Reporter Spent Years Tracking Down the Man Behind a Deepfake Porn Website, then Recruited Paris Hilton to Help Expose Him (Exclusive)

Reporter Spent Years Tracking Down the Man Behind a Deepfake Porn Website, then Recruited Paris Hilton to Help Expose Him (Exclusive) Janelle GriffithFri, June 5, 2026 at 10:10 PM UTC 0 Paris Hilton and Laurie SegallCredit: Courtesy of Mostly Human Journalist Laurie Segall spent three years investigating the person behind Mr.

Reporter Spent Years Tracking Down the Man Behind a Deepfake Porn Website, then Recruited Paris Hilton to Help Expose Him (Exclusive)

Janelle GriffithFri, June 5, 2026 at 10:10 PM UTC

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Paris Hilton and Laurie SegallCredit: Courtesy of Mostly Human -

Journalist Laurie Segall spent three years investigating the person behind Mr. Deepfakes, a site that allowed users to upload and view AI-generated deepfake pornography

The investigation led Segall to confront the site's owner in Markham, Ontario, and helped contribute to the site's shutdown in 2025

Her hunt is the subject of a new 14-part docuseries Searching for Mr. Deepfakes,streaming exclusively on Paris Hilton's TikTok account in collaboration with Segall's Mostly Human Media

In 2022, technology journalist Laurie Segall came across a website so disturbing that it spurred her to launch an investigation into the person behind it.

The site, Mr. Deepfakes, allowed users to upload and view AI-generated deepfake pornography. The site hosted hundreds of thousands of sexually explicit, digitally altered images featuring celebrities and every day people and, at its peak, drew 17 million monthly visitors, according to Segall.

"It's the story of innovation without guardrails, where women and girls are some of the first to be impacted negatively," Segall tells PEOPLE. "So I decided that we needed to track the guy behind the anonymous site, and that took quite a bit of investigating."

Segall, who previously worked at 60 Minutes and CNN, assembled a team that included journalists, cybersecurity experts and other specialists. Together, they spent three years investigating the site, a pursuit that ultimately led Segall to confront its owner in Markham, Ontario, face to face, and helped contribute to its shutdown.

The investigation is the subject of a new 14-part docuseries Searching for Mr. Deepfakes,streaming exclusively on Paris Hilton's TikTok account in collaboration with Segall's Mostly Human Media. Since its release a week ago, the campaign has garnered 26 million video views across Hilton and Mostly Human Media's social channels.

Hilton has her own experience with online exploitation. At age 19, an ex-boyfriend shared a private video of the two having sex, which was later distributed online and from which she says she never profited.

"People assume that because these images are fake, the impact somehow isn't real, but it is," Hilton tells PEOPLE. "Knowing strangers are creating and sharing content designed to humiliate or exploit you is something no one should have to experience."

In January, Hilton traveled to Capitol Hill to advocate for a bipartisan bill, the DEFIANCE Act, legislation that would allow victims of deepfake exploitation to take legal action against those who create and distribute such content. Segall watched as Hilton spoke at a news conference alongside Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, and Laurel Lee, a Florida Republican, who co-sponsored the bill.

"I said to my husband, 'I've got to team up with Paris Hilton on this, she gets it, and she's speaking out,' " Segall recalls. "It's not just about her lending us a platform, her story is important as a part of this."

Hilton appears in the series and discusses being a victim of deepfake abuse. "I hope people walk away understanding the real human impact behind these images and the harm this causes victims every single day," Hilton says. "One in eight girls know someone impacted by deepfake pornography, and this can happen to anyone."

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The Simple Life star says there are more than 100,000 deepfake images of her online. "I'm fortunate to have a team helping report and remove them, but the process is incredibly time-consuming because you have to go platform by platform," she tells PEOPLE. "Thankfully, the Take It Down Act is now law, which means platforms are required to remove this content quickly and face consequences if they don't."

Adds Segall: "Back in the day, it was one video and now it's 100,000 sexually explicit images. And now, you don't even have to take a photo of yourself or a video. Now you just have to exist."

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

During the reporting process, Segall and her team pieced together a portrait of Mr. Deepfakes by tracking down his online and offline portrait. They also used AI facial recognition software to uncover his identity.

"We were able to plug it in and see a name from a wedding card, see him at a music festival, figure out his orbit, and it kept taking us further and further," Segall says.

They eventually learned he is a father and worked as a pharmacist. "We ended up calling a local baby store and that is how we ended up getting his home address, because he had a baby registry," she says. By calling various pharmacies they were able to hone in on where he was working. Mr. Deepfakes shut down in May 2025 after a service provider withdrew its support, halting the site's operations, Segall says. He has not faced any legal consequences or answered to the allegations.

