Writer, Slashfilm
I provide film and television critiques and analyses for the pop culture website Slashfilm.
David Spade Almost Wrote A Saturday Night Live Gap Girls Movie With Chris Farley & Adam Sandler
Breaking Bad Almost Didn’t Happen Because Of Weeds
John Belushi Almost Refused To Sign His Contract For Saturday Night Live
65 Let Adam Driver Tackle His Childhood Fear Of Quicksand
Jamie Foxx Coaxed Robert Downey Jr. Into Another Controversial But Unseen Role After Tropic Thunder
One John Wayne Western Influenced Steven Spielberg More Than Any Other Film
Happy Gilmore Left Carl Weathers In Excruciating Pain
Chris Parnell’s Biggest Challenge With Rick & Morty Is Remembering To Act
Florence Pugh’s Horrible DIY Haircut Scene In Zach Braff’s New Movie Was 100% Real
Seinfeld’s Elaine Almost Didn’t Exist According To Jason Alexander
Quantumania Gives Bill Murray A Perfectly Bill Murray Role
Bryan Fuller Fell In Love With Friday The 13th Because Of Pamela Voorhees
Roger Ebert ‘Spilled The Beans’ Early For The Directors Cut Of Dark City
Warwick Davis Filmed A Never-Seen Star Wars Mockumentary As Wicket
Joining The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air Was A Roll Of The Dice For Alfonso Ribeiro
Director Francois Truffaut Helped Inspire Steven Spielberg To Make E.T.
The Cast Of Transformers: The Movie Were Given A Warning Before Working With Orson Welles
Dana Carvey Thinks Not Going To HBO Sealed The Fate Of His Show
The Size Of The Thing’s Cast ‘Intimidated’ Director John Carpenter
Chevy Chase’s Dislike Of Director Amy Heckerling Spelled Trouble For National Lampoon’s European Vacation
King Of The Hill’s Writers Weren’t Very Interested In Giving The Characters Chances To Grow
Kurt Russell Knew His Elvis Movie Would Be Polarizing
How Kurt Russell Ended Up As Elvis’ Voice In Forrest Gump
Jim Carrey Has Never Said ‘Yes’ To A Movie Faster Than The Truman Show
Why James Spader Only Starred In One Season Of The Office
How The Day After Tomorrow’s VFX Team Transformed New York Into A Frozen Wasteland
Splash Came To Tom Hanks Because ‘No One Wanted To Work For Disney’
Tim Robbins Thinks This Is Why So Many People Resonated With The Shawshank Redemption
Meeting Adam Sandler Convinced Christopher McDonald To Accept Happy Gilmore’s Villain Role
Shooting An Entirely New Ending For National Lampoon’s Vacation (Literally) Nauseated Chevy Chase
Dana Carvey Was Terrified To Play Saturday Night Live’s Church Lady
John Wayne’s Attempt To Break Out Of Westerns Led To One Of The Lowest Points In His Career
Tombstone’s Chaotic Production Had Kurt Russell Pulling Triple Duty
John Wayne’s Stagecoach Stunts Sparked A Battle With The Studio
How A Behind-The-Scenes Chris Farley Joke Became One Of His Best Saturday Night Live Bits
How A Paper Route And Couple Of Beers Helped Inspire King Of The Hill
How Christopher Nolan Used Daylight To Make Insomnia Feel Even Darker
Bob Odenkirk Had Never Seen Seinfeld When He Was Offered A Guest Role
Spike Lee Wanted To Send A Message With Do The Right Thing’s Set Design
Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing Riot Scene Wasn’t Easy For Giancarlo Esposito
An Indecisive Studio Meant Bad News For Brendan Fraser’s Monkeybone
Val Kilmer Had A Secret Weapon Working On Tombstone
Bob Odenkirk And David Cross Remember Run Ronnie Run As A ‘Debacle’
How A Richard Pryor Skit Became A Companion Piece To The Star Wars Holiday Special
Phyllis Discovering Angela And Dwight’s Affair In The Office Provided A Unique Challenge For Director Paul Feig
Toby Jones Sees A Universal Theme Running Through The Mist
Reading Scripts Ahead Of Time Doesn’t Help On The Set Of The Orville
