Ryan White: Last News

In the new documentary Good Night Oppy, the Mars Opportunity rover becomes the scrappy robot that could: an instrument platform that trundles across a rusty landscape millions of miles away, searching for alien life signs, and outlasts its own projected existence by almost 15 years.

The 7th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards unveiled its winners in a gala event that was live-streamed from New York City. It was Amazon Studios’ Good Night Oppy that was the biggest winner of the night taking home five trophies including the top accolade of the night — winning Gold for Best Documentary Feature.

Steven Spielberg has been known to explore science fiction in many of his films, like Minority Report, E.T. The Extraterrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But his company Amblin rockets into science fact with Good Night Oppy, a documentary about NASA’s 2003 mission to send rovers to Mars to look for signs that water once flowed on the Red Planet.

Elton John was all in on a plan to perform at the White House before the world-famous rockin' piano player hangs it up — he says — for good. John is stopping by the South Lawn on Friday night for a show he's calling "A Night When Hope and History Rhyme," a reference to a poem by Irishman Seamus Heaney that President Joe Biden often quotes. It will be John's first White House gig since he performed with Stevie Wonder at a state dinner in 1998 honoring British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Addie Morfoot Contributor The day before the pandemic shut down Los Angeles in March 2020, veteran documentary filmmaker Ryan White (“Assassins,” “Ask Dr. Ruth”) signed on to make “Good Night Oppy.” With the support of NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the documentary recounts the true story of Mars exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity and the bond forged between the robots and the humans who created them.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity — the stars of Ryan White’s inspirational and wonderfully engaging “Good Night Oppy” — were designed to last 90 days on the Red Planet. Instead, they went right on exploring the alien terrain for years, sending invaluable data and images back to NASA the whole time. For scientists, students and astronomy buffs around the world, the two robots became mascots for a historic mission, the goal of which was to find evidence of past water on Earth’s nearest neighbor, for that in turn could suggest the possibility of life on Mars. To call the MER experiment a success would be an understatement, but it wasn’t until this delightful documentary that a more important point became clear: As it turns out, for nearly 15 years, there was life on Mars: Within the opening minutes of “Good Night Oppy,” White convinces us that these two solar-powered, remote-controlled research tools weren’t just machines but sentient characters with personalities, every bit as relatable as Pixar’s lovable trash compactor, WALL•E, or the Johnny 5 droid from “Short Circuit.”

Addie Morfoot Contributor The Telluride Film Festival’s emphasis on documentary has not wavered in recent years. But the prominence of nonfiction fare at the 49th edition has arguably made this year’s Telluride the autumn Sundance, where some of the biggest buzz is for docs. The lineup, kept under wraps until the eve of the fest’s opening on Sept. 2, includes 16 docs from novice and veteran documentarians, including Steve James (“A Compassionate Spy”), Matthew Heineman (“Retrograde”), Chris Smith (“Sr.”) Ondi Timoner (“Last Flight Home”) and Ryan White (“Good Night Oppy”). (Additional “secret” screenings have yet to be announced.) The rising level of documentaries at the Colorado fest is largely due to the influence of Telluride executive director Julie Huntsinger.

The Hamptons International Film Festival will screen Cannes Jury Prize Winner EO by Jerzy Skolimowski, Phyllis Nagy’s Call Jane, and Decision to Leave by Cannes Best Director winner Park Chan-wook among others when the 30th edition unspools October 7-16.

EXCLUSIVE: In honor of National Space Day today, Amazon Original Films has dated their Ryan White directed documentary Good Night Oppy for theatrical release on Nov. 4 with a worldwide drop on Prime Video on Nov. 23.

Elton John credits teenage AIDS victim Ryan White and his family with saving his life. The singer told the crowd at his concert at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Friday that spending time around White’s family caused him to make changes in his life. White was from Indiana.

Pamela Anderson in the acclaimed Hulu series,, Lily James is excited to see her real-life counterpart tell her story in the upcoming documentary for Netflix. “I cant wait to watch it and learn more,” James tells ET’s Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner while walking the red carpet at the 94th Academy Awards, where she’ll be presenting. “I mean, of course, we could only do our best based on all the information we had.

Seth Rogen is talking all things .ET's Lauren Zima spoke with Rogen at the show's finale screening Tuesday, where he talked about his role in the buzzed-about series and how he feels about Pamela Anderson telling her side of the story in her own Netflix documentary.«I'm excited to watch it. Yeah, I can't wait,» Rogen, who plays Rand Gauthier, a disgruntled former employee of the star couple, said of Anderson's upcoming doc.«The film, which has been in the making for several years, will feature the pop culture icon setting the record straight as she looks back on her professional path and her personal journey,» reads the statement from the streaming service. The doc is directed by Ryan White (, ), and promises to be «an intimate portrait» of Anderson's life.Pamela Anderson is ready to tell her story in a new documentary.

Pamela Anderson will make her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the long-running musical Chicago this spring, producers announced today.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorPamela Anderson announced earlier this week that she is getting ready to tell her life story in a new Netflix documentary.The news came a week before Hulu is set to premiere the final episode of “Pam & Tommy,” the streamer’s eight-episode series that chronicles the release of Anderson’s infamous sex tape with her then-husband Tommy Lee. Lily James portrays the former “Baywatch” star in the series while Sebastian Stan plays the rocker.I caught up with Stan on Thursday night at the premiere of his new movie “Fresh.” I asked him for his thoughts on the Anderson documentary news.

Baywatch” star, 54, is taking her tale to the streaming giant’s competitor: Netflix.“Pamela Anderson is ready to tell her story in a new documentary,” the official Netflix Twitter account announced Wednesday. “The film, which has been in the making for several years, will feature the pop culture icon setting the record straight as she looks back on her professional path and her personal journey.”“My life,” reads the note from the announcement.

Netflix documentary.The actor and activist revealed the project on Instagram, writing: “My life. A thousand imperfections.

A new Pamela Anderson documentary, featuring exclusive footage, is headed to Netflix.

Pamela Anderson is bringing her own story to Netflix.

Baywatch star posted a handwritten note on Netflix letterhead to her Instagram (her only post, as of press time). She signed it with a lipstick kiss.“My life / A thousand imperfections / A million misperceptions / Wicked, wild and lost / Nothing to live up to / I can only surprise you / Not a victim, but a survivor / And alive to tell the real story," she wrote.

Pamela Anderson will speak her truth. On Wednesday, Netflix announced that the 54-year-old actress «is ready to tell her story in a new documentary.»«The film, which has been in the making for several years, will feature the pop culture icon setting the record straight as she looks back on her professional path and her personal journey,» reads the statement from the streaming service. According to, the doc is directed by Ryan White (, ).The announcement, which was posted on social media, also included a note from Anderson with a kiss print, which reads, «My life, a thousand imperfections, a million misperceptions.