Still, much has changed since the investigation began. Women now have more recourse.

"The conversation is also moving to platforms, payment providers, who else is liable in this ecosystem that enables this," Segall says. "Those are conversations that we can have now. And my hope is that this story enables us to have that conversation."

The 14-part docuseries Searching for Mr. Deepfakes is now available in full on Paris Hilton's TikTok account. Additional audio content related to the investigation and its characters will roll out on the Mostly Human with Laurie Segall podcast every Thursday through June 25.

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Reporter Spent Years Tracking Down the Man Behind a Deepfake Porn Website, then Recruited Paris Hilton to Help Expose Him (Exclusive)

Reporter Spent Years Tracking Down the Man Behind a Deepfake Porn Website, then Recruited Paris Hilton to Help Expose Him ...

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Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow still want to host a Friends rewatch podcast: 'That was a great ...

The actresses played Rachel Green and Phoebe Buffay on all 10 seasons of the NBC sitcom. Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow still want to host a Friends rewatch podcast: 'That was a great idea' The actresses played Rachel Green and Phoebe Buffay on all 10 seasons of the NBC sitcom. By Raechal Shewfelt :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/RaechalShewfeltauthorphotoc49d3a3b6aa442f588f2bbc0de804e09.jpg) Raechal Shewfelt Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at . She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American Journalism Review and The Shreveport Times.

The actresses played Rachel Green and Phoebe Buffay on all 10 seasons of the NBC sitcom.

Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow still want to host a Friends rewatch podcast: 'That was a great idea'

The actresses played Rachel Green and Phoebe Buffay on all 10 seasons of the NBC sitcom.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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June 5, 2026 4:11 p.m. ET

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Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow in 2019. Credit:

Gregg DeGuire/Getty

- *Friends* stars Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow reunited for an episode of *Variet*y's "Actors on Actors" series.

- The stars said they had previously planned a rewatch project.

- Aniston and Kudrow agreed the idea was a winner.

Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow have considered doing a rewatch podcast, too.

In an era when the stars of shows such as *Boy Meets World*, *Family Matters*, and *The Office* regularly dissect their long ago–ended hit series, it's not surprising that the *Friends* stars have thought about doing the same.

"Remember, we were gonna do a rewatch podcast thing?” Kudrow, who played Phoebe, said to Aniston, who played Rachel, on the June 3 season premiere of *Variety*'s "Actors on Actors" series.

Aniston did recall: "Remember, we were gonna do that!"

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Kudrow clarified that the rewatch was "not a podcast but a thing."

Aniston confirmed that the women were going to go "through the episodes." She added, "That was a great idea" wondering what happened to it.

Kudrow didn't know, but the many fans of the show would likely support most any project they proposed.

** has reached out to reps for Aniston and Kudrow for further comment.

Lisa Kudrow recalls being mistaken for Dionne Warwick during ‘Friends’: 'She doesn't know who I am?'

Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow tear up over 'Friends' and 'The Comeback' connection

In addition to Kudrow and Aniston, the cast of the beloved sitcom about a group of pals living together in New York City starred Courteney Cox (Monica), Matt LeBlanc (Joey), David Schwimmer (Ross), and Matthew Perry (Chandler). While Perry died in October 2023 at the age of 54, the surviving cast members have remained tight.

More than 20 years after it ended in 2004, *Friends* remains a very big deal. In addition to frequent reruns and streaming on HBO Max, the NBC sitcom still draws devotees with official merchandise, which currently includes a slow cooker with the logo and cardboard cutouts of the gang at the online store, and an interactive exhibit of the set at the *Friends* Experience in Las Vegas.

Kudrow had noted in June 2024 that she was rewatching the series to remember Perry.

Kudrow and Aniston on 'Friends' in 2001.

Danny Feld/NBCU Photo Bank

In March, the *Comeback* actress talked about the kind of thing that might be discussed on such a podcast during an appearance on *Jimmy Kimmel Live*, when she said she'd texted LeBlanc after watching a scene they shared that she still found particularly funny.

"It was last night or the night before where Alec Baldwin was in the episode, and I remember Alec Baldwin was there [filming]," she said of the episode titled "The One in Massapequa" from season 8. "I didn't remember what we were doing. But we're at the Gellers' anniversary party, and Joey and Phoebe are talking, and Joey says, 'This is the worst party! I took forever to get to the buffet line. I get up there, and I almost slipped on a giant booger!'"

Turns out, Joey had wrongly identified an oyster that Phoebe had thrown on the floor.

"I started crying, I was laughing so hard," Kudrow told Kimmel. "Yes, tears."

