberts as Stacey Sutton in A View to a Kill (1985)

In the last of the Roger Moore Bond movies, Tonya Roberts (right) — best known at the time for Charlie's Angels — plays the heiress of an oil company who tries to fend off the advances of the evil Max Zorin (Christopher Walken).

But the coolest character in the movie is May Day, Zorin's lover and chief assassin, played by Grace Jones (left). She's one of the most memorable of all Bond characters, and even kind of gets to die a hero.

Carey Lowell as License to Kill (1989)

Timothy Dalton became the new James Bond in the late '80s, when fears of HIV/AIDS were very prevalent and an effort was made to tone down 007's promiscuity. That meant fewer, but more memorable, female counterparts, including the charismatic Carey Lowell as pilot and DEA informant Pam Bouvier, who helps James battle a drug lord. (Why was Bond messing with cocaine kingpins instead of mad scientists? It was the '80s.)

Lowell went on to be known for playing smart and capable characters in many other roles, including as Jamie Ross in Law & Order.

Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Tomorrow Never Dies is most noteworthy for being the movie that introduced Malaysian action star Michelle Yeoh to Western audiences, a quarter-century before she won Best Actress for her role in 2022's Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Yeoh plays Wai Lin, a supremely capable Chinese agent.

Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones in The World Is Not Enough (1999)

She may be best known for reality TV today, but Denise Richards had two excellent back-to-back appearances in Starship Trooper (1997) and Wild Things (1988) before joining the Bond franchise to play an oddly named nuclear physicist.

She holds her own against terrific 007 Pierce Brosnan, but her name seems like a setup for the worst line ever to appear in a Bond movie: "I thought Christmas only comes once a year." Blech.

Halle Berry as Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson in Die Another Day (2002)

Halle Berry is another Bond girl who at least matched her Bond co-star in stardom: At the time of the film's release, she had just won a Best Actress Oscar for 2001's Monsters Ball.

It was the final Pierce Brosnan movie, but Berry basically hijacked it with her sheer watchability, and not just by paying homage to Ursula Andress' entrance in Dr. No.

Eva Green as Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale (2006)

Vesper Lynd is widely recognized as one of the greatest of all Bond girls, if not the greatest: She breaks the heart of Daniel Craig's Bond in this film, and he never quite recovers.

Besides being the most glamorous British Treasury agent of all, Lynd is a smooth operator who keeps everyone guessing until the very end — especially Bond.

Ana de Armas as Paloma in No Time to Die (2021)

Ana de Armas isn't in No Time to Die for very long — just long enough to steal the whole movie.

Dressed in evening wear, her Cuban secret agent shoots it out with Bond in a Havana fight scene that is one of the best set pieces in any Bond film.

Can she be the next 007?

Léa Seydoux as Dr. Madeleine Swann in SPECTRE and No Time to Die (2021)

Léa Seydoux is a standout among Bond girls — or Bond women, as we should probably call them in the modern age. Her character is the only woman to be the female lead in two Bond films, and the only woman known to have a child with him.

Besides On Her Majesty's Secret Service, No Time to Die is the biggest bummer among Bond films. But Swann and her daughter, Mathilde, provides glimmers of light.

Liked These Images of 20 Bond Girls Behind the Scenes?

You might also enjoy these behind the scenes images of Dr. No or these behind the scenes images of Goldfinger.

And we'd love for you to follow us for more stories like this.

Editor's Note: Corrects duplicate image and adds MSN follow.

The event, taking place March 28–29 at MAD Arts in Dania Beach, will feature speakers including Chris Stinson (Sound of Metal, Knives Out), Shih-Ching Tsou (The Florida Project, Tangerine), Lisa Neidenthal (M3GAN, Five Nights at Freddy’s), Caroline Eselin (Moonlight, The Underground Railroad), and Daleen Buter, head of Global Incentives at Amazon MGM Studios, as well as actor-director Sung Kang (Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift).

Produced by the White Elephant Group in partnership with Broward County, Film Lauderdale and MAD Arts, the Forum connects Hollywood decision-makers with South Florida’s growing production workforce. In 2025 alone, Broward County says that its screen sector generated more than $207 million in economic impact and supported over 16,000 jobs.

Fort Lauderdale is among MovieMaker's Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker.

"My goal as the film commissioner is to ensure that when big productions come to South Florida, they know we have the resources, infrastructure, and talent to support them in a film-friendly environment," said Sandy Lighterman, film commissioner for Film Lauderdale, and president of Film Florida. "Events like this are critical because they put our crew base and our creatives in the same room as the people hiring for the next big project."

Other guests include Princess Caroll, manager of Physical Production at FOX; Marlis Pujol, a producer of Ballers, True Blood, Mythic Quest and The Kominsky Method; and Emmy winner Jhane Myers, producer of Prey, who is also a Sundance alum and member of the Comanche and Blackfeet Nations.

This year’s event also includes a practical horror VFX workshop led by special effects artist Eric “Hollywood” Corbin, and a workshop by costume designer Logan Moises on distressing wardrobe for film to add authenticity.

Other panels will include Creating Sustainable Films with Tight Budgets, Shifting Trends in the Industry, The Actor's Toolkit: Marketable & Bookable, Between The Lines: Anatomy of a Character, Film Financing & Global Incentives, and Television: The Future of The Small Screen.

To purchase tickets and view the full schedule, visit SouthFloridaFilmForum.com.

The White Elephant Group (WEG) is a Miami-based non-profit and artist collective committed to supporting the South Florida filmmaking community. Comprising award-winning film and digital media artists, it works to artistically address and elaborate upon the voices and experiences of underserved communities in South Florida.

Film Lauderdale provides locations and logistics assistance, issues film permits for 27 municipalities, and nurtures local content creators. Its mission is to attract film, television, and commercial production to Broward County, creating economic growth and high-wage jobs.

MAD Arts, located in Dania Beach, just north of Miami and south of Fort Lauderdale, is an art and technology museum focused on new models of culture and business. It immerses audiences in high- and low-tech experiences by local, national and international artists.

Main image: South Florida Film Forum attendees, courtesy of South Florida Film Forum.

Hannah and JFK Jr. dated for about five years before his relationship with Carolyn Bessette began in 1994. Hannah, star of films including Splash and Kill Bill, used a New York Times guest essay on Friday to say Love Story treats her like an antagonist and portrays her in an unflattering light in order to make the audience root for Kennedy and Bessette's relationship.

"Storytelling requires tension. It often requires an obstacle. But a real, living person is not a narrative device," she writes. "There is also a gendered dimension to this thinking. Popular culture has long elevated certain women by portraying others as rivals, obstacles or villains. Isn’t it textbook misogyny to tear down one woman in order to build up another?"

"The character 'Daryl Hannah' portrayed in the series is not even a remotely accurate representation of my life, my conduct or my relationship with John," Hannah adds. "The actions and behaviors attributed to me are untrue. I have never used cocaine in my life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties. I have never pressured anyone into marriage. I have never desecrated any family heirloom or intruded upon anyone’s private memorial. I have never planted any story in the press. I never compared Jacqueline Onassis’ death to a dog’s. It’s appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show. These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct — and they are false."

Daryl Hannah on Her Advice From John F. Kennedy Jr.'s Mother, Jacqueline Onassis

Hannah says she has taken care not to respond to distortions in the media — she begins the essay by sharing that JFK Jr.'s mother, Jacqueline Onassis, once told her that today's tabloid stories are tomorrow's bird cage liner. But she notes that in the digital age, that is no longer true.

"A dramatized portrayal can become, for millions of viewers, the definitive version of a real person’s life," she writes.

She notes that she now focuses mostly on "environmental advocacy, documentary filmmaking and animal-assisted therapy for seniors living with dementia and Alzheimer’s" — all of which depend on her reputation.

"Like any career, doing good work requires an intact reputation. This is why I am choosing to stand up for myself now," she writes.

Love Story, which depicts John F. Kennedy and Carolyn Bessette's relationship from their meeing in the early '90s through their death in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in 1999, was created by Connor Hines and is executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, D.V. DeVincentis, Kim Rosenstock, and Hines.

Murphy has had a run of hits with anthologies that fictionalize the lives of famous and notorious people, including American Crime Story and Monster. Even when the portrayals are accurate, some people object to the idea of dredging up past pain.

For example, Rita Isbell, the older sister of Jeffrey Dahmer’s eleventh victim, Errol Lindsey, was upset to see herself portrayed in 2022's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, saying the portrayal "brought back all the emotions I was feeling back then."

Representatives for Hines and Murphy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette has been a massive hit: FX announced Thursday that the show was its most-watched limited series ever on streaming, earning more than 25 million viewing hours for its first five episodes on Disney+ and Hulu..

It has also become a cultural phenomenon, renewing cultural attention on the glamorous world of Manhattan in the '90s. and Bessette's work for Calvin Klein.

The show has also fared well with critics: It currently holds an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Main image: Paul Anthony Kelly as John F. Kennedy Jr. and Dree Hemingway as Daryl Hannah in Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. FX

Editor's Note: Corrects misspelling.

The best example may have been the total charmer "Emma's Social Battery" by Jannet Lopez and Carlos Jimenez. The film stars a young woman named Emma (Olivia Peck) who falls into a new friend group. She really likes them, but they invite her to too many things and she's afraid to offend them by saying no.

The characters will seem familiar to introverts everywhere: friends who stay too long, a domestic partner who doesn't pick up on your telepathic pleas to kick everyone out, that one friend-detective who always has piercing follow-up questions about your excuses.

It builds to a gorgeous game-night showdown in which Emma and a new friend, bathed in red and blue light, face off over her excuse for not attending an upcoming barbecue. Jiminez, whose past work includes the similarly comic and surreal feature After Life Crisis, says the look of the interrogation scene was inspired by the Japanese manga Death Note. But Giallo influences also shine through.

"We wanted to create that kind of balls-to-the wall, f--- reality, let's just go totally subjective and really isolate our characters," Jiminez said.

Lopez and Jiminez's crew used a series of complex signals and a lighting package provided by Tim Starr — one of many essential figures in the Shreveport, Louisiana film scene who regularly pitches in to help friends make their films. The crew's attention to detail protected Lopez from being stressed about the technical issues, she said.

"I was just so blessed to have a wonderful team of creatives," she said. "I felt like I was pretty blessed to be able to spend the time I did with the actors."

The film comes from Ghostwright Media, which is quickly building a reputation for films with strong, irresistible hooks — the El Dorado Film Festival also hosted another Ghostwright Media film, Jiminez's tense meme-stock comedy "Rug Pull," which follows a man in real time as his meme stock investment takes off.

More Southern Made Shorts at the El Dorado Film Festival

Marquel Skinner tapped into a relentless modern anxiety with her short "Bot," which she wrote, produced and starred in. Her sister, Blair Skinner, directed.

Marquel Skinner plays a woman trying to buy concert tickets, who is subjected to an increasingly perplexing and ridiculous series of Captcha tests to prove she isn't a bot.

"It was born because we were both having a coffee and just chatting about having separate experiences very recently trying to pay something online," Marquel Skinner said onstage at the South Arkansas Arts Center, homebase of the festival. "I'm like, 'This has to be a short film, because we can't be the only ones going through this.'"

"Bot" perfectly captures the frustrating feeling that maybe there's something wrong with a system that demands you click on all the pictures of bicycles — or maybe there's just something wrong with you.

For the supernatural "Strand," screenwriter, executive producer and star Gabriel Rosales tells a story of a man with a curse. He was inspired in part by the very real pain of losing his grandparents in 2019 and 2020. When he lost his grandfather, he couldn't go to the funeral because of Covid lockdowns.

"So obviously it's a story about processing grief," he told the El Dorado audience. The film is directed by Austin Gorski.

At the opposite side of the emotional spectrum is the very funny "Ramón Makes a Movie," by
Haley Kirton. The film stars the magnetic actor Gio March as a director who refuses to relinquish control of his autobiographical film about his family, to a ridiculous degree. The film features a slew of Shreveport filmmakers in key roles, adding a strong dose of realism to a film about creative narcissism.

"It was written for Gio," Kirton explained. "He is such a character, and I've seen him do comedy, and drama, and I think I've just realized I just love watching Gio."

Without spoiling anything, she gives him a lot to do.

The next film in the block, "(Om)en" will be familiar to anyone seeking a moment of peaceful meditation in a world that seems addicted to distractions. The series of bad omens that comes her way as she tries to unwind feel like a personification of the anxieties we try to keep at bay.

"It started off as a horror comedy, and then it became more of a comedy because I just want to have fun," said writer-director Mary McDade Casteel, who first brought a film to the El Dorado Film Festival about a decade ago.

McDade Casteel has danced all her life, including on her junior high and high school dance teams in Jonesville, Arkansas, and loves to incorporate dance into her work.

"I edit all my own films, and I feel like just having a rhythm down, all those years, helps me as a filmmaker," she said.

"Ashes," meanwhile, tells a story of a lost cat who helps a young boy endure a traumatic home life. Beautifully shot by writer-producer-director Rob Senska, whose main speciality is cinematography, it often relies on abstract images to tell a story that is too universal. The film has no dialogue: Senska says he tends to think first in terms of visuals.

"I have these ideas for visuals and no budget. I'm shooting, editing and do everything, so it's like, 'How do I do that around the house? I have my 15-year-old cat, I have some family members — how do I just create something at home?'"

Senska is another crucial contributor to the Shreveport film scene — which often overlaps with the southern Arkansas film scene that is home to the El Dorado Film Festival.

"I wanted to make this accessible to anyone who had a childhood that was sort of like, 'Oh, I know what it was like to tip toe around my house, or to just like, try to be invisible,'" Senska said. "But then in the end, you come back and kind of reclaim your joy.

You can read more of our El Dorado Film Festival coverage here.

Main image: Gio March in Ramón Makes a Movie," by Haley Kirton.

Directed by Chloé Zhao, Hamnet follows Agnes (Jessie Buckley), a healer living in rural England, and her husband Will Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), as they deal with the death of their son. It’s a film about grief, memory and artistic creation, and traces how tragedy shaped Shakespeare’s real-life writing of Hamlet. Turzanska’s costumes play a quiet but critical role in grounding that emotional journey, and show how the characters change over time.

Turzanska chose some of the materials for their instability: Agnes’ early bodice, for example, was constructed from bark cloth.

“It’s wood. It’s actually wood fiber,” says Turzanska, who is Oscar nominated for her Hamnet costumes. “And because she's a very physical actress, it would breathe and live with her, and gradually kind of come apart.”

While the physical breakdown may have been symbolic, it also required constant maintenance during filming. “We had to mend as we went to keep the wood fibers in their place,” Turzanska explains.

Hamnet Costume Designer Malgosia Turzanska on a New Approach to Period Films

Turzanska’s approach differed from traditional period films, as she began with different textures and abstract elements, including plant-based fibers. The materials helped connect Agnes to her natural surroundings. 

Rather than fabricate new costumes for each stage of the story, Turzanska stayed true to history and relied on a modular system drawn from Elizabethan clothing practices. There were subtle changes like swapped sleeves or bodices, depending on the scene. But overall, the clothes contain elements a casual viewer may miss.

“What was really awesome during the Elizabethan period was that the clothing was so modular, so you could switch out sleeves,” Turzanska explains. “You barely notice it, because it's just one element. So it seems like Agnes is wearing one dress for half the film, but it's actually not one dress. It is gradually shifting.”

That same approach shaped Will’s costumes, which reflect his emotional withdrawal as the story progresses. “When we see him first, he's in the sort of greenish bluish grays, and then goes less and less saturated, more into gray scale,” Turzanska says. “He is adding sleeves and building more of a shell.”

Environmental conditions during filming created additional technical challenges. One leather doublet, treated with a crackle medium to create texture, required frequent repairs because the weather affected its surface.

“On the days where it rained really hard, it started coming off,” the designer says. “All the crew had little paint brushes and little jars of gray paint, and we would fix it as we went.”

Filming the Globe Theatre scenes presented another unexpected complication.

“There was just blue water dripping onto everything,” Turzanska says, describing how heavy rain caused painted surfaces on set to bleed onto costumes. “We just bought every single towel that was available, and we had the whole crew constantly wiping blue paint off the costumes.”

To highlight the film's performances within the performance, Turzanska knew she had to differentiate the costumes. However, she didn’t want to treat the Globe actors’ costumes too differently from those of the patrons, as performers of the time wore clothing similar to that of their audiences. So she kept the Elizabethan shapes and built costumes out of raw linen, then painted them with latex paint.

“It put the performances somewhere between then and now,” she says.

That restraint and creativity were a through-line of the overall costuming, which Turzanska kept as simple as possible to avoid falling into the trap of glamorizing the period or adding unnecessary detail that would distract from the story. “The emotional message of the movie is very, very simple,” she says.

Even the a crucial costume that appears toward the end of Hamnet was minimalist, as Turzanska knew it had to ring true.

“I hope the story and costumes keep giving this emotional punch to people,” Turzanska says. “Essentially, yes, Hamnet is a movie about grief. But it is a movie about the healing power of community and art.”

Main image: Jessie Buckley as Agnes and Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare in Hamnet. Photo by Agata Grzybowska / © 2025 FOCUS FEATURES LLC

Thiedeman was one of six Arkansas filmmakers who spoke at the El Dorado Film Festival Thursday after the fest showed a strong collection of locally made short films. Though all reflected meticulous planning, the filmmakers also allowed themselves to be surprised, whether by a face, a sky, or a location.

When festival executive director Alexander Jeffery asked them about the happy accidents they enjoyed on set, everyone had a good story.

Thiedeman's film "JJ" was a standout: It tells the story of two young men who live together and share a bed, but think of themselves as heterosexual. When they make an amateur video for cash, questions and feelings they've tried to ignore are forced into the light. (They're played by Oscar Winter and Eric Schanker, both of whom are excellent.)

Besides faces, Thiedeman tries to create compelling living spaces for his characters. The young men's shared apartment ended up providing one of his film's happy accidents.

At one point, one of the characters takes a shower. The camera was going to quickly show his back, but when cinematographer Chris Churchill decided to shine a light through a particular window, the look of the scene changed, and Thiedeman realized the shot needed to be longer.

Between the light and the steam of the shower, it's one of the most mesmerizing images in the film.

Director Emily Railsback enjoyed another kind of cinematic discovery while shooting "The Game Camera," a story of newly widowed woman who feels her late husband's presence on their farm. It was co-written by star Kristen Bush, who is fascinating as a stoic woman not sure what to believe. Red Rocket star Bree Elrod plays a key role.

The film was shot in Kansas, but Railsback is based in Arkansas, where she teaches film at the University of Central Arkansas. While on set, a Kansas-born actor who is now based in New York observed, "I just miss Kansas. There's nowhere else that you can get this 360-degree view of the sky."

"That just stuck with me," Railsback noted.

So on the morning of the last day of shooting, she asked cinematographer Gabriel Dib if he could rig a shot that would capture the wide-open Kansas sky. He came up with something that involved laying in the grass in a field, pulling a rope, and moving in a circle.

