Early in Faye, Laurent Bouzereau’s entertaining portrait for HBO of screen legend Faye Dunaway, Bette Davis in a Johnny Carson clip names her without hesitation as the one star with whom she would never work again. Considering this is clearly a very authorized and deeply respectful bio-doc, it’s surprising how candidly it digs into the star’s reputation for being temperamental and demanding. Dunaway even plays into it herself — the first words we hear are her impatiently nudging the director to roll cameras on the present-day interview that binds the many recollections and self-reflections together.
“We need to shoot; I’m here now, come on,” says an exasperated Dunaway. Seated on a comfortable-looking sofa in an airy New York apartment living room, she huffs, “This is the worst seat in the world. I’m not happy with anything here.” But when she then snaps, “I need a glass of water,...
“We need to shoot; I’m here now, come on,” says an exasperated Dunaway. Seated on a comfortable-looking sofa in an airy New York apartment living room, she huffs, “This is the worst seat in the world. I’m not happy with anything here.” But when she then snaps, “I need a glass of water,...
- 5/28/2024
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni were writing the screenplay for their 1954 epic "Seven Samurai," they couldn't have predicted its lasting influence on cinema. Not only did Kurosawa's masterful direction alter and revolutionize the way action sequences would be shot, but the premise became a reliable and lasting template that multiple other filmmakers would employ in the ensuing decades. For those unlucky enough to have never seen "Seven Samurai," the setup is simple: a remote farming village is regularly looted by passing bandits, leaving them destitute. Unable to withstand another attack, the villagers gather up their modest means and hire seven rogue samurai to protect them. The samurai know that the job won't pay, but each one has their own reasons for joining the cause. Using their cunning and limited means, the samurai repel the bandit attack.
Most recently, the "Seven Samurai" premise was transposed onto Zack Snyder's "Rebel Moon.
Most recently, the "Seven Samurai" premise was transposed onto Zack Snyder's "Rebel Moon.
- 5/21/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Noon Gloom: Elkoussy Mounts Shadowy, Allegorical Fantasy
An industrial wasteland outside of a specific time or place provides the backdrop for Hala Elkoussy’s ingenious, but somewhat languid sophomore film East of Noon (Sharq 12). The film’s relationship to music and its enigmatic title evokes a blend of melodramatic elements, like the American rock band Head East, or Elia Kazan’s East of Eden (1955). And in essence, Elkhoussy is playing with past elements of cinema as allegory with this velvety black and white fairy tale of a nightmarish world somewhere in the Middle East. Though it takes some time orienting oneself in this universe, there are some powerful statements about what stands as the most profound way to survive an autocracy – by staying devoted to imagination and the creative process.…...
An industrial wasteland outside of a specific time or place provides the backdrop for Hala Elkoussy’s ingenious, but somewhat languid sophomore film East of Noon (Sharq 12). The film’s relationship to music and its enigmatic title evokes a blend of melodramatic elements, like the American rock band Head East, or Elia Kazan’s East of Eden (1955). And in essence, Elkhoussy is playing with past elements of cinema as allegory with this velvety black and white fairy tale of a nightmarish world somewhere in the Middle East. Though it takes some time orienting oneself in this universe, there are some powerful statements about what stands as the most profound way to survive an autocracy – by staying devoted to imagination and the creative process.…...
- 5/21/2024
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Late in the highly entertaining and enlightening new HBO Documentary Films movie on the life and career of Faye Dunaway we learn how much this iconic star just loves coming to the Cannes Film Festival. “Just about every year,” she says — not only for the world’s best films but also to immerse herself in all aspects of filmmaking. I have seen her many times just soaking it all up cinematically both here in Cannes and Telluride, to name two fests.
So it seems appropriate that the Cannes Classics section would be the place for the World Premiere Wednesday night — in the presence of Dunaway as the French like to call it — of this terrific new docu in which Dunaway pretty much tells it all straight about her life, loves, desires, ambitions, movies, co-stars, depression, controversies, family and hopes for the future in a profession she says she can’t imagine not working in.