LeBlanc's response to her was that they "had laughs on that show," she recalled.

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The veteran character actor, who died on June 3, leaves behind a legacy that includes roles in &34;Top Gun: Maverick&34; and &34;Jumanji.&34; James Handy's most memorable film and TV roles: A look back at the late actor's prolific career The veteran character actor, who died on June 3, leaves behind a legacy that includes roles in &34;Top Gun: Maverick&34; and &34;Jumanji.&34; June 5, 2026 4:36 p.m. ET Leave a Comment :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/JamesHandyjumanji060526bf048460f1cf4f8ebc06fc09065d5d79.jpg) James Handy in 'Jumanji'.

The veteran character actor, who died on June 3, leaves behind a legacy that includes roles in "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Jumanji."

James Handy's most memorable film and TV roles: A look back at the late actor's prolific career

The veteran character actor, who died on June 3, leaves behind a legacy that includes roles in "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Jumanji."

June 5, 2026 4:36 p.m. ET

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James Handy in 'Jumanji'. Credit:

James Handy, the veteran character actor who appeared in everything from *Arachnophobia *(1990) to *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022), died on June 3 at the age of 81.

Handy's long Hollywood career properly began in 1981, when he made his film debut in the George C. Scott thriller *Taps*. Over the years, Handy appeared in several memorable movies, including the Jim Belushi buddy-cop comedy *K-9* (1989), Disney's period superhero cult classic *The Rocketeer *(1991), and M. Night Shyamalan's *Unbreakable* (2000). In his later years, Handy popped up as a doctor in *Logan* (2017) and a mayor in George Clooney's *Suburbicon *(2017).

The actor was also a familiar presence on the small screen, appearing in episodes of *Murder, She Wrote* and *The X-Files*, and recurring on *Melrose Place* and *The West Wing*.

Below, we take a look back at Handy's career through his five most memorable film and TV roles.

Arachnophobia

James Handy, Jeff Daniels, Brian McNamara, and Julian Sands in 'Arachnophobia'.

Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett

1990's *Arachnophobia* is a bona fide horror comedy classic. Directed by Frank Marshall, the film stars Jeff Daniels as a doctor who moves to a small town that's soon overrun by deadly spiders. The killer supporting cast includes John Goodman, Julian Sands, and none other than John Handy.

The late actor costars as Milt Briggs, the county coroner who helps Daniels' doctor figure out what's killing the locals.

Kirsten Dunst and James Handy in 'Jumanji'.

Four years after *The Rocketeer*, Handy reunited with director Joe Johnston for a small but pivotal role in *Jumanji*. Based on the classic Chris Van Allsburg picture book, *Jumanji* centers on a pair of kids (played by Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce) who find a magical board game that unleashes its dangers into the real world.

Handy shows up as an exterminator who first tells the kids the local lore about the previous owner of the game, Alan Parrish, played by the late Robin Williams.

The best Robin Williams roles

'Top Gun' turns 40! See Tom Cruise and his costars four decades later

Top Gun: Maverick

James Handy in 'Top Gun: Maverick'.

Paramount Pictures

Handy's most recent — and possibly final — film role was in *Top: Gun Maverick*, the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 action classic *Top Gun*. Tom Cruise reprised his role as the eponymous pilot in the film, which features a star-studded ensemble including Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, and Jon Hamm.

As was often the case in Handy's career, his role was a fairly small but important one. He plays Jimmy, an old-timer bartender at Penny's bar, which is owned by Maverick's love interest.

James Handy as Capt. Haverill on 'NYPD Blue'.

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Handy also guest-starred on one of the greatest police procedurals of all time, *NYPD Blue*. The actor played Capt. Jim Haverill in seven episodes of the acclaimed ABC series about the officers working at a fictional Manhattan precinct.

Haverill is introduced in season 1 as a domineering borough commander who antagonizes Det. Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Lt. Arthur Fancy (James McDaniel). Handy appeared in a couple of episodes in the first season, and returned for a more prominent arc in season 2.

James Handy as Arthur Devlin on 'Alias'.

Handy delivered another memorable performance on *Alias*. Created by J.J. Abrams, the espionage thriller stars Jennifer Garner as Sidney Bristow, a spy who joins her dad, Jack (Victor Garber), in working as a double agent for a secretive CIA branch and a fictional international organization.

The Bristows have to answer to CIA director Arthur Devlin, played by Handy. The late actor appears in eight episodes across the series, though he's featured most prominently in season 1.