"I love that shot," observed Eric White, standing beside Railsback on the festival stage. He and Terrell Case are the co-writers and co-directors of the dark comedy short "No Money Down," which has a big reveal involving — spoiler alert — twins.

At one point, the presence of a twin was obvious early in the film. But watching their footage in post, White and Case realized the film worked better if the twin was revealed later. So they layered over an early shot that revealed the twin's presence, to give more impact to his appearance later.

Marc Crandall, one of the producers of "Bruisers," said location was central to his film's happy accident. "Bruisers" takes place on a scenic cliffside where two men discuss their dislike of assassin movies. The film was designed to be a straightforward one-day shoot, but location was a slight challenge.

"Part of the problem was finding a place we could shoot in Arkansas, because there's a lot of beautiful overlooks in Arkansas, but very few that aren't three and a half miles from where you can park," Crandall joked.

Director Ashley Hayes ended up shooting at the White Rock recreation area, where the presence of a campground had a surprise benefit. At one point, the production needed some chalk dust to make a hand slapping a rock more impactful.

No one on the set had any chalk, so makeup department head Cassie Self went from campsite to campsite, looking for a family with a baby, knowing they would have diaper powder.

"It made the whole scene," said Crandall. "So thank goodness there's campers there."

The happiest accident of all may have been for "The Hollow," from writer, director, executive producer and star Raeden Greer. She plays a woman who, while traveling, meets a man (Quinn Gasaway), who initially seems friendly and harmless. But things take a bad turn.

Greer always had one particular hotel in mind for a key sequence in the film, but when she went to shoot in Hot Springs, she learned that it had permanently closed.

Luckily, her producer, Mike Poe, knew the owner of a Hot Springs hotel called The Happy Hollow.

"it was even more perfect than I could have imagined, and also gave me a play on words," Greer said.

She ended up naming the film after the hotel.

Main image: Raeden Greer and Quinn Gasaway in "The Hollow," one of the Arkansas Made films at the El Dorado Film Festival.

to want to put a camera in a certain place that observes them feeling something in an environment like also, like an emotional environment, like our house has to be as emotional as they are. And then the rest is playing, you know, I write shot lists in advance, and then I throw them away. We go inside, we find better stuff. I don't really reverse the script. I just sort of meet with actors and talk for three hours about who these people are. I spent a long, long student call with the actors asking them, lik

Marc Crandall, one of the producers of Bruisers

Emily Railsback, director of Game Camera

The Hollow writer-director-star Raeden Greer
JJ writer-director Mark Thiedeman

Strapped for cash in a declining industrial town, two young men perform in an amateur adult video, bringing up repressed feelings that could jeopardize their lifelong friendship.

Terrell Case, Eric White co-writers and co-directors of No Money Down Eric White stars

Kerr’s first feature as a writer-director, Scrap, co-starring Anthony Rapp and Lana Parrilla, world premiered at the Deauville-American Film Festival. Kerr is also an actor and producer on Soft Boil, an independent pilot that world premiered at the latest edition of the Sundance Film Festival.

The grant is currently open for submissions on Film Freeway, and will remain open for submissions until March 30th.

“We’ve had a lot of success in the past 3 years with my first feature Scrap, and doing festivals now with my second feature Séance, and I’ve been looking for a way to pay it forward,” said Kerr. 

“I wanted to start a grant that not only would offer a cash prize, but would connect a talented filmmaker to companies who will financially sponsor their project and guide them through every step of production, post-production, and throughout the festival circuit. Rare Breeds is one of the first companies I reached out to, since obtaining a top camera package can be a significant financial hurdle to many new filmmakers.” 

Rare Breeds will offer the winner an 80% discount on a full camera package.

“The Rue Dangeau Short Film Grant is cut from the same cloth as Rare Breeds — we believe exceptional storytelling shouldn't be limited by budget constraints," said Jed Alan Klemow, founder of Rare Breeds Camera Rentals, whose clients include HBO Max’s The Pitt. "Supporting grants like this puts professional-grade equipment in the hands of passionate, emerging filmmakers, creating the pathways that connect creatives to their own greatness.”

The winner will also receive free color grading from Neon Diesel, free DCP creation from DCPforAll, free film festival strategy from Festival Formula, and waiver codes to a dozen top film festivals, including Dances With Films, Phoenix, Heartland, Sedona, Footcandle, Julien Dubuque, Waco Indie, Ojai, Port Townsend, and more. 

The winner will also receive substantially discounted G&E rental, post-sound, graphic design, and VFX services from Lucky Ones Collective and The Garrison. And eight finalists will also receive heavily discounted services, as well as feedback on their scripts. 

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Ignition offers two welcome bonuses, depending on your payment method. The first is a 300% up to $3,000 crypto welcome, providing $1,500 each for casino and poker, along with a 200% $2,000 fiat version split at $1,000 each. Both bonuses have a minimum deposit of $20 and a 25x playthrough requirement.

Payout time for the crypto bonus is usually within 1-24 hours, and for credit, it’s between 24-48 hours. Ignition is licensed by the Curaçao Gaming Authority.

Pros

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Founded in 2016, Ignition is a full-service casino offering over 400 casino games. These include a large selection of slots, table games such as blackjack and roulette, live casino, and poker.

In the real money online casino world, Ignition is known for its progressive jackpot slots and neat poker room featuring a $200,000 guaranteed weekly tournament, multiple bonuses, and a pro poker guide.

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Among Ignition’s 400+ games, we liked the Up Up & Away slot by Qora. It’s one of the most-played on the site, with 324 betways, medium-high variance, a 96.21% RTP, and a max win of x5,000. The poker room at Ignition is also tops, covering everything from an extensive guide for beginners to top tournament action like Knockouts, Satellites, Turbos, and Sit-and-gos.

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Ignition offers a dozen payment methods, including 7 crypto options, credit cards, vouchers, and UnionPay cards. 

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Crypto payouts at Ignition happen within 1-24 hours, while credit and vouchers can take anywhere from 24-48 hours, depending on whether your KYC requirements are in order.

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One of the senior establishments among our best online casinos real money list, BetOnline, features a full menu of casino fun. There are over 1,500 slots, 70 table games, and a complete sportsbook covering the best in world sports from U.S. action like the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB to European Soccer and Rugby.

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After the 100 free spins welcome bonus, we appreciated the $15,000 Daily Cash Race. It covers everything in the casino (including slots), awarding points for every bet and paying the top 250 players daily cash. There’s also a spotlighted slot game every week. Bet over $150 on this pokie and get a $25 cash award in addition to your winnings. 

Banking - 4.9/5

As one of the top crypto casinos, BetOnline accepts 17 different coins. You can also make payments with credit cards (Visa, Discover, Mastercard, and American Express), money orders, and bank transfers.

Payout Speed - 4.9/5

Deposits are cleared instantly for play, while crypto payouts, on average, are made in 1-18 hours. The minimum withdrawal is $20, and the maximum is $500K. 

Mobile Experience - 4.9/5

The site’s app is a free download for both iOS and Android devices. It gives you access to most of the site's casino games, as well as all sports, their sports betting options, and lets you keep a record of all the wagers you’ve made.

Testing the Free Spins: $25 Deposit, Real Results

I deposited $25 in Bitcoin to test BetOnline's 100 free spins promotion. The deposit was instant, and I got my first 10 spins right away—they split them over 10 days, which I actually liked. Day one was on some jungle-themed slot. Hit $18 on spin 7, which got me interested.

By day three, I'd accumulated $65 from free spins. I used those winnings to explore their massive game library. Found Cai Fu Dai Panda by WooHoo with 96.23% RTP and great bonus features. Put $40 of my own money into it and came out $85 ahead.

By day 10, my free spin winnings hit $94 (just under the $100 daily cap). I cashed out $150 total via Bitcoin. They quoted 1-18 hours; it took 11. I was fine with that, as I've waited days elsewhere. BetOnline felt straightforward—fast, fair, and surprisingly generous.

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3. Super Slots - Best Free Spin Welcome

Highlights

Super Slots offers a 300-spin welcome bonus to all new players. You’ll receive 30 free spins daily for 10 days, with the spins only valid for 24 hours. The minimum deposit is $10, and the maximum win amount for these free spins is $100. 

All deposits are processed instantly, and withdrawals are fastest via crypto, with payouts landing in your hands within 1-24 hours. Super Slots is licensed by the Panama Gaming Commission.

Pros

• 11 customer promos
• 1500+ slots
• 20 fast pay casino options
• 300 free spins welcome bonus

Cons

• Site navigation could be better 
• Low on virtual sports

With nearly 35 years of experience, Super Slots is not only another high-volume site among our top 5 with 1,500 slots ready for action, but it’s also the oldest of our best online real money casinos.

Featuring RNG-tested slots and mechanized casino games, all of Super Slots’ offerings are third-party audited and fair play guaranteed. Plus, Super Slots only carries games by the best game providers like BetSoft, Play ‘n Go, Qora, Pragmatic Play, and others.

Game Selection - 4.8/5

Among their storehouse of 1,500+ slots, one worth noting is Coins of Ra Deluxe by BetSoft. Featuring 20 betways, a 96.06% RTP, medium-high variance, and an x5,000 max win, this Egyptian-themed game is packed with bonus games, respins, and hold and win mechanics.

Another is Reels & Wheels XL by Woohoo, with 20 betways, a 96% RTP, and a max win of x2500.

Bonuses & Rewards - 4.8/5

Besides the free spin welcome, among Super Slots' other bonuses are their Super Slot of the week. Play 100 spins on this featured game during the week and win 20 more free spins for your trouble. Mid-Week superspins are for all slot maniacs, offering 100 free spins for playing up to $1,500 worth of slots play on Wednesdays. 

Banking - 4.7/5

The array of choices on Super Slots doesn’t end with their slots and promos. There are also more than 20 payment options, including credit cards, money orders, courier checks, wire transfers, and 17 cryptocurrencies.

Payout Speed - 4.8/5 

Bitcoin payouts occur within 1-24 hours, with a $20 minimum and a $500,000 maximum withdrawal for BTC, ETH, Tether, and USDCoin. The more traditional payment options may take up to 48 hours to process. 

Mobile Experience - 4.9/5

Compatible with iOS and Android, the Super Slots app is free to download directly from the site. It offers a superior mobile experience, with most of the site's hundreds of games available, and a smooth interface across graphics, payment processing, and more. 

300 Free Spins and a $620 Hit I Didn't See Coming

I deposited $20 in Litecoin for the 300 free spins bonus (30 per day for 10 days). Signup took three minutes, and within 10 minutes, I had my first 30 spins on Golden Buffalo. The first 15 spins were dead, then spin 16 triggered free games and paid $38. Finished the session up $52.

Instead of waiting for the next batch, I explored their library with my own money. Found Coins of Ra Deluxe by BetSoft—Egyptian theme, 96.06% RTP, 5,000x max win. Set my bet to $1 and started spinning.

About 80 spins in, I triggered hold-and-win. Five minutes of respins and multipliers later, I was staring at a $620 hit. My hands were shaking. Kept playing for another hour, switched between slots, and brought my balance to $780.

I cashed out via Bitcoin around 2 PM Saturday. 19 hours later, the funds were in my wallet, right on schedule. Only contacted support once to confirm my free spin winnings had no hidden rollover. They responded in under two minutes on live chat, confirmed no extra playthrough, and mentioned their Wednesday promotion of 100 free spins if you wager $1,500. 

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4. Slots.lv - Best Crypto Club

Highlights

Slots.lv offers a 200% crypto welcome bonus up to $3,000 + 30 free spins on the Golden Buffalo slot, and up to a $2,000 bonus for fiat payments with 20 free spins. Both the bonus offers can be activated with a minimum $20 deposit, and the free spins have a 35x wagering requirement.

Payout times for crypto are routinely within 24 hours, while fiat withdrawals may take longer due to KYC protocols. Slots.lv is licensed by the Curaçao Gaming Authority.

Pros

• Weekly crypto match up to $500 
• 200% Welcome up to $3,000
• My Slots Loyalty Rewards
• Online since 2013

Cons

• Repetitive game theme songs
• Heavy slot focus

Slots.lv has been one of the best real-money online casinos for more than a dozen years. In addition to the 400+ slot games we’ll be discussing, they also offer table games and live casino options for blackjack tables, roulette, baccarat, Andar Bahar, and more. Hot drop jackpots are also popular, with several holding payouts of up to $50,000 and expected to drop soon. 

The platform offers multiple payment options, including fast, secure crypto payments, typically available within 24 hours. If you’re new to using crypto, Slots.lv has a complete guide that will walk you through the process as quickly as you’ll likely cash out when you win.

Game Selection - 4.7/5

If you’re in search of a great slot at Slots.lv, Crystals on Fire by Woohoo is a good bet. It has strong win potential, with over 720 betways, high volatility, a max win of x6,100, and a 96.09% RTP. Another we would recommend is Instant Inferno by Woohoo, a wildfire-themed game, which offers burning jackpot action with a 96.63% RTP, high variance, 30 betways, and an x3333 max win for combustible payouts.

Bonuses & Rewards - 4.6/5

Slots.lv is one of the best real money casinos online. We’ve already mentioned their sizzling crypto bonus, but they also offer a weekly crypto deposit bonus of 100% up to $500. It requires a minimum deposit of $20 and includes a 40x wagering requirement. Plus, the My Slots Rewards program lets you earn 15 rewards points for every crypto dollar you spend in exchange for progressive VIP program benefits.

Banking - 4.7/5

Slots.lv accepts credit cards, e-wallets, and bank transfers, but the majority of its payout options are crypto, including BTC, LTC, ETH, Tether, and more. There are also more traditional credit options, such as Visa and Mastercard available on Slots.lv. All payment options are protected by SSL encryption and SMS validation.

Payout Speed - 4.7/5

Withdrawals at Slots.lv are generally processed within 24-48 hours, though crypto leads the pack, with most payouts under a day, followed by e-wallets at 24 hours and credit cards at 24-48 hours.

Mobile Experience - 4.6/5

Slots.lv is in the midst of expanding its mobile casino app capability, with more and more games available on the app daily. Currently, the site offers over 100 of its top games, along with the ability to make deposits and withdrawals via both crypto and fiat. The app is also available in English and Spanish.

Going All in on Crypto: My 22-Hour Payout Test

I wanted a top casinos that accept crypto, and Slots.lv kept coming up. I deposited $100 in Ethereum to grab the crypto bonus, and my $100 became $300 instantly.

I ran through the free spins—first 20 were slow, but spin 23 triggered the bonus and paid $67. Finished with $94 from free money.

I loaded up Crystals on Fire, set my bet to $2, and braced myself. First 50 spins dropped me from $300 to $180. Then spin 61 hit, cascading wins everywhere. One bonus round brought me to $520.

I cashed out via Ethereum at 6 PM Thursday, and by 4 PM Friday, the funds were in my wallet. Slots.lv proved exactly what I needed: crypto-friendly, fast payouts, and knowledgeable support.

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5. Slots of Vegas - Juiciest Jackpot Slots 

Highlights

Slots of Vegas offers all new players a 375% welcome match bonus + 50 free spins to use on the game Cash Chaser. By using the coupon code WILD375, players can boost their balance significantly, and the best part is that it can be claimed up to 4 times. Slots of Vegas is licensed by the Anjouan Gaming Authority.

Pros

• 375% welcome bonus + 50 free spins
• 25 player promo codes available
• Online since 2004
• Buy crypto on site with Changelly

Cons

• Promo codes can be hard to find
• Site navigation inconsistent

Established in 2004, Slots of Vegas was one of the pioneer online casinos. Over 20 years later, they’re still offering hundreds of online slots, including jackpot slots, table games, video poker, special games, progressive games, and more. If you consider yourself a slot maven, then Slots of Vegas is a site for you.

Game Selection - 4.6/5

Oz Golden Trail by RTG is currently filled with a $3,000 jackpot that’s just waiting for someone to come along the yellow brick road. This slot has a 96% RTP, 25 betways, medium volatility, and a max win of x50,000. Fortunate Zeus by RTG is another slot loaded to pay with a pot of over $13,000. This machine has 50 paylines, a 97% RTP, medium volatility, and a max win of x50,000.

Bonuses & Rewards - 4.6/5

In addition to the 375% welcome bonus + 50 FS, Slots of Vegas offers over 20 other promo codes available that both new and existing players can redeem to keep the rewards coming.

Banking - 4.5/5

There are 7 cryptocurrency options available: BTC, BTC Lightning, LTC, BTC Cash, ETH, DOGE, and USDCoin. The credit options include Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. You can also purchase crypto onsite from Changelly, where sums under $200 don’t require any verification and will be in your account in 15 minutes.

Payout Speed - 4.6/5

While credit and crypto are accepted for deposits, crypto is king when it comes to withdrawals, with payments available within 1-48 hours. The other withdrawal options include wire transfers and checks, both with longer processing times and associated fees.

Mobile Experience - 4.6/5

Slots of Vegas has a superior mobile app that delivers low data usage and seamless gaming, including all the site's features. Plus, they also offer $100 of casino cash free with an exclusive code that is available within the app when you download it.

Chasing a $13K Jackpot: One Hour to Payout

Slots of Vegas has been around a while, so I was curious if an old-school casino could still compete. I deposited $50 in Bitcoin to claim the bonus, and my $50 became $175 instantly.

I went straight for their progressive jackpot slots. Loaded up Fortunate Zeus with the jackpot sitting at $13,000. Played 90 minutes at $1 per spin. Didn't hit the jackpot, but triggered the bonus three times with payouts between $85-$140.

When it was time to withdraw, my BTC payout arrived in 58 minutes. The only issue I had was with the promo codes, which were hard to find through their clunky navigation. Slots of Vegas isn't flashy, but it delivers: fast payouts and massive jackpot selection.

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How We Ranked the Best Real Money Online Casinos

Here are some of the ranking methodologies we used to judge the best real money online casinos in the USA.

Legitimate Payouts

To verify payouts, we reviewed customer reviews on sites like Trustpilot to confirm that sites consistently paid within their stated timeframes, with no delays or complaints.

Game Selection

To verify adequate game selection, we looked for sites with at least 200 slots and a healthy selection of table games, live dealer games, poker rooms, and more.

Banking Options

To serve a large market like the U.S., we sought sites that offered multiple payment methods, including credit and debit cards, web wallets, and multiple cryptocurrencies.

Payout Speed

This is a controversial topic and one that’s hard to pin down. Along with our own experience of payout speed, we researched customer feedback on review sites like Trustpilot to see how close the casino claims were to actual player experiences.

Bonus Value

In addition to counting the number of bonuses a site offered, we calculated bonus value by factoring in wagering requirements. A $1,000 bonus at 25x is superior to a $3,000 bonus at 50x.

Security & Licensing

All our top picks were verified for licensing, SSL encryption security protocols, and fair gaming practices, including impartial third-party RNG audits.

Mobile Compatibility

To verify claims about mobile browser performance, we made sure to test the sites on mobile browsers and apps, both on iOS and Android.

Why Is Ignition the Best Real Money Online Casino?