So it seems appropriate that the Cannes Classics section would be the place for the World Premiere Wednesday night — in the presence of Dunaway as the French like to call it — of this terrific new docu in which Dunaway pretty much tells it all straight about her life, loves, desires, ambitions, movies, co-stars, depression, controversies, family and hopes for the future in a profession she says she can’t imagine not working in.
- 5/16/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Marla Adams, celebrated for her portrayal of Dina Abbott Mergeron on The Young and the Restless, has passed away at the age of 85. The news was confirmed by Matt Kane, the director of media and talent for Y&r, announcing her death in Los Angeles on Thursday. Career Beginnings and Early Acclaim Adams started her distinguished career on Broadway in 1958, performing with theater icons Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Visit. This early exposure to the limelight paved the way for her role as June, the high school best friend of Natalie Wood’s character in Elia Kazan’s Splendor
The post Marla Adams Dies at 85, Celebrated for Decades of Daytime Drama first appeared on TVovermind.
The post Marla Adams Dies at 85, Celebrated for Decades of Daytime Drama first appeared on TVovermind.
- 4/27/2024
- by Steve Delikson
- TVovermind.com
Marla Adams, celebrated for her portrayal of Dina Abbott Mergeron on The Young and the Restless, has passed away at the age of 85. The news was confirmed by Matt Kane, the director of media and talent for Y&r, announcing her death in Los Angeles on Thursday. Career Beginnings and Early Acclaim Adams started her distinguished career on Broadway in 1958, performing with theater icons Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Visit. This early exposure to the limelight paved the way for her role as June, the high school best friend of Natalie Wood’s character in Elia Kazan’s Splendor
The post Marla Adams Dies at 85, Celebrated for Decades of Daytime Drama first appeared on TVovermind.
The post Marla Adams Dies at 85, Celebrated for Decades of Daytime Drama first appeared on TVovermind.
- 4/27/2024
- by Steve Delikson
- TVovermind.com
In Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire," Blanche DuBois desperately clings to certain beliefs. She is keenly intent on reinforcing the societal values and morals inherent in her aristocratic lineage, shunning realism for the magic of a nostalgic past that hides something darker, and repressing her guilt with the help of self-soothing mechanisms. When faced with the terrible nature of reality, which culminates in the character of her brother-in-law Stanley, Blanche is forced to reckon with the cycles of the violence that mark her existence, along with the precious fantasies woven to protect herself from true growth or healing. When she smashes a mirror, the delusions also shatter, with fantasy having no hold on her perception of reality anymore.
The mirror-smashing scene is seminal to understanding Blanche in Williams' play, and "On the Waterfront" director Elia Kazan's film adaptation of the story also dramatizes this to chilling effect,...
The mirror-smashing scene is seminal to understanding Blanche in Williams' play, and "On the Waterfront" director Elia Kazan's film adaptation of the story also dramatizes this to chilling effect,...
- 4/20/2024
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
If Criterion24/7 hasn’t completely colonized your attention every time you open the Channel––this is to say: if you’re stronger than me––their May lineup may be of interest. First and foremost I’m happy to see a Michael Roemer triple-feature: his superlative Nothing But a Man, arriving in a Criterion Edition, and the recently rediscovered The Plot Against Harry and Vengeance is Mine, three distinct features that suggest a long-lost voice of American movies. Meanwhile, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Antiwar Trilogy four by Sara Driver, and a wide collection from Ayoka Chenzira fill out the auteurist sets.
Series-wise, a highlight of 1999 goes beyond the well-established canon with films like Trick and Bye Bye Africa, while of course including Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Scorsese, and Claire Denis. Films starring Shirley Maclaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and Columbia’s “golden era” (read: 1950-1961) are curated; meanwhile, The Breaking Ice,...