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Susan Boyle opens up about 'difficult' recovery after suffering stroke: 'I'm taking wee baby steps'

Susan Boyle opens up about &x27;difficult&x27; recovery after suffering stroke: &x27;I&x27;m taking wee baby steps&x27; Emlyn TravisFri, June 5, 2026 at 6:52 PM UTC 0 Susan Boyle at Pride of Scotland Awards in 2025Credit: Roberto Ricciuti/WireImageKey Points Susan Boyle is detailing her "difficult" recovery experience after suffering a minor stroke in April 2022. The singer explained that the health scare impacted her ability to both speak and sing. "It was difficult at first, but after the first few weeks, my voice slowly started to come back.

Susan Boyle opens up about 'difficult' recovery after suffering stroke: 'I'm taking wee baby steps'

Emlyn TravisFri, June 5, 2026 at 6:52 PM UTC

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Susan Boyle at Pride of Scotland Awards in 2025Credit: Roberto Ricciuti/WireImageKey Points -

Susan Boyle is detailing her "difficult" recovery experience after suffering a minor stroke in April 2022.

The singer explained that the health scare impacted her ability to both speak and sing.

"It was difficult at first, but after the first few weeks, my voice slowly started to come back. I have been having a lot of vocal lessons, too, for my singing," she said.

Susan Boyle is speaking openly about her health after suffering a minor stroke in April 2022.

The "I Dreamed a Dream" singer explained in an interview with The Sun on Friday that the medical emergency impacted her ability to both sing and speak and that she is currently taking "wee baby steps" to get her voice back.

"It feels surreal to be here now," Boyle told the outlet. "I never thought I would be able to come this far. I've had a lot of encouragement and the public have been so ­loving to me."

Susan Boyle at the Pride of Britain Awards in 2025Credit: Ian West/PA Images via Getty

Still, she acknowledged that it hadn't been an easy journey to get here.

"I have had a lot of speech therapy," Boyle said. "It was difficult at first, but after the first few weeks, my voice slowly started to come back. I have been having a lot of vocal lessons, too, for my singing."

The Britain's Got Talent alum admitted that while her voice "still needs some work," she is "sure my singing voice will come back" in the future.

"I am taking wee baby steps," she said. "If you go too fast, too soon, you go down a hole. It took a while for my confidence to come back with my music. But I am getting there. Slowly."

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.

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Boyle first revealed that she'd had a stroke after performing live on Britain's Got Talent with the West End cast of Les Misérablesin 2023.

"It's actually special for me, because last April, I suffered a minor stroke," she said at the time. "I fought like crazy to get back on stage, and I have done it."

Simon Cowell, who was present for Boyle's original audition on the series, called her return after the health scare an "unbelievable" triumph.

"Susan, we owe you so much, and I knew you weren't well, but, if anyone was going to come back, you were going to come back," he said.

Susan Boyle in Louisville, Ky., in 2014Credit: Stephen J. Cohen/Getty

Boyle has since made a return to music, singing in not one, but two separate ads for Scottish soda company Irn-Bru as well as Italian ice-cream company Cornettos.

"Music is my life," she told The Sun. "When I couldn't do it, I really missed it, so I can't tell you how good it feels to return."

Boyle also expressed interest in going on another tour in the future and teased, "I think I have got another album in me, for sure. It is something I do want to do, so I say, 'Bring it on.'"

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India's GDP growth estimated at 7.8% in January-March

India&x27;s GDP growth estimated at 7.8% in JanuaryMarch ReutersFri, June 5, 2026 at 10:38 AM UTC 0 1 / 0A city skyline with apartment blocks and office buildings, in BengaluruA city skyline with apartment blocks and office buildings, in Bengaluru, India, May 10, 2026. REUTERS/Priyanshu Singh NEW DELHI, June 5 (Reuters) India&x27;s economy grew ‌7.8% in JanuaryMarch ‌from the same period a ​year earlier, after posting revised growth of 8.0% in the previous quarter, ‌the ⁠government said on Friday.

India's GDP growth estimated at 7.8% in January-March

ReutersFri, June 5, 2026 at 10:38 AM UTC

0

1 / 0A city skyline with apartment blocks and office buildings, in BengaluruA city skyline with apartment blocks and office buildings, in Bengaluru, India, May 10, 2026. REUTERS/Priyanshu Singh

NEW DELHI, June 5 (Reuters) - India's economy grew ‌7.8% in January-March ‌from the same period a ​year earlier, after posting revised growth of 8.0% in the previous quarter, ‌the ⁠government said on Friday.

For the full fiscal ⁠year ended in March, the government expects ​the South ​Asian ​economy to ‌have grown by 7.7%, the National Statistics Office said, compared with an estimate of 7.6% from ‌February.

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It is ​the second print ​under ​revised national account ‌data that ​the ​base year and widened sources.

