In this episode, Ben and Daniel talk to actor, singer, and drag legend Jeffery Roberson aka Varla Jean Merman about the 1966 cast recording of 'The Mad Show.' They also discuss Coco Peru, Frank DeCaro, Heklina, Joanne Worley, Linda Lavin, 'The First Wives Club,' Carol Burnett, Sandy Duncan, Barbra Streisand, Ann Reinking, Leslie Jordan, Marisol Montalvo, and Charles Busch. Varla talks about performing the role of Mary Sunshine in 'Chicago' on Broadway, and shares stories about working in Provincetown with queens such as Jinkx Monsoon, Peaches Christ, Liza Lott, and BenDeLaCreme. In addition to her hilarious onstage performances, Varla is also known for her work in Richard Day's beloved 2003 comedy film 'Girls Will Be Girls.'...
- 1/20/2020
- by Ben Rimalower
- BroadwayWorld.com
Mark Harrison Oct 19, 2019
How a 1993 indie hit from Kevin Smith gave birth to an unlikely franchise...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
In 1993, Kevin Smith made a movie. Clerks was shot in black and white over the course of three weeks, at night, in the convenience store where Smith worked during the day, on a shoestring budget of $27,575. Smith funded the film himself by dipping into his savings, selling all his comics and maxing out several credit cards.
Even though it became an indie phenomenon when it was picked up by Miramax (who gave it a new soundtrack using a post-production budget that was ten times the cost of principal photography) at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, it doesn't have 'franchise starter' written all over it.
Long considered a Gen X touchstone, Clerks is a funny and filthy slice of life movie, which equates a working day for Dante...
How a 1993 indie hit from Kevin Smith gave birth to an unlikely franchise...
This article comes from Den of Geek UK.
In 1993, Kevin Smith made a movie. Clerks was shot in black and white over the course of three weeks, at night, in the convenience store where Smith worked during the day, on a shoestring budget of $27,575. Smith funded the film himself by dipping into his savings, selling all his comics and maxing out several credit cards.
Even though it became an indie phenomenon when it was picked up by Miramax (who gave it a new soundtrack using a post-production budget that was ten times the cost of principal photography) at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival, it doesn't have 'franchise starter' written all over it.
Long considered a Gen X touchstone, Clerks is a funny and filthy slice of life movie, which equates a working day for Dante...
- 9/28/2017
- Den of Geek
A big welcome to UK disc purveyors Indicator, or Powerhouse, or how does Powerhouse Indicator sound? Savant’s first review from the new label is a favorite from the Columbia library. The extras are the lure: they company has snagged long-form, in-depth interviews with James Fox and director Arthur Penn. Everybody’s written about The Chase but here Penn tells his side of the story.
The Chase (1966)
Blu-ray + DVD
Powerhouse: Indicator
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date September 25, 2017 / Available from Amazon UK / £14.99
Starring: Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, E.G. Marshall,
Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Richard Bradford,
Robert Duvall, James Fox, Diana Hyland, Henry Hull, Jocelyn Brando, Clifton James, Steve Ihnat
Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle
Production Designer: Richard Day
Art Direction: Robert Luthardt
Film Editor: Gene Milford
Original Music: John Barry
Written by Lillian Hellman from the novel by Horton Foote
Produced by Sam Spiegel
Directed by Arthur Penn
Yes,...
The Chase (1966)
Blu-ray + DVD
Powerhouse: Indicator
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date September 25, 2017 / Available from Amazon UK / £14.99
Starring: Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, E.G. Marshall,
Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Richard Bradford,
Robert Duvall, James Fox, Diana Hyland, Henry Hull, Jocelyn Brando, Clifton James, Steve Ihnat
Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle
Production Designer: Richard Day
Art Direction: Robert Luthardt
Film Editor: Gene Milford
Original Music: John Barry
Written by Lillian Hellman from the novel by Horton Foote
Produced by Sam Spiegel
Directed by Arthur Penn
Yes,...
- 9/26/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"The Furniture" is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail. Here's Daniel Walber...
My Gal Sal is a pack of lies. The 1942 musical, ostensibly a biopic of songwriter Paul Dresser, is almost entirely fabricated. Of course, that hardly matters. Accuracy is no prerequisite for the Best Production Design Oscar, which Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright and Thomas Little won for the picture. No one will be mad if some details are fudged in musical numbers like “Me and My Fella and a Big Umbrella.”
