A look at 5 movies that you might not have known were written by famous authors. Sometimes they worked out, sometimes they did not.
Writing a movie can be a lot different from writing a book. Unlike a movie script, a novel is freeform. The author can take any style or format they would like to convey their ideas. A script, on the other hand, has to be able to be interpreted by the actors, filmmakers, and the audience. Therefore, it is typically structured in a certain way to help people working on the movie do their job and people watching the movie comprehend what is happening. Furthermore, a major difference between writing novels and movies is that movies are (mostly) restricted to the visual realm. It’s not easy to show audiences what characters are thinking, which severely limits plot and character development techniques. Overall, there are unique challenges to...
Writing a movie can be a lot different from writing a book. Unlike a movie script, a novel is freeform. The author can take any style or format they would like to convey their ideas. A script, on the other hand, has to be able to be interpreted by the actors, filmmakers, and the audience. Therefore, it is typically structured in a certain way to help people working on the movie do their job and people watching the movie comprehend what is happening. Furthermore, a major difference between writing novels and movies is that movies are (mostly) restricted to the visual realm. It’s not easy to show audiences what characters are thinking, which severely limits plot and character development techniques. Overall, there are unique challenges to...
- 8/30/2017
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (G.S. Perno)
- Cinelinx
Matt Edwards Aug 30, 2016
From Captain America: Civil War through to Ghostbusters, what did we learn from summer blockbuster season 2016?
If it wasn’t for summer blockbuster season it would be a nightmare for Den of Geek to maintain our chic pale complexions. We’ve seen so many films this summer that we look like porcelain dolls (the shine comes from popcorn grease).
It was never our intention to learn anything other than imperative information about Jason Bourne’s backstory. None the less, 2016 had proven to be such an interesting year for cinema that we couldn’t help but be struck by the following observations.
A quick note before we dig in. We’re counting summer blockbuster season as March to the end of August. We know that’s not how seasons work, but that feels like a tidy set of dates to use to capture the films that are part of the mid-year blockbuster flurry.
From Captain America: Civil War through to Ghostbusters, what did we learn from summer blockbuster season 2016?
If it wasn’t for summer blockbuster season it would be a nightmare for Den of Geek to maintain our chic pale complexions. We’ve seen so many films this summer that we look like porcelain dolls (the shine comes from popcorn grease).
It was never our intention to learn anything other than imperative information about Jason Bourne’s backstory. None the less, 2016 had proven to be such an interesting year for cinema that we couldn’t help but be struck by the following observations.
A quick note before we dig in. We’re counting summer blockbuster season as March to the end of August. We know that’s not how seasons work, but that feels like a tidy set of dates to use to capture the films that are part of the mid-year blockbuster flurry.
- 8/24/2016
- Den of Geek
The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that Academy Award® winning writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming feature The Hateful Eight, will premiere in 70mm on December 25, 2015exclusively for a 1-week roadshow opening that will be featured in glorious 70mm in 100 theaters nationwide. Following the 1-week engagement, the film will open with a theatrical digital release nationwide on December 31, 2015, while continuing to be shown in 70mm as well. The film premieres tonight in New York in 70mm at the Ziegfeld theater.
Starting today, moviegoers can purchase tickets for the 70mm roadshow showings at tickets.thehatefuleight.com. To mark the occasion, Quentin and TWC are commemorating the opening with the “12 Days of Hateful Eight Giveaways”, where each day a different Hateful Eight prize, memorabilia or once-in-a-lifetime experience will be given away to moviegoers who buy roadshow tickets in advance leading up to the Christmas day opening.
The exclusive roadshow engagement that...
Starting today, moviegoers can purchase tickets for the 70mm roadshow showings at tickets.thehatefuleight.com. To mark the occasion, Quentin and TWC are commemorating the opening with the “12 Days of Hateful Eight Giveaways”, where each day a different Hateful Eight prize, memorabilia or once-in-a-lifetime experience will be given away to moviegoers who buy roadshow tickets in advance leading up to the Christmas day opening.
The exclusive roadshow engagement that...
- 12/14/2015
- by Kellvin Chavez
- LRMonline.com
The Weinstein Company announced today that Academy Award winning writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming feature The Hateful Eight, will premiere in 70mm on December 25, 2015 exclusively for a 1-week roadshow opening that will be featured in glorious 70mm in 100 theaters nationwide. Following the 1-week engagement, the film will open with a theatrical digital release nationwide on December 31, 2015, while continuing to be shown in 70mm as well. The film premieres tonight in New York in 70mm at the Ziegfeld theater.
Starting today, moviegoers can purchase tickets for the 70mm roadshow showings at tickets.thehatefuleight.com.
To mark the occasion, Quentin and TWC are commemorating the opening with the “12 Days of Hateful Eight Giveaways”, where each day a different Hateful Eight prize, memorabilia or once-in-a-lifetime experience will be given away to moviegoers who buy roadshow tickets in advance leading up to the Christmas day opening.
The exclusive roadshow engagement that The Hateful Eight...
Starting today, moviegoers can purchase tickets for the 70mm roadshow showings at tickets.thehatefuleight.com.
To mark the occasion, Quentin and TWC are commemorating the opening with the “12 Days of Hateful Eight Giveaways”, where each day a different Hateful Eight prize, memorabilia or once-in-a-lifetime experience will be given away to moviegoers who buy roadshow tickets in advance leading up to the Christmas day opening.
The exclusive roadshow engagement that The Hateful Eight...
