

Jon O'Brien
Joined: Jul 28, 2020
Jon O'Brien is a freelance entertainment journalist with bylines in Esquire, Billboard, Vulture, New Scientist, Vinyl Me, Please, i-D, The Guardian and Paste. He spends most of his spare time going to gigs, but he's also a soccer enthusiast, garage drummer, Icelandophile, and carrot cake connoisseur. He lives in North West England with his partner and King Charles Spaniel.


10 Actors Who Have Played Marilyn Monroe

Slow Burn: How Elton John's "Candle in the Wind '97"—the Best-Selling Single in Music History—Became a Royal Relic

How The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert Became the Biggest All-Star Gig of the '90s
10 Totally Unconventional TV Christmas Specials
Not every seasonal offering brings maximum yuletide cheer. Here’s a look at 10 that suggest those responsible had indulged in a little too much eggnog.
20 Fun Facts About Ocean’s Eleven
In 2001, newly minted Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh gathered up some of the biggest names in Hollywood and pulled off a heist movie for the ages.
Crawlspace: When the Makers of a Sleazy '80s Slasher Movie Nearly Killed Klaus Kinski for Real
“You can’t hope to direct [Klaus] Kinski,” John Vulich, a makeup effects artist on 'Crawlspace' once said about the 1986 low-budget horror movie’s leading man. “You can only document him.”
When Macarena Ruled the World in 1996
Los del Río's “Macarena” became the second longest-running number one in Billboard history, shifted 14 million copies, and sparked a dance craze that spread everywhere from the Olympics to the Democratic National Convention.
20 Fascinating Facts About The Launch Of MTV
Although MTV has more recently become synonymous with reality TV and cheap clip shows, there was a time when the network truly did live up to its name. And it all began at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981.
20 Fabulous Facts About The Devil Wears Prada—That’s All!
'The Devil Wears Prada' proved that Anne Hathaway’s range extended beyond fairy tale princesses, established Meryl Streep as one of cinema's all-time greatest villains, and taught us all the difference between blue and cerulean.
20 Surprising Facts About Bridesmaids
In 2011, 'Bridesmaids' silenced chauvinists who believed that men had the monopoly on laughs and spearheaded a wave of female-fronted comedies. It also turned Melissa McCarthy into a bankable leading lady.
15 Movies That Bankrupted Their Studios
From 'It's a Wonderful Life' to 'Battlefield Earth,' these box office turkeys proved that it can take just one major flop to send a studio down the dreaded path of bankruptcy.
20 Facts About Dude, Where’s My Car?
There were many vital questions posed in 'Dude, Where's My Car?,' the 2000 stoner comedy that established Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott as two of their generation’s most lovable doofuses.
Cop Rock: How ABC Created the Strangest TV Musical Of All Time
There’s a time and a place for a jaunty Hall & Oates pastiche, but—as the creators of 'Cop Rock' discovered the hard way—it’s probably not in the middle of a self-described “baby merchant” getting caught in a child abduction sting.
Unraveling the 20-Year Mystery of How 'Who Let the Dogs Out' Became a Global Phenomenon
It's been 20 years since 'Who Let the Dogs Out' was released, and its impossibly infectious hook is no doubt still lodged inside your brain. But two decades later, we're still no closer to answering the question.