There aren’t many movies like Cry Baby, just like there aren’t many directors and writers like John Waters. Both are unique and unlike anything that has come before or since.
Cry Baby hit screens at the beginning of a new decade, 1990, and celebrated a time many decades prior. It was skewering of teenage delinquent movies of the 50s with a healthy dose of weird, transgressive and musical theater. The overly dramatic time of a teenager and how rebel films of the 50s took that angst and upped to off the charts.
John Waters grew up with those films, and Cry Baby was his unique and amazing spin on that genre. Cry Baby tells the story of Wade “Cry Baby” Walker and his bizarre family and gang of Drapes. These are the weirdos and outcasts of Baltimore, the ones Waters himself would identify more with than the Squares of the story.
Cry Baby hit screens at the beginning of a new decade, 1990, and celebrated a time many decades prior. It was skewering of teenage delinquent movies of the 50s with a healthy dose of weird, transgressive and musical theater. The overly dramatic time of a teenager and how rebel films of the 50s took that angst and upped to off the charts.
John Waters grew up with those films, and Cry Baby was his unique and amazing spin on that genre. Cry Baby tells the story of Wade “Cry Baby” Walker and his bizarre family and gang of Drapes. These are the weirdos and outcasts of Baltimore, the ones Waters himself would identify more with than the Squares of the story.
- 5/28/2024
- by Jessica Dwyer
- JoBlo.com
Lori Loughlin won the Grace Prize for A Christmas Blessing and Super Mario Bros. Movie was named Best Family Film at the 31st annual Movieguide Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report. The broadcast aired this evening on Great American Family.
Movie and television winners of the night included:
Best Family Movie – Super Mario Bros Movie
Best Family TV– A Paris Christmas Waltz
Best Movie for Mature Audiences– Jesus Revolution
Best TV for Mature Audiences– Chicago P.D. “New Life”
Faith & Freedom Award for Movies – Sound of Freedom
Faith & Freedom Award for TV – A Million Miles Away
Grace Prize for Movie Performance – Dennis Quaid for “On a Wing and a Prayer”
Grace Prize for TV Performance – Lori Loughlin for “A Christmas Blessing”
Visionary Award- Brad Krevoy, Emmy Award-Winning Producer
Epiphany Prize for TV – Divine Influencer
Epiphany Prize for Movies – Journey to Bethlehem
The event was hosted by Great American Family’s Trevor Donovan and Danica McKellar,...
Movie and television winners of the night included:
Best Family Movie – Super Mario Bros Movie
Best Family TV– A Paris Christmas Waltz
Best Movie for Mature Audiences– Jesus Revolution
Best TV for Mature Audiences– Chicago P.D. “New Life”
Faith & Freedom Award for Movies – Sound of Freedom
Faith & Freedom Award for TV – A Million Miles Away
Grace Prize for Movie Performance – Dennis Quaid for “On a Wing and a Prayer”
Grace Prize for TV Performance – Lori Loughlin for “A Christmas Blessing”
Visionary Award- Brad Krevoy, Emmy Award-Winning Producer
Epiphany Prize for TV – Divine Influencer
Epiphany Prize for Movies – Journey to Bethlehem
The event was hosted by Great American Family’s Trevor Donovan and Danica McKellar,...
- 3/8/2024
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
Don Murray, who rose to fame co-starring with Marilyn Monroe in 1956’s Bus Stop and enjoyed a prolific career that stretched into the 21st Century with Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017, has died. He was 94.
His death was announced by his son Christopher to The New York Times. No additional details were provided.
Murray was Oscar-nominated for his debut performance as Beauregard “Beau” Decker, the lovestruck cowboy who falls for Monroe’s saloon singer Cherie in Joshua Logan’s Bus Stop, an adaptation of the William Inge play.
A conscientious objector during the Korean War who fulfilled his service obligation by working in German and Italian refugee camps, Murray became known for building an acting career in what were once called “message” movies, films with socially responsible themes. In Fred Zinnemann’s A Hatful of Rain (1957), he played a morphine-addicted war veteran, and in 1962 starred as a closeted (and blackmailed...
His death was announced by his son Christopher to The New York Times. No additional details were provided.
Murray was Oscar-nominated for his debut performance as Beauregard “Beau” Decker, the lovestruck cowboy who falls for Monroe’s saloon singer Cherie in Joshua Logan’s Bus Stop, an adaptation of the William Inge play.
A conscientious objector during the Korean War who fulfilled his service obligation by working in German and Italian refugee camps, Murray became known for building an acting career in what were once called “message” movies, films with socially responsible themes. In Fred Zinnemann’s A Hatful of Rain (1957), he played a morphine-addicted war veteran, and in 1962 starred as a closeted (and blackmailed...
- 2/2/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Don Murray, the venturesome actor who earned an Oscar nomination for playing a rodeo cowboy smitten by Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop, then spurned Hollywood’s attempts to mold him, has died. He was 94.
Murray’s son Christopher announced his dad’s death to The New York Times without providing details.
The actor was also known for the interesting parts he went after in such serious films as A Hatful of Rain (1957), The Hoodlum Priest (1961) and Advise & Consent (1962).
Fresh off a starring role in a 1955 Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, Murray was sought by director Joshua Logan to portray Bo Decker, the naive Montana man who falls for the chanteuse Chérie (Monroe), in Bus Stop (1956). It was his first movie, and he was 26 at the time.
“No one could have been less equipped for the job,” he once said. “I was a New...
Murray’s son Christopher announced his dad’s death to The New York Times without providing details.
The actor was also known for the interesting parts he went after in such serious films as A Hatful of Rain (1957), The Hoodlum Priest (1961) and Advise & Consent (1962).
Fresh off a starring role in a 1955 Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, Murray was sought by director Joshua Logan to portray Bo Decker, the naive Montana man who falls for the chanteuse Chérie (Monroe), in Bus Stop (1956). It was his first movie, and he was 26 at the time.
“No one could have been less equipped for the job,” he once said. “I was a New...
- 2/2/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In a clip from the documentary, Little Richard: I Am Everything, we hear the young entertainer singing an early version of what would become his signature tune, “Tutti Frutti.” But surprise! The original lyrics were different than the ones we know today: “Tutti frutti, good booty/Tutti frutti, good booty!”
The song, as Richard wrote it, was about gay sex. In 1955, it would become the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer’s breakthrough hit, catapulting him to mainstream stardom — but only after the words were revised to something much more benign: “Tutti frutti, oh rooty/Tutti frutti, oh rooty!”
The sanitized lyrics symbolize the deep conflict between Little Richard’s public persona and his private life, and how he could hit the stage in all his authentic glory, then do an about-face when the spotlight became too white-hot and too controversial — especially in the deep South, at a time when the definition...