- 12/14/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
You might remember him as the guy who romanced Nicole Kidman in a Chanel commercial, or the hunk Laura Linney jumped up and down with excitement over in Love Actually, but Rodrigo Santoro is about to take on a different type of role in the remake of Ben Hur. The Brazilian actor, who was formerly named one of People's Most Beautiful People, is in negotiations to play Jesus Christ in the retelling of the classic 1959 film that starred Charlton Heston. Joining the 39-year-old is Jack Huston as Judah Ben-Hur, the Jewish prince betrayed by his best friend and forced into slavery,...
- 1/14/2015
- by K.C. Blumm
- PEOPLE.com
You might remember him as the guy who romanced Nicole Kidman in a Chanel commercial, or the hunk Laura Linney jumped up and down with excitement over in Love Actually, but Rodrigo Santoro is about to take on a different type of role in the remake of Ben Hur. The Brazilian actor, who was formerly named one of People's Most Beautiful People, is in negotiations to play Jesus Christ in the retelling of the classic 1959 film that starred Charlton Heston. Joining the 39-year-old is Jack Huston as Judah Ben-Hur, the Jewish prince betrayed by his best friend and forced into slavery,...
- 1/14/2015
- by K.C. Blumm
- PEOPLE.com
We at Lr had a chance to check out about 40 minutes of director Ridley Scott’s new historical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings last night. Here’s what we thought.
The series of clips shown went from massive battles to small, intimate character moments that really tried to give you a sense of the grand scale the film is trying to work on as well as the personal story it’s trying to tell beneath it. Bible stories seem to be the new avenue for filmmakers to go down these days, and though Darren Aronofsky’s Noah left a little to be desired it looks like Ridley Scott is embracing his usual overblown sword and sandals method to tell this timeless biblical tale of Moses and Ramses.
The first clip began with both Moses (Christian Bale) and Ramses (Joel Edgerton) preparing to go off to war. We’ll get to...
The series of clips shown went from massive battles to small, intimate character moments that really tried to give you a sense of the grand scale the film is trying to work on as well as the personal story it’s trying to tell beneath it. Bible stories seem to be the new avenue for filmmakers to go down these days, and though Darren Aronofsky’s Noah left a little to be desired it looks like Ridley Scott is embracing his usual overblown sword and sandals method to tell this timeless biblical tale of Moses and Ramses.
The first clip began with both Moses (Christian Bale) and Ramses (Joel Edgerton) preparing to go off to war. We’ll get to...
- 10/17/2014
- by Sean Hutchinson
- LRMonline.com
It looks like Tom Hiddleston will be inheriting Charlton Heston's chariot in the Ben Hur remake...
The planned remake of Ben Hur already has a director in place, with Timur Bekmambetov - of Wanted fame - lined up to steer the project. But the film, backed by Paramount and MGM, is now homing in on a lead actor. And reports suggest that it has Tom Hiddleston in its crosshairs.
Hiddleston, who is nearing the end of production on Ben Wheatley's High-Rise right now, already has Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak shot. The new Ben Hur has been put together by screenwriters Keith Clarke and John Ridley. The book Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ has been used as the source for their script.
Hiddleston would take on the role of Judah Ben Hur, played by Charlton Heston in the 1959 adaptation of the material. It's not...
The planned remake of Ben Hur already has a director in place, with Timur Bekmambetov - of Wanted fame - lined up to steer the project. But the film, backed by Paramount and MGM, is now homing in on a lead actor. And reports suggest that it has Tom Hiddleston in its crosshairs.
Hiddleston, who is nearing the end of production on Ben Wheatley's High-Rise right now, already has Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak shot. The new Ben Hur has been put together by screenwriters Keith Clarke and John Ridley. The book Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ has been used as the source for their script.
Hiddleston would take on the role of Judah Ben Hur, played by Charlton Heston in the 1959 adaptation of the material. It's not...
- 8/13/2014
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
We move into the top 20 now, where the films become incredibly spiritual. One major component seen in many of these religious films: the overtones meant to instill a sense of mystery and wonder. You see it in films set in both sweeping landscapes and intimate settings. Whether or not any of the films on this list are condoning the acceptance or rejection of faith and religion is almost beside the point. The real point is that it is so influential on our culture that movies will always be made about it.
courtesy of lassothemovies.com
20. Babette’s Feast (1987)
Directed by Gabriel Axel
The 1987 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner (beating Au Revoir Les Enfants), Babette’s Feast is the story of two devout Christian sisters whose father – the leader of a small Christian sect in Denmark – has died. Unfortunately, Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodjil Kjer) find they have no way to gain new members,...
courtesy of lassothemovies.com
20. Babette’s Feast (1987)
Directed by Gabriel Axel
The 1987 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner (beating Au Revoir Les Enfants), Babette’s Feast is the story of two devout Christian sisters whose father – the leader of a small Christian sect in Denmark – has died. Unfortunately, Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodjil Kjer) find they have no way to gain new members,...
- 4/14/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
Washington, Apr.13: Charlton Heston recently got his own postage stamp that was unveiled at a ceremony at the historic Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
The 'Ben Hur' star's image for the stamp has reportedly been taken from a photo that was shot by his widow, Lydia Clarke Heston, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
Ned Vaughn, the founding executive VP of SAG-aftra said that the late actor fundamentally personified a dedication to fight for what he valued, no matter where or when he was needed.
Michael Levine, the actor's publicist for 21 years, who launched his effort to put Heston's image on a stamp, said that.
The 'Ben Hur' star's image for the stamp has reportedly been taken from a photo that was shot by his widow, Lydia Clarke Heston, the Hollywood Reporter reported.
