Film Lists

9 Beloved Childhood Movies (That Permanently Traumatized Us)

What were these scenes even doing in kids' movies?

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Do you remember the first time a sad scene in a movie left you sobbing? Or the first time a scary movie kept you up all night?

When you're a kid, your mind is still so malleable, and you haven't built up that callous that keeps movies at a distance. You might even wish — while you're watching the latest Conjuring movie — that you could get back to that credulous mindset that makes the horrors onscreen come alive in the dark corners of the room.

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Culture Feature

7 Disgusting Moments That Should Have Ended Howard Stern's Career

Whether or not you find Howard Stern entertaining, some of these moments would probably be unforgivable...assuming he ever apologized.

Howard Stern vs Gabourey Sidibe Comments in Context Part 1

Howard Stern is an assh**e.

He has attempted to clean up his act over the year and has made claims of serious personal growth. And he may have had some success in rebranding as a major critic of former-president Donald Trump.

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Stranger Things | Winona Ryder Featurette [HD] | Netflix

[Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things 3].

Stranger Things has spawned a lot of pretty outlandish conspiracy theories.

From the proposal that the show takes place in the same universe as It to the idea that Chief Hopper's daughter was a lab experiment, speculation seems to be venturing closer and closer to Upside Down levels of absurdity.

Recently, one fan theory has surged in prominence, and it has to do with Winona Ryder. Or rather...Winona Ryders.

Think about it: The actress shot to prominence with the films Edward Scissorhands, Heathers, and Beetlejuice, becoming world-famous by the late 1980s. Stranger Things 3 takes place in 1985, and if Stranger Things 4 finds itself in 1986 or later, Winona Ryder would've already been starring in films. Thus, there's a good chance that the Stranger Things kids have heard of her. Maybe they'll have seen her in a film. Maybe they'll notice that she looks strangely like Will's mom.

Some fans have proposed that the series will create some sort of time warp scenario in which, because of some wrinkle in time created by the Upside Down, the real Winona Ryder exists alongside Joyce Byers.

After all, many of the characters who have fallen into the Upside Down have encountered their doppelgängers in that glowing, dark universe. Could it be that Joyce Byers' younger doppelgänger might make her way onto the movie screens of the "right-side up" world? Could it be that she's somehow been working with the Mind Flayer this whole time?

Perhaps the "real" Winona Ryder might even encounter the kids, and in a Bandersnatch-like scenario, she could inform them that a show called Netflix is recording and broadcasting their every move to the general public in the distant year 2019.

Some Mashable reporters actually asked one of the show's producers, Shawn Levy, about this very theory. "That's really funny, and I suppose it's possible," he said, adding, "Eventually, there will be an interesting new relationship between [the Stranger Things production timeline] and what's going on in the time period we are watching the show in... But as far as how those two timelines will sync up, I can't predict."

This Winona Ryder theory might be far-out, but it's not unmatched in scope. Some fans have proposed that Stranger Things is connected to the series Chernobyl, which makes sense when you think about the important role played by the Russian government in each show.

Image via Netflix

Maybe the Chernobyl accident wasn't the fault of a nuclear power reactor at all. Maybe it was the result of a breach in the portal between our world and the Upside Down. According to one Reddit poster, "So did a nuclear reactor explode or did El have the greatest battle of her life?"

Other fan theories have been slightly less speculative. For example, many fans have noted that every character who dies has a name that starts with "B,"and of course, nobody thinks that Hopper is actually dead.

In some ways, Stranger Things seems designed to incubate conspiracy theories. According to The Atlantic, "Conspiracy theories, in fact, are in the show's DNA, a counterforce to all the cuddly Spielberg evocation and the tween-age bonding." That article cites the fact that before the series was called Stranger Things, it was entitled Montauk, after rumors about government-led psychological experiments on humans in military bases in Long Island, NY.

"The show's story is built on the premise that various strains of delusional thinking are actually true," continues the article. "The government has conducted highly unethical drug tests on human subjects. Terrifying alien monsters are real. People can become possessed by dark external forces that absorb them into one diseased hive mind. On the rare occasions when these events are exposed, the military does cover things up."

As a proposed Area 51 invasion gains momentum in the real world (albeit the digital portion of it), Stranger Things seems to be brushing closer and closer to our reality. Some have noted that the Upside Down resembles a world ravaged by climate change. Or maybe it's indicative of the technology that, with the advent of Apple and other technologies, would soon erupt into the world, effectively ending the good old days of bike rides and walkie talkies. Could it be that the Upside Down is nothing more than...the future?

To find out the truth, of course, we'll just have to wait for Season 4.

Image via Vice

Beetlejuice Musical Broadway Trailer | First Look

Not two hours before curtain of his first Beetlejuice preview at DC's National Theatre, Alex Brightman was at Hamilton – the restaurant, not the show.

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Arts

‘Beetlejuice’ is Coming to Broadway

Weirdness and Wonder are Headed for the Great White Way

Fans of film, especially the freaky kind, better book a trip to the Big Apple.

Early spring 2019 will bring Beetlejuice to Broadway – a musical version, no less – jam-packed with all the fun the movie version filled us with in the late 1980s.

While the cast will be new and the plot made more stage-friendly, the adaptation of Tim Burton's comedy-fantasy flick is sure to be just as crazy-cool as it was on the big screen. We'll wait and see who replaces Winona Rider, Catherine O'Hara, Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and the rest of the kooky crew, but seeing the story play out on stage is sure to surprise and delight.

This sort of story is perfect for live audiences – filled with ghosts with the most and plenty of thrills and chills. With lots of laughs peppered in and considerable costume potential, Beetlejuice on Broadway has all the makings of a hit. Hamilton status? Not likely, but a fun-for-the-family theater experience sure to land rave reviews and a resurgence of Beetlejuice-themed Halloween getups come October.

While fans of the movie are far and wide, if this sort of play isn't your idea of the perfect date night, The New York Times reports, "The announcement comes as the Broadway season is rapidly taking shape — 'Beetlejuice' is the 10th new musical to announce plans for a production, and a few more are expected." Looks like the year to come and beyond will be filled with plenty of Broadway tunes to tap your toes to.

But for Beetlejuice fans, there is no need to wait 'till the production hits Manhattan. As per The New York Times, "The Washington production of "Beetlejuice" begins performances Oct. 14 and opens Nov. 4 at the National Theater. The cast there is led by Alex Brightman ('School of Rock'), playing the ghost Betelgeuse, and Sophia Anne Caruso ('Lazarus'), playing the living couple's daughter, Lydia." Beetlejuice will begin previews starting March in Manhattan at the famed Winter Garden Theater.

In case you are not familiar with Beetlejuice, Entertainment Weekly sums it up best, "As with Tim Burton's beloved movie, the musical follows unusual teen Lydia Deetz, who moves into a house haunted by a recently deceased couple and the titular degenerate demon. Beetlejuice and Lydia then hatch a devilish plot (including exorcism and arranged marriages) to scare away her parents." Sounds weird, but it's weirdly wonderful!

Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!


Melissa A. Kay is a New York-based writer, editor, and content strategist. Follow her work on Popdust as well as sites including TopDust, Chase Bank, P&G, Understood.org, The Richest, GearBrain, The Journiest, Bella, TrueSelf, Better Homes & Gardens, AMC Daycare, and more.


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