The song, as Richard wrote it, was about gay sex. In 1955, it would become the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer’s breakthrough hit, catapulting him to mainstream stardom — but only after the words were revised to something much more benign: “Tutti frutti, oh rooty/Tutti frutti, oh rooty!”
The sanitized lyrics symbolize the deep conflict between Little Richard’s public persona and his private life, and how he could hit the stage in all his authentic glory, then do an about-face when the spotlight became too white-hot and too controversial — especially in the deep South, at a time when the definition...
- 12/12/2023
- by Denise Quan
- Deadline Film + TV
Herbert J. Siegel, the billionaire entertainment-industry mogul whose blockbuster deals included the sale of 10 TV stations to Rupert Murdoch and the merger of Warner Communications and Time Inc., died Saturday at his home in Manhattan, The New York Times reported. He was 95.
A Philadelphia native, Siegel was the son of an immigrant garment manufacturer who turned his inheritance and boyhood fascination with the film industry into a fortune through investments in Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox.
He started his career while still in college, with a failed attempt to purchase a stake in the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When that bid was unsuccessful, he bought an interest in Official Films, a company that packaged television programs and had connections to the CBS network.
A consummate deal-maker, Siegel invested in a range of industries but always kept his hand in entertainment. In 1962, he bought General Artists Corporation, a talent agency...
A Philadelphia native, Siegel was the son of an immigrant garment manufacturer who turned his inheritance and boyhood fascination with the film industry into a fortune through investments in Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox.
He started his career while still in college, with a failed attempt to purchase a stake in the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When that bid was unsuccessful, he bought an interest in Official Films, a company that packaged television programs and had connections to the CBS network.
A consummate deal-maker, Siegel invested in a range of industries but always kept his hand in entertainment. In 1962, he bought General Artists Corporation, a talent agency...
- 8/11/2023
- by Eileen AJ Connelly
- The Wrap
Stu Silver, the writer and producer who created the 1980s sitcoms Webster and It’s a Living and penned the screenplay for the 1987 Billy Crystal-Danny DeVito dark comedy Throw Momma From the Train, has died. He was 76.
Silver died July 18 at Highland Hospital in Rochester, New York, of complications from prostate cancer, his son, Dan Silver, announced.
Silver also was a writer on the ABC sitcom Soap, also featuring Crystal, during its last three seasons (1978-81), and he worked on other comedies including the spinoff Benson, Bosom Buddies, Star of the Family, The New Odd Couple, Brothers and Good Grief.
He shared an Emmy nomination for outstanding comedy series for his work on Soap in 1981.
Silver, who was adopted, created Webster, which starred Emmanuel Lewis as the adopted son of characters played by real-life husband and wife Alex Karras and Susan Clark. The Chicago-set series ran for six seasons...
Silver died July 18 at Highland Hospital in Rochester, New York, of complications from prostate cancer, his son, Dan Silver, announced.
Silver also was a writer on the ABC sitcom Soap, also featuring Crystal, during its last three seasons (1978-81), and he worked on other comedies including the spinoff Benson, Bosom Buddies, Star of the Family, The New Odd Couple, Brothers and Good Grief.
He shared an Emmy nomination for outstanding comedy series for his work on Soap in 1981.
Silver, who was adopted, created Webster, which starred Emmanuel Lewis as the adopted son of characters played by real-life husband and wife Alex Karras and Susan Clark. The Chicago-set series ran for six seasons...
- 7/26/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Elvis Presley was a rock n’ roll pioneer in the 1950s. Artists like Chuck Berry and Little Richard introduced the genre to many audiences, but Elvis made the genre skyrocket in popularity. He was also a pivotal figure for the youth, as his rebellious spirit infected the hearts of young listeners. Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant was young when he first heard Elvis Presley in the U.K., and he said his music was a “call to arms.”
Robert Plant said Elvis Presley’s arrival in the U.K. was an awakening for young people
While Elvis’ music seems relatively tame by today’s standards, he was considered controversial in the 1950s. Not only was rock n’ roll seen as a rebellious form of music, but Elvis also shook things up with his eccentric performing style, including suggestive hip swinging and rapid leg movement.
In an interview with Jools Holland,...
Robert Plant said Elvis Presley’s arrival in the U.K. was an awakening for young people
While Elvis’ music seems relatively tame by today’s standards, he was considered controversial in the 1950s. Not only was rock n’ roll seen as a rebellious form of music, but Elvis also shook things up with his eccentric performing style, including suggestive hip swinging and rapid leg movement.
In an interview with Jools Holland,...
- 7/11/2023
- by Ross Tanenbaum
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Margia Dean, who co-starred in the cult sci-fi classic The Quatermass Xperiment and appeared alongside the likes of Clint Eastwood, Vincent Price, Esther Williams and George Reeves in other movies, has died. She was 101.
Dean died June 23 in her apartment in Rancho Cucamonga, California, her niece Denyse Barr told The Hollywood Reporter.
From 1948-56, Dean worked in about 20 features for producer Robert L. Lippert, founder of the B-movie studio Lippert Pictures, thus earning the nickname “The Queen of Lippert.”
She acted for Sam Fuller in two of those films, the first two features he ever directed, in fact — I Shot Jesse James (1949), in which she portrayed a saloon singer, and the Price-starring The Baron of Arizona (1950).
Based on a popular BBC serial, Hammer Films’ The Quatermass Xperiment (1956), directed by Val Guest and starring Brian Donlevy, told the story of an astronaut (Richard Wordsworth) who crash-lands back on Earth and...
Dean died June 23 in her apartment in Rancho Cucamonga, California, her niece Denyse Barr told The Hollywood Reporter.
From 1948-56, Dean worked in about 20 features for producer Robert L. Lippert, founder of the B-movie studio Lippert Pictures, thus earning the nickname “The Queen of Lippert.”
She acted for Sam Fuller in two of those films, the first two features he ever directed, in fact — I Shot Jesse James (1949), in which she portrayed a saloon singer, and the Price-starring The Baron of Arizona (1950).
Based on a popular BBC serial, Hammer Films’ The Quatermass Xperiment (1956), directed by Val Guest and starring Brian Donlevy, told the story of an astronaut (Richard Wordsworth) who crash-lands back on Earth and...
- 7/6/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Crocodile Rock” is one of Elton John’s most famous songs. Many love to sing along to the catchy chorus that includes an infectious “la la la” bit. However, the “la la la” section of the chorus comes from another song by Pat Boone that John borrowed.
“Crocodile Rock” was Elton John’s first No. 1 single in the U.S. Elton John | Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Elton John was born in England and emerged as one of the country’s biggest pop stars in the early 1970s. Tracks like “Tiny Dancer”, “Your Song”, and “Rocket Man”, made him a global superstar and one of the most famous artists in the U.S. In 1972, he released “Crocodile Rock” as a single with “Elderberry Wine” as the B-side. “Crocodile Rock” was an immediate hit and became John’s first single to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard...