Ned Vaughn, the founding executive VP of SAG-aftra said that the late actor fundamentally personified a dedication to fight for what he valued, no matter where or when he was needed.
Michael Levine, the actor's publicist for 21 years, who launched his effort to put Heston's image on a stamp, said that.
- 4/13/2014
- by Machan Kumar
- RealBollywood.com
Super-8 Movie Madness is teaming up with Roger’s Reels and The National Children’s Cancer Society for the third annual Super-8 Children’S Cancer Fundraiser Movie Madness which takes place Tuesday December 3rd at The Way out Club. The cover charge is $4.00 and all of that money will be donated to the St. Louis-based National Children’s Cancer Society.
Roger will be bringing by three 16mm prints from his collection of classic TV sitcoms to share. They are episodes of: Happy Days: “Fonzie’s Hero”, I Love Lucy: “Lucy Meets Superman” with special guest star George Reeves, and The Andy Griffith Show: “Barney and the Choir”, considered one of the best episodes of that beloved show.
The Super-8 Sound films (condensed from features, they average 15 minutes in length) to also be projected on a large screen December 3rd are: Bette Midler in The Rose, Phantasm, Gene Hackman in The French Connection,...
Roger will be bringing by three 16mm prints from his collection of classic TV sitcoms to share. They are episodes of: Happy Days: “Fonzie’s Hero”, I Love Lucy: “Lucy Meets Superman” with special guest star George Reeves, and The Andy Griffith Show: “Barney and the Choir”, considered one of the best episodes of that beloved show.
The Super-8 Sound films (condensed from features, they average 15 minutes in length) to also be projected on a large screen December 3rd are: Bette Midler in The Rose, Phantasm, Gene Hackman in The French Connection,...
- 11/22/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
From the archive, 16 November 1961: The character of the epic: Charlton Heston talks to Wj Weatherby
Glistening in its uniquely statuesque way, Rome seemed to await only a hero's arrival
Rome in a hot autumn sun looked more like its legend than any visitor has a right to expect. Glistening in its uniquely statuesque way – a Hollywood epic setting sprung to life – the city seemed to await only a hero's arrival: an epic-sized hero who wouldn't be dwarfed or made to sound inflated like Mussolini. This made it a testing place in which to meet the present heavyweight champion of Hollywood epics, for what had happened to Mussolini beneath this lowering architecture might easily happen to him. Deflation of "Ben Hur", alias "Moses", alias "El Cid".
But against the flickering civic backcloth of Roman churches, squares, statues, columns, and courtyards – all of them flickering because they were only glimpsed from a speeding Cadillac – Charlton Heston sounded well aware of the dangers of appearing here on the wrong side of the cameras.
Rome in a hot autumn sun looked more like its legend than any visitor has a right to expect. Glistening in its uniquely statuesque way – a Hollywood epic setting sprung to life – the city seemed to await only a hero's arrival: an epic-sized hero who wouldn't be dwarfed or made to sound inflated like Mussolini. This made it a testing place in which to meet the present heavyweight champion of Hollywood epics, for what had happened to Mussolini beneath this lowering architecture might easily happen to him. Deflation of "Ben Hur", alias "Moses", alias "El Cid".
But against the flickering civic backcloth of Roman churches, squares, statues, columns, and courtyards – all of them flickering because they were only glimpsed from a speeding Cadillac – Charlton Heston sounded well aware of the dangers of appearing here on the wrong side of the cameras.
- 11/16/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Above: 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (Michael Curtiz, USA, 1932).
When I wrote about the posters of 1933 last week this was one poster I deliberately held back (though 20,000 Years in Sing Sing was released on Christmas Eve 1932, it is included in Film Forum’s retrospective). The early 1930s, no less than today—though the execution was a lot more interesting— was an era of big floating heads in movie posters. While 1920s movies had the occasional floating head poster for their biggest stars, artists and studios still favored the look of early silent posters with their head-to-toe portraits and snippets of narrative. Though Norma Desmond said famously of the silent era “We didn’t need dialogue...we had faces!” it was ironically with the coming of sound that faces started to dominate movie posters and, until Saul Bass, minimalism in American movie posters was almost non-existent.
All that makes the 20,000 Years poster,...
When I wrote about the posters of 1933 last week this was one poster I deliberately held back (though 20,000 Years in Sing Sing was released on Christmas Eve 1932, it is included in Film Forum’s retrospective). The early 1930s, no less than today—though the execution was a lot more interesting— was an era of big floating heads in movie posters. While 1920s movies had the occasional floating head poster for their biggest stars, artists and studios still favored the look of early silent posters with their head-to-toe portraits and snippets of narrative. Though Norma Desmond said famously of the silent era “We didn’t need dialogue...we had faces!” it was ironically with the coming of sound that faces started to dominate movie posters and, until Saul Bass, minimalism in American movie posters was almost non-existent.
All that makes the 20,000 Years poster,...
- 2/22/2013
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
Los Angeles -- Petro Vlahos, a two-time Academy Award winner whose blue- and green-screen technique on movies like "Mary Poppins" and "Ben Hur" made the modern blockbuster possible, has died. He was 96.
His family said he died on Feb. 10, according to The Los Angeles Times. The Hollywood Reporter said Vlahos' company, Ultimatte, also announced the death. No details were released.
The night before his death, an ailing Vlahos was on the minds of many at the Scientific and Technical Oscars ceremony, where he'd been a constant presence through the years and where his acolytes in so-called "composite photography" took home most of the trophies.