Series-wise, a highlight of 1999 goes beyond the well-established canon with films like Trick and Bye Bye Africa, while of course including Sofia Coppola, Michael Mann, Scorsese, and Claire Denis. Films starring Shirley Maclaine, a study of 1960s paranoia, and Columbia’s “golden era” (read: 1950-1961) are curated; meanwhile, The Breaking Ice,...
- 4/17/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
If there was any doubt at all about whether Anthony Quinn was a true star, just take a look look at his track record. A film career that lasted 66 (!) years. Appearances in 151 films. Winner of two Academy Awards (for “Viva Zapata!’ and ‘Lust for Life’). Nominated for two more. Two BAFTA nominations. Five Golden Globe nominations. Nominated for a Primetime Emmy. And even a 382-performance run on Broadway as the star of the stage musical “Zorba,” based on his own hit film. That, my friend, is a star.
Born in Mexico but raised in Texas, Quinn began his career as a professional boxer but soon segued to acting. Blessed with looks that defied pigeonholing, Quinn played characters who were Latino, Greek, Italian, Arab and Native American (among many others), allowing him to explore a range of characterizations that few actors would be able to pull off so skillfully. Quinn’s talent,...
Born in Mexico but raised in Texas, Quinn began his career as a professional boxer but soon segued to acting. Blessed with looks that defied pigeonholing, Quinn played characters who were Latino, Greek, Italian, Arab and Native American (among many others), allowing him to explore a range of characterizations that few actors would be able to pull off so skillfully. Quinn’s talent,...
- 4/13/2024
- by Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
Jeanine Basinger, a veteran film professor, historian and author, helped build Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, into a film powerhouse during her 60 years at the institution. On April 20, the esteemed academic will receive the TCM Classic Film Festival’s Robert Osborne Award, which recognizes an individual who has helped keep the cultural heritage of classic film alive for future generations. Its four previous recipients were Martin Scorsese and film historians/authors Kevin Brownlow, Leonard Maltin and Donald Bogle. Basinger, a youthful 88, spoke with THR about her life and career.
How did you fall in love with movies?
Jeanine Basinger
I grew up in South Dakota, and at 11 I got a job as an usher at a local movie theater. My film school was watching movies — and how audiences reacted to them — over and over again. I began visiting film archives and interviewing film personalities who responded to my outreach. I was hooked.
How did you fall in love with movies?
Jeanine Basinger
I grew up in South Dakota, and at 11 I got a job as an usher at a local movie theater. My film school was watching movies — and how audiences reacted to them — over and over again. I began visiting film archives and interviewing film personalities who responded to my outreach. I was hooked.
- 4/12/2024
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rod Steiger is primarily remembered for his tough guys in such films as “Al Capone,” “The Big Knife” and his Oscar-winning performance in “In the Heat of the Night.” But his performances include such diverse characters as a meek Holocaust survivor in “The Pawnbroker” and a fey embalmer in the satire “The Loved One.”
In addition to his performance in “In the Heat of the Night,” for which Steiger also won a Golden Globe as well, he was Oscar-nominated for “The Pawnbroker” and for his iconic performance as the brother of Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) in the back seat of that car in Elia Kazan‘s “On the Waterfront.”
So let’s raise a glass to the late great man and honor him by counting down his 12 greatest screen performances, ranked from worst to best.
In addition to his performance in “In the Heat of the Night,” for which Steiger also won a Golden Globe as well, he was Oscar-nominated for “The Pawnbroker” and for his iconic performance as the brother of Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) in the back seat of that car in Elia Kazan‘s “On the Waterfront.”
So let’s raise a glass to the late great man and honor him by counting down his 12 greatest screen performances, ranked from worst to best.
- 4/6/2024
- by Tom O'Brien, Misty Holland and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Dev Patel’s feature directorial debut Monkey Man leads the new films at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, starting in 592 cinemas through Universal.
