Mike Ryan is currently the senior editor at ScreenCrush. Mike most recently served as Senior Entertainment Writer for The Huffington Post. Previously, Mr. Ryan was a frequent contributor at Vanity Fair and Wired magazine and wrote for Time, GQ, ELLE-UK, and New York magazine.
Mike Ryan
Remembering Robin Williams: The Actor We All Felt We Knew
“Can you believe Popeye is played by the guy who plays Mork?” These words from my mother blew my seven-year-old mind. That's my intro to a piece I don’t know how to write and, honestly, probably shouldn’t be writing so soon after learning about Robin Williams’ death. I only had one encounter with Williams professionally – an interview promoting ‘Happy Feet 2,’ of all things – yet there are tears coming down my face as I type this for what is essentially a stranger. Even though he’s not a stranger. Everyone knew him. This is everyone’s loss.
‘Into the Storm’ Star Richard Armitage on Tornadoes, ‘The Hobbit 3′ and His Lost Role in ‘Star Wars’
Armitage -- who kinda, sorta practices method acting; depending on your definition of method acting -- has the final chapter of 'The Hobbit' trilogy coming out this December, 'The Battle of Five Armies.' Here, Armitage, who plays the dwarf Thorin Oakenshield, reflects on what he thinks the legacy of this trilogy will be in comparison to 'The Lord of the Rings.' Armitage also dares us to find him somewhere in 'Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace' -- a movie that he is in -- and gives us some clues on how to do so, but even he's not exactly sure if he's seen himself.
‘It’s Sort of Liberace Meets Billy Idol': The Costumes Of ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’
Ahead, Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne takes us through a handful of the major characters from 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and explains the trials and tribulations of dressing the most infamous band of a-holes in the galaxy.
‘Hercules': A Live Blog
Because of Comic-Con and because Paramount did not screen ‘Hercules’ before I left for Comic-Con, I have been living a life that was free of The Rock-as-Hercules. That is, until Tuesday morning when I bought a ticket to see ‘Hercules’ at a movie theater on the Upper East Side of Manhattan alongside at least three other people...
Marvel’s Kevin Feige on ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy,’ ‘The Inhumans’ and Edgar Wright
It's kind of remarkable that Marvel Studios have already green-lit a sequel to 'Guardians of the Galaxy' -- a movie that, itself, doesn't come out for another few days. But this says less about Marvel's confidence that 'Guardians' will make money (and, let's not kid ourselves, it certainly will), but more about how the Guardians fit in with the larger story Marvel is trying to tell with the episodic nature of its films. And this episodic nature might just be what doomed Edgar Wright's version of 'Ant-Man' -- as opposed to it just being "too weird," which Marvel studio head Kevin Feige has denied.
Comic-Con 2014: A Live Diary Of Aimlessly Wandering Around
Tucked away, up a daunting, unwelcoming flight of outdoor stairs, far, far from the madness of Hall H panels and the other madness of the San Diego Comic-Con floor is vestibule of once or still famous human beings signing autographs for the attendee’s pleasure. (At least, the attendees who ever make it upstairs.) Anyway, I kept a running diary of aimlessly walking around Comic-Con for a few hours. Here’s how that went:
Comic-Con 2014: The 7 Best Moments From ‘The Boxtrolls’ Panel
‘The Boxtrolls’ – which hit Hall H on Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con -- is the third feature film from Laika, the stop motion animation studio that brought the world ‘Coraline’ and the wonderful ‘ParaNorman.’ Honestly, I cannot get enough of these movies, and Laika is quietly becoming the most unique animation studio working today. (Pixar’s last three films have been ‘Monsters University,’ ‘Brave,’ and ‘Cars 2,’ which is not exactly that studio’s best work. And, yes, I realize ‘Brave’ won an Oscar, but that was a travesty.) Anyway, here are our seven favorite moments from ‘The Boxtrolls’ Comic-Con panel.
Comic-Con 2014: Freddie Prinze, Jr. On ‘Star Wars Rebels,’ Hulk Hogan and Thundarr the Barbarian
The first thing you notice about Freddie Prinze Jr. is his almost manic ability to make analogies between almost any subject and professional wrestling. (And considering that Prinze has worked on and off for WWE over the last few years, this wasn't necessarily surprising.) Prinze is at San Diego Comic-Con in support of 'Star Wars Rebels,' the new animated series that takes place between 'Revenge of the Sith' and the original 'Star Wars.' Prinze plays Kanan, a Jedi who survived 'Revenge of the Sith' who hides his Jedi powers so as to not draw attention to himself.
Comic-Con 2014: Our 6 Favorite Jeff Bridges Digressions From ‘The Giver’ Panel
On Thursday afternoon at San Diego Comic-Con, Jeff Bridges was on hand to promote his newest film, 'The Giver.' During the panel, Bridges -- as he's wont to do and what makes him Jeff Bridges -- went off on long and unrelated digressions. Here are our six favorite digression topics. (The Dude was brought up many, many times and he's not on this list because that was very expected.)
Will a Talking Plant Win Your Heart During ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’? (And 24 Other Urgent Questions)
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is the weirdest and funniest of the Marvel movies to date as we follow a ragtag group of strangers (to each other and, most likely, to most audience members) led by Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord, a name he desperately wants to be called). Will you like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’? It depends!