(Reporting by Shubham ​Batra ‌and Manoj Kumar in ​New Delhi; Editing by ​Hugh Lawson)

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India's GDP growth estimated at 7.8% in January-March

India&x27;s GDP growth estimated at 7.8% in JanuaryMarch ReutersFri, June 5, 2026 at 10:38 AM UTC 0 1 / 0A city skyline with apart...

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Trump's 'crazy' rebuke undercuts Netanyahu at a critical moment

Trump&x27;s &x27;crazy&x27; rebuke undercuts Netanyahu at a critical moment By Alexander Cornwell, Rami Ayyub and Steve HollandFri, June 5, 2026 at 9:14 AM UTC 0 FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset on the day of Trump's address, amid a U.S.brokered prisonerhostage swap and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025.

Trump's 'crazy' rebuke undercuts Netanyahu at a critical moment

By Alexander Cornwell, Rami Ayyub and Steve HollandFri, June 5, 2026 at 9:14 AM UTC

0

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset on the day of Trump's address, amid a U.S.-brokered prisoner-hostage swap and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/File Photo

(Please note language in paragraphs 2 and 27 some readers may find offensive)

By Alexander Cornwell, Rami Ayyub and Steve Holland

JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - Benjamin Netanyahu has long portrayed himself to the Israeli public as being uniquely adept in dealing with Donald Trump, capable of winning and sustaining the U.S. president's backing.

But an acrimonious phone call this week where the president called the prime minister "fucking crazy", first leaked to the media and later publicly confirmed by Trump himself, laid bare the strains that have at times ‌emerged between the two leaders.

Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the call was among the most heated the premier has had with Trump. One of the officials said the leak had damaged Netanyahu politically ahead of this year's national election.

The U.S. website Axios ‌broke news of the call on Monday, saying Trump had angrily confronted Netanyahu over Israeli threats to resume air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs. "Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this," Trump was quoted as saying.

The U.S. president told Netanyahu not to target Beirut after Iran had warned that Israeli strikes in Lebanon were undermining talks to end the war, which began ​with joint U.S.-Israeli attacks and which is deeply unpopular among Americans.

US-ISRAEL DIFFERENCES 'NOW VERY PUBLIC', SAYS THINK-TANK HEAD

A senior Israeli official told Reuters that Netanyahu had made clear to Trump that any pause in Israeli plans to strike Beirut would only work if Hezbollah stopped hitting northern Israel. Trump was receptive to this position, the official said.

Following their call, Trump said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to stop shooting each other, prompting accusations by Netanyahu's political opponents, and some within his own government, that he had ceded Israel's sovereignty to the U.S.

"A total protectorate," said opposition leader Yair Lapid, suggesting Netanyahu had put Israel in the position of an American client state.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest serving prime minister, has repeatedly clashed with Republican and Democratic administrations. Yet, Israel has remained Washington's closest Middle East ally.

Nimrod Goren, the president of Mitvim, an Israeli think tank, said "the differences are now very public", unlike in the past when they were usually quietly managed behind closed doors.

Trump told the New York ‌Post on Wednesday that he was "a little bit perturbed" by Netanyahu constantly attacking Lebanon, but added: "We've worked ⁠very well together."

Trump's decision to join Israel in striking Iran, not once but twice in the space of a year, appeared to mark a major victory for Netanyahu, who had spent decades urging Washington to use its military power to halt Tehran's nuclear programme.

But Trump has also taken a series of steps that many in Israel have viewed as cutting against the country's interests, including ending U.S. strikes on Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, lifting sanctions on Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and ordering ⁠a halt to Israel's 12-day war with Iran in June 2025.

ISRAEL NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN US-IRAN PEACE TALKS

And while the United States and Israel jointly launched the campaign against Iran in February, Israel has not been directly involved in the U.S.-Iran talks to end the war. Those negotiations have been conducted through Pakistan, a rare intermediary that has no formal diplomatic ties with Israel.

The wars with Iran and Hezbollah have been widely popular in Israel, including among supporters of Netanyahu's political rivals, and much of the public wants the fighting to continue.

That stands in contrast to the U.S., where many voters —including members of Trump's conservative base — oppose the war.

Trump has repeatedly said that the U.S. ​was ​close to an agreement with Iran on ending the war. Tehran insists any deal include Israel halting attacks on its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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"We are basically being forced to ​stop," said Israeli pollster Mitchell Barak. "We don't have a say in this anymore."

At the start of this year's war with ‌Iran, Netanyahu said that the Iranian government would be toppled, and its nuclear and missile programs destroyed. He has also said that Hezbollah, which attacked Israel in March in support of Iran, must be disarmed in southern Lebanon. So far, none of these goals have been achieved.