That said, My Gal Sal is interesting because it’s all nonsense. It’s a window into the way Hollywood projects itself onto the past, a compendium of historical kitsch.
Dresser (Victor Mature) begins the film in a strict, Indiana home. His minister father objects to his music, so he runs away and gets a job with a medicine show.
My Gal Sal is a pack of lies. The 1942 musical, ostensibly a biopic of songwriter Paul Dresser, is almost entirely fabricated. Of course, that hardly matters. Accuracy is no prerequisite for the Best Production Design Oscar, which Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright and Thomas Little won for the picture. No one will be mad if some details are fudged in musical numbers like “Me and My Fella and a Big Umbrella.”
That said, My Gal Sal is interesting because it’s all nonsense. It’s a window into the way Hollywood projects itself onto the past, a compendium of historical kitsch.
Dresser (Victor Mature) begins the film in a strict, Indiana home. His minister father objects to his music, so he runs away and gets a job with a medicine show.
- 5/1/2017
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
True-Crime Terror! Richard Fleischer and Edward Anhalt’s riveting serial killer makes extensive use of split- and multi-screen imagery. One of the most infamous murder sprees on record fudges some facts but still impresses as a novel approach.
The Boston Strangler
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy, Mike Kellin, Hurd Hatfield, Murray Hamilton, Jeff Corey, Sally Kellerman, George Furth
Cinematography Richard H. Kline
Art Direction Richard Day, Jack Martin Smith
Film Editor Marion Rothman
Written by Edward Anhalt from the book by Gerold Frank
Produced by Robert Fryer
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Twelve years ago i wasn’t all that impressed with The Boston Strangler. I thought it too slick and felt that its noted multi-screen sequences were a trick gimmick. I appreciate it more now — except for the name cast,...
The Boston Strangler
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95
Starring Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy, Mike Kellin, Hurd Hatfield, Murray Hamilton, Jeff Corey, Sally Kellerman, George Furth
Cinematography Richard H. Kline
Art Direction Richard Day, Jack Martin Smith
Film Editor Marion Rothman
Written by Edward Anhalt from the book by Gerold Frank
Produced by Robert Fryer
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Twelve years ago i wasn’t all that impressed with The Boston Strangler. I thought it too slick and felt that its noted multi-screen sequences were a trick gimmick. I appreciate it more now — except for the name cast,...
- 11/26/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Elia Kazan's third picture is a hard-hitting noir, a true story that honors the efforts of a noble States' Attorney when confronted with a murder case that was a little too open-and-shut. But a close read of the movie uncovers a miasma of social criticism, hiding behind the self-congratulating official narration. A great show. Boomerang! Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 88 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, Sam Levene, Arthur Kennedy, Cara Williams, Ed Begley, Taylor Holmes, Robert Keith. Cinematography Norbert Brodine Art Direction Richard Day, Chester Gore Film Editor Harmon Jones Original Music David Buttolph Written by Richard Murphy from an article in The Reader's Digest by Anthony Abbot (Fulton Oursier) Produced by Louis De Rochemont, Darryl F. Zanuck Directed by Elia Kazan
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In just his second movie, director...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In just his second movie, director...
- 11/15/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Horton Foote, Lillian Hellman and Arthur Penn's All-Star vision of an Ugly America found few friends in 1965; now its overstated scenes of social injustice and violence are daily events. Marlon Brando leads a terrific cast -- Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall! -- to endure the worst Saturday ever to hit one cursed Texas township. The Chase (1966) Blu-ray Twilight Time 1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date October 11, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95 Starring Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, E.G. Marshall, Angie Dickinson, Janice Rule, Miriam Hopkins, Martha Hyer, Richard Bradford, Robert Duvall, James Fox, Diana Hyland, Henry Hull, Jocelyn Brando, Clifton James, Steve Ihnat Cinematography Joseph Lashelle Production Designer Richard Day Art Direction Robert Luthardt Film Editor Gene Milford Original Music John Barry Written by Lillian Hellman from the novel by Horton Foote Produced by Sam Spiegel Directed by Arthur Penn
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...
- 10/29/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Yes, it is a perfect title for a horror picture, but it belongs to an early film noir -- or as we discover, a murder thriller that previews the classic '40s noir visual look. Victor Mature is the man on the spot for a killing, Betty Grable and Carole Landis are a pair of sisters in danger, and Laird Cregar is the creepiest police detective in the history of the force. I Wake Up Screaming Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1941 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 82 min. / Street Date November 1, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis, Laird Cregar, William Gargan, Alan Mowbray, Allyn Joslyn, Elisha Cook Jr. Cinematography Edward Cronjager Art Direction Richard Day, Nathan Juran Film Editor Robert L. Simpson Original Music Cyril J. Mockridge, Harold Barlow Written by Dwight Taylor from the novel by Steve Fisher Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
My,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
My,...