"He created the whole of composite photography as we know it at this time," visual effects supervisor and one of the night's top winners Bill Taylor said of Vlahos, drawing a line from his early work to recent technical marvels like "Life of Pi." "Whenever you...
His family said he died on Feb. 10, according to The Los Angeles Times. The Hollywood Reporter said Vlahos' company, Ultimatte, also announced the death. No details were released.
The night before his death, an ailing Vlahos was on the minds of many at the Scientific and Technical Oscars ceremony, where he'd been a constant presence through the years and where his acolytes in so-called "composite photography" took home most of the trophies.
"He created the whole of composite photography as we know it at this time," visual effects supervisor and one of the night's top winners Bill Taylor said of Vlahos, drawing a line from his early work to recent technical marvels like "Life of Pi." "Whenever you...
- 2/20/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Check out the futuristic first teaser for M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth. Screenwriter Gary Whitta’s, writer of the The Book Of Eli, and the director’s collaboration soars into theaters on June 7, 2013.
A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.
For more on what transpired prior to Earth’s global disaster, here’s the timeline video that came online at the film’s official site earlier this summer.
Smith has morphed somewhat into a present-day Charlton Heston.
A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.
For more on what transpired prior to Earth’s global disaster, here’s the timeline video that came online at the film’s official site earlier this summer.
Smith has morphed somewhat into a present-day Charlton Heston.
- 12/11/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Born in the Big Apple in january of 1951, Sheldon Lettich moved with his family to the West Coast at a young age. After finishing High School, he joined the Marine Corps, serving his country for four years, one of them as a Radio Operator in Vietnam.
Partially based upon his experiences in Southeast Asia, he co-authored Tracers, a play seen in the Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and London stages, to great acclaim; It subsequently won the prestigious Drama Desk and L.A. Drama Critics Awards.
The writing of screenplays seemed like a natural progression and his writing eventually began attracting the attention of many Hollywood producers.
Since then, Lettich has become known as expert in testosterone-driven action extravaganzas, many of the films starring some of the silver screen´s best-loved slugfest protagonists: Sylvester Stallone (Sheldon shared screenwriting credit with Sly in the third cinematic episode of the Rambo series,...
Partially based upon his experiences in Southeast Asia, he co-authored Tracers, a play seen in the Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and London stages, to great acclaim; It subsequently won the prestigious Drama Desk and L.A. Drama Critics Awards.
The writing of screenplays seemed like a natural progression and his writing eventually began attracting the attention of many Hollywood producers.
Since then, Lettich has become known as expert in testosterone-driven action extravaganzas, many of the films starring some of the silver screen´s best-loved slugfest protagonists: Sylvester Stallone (Sheldon shared screenwriting credit with Sly in the third cinematic episode of the Rambo series,...
- 11/29/2012
- by Marco
- AsianMoviePulse
The art of the glass shot or matte painting is one which originated very much in the early ‘teens’ of the silent era. Pioneer film maker, director, cameraman and visual effects inventor Norman Dawn is generally acknowledged as the father of the painted matte composite, with other visionary film makers such as Ferdinand Pinney Earle, Walter Hall and Walter Percy Day being heralded as making vast contributions to the trick process in the early 1920’s.
Boiled down, the matte process is one whereby a limited film set may be extended to whatever, or wherever the director’s imagination dictates with the employment of a matte artist. In it’s most pure form, the artist would set up a large plate of clear glass in front of the motion picture camera upon which he would carefully paint in new scenery an ornate period ceiling, snow capped mountains, a Gothic castle or even an alien world.
Boiled down, the matte process is one whereby a limited film set may be extended to whatever, or wherever the director’s imagination dictates with the employment of a matte artist. In it’s most pure form, the artist would set up a large plate of clear glass in front of the motion picture camera upon which he would carefully paint in new scenery an ornate period ceiling, snow capped mountains, a Gothic castle or even an alien world.
- 5/27/2012
- Shadowlocked
Classic movie fans, rejoice! If you've enjoyed watching Charlton Heston star in the nativity saga "Ben Hur," or sat on the edge of your seat as Cary Grant outran mysterious pursuers in "North by Northwest," you can now supplement your cinema experiences with eBook versions of the original movie scripts.
Warner Brothers' "Inside The Script" series will feature "Ben Hur," "North by Northwest," "Casablanca" and "An American In Paris." According to BBC News, the eBooks will include supplemental materials such as costume sketches and shooting journals from the film sets. They will cost $9.99 each and be available on the Kindle, Nook, and in the iBookstore.
"People love movies because of the stories they tell," said Thomas Gewecke, President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. "Now we can give fans rarely seen details of how these stories came together and take their enjoyment of films to a whole new level."
The Wall...
Warner Brothers' "Inside The Script" series will feature "Ben Hur," "North by Northwest," "Casablanca" and "An American In Paris." According to BBC News, the eBooks will include supplemental materials such as costume sketches and shooting journals from the film sets. They will cost $9.99 each and be available on the Kindle, Nook, and in the iBookstore.
"People love movies because of the stories they tell," said Thomas Gewecke, President of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. "Now we can give fans rarely seen details of how these stories came together and take their enjoyment of films to a whole new level."
The Wall...
- 4/30/2012
- by Madeleine Crum
- Huffington Post
Super-8 Giant Monster Movie Madness at the Way Out Club in St. Louis will be held on Tuesday May 1st from 8pm to Midnight. These are Super-8 Sound films condensed from features (they average 15 minutes in length) and will be projected on a large screen at the Way Out Club. Admission is only Three Bucks!!!!
