Universal Pictures Canada x Mr. Will are thrilled to give Readers in Toronto and Montreal a chance to win passes to an Advance Screening of BLACK PHONE 2.

Advance screenings will be held Wednesday, Oct. 15th, 2025 at 7 PM in:

• Toronto: Cineplex Varsity
• Montreal (EN): Cinema Banque Scotia

Synopsis:

Four years ago, 13-year-old Finn killed his abductor and escaped, becoming the sole survivor of The Grabber. But true evil transcends death … and the phone is ringing again. 

Four-time Academy Award^® nominee Ethan Hawke returns to the most sinister role of his career as The Grabber seeks vengeance on Finn (Mason Thames) from beyond the grave by menacing Finn’s younger sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). 

As Finn, now 17, struggles with life after his captivity, the headstrong 15-year-old Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake. 

Determined to solve the mystery and end the torment for both her and her brother, Gwen persuades Finn to visit the camp during a winter storm. There, she uncovers a shattering intersection between The Grabber and her own family’s history. Together, she and Finn must confront a killer who has grown more powerful in death and more significant to them than either could imagine.

To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK or IG. In the comments, tell us which City you’re in and tag one friend you’re taking. Multiple entries permitted.

Rules and regulations here.

Universal Pictures Canada release BLACK PHONE 2 Friday, October 17, 2025.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

Our tiff50 adventures continue with a very successful Day Two that included sightings with:

•ethan hawke for blue moon and the lowdown
•corey hawkins and anna diop at tiff for the man in my basement
•stellan slarsgård, renate reinsve, and elle fanning at tiff for sentimental value
•shailene woodley and ben fodter at tiff for motor city
•samara weaving and kyle gallner at tiff for carolina caroline
•nick robinson and emilia jones at tiff for charlie harper
•emilia jones at tiff for charlie harper
•sydney sweeney, christy martin, and katy o’brian at tiff for christy
•maude apatow at tiff for poetic license
•cillian murphy at tiff for steve
•jamie lee curtis, matthew and levi mcconaughey at tiff for the lost bus (chats from the red carpet coming soon)

Highlights below:

Live from the Red Carpet for THE LOST BUS!

Cannot wait to see who we see Day Three! Tomorrow should be the most epic one yet!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Today, Disney+ revealed the official trailer for FX’s “The Lowdown,” a new drama series from Sterlin Harjo and starring executive producer Ethan Hawke. The series will have its world premiere and screen the first episode at TIFF on September 4, and will debut with the first two episodes on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on FX, and stream the next day on Disney+ in Canada. A new episode will premiere each following week.  Trailer here.

“The Lowdown” from creator, executive producer, writer and director Sterlin Harjo (“Reservation Dogs”) and starring executive producer Ethan Hawke, follows the gritty exploits of citizen journalist “Lee Raybon” (Hawke), a self-proclaimed Tulsa “truthstorian” whose obsession with the truth is always getting him into trouble. 

Lee lives and works in a rare bookstore tucked in the heart of Tulsa – a local refuge and unofficial community hub. While Lee’s no idealist, he’s fiercely committed to exposing corruption and unearthing the city’s hidden rot, even when it puts him at risk. His constant sleuthing pulls him deep into Tulsa’s underbelly – and often away from his 14-year-old daughter “Francis” (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), a precocious kid who’s inherited his curiosity and longs to join him on his adventures. His ex “Samantha” (Kaniehtiio Horn) is exasperated by Lee’s endless digging, but still sees the good in him – especially when it comes to Francis, the one thing they’ve never stopped showing up for.

When the publication of Lee’s latest exposé – a deep dive into the powerful Washberg family – is immediately followed by the suspicious suicide of “Dale Washberg” (Tim Blake Nelson), the black sheep of the family, Lee knows he’s stumbled onto something big. Following a trail of breadcrumbs Dale has left behind, urging someone to dig deeper into the circumstances surrounding his death, Lee does just that. What Lee finds is that “Betty Jo” (Jeanne Tripplehorn), the grieving widow, seems to be more interested in her brother-in-law “Donald Washberg” (Kyle MacLachlan), a gubernatorial candidate, than in her dearly departed. And powerful forces want to prevent Lee from learning anything more.