“Crocodile Rock” was Elton John’s first No. 1 single in the U.S. Elton John | Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Elton John was born in England and emerged as one of the country’s biggest pop stars in the early 1970s. Tracks like “Tiny Dancer”, “Your Song”, and “Rocket Man”, made him a global superstar and one of the most famous artists in the U.S. In 1972, he released “Crocodile Rock” as a single with “Elderberry Wine” as the B-side. “Crocodile Rock” was an immediate hit and became John’s first single to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard...
- 5/2/2023
- by Ross Tanenbaum
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Paul McCartney credits much of his love of music to Little Richard. The American singer’s eccentric vocals extended to the U.K., inspiring a young McCartney to become a rock star. Richard knows McCartney learned a lot from him, so he felt snubbed by the former Beatle at a vital career moment.
Paul McCartney didn’t mention Little Richard when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award Little Richard | Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Paul McCartney has won many awards, including Grammys, American Music Awards, an Oscar, and an Emmy. He has also been awarded several prestigious honors, such as the Kennedy Center Honors and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame spot. In 1990, McCartney was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Grammys, a ceremony that Little Richard attended.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Richard recalled feeling snubbed at that moment because he’s never been given one, and here...
Paul McCartney didn’t mention Little Richard when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award Little Richard | Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Paul McCartney has won many awards, including Grammys, American Music Awards, an Oscar, and an Emmy. He has also been awarded several prestigious honors, such as the Kennedy Center Honors and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame spot. In 1990, McCartney was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Grammys, a ceremony that Little Richard attended.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Richard recalled feeling snubbed at that moment because he’s never been given one, and here...
- 4/28/2023
- by Ross Tanenbaum
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Nobody has bragging rights like Little Richard Wayne Penniman. The “Architect of Rock and Roll” torched the blueprints of blues and gospel music with the cleansing fire of the dirty lyrics and burning piano licks. He struck the match to fire up James Brown’s Famous Flames, taught Paul McCartney to scream, and global teens to rip it up on the dance floor. The Beatles opened for him. Little Richard was also a triumphant force for civil rights, and a reluctant pioneer in sexual identity. A new documentary claims the title Little Richard: I Am Everything, so “shut up,” as he would say so often it became a revolutionary catchphrase.
With that title, director Lisa Cortés sets a daunting task, not only does she have to prove the claim but be extremely entertaining while doing it. Little Richard was, after all, one of the most electrifying performers to hit a stage.
With that title, director Lisa Cortés sets a daunting task, not only does she have to prove the claim but be extremely entertaining while doing it. Little Richard was, after all, one of the most electrifying performers to hit a stage.
- 4/21/2023
- by Mike Cecchini
- Den of Geek
When Little Richard died at age 87 in May 2020 during the depths of the pandemic, New York filmmaker Lisa Cortés found herself listening to his music nonstop, from classics like “Good Golly Miss Molly,” “Lucille,” and “Long Tall Sally,” to a wide range of surprising tributes, from Bob Dylan to Dave Grohl.
“I heard his music all over and it brought me a lot of joy,” she said during a recent interview with IndieWire. “Wait a minute,” she said to herself, “there’s never been a story, he hasn’t had that opportunity.” When she pitched her idea for a documentary following Little Richard with a twist — the final feature offers a slightly supernatural recasting of his musical career — Bungalow Entertainment and Rolling Stone Films agreed to back her, along with executive producer Dee Rees.
After directing two shorts and a music documentary (“The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion”) and co-directing...
“I heard his music all over and it brought me a lot of joy,” she said during a recent interview with IndieWire. “Wait a minute,” she said to herself, “there’s never been a story, he hasn’t had that opportunity.” When she pitched her idea for a documentary following Little Richard with a twist — the final feature offers a slightly supernatural recasting of his musical career — Bungalow Entertainment and Rolling Stone Films agreed to back her, along with executive producer Dee Rees.
After directing two shorts and a music documentary (“The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion”) and co-directing...
- 4/18/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Little Richard’s radical rock and roll and his complicated legacy and personal life are explored in the new trailer for Lisa Cortés’ new documentary, Little Richard: I Am Everything.
The film (a Rolling Stone co-production) tells the story of the musical pioneer while simultaneously exploring the black queer origins of rock music and how it was successfully whitewashed throughout American pop culture. As Richard puts it in one of the many bits of archival footage in the clip, “Did you know Elvis Presley and Pat Boone sold more of ‘Tutti Frutti’ than I did?...
The film (a Rolling Stone co-production) tells the story of the musical pioneer while simultaneously exploring the black queer origins of rock music and how it was successfully whitewashed throughout American pop culture. As Richard puts it in one of the many bits of archival footage in the clip, “Did you know Elvis Presley and Pat Boone sold more of ‘Tutti Frutti’ than I did?...
- 3/15/2023
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Nearly 50 years after she portrayed Tommy’s mother in the big screen adaptation of the Who’s rock opera Tommy, Ann-Margret is reuniting with Pete Townshend for a cover of the Everly Brothers classic “Bye Bye Love.” It will appear on her upcoming LP Born To Be Wild, arriving in stores on April 14.
“Being offered an opportunity to work with Ann-Margret, especially on an Everly Brothers song, was just too romantic to pass,” Pete Townshend said in a statement. “Ann-Margret’s work on the Tommy movie back in 1974 (when she...
“Being offered an opportunity to work with Ann-Margret, especially on an Everly Brothers song, was just too romantic to pass,” Pete Townshend said in a statement. “Ann-Margret’s work on the Tommy movie back in 1974 (when she...
- 3/2/2023
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 tied for best family movie at the 30th Annual Movieguide Awards, which honor “the best of family-friendly movies and television programs and spiritually uplifting entertainment.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power won the award for best mature audience television, and Resistance: 1942 won the award for best mature audience movies.
The honors also include the top award of the Grace Prizes for Most Inspiring Performances in Movies & TV, which are given to an actor or actress for the best performance in a movie or a television program. Candace Cameron Bure won the Grace for TV for A Christmas…Present, while Pat Boone won the Grace for movies for The Mulligan.
The Kairos Prize announced that Alice Bowden and David Hyde (Hope From the Ashes) were the winners of the 2022-23 scriptwriting competition that focuses exclusively on uplifting screenplays.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power won the award for best mature audience television, and Resistance: 1942 won the award for best mature audience movies.
The honors also include the top award of the Grace Prizes for Most Inspiring Performances in Movies & TV, which are given to an actor or actress for the best performance in a movie or a television program. Candace Cameron Bure won the Grace for TV for A Christmas…Present, while Pat Boone won the Grace for movies for The Mulligan.
