Some movie performances are so closely associated with a character that it’s nearly impossible to imagine anyone else playing the part. Bill Murray’s Dr. Peter Venkman is one of them.
The 1984 comedy, which has only become more beloved with age, nearly featured Robin Williams in Murray’s iconic role. ScreenRant lists Williams among the actors who were considered for major roles in the original Ghostbusters, offering a fascinating glimpse at what might have been.
Robin Williams Was Considered for Peter Venkman
Murray ultimately became the face of Ghostbusters as Venkman, the wisecracking paranormal investigator who approaches ghost hunting with considerably more skepticism than his colleagues.
But he wasn’t the only major comedian considered for the role.
According to ScreenRant, Robin Williams was considered for Peter Venkman, along with Tom Hanks. Both were already established comedic performers who could have brought very different energy to the character.
It’s particularly easy to imagine how Williams might have approached the part. His rapid-fire delivery and manic comedic style could have made Venkman a substantially different character from Murray’s famously laid-back, deadpan version.
Instead, Murray got the role, and his performance became one of the defining elements of the movie.
Rotten Tomatoes currently gives Ghostbusters a 95% Tomatometer score, with the site’s critics consensus specifically highlighting Murray’s deadpan performance alongside the film’s blend of comedy and special effects. Rotten Tomatoes also lists Ghostbusters as Murray’s highest-rated performance.
‘Ghostbusters’ Has Only Gotten Better With Time
Released June 8, 1984, Ghostbusters follows Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler, and Winston Zeddemore as they launch a paranormal investigation business in New York City. What begins as a quirky attempt to make money quickly becomes much more serious when the team discovers a supernatural threat capable of unleashing destruction on the city.
The movie was already a major success when it arrived in theaters, but its reputation has endured for more than four decades. Collider recently included Ghostbusters among classic comedies that have aged particularly well, pointing to the film’s lasting appeal as audiences continue to revisit it.
And there’s plenty of evidence that the movie’s reputation hasn’t faded. Ghostbusters has a 7.8/10 rating on IMDb from nearly 500,000 users, while Rotten Tomatoes has collected more than 250,000 audience ratings.
The film was also selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2015, cementing its place in American movie history.
By 1984, Tina Turner was already well on her way to being the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” However, there was still one big accomplishment missing from her resume.
Turner, then 44, had never recorded a No. 1 single, but on Sept. 1, 1984, that all changed. Forty-two years ago today, “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” Turner’s signature song, topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
‘Love’ leaves lasting legacy
“What’s Love Got to Do with It” debuted on the Hot 100 on May 19, 1984. It hit No. 1 on the first day of September and remained there for three weeks before being replaced by John Waite’s “Missing You.”
Following the success of “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” two others songs from Turner’s Private Dancer album–“Private Dancer” and “Better Be Good to Me”–went on to crack the top 10. The rock legend also reached No. 2 in 1985 with “”We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” from the Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome soundtrack and in 1986 with “Typical Male.”
Overall, “What’s Love Got to Do with It” sold more than two million copies worldwide and has regularly appeared on lists of the greatest songs both of the 1980s and all time.
A triumph for Tina
Turner’s career began in the 1960s alongside her husband as the Ike & Tina Turner duo. However, while the pair had plenty of musical success, their relationship was tumultuous and Ike was abusive.
By the 1980s, Turner’s marriage was over, and she had the chance to reinvent herself personally and professionally. “What’s Love Got to Do with It” played a major role in helping her become a superstar and cement her status as a musical icon.
“The story of Tina’s rise and fall with Ike Turner is well-known. You can see what it was like in the movie What’s Love Got to Do With It. But I believe it’s time to put the Ike story to rest,” singer Janet Jackson told the publication for its ranking list.
“The truth is that when Tina came back in the Eighties, she became much bigger than she was the first time around. Tina’s story is not one of victimhood but one of incredible triumph.”