Recent domestic polls have repeatedly shown that Netanyahu's coalition government, the most right-wing in the country's history, would fail to win a majority at the next election.

Netanyahu, Goren said, was working to accommodate Trump's demands because the Israeli premier will need the president's support closer to the elections, including a possible visit by the U.S. leader to Israel. Before the war with Iran, Trump was widely expected in Israel to visit in April to be awarded the state's highest civilian honour. He last visited in October.

NOTION OF TRUMP-NETANYAHU RIFT OVERSTATED, EX-ADVISER SAYS

But some Israelis were not comfortable with the extent that Trump appears able to influence Israeli military decisions, Goren said. In contrast, in the U.S., some Trump critics say that Netanyahu has outsized influence on U.S. foreign policy.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu's national security minister said on Thursday that there are times when an Israeli leader must know how to say "no" even to the U.S. president.

Nadav Shtrauchler, a former Netanyahu adviser, said the Israeli ‌premier was counting on Trump's support in the election.

"The way the war (with Iran and Hezbollah) will end will affect, more than anything, the result of the election."

Trump has ​often lavished public praise on Netanyahu and has publicly lobbied Israel's president to pardon the prime minister, who is on trial in Israel on corruption-related charges.

But Trump has also publicly emphasized ​how much, he says, Israel needs Washington, and has used expletives in the past when talking about Israel, including publicly saying last year that ​Israel and Iran "don't know what the fuck they are doing."

For his part, Netanyahu describes Trump as "the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House", offering the kind of public praise that resonates with the Republican president, who is ‌known to prize personal loyalty and validation.

Since the U.S. and Israel opened the war with Iran, Netanyahu has at ​times said that he speaks with Trump almost daily, often characterizing their relationship ​to the Israeli public as one between peers who make decisions together.

Asked about the call in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Netanyahu said that like in the "best of families" there at times had been "tactical disagreements" with the U.S. president.

A U.S. official told Reuters the phone call was one of several in which the president has been very direct with Netanyahu but that the two remain friends and close allies.

"Their conversations are pretty direct," the official said.

The official, and another Israeli source briefed on the U.S.-Israel relationship, dismissed any suggestion of a material change ​in the relationship between Netanyahu and Trump.

However, the Israeli source acknowledged that the leak of the call - and Trump's ‌subsequent confirmation of it - was not helpful to Netanyahu ahead of an election that he is polling to lose.

Shtrauchler, the former adviser to  Netanyahu, said the perception of a rift with Trump was overstated and that the two leaders still appeared to remain ​aligned on most major issues.

But an abrupt end to the wars with Iran and Hezbollah, however, would pose a "huge problem": for Netanyahu, he said, as many Israelis would see it as Trump having forced his hand.

"No one wants here to feel like we ​are another star on the (U.S.) flag.  We want to feel independence," Shtrauchler said.

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, Steve Holland, Rami Ayyub & Matt Spetalnick, Editing by William Maclean)

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The streaming service features many options for your scifi needs. The 10 best scifi movies on Amazon Prime Video, from classic favorites to modern gems The streaming service features many options for your scifi needs. By Kevin Jacobsen and Janey Tracey June 4, 2026 3:00 p.m. ET Leave a Comment :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/DONNIEDARKOJakeGyllenhaalINVASIONOFTHEBODYSNATCHERSDonaldSutherlandLupitaNyongoAQuietPlaceDayOne06022644dbd8e44c454cb7b738ff0fe484ae34.

The streaming service features many options for your sci-fi needs.

The 10 best sci-fi movies on Amazon Prime Video, from classic favorites to modern gems

The streaming service features many options for your sci-fi needs.

By Kevin Jacobsen and Janey Tracey

June 4, 2026 3:00 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Jake Gyllenhaal as Donnie Darko in 'Donnie Darko'; Donald Sutherland as Matthew Bennell in 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'; Lupita Nyong'o as Sam in 'A Quiet Place: Day One'. Credit:

Newmarket Releasing/Courtesy Everett; United Artists/Courtesy Everett; Gareth Gatrell/Paramount Pictures

As even some of the biggest science fiction fans know, the genre can be hit or miss when it comes to effectiveness. From techno-thrillers to dystopian futures to intergalactic adventures, sci-fi is bursting at the seams with cool concepts, but the execution isn't always all there.

Thankfully, Amazon Prime Video offers a vast selection of compelling sci-fi movies that expand our minds and transport us to fascinating worlds unlike our own. Notable films on the streamer include cult classics like *Donnie Darko* (2001) and franchise entries such as *A Quiet Place: Day One* (2024), each of which you can stream free with a subscription.