The Kairos Prize announced that Alice Bowden and David Hyde (Hope From the Ashes) were the winners of the 2022-23 scriptwriting competition that focuses exclusively on uplifting screenplays.
- 2/27/2023
- by Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Top Gun: Maverick, Andor and Dolly Parton are among the nominees for the 30th annual Movieguide Awards, which honor “the best of family-friendly movies and television programs and spiritually uplifting entertainment.”
The Top Gun sequel will compete for best mature audience movie along with Father Stu: Reborn, Jurassic World: Dominion, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris and Uncharted.
Meanwhile, the five films up for best family movie are The Chosen Season 3: Episode 1 & 2, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Sonic The Hedgehog 2.
On the TV side, Andor will compete for best mature audience television along with Blood and Treasure, Blue Bloods, The Lord of the Rings: The Power of the Ring and Styled With Love.
Country music stars also were represented on the TV side with Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas and Reba McEntire: My Chains Are Gone landing multiple noms.
The Top Gun sequel will compete for best mature audience movie along with Father Stu: Reborn, Jurassic World: Dominion, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris and Uncharted.
Meanwhile, the five films up for best family movie are The Chosen Season 3: Episode 1 & 2, Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Sonic The Hedgehog 2.
On the TV side, Andor will compete for best mature audience television along with Blood and Treasure, Blue Bloods, The Lord of the Rings: The Power of the Ring and Styled With Love.
Country music stars also were represented on the TV side with Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas and Reba McEntire: My Chains Are Gone landing multiple noms.
- 1/23/2023
- by Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Columbusing of Black excellence by white opportunists has long been prevalent in popular culture — never more so than in the realm of music, where everything from Elvis’ hip-shaking to Miley’s twerking have been erroneously attributed. For decades, Black music was ghettoized, pushed into the shadows. It didn’t matter that they were the pioneers of emerging sounds like rock and roll and pop. Radio stations refused to give airtime to Black artists, while even the early years of MTV were alarmingly white. In their stead, white mimicry was...
- 1/20/2023
- by Marlow Stern
- Rollingstone.com
‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’ Review: The Overdue Coronation of a Seminal Figure in Rock Royalty
The blazing comet that was Richard Wayne Penniman is captured in Little Richard: I Am Everything, with all the complexities of a Black artist who was unapologetically queer and flamboyant one minute, only to renounce his sexuality and hedonism as a man of God the next. Yet one of the things that makes the legendary performer’s life so singular — and Lisa Cortés’ celebratory documentary for CNN and HBO Max so exhilarating — is the extent to which he embraced that contradiction. It was no idle boast that he presented himself as a mold-breaking original. “I’m not conceited,” he said. “I’m convinced.”
Drawing from a bounty of fabulous archival material; expert interviewees including such music luminaries as Mick Jagger and Tom Jones; inventive graphic and animated embellishments; and a bundle of electrifying hits, Cortés gives Little Richard the kind of full-throated recognition he was too often denied in his lifetime.
Drawing from a bounty of fabulous archival material; expert interviewees including such music luminaries as Mick Jagger and Tom Jones; inventive graphic and animated embellishments; and a bundle of electrifying hits, Cortés gives Little Richard the kind of full-throated recognition he was too often denied in his lifetime.
- 1/20/2023
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"This movie could never be made today" is an increasingly familiar refrain in our fractious times. As our society grows more diverse, and we reckon with the racism and sexism of less enlightened eras, some crotchety members of the old guard have a tendency to throw up their hands and lament that an assortment of classic films with perceived problematic content would never make it past development in modern Hollywood.
In certain, screamingly obvious cases, this is a very good thing. D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation," a virulently racist movie that celebrates the Ku Klux Klan's heroic lynching of a freed slave would be a one-way ticket to infamy (or a three-picture deal with The Daily Wire). The mere notion of Walt Disney's "Song of the South" would probably result in the creator being ousted from his own company (and maybe offered a gig as the chief...
In certain, screamingly obvious cases, this is a very good thing. D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation," a virulently racist movie that celebrates the Ku Klux Klan's heroic lynching of a freed slave would be a one-way ticket to infamy (or a three-picture deal with The Daily Wire). The mere notion of Walt Disney's "Song of the South" would probably result in the creator being ousted from his own company (and maybe offered a gig as the chief...
- 1/7/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
“A lot of Black artists that were instrumental in innovation get forgotten,” says Detroit techno legend Juan Atkins, “or purposefully white washed.” His comments play out over footage of Little Richard performing ‘Tutti Frutti’, electrifying, raw and sexy, giving way to the then-more acceptable cover version by Pat Boone, cosy, sexless and dull. The same thing has happened with Detroit’s early electronic music, with David Guetta – white, European, younger – getting credited as the “grandfather”of the genre. It’s a misconception that Kristian R. Hill’s God Said Give Em Drum Machines aims to set right, though it loses its way somewhat on the journey.
New York was the birthplace of hip hop, and Chicago gave us house, but it was Detroit where dance music created entirely with electronic instruments – drum machines and synths rather than samples and scratched vinyl – was pioneered by a handful of young Black men; Juan Atkins,...
New York was the birthplace of hip hop, and Chicago gave us house, but it was Detroit where dance music created entirely with electronic instruments – drum machines and synths rather than samples and scratched vinyl – was pioneered by a handful of young Black men; Juan Atkins,...
- 10/11/2022
- by Marc Burrows
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
This weekend, Harry Styles will participate in a long and storied Hollywood tradition that includes Frank Sinatra in “Higher and Higher,” Elvis Presley in “Love Me Tender,” Madonna in “Desperately Seeking Susan,” Cher in “Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” and Sting in “Quadrophenia.” Each was an established pop-music icon who began a film career with a comparatively humble role.
It’s one context among the many for anticipating this weekend’s performance of “Don’t Worry Darling” (Warner Bros.). Olivia Wilde’s second feature (after her well-received “Booksmart”) is an original R-rated thriller starring Styles and Florence Pugh as a married couple in strange circumstances. Like last week’s “The Woman King” (Sony), it is a mid-budget original story with a female director with the chance to reassert the value of non-franchise films.
Here, Styles was a late replacement for Shia Labeouf and this wasn’t his...
It’s one context among the many for anticipating this weekend’s performance of “Don’t Worry Darling” (Warner Bros.). Olivia Wilde’s second feature (after her well-received “Booksmart”) is an original R-rated thriller starring Styles and Florence Pugh as a married couple in strange circumstances. Like last week’s “The Woman King” (Sony), it is a mid-budget original story with a female director with the chance to reassert the value of non-franchise films.
Here, Styles was a late replacement for Shia Labeouf and this wasn’t his...
- 9/21/2022
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Priscilla Presley has addressed some of the alleged history of ex-husband Elvis Presley that was arguably left out of summer blockbuster “Elvis.”