The Legend of Zelda may be a, well, legendary franchise, but there are some games that get more shine than others. Breath of the Wild and Ocarina of Time are more well-known than, let’s say, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages.
With dozens of games in the series, not every title gets the credit it deserves. Here are three Legend of Zelda games that are incredible experiences, but they get lost in the shuffle when discussing Hyrule as a whole.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2004)
The Minish Cap gets a fair amount of praise when talking about Game Boy Advance games, but not a lot of credit when stacked up agains the rest of the franchise. This game’s art style has aged tremendously, with bright colors and crisp sprites that bring Link and his adventures to life in a way that is truly timeless. It’s not the longest game, but maybe that’s a good thing nowadays with so many open world adventures and 80-hour slogs on consoles.
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007)
Phantom Hourglass is one of the most innovative games in Nintendo history. This isn’t hyperboly. You just had to be there when the Nintendo DS came out in the mid-2000s and developers went too far out of their way to craft gimmicks that would show off the consoles duel-screens and touch controls. Phantom Hourglass was one of the only games that utilized the hardware to enhance the game instead of getting distracted by it.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (2024)
Echoes of Wisdom is the most recent Zelda game, so how can it be a forgotten classic already? Because discourse still surrounds Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Echoes of Wisdom harkens back to the top-down roots that made Zelda what it truly is, and many fans let it slip by without even trying it at the end of the Switch’s lifespan.
In addition to sharing the map on Instagram, AccuWeather posted a list of each city and dates for the earliest first snowfall of its respective year:
Albuquerque, NM: October 5, 2004
Baltimore: October 10, 1979
Bismarck, ND: September 16, 1965
Boston: October 10, 1979
Buffalo, NY: October 6, 1991
Burlington, VT: September 30, 1992
Charleston, SC: December 11, 1958
Chicago: October 23, 1929
Cleveland: October 2, 1974
Dallas: November 13, 1976
Denver: September 3, 1961
Detroit: October 12, 2006
Flagstaff, AZ: September 19, 1965
Great Falls, MT: September 10, 1921
International Falls, MN: September 14, 1964
Jackson, WY: September 13, 1970
Lake Tahoe, CA: September 11, 1952
Marquette, MI: September 19, 1956
Memphis, TN: November 2, 1951
Minneapolis: October 24, 1985
Nashville: October 31, 1993
New York: October 15, 1876
Omaha, NE: October 9, 1970
Pittsburgh: October 8, 1972
Portland, ME: October 10, 1969
Portland, OR: October 5, 1950
Raleigh, NC: November 6, 1953
Rapid City, SD: September 13, 1970
Salt Lake City: September 17, 1965
Seattle: October 27, 1971
St. Louis: November 3, 1997
Washington, D.C.: October 10, 1979
Wichita, KS: October 22, 1996
Interestingly, no cities are on record as having received their first snow before September. Considering how hot it still is for most of the country in early September, Denver getting snow on Sept. 3 is mind-boggling. Of course, this year’s El Niño, which will most likely develop into a “super” El Niño later this fall, will undoubtedly affect when each state gets its first snowfall. Temperatures for September are already predicted to be above average for most of the US. We could see a later-than-normal first snow this year.
Tupac Shakur was shot on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada on September 7, 1996. 30 years later, some justice has been served.
A jury in Nevada has found Duane “Keff D” Davis guilty of first-degree murder. Davis, now 63, was previously the leader of a gang in Compton.
Once the verdict was read, Davis wasted no time saying, “I would like to appeal this matter.” Most appeals take at least a year, and there is no guarantee that anything will change. Davis will be held until sentencing on October 13. Because of the severity of the charge, life in prison is still on the table. Judge Carli Kierny will decide the sentence.
Davis was arrested in Las Vegas in late 2023. He pleaded not guilty to one count of murder with use of a deadly weapon.