Ahead, peruse our list of the 10 best sci-fi movies streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle and John Goodman as Howard in '10 Cloverfield Lane'. Michele K. Short/Paramount Pictures

This spiritual sequel to 2008's *Cloverfield* takes an entirely different approach, forgoing found-footage cinematography and grand-scale set pieces in favor of an intimate setting and mesmerizing, character-driven storytelling. After being hit by another car while driving, a woman named Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up in a bunker also inhabited by a pair of men, Howard (John Goodman) and Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.). Howard tells Michelle he brought her there to save her life after a dangerous air contamination — but she soon discovers that things aren't quite as they seem.

Boasting grade-A performances by Winstead and Goodman, *10 Cloverfield Lane* is "lean, and taut, and tense, and moves with Swiss-clock precision," writes EW's critic. —*Kevin Jacobsen*

Where to watch *10 Cloverfield Lane*: Amazon Prime Video

**EW grade:** B

**Director:** Dan Trachtenberg

**Cast:** Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.

Coherence (2013)

Emily Foxler as Emily in 'Coherence'. Everett Collection

When old friends reunite for a dinner party in a movie, you know something is about to go terribly awry. In *Coherence*, that "something" is the arrival of a close-passing comet — and the discovery of a house full of doppelgängers having an identical dinner party down the street. The plot is full of quantum-related twists and turns, but the film is grounded by the talented cast, which includes the late Nicholas Brendon (*Buffy the Vampire Slayer*) in a fun self-referential role as a former TV star.

The production is just as quirky as the premise: Director James Ward Byrkit wanted to make a low-budget film that was so stripped down, it didn't even have a script. Instead, he invited a bunch of actor friends to his living room, gave them basic character motivations, and let them improvise through the entire thing. The result, while occasionally messy, is thoroughly original. *—Janey Tracey*

Where to watch *Coherence*: Amazon Prime Video

**Director:** James Ward Byrkit

**Cast:** Emily Foxler, Maury Sterling, Nicholas Brendon, Lorene Scafaria

Communion (1989)

Christopher Walken as Whitley Strieber in 'Communion'.

Critics didn't quite know what to make of this psychological sci-fi drama when it was released in 1989. Subverting tropes of the alien abduction subgenre, the film doesn't offer easy answers as it tells its story of a novelist (Christopher Walken) who has disturbing visions of extraterrestrial beings in a remote cabin. Decades later, some of the biggest criticisms of *Communion* are arguably among its most charming virtues, from Walken's idiosyncratic performance as a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown to the cheesy special effects. —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Communion*: Amazon Prime Video

**Director:** Philippe Mora

**Cast:** Christopher Walken, Lindsay Crouse, Frances Sternhagen, Terry Hanauer, Andreas Katsulas

Donnie Darko (2001)

Jake Gyllenhaal as Donnie Darko, Jena Malone as Gretchen Ross, and James Duval as Frank the Rabbit in 'Donnie Darko'. Newmarket Releasing/Everett

"I find it kind of funny/I find it kind of sad/The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had." So go the lyrics to "Mad World," a song expertly deployed in this wildly original sci-fi thriller about a moody teenager named Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is troubled by visions of a figure in a monstrous rabbit costume. The entity warns a sleepwalking Donnie that the world will end in approximately 28 days and subsequently persuades him to carry out an escalating series of crimes in his community.

Writer-director Richard Kelly taps into the suburban alienation tackled frequently in film at the turn of the 21st century and goes deeper and more disturbing, with a fun sci-fi bent that's helped establish its cult classic status. —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Donnie Darko*: Amazon Prime Video

**Director:** Richard Kelly

**Cast:** Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze

The Endless (2018)

Justin Benson as Justin Smith and Aaron Moorhead as Aaron Smith in 'The Endless'.

Well Go USA/Courtesy Everett

This low-budget sci-fi horror film may be underseen compared to more mainstream films in its subgenre, but its thrills can compete with some of the best of them. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who also directed and produced the film, star as brothers who escaped a UFO death cult in their childhood but grew up to lead lives of disappointment. Upon receiving a cassette tape from the group, the brothers agree to return to the camp for one day, where they discover a series of unexplained phenomena. EW's critic praises *The Endless* as "a thoughtful investigation into how our past and our families shape who we are — with plenty of scares and mind-bending twists." —*K.J.*

Where to watch *The Endless*: Amazon Prime Video

**EW grade:** B

**Directors:** Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead

**Cast:** Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Callie Hernandez, Tate Ellington, Lew Temple

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Donald Sutherland as Matthew Bennell in 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'.