Here is some comparative data we considered when evaluating the best online casinos that pay real money.

• Game Quality - With 400+ games, Ignition doesn’t have the most, yet they did have a disproportionately high count of third-party fairness-tested games by the industry’s top providers.
• Wagering Requirements - For their bonuses, Ignition has playthroughs of 25x or less, which is significantly lower than the industry average of 35x or higher.
• Withdrawal Speed - The average payout speed for Bitcoin among the best online casinos to win real money is about 24-48 hours, yet Ignition’s average payout was just 18 hours.
• Poker Option - Ignition has the largest online poker network, with over $1 million in weekly tournament guarantees. 
• Welcome Bonus - A healthy $3,000 divided evenly with $1,500 each for casino and poker.

Why Should I Play at Real Money Online Casinos?

The best online casinos with real money play versus sweepstakes or social casinos.

• The Real Stakes Difference

Rather than playing for sweeps or fake coins, the best online real money casinos incorporate true risk and the possibility of leaving with an actual monetary reward.

• Access

Most Americans don’t live near a casino, yet via the internet, the best online casinos for real money action come right into your home whenever you want to play, 24/7.

• The Value Proposition

A lower general overhead allows the best online casinos real money play to have better odds for customers and better table game rules than their brick and mortar counterparts. 

Best Real Money Casino Games

Now that you’ve explored the top platforms and bonuses, it’s time to take a closer look at the best real money casino games you can actually play and win with.

Slots

Slot machines are the most prevalent and popular games at the best online casinos for big payouts. They come in classic 3-reel and 5-reel styles, as well as 7-reel machines complete with free spins, bonus rounds, progressive jackpots, and more. A good high RTP for a slot is typically 96-98%.

Blackjack

Despite the luck of the draw, Blackjack offers the best odds among casino games, with a low house edge, sometimes as low as 0.5%. There are many versions of the game at top blackjack casinos, including single-deck, multi-deck variants, American style, European style, and more.

Roulette

If you’ve ever seen a James Bond movie, roulette is the casino game most associated with glamour and high-end casinos. The European version has a lower edge and is more player-friendly than the American version, yet both are available via RNG or live dealer versions.

Video Poker 

A mechanical version of the classic card game, video poker offers higher RTPs than other RNG games, sometimes as high as 99%, particularly when playing Jacks or better. Some versions of video poker include deuces wild and Joker Poker.

Live Dealer Games 

These are broadcasts of actual house dealers from professional video studios that you can observe from a casino feed as they deal out games like blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and others. These games unfold in real time and add an authentic element to play at the best online real-money casinos.

Specialty Games 

These games include Keno, Plinko, scratchies, and crash games, offering simpler, quick-play alternatives to more complex, skill-based casino offerings.

Banking Options at Real Money Online Casinos

Now that you know what to expect, let’s take a look at your deposit and withdrawal options at safe online casinos.

Cryptocurrency (Recommended) 

• Options - Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, Bitcoin Cash
• Speed - Instant deposits, withdrawals usually in 1-24 hours
• Limits - Minimum crypto withdrawals can be as low as $25 and as high as $5K
• Bonuses - On average, crypto bonuses are often enhanced by up to 150%, compared with 100% for credit
• How It Works: Crypto is typically purchased through an online exchange (some casinos offer this, either free of charge or for a small service fee)

Credit/Debit Cards

• Options - Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Amex (varies by site)
• Speed - Instant deposits
• Special Note - Can’t be used for withdrawal at most casinos

Bank Transfers

• Speed - 1-3 days on average for deposits
• Limits - Can provide higher caps for serious high rollers
• How It Works - requires a linked bank account

How to Withdraw Real Money from Online Casinos 

Once you’re ready to cash out your winnings, here’s how to withdraw real money from online casinos.

Cryptocurrency Withdrawals

• Speed - Sometimes as little as an hour, yet on average, 24-48 hours
• Limits - The highest withdrawal caps. In some cases, as high as $500,000
• Process - The casino sends you a payout to the blockchain address you provide
• Best For - The fastest withdrawals, in most cases, free of any fees

Bank Wire

• Speed - 3-5 business days
• Limits - Commonly used for larger cash withdrawals where safety is paramount
• Fees - Often charged a fee. Either a flat fee or a percentage of the total withdrawal amount

Check by Courier

• Speed - 7-14 days
• Limits - $5-$10,000
• Process - An actual physical check delivered to your address by registered mail

Verification Requirements

• Most casinos require an official I.D. verification before making your first withdrawal
• Crypto users often face minimal verification requirements because of the nature of blockchain transactions
• It is recommended to determine the exact identification you need and have it ready before requesting a withdrawal

The Best Online Casinos Real Money Bonuses

Below you’ll find the common bonuses offered at the best online casinos real money.

Comparison of the 5 Best Online Casinos Real Money Bonuses

To help you choose the most rewarding option, here’s a comparison of the five best online casino real money bonuses.

How to Sign Up at a Real Money Casino

At this point, you’re undoubtedly chomping at the bit to go online and start playing. Here’s how to get yourself started at our #1 pick among the best real money casinos online.

Step 1: Go to the Ignition website. Somewhere on the main page, you’ll see a “Join Now” button. Click on that

Step 2: Next, you will see a “Create Your Account” form. This form will request a valid email address, phone number, and password. Once you’ve filled all that in, click the “Register” button at the bottom of the form

Step 3: Head back to the main page. You’ll see a “Deposit” button in the upper-right corner, and you’ll be offered a menu of bonuses. Find one you like (don’t forget to read the fine print), and then it will be time to pick a game

Step 4: Once you do that, it’s time to play

Real Money Casino Tips

Here are a few final things you might want to keep in mind before starting to play at safe online casinos for real money.

Read the Fine Print

Read the terms of any bonus you’re considering. Make sure you understand wagering requirements, how far a minimum deposit goes, and any ceiling on winnings. Sometimes playing without a bonus is the smarter move.

Research the KYC Requirements

Find out the documentation required to cash out and verify your account early. Don't wait until you're trying to withdraw. Upload your ID and proof of address after signing up so your first cashout goes quickly and smoothly.

Make a Budget

Budget your bankroll before you deposit, then track it. Decide how much you can afford before you start, and then don’t go beyond that. A good rule of thumb is to wager no more than 1% of your bankroll on an individual bet. 

Learn About Crypto

Research and consider buying some crypto to start. Crypto will give you access to better bonuses, faster withdrawals, and enhanced welcome offers. 

FAQs about the Best Online Casinos Real Money

Here are some questions readers are asking about the best online casinos that pay real money.

Are Real Money Online Casinos Safe?

Yes, over the last few years, the best online casinos with real money play have transferred millions of dollars in payments with relatively few incidents. With crypto blockchain security and SSL encryption for fiat transactions, your money is generally protected at reputable real money casinos.

What's the Fastest Way to Withdraw From Online Casinos?

Cryptocurrency is widely considered the fastest way to withdraw money from online casinos due to its simple verification process and the ultra-fast blockchain technology it uses.

Do I Have to Pay Taxes on Online Casino Winnings?

Yes. American casinos are required to keep a record of your winnings and report to the IRS at the end of each calendar year.

What's the Minimum Deposit at Real Money Casinos?

The minimum deposit at many real money casinos is between $10 and $50, depending on the size of the bonus being offered and the amount of playthrough required before you can collect winnings.

Get Ready to Play at the Best Online Casinos for Real Money

Social and sweepstakes sites may be fun, but like alcohol-free wine or beer, their reward is limited compared to the real thing—actual gambling with actual payouts. 

At the top of our best online casinos real money list is Ignition with the best combination of games, bonuses, and overall payout speed. Whether you're spinning slots, chasing 21 in blackjack, or betting red or black in roulette games, sites like Ignition are the ones that pay real money.

What are you waiting for? Claim your welcome bonus at one of our best online casinos for real money and start playing for real.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this site is for entertainment purposes only. Gambling is risky, and it's important to approach it with caution. Check your local laws to ensure that online gambling is legal in your jurisdiction. All websites on this page are 21+ only. 

If you have a gambling addiction problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700. The following free gambling addiction resources can be of help as well:

• https://www.gamblersanonymous.org/
• https://www.ncpgambling.org/
• https://www.gamblingtherapy.org/

Dane died less than a year after his diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, also known also as Lou Gehrig's disease.The Famous Last Words episode follows one previously recorded with conservationist Jane Goodall. The series "gives audiences around the world the opportunity to hear from a cultural icon after they’ve passed away," Netflix explained in a news release Friday.

Dane's interview was conducted by Emmy Award winner Brad Falchuk last November.

“Eric and I were the same age when we discussed his life and legacy, so the conversation felt uniquely moving and personal,” Falchuk said in a statement. “There was no self-pity in Eric. He refused to complain. He was brave, soulful, charming, joyful, grateful, and hilarious — and when he flashed that smile, he was undeniably still a leading man. His final words at the end of the episode are truly beautiful. I will miss him.”

Eric Dane's Famous Last Words

The interview begins with Falchuk wheeling Dane out onstage in a wheelchair, and joking: "You're stuck here with me now."

Dane then tells Falchuk that in spite of his health troubles, "my spirit has been surprisingly, pretty buoyant throughout this journey. ... There's no reason for me to be, you know, happy in any individual moment, but I am."

He also says that though he may look well, he feels "like I sound like a frog."

Falchuk replies: "I sit here in nothing but respect and awe of you and your strength."

He adds that one purpose of the interview is to help Dane's children remember him.

"It's a weird concept to kind of grapple with," Dane says. "You and I are talking here right now, and we're both very alive and at the same time, when this exists, if it ever does, I won't be here."

Falchuk adds that Dane will be "speaking from the dead," and Dane agrees.

Dane's sense of humor shines through the interview. When Falchuk reads him his biography, Dane quips that it feels like there's "an interesting story in there."

He also says that he relates to his Euphoria character's double life, because of his own past struggles with drugs and alcohol.

Born on November 9, 1972, in San Francisco, California, Dane began acting in the early 1990s with roles on shows including Saved by the Bell, The Wonder Years, Roseanne, Married…. with Children, and Charmed. 

He gained widespread popularity with a guest role in Grey’s Anatomy as the dashing Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan, and was soon added to the show as a leading man.

In April 2025, Dane publicly announced that he had been diagnosed with ALS, a progressive neurological disease that affects muscle control. He became an advocate for others battling the disease and returned to the set of Euphoria for Season 3.

He died Thursday, leaving behind two daughters, Billie and Georgia, to whom he addressed his last words.

The Famous Last Words docuseries began with Goodall, who died on Oct. 1, 2025. In her interview, she said she wished she could blast certain people into space, including Elon Mush and President Trump.

This series is based on the notable Danish TV format of the same name — Det Sidste Ord — and includes "icons who have made indelible marks on society and culture," Netflix said.

Each interview is conducted in extreme privacy, with only the interviewee and interviewer present. The sessions are recorded by remotely operated cameras.

Famous Last Words is executive produced by Falchuk and Mikkel Bondesen (through Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision banner), along with BSNA, a Banijay company, with David Goldberg and showrunner David Friedman.

Main image: Eric Dane for Famous Last Words. Netflix.

--

Every year, genuine dislike or quiet whispering campaigns threaten to kneecap one or more top Oscar contenders, for reasons ranging from obvious to dubious.

Last year, old tweets from Emilia Perez star Karla Sofía Gascón hurt the film's odds, as did minor use of AI in The Brutalist. Anora escaped an attempted takedown over its lack of intimacy coordinators, and director Sean Baker went on to break Oscar records.

Maybe voters just vote for the film they think is best. But knives-out whisper campaigns have been part of campaign season for decades, especially when Harvey Weinstein became infamous for reputed sharp-elbowed awards campaigns, before he became infamous for being convicted of worse things.

There's plenty of legitimate, healthy debate this year about whether, say, Sinners or One Battle After Another is a better pick for Best Picture. (One Battle director Paul Thomas Anderson is way overdue, but Sinners director Ryan Coogler is a young and exciting filmmaker with a stunning record of hits.)

But then there's the talk around Marty Supreme — which actually has little to do with Marty Supreme.

It's more about the movie director Josh Safdie made two movies ago, with his brother Benny: the electric 2017 crime thriller Good Time, starring Robert Pattinson as a man on the run through the Safdies' typically crazy, chaotic New York.

Anatomy of the Marty Supreme 'Scandal'

The outcry started with the January 26 launch of California Post, a West Coast offshoot of America's oldest tabloid, the New York Post. With a front page headline that declared OSCAR WILD!, the new paper claimed the Safdies, who stopped directing movies together after 2019's Uncut Gems, were part of an "H'wood Scandal." The paper also purported to tell the "shocking truth behind director Safdie brothers' mystery split."

The Post's gossip column Page Six contended that the brothers cut ties in 2023 after Benny Safdie, who this year released the solo directorial effort The Smashing Machine, learned the full details of an incident on the Good Time set.

The paper cited "Good Time sources" who said a 17-year-old girl was cast to play a sex worker in the film and "was thrust into a scene that involved nudity and simulated sex with 'actor' Buddy Duress during production in New York."

Duress, a non-actor hired for them film, had been jailed numerous times dating back to 2009 on drug charges, weapons violations, fencing stolen property and motor vehicle theft, according to the Post, and died of a heroin overdose in 2023.

The paper said that as "Josh watched the action unfold on his monitor, and Benny stood in the corner holding the boom, Duress, who was high at the time, pulled down his pants, exposed himself and asked the girl if 'he could stick it in' as the cameras continued to roll."

The paper said Josh Safdie, who is up for Best Director for Marty Supreme, learned of the girl’s age on the day of production.

Neither Benny or Josh Safdie has spoken out about what happened, and the two have said their parting of ways was a natural part of their creative evolution.

The Post said the full details of the incident didn’t come to light until 2022, when their former producing partner, Sebastian “Sebo” Bear-McClard, was divorcing with actress Emily Ratajkowski. The Post also said Bear-McClard had become romantically involved with the Good Time actress after production was over, which had become a factor in a custody battle with Ratajkowski.

Fallout

The matter has become serious enough to draw lengthy stories in both The Hollywood Reporter and The Ankler, among other trades, getting a level of attention than typical Oscar gossip.

The Ankler's Katey Rich went deep on the story behind the story. She shared that since the story broke, she has "been texting almost nonstop with fellow journalists and awards season pros, speculating about the timing for the story, who the sources might have been and which rival Oscar campaigns might have been behind it."

THR, meanwhile, said in a story entitled "Oscar Season’s Messy Side Comes for Marty Supreme" that there were "suspicions of a smear campaign." THR's story noted that the Post article's writer, Tatiana Siegel, had previously reported key aspects of the story in 2023, when working for Variety.

Long ago, stories needed a news peg to re-emerge. But in the internet age, when social media junkies can resurface any story at any time, there's little remarkable about a mainstream publication also reminding people of a complicated chapter in someone's life — especially when that someone is riding high from an Oscar nomination, for example.

Will the story hurt Marty Supreme? Or will a backlash to the backlash help it? We'll find out when the Oscar are handed out on March 15. Or maybe we won't — which is the amorphous nature of Oscar debates.

Maybe the voters will just like another movie more for reasons having nothing to do with whatever happened on a Safdie brothers movie set nearly a decade ago.

Main image: Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme. A24

Among its nominations were for best picture, best director and best screenplay, and star Michael B. Jordan, who played twin brothers Smoke and Stack, was nominated for best actor for the first time. Delroy Lindo was nominated for best supporting actor, and Wunmi Mosaku for supporting actress.

Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, a story of a burned-out revolutionary dad trying to save his daughter, landed 13 nominations, including for best picture. Anderson was nominated for best director and best adapted screenplay, Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead actor category, Teyana Taylor in the supporting actress category, and Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn in the supporting actor category.

Sinnners broke the Oscar record set — 14 — set by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land.

Both Sinners and One Battle After Another come from Warner Bros., which has made bold and rewarding creative decisions under co-chairs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca — including on Sinners and One Battle After Another. Sinners was also a commercial smash.

But this could be the historic studio's final Oscars as an independent entity, given that Netflix and Paramount are jousting to take it over.

Here is the complete list of 2026 Oscar nominees. Congratulations to all.

The 2026 Oscar Nominees Complete List

Best Picture

Bugonia

F1

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

Secret Agent

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Train Dreams

Achievement in Directing

Chloe Zhao

Josh Safdie

Paul Thomas Anderson

Joachim Trier

Ryan Coogler

Actor in a Leading Role

Timothy Chalamet

Leonardo Di Caprio

Ethan Hawke

Michael B Jordan

Wagner Moura

Actress in a Leading Role

Jessie Buckley

Rose Byrne

Kate Hudson

Renata Reinsve

Emma Stone

Actor in a Supporting Role

Benicio Del Toro

Jacob Elordi

Delroy Lindo

Sean Penn

Stellan Skarsgard

Actress in a Supporting Role

Elle Fanning

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas

Amy Madigan

Wunmi Mosaku

Teyana Taylor

Original Screenplay

Blue Moon

It Was Just An Accident

Marty Supreme

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Adapted Screenplay

Bugonia

Frankenstein

Hamnet

One Battle After Another

Train Dreams

Casting

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

Sinners

The Secret Agent

One Battle After Another

Animated Feature

Arco

Elio

KPop Demon Hunters

Little Amelie

Zootopia 2

Production Design

Frankenstein

Hamnet

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Cinematography

Frankenstein

Marty Supreme

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Train Dreams

Costume Design

Avatar: Fire and Ash — Deborah L. Scott

Hamnet — Malgosia Turzanska

Frankenstein — Kate Hawley

Sinners — Ruth E. Carter

Marty Supreme — Miyako Bellizzi

Film Editing

F1 — Stephen Mirrione
Marty Supreme — Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
One Battle After Another — Andy Jurgensen
Sentimental Value — Olivier Bugge
Sinners — Michael P. Shawver

Makeup and Hairstyling

Kokuho

Frankenstein

Sinners

Smashing Machine

The Ugly Stepsister

Sound

F1

Frankenstein

One Battle After Another

Sinners

Sirat

Visual Effects

Avatar

F1

Jurassic World Rebirth

Lost Bus

Sinners

Original Score

Bugonia — Jerskin Fendrix
Frankenstein — Alexandre Desplat
Hamnet — Max Richter
One Battle After Another" — Jonny Greenwood
Sinners — Ludwig Göransson

Original Song

"Dear Me" from Diane Warren: Relentless
"Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters
"I Lied to You" from Sinners
"Sweet Dreams Of Joy" from Viva Verdi!
"Train Dreams" from Train Dreams

Documentary Feature

The Alabama Solution

Come See Me In The Good Light

Mr Nobody Against Putin

Perfect Neighbour

Cutting Through Rocks

International Feature

The Secret Agent

It Was Just An Accident

Sentimental Value

Sirat

The Voice Of Hind Rajab

Animated Short

"Butterfly"

"Forever Green"

"The Girl Who Cried Pearls"

"Retirement Plan"

"The Three Sisters"

Documentary Short

"All The Empty Rooms"

"Armed Only With A Camera"

"Children No More"

"Perfectly A Strangeness"

"The Devil Is Busy"

Live Action Short

"Butchers Stain"

"A Friend Of Dorothy"

"The Singers"

"Two People Exchanging Saliva"

"Jane Austen’s Period Drama"

“As soon as I started to learn about people like Oonagh Guinness and how she lived, and Gloria Vanderbilt and Lee Radziwill… they were bucking the tradition of their aristocratic upbringing, which would have been, you know, heirlooms and antiques. No, they didn't want any of that. They wanted to be part of the modern world. They wanted to hang out with artists. They wanted to be bohemian and they expressed that, I feel like, in their personal surroundings.”