Jason Bateman Feels He’s Come ‘Full Circle’ Since His Time On Silver Spoons
Brian Dennehy Saw A Career For Chris Farley That Went Far Beyond Comedy
Judd Apatow’s Love Of True Romance Helped Inspire Pineapple Express
Ron Howard Rescued Jason Bateman From A Career Slump In More Ways Than One
The NFL Went To War With Oliver Stone Over The Script For Any Given Sunday
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Made A Jim Carrey Dream Come True
J. Lee Took The Long Road To His Leading Role In The Orville
Tommy Boy’s Ties To SNL May Have Hurt The Movie More Than They Helped
Kevin Bacon Still Sees Potential In A Tremors TV Series
Bruce Willis Was Woody Harrelson’s Biggest Concern While Filming Indecent Proposal
George Romero Understands Why Someone Would Walk Out On One Of His Films
It Wasn’t Easy For Alec Baldwin To Talk Down To Screen Legends Like Jack Lemmon In Glengarry Glen Ross
3rd Rock From The Sun’s 3D Episode Was Meant To Send A Message To The Network
How Escape From New York Found The Perfect Location For Its Dystopian Version Of The City
Filming The First Mad Max Was A ‘Disaster’ In The Eyes Of Director George Miller
George Lucas’ Only Rule For Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs Inspired One Of The Film’s Funniest Scenes
How Kirk Douglas Helped Break The Blacklist With Spartacus
Winning An Oscar Wasn’t Exactly A Career Boost For Dianne Wiest
Kevin Costner’s First Day Directing Dances With Wolves Didn’t Exactly Inspire Confidence
Mickey Rourke Knew The Wrestler Would Demand A ‘Pound Of Flesh’ From Him
How Kristen Johnston Used 3rd Rock From The Sun To Break The Rules Of Sitcom Women
Norm Macdonald Brought Something Special To The Set Of The Orville
Choosing A Director For Beverly Hills Cop Came Down To A Coin Flip
Casting Neil Patrick Harris As Doogie Howser Was A Complicated Process
Mike Judge Has A Simple Formula For Writing A Good King Of The Hill Script
Lea Thompson Could Have Starred In Pretty Woman, But She Made One Huge Mistake
Rob McElhenney Thinks This Is The Key To Keeping It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Fresh
Jenna Fischer Called This One Of Her Worst Acting Moments On The Office
Filming The Truman Show’s Finale Put Jim Carrey’s Actual Life On The Line
Bruce Willis Played A Crucial Part In Getting Michael Clarke Duncan His Green Mile Role
How 9/11 Made Jim’s Proposal To Pam On The Office Much More Difficult To Shoot
Darren Aronofsky Had To Learn To Handle Rejection While Casting Requiem For A Dream
Pam’s Famous Dunder Mifflin Watercolor Painting From The Office Is A Lie
Steven Spielberg Didn’t Have To Look Far For His War Horse Research
Million Dollar Baby Is A Case Study In How Clint Eastwood Builds A Character
How One Of Pam And Jim’s Pivotal Scenes In The Office Became A Logistical Hassle
One Arrested Development Scene Made Tony Hale Stop Watching The Show With His Daughter
The Career Frustrations That Pushed Paul Newman Into The Director’s Chair
True Grit’s TV Rights Sparked A Legal Battle With John Wayne
James Cameron Explains The Origins Behind Avatar’s Unobtanium
George Clooney Helped Alfonso Cuarón Craft One Of Gravity’s Most Pivotal Scenes
James Spader’s Casting On The Blacklist Came In Just Under The Wire
Bill Murray Flipped The Script For His St. Vincent Role
How Scrubs’ John C. McGinley Applied His Own Hospital Experiences To Dr. Cox
John Wayne Wasn’t Going To Let His Age Hold Back His Stunt Work On Big Jake
A Ridley Scott-Related Fire Forced A James Bond Set To Be Rebuilt
Desperado’s Love Scene Was Hard For Salma Hayek To Handle
Matt Damon Didn’t Need To Act For The Martian’s Emotional Climax