Lee has also gained the attention of a mysterious stranger who seems to appear whenever Lee least expects it: refined and suave, “Marty” (Keith David) shares Lee’s appreciation of great literary minds, and seems unusually interested in his investigation into the Washberg family.

This eight-episode Tulsa noir series is created by executive producer Sterlin Harjo, who also wrote and directed the pilot. Garrett Basch, series’ lead Ethan Hawke, and Ryan Hawke also executive produce. “The Lowdown” is produced by FX Productions.

Robust parental controls ensure that Disney+ remains a suitable viewing experience for everyone in the family. Subscribers can set access limits on mature content and create PIN-protected profiles alongside the already existing Junior Mode profiles to give parents and guardians peace of mind.

Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali and Julia Roberts star in LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND. Today we get a new Official Trailer for this feature, premiering at the AFI Fest tomorrow night.

Synopsis:
In this apocalyptic thriller from award-winning writer and director Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot), Amanda (Academy Award winner Julia Roberts) and her husband Clay (Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke), rent a luxurious home for the weekend with their kids, Archie (Charlie Evans) and Rose (Farrah Mackenzie). Their vacation is soon upended when two strangers — G.H. (Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la) — arrive in the night, bearing news of a mysterious cyberattack and seeking refuge in the house they claim is theirs. The two families reckon with a looming disaster that grows more terrifying by the minute, forcing everyone to come to terms with their places in a collapsing world. Based on the National Book Award-nominated novel by Rumaan Alam, LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND is produced by Esmail Corp, Red Om Films, and executive produced by Higher Ground Productions.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

By Amanda Gilmore

Ethan Hawke returns to the Director’s chair to explore the life and art of American Author Flannery O’Connor, who’s stunningly portrayed by his own daughter Maya Hawke.

Hawke and Co-Writer Shelby Gaines’s Script focuses on O’Connor’s life when she left New York City in 1950 and returned home to live with her mother Regina (a dazzling Laura Linney). It was here that she was diagnosed with lupus. At the time, getting this diagnosis felt like a death sentence. And that’s how O’Connor took it. Thus, she believed her time was limited to making the lasting mark she desired. Maya Hawke captivates as the Author grapples with her identity and her artistry.

Just like Hawke’s prior directorial ventures, Wildcat examines the artist’s way. He achieves this by blending O’Connor’s life with visual tellings of her short stories. He places her mother and those parts of her real life in the visual recreations of her stories. This creates the connection between life and art that O’Connor always claimed.

A highlight of Wildcat is the examination of the relationship O’Connor has with her faith. The Screenwriters spend significant time connecting the Author’s religion with the harsh judgement she places on herself for her dark imagination. The Filmmakers imply that this judgement halted the young author’s career early on. As the ending comes, O’Connor finally accepts her imagination for what it is and separates it from her relationship with God. She went on to become one of the most prominent writers of her generation.

Wildcat screens at TIFF ’23:

Monday, September 11 at 8:45 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre

Wednesday, September 13 at 7:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Saturday, September 16 at 11:30 AM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

One of the greatest love stories is finally being told. Hollywood Suite is pleased to be the exclusive Canadian outlet for the HBO Max Original and CNN Films documentary series The Last Movie Stars, a critically acclaimed documentary series directed by four-time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke. Each of the six hour-long episodes will premiere weekly on Thursdays beginning January 12, 2023, and will also be available to stream on demand the same day.