Directed, produced, from a story by and starring Patel, Monkey Man follows an anonymous young man who unleashes a campaign of violence against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother, and continue to systematically victimise the poor and powerless.
Filmed in early 2021, Netflix originally bought worldwide rights to Monkey Man. After Jordan Peele boarded the title as producer through his Monkeypaw Productions, Universal acquired it from Netflix earlier this year. It debuted at SXSW last month.
Directed, produced, from a story by and starring Patel, Monkey Man follows an anonymous young man who unleashes a campaign of violence against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother, and continue to systematically victimise the poor and powerless.
Filmed in early 2021, Netflix originally bought worldwide rights to Monkey Man. After Jordan Peele boarded the title as producer through his Monkeypaw Productions, Universal acquired it from Netflix earlier this year. It debuted at SXSW last month.
- 4/5/2024
- ScreenDaily
Rereleased for its 70th anniversary, Elia Kazan’s classic exploration of corruption and whether or not to squeal is made all the more viscerally powerful by his own Huac testimony
‘The Romans found out what a handful could do, if it’s the right handful,” says Karl Malden’s priest Father Pete Barry to the crowd of sullen, nervous New Jersey longshoremen he’s persuaded to come to his church, like the early Christians hiding in caves; they are wondering whether to stand up to the crooked union mob boss Johnny Friendly, played by Lee J Cobb. Meanwhile, ex-boxer Terry Malloy, played by Marlon Brando, sits at the back of the church, smirking and eavesdropping; midway between Judas and Jesus, he is the washed-up fighter who gets cushy dockworker jobs from Johnny in return for shameful dirty work, his stevedore’s hook hitched over his shoulder. It’s same kind...
‘The Romans found out what a handful could do, if it’s the right handful,” says Karl Malden’s priest Father Pete Barry to the crowd of sullen, nervous New Jersey longshoremen he’s persuaded to come to his church, like the early Christians hiding in caves; they are wondering whether to stand up to the crooked union mob boss Johnny Friendly, played by Lee J Cobb. Meanwhile, ex-boxer Terry Malloy, played by Marlon Brando, sits at the back of the church, smirking and eavesdropping; midway between Judas and Jesus, he is the washed-up fighter who gets cushy dockworker jobs from Johnny in return for shameful dirty work, his stevedore’s hook hitched over his shoulder. It’s same kind...
- 4/3/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Honors were even atop the U.K. and Ireland box office as Universal’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” and Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” battled for top spot during the Easter holiday weekend.
While “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” won the three-day weekend, “Kung Fu Panda 4” had the higher gross including previews. According to numbers provided by Comscore, “Kung Fu Panda 4” collected £5 million ($6.3) million, while “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” took in £4.1 million ($5.2 million).
In third place, in its second weekend, Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” collected £2.1 million for a total of £8.2 million. In its fifth weekend, in fourth place, Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part II” grossed £1.6 million to take its total to £34 million.
Debuting at fifth place was Indian filmmaker Blessy’s acclaimed desert saga “Aadujeevitham” (“The Goat Life”), distributed by Dg Tech, with £480,977.
There were two more debuts in the top 10. Studiocanal...
While “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” won the three-day weekend, “Kung Fu Panda 4” had the higher gross including previews. According to numbers provided by Comscore, “Kung Fu Panda 4” collected £5 million ($6.3) million, while “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” took in £4.1 million ($5.2 million).
In third place, in its second weekend, Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” collected £2.1 million for a total of £8.2 million. In its fifth weekend, in fourth place, Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part II” grossed £1.6 million to take its total to £34 million.
Debuting at fifth place was Indian filmmaker Blessy’s acclaimed desert saga “Aadujeevitham” (“The Goat Life”), distributed by Dg Tech, with £480,977.
There were two more debuts in the top 10. Studiocanal...
- 4/2/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Everyone remembers their first time. That is the first time they saw Marlon Brando.