Hedda, an adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play Hedda Gabler, stars Tessa Thompson in the title role, with Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots, Tom Bateman, and Nicholas Pinnock in supporting roles. The film is all set in one location, Hedda’s majestic estate. Its look and feel are essential to reinforcing Hedda as a boundary pusher, and creating the transportive quality of the film. 

“We achieved that through just the layering that we did. We had this Italianate house that was built and cobbled together. They kept building it and building it, building it over decades, adding and adding so you have this house from the 1800s and then we put modern art in it, and then we brought in a lot of art deco silhouettes to furnishings, because that still feels so contemporary,” says Brower. 

“Because of all the layers that we have, it kind of makes it feel timeless. A lot of people have come up to me and said they wanted to know what country the house was in… and then they want to know what year it was set in. We wanted it to kind of feel timeless and transcend any specific year.”

Taking Liberties With Hedda

DaCosta took some liberties from the play, by moving the time period from the late 19th century and gender switching the role of Eilert in the play to Eileen in the film. Those liberties were important considerations for Brower and set decorator Stella Fox.

“I think for me, choosing the furniture and the pieces had more to do with the shapes and the proportions of the pieces. The shapes of the deco pieces and the shapes of ’50s pieces kind of mirror that very elegant, very shapely, just very sexy pieces of furniture. 

"And I think that when we were looking in auction houses we imported a lot of furniture from all over Europe antiques markets. It was more about just finding the perfect shape. But it just didn't matter to me and to Cara, whether it was, you know, ’20s, ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, even ’60s. Like, there were some mid-century pieces that obviously would have been created after them. But it really, it didn't matter, because they had that freedom of slight wildness, I think, to them,” says Fox.

“We did a whole kind of board displaying leopard print, for example, and like it was so on trend in the ’50s… and (Nia) let us put leopard print carpet in the back hallway, and also a taxidermy jaguar on the staircase, just because,” says Fox. “I remember the first time we showed Nia the leopard print carpet. She literally laughed in our face. She was like, ‘Ladies, what are you doing?’ And then, OK, OK, I got it. I got it.”

How did ideas of gender, especially in this time period, influence the set decoration and production design?

“I really think it was just another example about how boundary pushing this person is, and how bold we could be with the furnishing, I think, and the production design, because she's clearly somebody who is not afraid... I really don't know how we would have made this film, or how special this film would have felt without that gender swap,” says Brower.

Hedda’s outward and inner lives are constantly at odds in the film, but the house does offer clues to who she might really be. 

“I feel like she is grasping at anything she can, and so maybe the house is a bit of a creative outlet where she can express herself. Even though she finds that unfulfilling,” says Brower.

“I was gonna say it's for her. It was the drama… It's the show of it, the pomp of it,” says Fox.

Hedda is now streaming on Prime Video.

Main image: Tessa Thompson in Hedda. Prime Video.

The appointment, effective last month, came after a national search for a successor to Rob Davis, who retired as RiverRun’s executive director at the end of 2024. Morin was a key figure at Slamdance, producing eight editions and overseeing its relocation from Park City to Los Angeles. He also oversaw new revenue streams including Slamdance Channel VOD.

Morin has also produced, coordinated, and managed more than 25 productions, including films, TV shows and music videos. Morin also recently wrote This Time Each Year, Hallmark’s first Christmas movie centered on a character who struggles with alcoholism.

Earlier in his career he worked as David O. Russell's executive and writing assistant, contributing to The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook.

“We’re thrilled Michael is joining us as executive director,” said Denise Gunter, Chair of RiverRun’s board. “Michael’s film festival experience is deep and varied, and we believe that he is the right person to lead RiverRun forward.

“Michael is building on a strong foundation established by Dale Pollock, who brought RiverRun to Winston-Salem, our previous executive directors, our outstanding staff and volunteers, and our dedicated board,” Gunter added.

“What draws me most to RiverRun is its deep community involvement and commitment to education. Throughout my career, I’ve prioritized inclusive programming, industry engagement, and artist-first principles—strengthening local ties while maintaining a global reach,” Morin said. “My experience managing multi-format festivals, supervising diverse staff and volunteers, and launching long-term sponsor relationships would translate seamlessly into RiverRun’s collaborative ecosystem."

He added: “My belief in the power of film as a catalyst for social understanding and creative innovation guides everything I do. ... Regional festivals like RiverRun are uniquely positioned to inspire dialogue, foster inclusivity, and strengthen the communities they serve. With deep industry experience and a genuine passion for building transformative artistic spaces, I’m committed to working collaboratively across the region to ensure RiverRun grows boldly and vibrantly in the years ahead.”

The next RiverRun will be held April 17–25. Founded in 1998, RiverRun showcases new films from established and emerging filmmakers around the world, offering narrative, documentary, short, student, and animated films, offering both audience and jury prizes in competition.

Main image: Michael C. Morin. Courtesy of RiverRun.

And it didn't take long for fans — including us — to realize some of the creepy audio in the teaser was music being played backwards. And to reverse that audio.

It may actually be creepier when played forward. Here is the original version, and our reversed audio:

What We Know About The Undertone So Far

The Undertone, from first-time feature director Ian Tuason, debuted at the excellent Fantasia Film Festival last summer. The festival, one of our favorites, was also the one to premiere Skinamarink, which used online fascination to build into a major hit, despite a mere $10,000 budget.

The Undertone hopes to similarly overperform.

The film, which will play the Sundance Film Festival at a midnight screening later this month, follows the host of a popular paranormal podcast who becomes haunted by terrifying recordings that are mysteriously sent to her.

As Sundance explains, "Strained by the responsibility of providing end-of-life care to her dying mother, Evy (Nina Kiri) seeks respite from the loneliness of her fragmented reality. Now living in a house full of sentimental keepsakes and memories, her sanity and structure lies within her work on a supernatural podcast, The Undertone. While she usually plays skeptic to the creepy (and often disturbing) audio files sent to her by co-host Justin (Adam DiMarco) for podcast fodder, the latest submission hits differently.

"A series of 10 unheard recordings from a young pregnant couple are unfurled one by one, each more ominous than the last," the Sundance summary continues. "As Evy draws parallels to her current plight, hidden messages manifest, pushing her further toward madness."

Deadline reported in August that A24 acquired the film in a bidding war, "and that the deal was for mid-7 figures."

In her Fantasia Fest description of the film, programming director Carolyn Mauricette wrote, “Fans of SKINAMARINK and I AM THE PRETTY THING WHO LIVES IN THE HOUSE will love this slow-burn nightmare that will make hackles on your neck rise and your blood chill.”

The film's eerie marketing campaign has also drawn comparisons to those of Weapons and Longlegs, the latter of which came from I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House director Osgood Perkins.

Main image: Nina Kiri appears in undertone by Ian Tuason, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Photo by Dustin Rabin.

So says Chris Appelhans, who co-directed the film with Maggie Kang. Kang created the concept for KPop Demon Hunters, which follows a trio of young women who sing in the megagroup Huntr/x while secretly battling demons. It's the most-watched Netflix film ever.

In a new oral history of KPop Demon Hunters for The New York Times, Kang, Appelhans and other key creatives behind the film detailed their inspirations and influences over the nine-year process of bringing it to life.

One key to everything was the songwriting of "Golden," in which Huntr/x tell the story of their friendship, and resist the dark side of KPop.

For "Golden,” Appelhans explained, "our references were a Biggie track called 'Juicy.' There was Drake, Eminem, Lil Wayne. Those were songs about starting as nobodies and finding yourself through music."

He's not saying "Golden" sounds like "Juicy," mind you — just that "Golden," like "Juicy," is a song about rising up and achieving your dreams. Here's "Juicy" and here's "Golden."

The Notorious B.I.G., who was born Christopher Wallace and also went by Biggie Smalls, died in a 1997 shooting that is still the subject of endless speculation. He was just 24.

He's mostly been in the news lately because of memories of his association with Sean Combs, who signed him to his Bad Boy Records label. So it's nice to see Biggie get some love for inspiring a new generation of KPop and hip-hop fans.

KPop Demon Hunters and the Making of "Golden"

KPop Demon Hunters' love of hip-hop is clear from the start: Huntr/x's youngest member is rapper and lyricist Zoey, whose speaking voice is provided by Ji-young Yoo and whose singing voice belongs to South Korean singer-rapper Rei Ami. And the song "Takedown," the ultimate anti-demon diss track, is basically a hip-hop song.

Singer-songwriter Ejae told the New York Times that cracking the song "Golden" was one of the biggest challenges of the film. In addition to handling the singing voice of Huntr/x leader Rumi, she co-wrote "Golden" and the Huntr/x songs "How It's Done," and "What It Sounds Like" — as well as "Your Idol," by Huntr/x demonic boy band rivals, the Saja Boys.

Kang told the Times that the film went through about eight versions of "Golden" before landing on the one in the film.

"The last one came in, I was in a car in Vancouver going to the airport. I heard the first tingly notes and I knew, that was it. Not even the lyrics yet, just the track. When we asked EJAE to go as high as she could with her voice, she was like, I hope I don’t ever have to perform this," Kang said.

Ejae told the Times: "It’s not a comfortable register for me. I can hit the notes, obviously. But it would be impossible to sing live. There’s no breathing [room] — 90 percent of it is Rumi singing. That’s unrealistic as hell."

Everything worked out fantastically, of course: "Golden," the second single from the film's soundtrack, hit number one on the Billboard Global 200, became the longest-lasting number one song by a fictional group on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and became the third song in South Korea to achieve a 2025 "perfect all-kill." (A perfect all-kill is when a song simultaneously places at number one on the real-time, daily, and weekly components of iChart, an aggregator of all major South Korean music streaming.)

And "the film"Golden" is very much in contention in the Oscars race for best original song, one of many categories in which KPop Demon Hunters is expected to fare well.

Main image: KPop Demon Hunters. Netflix.

Professor X and Magneto are still playing chess after all these years, and Cyclops' optic blasts are as powerful as ever, in the latest teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday. The Doomsday X-Men trailer heralds the long-anticipated entry of the uncanny mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As the camera pans over scenws in Charles Xavier's rather dusty school for gifted youngsters, we see a chess piece levitate, a call back to the chess games Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) started playing way back in 2000's X-Men, a superhero film that predated the MCU and helped proved the viability of a modern Marvel movie relatively loyal to comics lore.

Soon we see Xavier warmly touching Magneto's arms. The master of magnetism has let his gray hair grow out, and it looks good.

Then all the warm fuzzy feelings dissipate as Scott Summers (James Marsden) unleashes the full fury of his eyes.

You can watch it above or right here.

Details of the trailer leaked earlier this month, but now Disney has released it in its full majesty. It's the third teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, following previous ones that promised the return of Chris Evans as Captain America (last seen in 2019's Avengers: Endgame) and Chris Hemsworth's Thor (last seen in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder.)

Stewart has flirted with the MCU before, popping up in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But Doomsday marks a more substantive reunion.

The film will also, of course, bring Robert Downey Jr. back to the MCU — though this time instead of playing Iron Man, he'll play Doctor Doom, who debuted in this past summer's Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Doomsday also brings back Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War directors Anthony and Joe Russo.

Who Is In Avengers: Doomsday?

Disney is taking a more is more approach to Doomsday. In addition to bringing back the co-directors and all the stars named above, Doomsday will also feature original X-Men actors Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and Kelsey Grammer, new Captain America actor Anthony Mackie, new Falcon actor Danny Ramirez, and Thunderbolts stars Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour, and Hannah-John Kamen.

Oh, did you think we were done? No. Avengers: Doomsday will also feature Black Panther: Wakanda Forever stars Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, and Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Ant-Man star Paul Rudd, Shang-Chi star Simu Liu, Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, and Pedro Pascal, and Loki star Tom Hiddleston, as well as Channing Tatum, who played Gambit in Wolverine vs. Deadpool.

Robert Downey Jr. helped introduce them all in this teaser released last year.

There will probably be many more cast announcements, and probably some surprise cameos as well. Stay tuned.

The Avengers and X-Men meeting — to say nothing of the meeting of the Fantastic Four and the heroes of the MCU — once seemed impossible because Fox owned the movie rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four, while Marvel owned The Avengers and their related IP.

Things began to coalesce when Disney acquired Marvel in 2009, and 10 years later acquired Fox. Disney also worked out an agreement with Sony, which owns the cinematic rights to Spider-Man, to allow new webslinger Tom Holland to start appearing in MCU films, starting with 2016's Captain America: Civil War.

So 12-year-old us would like to give a special shoutout to the many, many lawyers involved in the negotiations to finally bring all our childhood heroes to the big screen, together.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters December 18, 2026.

Main image: James Marsden as Cyclops in the new Avengers: Doomsday trailer.

The star of The Wrestler and 9 1/2 Weeks took to Instagram to deny any knowledge of the campaign, which was set up by his manager, Kimberly Hines, and her assistant.

“Something’s come up that I’m really frustrated, confused and I don’t understand,” Rourke, 73, said on Instagram Monday to his 489,000 followers. “Somebody set up some kind of foundation or fund for me to donate money, like in a charity. And that's not me.

"If I needed money, I wouldn't ask for no f---ing charity," the Oscar nominee continued, cradling his dog Lucky in his arms. "I'd rather stick a gun up my a-- and pull the trigger. So whoever did this, I don't know if they did it, why they did it — I don't understand it. I wouldn't know what a GoFund foundation is in a million years. ... My life is very simple. I don't go to outside sources like that. And, yeah, it is embarrassing, but, you know, I'm sure I'll get over it like anything else."

He also called the situation "humiliating," and asked people not to give money — and to ask for it back if they've already given. He said his eviction stemmed from a landlord-tenant dispute, and that he stopped paying rent because of problems with the property where he had lived for several years.

"I'm not paying rent because there's mice, there's rats, the floor is rotten. One bathtub, there's no water. ... In two different sinks, there was no water."

He vowed to press on.

"Like all storms, this thing will pass, and I'll go to work, and things will get back to whatever normal is," he said.

Mickey Rourke's Manager Explains GoFundMe

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rourke's manager, Kimberly Hines, said she and an assistant set up the campaign "with Mickey’s full permission," but pledged to return the money if Rourke doesn't want it.

Hines said she was helping Rourke financially and that he had been set up in a hotel with his three dogs while he waits to move new apartment in Los Angeles' Koreatown neighborhood.

She also said Rourke had never managed money well and was very generous with what he had.

"He doesn’t really know the word moderation," she said. "So he either has a lot or has nothing. He lives check to check. And he’s also been very generous with people. He bought his ex-girlfriend, who had cancer, an apartment. Didn’t buy himself an apartment. He’s given a lot of his money away to people, to friends. He’s loaned people money. Doesn’t have that upbringing or that education to manage money. So a lot of it was spent. A lot of it really was given away. He has very happy ex-girlfriends. He’s been very generous with people, and he just didn’t manage his money well."

But she also said Rourke has been offered several roles since news broke Sunday of the GoFundMe.

"The good thing about this is that he got four movie offers since yesterday. People are emailing him movie offers now, which is great because nobody’s been calling him for a long time," she told THR.

Mickey Rourke Explains Eviction Story

In his Instagram post, Mickey Rourke added that he had made mistakes in the past, but was in a better place, and said his work in recent years reflects that.

"I've done a really terrible job in managing my career. I wasn't very diplomatic, you know, I had to go to over 20 years of therapy to get over the damage that was done to me years ago, and I worked very hard to work through that. And I'm not that person anymore. But, you know, I can't be the one to say that. You've got to talk to the last several people I've worked with. Talk to Robert Rodriguez. Talk to Francis Coppola, Darren Aronofsky."

Rourke worked with Rodriguez on 2005's Sin City and 2014 Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and received some of the best reviews of his career for Aronofsky's 2008 The Wrestler, which earned him his Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He worked with Coppola on 1983's Rumble Fish.

Main image: Mickey Rourke on Instagram.

From classic Hollywood dramas to modern blockbusters and indie films, casino scenes continue to appear across genres — not because of gambling itself, but because of what it represents on screen.

At their core, casinos are narrative accelerators. They condense conflict, stakes, and character into a single space where outcomes feel immediate and irreversible.

Risk as Visual Language

Film is a visual medium, and casinos communicate risk without exposition. Chips sliding across felt, cards turning over in silence, or a roulette wheel slowing at the wrong moment all convey tension more efficiently than dialogue ever could.

In films like Casino Royale (2006), 21 (2008), and Rain Man (1988), poker and blackjack tables become arenas where intelligence, nerve, and identity collide. The audience doesn’t need to understand the rules in detail; the framing, pacing, and performances do the work. A close-up of a character’s eyes or hands tells us everything we need to know about what’s at stake emotionally.

This efficiency is why casinos remain so attractive to directors and screenwriters. They externalise internal conflict.

Control vs. Chance: A Storytelling Paradox

One of the reasons casinos work so well in film is the inherent contradiction they embody. Gambling is built on chance, yet cinematic storytelling demands intention. Films resolve this tension by turning randomness into destiny.

Characters don’t simply gamble; they outplay, outthink, or outlast their opponents. The casino becomes a battleground where chance is framed as something that can be mastered — at least temporarily. This illusion of control is crucial for narrative momentum, even if it departs from real-world probability.

This contrast between reality and representation is part of the fascination. In Mike Waters' guide about blackjack sites in Australia, we can see just how advanced online platforms have become, most of which now offer live dealer games that mirror a real-world experience.

For filmmakers, this evolution reinforces why blackjack and casinos continue to resonate culturally — they straddle the line between strategy and unpredictability in a way few other settings can.

Character Revelation in High-Stakes Environments

Casinos are not just about money. On screen, they function as psychological pressure cookers. How a character behaves at a table often reveals more than pages of dialogue.

Confidence, arrogance, restraint, desperation — these traits surface quickly when something valuable is on the line. In Rounders (1998), poker scenes aren’t about cards so much as identity and belonging. In The Hangover (2009), the casino becomes a comedic inversion of competence, where success feels absurd rather than earned.

For screenwriters, casinos offer a shortcut to character development. Place someone in a high-stakes environment and their values become visible.

The Casino as a Neutral Moral Space

Interestingly, casinos in film are rarely framed as purely good or evil. Instead, they operate as morally neutral spaces where characters make choices. This neutrality gives filmmakers flexibility.

A casino can be glamorous (Ocean’s Eleven), oppressive (Casino), surreal (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), or comedic (Vegas Vacation). The environment adapts to the story rather than imposing a single moral interpretation.