The Baz Luhrmann-directed film presents Elvis (Austin Butler) as the embodiment of mid-20th century America, showing him as being deeply moved by the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. That goes against a popular narrative that he was racist, something immortalized in Public Enemy’s song “Fight the Power.” In a new interview with “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Priscilla discussed Elvis’ relationships with musicians of color.
“Per the movie, [for] a long time it was stated that Elvis was a racist,” Priscilla explained. “He was not a racist. He had never been a racist. He had friends, Black friends, friends from all over. He loved their music, he loved their style. He loved being around Black musicians.”
Priscilla cited Elvis’ friendships with Fats Domino...
The Baz Luhrmann-directed film presents Elvis (Austin Butler) as the embodiment of mid-20th century America, showing him as being deeply moved by the Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. That goes against a popular narrative that he was racist, something immortalized in Public Enemy’s song “Fight the Power.” In a new interview with “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Priscilla discussed Elvis’ relationships with musicians of color.
“Per the movie, [for] a long time it was stated that Elvis was a racist,” Priscilla explained. “He was not a racist. He had never been a racist. He had friends, Black friends, friends from all over. He loved their music, he loved their style. He loved being around Black musicians.”
Priscilla cited Elvis’ friendships with Fats Domino...
- 7/21/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Baz Luhrmann’s box-office-topping new movie Elvis does manage to show the powerhouse singer Big Mama Thornton (played by Shonka Dukureh) performing “Hound Dog,” a song she recorded in 1952, four years before Elvis Presley. But it leaves out two very significant players: songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote “Hound Dog” as teenagers for Thornton, and went on to write “Jailhouse Rock,” “You’re So Square (I Don’t Care),” “Trouble,” and other hits for Presley himself.
Leiber died in 2011, but Stoller is thriving at age 89 — and he tells...
Leiber died in 2011, but Stoller is thriving at age 89 — and he tells...
- 6/30/2022
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
White people have stolen music from black people for decades and then some. This is a matter of historical record. No surprise, then, that white musicians stole techno, too. Kristian R. Hill’s documentary “God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines” purportedly runs down techno’s long journey from Detroit to Germany, from the hands of black artists to European ones, from the 1980s to the 2000s and beyond; one of Hill’s main subjects, Juan Atkins, lays the groundwork for making this case very early in the film, citing Pat Boone’s lifting Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” as just one instance among many others of white mediocrity diluting black genius.
Continue reading ‘God Said Give’ Em Drum Machines’ Doesn’t Quite Live Up To Its Historic Premise [Tribeca Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘God Said Give’ Em Drum Machines’ Doesn’t Quite Live Up To Its Historic Premise [Tribeca Review] at The Playlist.
- 6/14/2022
- by Andrew Crump
- The Playlist
Only one comedian could rival the late Bob Saget’s take on the classic “Aristocrats” joke: Gilbert Gottfried, the gravel-throated comedian who reveled in raunch who died at the age of 67.
The 2005 film The Aristocrats documented the history of the joke, which was so filthy that comedians traditionally told it backstage at clubs rather than in the spotlight. The joke has a simple setup: A family visits a talent agent to pitch him on a new act. They perform sexual acts on each other that are so depraved anyone with...
The 2005 film The Aristocrats documented the history of the joke, which was so filthy that comedians traditionally told it backstage at clubs rather than in the spotlight. The joke has a simple setup: A family visits a talent agent to pitch him on a new act. They perform sexual acts on each other that are so depraved anyone with...
- 4/12/2022
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Arlene Dahl, who starred in the 1959 sci-fi classic Journey to the Center of the Earth and many other films along with TV roles and also was an influential beauty and astrology writer, has died. She was 96.
Her son, actor Lorenzo Lamas, posted the news on social media but did not provide details.
“Mom passed away this morning in New York,” Lamas wrote. “She was the most positive influence on my life.” See his full post below.
Dahl was born on August 11, 1925, in Minneapolis. By the time Dahl landed her signature role as Professor Carla Göteborg in Henry Levin’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, she already had appeared in more than 20 features — from 1947’s My Wild Irish Rose to 1957’s She Played with Fire. Her credits from the era also include The Bride Goes Wild — her first film under an MGM contract — The Outriders, The Diamond Queen, Inside Straight,...
Her son, actor Lorenzo Lamas, posted the news on social media but did not provide details.
“Mom passed away this morning in New York,” Lamas wrote. “She was the most positive influence on my life.” See his full post below.
Dahl was born on August 11, 1925, in Minneapolis. By the time Dahl landed her signature role as Professor Carla Göteborg in Henry Levin’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, she already had appeared in more than 20 features — from 1947’s My Wild Irish Rose to 1957’s She Played with Fire. Her credits from the era also include The Bride Goes Wild — her first film under an MGM contract — The Outriders, The Diamond Queen, Inside Straight,...
- 11/29/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
In the summer of 1974, the Carpenters sat down with Rolling Stone writer Tom Nolan at Hollywood’s Au Petit Café for a cover story. Richard and Karen Carpenter, who had spent the past four years scoring massive soft-rock hits like “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Superstar,” and “Top of the World,” took the opportunity to vent to Nolan about the uncool, wholesome image that they felt the press had created for the sibling duo.
“This …thing they’ve built up, where it’s...
“This …thing they’ve built up, where it’s...
- 11/19/2021
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
Ralph Carmichael, a prolific composer and arranger of film and TV scores whose writing or arranging credits include I Love Lucy, Bonanza, My Mother the Car, the sci-fi classic The Blob and some of the most beloved and enduring Christmas recordings ever made, died Monday in Camarillo, Calif. He was 94.
His death was announced by family spokesperson Jim Pedersen. A cause was not specified.
A pioneering figure in contemporary Christian music, Carmichael began a long career in television and film in the early 1950s when he headed the music department of his alma mater, the Southern California Bible College, and his school band was featured on the local Los Angeles TV program Campus Christian Hour. The show won an Emmy Award in 1951.
Around the same time, he began writing incidental music charts for I Love Lucy, a role he’d also fill on December Bride, Bonanza and The Frankie Lane Show,...
His death was announced by family spokesperson Jim Pedersen. A cause was not specified.
A pioneering figure in contemporary Christian music, Carmichael began a long career in television and film in the early 1950s when he headed the music department of his alma mater, the Southern California Bible College, and his school band was featured on the local Los Angeles TV program Campus Christian Hour. The show won an Emmy Award in 1951.
Around the same time, he began writing incidental music charts for I Love Lucy, a role he’d also fill on December Bride, Bonanza and The Frankie Lane Show,...