Directed by Hawke and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, this engaging docuseries celebrates the enigmatic personas, incredible talent, and captivating love story of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Partners on screen and in life, the pair’s unparalleled dedication to their craft, philanthropy, and one another is brought to life by readings of long-lost transcribed interviews with Newman, Woodward, and those closest to them. Hawke enlisted actors George Clooney, Laura Linney, Sally Field, Oscar Isaac, Karen Allen, Ewan McGregor, Sam Rockwell, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Zoe Kazan, and many others, to voice original interviews and explore details of Woodward and Newman’s relationship. The series also features Newman and Woodward’s daughters, who give touching insights into what made their parents’ singular careers, and relationship, so inspiring.

“It’s an honor to get to share Joanne and Paul’s inspiring life and love story with audiences. I’m thrilled that the film has found a Canadian home on Hollywood Suite,” said The Last Movie Stars director Ethan Hawke.

“The Last Movie Stars is an intimate portrait of classic Hollywood royalty,” said Sharon Stevens, Vice-President, Programming, Hollywood Suite. “With masterful direction from Ethan Hawke, one of the most iconic stars of this generation, the docuseries effortlessly weaves old Hollywood glamour with new Hollywood A-list stars, who deliver insights based on their own personal experiences on and off screen. The series fits beautifully within Hollywood Suite’s existing catalogue of films from the Golden Age of cinema to today, bringing historical context to film with a modern sensibility.”

The Last Movie Stars was executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content development for CNN Worldwide, and Courtney Sexton, senior vice president for CNN Films. The documentary is produced by Emily Wachtel and Lisa Long Adler of Nook House Productions, Ryan Hawke of Under the Influence Productions, and Adam Gibbs. Mario Andretti is a co-producer on the series, and Hamilton Leithauser (The Walkmen) is the composer for the original score.

(Photo/video credit: Hollywood Suite/HBO Max)

Universal Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win Advance Screening Passes to see THE BLACK PHONE.

Screenings take place as follows:

• Toronto: Yonge & Dundas at 7 PM
• Montreal: Scotiabank Theatre at 7 pm 
• Vancouver: Cineplex International Village at 7 pm

Synopsis:

The phone is dead. And it’s ringing.

Director Scott Derrickson returns to his terror roots and partners again with the foremost brand in the genre, Blumhouse, with a new horror thriller. Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

Starring four-time Oscar® nominee Ethan Hawke in the most terrifying role of his career and introducing Mason Thames in his first ever film role, The Black Phone is produced,

directed, and co-written by Scott Derrickson, the writer-director of Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Marvel’s Doctor Strange. 

The film’s screenplay is by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill (Doctor Strange, Sinister franchise), based on the award-winning short story by Joe Hill from his New York Times bestseller 20th Century Ghosts. The film is produced by Derrickson & Cargill’s Crooked Highway and presented by Universal and Blumhouse. Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill are producers on the film, which is executive produced by Ryan Turek and Christopher H. Warner.

To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. You also can Re-Tweet the Contest Tweet below for another chance! Please remember to indicate your City.

Rules and regulations here.

NOTE: Do not accept their party messages and friend requests asking for your personal information. Winners will be contacted only by this official account.

Universal Pictures Canada release THE BLACK PHONE in theatres June 24, 2022.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

Ethan Hawke returns to Horror in THE BLACK PHONE. See the new Trailer.

Synopsis:

The phone is dead. And it’s ringing.

Director Scott Derrickson returns to his terror roots and partners again with the foremost brand in the genre, Blumhouse, with a new horror thriller. Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

Starring four-time Oscar® nominee Ethan Hawke in the most terrifying role of his career and introducing Mason Thames in his first ever film role, The Black Phone is produced,

directed, and co-written by Scott Derrickson, the writer-director of Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Marvel’s Doctor Strange.

The film’s screenplay is by Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill (Doctor Strange, Sinister franchise), based on the award-winning short story by Joe Hill from his New York Times bestseller 20th Century Ghosts. The film is produced by Derrickson & Cargill’s Crooked Highway and presented by Universal and Blumhouse. Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill are producers on the film, which is executive produced by Ryan Turek and Christopher H. Warner.