This flexibility explains why casinos appear in everything from thrillers and heist films to character studies and comedies. They are narrative blank canvases filled by the people who enter them.

Why Audiences Keep Watching

Audiences respond to casino scenes because they simulate decision-making under pressure — something universally relatable. Even viewers who have never gambled understand the fear of loss, the thrill of risk, and the temptation to push further than intended.

Cinema exaggerates these emotions, but the foundation remains familiar. The appeal lies not in gambling itself, but in watching characters confront uncertainty in a compressed, visually engaging form.

According to an article published by FilmThreat, gambling scenes have historically been used to explore themes of class, power, and masculinity, particularly in post-war cinema, where risk-taking often stood in for broader social anxieties.

Casinos in the Age of Digital Entertainment

As entertainment increasingly moves online, the symbolism of casinos continues to evolve. Digital interfaces, live dealer formats, and global access have reshaped how gambling exists culturally, even as films continue to draw inspiration from traditional table-based imagery.

What matters for filmmakers is not the medium, but the metaphor. Casinos remain effective because they dramatise choice under uncertainty — a timeless storytelling engine.

Whether depicted as sleek and controlled or chaotic and overwhelming, casinos persist because they offer filmmakers a place where consequences feel immediate and fate feels negotiable.

A Setting That Endures

Casinos endure in cinema not because audiences want to watch gambling, but because they want to watch decisions matter. The turn of a card or the slide of a chip becomes a stand-in for much larger questions about identity, control, and consequence.

As long as stories continue to explore those themes, filmmakers will keep returning to casinos — not for the games themselves, but for the human drama they so effortlessly expose.

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Most crypto withdrawals are processed in 2 minutes, while Interac payments in CAD take about 6 minutes. All crypto options are free with unlimited maximum amounts. This instant withdrawal no verification casino gives you more privacy with crypto payments, letting you cash out without KYC checks for amounts under C$3,700. But you can verify your account early to avoid delays later.

Bonuses and Wagering Rules 4.9/5

The welcome package offers up to 5,000 USDT across three deposits. Wagering is set at 30x the bonus amount, which is reasonable compared to similar offers. Slots contribute the full 100% toward clearing requirements, while live games and tables only count 10%. Remember to complete wagering before you withdraw, or the casino will cancel your bonus and winnings.

VIP & Loyalty Perks 4.95/5

Bitcasino has a Loyalty Club where players earn points on real-money bets and climb through 7 levels with increasing point multipliers (up to 3x). They can unlock milestone rewards such as free spins, free chips and cashback - often without wagering requirements.

Game Selection and Overall Player Experience 5/5

Bitcasino offers casino games, including slots, live options, and table games. They work with major providers such as Evolution, Pragmatic Play, and NetEnt. The site also features Bitcasino Originals, which are exclusive games.

Pros:

• No wagering on loyalty rewards.
• Unlimited crypto maximum.
• Zero withdrawal fees.

Cons:

• No traditional banking methods.
• No phone support.

#3. BC.Game: Low CAD 14 Minimum Withdrawal Crypto Casino

We've selected BC.Game for its blockchain-powered transparency, processing crypto withdrawals in 5-10 minutes through automated smart contracts. It operates under an Anjouan license with full cryptocurrency focus.

Speed of Withdrawals and Supported Payment Types 4.95/5

Crypto withdrawals take 5-10 minutes after the transaction is confirmed on the blockchain. Larger amounts may need manual checking. BC.Games charges a small 0,1% fee on crypto. You can use BC Swap to exchange crypto instantly. The minimum withdrawal is only C$15 – good for small cashouts that don’t need ID verification. 

Bonuses and Wagering Rules 4.85/5

The welcome package gives 380% up to $4,000 and 400 FS over four deposits. Cash bonus wagering is 20x, which is lower than the 35x+ you'll find at most casinos. Free spins come with 40x requirements. Keep in mind that BC.Game's proprietary titles only contribute 5% toward wagering requirements. That said, the 30-day completion window is generous enough to clear the bonus without rushing.

VIP & Loyalty Perks 4.9/5

VIP members at this instant withdrawal casino get priority processing and higher payout limits. The program offers invitation-based status with recharge bonuses from 10% to 16%. Loyalty perks include weekly and monthly cashback, level-up rewards, and fee-free crypto withdrawals once you reach VIP 38.

Game Selection and Overall Player Experience 5/5

2,000+ casino games fill the lobby. Pragmatic Play and Evolution provide licensed games. BC.Game Originals offer exclusive titles. 

Pros:

• 5-10 minute withdrawals.
• Low 20x wagering.
• Blockchain-verified transactions.

Cons:

• No traditional banking.
• Original games contribute only 5%.

#4. WinShark: Interac Casino with Fast Verification

WinShark operates under a Curaçao license and welcomes Canadian players. The casino also features a 100-level VIP program that gradually increases withdrawal limits as players climb it.

Speed of Withdrawals and Supported Payment Types 4.8/5

Interac and e-wallets can be paid within 1 hour of approval, although the finance team only works Monday-Friday. LTC and Dogecoin all work. You might wager your deposit 3 times before you can request a withdrawal. Yet, higher VIP levels get faster processing. Minimum is C$30, which is low enough that you might skip ID checks for small amounts.

Bonuses and Wagering Rules 4.85/5

The welcome package gives 240% up to C$3,550 plus 300 FS. The 45x wagering is high - this takes time. So, to meet requirements faster, play slots because they count 100%. Other games don’t help with wagering. Request a withdrawal only after completing wagering requirements, or the casino will cancel your bonus and winnings.

VIP & Loyalty Perks 4.85/5

The 100-level VIP system starts at C$16,000 monthly withdrawals, with levels 91-100 allowing up to C$32,000 each month. Higher levels get faster processing and professional assistance, and your status tracks 90 days of play.

Game Selection and Overall Player Experience 4.95/5

3,000+ slots from Pragmatic Play, Evolution, and others. Table and live games, and video poker are also available, while the mobile site runs smoothly on any device.

Pros:

• 100-level VIP system.
• 1-hour withdrawals are possible.

Cons:

• Business hours only payout processing.
• 45x bonus wagering.

#5. TonyBet: Same Day E-Wallet Withdrawal Casino for Canadians

TonyBet offers both casino and sports betting products for Canadians. It supports fast cash-outs, usually processed the same day. Its welcome package gives up to C$2,500 + 225 FS, making it attractive for new players. 

Speed of Withdrawals and Supported Payment Types 4.85/5

E-wallets are usually the fastest option, though exact processing times are not listed. Players from Canada can use multiple payment methods. The C$20 minimum is very low, so it’s perfect for testing small withdrawals without needing complete ID verification first.

Bonuses and Wagering Rules 4.8/5

The welcome package gives C$2,500 and 225 FS over four deposits, with free spins subject to 50x wagering on winnings, which is high. The first deposit bonus offers 100% up to C$1,000 with up to 100 FS. Always finish wagering before withdrawal or lose the bonus.

Game Selection and Overall Player Experience 4.7/5

Multiple game providers supply slots, live dealer games, and tables, including popular titles. All offers are available in mobile and desktop versions. 

Pros:

• Fast e-wallet withdrawals.
• C$20 min deposit.
• CAD supported.

Cons:

• 50x wagering on spins.
• Low high-roller bonus.

#6. BitStarz: 1-Hour Payout Guarantee Crypto Casino

We highlight BitStarz for its Curacao license and speedy withdrawal system. Most of its crypto payouts clear within 5-10 minutes, with a maximum crypto transaction of up to C$50,000. This combination makes the platform perfect for players seeking instant cashouts.

Speed of Withdrawals and Supported Payment Types 4.8/5

BitStarz pays 90%+ withdrawals instantly, with an average of 10 minutes. Crypto handles up to C$50,000 with no fees, while wallets like MuchBetter have a maximum of C$10,000. Crypto transactions offer more privacy – KYC is often optional for crypto, especially for smaller sums. Also, automated approval runs 24/7.

Bonuses and Wagering Rules 4.7/5

The 300% welcome package covers C$2,000 or 5 BTC plus 180 FS. You’ll need to wager both bonus and spin winnings 40 times and have 7 days to clear deposit bonuses. Remember that table and live games only count 5% toward requirements. 

VIP & Loyalty Perks 4.6/5

BitStarz operates a loyalty program without strict VIP tiers, while regular players have access to better bonus terms and faster support. The casino occasionally offers increased limits for established accounts.

Game Selection and Overall Player Experience 5/5

Here are 3,000+ games from NetEnt, Microgaming, and others. Their slots cover progressive jackpots, and live dealer games create the sensation of true-to-live casino atmosphere. BitStarz Originals are exclusive games. 

Pros:

• 10-minute average payouts.
• 90%+ instant processing.
• Zero fees.

Cons:

• 40x wagering requirements.
• Tables contribute 5%.

#7. Wild Tokyo: MiFinity Fast Withdrawal Casino

Wild Tokyo stands out for its MiFinity support, allowing fast and secure withdrawals for Canadian players. Cashouts are processed quickly during business hours. This makes it a reliable choice for those who value speed and convenience.

Speed of Withdrawals and Supported Payment Types 4.8/5

MiFinity is available for Canadian players, with processing taking 24-48 hours plus arrival time. The Finance Department works Monday-Friday only. You must wager your deposit 3x before you can withdraw. A minimum of C$30 lets you test with small amounts first without needing complete verification. 

Bonuses and Wagering Rules 4.8/5

The welcome package gives C$2,650 and 550 FS, but its 50x wagering is very high. Most slots contribute 100%, while roulette adds 5%; other games don’t count. The bonus expires if wagering isn’t completed within 5 days. Don’t request a payout early, or the platform will cancel the bonus and any winnings. 

VIP & Loyalty Perks 4.7/5

VIP system increases limits. Daily restrictions go from C$750 to C$2,300, while monthly limits go from C$10,500 to C$30,000. Your level depends on 90-day play. This means if you cease playing, you'll fall back to the first level.

Game Selection and Overall Player Experience 4.5/5

Here are 3,000 slots from leading providers, table and live games, and video poker. Mobile sites work well on devices, so you can play anywhere.

Pros:

• MiFinity available.
• Interac for Canadians.
• C$30 minimum.

Cons:

• Payout requests approved during business hours only.
• 24-48 hour processing.

#8. NeoSpin: Fast Payout Casino with C$45,000 Monthly Limit

NeoSpin offers players CAD support and fast, fee-free withdrawals. You can cash out via iDebit, e-wallets, or crypto with no fees. Additionally, the casino offers a monthly withdrawal limit of C$45,000, making it convenient for those who require large cashouts.

Speed of Withdrawals and Supported Payment Types 4.8/5

Interac, iDebit, MuchBetter, and MiFinity all instant once approved. Crypto works with Ethereum, LTC, and others – all free. Bank transfer needs 1-3 days, but with the 0-48 hour processing, most are finished the same day. Starting with smaller amounts under C$500 might skip ID checks. You can always ask customer support if you have questions about transactions.

Bonuses and Wagering Rules 4.7/5

The welcome package gives up to C$11,000 and 300 FS over four deposits. The bonus and spin winnings come with a 40x playthrough requirement and 14 days to finish. This is standard for the industry. To meet requirements faster, focus on slots - they count 100% while tables don’t help.

VIP & Loyalty Perks 4.6/5

NeoSpin has a 16-level VIP system, where higher tiers unlock cash rewards and increased limits. Status depends on 90-day activity, and it drops to Level 1 after one month of inactivity. Daily cashback offers up to 20% with only 3x wagering.

Game Selection and Overall Player Experience 4.8/5

3,000 slots from Evolution, Hacksaw Gaming, Playson, and others, plus live dealers, tables, video poker, and crash games. All games use certified RNG.

Pros:

• Instant crypto payouts.
• Zero cash-out fees.
• 16-level VIP system.

Cons:

• 40x wagering.
• Internal pending can take up to 48 hours.

#9. Rolling Slots: Bitcoin Instant Payout Casino in Canada

Rolling Slots is a Curacao‑licensed gaming platform with both crypto and traditional banking methods. It supports Ethereum, Litecoin, Interac, e‑wallets, and more. Crypto cash-outs are typically completed within an hour after verification.

Speed of Withdrawals and Supported Payment Types 4.7/5

Crypto and Interac are available, with processing times ranging from 1 hour to a few days. The finance team works Monday-Friday only. You must wager your deposit 3x before withdrawal or pay a 10-15% fee. C$30 minimum is low and suitable for testing small payouts first.

Bonuses and Wagering Rules 4.6/5

The Christmas package offers 330% up to C$5,000 + 370 FS and spreads over 4 deposits. The casino sets a 45x wager both for cash and FS, and you have only 5 days to finish after activation. The maximum bet is C$7 during bonus play.

Game Selection and Overall Player Experience 4.5/5

Here are 3,000 slots from BGaming, Mascot Gaming, and others. Games with real dealers and table options complement slots, and with a mobile-optimized platform, they work across devices.

Pros:

• Low C$30 minimum.
• Interac support.
• Crypto available.

Cons:

• 45x wagering.
• 10-15% potential fee.

#10. ViciBet: 5-Level VIP Fast Withdrawal Casino

We chose ViciBet for its Anjouan license and strong mix of banking options that suit Canadian gamblers. The casino processes e-wallets and crypto withdrawals quickly. Often, it takes hours once approved.

Speed of Withdrawals and Supported Payment Types 4.4/5

E-wallets arrive instantly after 3-business-day processing. Interac supports C$45-C$3,000, while MuchBetter handles up to C$7,500, and Jeton processes C$10,000 maximum. Players skipping 1x deposit wagering face 10-15% commissions. Many casinos exempt small withdrawals, typically under C$500, from additional verification.

Bonuses and Wagering Rules 4.3/5

The welcome package offers up to 325% bonus up to CA$4,500 + 300 free spins + 1 Bonus Crab across four deposits. The casino sets a 50x wagering requirement on the bonus amount plus the deposit. Yet, free spin winnings must be wagered 40x before withdrawal. The maximum bet while the bonus is active is CA$7.50 per spin.

VIP & Loyalty Perks 4.6/5

5-tier VIP system increases limits from C$10,500 monthly at Level 1 to C$110,000 at Level 5. Higher levels also unlock faster processing and dedicated support. Remember that VIP status depends on 90-day activity.

Game Selection and Overall Player Experience 4.4/5

Multiple software providers supply slots, tables, and live games. The casino supports responsible gaming by segregating customer funds. Also, a well-optimized mobile platform lets you play seamlessly on any device.

Pros:

• Instant e-wallet arrival. 
• Interac support.
• C$110,000 at Level 5.

Cons:

• Business hours only for processing.
• 10-15% fee risk.

Instant-Payout Casinos vs Fast-Payout Casinos: What's the Difference?

This section explains the difference between instant payout casinos in Canada, under 1-hour withdrawal casino options, and same-day payout casinos so that you can pick the right one for yourself.

Instant Crypto Withdrawals Casinos

Instant withdrawal casinos in Canada offer the fastest cashout at 1-10 minutes. These sites use automated systems with fast withdrawal blockchain networks, such as Bitcoin Lightning or LTC. Crypto-focused casinos with proactive verification make this possible. Such a platform is best for players who want instant withdrawals and have crypto wallets ready. Yet, network conditions may affect speed.

Under 1 Hour Withdrawal Casinos

There are platforms which deliver winnings within one hour after automated 24/7 processing. Payment methods like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and wallets (MuchBetter, Skrill) enable this speed at casinos. No manual review means a shorter approval period. An under-1-hour withdrawal casino in Canada is perfect for players seeking quick access to funds with fast payouts similar to those in land-based casinos.

Same Day Payout Casinos

Same day withdrawal online casinos process funds within 24 hours through a brief approval time. Payment methods include Interac, bank transfer options, Visa, Mastercard, and debit cards. Most casinos in Canada use this timeframe with standard KYC verification - the best choice for casino players wanting a reliable, fast cashout with familiar banking options.

How to Find the Fastest Payout Online Casino

Our rankings show which fast payout casinos truly deliver instant withdrawals. Below are the key factors that distinguish genuinely fast sites from slow ones.

• Actual Withdrawal Speed Testing. Payout speed is tested by making real cash-out requests at each site. Internal processing time reveals which online casinos actually deliver on their speed promises. It helps prove which instant withdrawal casinos deliver fast payouts within 1 hour.
• Checking Limits and Fees. Withdrawal limits are checked for fairness, and any hidden fees are flagged. The best fast payout sites offer no-limit withdrawals for verified players. Casinos adding charges for quick cash-outs are clearly noted.
• Available Casino Canada Payment Options. Payment methods matter most for speed. We check if casinos offer Interac, Instadebit, Visa, Mastercard, debit cards, and crypto. Quick withdrawal casinos in Canada need reliable payment options for quick cash-outs.
• Bonus Terms Review. Welcome bonus offers were validated for fair rules. Quick payout online casinos should have low wagering (under 40x) and clear terms. It’s recommended to avoid casinos with tricky rules that delay instant withdrawals or block winnings. 
• Safety and Licensing Check. Of course, speed matters, but always prioritize casino safety and security. We only list licensed sites with proven casino payout history. Fastest payout online casinos must have good customer support and protect your money with a secure verification process.
• Mobile Testing Results. We test fast payout online sites on phones and tablets and they work perfectly on mobile for instant cash-out anytime. These sites have easy cashier access and smooth withdrawal requests. 

Bonuses with Quick Withdrawal Options

Not all bonuses are the same when it comes to withdrawal speed. Some of the fastest paying online casinos lock your money for weeks, while others let you cash out in hours.

Free Spins That Pay Fast

FS winnings often need higher wagering than regular bonuses, so look for 20-35x wagering or less for fast withdrawals. Some casinos offer wager-free spins, where winnings are paid out in cash. For example, BitStarz offers 180 FS with a 40x wagering requirement as part of its package. Check spin terms before playing at any fastest payout online casino in Canada.

Money-Back Bonuses You Can Keep

Non-sticky means your deposit stays separate from bonus funds, while sticky rewards cancel out any rewards if you withdraw early. BitStarz and Casino Rocket offer non-sticky bonuses. This ensures rapid access to your real money with fast payout online casinos.

Get Money Back Offers

Cashback gives you 5-20% of your losses back as real cash, not bonus money. You can withdraw it fast at instant withdrawal casino sites. Rakeback works the same for regular players. BC.Game includes rakeback in its welcome bonus package and 22Bet offers cashback for active players. Some cashback offers have wagering requirements, so always check them first.

Easy-to-Clear Bonus Deals

Wagering requirements require you to bet the bonus money multiple times before you can withdraw it instantly. Low wagering means 35x or less. No-wagering bonuses help you to get your cash when you want. BC.Game has 20x wagering on cash bonuses - that’s very low. Always check the wagering requirements before claiming any bonus.

What Affects Withdrawal Speed at Fast Paying Casinos?

Getting your money quickly from instant payout casinos depends on what you do and how the site works behind the scenes.