- 10/20/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Years ago, I learned that certain people will grow mortally offended if you call a character in a movie a zombie who is not, in fact (according to the supreme checklist of zombie traits), a zombie. It makes you wonder if there are other supernatural micromanagers out there who keep tabs on whether a given character is or is not a ghost, a demon, a devil, or an evil clown. These legendary figments of fear do have definitions, of course. Yet they can mash together in your head — at least, if you see enough horror films, since the movies themselves tend to blur them. That creepy face that appeared in the bathroom mirror, accompanied by a gong! on the soundtrack: ghost or demon? Decades of shlock psychedelic mainstream horror have eroded these distinctions, though in “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” the definitions do seem to matter, at...
- 6/1/2021
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Carmel Quinn, an entertainer whose Irish songs and stories made her a Carnegie Hall staple on St. Patrick’s day for a quarter century, died from pneumonia March 6 at her home in Leonia, N.J. She was 95 and her death was confirmed by her family.
Born and raised in Dublin, Quinn won an audition Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, a star-making vehicle of the 1950s whose alumni included Pat Boone, Tony Bennett and Connie Francis. She later moved to the television show Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, and also appeared on The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show and other top variety programs of the day. Much later, she showed up on Live With Regis and Kathie Lee.
Quinn was famous for her songs and tales of the auld sod, with a snappy patter of anecdotes about her relatives and life. Quinn became a...
Born and raised in Dublin, Quinn won an audition Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, a star-making vehicle of the 1950s whose alumni included Pat Boone, Tony Bennett and Connie Francis. She later moved to the television show Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, and also appeared on The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show and other top variety programs of the day. Much later, she showed up on Live With Regis and Kathie Lee.
Quinn was famous for her songs and tales of the auld sod, with a snappy patter of anecdotes about her relatives and life. Quinn became a...
- 3/14/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
HBO’s latest blockbuster drama effort, Lovecraft Country, is a unique Lovecraftian beast. As adapted by Matt Ruff’s novel of the same name, the show takes classic horror, sci-fi, and adventure tropes and adapts them into a timely story of American racism.
Though the series is certainly timely, it’s also timeless. As evidenced by our helpful explainer article, it wasn’t immediately clear when Lovecraft Country even took place. That’s partly because the Jim Crow era of American institutionalized racism was a lengthy one. And the fact that Atticus “Tic” Freeman was a war veteran didn’t help out much. Which war coincided with “whites only” restaurants and sundown towns? World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War – take your pick, really. That pleasant disorientation is enhanced by an equally disorienting soundtrack.
Rest assured, Lovecraft Country takes place in the mid 1950s. But the show’s...
Though the series is certainly timely, it’s also timeless. As evidenced by our helpful explainer article, it wasn’t immediately clear when Lovecraft Country even took place. That’s partly because the Jim Crow era of American institutionalized racism was a lengthy one. And the fact that Atticus “Tic” Freeman was a war veteran didn’t help out much. Which war coincided with “whites only” restaurants and sundown towns? World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War – take your pick, really. That pleasant disorientation is enhanced by an equally disorienting soundtrack.
Rest assured, Lovecraft Country takes place in the mid 1950s. But the show’s...
- 10/19/2020
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Last summer, Liza Richardson read the script for the first episode of Lovecraft Country, and she tried to wrap her head around how she might choose music for the show.
“I could tell how unique it was,” the veteran music supervisor says. The series, which is set in 1955, stars Jonathan Majors as Atticus Freeman. In the first episode, he — along with Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) and his childhood friend Leti (Jurnee Smollett) — takes a journey across Jim Crow America in search of his father, uncovering monsters both fictional and very real.
“I could tell how unique it was,” the veteran music supervisor says. The series, which is set in 1955, stars Jonathan Majors as Atticus Freeman. In the first episode, he — along with Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) and his childhood friend Leti (Jurnee Smollett) — takes a journey across Jim Crow America in search of his father, uncovering monsters both fictional and very real.
- 9/19/2020
- by Patrick Doyle
- Rollingstone.com
A review of this week’s Lovecraft Country, “Strange Case,” coming up just as soon as I finish the Little Orphan Annie radio puzzle…
“I enjoyed my entire day, using the only currency that I needed: whiteness.” -Ruby
Is whiteness in and of itself a superpower?
This is the question asked and answered by the fantastic “Strange Case,” in which Ruby wakes up transformed into a white woman and discovers just how much easier life is as “Hillary Davenport” than it’s ever been inside her own flesh.
First, though,...
“I enjoyed my entire day, using the only currency that I needed: whiteness.” -Ruby
Is whiteness in and of itself a superpower?
This is the question asked and answered by the fantastic “Strange Case,” in which Ruby wakes up transformed into a white woman and discovers just how much easier life is as “Hillary Davenport” than it’s ever been inside her own flesh.
First, though,...
- 9/14/2020
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
Ace Frehley has never been very open about his political leanings, but that changed in a recent interview with the Cassius Morris Show (via Blabbermouth) when his cover of the Cream song “Politician” from his new LP Origins, Vol. 2 came up.
“I don’t think politics and rock & roll mix — in my opinion,” said the former Kiss guitarist. “And I try to stay away from that as much as I can. I mean, once in a while, I’ll make a crack. I will say I’m a Trump supporter.
“I don’t think politics and rock & roll mix — in my opinion,” said the former Kiss guitarist. “And I try to stay away from that as much as I can. I mean, once in a while, I’ll make a crack. I will say I’m a Trump supporter.
- 9/10/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
“It sure doesn’t feel much like Christmas.”
Growing up in Minnesota summers that seemed both endless and much-too-short, I always got a kick out of seeing “Christmas in July” advertisements, especially when I was digging through the previous week's newspaper in search of the Sunday comics after a sun-drenched week at summer camp. Along with slashed-down prices, the ads usually featured some version of a vacationing Santa kicking back on a pool float with a tropical shirt, sunglasses, and a dollop of sunscreen on his nose. This marriage of Christmas and July seemed odd to me. Other than occasionally wishing that a North Pole breeze would blow in on those sweltering summer days, Santa Claus and Christmas were distant memories when there was baseball, barbeques, and a tall stack of Goosebumps books from the library to keep up with.
But those ads must have done the trick, because years...
Growing up in Minnesota summers that seemed both endless and much-too-short, I always got a kick out of seeing “Christmas in July” advertisements, especially when I was digging through the previous week's newspaper in search of the Sunday comics after a sun-drenched week at summer camp. Along with slashed-down prices, the ads usually featured some version of a vacationing Santa kicking back on a pool float with a tropical shirt, sunglasses, and a dollop of sunscreen on his nose. This marriage of Christmas and July seemed odd to me. Other than occasionally wishing that a North Pole breeze would blow in on those sweltering summer days, Santa Claus and Christmas were distant memories when there was baseball, barbeques, and a tall stack of Goosebumps books from the library to keep up with.
But those ads must have done the trick, because years...