Getting Into Character Is A Punishing Process For Christian Bale
John Hughes Took The Brute Force Approach To Writing Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
The Empire Strikes Back Could Have Ended George Lucas’ Career
The Studio ‘Scam’ That Started Steven Spielberg’s Film Career
How Bill Murray’s Ghostbusters Performance Inspired Bruce Willis’ Breakout Role
Tom Cruise’s Risky Business Romance Caused Some Problems Behind The Scenes
Matt Damon Saw The Martian As More Than Just An Acting Gig
Ben Affleck Saw Argo As His Chance To Break Out Of Boston
Thelma & Louise Marked The Beginning Of One Of Ridley Scott’s Calling Cards
How Noah Schnapp Really Feels About His Stranger Things Hair Cut
Behind-The-Scenes Chaos Gave Rambo III’s Director His Debut
Playing Frank Sinatra Taught Ray Liotta A Lesson He Wouldn’t Forget
Demolition Man’s Writer Daniel Waters Never Intended For It To Be Prophetic
Beverly D’Angelo Always Thought Of The Vacation Movies As Romantic Comedies
John Wayne’s First Role After McLintock! Had Him Feeling Like A ‘Fraud’
It Took A Unique Screenwriting Approach To Keep The Joy Luck Club’s Stories Intact
Tony Scott Needed A New Perspective To Capture Top Gun’s Breakneck Speeds
Natalie Portman Struggled To Find Work After The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Why Michael Douglas Feels Bittersweet About Gordon Gekko’s Impact In Wall Street
How Alien Defined Sigourney Weaver — And How Sigourney Weaver Defined Alien
Why Stephen King Didn’t Care If 1408 Flopped
How It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Turned $100 Into A Fan-Favorite Series
Mark Hamill Thought He Was Going To Throw Up While Seeing Star Wars For The First Time
There’s A Good Reason Groundhog Day Is So Often Imitated
How Robin Williams Made A ‘Horrible’ Happy Days Script Worthy Of The Mork & Mindy Spinoff
Hilary Swank Kept A Dangerous Secret From Clint Eastwood During Million Dollar Baby
Darth Vader’s Helmet Design Solved A Practical Problem In The Star Wars Script
Big Let Tom Hanks Take The Wheel With Some Wild Improv
Armageddon’s Space Suits Landed Ben Affleck In Real-Life Danger
The Real-Life Inspiration Behind Scrubs
Why Palm Springs Couldn’t Actually Be Shot In Palm Springs
Harrison Ford Was Actually A Last Minute Pick To Play Indiana Jones
I Am Legend’s Brooklyn Bridge Scene Was A Multi-Million Dollar Pain To Shoot
Chris Tucker’s First Jackie Chan Encounter Didn’t Go As Planned
Why The Real Survivors Of K-19: The Widowmaker Weren’t Fans Of The Script
How An Experiment On The Alien Set Became One Of Ridley Scott’s Weirdest Calling Cards
Billy Dee Williams Had Some Simple Advice For Donald Glover’s Star Wars Debut
Bill Murray’s Climactic Kingpin Scene Involved Over 1,000 People
Tommy Lee Jones Was A Natural Fit For No Country For Old Men
Why George A. Romero’s Vision For Resident Evil Never Made It To Film
Blade Runner Was A Surprisingly Personal Project For Ridley Scott
The Moment That Made Jim Carrey Fall In Love With Movies
Why Filming Twilight Zone Had William Shatner Feeling Claustrophobic
Kevin Feige Only Cares About One Critic Award
Ralph Fiennes Paid A Big Price While Preparing For His Schindler’s List Role
How The Crow Inspired Dark City’s Building-Bending Weirdness
Ghostbusters Left Bill Murray Feeling ‘Radioactive’
Michael Mann Went To Some Exhaustive Lengths While Doing Research For Heat
How Titanic’s Timing Nearly Sank Event Horizon
How Raging Bull’s Clever Filmmaking Techniques Made The Boxing Feel Real
Jim Carrey Was Paid 20 Times More Than Jeff Daniels For Dumb & Dumber
Why Is James Cameron So Obsessed With The Color Blue?