For the late Mike Nichols, seeing Brando on Broadway in 1947 in his seminal turn as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams‘ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” was the catalyst that lead to his career in the arts which saw him become a rare Egot winner. The teenage Nichols and his then girlfriend’s mother were given tickets for the second night of the Elia Kazan-directed production. “There had never been anything like it, I know that by now,” Nichols recalled in a 2010 L.A. Times interview. It was, to this day, the only thing onstage that I had ever seen that was 100% real and 100% poetic. Lucy and I weren’t exactly theater buffs, but we couldn’t get up at the intermission. We were just so stunned. Your heart was pounding. It was a major experience.”
Susan L.
For the late Mike Nichols, seeing Brando on Broadway in 1947 in his seminal turn as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams‘ “A Streetcar Named Desire,” was the catalyst that lead to his career in the arts which saw him become a rare Egot winner. The teenage Nichols and his then girlfriend’s mother were given tickets for the second night of the Elia Kazan-directed production. “There had never been anything like it, I know that by now,” Nichols recalled in a 2010 L.A. Times interview. It was, to this day, the only thing onstage that I had ever seen that was 100% real and 100% poetic. Lucy and I weren’t exactly theater buffs, but we couldn’t get up at the intermission. We were just so stunned. Your heart was pounding. It was a major experience.”
Susan L.
- 4/2/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Ron Harper, who starred on Planet of the Apes and four other short-lived primetime series and on the final season of the beloved kids TV show Land of the Lost during a very busy 15 years on television, has died. He was 91.
Harper died Thursday of natural causes at his home in West Hills, his daughter, Nicole Longeuay, told The Hollywood Reporter.
After understudying for Paul Newman on Broadway, Harper portrayed Det. Bert Kling alongside Norman Fell, Robert Lansing, Gregory Walcott and Gena Rowlands on the 1961-62 NBC cop show 87th Precinct, based on the novels of Ed McBain.
He played Jeff Conway, the husband of Connie Stevens’ character, on the 1964-65 ABC sitcom Wendy and Me, also starring George Burns, who produced the show and appeared as the owner of the apartment building in which the young couple lives.
Next up for Harper were turns as the son of Jean Arthur...
Harper died Thursday of natural causes at his home in West Hills, his daughter, Nicole Longeuay, told The Hollywood Reporter.
After understudying for Paul Newman on Broadway, Harper portrayed Det. Bert Kling alongside Norman Fell, Robert Lansing, Gregory Walcott and Gena Rowlands on the 1961-62 NBC cop show 87th Precinct, based on the novels of Ed McBain.
He played Jeff Conway, the husband of Connie Stevens’ character, on the 1964-65 ABC sitcom Wendy and Me, also starring George Burns, who produced the show and appeared as the owner of the apartment building in which the young couple lives.
Next up for Harper were turns as the son of Jean Arthur...
- 3/25/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Before he even had a dozen movies on his directing resume, Elia Kazan had seen nine different actors to Oscar victories. Nearly seven decades later, he remains one of only two filmmakers associated with that many or more winning performances (along with William Wyler) and one of four responsible for at least one victor in each of the four acting categories. Check out our complete photo gallery of Oscar-winning turns in Kazan films, which also includes a rundown of the unsuccessful nominees directed by him.
Between 1945 and 1976, Kazan directed 19 narrative feature films, 13 of which earned a collective total of 59 Oscar nominations and 21 wins. Prior to his death in 2003, he was personally recognized seven times across three categories, winning Best Director for “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1948) and “On the Waterfront” (1955). He also received an honorary award in 1999 “in appreciation of a long, distinguished and unparalleled career.”
The performances included in this gallery are listed in chronological order,...
Between 1945 and 1976, Kazan directed 19 narrative feature films, 13 of which earned a collective total of 59 Oscar nominations and 21 wins. Prior to his death in 2003, he was personally recognized seven times across three categories, winning Best Director for “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1948) and “On the Waterfront” (1955). He also received an honorary award in 1999 “in appreciation of a long, distinguished and unparalleled career.”