- 7/17/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
For almost two weeks now, a debate around the term “urban” has roiled the music industry. Some believe it’s a barely veiled synonym for black that actually ends up harming and limiting the black artists and executives it’s supposed to protect. Others argue the term is a part of an effort “to give black executives a true voice and an opportunity to run and manage an aspect of the [music] business that was largely being ignored by the corporations.” Republic Records announced that it would do away with “urban;” for now,...
- 6/17/2020
- by Elias Leight
- Rollingstone.com
Over the weekend, Robbie Robertson shared a tribute to Little Richard that captured the rock & roll legend’s vast and unparalleled influence.
For Robertson, that power was apparent from the moment he first laid eyes on the musician: “When I was 13 yrs. old I saw Richard in the movie Don’t Knock the Rock sing ‘Long Tall Sally’ and I said, that’s it, it can’t get better than that and it never did.”
Robertson also shared various memories of Little Richard and his music. He noted that the...
For Robertson, that power was apparent from the moment he first laid eyes on the musician: “When I was 13 yrs. old I saw Richard in the movie Don’t Knock the Rock sing ‘Long Tall Sally’ and I said, that’s it, it can’t get better than that and it never did.”
Robertson also shared various memories of Little Richard and his music. He noted that the...
- 5/14/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
From his voice to his piano to his pompadoured-wildman aura, Little Richard became a star and unstoppable rock & roll train for many reasons. But one of those reasons – sometimes to the dismay of his fans – was Pat Boone.
Boone, who was a year and a half younger than the rock architect, was a straight-laced white pop singer who, by 1956, had become a teen pop idol thanks to mild-mannered remakes of R&b hits like Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame” and the El Dorados’ “At My Front Door...
Boone, who was a year and a half younger than the rock architect, was a straight-laced white pop singer who, by 1956, had become a teen pop idol thanks to mild-mannered remakes of R&b hits like Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame” and the El Dorados’ “At My Front Door...
- 5/10/2020
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Steve Van Zandt first met Little Richard when the guitarist was on the oldies circuit as a young backing musician for the Dovells in 1973. Van Zandt would eventually take on a nickname, Little Steven, that was at least in part a tribute to one of his greatest rock & roll heroes, and enlisted Little Richard to officiate at his wedding to Maureen Van Zandt in 1982 (Little Richard went on to preside at ceremonies for Tom Petty, Bruce Willis/Demi Moore, and Cyndi Lauper, among others). Van Zandt called Rolling Stone to...
- 5/10/2020
- by Brian Hiatt
- Rollingstone.com
James Drury, who starred in one of the longest running Westerns in TV history, “The Virginian,” has died. He was 85.
His assistant, Karen Lindsey, shared the news on Facebook Monday, writing that he “passed away this morning of natural causes.” TheWrap reached out to his agent for additional comment.
While his most famous role was “The Virginian,” Drury also starred in Westerns on the big screen, including 1959’s “Good Day for Hanging,” 1960’s “Ten Who Dares” and “Ride the High Country.” His other credits include “Love Me Tender,” alongside Elvis Presley, and “Bernardine,” opposite Pat Boone.
Also Read: Shirley Douglas, Mother of Kiefer Sutherland, Dies at 86
“The Virginian” was based on Owen Wister’s 1902 novel of the same name and ran on NBC for nine seasons, from 1962 to 1971. It was launched by executive producer Roy Huggins and his father-in-law Frank Price, who would go on to run Columbia and Universal Pictures.
His assistant, Karen Lindsey, shared the news on Facebook Monday, writing that he “passed away this morning of natural causes.” TheWrap reached out to his agent for additional comment.
While his most famous role was “The Virginian,” Drury also starred in Westerns on the big screen, including 1959’s “Good Day for Hanging,” 1960’s “Ten Who Dares” and “Ride the High Country.” His other credits include “Love Me Tender,” alongside Elvis Presley, and “Bernardine,” opposite Pat Boone.
Also Read: Shirley Douglas, Mother of Kiefer Sutherland, Dies at 86
“The Virginian” was based on Owen Wister’s 1902 novel of the same name and ran on NBC for nine seasons, from 1962 to 1971. It was launched by executive producer Roy Huggins and his father-in-law Frank Price, who would go on to run Columbia and Universal Pictures.
- 4/6/2020
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Although his latest film remains hidden from public view, Woody Allen’s memoir finally was published today and, while its first printing quickly sold out, the book exhibits the same absence of order and discipline that has haunted both his films and his personal life. Indeed, it has re-ignited a predictable torrent of criticism about the scandals without adding new information or insight.
Titled Apropos of Nothing, the memoir is actually three books: One is a hilarious account of his Brooklyn upbringing; the second is a superbly revealing analysis of triumphs and flaws in his filmmaking; and the third is a baffling and unhinged report of his personal encounters, which reads like a bad parody of a Dostoevsky novel, with subtitles by Freud. Readers might be surprised by Allen’s candor but, as he explains, “when you view something as an innocent person you relish the close looks because you have nothing to hide.
Titled Apropos of Nothing, the memoir is actually three books: One is a hilarious account of his Brooklyn upbringing; the second is a superbly revealing analysis of triumphs and flaws in his filmmaking; and the third is a baffling and unhinged report of his personal encounters, which reads like a bad parody of a Dostoevsky novel, with subtitles by Freud. Readers might be surprised by Allen’s candor but, as he explains, “when you view something as an innocent person you relish the close looks because you have nothing to hide.
- 3/27/2020
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Newcomer Reagan Rozas, Kyanna Simpson (Chambers), Emma Meisel (American Horror Story: 1984), Lexi Simonsen (2nd), Kevin Rahm (Madam Secretary) and All American‘s Da’Vinchi are set as series regulars opposite Jordana Spiro and Josh Andrés Rivera in Vegas High, HBO Max’s coming-of-age period drama pilot from writer Sarah-Raquel Jimenez, director Gillian Robespierre and Michael Showalter’s Semi-Formal Prods.
Written by Jimenez and directed by Robespierre, Vegas High is inspired by Jimenez’s own experience. It is a 1990s-set coming-of-age story about Laura (Rozas), a girl who’s caught between two worlds: the fast-paced lifestyle of Las Vegas and her strong Mormon faith and community.
Rozas’ Laura Hernandez is a sweet, poetic soul and devout Mormon who lives in Las Vegas with her blended family while attending Vegas High.
Meisel will play Maddie, Laura’s best friend, Maddie is a devout Mormon girl, and is regularly seen attending events with...
Written by Jimenez and directed by Robespierre, Vegas High is inspired by Jimenez’s own experience. It is a 1990s-set coming-of-age story about Laura (Rozas), a girl who’s caught between two worlds: the fast-paced lifestyle of Las Vegas and her strong Mormon faith and community.