What the Casino Controls

The online casino offers several choices. So, you need to check them before playing:

• Consider how they approve. Some sites auto-approve small amounts, while others check every request manually. Auto systems give instant withdrawal.
• Consider when they work. Such platforms handle cash-outs in under a day. Others only work during business hours, which adds to processing times. 
•  Study holding periods. Many casinos hold funds for 24-48 hours for fraud checks. This is standard even at the fast payout online casinos.
• Consider their rush times. Weekends and big promos create queues at online casino sites. Higher request volumes during peak times slow down processing for all players.

What Payment Networks Decide

Payment methods providers add their own delays. Here’s what you need to keep in mind:

• Crypto networks. When crypto networks experience high transaction volumes, confirmation time can be significantly delayed. The fastest withdrawals happen when networks are quiet.
• Bank speed. Interac is fast, while wire transfers are subject to your bank’s schedule.
• E-wallet checks. Some credit instantly. Yet, other wallets review first before releasing funds.

How You Speed Things Up

What you do plays a key role in how quickly payouts are processed. Here’s what helps:

• Pick the correct method. Casino payment options like crypto enable fast withdrawals. As wire transfers take days, it’s better to choose wisely for quick payouts
• Verify your account first. Don’t wait to verify your account - complete verification early to ensure the fastest cash-out.
• Clear your wagering. Meet bonus requirements before asking for money. This avoids delays at fast payout casinos.
• Stay under limits. Keep amounts below daily withdrawal limits. Significant sums need manual checks, which slow things down.

Fastest Payment Methods at CA Online Casinos

Your payment method determines how quickly you get paid from online casino sites. Many players think that all withdrawal methods work at the same speed, but they don’t. Yet, some take minutes, others take days. This guide shows you the fastest payouts that work best for Canadians at any online casino.

Cryptocurrencies – Secure and Fast

Crypto cuts out banks completely at instant payout casinos. Your money moves through blockchain networks in minutes after the fast withdrawal platform approves it. 

• Speed. Usually, 5-30 minutes after approval.
• Pros. Very fast, low fees, high withdrawal limits, works anywhere.
• Cons. Prices change, beginners need to learn wallets, and not every online casino accepts them.
• Pro tip. Use the Lightning Network for stablecoins like USDT to achieve the fastest withdrawal times and stable prices.

E-Wallets – Fastest Withdrawals

Wallets like MuchBetter, Skrill, and Neteller are the best, fastest withdrawal options most online casino sites accept. They’re simple and trusted.

• Speed. 15-60 minutes after fast withdrawal, the casino approves it.
• Pros. Most sites accept them, easy to use, safe, and people know them.
• Cons. Some wallets charge fees and have a lower maximum withdrawal than crypto.
• Pro tip. Get quick payout times when you deposit and withdraw via the already used wallet.

Interac – Secure but Can Be Slower

Interac is made for gamblers from Canada and is safe because banks back it. Speed matches fast withdrawals at online casinos that accept crypto.

• Speed. Up to 1 hour mostly, can be immediate
• Pros. Built for Canadians, bank-backed security, most locals know it.
• Cons. Daily limits might be too low for big wins; not all international online casinos offer them.
• Pro tip. Choose Interac over wire transfers for the fastest cash-outs.

Payment Methods to Avoid for Instant Payouts

Waiting days for your money is frustrating when online casino sites say they’re fast paying. Some payment methods work fine, but take over an hour.

Credit card takes 3-7 days, and the same applies to the debit card. Your money goes through card networks, banks, and fraud checks before it reaches your account. Bank wire transfers also take 3-5 days. These online casino payment methods can’t offer quick withdrawals. If you want quick payout times, skip cards and wires.

Bank Transfers

Players often choose bank transfers for their transactions. Yet, there are many other methods. Key payout details are shown below:

Cashout Limits at Online Casinos with Fast Payouts

Even instant withdrawal casinos have limits. Knowing them helps you plan when to cash out and avoid surprise delays. There are three main types: daily, weekly, and monthly.

Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Withdrawal Limits

Online platforms typically set daily limits of $5,000 to $10,000. Weekly allowances range from $10,000 to $50,000. Monthly maximums are $50,000 to $100,000. When your winnings exceed them, the casino distributes your funds through multiple transactions across several days or weeks.

Instant Withdrawal Limits vs. Total Withdrawal Limits

A casino might say you can take out $50,000 each month. But each time you ask for money, they only give you $2,000-$5,000 right away. If you want more money at once, you have to check it first. This takes an extra 1-2 days. They do this to make sure no one is stealing or cheating.

How to Increase Your Withdrawal Limits

Join the VIP program to reach bigger limits at each level. Complete your account verification early to build trust with casinos. Make successful withdrawals regularly, and some sites will automatically raise your limits. Ask live chat support - some casinos increase limits manually for loyal players.

Best Same Day Withdrawal Online Casinos by Payment Method in Canada

Different casinos are strong at multiple payment options. This part helps you find the best casino for how you want to receive your payments.

Best Canada Crypto Casinos for Instant Payouts

BitStarz works for crypto fans. Here, players receive payments in 10 minutes across many popular cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Litecoin, and 30+ others. It has no fees. Unlimited cash-outs are available for players with verified profiles.

Leading Casinos for Big Wins and Fast Payouts

Bitcasino.io is best for larger withdrawals. Verified accounts have unlimited crypto withdrawals and get paid in 2 minutes. No maximum limits mean you can cash out any amount. 

Fastest E-Wallet Withdrawal Casinos in Canada

22Bet is perfect for e-wallets, because you get paid in 15 minutes with Skrill and Neteller. No fees on e-wallet withdrawals. The casino processes payments 24/7, so you can get money anytime. Perfect for quick cashouts.

Fastest Interac Payment Casinos in Canada

Casino Rocket is the best choice for e-transfer, because you receive payments instantly after account verification. The casino has no cash-out fees, and you can withdraw C$20 to C$6,000 per transaction. It beats the competition by offering fast cashouts for players using local payment methods.

Common Misconceptions About Online Casinos That Payout Instantly

Players believe many false things about fast payout casinos. Understanding the real facts helps you pick the right site and set realistic expectations for your withdrawals.

• All cryptos process equally fast. Network congestion affects crypto speed differently. Bitcoin takes longer when it's busy, while Litecoin and USDT process faster.
• Speed means less safety. Fast sites use modern technology and automated systems while maintaining all standard safety measures.
• Full balance available instantly. The casino applies limits per transaction and timeframe. Bigger cashouts get human review, so it causes delays.
• Instant means literal seconds. Fast payout casinos call it instant when payments arrive within one hour. Payment networks create delays even after quick approval. 

Pros and Cons of Fastest Payout Online Casinos

Quick paying sites offer real advantages but aren’t perfect for everyone. Understanding both sides helps you to decide if speed matters most for your gambling style.

Pros:

• No reversal temptation risk. Fast withdrawal online casinos prevent you from canceling and losing money back to games.
• Better money management control. You can reinvest winnings quickly for personal expenses.
• Casino reliability test. Quick payout lets you verify the site’s trustworthiness with small test withdrawals first.

Cons:

• Limited traditional banking options. Fastest paying online casinos rarely support checks, wire transfers, or standard bank deposits.
• Higher wagering requirements. Some immediate payout casinos set 45x-50x bonus wagering to offset processing costs. 

Cashing Out Your Winnings in Canadian Casinos - a Quick Guide

Getting your money shouldn't take days. We tested which fast payout casinos live up to their claims and found the exact steps that speed things up versus the ones that slow you down:

1. Open the cashier. Sign in to your immediate withdrawal casino account, then select the banking or cashier tab. The withdraw button usually sits right in the menu or under account settings.
2. Choose the option and the sum. Type in your withdrawal amount. Also, consider the site’s limitations and verify them beforehand. Pick your payment method from the dropdown.
3. Verify transaction. A quick withdrawal casino might ask you to confirm via SMS code or email verification before processing. Once approved, instant payout casinos usually release funds within minutes to your chosen method.
4. Confirm the request. You’ll receive a confirmation on-screen or by email. The best fast withdrawal casinos provide a tracking number, which can be a transaction ID, code, or wallet reference. 

Responsible Gambling at Online Casinos

Gaming should be entertainment, not a means to earn cash. Always play responsibly: control your spending, take breaks, and call for help if your play becomes unenjoyable. Useful links for Canadian gamblers include the Responsible Gambling Council and Gambling Therapy.

Fastest Withdrawal Online Casinos Summary

Fast cash-outs give you more control over your money and less worry. Our experts tested these sites by signing up, playing, and making real withdrawals. Each of the fastest online casinos in Canada has proven its reliability through testing. Choose one of our listed sites to enjoy fast, stress-free withdrawals with complete transparency and robust player protection.

FAQs About Casinos with Under 1 Hour Withdrawals

What's the Top-Rated Fast Payout Casino for Canadians?

One of the fastest payout casinos for Canadians is BitStarz for crypto cashouts. The best choice still depends on which payment option you choose. 

Do Quick Withdrawal Casinos Charge Extra Fees?

Many fast payout casinos offer no extra fees, such as Casino Rocket and BitStarz. Some payment options, such as wire transfers or cryptos, may still incur small service fees. 

What Are the Advantages of Using Crypto for Instant Withdrawals in Online Casinos?

Crypto payments are swift and do not use banks. Players often get their money in minutes.

What Canadian Casino Has the Quickest Cashout Process?

Casinos with crypto usually pay the fastest. They approve withdrawals more quickly than traditional methods.

Do Any Online Casinos Offer Instant Payouts?

Yes, some of the fastest withdrawal casinos pay out in crypto almost instantly. Other methods are quick but not always instant.

Disagree? That's great — let us know in the comments. But here's our list.

12. Logan (2017)

A break-all-the-rules story of sacrifice, loss, and one loner's struggle to get through centuries on this planet doing more good than harm. Director James Mangold proved once and for all that comic book movies aren't just for kids with a metaphorical story of aging as gracefully as you can.

Mangold returned to the theme of an aging action hero, meanwhile, in the recent Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. But honestly, we prefer Logan.

11. Blade (1998)

Blade isn't perfect, but it expanded everyone's idea of what a superhero movie could be by pulling from one of Marvel's lesser-known heroes: a vampire hunter who wears a leather jacket instead of a cape or tights. Blade opened the door to the reality that Marvel could have as much or even more success with its second-tier or forgotten characters, like Ant-Man or the Guardians of the Galaxy, than it could with heroes we had seen onscreen before.

We also love a superhero movie that managed to keep us rapt without excessive CGI that has ruined so many otherwise good superhero films, like Wonder Woman.

And of course Wesley Snipes is awesome in the lead role, and delivers the classic line, "Some mother----er's are always trying to ice skate uphill."

10. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

A fairly faithful screen adaptation of one of Christopher Claremont's most iconic storylines from the comics, though it puts Logan (Hugh Jackman) center stage instead of Kitty Pryde and ambitiously melds the X-Men movies of the 2000s and their prequels of the 2010s.

Long before the many movie metaverses made time travel or alternate realities feel exhausting, this X-Men film had what was then a fresh and thrilling take. The 1970s set-section is astonishingly good, but it loses points for the dreary bookends set in a dismal near-future, in which the CGI is uninspiring.

9. Deadpool (2016)

The most flat-out hilarious comic-book movie ever made, which made it to the screen through Ryan Reynold's stubborn insistence that one of Marvel's weirdest, least likely screen stars could be one of its greatest.

And yes, we're excited for Hugh Jackman to pull his claws out of retirement for Deadpool 3.

8. X2: X-Men United (2003)

2003’s X-Men 2 far improves on the original from the first scene: It starts with Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) operatically invading the Oval Office, and never slows.

The fight between Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Lady Deathstryke (Kelly Hu) feels far more grounded and high-stakes than terrible CGI fights that would ruin so many superhero movies in the years to come, and a pre-Succession Brian Cox is menacingly flawless as Col. William Stryker, a very believable nemesis to our favorite band of mutants.

7. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) learns that with great power comes not just great responsibility, but great sacrifice, as he realizes that his role as Spider-Man endangers the love of his life, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). Doc Ock (Alfred Molina) is one of the all-time best spider villains, and the highlight of the whole film comes in a truly marvelous sequence in which New York City saves Spidey, for a change.

And it's the most romantic of all superhero movies — except for the movie at No. 2 on our list.

6. Black Panther (2018)

The world-building is stellar and acting top-notch throughout. Michael B. Jordan plays perhaps the MCU's best villain ever, and Chadwick Boseman delivered a beautiful turn as a king torn between his people and the people of the world in this Best Picture nominee from Ryan Coogler.

It's kind of stunning that both Black Panther and Infinity War were released just months apart — the two films clearly mark the high point of the MCU.

5. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

After an astonishing opening that promises anything could happen, Infinity War invests in character development as much as action before ending on a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. Its sequel, Avengers: Endgame, not only resolves that cliffhanger but also pays off more than a decade of Marvel superhero movie storylines.

4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse (2018)

Gadzoinks, 2018 sure was good for super hero movies.

Breaking with every kind of staid tradition, this boldly experimental, utterly gorgeous animated film is a loving, awe-inspiring homage to decades of Spider-mythology and an optimistic look ahead at what comic book movies — and their young fans — can aspire to be.

We just wish its often-fantastic sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, hadn't ended on such a tough cliffhanger.

3. The Incredibles (2004)

Pixar's The Incredibles is both a great family superhero movie and a dark deconstruction of superhero tropes — note that Mr. Incredible bails out on the business because of legal threats, not because of bad guys.

The animation is groundbreaking and stellar, combining dynamic character design with Art Deco touches that harken back to the early days of Batman and Superman. It's funny, it's sweeping, it's curiously dark. The grainy black-and-white rescue segment takes it to a daring new level. It's a super movie in every way.

2. Superman (1978)

The film that started it all. Its earnestness and total reliance on practical effects — as well as stellar performances and moving love story between Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) and Supes make it feel more charming and inspiring with each passing year. Christopher Reeve will always be our Superman, and, as we mentioned, it's the most romantic superhero movie.

Also: John Williams' score is one of the best for any movie ever.

1. The Dark Knight

This is the most obvious choice — Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight is a jittery, chilling, masterful morality play in which everyone does everything right, anchored by Christian Bale as the best Batman and Heath Ledger in an Oscar-winning role as one of the best-ever screen villains, a mastermind posing as a clown. The more you watch it, the more you appreciate its witty foreshadowing, hidden-in-plain sigh complexity, and sheer ambition.

One could argue this doesn't belong on a list of superhero movies, since no one has super powers... but that's part of what we love about The Dark Knight.

Main image: Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

But the new documentary The Stringer asks if Ut really took the picture — or if an AP photo editor, perhaps out of guilt, misattributed it to him. The film explains that the editor, Horst Faas, had given Ut's older brother a photo assignment that led to his death, and suggests that Faas may have hoped the photo could help their family.

The photo made Ut's career. He eventually went on to work at The Associated Press in Los Angeles, where I worked with him for three years. He was popular within the bureau and among his fellow photographers — regarded as a veteran with a key news sense, a sharp eye, and good-natured humility. If accurate, the documentary dismantles the widely accepted narrative of his life.

The Stringer gives voice to another photographer, Nguyen Thanh Nghe, who says he is the one who actually took the shot. He came forward after journalist Gary Knight, who is featured in The Stringer, began following up on allegations from former AP editor Carl Robinson that Ut was not the photo's true author.

The film, now streaming on Netflix, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this past January.

When the accusations of misattribution arose, The Associated Press spent roughly a year investigating the authorship of the photo, and concluded in May that there was "no definitive evidence" that someone other than Ut took it. World Press Photo, however, conducted another investigation and decided to suspend attribution of authorship, finding that two other photographers, Nghệ or Huỳnh Công Phúc, may have been better positioned to take the shot.

Ut said in a Facebook post in February: "I took the photo of Kim Phuc, I took the other photos from that day that show her family and the devastation the war caused. No one else has the right to claim that I did not take that specific or any other photo attributed to me because I am the creator of all the work I’ve done since day one. My career spans more than 50 years and, although I am now retired from the AP, I continue to create impacting images for the world to see."

Phuc told The AP that while she has no memories of the attack, her uncle, who was an eyewitness to the events on that day, confirmed that Ut took the photograph. She credits Ut with saving her life by rushing her to a hospital after taking the photo. She went on to become a global advocate for child victims of war.

I sent several questions about the film to Bao Nguyen, director of The Stringer, and received the following responses from him and The Stringer producer Fiona Turner. Here they are.

The Stringer Team on Nick Ut, Nguyen Thanh Nghe, and The Terror of War

Tim Molloy: I should start by disclosing that I worked for the AP for 11 years, from 1997 to 2008, including with Nick Ut in the Los Angeles office for three years. I liked him and never had any reason to question his integrity. In fact, thinking back, I never had reason to question the professional integrity of anyone at AP — they were rigorously ethical and fact-focused. So this film was sad for me. Do you find Ut and the AP sympathetic in this story? It seems like Nick Ut never asked for the photo credit, and that the current AP administration inherited this situation from a photo chief, Horst Faas, who covered Vietnam a generation ago and died in 2012.  

Fiona Turner: As with any investigation it was unclear where the story would lead. The team worked hard to listen to everybody we could find who was either on the road or, in the AP office the day the photograph was made, in order to fully explore the allegations from Carl Robinson, the former AP photo editor. Nick Ut, in 1972 was a fairly inexperienced photographer [who had] only just turned 21 years old. The film is clear that we believe Nick was "victim" in the story. 

The Stringer team was very cognizant of the fact that we were examining a media culture of fifty years ago, that none of the current AP staff nor senior management were responsible nor active in these events, and the film make no assertions as such.  

Tim Molloy: The film makes a compelling case that the photo chief, Horst Faas, gave Nick Ut the photo credit because he felt guilty about sending Nick's brother, Huynh Thanh My, on an assignment on which he was killed. Do you think he was trying to make sure their family was cared for when he gave Nick Ut the photo credit? Or was he just trying to get AP accolades? Could he have known the photo would change Nick Ut's life as it did? 

Fiona Turner: As you are probably aware, Horst Faas is a complex character. The film highlights his sometime bombastic nature and the rigorous discipline that he displayed within the AP office in the relentless pursuit of the most powerful images. At the same time, he had a sensitivity and empathy for the Vietnamese people that more than one witness will attest to. We will never know the true reasons he made the decisions he did.

Could he have known the impact this would have on Nick Ut’s life? Horst recognized immediately that photograph to be a winning image, multiple witnesses confirm this on the day, and he communicated that to his boss in NY, Hal Buell.

Tim Molloy: Do you know if Nick Ut has seen the film? I've reached out to him, as I know you did. Did you have mixed feelings about potentially dismantling a myth? 

Fiona Turner: We don’t know if Nick Ut has watched or not, just that the opportunity was given. Nick Ut’s lawyers were given access to the film around its Sundance premiere. Our attitude is that the alternative to asking the questions we do in the film, is to not ask them, which would put us in the position where we are ignoring accusations about potential wrongdoing in journalism, which we would not contemplate if the same questions were asked about the government, or the church or a corporation. Journalism cannot demand exceptionalism when it holds everyone else in society to account.