The performances included in this gallery are listed in chronological order,...
- 3/22/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Before he even had a dozen movies on his directing resume, Elia Kazan had seen nine different actors to Oscar victories. Nearly seven decades later, he remains one of only two filmmakers associated with that many or more winning performances (along with William Wyler) and one of four responsible for at least one victor in each of the four acting categories. Check out our complete photo gallery of Oscar-winning turns in Kazan films, which also includes a rundown of the unsuccessful nominees directed by him.
Between 1945 and 1976, Kazan directed 19 narrative feature films, 13 of which earned a collective total of 59 Oscar nominations and 21 wins. Prior to his death in 2003, he was personally recognized seven times across three categories, winning Best Director for “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1948) and “On the Waterfront” (1955). He also received an honorary award in 1999 “in appreciation of a long, distinguished and unparalleled career.”
The performances included in this gallery are listed in chronological order,...
Between 1945 and 1976, Kazan directed 19 narrative feature films, 13 of which earned a collective total of 59 Oscar nominations and 21 wins. Prior to his death in 2003, he was personally recognized seven times across three categories, winning Best Director for “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1948) and “On the Waterfront” (1955). He also received an honorary award in 1999 “in appreciation of a long, distinguished and unparalleled career.”
The performances included in this gallery are listed in chronological order,...
- 3/22/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Cinephiles will have plenty to celebrate this April with the next slate of additions to the Criterion Channel. The boutique distributor, which recently announced its June 2024 Blu-ray releases, has unveiled its new streaming lineup highlighted by an eclectic mix of classic films and modern arthouse hits.
Students of Hollywood history will be treated to the “Peak Noir: 1950” collection, which features 17 noir films from the landmark film year from directors including Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, and John Huston.
New Hollywood maverick William Friedkin will also be celebrated when five of his most beloved movies, including “Sorcerer” and “The Exorcist,” come to the channel in April.
Criterion will offer the streaming premiere of Wim Wenders’ 3D art documentary “Anselm,” which will be accompanied by the “Wim Wenders’ Adventures in Moviegoing” collection, which sees the director curating a selection of films from around the world that have influenced his careers.
Contemporary cinema is also well represented,...
Students of Hollywood history will be treated to the “Peak Noir: 1950” collection, which features 17 noir films from the landmark film year from directors including Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, and John Huston.
New Hollywood maverick William Friedkin will also be celebrated when five of his most beloved movies, including “Sorcerer” and “The Exorcist,” come to the channel in April.
Criterion will offer the streaming premiere of Wim Wenders’ 3D art documentary “Anselm,” which will be accompanied by the “Wim Wenders’ Adventures in Moviegoing” collection, which sees the director curating a selection of films from around the world that have influenced his careers.
Contemporary cinema is also well represented,...
- 3/18/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
April’s an uncommonly strong auteurist month for the Criterion Channel, who will highlight a number of directors––many of whom aren’t often grouped together. Just after we screened House of Tolerance at the Roxy Cinema, Criterion are showing it and Nocturama for a two-film Bertrand Bonello retrospective, starting just four days before The Beast opens. Larger and rarer (but just as French) is the complete Jean Eustache series Janus toured last year. Meanwhile, five William Friedkin films and work from Makoto Shinkai, Lizzie Borden, and Rosine Mbakam are given a highlight.
One of my very favorite films, Comrades: Almost a Love Story plays in a series I’ve been trying to program for years: “Hong Kong in New York,” boasting the magnificent Full Moon in New York, Farewell China, and An Autumn’s Tale. Wim Wenders gets his “Adventures in Moviegoing”; After Hours, Personal Shopper, and Werckmeister Harmonies fill...