Rozas’ Laura Hernandez is a sweet, poetic soul and devout Mormon who lives in Las Vegas with her blended family while attending Vegas High.
Meisel will play Maddie, Laura’s best friend, Maddie is a devout Mormon girl, and is regularly seen attending events with...
- 2/14/2020
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Elvis fans laud this high-end drama, an attempt by the superstar to lock into a mainstream acting career. Presley has fine dramatic support, especially from his three leading ladies, but the requirement that an Elvis movie be all things to all people — especially marketers — really takes its toll. It’s a soap where almost nothing is believable, except to true believers for whom Presley can do no wrong.
Wild in the Country
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1961 / Color / 2:35 widescreen 1:37 academy / 114 min. / Street Date August 20, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins, Rafer Johnson, John Ireland, Gary Lockwood, William Mims, Raymond Greenleaf, Christina Crawford, Pat Buttram, Doreen Lang, Alan Napier, Jason Robards Sr..
Cinematography: William C. Mellor
Editor : Dorothy Spencer
Original Music: Kenyon Hopkins
Written by Clifford Odets from a novel by J. R. Salamanca
Produced by Jerry Wald
Directed by Philip Dunne...
Wild in the Country
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1961 / Color / 2:35 widescreen 1:37 academy / 114 min. / Street Date August 20, 2019 / Available from Twilight Time Movies / 29.95
Starring: Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, Millie Perkins, Rafer Johnson, John Ireland, Gary Lockwood, William Mims, Raymond Greenleaf, Christina Crawford, Pat Buttram, Doreen Lang, Alan Napier, Jason Robards Sr..
Cinematography: William C. Mellor
Editor : Dorothy Spencer
Original Music: Kenyon Hopkins
Written by Clifford Odets from a novel by J. R. Salamanca
Produced by Jerry Wald
Directed by Philip Dunne...
- 8/20/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In a country that should probably think about renaming itself the American Entertainment State, fan culture now produces an obsessive level of pop scholasticism, one that can parse the rules and details of movies and TV shows as if they were fine points of law. In a review of a horror movie, I once called a character a zombie who was not, technically, a zombie (he didn’t have the precise credentials to be classified as the living dead), and tons of readers called me out on it. I learned my lesson, even though a stubborn part of me still thinks, “If it walks like a zombie, and talks like a zombie…”
There’s a comparable bit of pesky Talmudic niggling woven into the premise of the “Annabelle” films, of which “Annabelle Comes Home” is the third, and maybe the most hyper and generic. Annabelle is one of those creepy...
There’s a comparable bit of pesky Talmudic niggling woven into the premise of the “Annabelle” films, of which “Annabelle Comes Home” is the third, and maybe the most hyper and generic. Annabelle is one of those creepy...
- 6/24/2019
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Howard Stern hasn’t released a book in 24 years. Back in those days, he was a guy who didn’t think twice about calling Rosie O’Donnell a “fat pig”; using a giant, rotting fish as a mallet to spank a naked woman on the air; or viciously mocking a member of his “Wack Pack” with Down syndrome he’d dubbed “Gary the Retard.” On the cover of the book Miss America, he dressed as a drag queen, and inside he offered detailed accounts of his private cybersex sessions with fans.
- 5/22/2019
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Pat Boone, singer, actor, producer, motivational speaker and recognized for his family values, will be attending the Memorial Day Celebration being hosted at Pierce Brothers “Valhalla” Memorial Park, 10621 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood.
According to Mr. James Etter, the event Organizer, Pat Boone is making a personal appearance at this event to honor our Veterans. The popular singer has sold more than 45 Million Albums to date. Boone is the #10 all time top recording artists, according to Billboard.
To have such an icon coming to our Memorial Day Celebration to thank our Military and pay respect to those who made the ultimate sacrifice is quite an honor according to Pierce Brothers General Manager Javier Fernandez. Pierce Brothers has presented Memorial Day events for approximately 30 years and is hosting this year’s event, where they will feed 500 Veterans a free lunch.
The announcement that Pat Boone is attending to bless those who...
According to Mr. James Etter, the event Organizer, Pat Boone is making a personal appearance at this event to honor our Veterans. The popular singer has sold more than 45 Million Albums to date. Boone is the #10 all time top recording artists, according to Billboard.
To have such an icon coming to our Memorial Day Celebration to thank our Military and pay respect to those who made the ultimate sacrifice is quite an honor according to Pierce Brothers General Manager Javier Fernandez. Pierce Brothers has presented Memorial Day events for approximately 30 years and is hosting this year’s event, where they will feed 500 Veterans a free lunch.
The announcement that Pat Boone is attending to bless those who...
- 5/20/2019
- Look to the Stars
With a warm, distinctly weathered voice and enormous pop-country crossover appeal, Canadian-born Gordon Lightfoot became one of the most successful of the deeply introspective, primarily folk-influenced singer-songwriters of the 1970s. A national treasure in his home country, the Orillia, Ontario, native, who turned 80 last November, resumes his latest tour — the aptly titled 80 Years Strong — on April 3rd, with dates expected to stretch throughout the year. Lightfoot also recently announced that he’s been working on his 21st studio LP, which will represent his first new album in 15 years.
Inducted into...
Inducted into...
- 3/29/2019
- by Stephen L. Betts
- Rollingstone.com
Just as the popular portrayal of Johnny Cash as a lawless hellraiser overlooks a nuanced man’s love of faith and family, painting 80-year-old Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Ray Stevens as just a comedy act undercuts his decades of work as a producer, businessman and multi-Grammy-winning singer of serious country and gospel songs.
Stevens’ role as an ambassador for country music began as soon as the Atlanta-area native inked his first record deal in 1957. Beyond making a mark with “Ahab the Arab” and other early-career novelty sides, Stevens...
Stevens’ role as an ambassador for country music began as soon as the Atlanta-area native inked his first record deal in 1957. Beyond making a mark with “Ahab the Arab” and other early-career novelty sides, Stevens...
- 3/20/2019
- by Bobby Moore
- Rollingstone.com
The rise and downfall of televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker is the focus of a new 20/20 special titled “Unfaithfully Yours,” and in this exclusive clip from the episode, Ted Koppel recounts an interview with the Bakkers in the aftermath of their sex and financial fraud scandals.
The Bakkers’ Ptl Club and religious empire was rocked in 1987 when it was revealed that Jim Bakker had used money from both the TV show and their Christian-themed park, Heritage USA, to negotiate a payment for a secretary with whom he had a sexual encounter.
The Bakkers’ Ptl Club and religious empire was rocked in 1987 when it was revealed that Jim Bakker had used money from both the TV show and their Christian-themed park, Heritage USA, to negotiate a payment for a secretary with whom he had a sexual encounter.
- 1/16/2019
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
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