Tim Molloy: Does your work on this film shake your faith in AP's journalism in general? It's won 59 Pulitzers, covers and calls elections all over the world, and is used or cited by thousands of news operations worldwide. Having seen its inner workings, I have strong faith in its commitment to fairness and accuracy. But it's always fair to ask — if a news outlet gets one thing wrong without correcting it, what else has it gotten wrong? 

Fiona Turner: This is not a story about AP.  It does not shake our faith in their journalism  in general. AP have produced some very, very fine journalism, and continue to do so — but winning 59 Pulitzers doesn’t mean you cannot and should not be held to account, and continue to be held to high standards. It is important that journalists and news organizations are brave enough to embrace accountablity, because if they can’t do that, they can’t hold anyone else to account, or ask the public to trust their work. 

Tim Molloy: When did you come aboard this film? How far along was Gary Knight in his investigation before you joined the project? 

Bao Nguyen: Carl Robinson first contacted Gary Knight directly, and Gary began looking into the allegation soon after. At that stage, the plan was for him to pursue a written piece. As the early reporting progressed, it became clear that the material was more complex than initially anticipated, and Fiona felt the story warranted a documentary film approach. 

A few months into that initial phase, [producer] Terri [Lichstein] reached out through a mutual contact to bring me onto the project. From that point, we broadened Gary’s early reporting into a full documentary investigation, expanding the research, interviews, and archival work into a more comprehensive examination of the story. 

Tim Molloy: Nick Ut's team has threatened to sue. Has that lawsuit materialized?  

Fiona Turner: Neither the film team nor our lawyers have received any notice that a lawsuit has been filed. 

Tim Molloy: Nick Ut's lawyer, James Hornstein, told Variety that Nguyen Thanh Nghe, the titular stringer who says he took the picture, was serving as a driver for NBC and "was not there as a photographer nor am I aware of any images he claims to have taken that day or any other day close in time.” And Kim Phúc has called the film an “outrageous and false attack on Nick Ut,” whom she credits with saving her life. What's your response to their criticisms? 

Fiona Turner: Nguyen Thanh Nghe had a day job within U.S. Embassy communications. He had a long career as a military cinematographer and had been to film school. He supplemented his income by working as a cinematographer/ photographer mainly for the South Vietnamese press. He did not bring any images with him when he left with one suitcase as a refugee.

The film team have complete respect for Kim Phuc’s understanding of those events which forever changed her life. She declined to speak with us so we were never able to ask her directly about the events. We therefore had to rely on the statements she has given previously, including in her own autobiography Fire Road, in which she states, “Uncle Nick’s memories have become my own." 

Tim Molloy: In the film, we see Nghe and the people who take Nghe's side, on camera. But we don't see anyone arguing Nick Ut's side, in part because he and the AP declined to participate. You mostly give their side in a series of written messages on-screen near the end of the film. What effort did you make to look for any holes in Nghe's account? Do you think AP and Nick Ut erred by not speaking up for themselves on camera?  

Fiona Turner: We were fastidious in not making assumptions about Nghe, and we interviewed him extensively, The journalist team spent the first five months of the project researching  identifying and approaching all surviving characters who were present on the road at Trang Bang  or in the AP office, and inviting them for interview, without prejudice.  No one was able to say they saw Nick Ut take the photo.  

We did find a witness who told us he saw the moment that Nghe pressed the shutter on the advancing group of children.

Regarding AP, initially we were optimistic that they would be interested in engaging with us to explore Carl Robinson’s allegations. We believe it would have been in the spirit of responsible journalism for both AP and any/all of those who disapproved of the investigation to have been open to participating in an on the record interview.

The Stringer is now streaming on Netflix.

Main image: The Stringer. Netflix.

The film's logline promises: "Michelle Yeoh delivers a transformative performance, amid Penang’s vibrant cityscape. In collaboration with Academy Award-winning director Sean Baker, 'Sandiwara' delivers a bold, immersive celebration of womanhood, cultural identity, culinary heritage and the spirit of independent cinema."

"Sandiwara" is named after the Malay word meaning “drama, theatrical performance or play.” The film is an "exploration of Malaysian culture through the lens of food, music and womanhood," according to a news releases, which makes intriguing use of the singular/plural when it says it stars "Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh in the lead role/s."

More Details on the Sean Baker and Michelle Yeoh Collaboration 'Sandiwara'

Baker is making the film for the London-based fashion house self-portrait, which was founded in 2013 by designer Han Chong. Born in Penang, Malaysia, Han Chong studied Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins in London and established a five-year scholarship program with Central Saint Martins offering financial backing for five students to complete their MA degrees, as well as offering mentorship.

In 2024, self-portrait launched Residency, which promotes the brand by bringing in artists from across discliplines. Baker will make the film as part of the program.

“'Sandiwara' is an extension of my pre-existing love for independent cinema, and with the support of Han Chong, Michelle Yeoh, and the many other individuals who helped bring this vision to life, we were able to celebrate Malaysian culture in a big way,” said Baker in a statement. 

“It was incredible to get to experience Penang and to have been given the freedom to create a film that spans beyond traditional fashion and cinema integration.”

"Sandiwara" will be released in February.

Yeoh won Best Actress for her role in 2022's Everything Everywhere All at Once. Baker set a record at the 2025 Academy Awards by becoming the first person to win four Oscars for a single film. With Anora, he earned Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.

Baker is also known for his breakout film Tangerine (2015), shot entirely on an iPhone 5S, The Florida Project (2017), which earned Willem Dafoe a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars, and 2021's Red Rocket. among other films.

The "Sandiwara" creative team also includes producer Samantha Quan, who was crucial to bringing Anora  to life. She also worked on The Florida Project and Red Rocket. Also producing is Alex Coco, who worked on Anora, The Sweet East, Red Rocket, and more.

The cinematographer on the film is Christopher Ripley, a Los Angeles–based director of photography whose work includes music videos, narrative features, and short films. He has collaborated with artists including Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, Megan Thee Stallion, Rosalía, A$AP Rocky, and The Rolling Stones.

Main image: Michelle Yeoh, the "Sandiwara" script, and Sean Baker. self-portrait.

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Coin Casino Summary Table

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Lucky Block Summary Table

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TG.Casino Summary Table

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Instant Casino Summary Table

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Golden Panda Summary Table

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Discasino Summary Table

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Samba Slots Summary Table

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Fast Slots Summary Table

Real Money Crash Gambling Guide

A classic crash money game works by letting you place a stake, watch the multiplier rise, and choose the moment to cash out before the crash. Because every round happens in real time, the tension and potential rewards are much higher than in most traditional casino games.

This makes crash game gambling a unique mix of strategy and timing. Instead of relying solely on luck, players can manage risk by choosing low multipliers, setting stop-loss limits, and using early-cashout tactics to protect their bankroll.

Real-money Play on Crash Games

Real-money play is straightforward, and most crash gaming real money platforms accept a wide range of payment methods, including credit cards, crypto wallets, prepaid vouchers, and instant banking options. 

When choosing crash gaming sites real money players trust, look for fast payouts, transparent multipliers, provably fair systems, and clear wagering rules. Beginners should set a fixed bankroll before each session and use small, consistent stakes to stay in control. Focusing on low-risk multipliers and early cashouts is the safest way to enjoy crash gambling real money gameplay without exposing yourself to unnecessary losses.

Beginner’s Crash Strategy Tips

Getting started with your first crash bet is easier when you follow a simple plan. 

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Top Crypto Crash Variants You Can Play in 2025

Players now have access to a wide mix of fast-paced crash titles, each offering a different style of gameplay. Below is a quick look at the most popular variants available in 2025:

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Try fast-paced titles like crypto rocket game, high-multiplier crypto crash games, or simple one-tap crash betting games if you prefer shorter sessions with quick cashouts.

Crypto and Crash Gaming

The popularity of crypto-based crash titles has surged, with bitcoin crash gambling leading the way thanks to fast BTC deposits and near-instant cashouts. Modern casinos offer a wide mix of bitcoin crash games, ranging from classic low-volatility modes to high-risk BTC crash game variants that attract players chasing big multipliers. 

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Coin Casino and the Best Crash Gambling Sites

Players looking for the best crash casino sites will find that the best platforms combine fast payouts, transparent odds, and a wide selection of crash titles. These casinos allow you to deposit with crypto or fiat and play for real cash returns while maintaining provably fair results.

Choosing the best crash gambling sites comes down to finding crash casinos that combine fast gameplay, transparent multipliers, and reliable payouts. 

Coin Casino was chosen by experts as the leading casino out there when it comes to Crash games, but the other casinos we ranked are good too. So many crash casinos now offer crypto support, real-money options, and a wide range of crash variants. No matter which title you prefer, sticking to trusted top online casinos ensures a safer, smoother, and more rewarding crash gaming experience.

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Crash crypto gambling is safe when played on licensed or provably fair crash casinos that publish transparent game results and multiplier data.

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"That last five minutes ripped my f---ing heart out," Tarantino says in the latest episode of The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, where he listed his 10 favorite films of this century. "And if I try to even describe the end, I will start crying and get choked up. ... I can't even do it."

Tarantino joined Ellis for the two most recent episodes of the podcast to discuss his 20 favorite films of the 21st century, starting with numbers 20 through 11, which he shared last week.

In that episode, he discussed "laughing a lot" at the extreme violence of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, which was No. 15 on his list.

This week's edition is one of the greatest podcast episodes you'll ever hear if you have even a glancing interest in Bret Easton Ellis, Quentin Tarantino, or modern film. We enjoy all three.

Tarantino runs through a list that includes a sublime Woody Allen film, multiple war movies, and a film made by one of his exes, building up to a very emotional discussion between the author of American Psycho and the director of Inglorious Basterds about 2010's Toy Story 3.

Quentin Tarantino and Bret Easton Ellis on the Genius of Toy Story 3

Ellis found Toy Story 3 as moving as Tarantino did.

"I cannot believe the brilliance of the filmmakers who could get that kind of emotion out of us. It was genius," says Ellis.

Ellis shares that when he saw the movie in a theater upon its release in 2010, "the person I saw it with looked at me worried because I was crying."

Tarantino and Ellis are not outliers in their praise for Toy Story 3: The film was named one of the best of 2010 by The National Board of Review, the American Film Institute and Cahiers du Cinéma, among others, and won Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

But not everyone places it as high as Tarantino and Ellis: It is not, for example, on The New York Times' list of the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century, which included several of Tarantino's films and placed Parasite at No. 1.

The Pulp Fiction director also expressed admiration for how the Pixar team managed the rare feat of producing a great third film in a series.

"They never nail the third film of a trilogy. I think the one is The Good, The Bad and the Ugly," Tarantino adds, referencing the third film in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy. "To me, this is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of animated films. This, along with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, is the greatest end of a trilogy."

Of course, there are more than three Toy Story films — Toy Story 5 is due next year. Tarantino says he has never seen Toy Story 4 because he thinks the third Toy Story film so perfectly resolved the story.

The first three Toy Story films, of course, follow a boy named Andy who grows up with his favorite toys, including Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen).

Toy Story 3 is directed by Lee Unkrich, who wrote the story with John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. Michael Arndt received an Oscar nomination for the screenplay, and previously won for writing Little Miss Sunshine.

In the film, Andy is ready to leave for college, and no longer plays with his toys. Most have been relegated to the attic, until a series of misunderstandings leads the toys to a new home at Sunnyside Daycare. Things at the toys' new home seem idyllic — at first.

"There is just something heartbreaking about how the toys respond emotionally to where they end up in their lives," Ellis notes. "They want love. All the toys want is love. ... I'm sorry. I am getting choked up."

Ellis and Tarantino praise the film for both comic and emotional highs — including an extremely gripping furnace sequence, one of the darkest sequences in any Pixar movie.

Both men agreed that as much as they loved the film, they never want to watch it again, because they don't think their viewing experience can be improved upon.

"It was a perfect experience," Tarantino explains.

Ellis, unlike Tarantino, has seen the 2019 sequel Toy Story 4, and found it "OK."

You're probably wondering at this point: What is Quentin Tarantino's No. 1 movie of this century? For that — and the rest of his list — we urge you to listen to the podcast. But it's Ridley Scott's 2001 war film Black Hawk Down.

Main image: Toy Story 3. Pixar.

Among some of their predictions, or at least hopes: a resurgence of indie films, a renewed focus on storytelling, and more reverence for human experiences no AI can simulate.

We also asked them to please focus their predictions on their expectations for what will happen within their lifetimes. Here’s what they told us.—M.M.

CELIA ANISKOVICH

Aniskovich is a New York–based documentary filmmaker and the founder and editor-in-chief of Switchboard Magazine, a digital publication that produces rich, character-driven long-form nonfiction narratives and also acquires short films. Together, these works form a diverse slate of original content designed to serve as IP for adaptation into television and film properties.

Predictions for film: I believe the future of film will be more democratized, with artists reclaiming ownership over their work and the value it creates. At Switchboard, we’ve built a 50–50 profit-share model because we want to prove that empowering creators is not only possible, but essential. I see filmmaking becoming less about top-down control from studios and more about collaborative, community-driven teams telling stories that matter to them. The tone of those stories will shift, too. From what we’ve seen at Switchboard, narratives of hope, joy, and resilience are outperforming darker ones nearly tenfold — people crave connection and optimism.

Predictions for life: If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that certainty is fragile. But I believe that in my lifetime, what will endure — and maybe even strengthen — is our hunger for connection through story. Technology will accelerate, yes, and change how we consume and communicate, but the need to make meaning out of chaos, to understand one another through narrative, will only deepen. I suspect the future of life will be marked by more fragmentation in how we live, but also more weaving together of experiences through the way we share them. At its best, that can make us feel less alone, and remind us that endurance, resilience, and hope are not abstract ideas, but lived stories.

JESUS BELTRAN

Beltran is a Stanford-trained mechanical engineer with over 20 years in tech, including more than a decade at Apple, and holds more than 15 design patents. In parallel, he has built a filmmaking career with shorts such as “The Grass Grows Green” and “Motos,” which screened at Sundance, SXSW, Indy Shorts, and Cinequest. He is now developing his debut feature, There’s No Place, a character-driven road trip film about family, ambition and identity, set against the backdrop of Silicon Valley.

Predictions for film: AI will not be stopped, but viewers will demand clarity on how much AI was used in films, leading to the emergence of a classification system for film AI use. On one end of the spectrum will be fully AI created films (agentic content) based off a viewer’s past likes. The other end is what we now know as auteur film. Everything in between will be hybrid content where a human chooses to substitute traditional filmmaking roles with AI. More films, more junk, and more diversity in storytelling will emerge — but so will an increased appreciation for AI-free films. Purely human films will be rare and auteurs who create them will be venerated more than they are today.

Predictions for life: Three major global issues are converging and creating chaos and opportunity for humans: climate crisis, the rise of artificial intelligence and a swing back towards authoritarianism. The wholesale control of energy and data are currently in the hands of a select elite under corporate veils and the overreach and abuses that are stemming from that will be countered by independent journalists, artists, engineers, scientists and hackers using decentralized guerrilla tactics for production and distribution of goods, information and stories. It’s gonna be interesting. Three recommendations: read more; support, encourage and participate in civilized debate; and get to know your neighbors.

NIA DACOSTA

DaCosta is the writer-director of the feature films Little Woods, Candyman, The Marvels, and this year’s Hedda. Her latest film, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, arrives in January. Her credits also include the shorts “The Black Girl Dies Last,” and her TV credits include episodes of Top Boy. You can read more about her life and work in this story.

Predictions for film:I think one day we will get back to the mid-budget drama in theaters. I have a hope that we will have movie stars again. Robert Redford was an amazing human being and someone whom I met because of my involvement in the Sundance Institute. He was an incredible man, but he was also a movie star. I think it’s something special.  

Predictions for life:Oh my gosh. I think James Cameron will make two more Avatar films. Honestly, I think we will get through this very difficult time that we’re all in. I think the moral arc of the universe is chaos, but I do think we’ve come back from really terrible, scary times before, and I think we will again. 

GUILLERMO DEL TORO

Guillero del Toro, whose greatest prediction about the future appears in our new cover story, is the director of the new film Frankenstein and such films as Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim, and Crimson Peak. He won Oscars for Best Director and Best Motion Picture for 2017’s The Shape of Water and Best Animated Feature Film for 2022’s Pinocchio.

Predictions for film and life: The great wisdom of the yin and the yang is that they take turns, unfortunately or fortunately. Nothing is forever, not the evil, not the good. The very nature of that cycle is that it will never stay put. The fight never ends. And the reason for that is you have to be conscious forever. You never say, OK, now I can not think or feel. Feeling is very important. 

You talk to somebody in the 1860s and you tell them that it takes two hours to get from Italy to London, and they’ll go, "No, it doesn’t." It’s impossible to comprehend. Is technology a tool, or is it an evolutionary step? I don’t know. I don’t know, and I don’t pretend to know.

AVALON FAST

Avalon Fast is a filmmaker from Vancouver Island, British Columbia who makes “girl horror” — stories focused on the eerie horrors of growing up, with female influence. Her debut feature film Honeycomb premiered at Slamdance 2022 and her new feature Camp premiered at Fantastic Fest and won Best Picture in the Next Wave competition. She has acted in the trans epic Castration Movie and the witchy-themed The Serpent’s Skin.

Predictions for film: There will be, as there already is, a hard line dividing artists who are filmmakers from filmmakers who work in the industry. Where in the past it seems these worlds had a way of combining, I see this becoming less and less common, as the work in film in the industry becomes more and more doomy. 

We have this new wave of DIY filmmakers actually surpassing studio films in terms of rating and awareness: I’m talking Louise Weards’ Castration Movie being one of the top 10 highest-rated movies of the year. That’s film revolution. That movie is shot on a Hi8 camera in people’s apartments in Vancouver, for nothing.

Another thing: movie watching is becoming more and more culty. You have to be in and understanding to know what’s cool. News outlets aren’t going to tell you, the box office won’t tell you. In the years to come, filmmaking (the artist’s way) will become increasingly difficult. There will be no money for us, and this will do two things: Weed whack the artists who are unable to make what they want without funding, and bring the people who will do it regardless closer than ever. In a way I look forward to the changes, the depression of filmmaking. For me it has always been an artist’s game and I know how to do what I do for nothing at all. 

Predictions for life: We are totally doomed, but in a similar way to film, with a great potential for full-course revolution. 

COURTNEY GLAUDÉ

Glaudé is a Houston-born, award-winning filmmaker known for bold, emotionally charged storytelling. He first gained attention with The Reading, starring Oscar-winner Mo’Nique, and is a trusted creative voice at Tyler Perry Studios, where he serves as Executive Creator of Scripted and Unscripted. Currently, he has directed episodes of Zatima and Ruthless and is set to helm his first feature film. His short, “Old Gray Mare,” made waves on the 2025 festival circuit, playing at the  American Black Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival and BronzeLens.