The giant monster movies we’re showing are: War Of The Colossal Beast, The Giant Claw, Mighty Joe Young, Reptilicus, 20 Million Miles To Earth, Yongary Monster From The Deep, Destroy All Monsters, a Stop-Motion Trailer Reel featuring many of Ray Harryhausen’s giant beasts, and a 35 minute cut of The Giant Spider Invasion. The non-giant monster movies we’re showing May 1st are: The Marx Brothers in Duck Soup, Charlton Heston in Ben Hur, W C Fields in It’S A Gift, a Clint Eastwood Trailer Reel, and for the fourth time the Little Rascals...
The giant monster movies we’re showing are: War Of The Colossal Beast, The Giant Claw, Mighty Joe Young, Reptilicus, 20 Million Miles To Earth, Yongary Monster From The Deep, Destroy All Monsters, a Stop-Motion Trailer Reel featuring many of Ray Harryhausen’s giant beasts, and a 35 minute cut of The Giant Spider Invasion. The non-giant monster movies we’re showing May 1st are: The Marx Brothers in Duck Soup, Charlton Heston in Ben Hur, W C Fields in It’S A Gift, a Clint Eastwood Trailer Reel, and for the fourth time the Little Rascals...
- 4/27/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A 35-minute cut of The Giant Spider Invasion will be shown on Super-8 sound film at Super-8 Giant Monster Movie Madness next Tuesday, May 1st at The Way Out Club in St. Louis.
Wisconson-based regional filmmaker Bill Rebane’s no-budget wonder The Giant Spider Invasion was a hilariously cheesy 1975 throwback to the giant-monster flicks of the 50s, a trend then enjoying a revival with films like Empire Of The Ants and Food Of The Gods. This outrageous mix of giant monster motifs and backwoods sleaze plays like a hybrid of Tarantula and The Blob with its mixture of giant spiders and falling meteors. I saw The Giant Spider Invasion at the long-shuttered Ellisville Cinema in West St. Louis County (on a double bill with the David Niven vampire comedy Old Dracula). I recall the poster in the lobby which featured a gargantuan spider bearing down on a group of terrified people.
Wisconson-based regional filmmaker Bill Rebane’s no-budget wonder The Giant Spider Invasion was a hilariously cheesy 1975 throwback to the giant-monster flicks of the 50s, a trend then enjoying a revival with films like Empire Of The Ants and Food Of The Gods. This outrageous mix of giant monster motifs and backwoods sleaze plays like a hybrid of Tarantula and The Blob with its mixture of giant spiders and falling meteors. I saw The Giant Spider Invasion at the long-shuttered Ellisville Cinema in West St. Louis County (on a double bill with the David Niven vampire comedy Old Dracula). I recall the poster in the lobby which featured a gargantuan spider bearing down on a group of terrified people.
- 4/25/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Who are the great American film directors? More to the point, who do we think are the great American film directors? Well, there’s Ford, of course, the Zeus of the American pantheon, by turns comic, epic, maudlin and humane. Then there’s Welles, the ill-fated genius, abused by producers but beloved of critics. Spielberg, even in his seventh decade, is still the boy wonder; Scorsese the mad scientist. Griffith is the wise forefather, deeply flawed but idolized nonetheless, while Hawks is ageless, just as sly and self-assured as he was at the time of “The Big Sleep” (1946).
Kubrick, however, beats them all.
Is there anyone more respected or, with the possible exception of Hitchcock, recognizable? Turn on any Stanley Kubrick movie and you should know instantly, whether you’ve seen it before or not, who the film’s director is. The peerless, pristine images; the long, empty corridors; the upturned,...
Kubrick, however, beats them all.
Is there anyone more respected or, with the possible exception of Hitchcock, recognizable? Turn on any Stanley Kubrick movie and you should know instantly, whether you’ve seen it before or not, who the film’s director is. The peerless, pristine images; the long, empty corridors; the upturned,...
- 4/9/2012
- by Graham Daseler
- The Moving Arts Journal
It still provides a chuckle
The history of The Academy Awards is littered with strange and inexplicable happenings: Revealed shortcomings, spontaneous pushups, "The winner is Paul Newman," Sandahl Bergman's interpretive dance to "Eye Of The Tiger" (admittedly, one of the highlights of my life).
And of course ... Snow White rolling on the river.
But aside from the odd ceremony moments, and the fashion drama on the red carpet, it's the Oscar errors in judgment that we remember the most.
A few weeks ago we discussed the Oscar nomination Sins Of Omission, so let's now take a look at the performers who actually won, and how The Academy still blew it.
The 2005 nominees for Best Actor were:
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
David Strathairn in Good Night and Good Luck
Terrence Howard in Hustle & Flow
Joaquin Phoenix in Walk The Line
And The Oscar Went...
The history of The Academy Awards is littered with strange and inexplicable happenings: Revealed shortcomings, spontaneous pushups, "The winner is Paul Newman," Sandahl Bergman's interpretive dance to "Eye Of The Tiger" (admittedly, one of the highlights of my life).
And of course ... Snow White rolling on the river.
But aside from the odd ceremony moments, and the fashion drama on the red carpet, it's the Oscar errors in judgment that we remember the most.
A few weeks ago we discussed the Oscar nomination Sins Of Omission, so let's now take a look at the performers who actually won, and how The Academy still blew it.
The 2005 nominees for Best Actor were:
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
David Strathairn in Good Night and Good Luck
Terrence Howard in Hustle & Flow
Joaquin Phoenix in Walk The Line
And The Oscar Went...