Genre: Horror

Cast: Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, James Ransone and Ethan Hawke

Directed by: Scott Derrickson

Screenplay by: Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill

Based on the short story by Joe Hill

Producers: Jason Blum, Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill

Executive Producers: Ryan Turek, Christopher H. Warner

THE BLACK PHONE arrives in theatres June 2, 2022.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

By Justin Waldman

Disney+‘s latest Limited Series gives audiences a first time look at a brand- new Marvel character, Moon Knight. This is the first time that Marvel has given audiences a show that introduced a main character into the MCU via a show instead of a film. Moon Knight needs the span of a series to flesh-out his character and ideology, which might have been lost amongst the shorter runtime of a film. We get almost six hours to know his character and understand his powers.

The Series centers on Marc Spector/Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac), a worker at a museum in London, there is nothing exciting or particularly interesting about his character at first. That is until he comes home, and we see him shackle himself to his bed as he has a tendency to sleep walk and wander off. This is where things take a turn for the weird, as he becomes a completely different person and is somehow in Europe fighting mercenaries.

As the Show continues, we find out that Marc/Steven are actually a symbiote in essence for a Moon God named Khonshu (F. Murray Abraham) and he is really Moon Knight, a protector of secrets who ensures that evil does not reign supreme. Without giving away too much, Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke) who is an assistant to the Egyptian god Ammit, who weighs peoples’ good and bad through touch, and if it turns out they’re evil (or are going to commit a heinous act) he kills them in the name of Ammit.

What works really well in Moon Knight are the performances from both Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke. Both manage to deliver on the chaos and passion their respective characters face, and even with the jarring aspects of the Show, they manage to hold our attention and make us crave more. Isaac plays in essence, three separate characters and delivering one of the most specific British accents, manages to deliver some sheer joy and unintentional chuckles. He captures Moon Knight‘s essence and makes him an unstoppable force. Hawke is quite possibly the most menacing he’s ever been on-screen. He proves that he can be terrifying and rather unnerving in his portrayal of Arthur Harrow but this captivates the audience and wants you to indulge further into the character and have a lingering sense of fear.

Moon Knight is risky for Marvel. It is unconventional and pushes the boundaries of what audiences are expecting from their properties. It almost feels hyperbolic to say that this is unlike any Marvel property audiences have seen thus far, because it is such a cliché to state that, however Moon Knight is unlike anything we’ve seen by Marvel. It refuses to adhere to linear storytelling. While there is a lot going on at times especially when switching between Mark and Steven, the risks paid off. It seems that going to smaller Filmmakers is the direction the Studio is going with, and honestly this innovation continues to help them thrive with their best output yet. Taika Waititi‘s Thor Ragnarok is a prime example of that, but so is the choice to have aboard Series Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. If this is the future of Marvel, investing in creative minds and letting them shine, and we will continue to get things like Moon Knight that break the mold, then it is a very promising future ahead.

MOON KNIGHT streams on Disney+ Wednesdays at 12am PT/3am ET starting with Episode One on Wednesday March 30^th, 2022.

eOne Films x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to attend an Advance Screening of STOCKHOLM. Screenings are as follows:

Toronto – Wednesday April 10 – 7pm at Cineplex Varsity
Vancouver – Wednesday April 10 – 7pm at Cineplex Fifth Avenue (19+)

Synopsis:
Based on the absurd but true 1973 hostage crisis in Stockholm that was documented in the New Yorker as the origins of the ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. The story focuses on a female bank clerk (Noomi Rapace) who falls for her captor, an unhinged American outlaw (Ethan Hawke) as she turns against the police and aids in his escape attempt.

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Noomi Rapace, Mark Strong

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate your City. Re-Tweet this Tweet from @mrwillw for an extra chance.

eOne Films release STOCKHOLM Friday, April 12, 2019.

(Photo/video credit: eOne Films)