Despite how high-profile the case is, jurors took less than three hours to deliberate before returning a verdict on Monday. Although there is no set average for jury deliberation times, more intense cases like this can often result in longer deliberations, as true crime enthusiasts have seen recently with the Lindsay Clancy case, which has gone on for 17 hours as of August 31. However, Davis’ case has been pretty cut-and-dry.
Davis admitted that he was in the Cadillac where the shots originated during the drive-by, something he has admitted publicly in both interviews and his own memoir, Compton Street Legend.
The closing arguments were heard earlier on Monday. The trial lasted three weeks.
Francis Ford Coppola is Hollywood royalty on the filmmaker front (Megalopolis is a mad fever dream we all had, right?). From The Godfather and The Conversation to The Outsiders and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the famed writer-director had some heavy hitters in his heyday.
‘Apocalypse Now’ Is One of Francis Ford Coppola’s Best Works
However, one film is widely regarded as Coppola’s magnum opus: Apocalypse Now. The anti-war film was loosely inspired by Joseph Conrad‘s 1899 novella, Heart of Darkness. For the uninitiated, the movie follows a US Army officer serving in Vietnam who’s “tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.”
Apocalypse Now boasts a star-studded cast, including Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz, Robert Duvall as Lt. Colonel Kilgore, Martin Sheen as Captain Willard, Frederic Forrest as Chef, Albert Hall as Chief, Sam Bottoms as Lance, Laurence Fishburne as Clean (credited as Larry Fishburne), Dennis Hopper as Photo Journalist, and Harrison Ford as Colonel.
Coppola directed from a script he co-wrote with John Milius. Interestingly, George Lucas and Steven Spielbergencouraged Milius to write a Vietnam War movie while the latter worked as Coppola’s assistant on The Rain People in 1967.
The movie premiered on Aug. 15, 1979, in only three theaters in North America that were equipped to play the 70 mm film with stereo surround sound. While Apocalypse Now received mixed reviews at the time of its release, retrospectives have painted it in a better light.
And if you’re champing at the bit to watch Apocalypse Now, specifically the Redux (an extended version that has 49 minutes of cut scenes from the original), you can stream it for free with ads on Fandango.
Davis, 63, was found guilty of orchestrating the attack as a leader of the South Side Compton Crips. But the case against him wasn’t built on new forensic evidence or a surprise witness … it was built largely on a book he wrote himself.
Keffe D’s Memoir About the Tupac Shakur Murder
In 2019, Davis co-authored a tell-all memoir called Compton Street Legend, laying out his account of the night Tupac was killed. In it, he placed himself in the car during the shooting and named his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, as the triggerman. Anderson, who was never charged, died in an unrelated shooting in 1998.
The book wasn’t Davis’s first time discussing his role. Years earlier, in 2008 and 2009, he’d given confidential proffer sessions to the LAPD, telling investigators, “I sang because they promised I would not be prosecuted.”
That immunity was conditioned on the conversations staying private. Once Davis started talking publicly — through the memoir, and later through an appearance on BET’s Death Row Chronicles — prosecutors argued the deal no longer applied. As the chief deputy district attorney on the case put it: “Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted.”
Davis Said He Made Everything Up
By the time the case reached trial this year, Davis changed his story. He told FOX5 Vegas that he hadn’t actually written Compton Street Legend at all: “I did not write that book. A ghostwriter wrote that,” adding that it had been “fictionalized to make a profit.” He also claimed his 2008 statements to the LAPD weren’t a real confession, saying his lawyer had handed him “a script to read” for that interview too.
The judge wasn’t convinced either version should be kept from the jury. Both the memoir and the police interviews were ruled admissible, and jurors ultimately convicted Davis on both first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and a gang enhancement.
For anyone who thought “Not Like Us” was just a diss moment, they missed the point. Kendrick Lamar turned battle rap into a cultural anthem, with its cadence and language escaping hip-hop and showing up everywhere from schools to churches. Then he performed it at the Super Bowl—the Super Bowl.
Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on February 9, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
For those of us who respect battle rap as one of hip-hop’s purest forms, watching that energy command America’s biggest stage felt revolutionary.
Kendrick Lamar’s Versatility Is the Real Flex
I respected Kendrick early because his flow and delivery didn’t sound like any West Coast rapper I had heard before. He was immediately set apart. I’m not a Kendrick superfan, either. I admire the craft and, maybe even more, his refusal to fit inside whatever box the music industry builds for him.
His versatility is just as powerful as his voice, and that’s where his victory lives.
We had gotten used to battle Kendrick and reflective Kendrick when “luther” arrived with SZA and completely changed the temperature. It reminded me of hearing Tupac make “I Get Around” and “Keep Ya Head Up.” Wait—this is the same dude?
Kendrick had already shown vulnerability on records like “Mother I Sober,” but “luther” brought warmth and romance without sacrificing his identity.
The song, built around Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn’s version of “If This World Were Mine,” became another example of a catalog that refuses to stay in one lane.
Kendrick Lamar Is Breaking Kendrick Lamar’s Records
Kendrick Lamar, winner of Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, Best Music Video, and Song of the Year for “Not Like Us,” poses in the press room during the 67th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 2, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Now the numbers are catching up with the argument.
That BMI honor didn’t come from “luther” alone. Lamar earned it for co-writing six of the previous year’s most-performed songs — proof the run extends well past one record-breaking single.
Whether Kendrick is No. 1 on your personal rapper list almost doesn’t matter anymore. The respect is undeniable.
Streams and trophies can measure popularity. Kendrick’s best work reaches for something bigger: social value, conversation and the pulse of the culture. At his best, he doesn’t feel like simply a rapper. He feels like a great American writer who happens to rap.
And every time we think Kendrick Lamar has reached his ceiling, K. Dot builds another floor.
Chris Rock returns to filmmaking for the first time in over a decade in this new A24 film, in which the iconic comedian takes a serious turn with a drama about Hollywood and humanity.
Misty Green, set for theatrical release in the U.S. on October 9, details the premise, “Years after her Hollywood breakthrough, a talented actress whose career has stalled fights for her second act.”
Rosalind Eleazar plays the titular role in the upcoming film, with supporting roles portrayed by Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Anna Kendrick, Topher Grace, and Rock himself. Ahead of the film’s premiere, Misty Green’s future has already been determined, thanks to a streaming deal between A24 and HBO Max.
‘Misty Green’ HBO Max Release Window, Explained
HBO Max has a “Pay-1” rights deal with A24, through its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, which was renewed in 2026, thanks to the films’ high viewership across the studio’s catalog on the platform. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the terms of the agreement state that HBO Max will hold streaming rights for A24’s film releases, and they will join HBO’s library after their theatrical and PVOD (Premium Video on Demand) release periods have ended.
Based on data from A24 films that have gone to HBO Max through this deal, the theatrical-to-streaming window for HBO and A24 under this agreement is approximately 119 days, which is around 17 weeks, or 4 months at most. Recent A24 hits, such as the record-breaking Backrooms, arrived on HBO Max exactly 119 days after their theatrical premiere date.
If Misty Green goes ahead with its planned premiere date of October 9, the new film should be available for streaming on HBO Max by Friday, February 5, 2027. These projections, as it should be noted, are based on theatrical and streaming dates in the U.S., and international versions of HBO Max will likely vary in accordance with their equivalent theatrical debut.
College football is just getting srarted, but Matt Leinart is asking fans to think beyond what happens on the field. For the third consecutive year, the former USC star is teaming up with Abbott and the Big Ten for the We Give Blood competition, an initiative aimed at addressing the country’s ongoing blood shortage.
For Leinart, the cause hits close to home. His mother had a rare blood disorder called polycythemia and ultimately required multiple blood transfusions before her death after the condition progressed to leukemia.