- 2/23/2012
- by snicks
- The Backlot
Best Contemporary Titles
Winner: "The Tree of Life"
Runner-up: "Black Swan"
Love it or hate it, Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" is visually the most luscious film of the year and Blu-ray transfer recreates this in perfect detail. No digital artifacts or enhancements are done here, there is a bit of grain but that's expected with the photography on offer, while the IMAX 65mm sequences are true visual wonders.
Coming in second is my favourite film of last year, Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller "Black Swan". Here is a challenge of a different sort, a film shot on both 16mm film and off the shelf Dslr video cameras. The result is a deliberately soft and grainy handheld-style image which lends a realistic documentary feel to proceedings and could look terrible if the Blu-ray transfer was handled poorly. Full kudos to Fox for a high quality presentation lacking in...
Winner: "The Tree of Life"
Runner-up: "Black Swan"
Love it or hate it, Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" is visually the most luscious film of the year and Blu-ray transfer recreates this in perfect detail. No digital artifacts or enhancements are done here, there is a bit of grain but that's expected with the photography on offer, while the IMAX 65mm sequences are true visual wonders.
Coming in second is my favourite film of last year, Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller "Black Swan". Here is a challenge of a different sort, a film shot on both 16mm film and off the shelf Dslr video cameras. The result is a deliberately soft and grainy handheld-style image which lends a realistic documentary feel to proceedings and could look terrible if the Blu-ray transfer was handled poorly. Full kudos to Fox for a high quality presentation lacking in...
- 1/3/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
50/50 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
Courageous - Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Kevin Downes
Dream House – Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts
What’s Your Number? - Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor
Movie of the Week
50/50
The Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
The Plot: A comedic account of a 27-year-old guy’s cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.
The Buzz: I don’t know, I’m not that excited about 50/50, but it’s gotta be better than Dream House, right? Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz are both great actresses, generally known for choosing good films, but this Daniel Craig guy, really? He’s looking so haggard, like he’s strung out on heroin, and he just emanates this brooding whininess, and I sense zero acting talent within. How in the world did he become a leading man? I...
50/50 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
Courageous - Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Kevin Downes
Dream House – Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts
What’s Your Number? - Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor
Movie of the Week
50/50
The Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick
The Plot: A comedic account of a 27-year-old guy’s cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.
The Buzz: I don’t know, I’m not that excited about 50/50, but it’s gotta be better than Dream House, right? Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz are both great actresses, generally known for choosing good films, but this Daniel Craig guy, really? He’s looking so haggard, like he’s strung out on heroin, and he just emanates this brooding whininess, and I sense zero acting talent within. How in the world did he become a leading man? I...
- 9/28/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced two short films programs for the 2011 New York Film Festival as well as late-breaking updates for the Oliver Stone presentation and the Masterworks screening of Ben Hur.
Due to scheduling conflicts, Oliver Stone’s “Untold History of the United States” will no longer screen at the 2011 New York Film Festival. We are, however, pleased to announce that Oliver Stone will still be appearing at Nyff to present a 25th Anniversary screening of Salvador, a film that burst onto the American film scene with a force that immediately established Stone as an artist to be reckoned with. For more information, please go to http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/25th-anniversary-screening-of-salvador.
The Masterworks screening of Ben-hur at Alice Tully Halll on Saturday, October 1 at 10:30Am will now be a family affair, with the attendance of Fraser Heston (the son of Charlton Heston), Catherine Wyler...
Due to scheduling conflicts, Oliver Stone’s “Untold History of the United States” will no longer screen at the 2011 New York Film Festival. We are, however, pleased to announce that Oliver Stone will still be appearing at Nyff to present a 25th Anniversary screening of Salvador, a film that burst onto the American film scene with a force that immediately established Stone as an artist to be reckoned with. For more information, please go to http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/25th-anniversary-screening-of-salvador.
The Masterworks screening of Ben-hur at Alice Tully Halll on Saturday, October 1 at 10:30Am will now be a family affair, with the attendance of Fraser Heston (the son of Charlton Heston), Catherine Wyler...
- 9/19/2011
- by Christopher Clemente
- SoundOnSight
Wasn't the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences thinking about creating a Hollywood museum? The Academy sent no bidder to Debbie Reynolds' historic costume and prop collection assembled over 50 years, which crowds checked out over the past few weeks at the Paley Media Center until its auction Saturday. It was strange to conjure images of Yul Brynner sitting on the throne from The King and I, Charlton Heston or Ingrid Bergman putting on their armor for Ben Hur or Joan of Arc (pictured below), Gary Cooper putting on his World War I uniform as Sergeant York (below), Julie Andrews strumming her guitar from The Sound of Music, or anyone small enough to slip into Claudette Colbert's Cleopatra gown or Cecil Beaton's My Fair ...
- 6/19/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Masque Of The Red Death (1964)
Directed by Roger Corman
Nicolas Roeg was one of the more successful cinematographers to graduate from the apex of the camera team to the director’s chair, a difficult transition which he arguably traversed with far more dexterity and than his European peers Freddie Francis, Jan De Bont, or Jack Cardiff. As part of the exhaustive BFI film season on his delirious miscellanea of work (running throughout March), horror fans welcomed a rare opportunity to see his unique collaboration with the supreme schlock stylist Roger Corman on the final entry of his celebrated cycle of Edgar Allen Poe adaptations that terrified and titillated audiences throughout the early 1960s. As the UK’s Hammer studios mined the Victorian howls of Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley, Corman turned to his countryman Poe to craft his gothic grotesques, in a cycle of films descending from The Fall of the House of Usher...