United Artists/Courtesy Everett

In this sci-fi classic, an extraterrestrial race is populating Earth with pods that systematically replace humans with alien duplicates. The film follows a quartet of friends who try to uncover the truth and alert the authorities before it's too late, eventually waging war against pod people. Featuring one of the most chilling endings of all time, *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* remains a tense thrill ride and a powerful commentary on paranoia. This was the second of multiple adaptations of Jack Finney's 1955 novel, *The Body Snatchers*, and, as EW's critic writes of the 1978 film, it "trades Cold War anxiety for post-Vietnam paranoia in ways that strengthen and sharpen the source material." —*K.J.***** Where to watch *Invasion of the Body Snatchers*: Amazon Prime Video

**Director:** Philip Kaufman

**Cast:** Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright**

A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

Joseph Quinn as Eric and Lupita Nyong'o as Sam in 'A Quiet Place: Day One'.

Gareth Gatrell/Paramount Pictures

The first two *Quiet Place* films explored how a family adapts to a world where no one can make a sound for fear of being attacked by hypersensitive extraterrestrial predators. This sideways prequel takes it back to the beginning, where these alien creatures terrorize a New York City ill-prepared to fight back. It's the first day of the apocalypse, and the action centers on a cancer patient (Lupita Nyong'o) and a law student (Joseph Quinn) who team up for their own survival. EW's critic writes that *A Quiet Place: Day One* "ends up being quite touching in between scenes when it’s making you jump," thanks to Nyong'o and Quinn's heartfelt performances. —*K.J.*

Where to watch *A Quiet Place: Day One*: Amazon Prime Video

**EW grade:** B+

**Director:** Michael Sarnoski

**Cast:** Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou

Timecop (1994)

Jean-Claude Van Damme as Agent Max Walker in 'Timecop'.

Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett

Jean-Claude Van Damme's biggest box office success blends the actor's prolific martial arts experience with a knotty time-travel story. The action star plays Max Walker, an agent at the newly formed Time Enforcement Commission, where he is tasked with stopping criminals from altering the past. After uncovering a vast conspiracy by a corrupt senator, he discovers he might have the chance to rewrite history by going back in time to prevent his wife's tragic death. With high-concept emotional stakes and sleek visual effects, *Timecop *is an entertaining slice of '90s cheese. Plus, writes EW's critic, "Van Damme pulls off some novel stunts — his midair split will have you hitting the slow-motion button." —*K.J.*

Where to watch *Timecop*: Amazon Prime Video

**Director:** Peter Hyams

**Cast:** Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ron Silver, Mia Sara

The Vast of Night (2020)

Jake Horowitz as Everett Sloan and Sierra McCormick as Fay Crocker in 'The Vast of Night'. Amazon Studios

This underrated sci-fi indie centers on a pair of teenage friends living in 1950s New Mexico who investigate a cryptic audio signal that suddenly interrupts a radio program. Putting the pieces together, they unravel a conspiracy that may suggest proof of alien life. With a budget of just $700,000, director Andrew Patterson pulls off a number of stunning shots, transporting us to a specific time and place. As EW wrote following the film's success, "Just the setting and veneer of the film — it's framed as an episode of a *Twilight Zone*-esque anthology TV series* *— should be enough for you to guess more or less where it's headed." —*K.J.*

Where to watch *The Vast of Night*: Amazon Prime Video

**Director:** Andrew Patterson

**Cast:** Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz

WarGames (1983)

Ally Sheedy as Jennifer Mack and Matthew Broderick as David Lightman in 'WarGames'.

An ‘80s movie about teenage Matthew Broderick accidentally hacking into a military supercomputer during the Cold War? It sounds hopelessly hokey, but it’s surprisingly well-written, entertaining, and even prescient, considering the word "hacking" wasn’t yet in the lexicon. *WarGames* has been credited with inspiring a generation of hackers and computer scientists, including Google cofounder Sergey Brin, and Ronald Reagan reportedly consulted with Congress and his Joint Chiefs of Staff about whether the plot of the movie was plausible.

Even the film’s creators didn’t expect *WarGames* to have that kind of impact: On the DVD commentary, director John Badham and the screenwriters said they were worried audiences wouldn’t find the premise believable, until a story about teen hackers breaking into the Department of Defense made headlines shortly after the movie opened. —*J.T.*

Where to watch *WarGames*: Amazon Prime Video

**Director:** John Badham

**Cast:** Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Ally Sheedy

- Movie Reviews & Recommendations

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW Movie"

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Source: Movie

Published: June 5, 2026 at 02:38AM on Source: PRIME TIME

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byPrime Sky

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June 05, 2026

The 10 best sci-fi movies on Amazon Prime Video, from classic favorites to modern gems

The streaming service features many options for your scifi needs. The 10 best scifi movies on Amazon Prime Video, from classic fav...

Read More