- 10/29/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"The Furniture" our weekly series on Production Design. Here's Daniel Walber
Filmmaking is often an art borne of flexibility. Tim Burton built Sleepy Hollow from scratch when he couldn’t find just the right town in the real world. Vincente Minnelli was forced to make Brigadoon indoors in Hollywood, because the studio wouldn’t pay for an expensive production in Scotland. Both films are likely better for it, too.
The same is perhaps true for How Green Was My Valley, which premiered 75 years ago this week. John Ford wanted to make shoot it on location in Wales, but World War II intervened. Instead, the production team built an entire mining town in the Santa Monica Mountains. This condensed and idealized version of the setting of Richard Llewellyn’s 1939 novel is among the most emotionally resonant sets of its era.
The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Art Direction.
Filmmaking is often an art borne of flexibility. Tim Burton built Sleepy Hollow from scratch when he couldn’t find just the right town in the real world. Vincente Minnelli was forced to make Brigadoon indoors in Hollywood, because the studio wouldn’t pay for an expensive production in Scotland. Both films are likely better for it, too.
The same is perhaps true for How Green Was My Valley, which premiered 75 years ago this week. John Ford wanted to make shoot it on location in Wales, but World War II intervened. Instead, the production team built an entire mining town in the Santa Monica Mountains. This condensed and idealized version of the setting of Richard Llewellyn’s 1939 novel is among the most emotionally resonant sets of its era.
The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Art Direction.
- 10/24/2016
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Leave it to director William Wellman to direct the most compelling social justice movie of the 1940s. Taken from a bestselling novel, it's a wrenching examination of the workings of a natural American phenomenon, the Lynch Mob. The Ox-Bow Incident Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1942 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 75 min. / Street Date July 12, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony Quinn, William Eythe, Harry Morgan, Jane Darwell, Matt Briggs, Harry Davenport, Frank Conroy, Marc Lawrence Cinematography Arthur Miller Art Direction James Basevi, Richard Day Film Editor Allen McNeil Original Music Cyril J. Mockridge Written and Produced by Lamar Trotti from a novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark Directed by William A. Wellman
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In the first scene of this grim feature, Henry Fonda stumbles out of a saloon street and throws up in the street. Apparently that was the reaction shared...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In the first scene of this grim feature, Henry Fonda stumbles out of a saloon street and throws up in the street. Apparently that was the reaction shared...
- 8/22/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"This land is mine, God made this land for me." Those are just song lyrics, while Otto Preminger's politically daring 70mm mega-production is a lot more subtle in its presentation of the 'Palestinian problem' that led to the formation of the State of Israel. It's a bit ponderous, but Dalton Trumbo's screenplay avoids the pitfalls -- 56 years later, the story is still relevant. Exodus Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1960 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 208 min. / Ship Date March 15, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, Peter Lawford, Lee J. Cobb, Sal Mineo, John Derek, David Opatoshu, Jill Haworth, Hugh Griffith, Gregory Ratoff, Felix Aylmer, Marius Goring, Alexandra Stewart, Martin Benson, Paul Stevens, George Maharis, John Crawford, Victor Maddern, Paul Stassino, John Van Eyssen Cinematography Sam Leavitt Art Direction Richard Day Film Editor Louis R. Loeffler Original Music Ernest Gold Written by Dalton Trumbo from...
- 4/9/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
'Hold Back the Dawn': Olivia de Havilland behind Charles Boyer and Paulette Goddard 'Hold Back the Dawn' 1941 movie: Olivia de Havilland steals show as small-town teacher in love Olivia de Havilland shines in Mitchell Leisen's melodrama Hold Back the Dawn, a sort of opening bracket for the director's World War II-era films. Adapted by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett from Ketti Frings' semi-autobiographical story, Hold Back the Dawn stars Charles Boyer as George Iscovescu, a Romanian dancer unable to enter the U.S. from Mexico due to immigration quotas imposed at the onset of the European conflict. Paulette Goddard is his scheming former partner, Anita, who marries an American to gain entry into the country only to immediately leave the duped husband. George adopts the idea – a naïve small-town schoolteacher visiting a Mexican border town is his prey. As the unsuspecting teacher, Olivia de Havilland radiates understanding and sympathy.