Directed by Roger Corman
Nicolas Roeg was one of the more successful cinematographers to graduate from the apex of the camera team to the director’s chair, a difficult transition which he arguably traversed with far more dexterity and than his European peers Freddie Francis, Jan De Bont, or Jack Cardiff. As part of the exhaustive BFI film season on his delirious miscellanea of work (running throughout March), horror fans welcomed a rare opportunity to see his unique collaboration with the supreme schlock stylist Roger Corman on the final entry of his celebrated cycle of Edgar Allen Poe adaptations that terrified and titillated audiences throughout the early 1960s. As the UK’s Hammer studios mined the Victorian howls of Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley, Corman turned to his countryman Poe to craft his gothic grotesques, in a cycle of films descending from The Fall of the House of Usher...
- 3/9/2011
- by John
- SoundOnSight
Ever wonder what stone chiseled with the divine commandments of God looks like in high definition? Wonder no longer mortal! Or at least, wonder no longer as of March 29th, when Paramount Home Entertainment releases the fully restored edition of The Ten Commandments in a Limited Edition 6-disc Blu-ray and DVD Gift Set. I for one am really hoping they did a great job with the restoration because even if the film is somewhat (okay, very) silly at times, it's one of those benchmark epic films that you really have to see at least once in your life.
Now, whether you consider The Ten Commandments or Ben Hur to be Cecil B. Demille's crowning achievement is your choice to make (personally, I say Ben Hur), but it's still a spectacle to behold either way. Filmed in Egypt and the Sinai with one of the biggest sets ever constructed for a motion picture,...
Now, whether you consider The Ten Commandments or Ben Hur to be Cecil B. Demille's crowning achievement is your choice to make (personally, I say Ben Hur), but it's still a spectacle to behold either way. Filmed in Egypt and the Sinai with one of the biggest sets ever constructed for a motion picture,...
- 1/26/2011
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
To be young in front of a TV is to be suddenly old, in a world where the past eternally survives
It was a child's straightforward question: "Are they dead, grandpa?" And yes, indeed, they are. Georgina and I were watching Kiss Me Kate on its umpteenth TV outing: with Howard Keel (Rip 2004, aged 85), Ann Miller (2004, aged 81) and Kathryn Grayson (who died only 11 months ago , aged 88). But Georgina, just 10, knew none of that, of course. She loved Miller's tap-dancing and Keel's barrel-chested booming. She just wanted to know whether these particular stars of the great Christmas/New Year movie banquet were still around.
And the answer, inevitably, counted them out. Along with John Wayne, Dean Martin, Katharine Hepburn, Alec Guinness and dozens more. Say goodbye to Eric and Ernie, one more time? No: this New Year they jig and joke again via a drama-cum-biog, after Christmas, and Ronnie Barker returns from beyond the grave.
It was a child's straightforward question: "Are they dead, grandpa?" And yes, indeed, they are. Georgina and I were watching Kiss Me Kate on its umpteenth TV outing: with Howard Keel (Rip 2004, aged 85), Ann Miller (2004, aged 81) and Kathryn Grayson (who died only 11 months ago , aged 88). But Georgina, just 10, knew none of that, of course. She loved Miller's tap-dancing and Keel's barrel-chested booming. She just wanted to know whether these particular stars of the great Christmas/New Year movie banquet were still around.
And the answer, inevitably, counted them out. Along with John Wayne, Dean Martin, Katharine Hepburn, Alec Guinness and dozens more. Say goodbye to Eric and Ernie, one more time? No: this New Year they jig and joke again via a drama-cum-biog, after Christmas, and Ronnie Barker returns from beyond the grave.
- 1/3/2011
- by Peter Preston
- The Guardian - Film News
Leslie Nielsen, who spent 30 years forging a career as a serious actor, and then another 30 playing the same parts for laughs, has died aged 84. We look back over his life in clips
Few actors have the ability to raise a smile just by the thought of them. Leslie Nielsen, deadpan extraordinaire, who used his training as a regular leading man in po-faced dramas to fruitfully spoof them for 30 years, was one of them. News of his death today will be greeted with both remembered happiness and a huge amount of sadness.
Nielsen was born in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1926, 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle, the son of a mountie and a Welsh immigrant from Fulham. His older brother, Erik, was deputy prime minister of Canada during the 1980s, while their uncle, Jean Hersholt, was a prominent silent-film actor. Here, on David Letterman, promoting the second Naked Gun film, Nielsen credits...
Few actors have the ability to raise a smile just by the thought of them. Leslie Nielsen, deadpan extraordinaire, who used his training as a regular leading man in po-faced dramas to fruitfully spoof them for 30 years, was one of them. News of his death today will be greeted with both remembered happiness and a huge amount of sadness.
Nielsen was born in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1926, 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle, the son of a mountie and a Welsh immigrant from Fulham. His older brother, Erik, was deputy prime minister of Canada during the 1980s, while their uncle, Jean Hersholt, was a prominent silent-film actor. Here, on David Letterman, promoting the second Naked Gun film, Nielsen credits...
- 11/29/2010
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
So there's this meme going around that Paolo tagged me with. So why not? The idea is that you list 15 directors, mainly off of the top of your head, that contributed to the way you experience and think about the movies. This is not a list of my all time favorites though half of the list would probably overlap. This is the list I come up with when I think briefly on the formative masterminds and/or the ones that have or had some sort of claim on my soul if you will. Three of them I could definitely live without at this point but I'm trying to be honest about the exercize.