“So I just, when this partnership came about, it just meant a little more to me,” Leinart told Men’s Journal. “I understand the need for blood. I understand how important it is to be able to donate if you can, and because it saves lives.”
The We Give Blood competition brings together all 18 Big Ten schools in a battle to see which university can inspire the most blood donations. Abbott will award the winning school a $1 million grant to advance student health. Over the first two years of the competition, donations have helped save up to 300,000 lives.
Leinart has participated himself, donating blood for his alma mater, USC, during the first two years of the competition. And with USC now competing in the Big Ten, he has another reason to hope his fellow Trojans fans turn out in force.
“I hope so because we’ve been just not — we have not been good,” Leinart joked when asked whether he expects more USC fans to participate. He pointed to Nebraska and Wisconsin as some of the Big Ten schools that have performed well in the competition, adding that USC and UCLA need to “step up a little bit.”
Why Matt Leinart Wants Younger Fans to Get Involved
The competition’s college football connection is intentional. About 25% of blood donations currently come from people ages 65 and older, according to the campaign, making it increasingly important to encourage younger generations to become regular donors.
For Leinart, using the competitive nature of college sports to encourage people to give blood makes perfect sense.
“Fans are competitive. We know athletes are competitive no matter what they play,” he said. “So it’s like, hey, we can be competitive off the field, but in a super impactful way.”
The campaign is open to everyone, not just current college students or alumni. Anyone can donate at a U.S. blood center and represent their favorite Big Ten school, or simply donate without choosing a school.
And while the $1 million prize gives fans an obvious reason to get involved, Leinart believes the most important incentive is considerably bigger.
“One donation can save up to three lives,” he said. “To me, that’s just as impactful.”
Leinart Has a Front-Row Seat to College Football’s Changing Landscape
Leinart has experienced college football from just about every possible angle. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2004, helped USC capture a national championship, played in the NFL, and now works as a college football analyst.
That makes him particularly well-positioned to assess just how much the sport has changed since his playing days.
The biggest differences, he said, are obvious: NIL and the transfer portal have fundamentally altered the college football experience.
“When I was going to school, there were transfers and all that, but it just was rare,” Leinart said. “You went to school, you committed to that school, you were loyal to that school for the most part, and you finished out at that school for the most part.”
Leinart stressed that he supports players being compensated, but he acknowledged that something has changed along the way.
“I do think there’s a certain level of loyalty and commitment that’s gone,” he said.
His perspective is now also informed by his role as a parent. Leinart’s older son is a quarterback at SMU, giving him a firsthand look at the modern college football system from the other side of the recruiting process.
“It’s not their fault. This is the world they’re growing up in,” Leinart said of the changes.
USC Abbott blood donation
Abbott / Big Ten
Matt Leinart Is Ready for Another College Football Season
Despite all the changes, Leinart’s enthusiasm for the sport hasn’t faded. If anything, he still sounds like the same college football fan who once led USC onto the field.
There is one part of the modern preseason experience he could happily do without, though: rankings.
“I hate preseason rankings,” he said. “I think they’re just useless.”
Instead, Leinart is looking forward to seeing teams actually take the field and establish their identities. He specifically pointed to early-season matchups such as Michigan vs. Oklahoma and Texas vs. Ohio State as games that could provide an early glimpse at where some of the country’s top teams stand.
He’s also watching for the unexpected teams that emerge as the season progresses. And these days, he has an especially personal rooting interest in SMU, where his son plays quarterback.
But before the games take over, Leinart has one more message for college football fans.
“Just go,” he said when asked what he’d tell someone who has been considering donating blood but hasn’t done it yet. “It’s just very easy to do.”
Fans can learn more about the We Give Blood competition and find information about donating at BigTen.org/Abbott. The competition runs through December 4, giving fans plenty of time to turn their school spirit into something that can make a real difference.