One of my very favorite films, Comrades: Almost a Love Story plays in a series I’ve been trying to program for years: “Hong Kong in New York,” boasting the magnificent Full Moon in New York, Farewell China, and An Autumn’s Tale. Wim Wenders gets his “Adventures in Moviegoing”; After Hours, Personal Shopper, and Werckmeister Harmonies fill...
- 3/18/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
A movie marathon with our favorite auteurs? Where do we sign up?
Turner Classic Movies’ latest limited series “Two for One” features curated double features coupled with commentary from select guest programmers like Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, and more. The upcoming TCM series is hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, who will interview each director about why they chose to highlight their two chosen films.
“Two for One” will feature 12 nights of double features, beginning April 6. With the logline “two films, one filmmaker, countless perspectives,” the series is set to span all of cinematic history. Directors will offer commentary on the double feature’s cultural significance, its influence on other films, behind-the-scenes stories, and their own personal reflections.
Martin Scorsese kicks off the show with a conversation comparing “Blood on the Moon” and “One Touch of Venus.” The following week, actress/director Olivia Wilde picks “Auntie Mame” and 1976 documentary “Grey Gardens.
Turner Classic Movies’ latest limited series “Two for One” features curated double features coupled with commentary from select guest programmers like Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, and more. The upcoming TCM series is hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, who will interview each director about why they chose to highlight their two chosen films.
“Two for One” will feature 12 nights of double features, beginning April 6. With the logline “two films, one filmmaker, countless perspectives,” the series is set to span all of cinematic history. Directors will offer commentary on the double feature’s cultural significance, its influence on other films, behind-the-scenes stories, and their own personal reflections.
Martin Scorsese kicks off the show with a conversation comparing “Blood on the Moon” and “One Touch of Venus.” The following week, actress/director Olivia Wilde picks “Auntie Mame” and 1976 documentary “Grey Gardens.
- 3/8/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Turner Classic Movies have announced a new limited series, Two for One, that will feature 12 nights of double features curated by some of the most celebrated filmmakers in Hollywood beginning April 6. TCM Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz will be joined by each director, including Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Todd Haynes, Spike Lee, Nicole Holofcener, and Rian Johnson, to introduce the two films they chose. They will offer commentary on the double feature’s cultural significance, its influence on other films, behind-the-scenes stories, and their own personal reflections.
“This was such an eclectic group of filmmakers to sit down with, which was invigorating, from Martin Scorsese talking about a Robert Mitchum western, to Spike Lee discussing Elia Kazan, to Olivia Wilde’s breakdown of Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame,” said Ben Mankiewicz. “In these double features, these 12 directors lead us on an insider’s journey through cinematic history.”
See...
“This was such an eclectic group of filmmakers to sit down with, which was invigorating, from Martin Scorsese talking about a Robert Mitchum western, to Spike Lee discussing Elia Kazan, to Olivia Wilde’s breakdown of Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame,” said Ben Mankiewicz. “In these double features, these 12 directors lead us on an insider’s journey through cinematic history.”
See...
- 3/8/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Italy’s Torino Film Festival will celebrate the centennial of Marlon Brando’s birth with a 24-title retrospective of films featuring the groundbreaking two-time Oscar winner, known for his naturalistic acting style and rebellious streak.
The Brando retro will be “the backbone” of the fest, according to its new artistic director, Italian actor/director Giulio Base. Accordingly, an image of Brando – photographed when he was shooting Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris” – is featured on the poster for the fest’s upcoming 42nd edition, which will run Nov. 22-30.
Torino is Italy’s preeminent event for young directors and indie cinema, and is where Matteo Garrone and Paolo Sorrentino screened their first works. The festival’s lineup will be announced at a later date.
“As an actor, Brando has always been my guiding star and I had been wondering for a while – since way before being appointed at Torino...
The Brando retro will be “the backbone” of the fest, according to its new artistic director, Italian actor/director Giulio Base. Accordingly, an image of Brando – photographed when he was shooting Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris” – is featured on the poster for the fest’s upcoming 42nd edition, which will run Nov. 22-30.
