In Case You Haven’t Heard: ‘The Smashing Machine,’ ‘Monster’

Actor Channing Tatum doesn’t hold back when addressing the state of streaming on “Hot Ones,” Taylor Swift went on “The Tonight Show” to explain why she’s not performing in this year’s Super Bowl, and megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson laments his new film “The Smashing Machine” not being a smash hit at the box office in this edition of “In Case You Haven’t Heard.”

Actor Channing Tatum says the Hollywood system is upside down and, the way things are now, actors are encouraged to make bad films to cash in as opposed to focusing on artful films. During an episode of “Hot Ones” on YouTube, Tatum wolfed down some spicy hot wings and talked about how streaming has had good and bad effects on the industry, insinuating that there are more opportunities to do good work, but also more paychecks out there for bad work. Tatum’s new film, “Roofman,” opens Oct. 10.

Speaking of “Roofman,” Channing’s co-star in the film, Kirsten Dunst, has come a long way since she was in the film “Interview with a Vampire” opposite Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt at just 11 years old. The actress has had a 30-plus year career in Hollywood, with credits that include “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Bring It On”, “Spiderman” and “Civil War.” Dunst recently told People she attributes her long career to two things – friends and family.

The new season of “Monster” on Netflix features Wisconsinite Ed Gein. Charlie Hunnam plays Gein in the third season of the show, which is produced by Ryan Murphy. Unfortunately, the show is not exactly pulling monster ratings, receiving just a 41 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. This is the second Wisconsin killer featured in just three seasons of the show. Season one showcased the horrible crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer. If it makes you feel any better, none of the seasons were particularly well reviewed.

Taylor Swift addressed the reason she’s not playing the Superbowl Halftime Show in February. The pop star told Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” that she was never given an official offer. She also says she loves her fiancé and didn’t want to upstage him at the big game. Swift then caught herself and clarified that she didn’t mean to assume the Kansas City Chiefs would be back in the Super Bowl. So far, it looks like they won’t be, thank goodness. 

Most movies have a climax. When it comes to “When Harry Met Sally,” there were actually two climaxes in the film, one of which was iconic. Rob Reiner was the director of the film and recently referenced the scene where Meg Ryan pretended to have the big O in the middle of a New York City deli while sitting opposite Billy Crystal. The director said it was very awkward directing the scene in front of his mother. You might be asking why he invited her to the set that particular day, and it’s because Estelle Reiner is the woman who says to the waitress, “I’ll have what she’s having.” 

Despite his new film “The Smashing Machine” getting good reviews, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson says he feels bad that the film did not perform well at the box office, pulling in only $6 million. Johnson, however, was classy in defeat, saying that “he is grateful for those who went to see it.” I’m curious to see his performance, because critics say he was really good. Just a bit of advice for Dwayne though: if you want to be taken seriously as an actor, maybe ditch “The Rock” part of your name.

Editor’s note: For more movie and entertainment talk, join host Pete Schwaba weeknights from 6 to 8 p.m. for “Nite Lite” on the Civic Media radio network.