Bill Murray Turned Down This Tom Hanks Role Without Even Reading The Script
Sean Penn Went Method For Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Because Of Course
John Wayne Snuck An Emotional Tribute Into The Searchers’ Final Scene
Robin Williams Had To Hide One Of Dead Poets Society’s Best Scenes From Disney
Nobody Thought Fight Club Would Make It Out Of Pre-Production
Mars Attacks! Was Inspired By This Paul Newman Disaster Classic
Julia Garner’s Ozark Accent Came By Accident During Her Audition
Citizen Kane’s Opening Scene Caused Chaos In The Theater
John Wayne Almost Walked Away From One Of His Most Beloved Roles
Without The Golden Girls, We Might Not Have Reservoir Dogs
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Could’ve Starred Mick Jagger And David Bowie
The Reason Pixar Chose Those 5 Emotions For Inside Out
How Michael Bolton Really Felt About Office Space’s Running Joke
How George Romero Cobbled Together A Cast For Night Of The Living Dead
Stephen King Calls This Director His Favorite Collaborator
Here’s Why Bruce Lee Didn’t Show On The First Day Of Shooting Enter The Dragon
How A Throwaway Stanley Kubrick Line Became John Landis’ Calling Card
The Henry & June Controversy Explained: The First NC-17 Movie
Donnie Wahlberg Took His Sixth Sense Role Further Than Anyone Expected
The Reason Matt Damon Agreed To Cameo In EuroTrip
One Of Bill Murray’s Best Movie Moments Was Made Up On The Spot
How Enter The Dragon Pulled Off That Mind-Bending Mirror Scene
Why John Carpenter Doesn’t Watch A Lot Of Modern Horror Movies
We Nearly Saw A Total Recall Sequel – Here’s Why It Didn’t Happen
The Wizard Of Oz Left An $80,000 Scene On The Cutting Room Floor
Why Sylvester Stallone Initially Thought First Blood Would Ruin His Career
The Improvised Line In The Shining That Became An Instant Classic
Why Office Space Drove Fox Executives Crazy Before It Was Released
Alfred Hitchcock’s Expert Tip For Making Horror Scenes More Terrifying
The Interesting Way Snowpiercer Episode Titles Are Named
The Accident That Nearly Destroyed The Fifth Element’s Most Complicated Scene
How The Total Recall Crew Built Mars On Earth
Why The Original Shawshank Redemption Title Was Scrapped
The Deer Hunter Ending Explained: There Is No Going Back
The Apocalypse Now Easter Egg In Goodwill Hunting You May Not Have Noticed
How The Umbrella Academy Brought 1960s Dallas Back To Life
John Wayne Once Taught Ron Howard A Very Important Lesson
Danny DeVito Almost Drowned During This Dangerous It’s Always Sunny Stunt
Writer, Pro Football Network
I offered a bevy of takes on professional football as the Cincinnati Bengals beat writer, fantasy, and general contributor using analytics via PFN’s proprietary Offensive Share Metric (OSM). I also produced the AFC North and Goal and Fantasy Fixers podcast for PFN.
Cincinnati Bengals: Why A.J. Green should quit the Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals: Why Monday night is everything
Cincinnati Bengals: What happened to Cincinnati’s defense?
Cincinnati Bengals: When a loss is actually a win for Cincinnati
Cincinnati Bengals: Four takeaways from the initial 53-man roster
Cincinnati Bengals: Who is new top wide receiver Damion Willis?
Cincinnati Bengals: Potential breakout surprises in 2019
Cincinnati Bengals: Post-injuries offensive depth chart
Cincinnati Bengals 2019 game-by-game projections
Cincinnati Bengals: Redemption for Giovani Bernard in 2019?
Breaking News: Bengals 2019 top pick Jonah Williams lost for season
Cincinnati Bengals Flashback: Boomer Esiason’s unforgettable ’97 return
Cincinnati Bengals: Training camp position battles, WWE style
Cincinnati Bengals: Why the championship window is about to open
Cincinnati Bengals: “Thirtysomethings” leading 2019 – AJ Green
“The Deep State” Fantasy Football Column
Fantasy Football: Waiver wire finds from the Deep State heading into Week 1
Fantasy Football: The Deep State reveals NFC South studs and duds
Fantasy Football: The Deep State exposes AFC South studs and duds
Fantasy Football: The Deep State reveals AFC North studs and duds
Fantasy Football: The Deep State reveals NFC East studs and duds
Fantasy Football: The Deep State exposes AFC East studs and duds
Additional Articles
Minnesota Vikings: PFN OSM shows vast improvement in Kirk Cousins’ game
Admissions Viewbook
Multi-panel, chapel-shaped admissions piece featuring highlights of the university, pull quotes, and campus imagery.
Communication Six Panel Brochure
Program-specific standard brochure for the communication program.
Bishop Shaheen QU Visit Press Release
Media release detailing Marionite Bishop Robert Shajeen’s interactions with students, administration, and Franciscan representation during his visit to Quincy University. Bishop Shaheen did not want the press aware of his visit beforehand, hence the post-event release.
Media release highlighting a drastic increase in enrollment, featuring the work done by university faculty, staff, students, and alumni.
Draft IQ NFL Draft Guides
Draft IQ was a yearly “home-grown” publication (aka a hobby) produced from 2010-2017. It featured special interest stories, statistical breakdowns, and player rankings for the annual NFL Draft.
Travis C. Yates 