Predictions for film: Movies are getting ready to get back to storytelling. The massive budget films aren’t making the money that they once were. Now, creatives must get really creative with the story that they’re telling, because production studios aren’t willing to put up the money for the big shiny movies. And so soon, we’ll see a separation between true story tellers and clickbait movies.

Predictions for life: Truly, I don’t know. I’m enjoying this journey God has me on, and my prediction is that all things that He has planned for me, I will get. 

HIKARI

Hikari is a Japanese American writer, director, and producer. Her latest feature Rental Family, starring Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, follows her acclaimed debut, 37 Seconds, which premiered at Berlinale and was acquired by Netflix. Her TV credits include Beef and Tokyo Vice. Hikari is currently developing new projects, including an original series with Annapurna titled Made in Utah. 

Predictions for film: This is a very hard question so I’m going to begin with this: 20 years ago, we did not expect YouTube to be where it is now. Every minute, there are content creators who upload original videos with millions of viewers watching them for free. Younger generations and people in some parts of the world primarily use their cell phones as a device to watch films because of convenience and economic reasons.

In order to survive we must work alongside mass media and creators by offering a singular experience. It’s important for us as filmmakers to create original works with distinct voices that include “remakes” or “based-on” stories, and for the studios to support the artists’ perspectives. 

Being in a theater and watching a film with an audience is a communal experience that you just cannot get at home. If you can find a way to connect with an audience in a personal way then I think we’ll always have hope.

JONAH FEINGOLD

Jonah Feingold is a New York-based filmmaker known for modern romantic comedies and digital storytelling. A graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, he wrote, directed, and stars in the new 31 Candles. His debut feature, Dating & New York, premiered at Tribeca in 2021. He also directed At Midnight (Paramount+) and Exmas (Amazon). Under his Romantical banner, his videos have earned over 100 million views. He recently wrapped Busboys, starring David Spade and Theo Von.

Predictions for film: With the increasing democratization of content creation—where it’s never been easier to make and share films—our landscape as filmmakers is shifting dramatically. There’s going to be a lot more competition for audience attention, which means our role will increasingly be about strengthening that parasocial relationship with our viewers. It’s not just about getting people to watch what we create; it’s about making them genuinely care and engage on a deeper level.

The beauty of this shift is that it also empowers us as creators. We get to own our work more fully, control how it reaches our audience, and go directly to the people who love what we do. With so much content out there, the tools we put in place will help us reach our core audience more powerfully than ever.

GG HAWKINS

GG Hawkins is a writer-director whose work explores the female experience and millennial ennui. Her debut feature, I Really Love My Husband, premiered at SXSW 2025 to critical acclaim, screened theatrically, and is now streaming. GG also hosts the No Film School podcast and writes the newsletter Making It.

Predictions for film: We’re at the start of a new golden age of indie films — movies made entirely outside the studio system. I think we’ll see a flood of microbudgets bringing in unique voices. The filmmakers who embrace their individuality, who take real risks, will endure. I think audiences will come through many new and different channels, so creators will need to constantly cultivate their community. My hope is that these changes will usher in a new era of business models in filmmaking, one that provides a livable wage for all members of the filmmaking community.

Predictions for life: I hope there will be a reckoning, a push towards empathy in a world where we so easily jump to black and white thinking. Perhaps this will lead to a great slowing down, a rejection of the way we are using technology, social media, which would be a welcome reaction to the current moment. I worry we’re still a ways off from that, but I’m optimistic. I recently had the chance to screen my film for — and lead a discussion with — some college students, and I left feeling invigorated and hopeful about the future.

STEPHANIE LAING

Stephanie Laing is an Emmy-winning director, writer, and producer (Palm Royale, Your Friends and Neighbors, Family Squares). The Sundance alumni’s third feature film, Tow, tells the true story of Amanda Ogle (Rose Byrne), an unhoused Seattle woman who fought her way out of tow-company hell to reclaim her car and life after receiving a $21,634 towing bill. Tow also stars Octavia Spencer, Demi Lovato, Ariana DeBose, and Dominic Sessa.

Predictions for film: I think we’re seeing a resurgence of indie films and that will continue to grow. The Criterion Channel is more and more popular with younger audiences seeking inspiration and unique storytelling. Films like Sinners and Weapons will always shine through while other films like Splitsville will continue to find their people.  I think more films that have something to say about the world we live and the injustices will continue to be popular as well as uniquely told romantic comedies because at the end of the day, everyone is seeking connection.  Films can make a difference and art will save us.

Predictions for life: I hope we look for more in-person connections and that we become less dependent on doom scrolling. That as people, we seek out the truth in news stories and don’t become immune to gaslighting. I think most people want to find a common ground and that hopefully kindness prevails. Storytelling connects us as humans, especially if we have open hearts and open minds.  

RICHARD LINKLATER

Richard Linklater helped kick off an indie film explosion with 1990’s Slacker, and went on to make such classic films as Dazed and Confused, the Before trilogy, and Boyhood, a 2015 Best Picture nominee. One of the most consistent and prolific filmmakers of the last 35 years, he has also made the hit comedy School of Rock and the modern noir-romance Hit Man. He has two new films this fall, Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague, and recently shared with us his 15 Rules for MovieMaking.

Predictions for life and film: I find comfort in knowing people have been asking these questions for millennia. We want to feel like we’re in revolutionary times, and things are changing so quickly and all that. And you know, they might be. This could be the big one, but I tend to go back to, “ehh, life’s been kind of the same.” On one level, there’s a sameness to the human mind and the world that is unchanging. But we’ve never met a match like what’s going on now. 

It’s interesting. I want to see AI as a friend, as a collaborator of some kind, but we’ll see. For 60 years of cinema, if you go back and read the reviews and film thinking, it’s always been under threat. Film’s always been such a fascinating combo of technology, art, and commerce, so it’s kind of vulnerable to disruptions, and people have always felt vulnerable to losing industries and jobs and everything, for good reason. You kind of have to have an antenna up for warnings, and there’s always plenty of those.

Maybe speaking from a place of privilege by birth: I came along at a time when the studios were a little more open. I got Dazed and Confused made at a studio, which, of course, they wouldn’t do today. If you’re getting out of Sundance now, you don’t really have those opportunities. So I acknowledge that. And, you know, I was established. I’m very lucky. 

If you work for nothing, and you can talk other people into things and have a frugal idea, and maybe it’s good, you can still kind of get things done. 

I haven’t used AI, but in film, there’s no purity. We really can’t think in terms of that. Filmmakers use visual effects, digital visual effects. Everything’s a construct and an artist will use whatever is in front of them to perfect what they’re making, and should be allowed to. I think it’s the wrong time and place for purity tests. It’s really just: Does it work artistically, and can you do it ethically? Can everybody be treated well and compensated? Those are concerns. But as far as art goes, hell yeah. Use whatever you got. I wouldn’t apologize for anything that I felt made my film better. 

MALIK HASSAN SAYEED

Malik Hassan Sayeed is a producer and cinematographer who shot the new Luca Guadagnino film After the Hunt, about which you can read more here, and Guadagnino’s upcoming Artificial, about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. His past credits include Clockers, Girl 6, He Got Game and Belly. He has also shot videos for Nas, 2Pac, Jay-Z, Lauryn Hil and Beyoncé.

Predictions for life and film: We just did a movie about AI and OpenAI, and everybody’s scared of AI. And I’m not necessarily scared of AI, per se, because I think I believe in humans. I think humans are the greatest creation that has ever existed. So I don’t think a computer is going to beat us, because we’re just greater. 

Actually the one thing that makes me nervous is people using AI to hide behind, which is what people do. They hide behind nation states. They hide behind corporations, and now they get to hide behind AI. So I’m more concerned about that. 

Photos provided by the filmmakers.

Tarantino didn't laugh through the entire movie, mind you: Just the parts where Jesus gets brutalized.

"Extreme violence is just funny to me," Tarantino said in the latest episode of the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. "And when you go so far beyond extremity, it just gets funnier and funnier, all right?"

Tarantino joined the podcast to share his list of his 20 favorite films of this century. The Passion of the Christ was No. 15. You can listen to the full podcast episode to hear the rest of the first half of Tarantino's top 20, and the second half will be released soon.

Ellis recalled that he first saw the film in a completely packed theater in which many people were weeping. Tarantino had a very different viewing experience: He watched a print of it with a girlfriend at the time, in his own theater.

"To see that movie packed to the rafters, that movie in particular, all right, would have been fascinating," Tarantino said. "But I had such a special time with my friend. We were laughing a lot during the movie, not because we were just trying to be perverse, laughing at Jesus getting f---ed up."

He explained that they "we were just groaning-laughing at how f---ed up it was," especially because they knew more violence was coming.

"It just ended up being an extremely enjoyable experience. But now that sounds like I'm just being perverse, but no, I actually, I thought he kind of did a tremendous directorial job."

He praised Gibson for capturing the ancient time period of the film, and added:

"I love the fact that he never really chose one tone and carried it through. There are scenes where you feel like you're watching the most realistic Biblical movie you've ever seen. Then all of a sudden it turns into a religious painting and gets completely avant-garde, and gets surreal. And then there's actually horror movie imagery that he invests in, big time. And then there's political s--- in there. You really see the political situation of a Pontius Pilate in a really terrific way. And all those actors just seem amazing because they're not speaking English, and it just seems so convincing."

Quentin Tarantino Describes Mel Gibson Looking at Him Like a 'Nut' for His Passion of the Christ Reaction

Tarantino said he found one moment in the film "incredibly memorable," and said he had once told Gibson about it in person.

"I told him about this and he looked at me like I was a f---ing nut," Tarantino said. "Of course he doesn't understand where I'm coming from on this, and I don't know if anyone else will."

The particularly memorable scene is one in which Jesus is whipped by Roman soldiers. Tarantino noted that Gibson really extends the setup for the whipping, and that the Romans act like true "motherf---ers" even before the whipping begins.

"I mean, they just look like the worst cops you've ever seen in your life. And they're testing it out, and they're passing it around — you're like, 'Oh, my God, this is gonna be f---ing terrible.' And he's stretching it out, stretching — and then it starts happening.

"And then it's like wham. And you feel it. And then it's another one, wham. And like, three, four, five times, and you feel every f---ing blow.

"By the sixth blow, I traded places," Tarantino said. "And I was now a Roman. And I started getting kind of turned on by the beating. But I'm not Jesus getting beat. ... I became the Roman, and all of a sudden the whipping — I started getting the rush of that. And I couldn't believe I was feeling that. But I was feeling it."

Ellis, the author of the very violent American Psycho, interjected that he is affected by screen violence, and that the scene was "one of the most upsetting scenes that I can remember seeing."

Tarantino continued: "I liked that it reached into a sadomasochistic aspect in me that I didn't quite know I had, and it kind of turned me on. ... I didn't know I was going to switch horses. I just did."

Tarantino's Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, which recombines his masterful Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2, arrives in theaters December 5, and Gibson plans a two-part sequel to The Passion of the Christ, called The Resurrection of the Christ, for release in 2026 and 2027.

Tarantino isn't the first, interestingly enough, to see a link between the kind of cinematic violence displayed in his films and the violence of Gibson's.

When Christoph Waltz, star of Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained, hosted Saturday Night Live in 2013, the show re-imagined Christ's crucifixion and resurrection as a Tarantino-style revenge thriller, Djesus Uncrossed. Enjoy:

Main image: Jim Caviezel in The Passion of the Christ. Newmarket Films.

That mindset defined her work on a recent collaboration with director Daria Maximova: the construction of a 1920s Soviet residential hallway. The assignment was not small. The hallway needed to feel specific, local, and lived-in — not generic “old Europe,” not romantic ruin, not stage fakery. It had to carry the texture of shared poverty, collective housing, and controlled space. It had to breathe like 1920, not perform like 2025 pretending to be 1920.

Xia treated the hallway like a character.

At the macro level, she worked with Maximova to define the corridor’s entire architecture: its proportions, its linear depth, how narrow the run should feel between doors, how oppressive or generous the ceiling height should sit over the viewer. The wall surfaces were negotiated just as carefully. This was not a glossy paint job. It needed that layered plaster feel — slightly uneven, rubbed down by years of hands and heat and cheap repairs. Even the degree of staining near the baseboards became part of the conversation. The floor wasn’t just “tile,” it was an argument about tile: color temperature, wear pattern, and whether the glaze should read chipped or matte under camera.

Then the focus narrowed.

Doorways became their own study. Xia and Maximova had detailed discussions not just about which doors belonged in that time and place, but how they were built: panel shape, wood tone, proportion, hardware. She did not treat a door as a door. She treated it as evidence of who could afford to replace it and who couldn’t. The placement of the peephole (if there was one), the position and age of the door handle, the style and mounting of the buzzer — none of that was left to guesswork or modern instinct. Every piece had to line up with Soviet material culture of the 1920s. Every piece had to feel like it had been there before the camera ever arrived.

As a foreign production designer working in a Soviet-era setting, Xia was acutely aware that inauthentic detail reads immediately, even subconsciously. That meant research wasn’t optional. It was the build. She spent long hours gathering photographic references, digging into historical visuals, and pulling stills from period films to identify what was plausible, what was common, and — just as importantly — what would be wrong. That process shaped not only the big choices (door frames, tile type, plaster texture) but also the micro-decisions: bells, latches, screws, finishes.

And the work did not happen from a laptop. Xia and her team went physically into prop houses, sometimes staying for hours at a time to chase down the right object, the right weight, the right patina. The process was obsessive and, by necessity, slow. The corridor couldn’t look dressed. It had to look accumulated. She also hit multiple building-material suppliers and salvage sources, not just for budget reasons but because new stock was unusable if it looked “new.” A wrong surface gives you away faster than a wrong reference.

Her collaboration with Maximova continued into a different narrative space — a FedEx commercial built around a very particular character: a taxidermist living in a present-day New York apartment that feels psychologically anchored in the 1920s. The tone of this project was radically different. This was not strict realism. This was a world that existed somewhere between silent film era unease and contemporary isolation — strange, private, a little haunted. The creative language pulled from early cinema, German Expressionism, and something deliberately uncanny, almost museum-like.

To build that interior, Xia and Maximova did what they always do: they went looking for physical input. They walked Los Angeles’ Museum of Jurassic Technology. They visited Vulture Culture oddities spaces. They gathered textures from places that felt wrong in the right way — too quiet, too curated, too still. Those visits weren’t “inspiration trips.” They were spatial studies. The question wasn’t “what looks cool?” The question was “how does someone like this actually arrange their life?”

Together, they mapped the apartment not just as a layout but as a lived pattern. Where does the table sit in relation to the main work surface. Which window is usable light and which is just mood. Where do tools collect. What corner becomes ritual space. The blocking of objects had to match the daily motion of a solitary, meticulous person who lives with specimens.

In that same project, Xia took period thinking all the way down to the hand scale. She fabricated the key prop for the spot: a hollow, heart-shaped taxidermy specimen vessel. It wasn’t outsourced. It was built. She combined 3D printing with hand-finishing to get the exact hybrid language the story needed — part clinical, part intimate, part unsettling. She then dressed it using whatever carried the right organic truth: fallen branches and leaves collected on location, fragments of insect material, even loose strands of hair. Nothing glossy. Nothing “Halloween store.” Every added element needed to feel like it had been handled, cataloged, and kept.

Because the final spot was shot in black and white, Xia also painted the piece in grayscale under live phone camera tests, checking contrast and value instead of hue. She wasn’t painting for the human eye on set. She was painting for the lens, for the grade, for what the audience would actually see.

The result impressed the entire team — not because the prop was complicated, but because it felt disturbingly believable. It felt owned.

Taken together, these projects say something essential about Xia’s practice. She is not just collecting era-correct objects. She is reconstructing how those objects were used, at what point in their lifespan, and under what emotional conditions. She treats period not as a visual filter, but as a living system with rules.

For Cheryl Wenjing Xia, “period design” is never about arranging old-looking objects and capturing a pretty nostalgic frame. Her target is stricter, and more intimate: she wants the space to be lived the way it would have been lived in that era — claimed, worn down, repaired, improvised. She’s not chasing “does it look like the past,” she’s chasing “did this past actually function like this.” That’s why she will spend the kind of time other departments would call excessive on things like the height of a doorbell in a 1920s Soviet hallway, the direction of wear on floor tile, or a single stray hair sealed inside a heart-shaped specimen prop. For her, those details decide whether an audience believes the world or doesn’t. And that’s the difference: environments she builds don’t just resemble an era, they behave like one. They breathe on camera, they carry fatigue and memory, they feel inhabited. A hallway that should exist in 1920s Soviet housing. A New York apartment that still thinks in silent-film logic. This is her signature as a production designer: era isn’t a style choice, it’s behavior — and space isn’t background, it’s narrative.

To learn more about Cheryl Wenjing Xia's work, or to collaborate, contact xia2rt@gmail.com or visit www.xia2rt.com

Armie Hammer is not only back in the new Frontier Crucible trailer, but he's back with a juicy role: He plays an ornery outlaw who rips the leg off a tarantula for "trying to run away."

The film from director Travis Mills also stars Myles Clohessy, Mary Stickley, Ryan Masson, William H. Macy and Thomas Jane. Hammer is second billed. Frontier Crucible is produced by Dallas Sonnier, who also produced Bone Tomahawk, a similarly gritty Western.

The film, from Well Go USA Entertainment, follows a wagon full of crucial medical supplies that is targeted in an Apache attack. The only man who can guide it through to its destination is Merrick Beckford, but he needs to enlist the help of a trio of dangerous outlaws. When they accidentally kill an Apache scout, the stakes are raised considerably.

The film is Hammer's most prominent role since his career collapsed amid revelations that he enjoyed cannibal-themed role play — and he faced sexual assault accusations that didn’t lead to criminal charges.

He said in a January podcast interview that he was making a quiet career comeback that included Frontier Crucible, and that the general perception of him in Hollywood is, “Man, that guy got f—ed.”

Armie Hammer Background

Hammer lost jobs and his representation at his agency, WME, when private messages ascribed to him went viral in early 2021. They included talk of cannibalism, drinking blood, enslavement and rape. Hammer has since contended that they were part of consensual fantasy role playing, taken way out of context.

His once-thriving career had included roles in The Social Network and The Lone Ranger, but it crumbled as police investigated sexual assault accusations by an ex-partner who identified herself as Effie.

In 2023, Los Angeles County prosecutors announced that they would not file charges against Hammer, in part because of the “complexity of the relationship” between Hammer and the woman.

In an interview with Tom Segura and Christina Pazsitzky’s Your Mom’s House Podcast released on New Year’s Day, Hammer explained that he would sometimes send sexual partners graphic, joking messages, laughing as he sent them.

He also said that his understanding of consent has evolved since that period in his life, and that he understands that some of his partners may have thought they were in a more long-term relationship than he intended, and may have felt burned by their interactions with him.

“The worm is turning. And it takes time. It’s slow,” Hammer said on the podcast. “But generally now the conversation when my name comes up with people in the industry is, ‘Man, that guy got f—ed.’ And that feels really good. It’s really encouraging.”

Main image: Armie Hammer in Frontier Crucible. Well Go USA Entertainment.