In 1984, Brooklyn rap trio U.T.F.O. released “Roxanne, Roxanne,” a slick, streetwise track about a woman who brushed them off without apology. The character was fictional, but the insult landed…

Before Guns N’ Roses became the snarling, stadium-shaking symbol of late-eighties hard rock, the group was building its sound in cramped Los Angeles rooms with little interest in polishing the…

James Bond had survived villains, explosions, betrayals, and impossible escapes, but during Spectre’s rollout, the franchise found itself facing an unexpectedly sharp challenge over one stubborn phrase. Monica Bellucci was…

For a terrifying stretch in 2019, it looked as though Spider-Man’s next great adventure might happen without the Marvel Cinematic Universe at all.Disney and Sony had hit a wall over…

Sidney Poitier arrived at the American Negro Theatre in Harlem carrying ambition, nerves, and almost none of the reading ability an actor needed. When he tried to read aloud during…

Before Benedict Cumberbatch became Marvel’s sharp-tongued master of mystic arts, he was reportedly standing at a far less glamorous crossroads. The actor had been offered Malekith, the Dark Elf villain…