Wise with Wood ~ West Side Story So here goes in no particular order...
Robert Wise (1914-2005)
When I was a kid West Side Story and The Sound of Music were the most Epically ! Epic !!! movies to me.
Wise with Wood ~ West Side Story So here goes in no particular order...
Robert Wise (1914-2005)
When I was a kid West Side Story and The Sound of Music were the most Epically ! Epic !!! movies to me.
- 10/25/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
New photos from the set of Transformers 3 have surfaced and like all Transformers set photos, they don.t feature any actual robots, because there aren.t any actual robots. Michael Bay will CGI them all in. Takes some of the fun out of it. Where were the paparazzi when Charlton Heston was filming Ben Hur? Now those would have been great photos since, you know, they actually had to build stuff and use real horses. Instead what we have are Transformers 3 set photos which, weirdly, look a lot like Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps photos, in jeans. Remember when Shia Labeouf was a sorta nerdy high school kid? And then remember when he was that sorta douchey frat boy? Now apparently he.s an investment banker or something, because he and Rosie Huntington-Whitley seemed dressed for business, and I.m not talking about Decepticon fighting business. Take a...
- 10/12/2010
- cinemablend.com
Melbourne, July 27 – Russell Crowe is all geared up to go back to the old days of ancient Rome, as he has joined the cast of theatre epic ‘Ben Hur’ in Australia.
‘Ben Hur – The Stadium Spectacular’, a massive live production based on the Hollywood movie starring Charlton Heston and featuring a full-scale chariot race and a sea battle, will be held at Anz Stadium in Sydney on October 22 and 23.
Australian-based actor Crowe, 46, confirmed his new gig as narrator via Twitter.
“I have decided to be the Narrator for Ben Hur live. This show will be immense. Anz Stadium, Sydney, October.
‘Ben Hur – The Stadium Spectacular’, a massive live production based on the Hollywood movie starring Charlton Heston and featuring a full-scale chariot race and a sea battle, will be held at Anz Stadium in Sydney on October 22 and 23.
Australian-based actor Crowe, 46, confirmed his new gig as narrator via Twitter.
“I have decided to be the Narrator for Ben Hur live. This show will be immense. Anz Stadium, Sydney, October.
- 7/27/2010
- by News
- RealBollywood.com
He wields a mean whiplash. Iron Man 2 stars Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko, a brilliant technologist and inventor who is unfairly branded a "villain" by an arrogant billionaire in a metal suit (Robert Downey Jr.). Oh, there's other people in the movie, like a rival billionaire weapons dude (Sam Rockwell), a stiff military man (Don Cheadle), an uptight business chick (Gwenyth Paltrow) and a foxy yet humorless vixen (Scarlett Johansson), but, make no mistake, it is Vanko who is the true hero, ready to lay down his life to defend the honor of his family, especially his fallen father. Toward that end, Vanko invents a wicked electronic whip that smacks the ground like thunder, slices fine European race cars in half, and puts the hurt on Tony Stark.
Vanko's whips are the latest variation on a movie tradition that dates back to silent movie days. Whips were widely used...
Vanko's whips are the latest variation on a movie tradition that dates back to silent movie days. Whips were widely used...
- 5/5/2010
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
Confession time: I'm not religious and I'm not not religious. I don't spend as much time as I probably should reflecting about The Big Things on Easter Sunday, and yet I feel guilty about that...so that's something, right? Anyway, last night I was snacking on some Cadbury Creme Eggs with the remote in my hand, flipping through the channels after the Duke-West Virginia game turned out to be a bust. That's when I stumbled onto ABC, which was airing a holiday film that is to the Easter/Passover season what It's a Wonderful Life is to Christmas: The Ten Commandments.
- 4/4/2010
- by Chris Nashawaty
- EW.com - PopWatch
(from left) Paul Newman, Bernie Mac, George Carlin, Estelle Getty, Roy Scheider and Heath Ledger For the past two years I have started doing a recap of a select group of notable names we lost from the entertainment world (and a few others) over the past year. This is by no means an all-encompassing list, but I think it's a pretty good representation of the cream of the crop when it comes to the people that left us in 2008, and I must say, we lost A Lot of big names this year... A Lot! Brad Renfro (Died January 15, 2008) - Former child star who began his career aged 12, playing the boy at the centre of 1994 mafia drama The Client. He died of a reported accidental heroin overdose. Bobby Fischer (Died January 17, 2008) - Reclusive chess champion who died of kidney failure who became as well known for his chess as he was...
- 12/22/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Quentin Tarantino has made a typically outspoken, expletive-ridden attack on the increasing use of CGI in modern movies, describing the practice as "computer game bullshit". Railing at the likes of the two Matrix sequels, which have taken the use of computer-generated special effects to new levels of complexity, the director told Empire magazine he was determined to stick to "old school" movie-making techniques for his own films. "You know, my guys are all real. There's no computer fucking around. I'm sick to death of all that shit. This is old school with fucking cameras. If I'd wanted all that computer game bullshit, I'd have gone home and stuck my dick in my Nintendo."
Charlton Heston has become the first beneficiary of a new film award carrying his own name. The veteran actor, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, received the Charlton Heston award from the American Film Institute at his home on Tuesday.
Charlton Heston has become the first beneficiary of a new film award carrying his own name. The veteran actor, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, received the Charlton Heston award from the American Film Institute at his home on Tuesday.
- 9/25/2003
- by Staff and agencies
- The Guardian - Film News
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