- 5/7/2015
- by Doug Johnson
- Alt Film Guide
Marlene Dietrich Grandson J. Michael Riva, Robert Clatworthy, and Harper Goff: Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame 2014 Production Designers Robert Clatworthy, Harper Goff, and J. Michael Riva will be posthumously inducted into the Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame at the 18th Art Directors Guild Awards ceremony, to be held on February 8, 2014, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. (Photo: Production designer J. Michael Riva.) J. Michael Riva J. Michael Riva (1948-2012), grandson of Marlene Dietrich (The Blue Angel, Shanghai Express, A Foreign Affair), was production designer for Stuart Rosenberg / Robert Redford’s 1980 socially conscious drama Brubaker. Later on, Redford hired Riva as the art director for Ordinary People, also released in 1980. Riva’s other production design credits include the Lethal Weapon movies starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover; A Few Good Men (1992), with Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore; The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), with Will Smith; Spider-Man 3 (2007), with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst,...
- 9/12/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Similar images, similar dialog, similar actors and similar sets! Part of our on-going series, Similar Images.
The opening of William A. Wellman's The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), screenplay by Lamar Trotti from Walter Van Tilburg Clark's novel; cinematography by Arthur C. Miller; art direction by James Basevi and Richard Day:
The second scene of William A. Wellman's Yellow Sky (1948), screenplay by Lamar Trotti from a story by W.R. Burnett; cinematography by Joe MacDonald; art diretion by Albert Hogsett and Lyle Wheeler:...
The opening of William A. Wellman's The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), screenplay by Lamar Trotti from Walter Van Tilburg Clark's novel; cinematography by Arthur C. Miller; art direction by James Basevi and Richard Day:
The second scene of William A. Wellman's Yellow Sky (1948), screenplay by Lamar Trotti from a story by W.R. Burnett; cinematography by Joe MacDonald; art diretion by Albert Hogsett and Lyle Wheeler:...
- 3/24/2012
- MUBI
You think you've seen some of Bruno's most outrageous scenes in the trailer, and maybe your friends who have seen advance screenings have started spoiling the bigger ones. But trust me, the most shocking and horrifying moment of Bruno is one that got cut out after an advance screening-- a violent gay-bashing scene that ends with one character in a wheelchair. Seriously. Movieline got the scoop from a guy who attended an industry test screening in February, where he says he and another actor were the only gay people in an audience full of straight people who laughed riotously at the violence. "They were annoyed with us for ruining the party," Richard Day said about the audience's response when he complained about the ending. And yet, it was cut from the final print-- and Day doesn't know why. Ready to know exactly what happened? Spoilers Ahead, obviously. The movie seems...
- 7/1/2009
- cinemablend.com
Christopher Guest has come aboard to direct The Thick of It, Mitch Hurwitz's comedy pilot for ABC.
The single-camera project, which Hurwitz penned with Richard Day, is based on the BBC series. It revolves around the workers in the office of a low-level congressman in Washington.
Hurwitz is executive producing the Sony Pictures TV/BBC Worldwide Prods. pilot with Paul Telegdy and the creator of the original series, Armando Iannucci.
Multihyphenate Guest, who began his directing career in television before moving to the big screen, most recently co-wrote and directed the feature For Your Consideration, his follow-up to Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.
The single-camera project, which Hurwitz penned with Richard Day, is based on the BBC series. It revolves around the workers in the office of a low-level congressman in Washington.
Hurwitz is executive producing the Sony Pictures TV/BBC Worldwide Prods. pilot with Paul Telegdy and the creator of the original series, Armando Iannucci.
Multihyphenate Guest, who began his directing career in television before moving to the big screen, most recently co-wrote and directed the feature For Your Consideration, his follow-up to Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.
- 2/26/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Art Directors Guild has instituted an inaugural Hall of Fame to honor the contributions of legendary production designers and art directors. The first group of inductees includes Wilfred Buckland (1922's Robin Hood), Richard Day (1941's How Green Was My Valley), John DeCuir (1963's Cleopatra), Anton Grot (1937's Life of Emile Zola), Boris Leven (1965's The Sound of Music), William Cameron Menzies (1939's Gone With the Wind) and Van Nest Polglase (1941's Citizen Kane, co-credited with Perry Ferguson).
- 1/13/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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