Torino is Italy’s preeminent event for young directors and indie cinema, and is where Matteo Garrone and Paolo Sorrentino screened their first works. The festival’s lineup will be announced at a later date.
“As an actor, Brando has always been my guiding star and I had been wondering for a while – since way before being appointed at Torino...
- 2/27/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios has had a winning record coming to the Berlin Film Festival since 2013, when his film Gueros took the Best First Feature prize. Five years later he was back with his second, the sensational museum-heist film Museo, and deservedly won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay. His third, A Cop Movie, which plays with the traditional docu form by using actors, won Best Documentary at Mexico’s Golden Ariel Awards.
Ruizpalacios belongs in the same league as iconic current Mexican directors Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón and particularly Alejandro González Iñárritu, whose cinematic style seems closest to what Ruizpalacios has been doing. His latest trip to Berlin, La Cocina, reinforces the thrilling talent of this singular filmmaker who for the first time has shot a film using both Spanish and English. It features American star Rooney Mara as well as a stunning, uninhibited, shoot-for-the-stars turn from Raul Briones,...
Ruizpalacios belongs in the same league as iconic current Mexican directors Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón and particularly Alejandro González Iñárritu, whose cinematic style seems closest to what Ruizpalacios has been doing. His latest trip to Berlin, La Cocina, reinforces the thrilling talent of this singular filmmaker who for the first time has shot a film using both Spanish and English. It features American star Rooney Mara as well as a stunning, uninhibited, shoot-for-the-stars turn from Raul Briones,...
- 2/16/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Since the beginning of the Academy Awards in the late 1920s, Hollywood filmmakers have been making socially conscious films. Many of the best of those have scored the film town’s top honor — Oscar best picture.
This year, that winner could be “Oppenheimer,” a film that boldly and starkly dramatizes the creation of man’s most dangerous invention: atomic weapons.
It could be “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a film that brought a lost and dreadful piece of American history into the sunlight of the Cannes Film Festival and ultimately the spotlights of awards season.
It could be either “Barbie” or “Poor Things,” two of the wildest, most colorful and inventive investigations of feminist and/or post-feminist womanhood to ever hit the big screen.
It could be “American Fiction,” a wry and witty look at Black American middle-class identity and family relations under preposterous, dispiriting cultural pressures.
But will the...
This year, that winner could be “Oppenheimer,” a film that boldly and starkly dramatizes the creation of man’s most dangerous invention: atomic weapons.
It could be “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a film that brought a lost and dreadful piece of American history into the sunlight of the Cannes Film Festival and ultimately the spotlights of awards season.
It could be either “Barbie” or “Poor Things,” two of the wildest, most colorful and inventive investigations of feminist and/or post-feminist womanhood to ever hit the big screen.
It could be “American Fiction,” a wry and witty look at Black American middle-class identity and family relations under preposterous, dispiriting cultural pressures.
But will the...
- 2/16/2024
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Elderly television viewers in the 1980s and '90s had an amazing Hollywood ally in Dean Hargrove.
The small-screen veteran got his start in the 1960s as a writer for "My Three Sons" and "The Bob Newhart Show" (the unsuccessful precursor to the wildly successful 1970s sitcom of the same name), and received credit for some of the best episodes of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." He wrote on arguably the greatest mystery series to ever air on network TV (we're not arguing if you read that passage and immediately thought "Columbo"), and kept Dennis Weaver employed as a producer on "McCloud."
But his most lasting impact on the medium was his 1985 - 2002 run as the producer of such old-people-go-a-sleuthin' shows as the "Perry Mason" television movies, "Jake and the Fatman," "The Father Dowling Mysteries," "Diagnosis: Murder" and the grandpappy of them all, "Matlock."
Hargrove's genius was turning America's favorite TV...
The small-screen veteran got his start in the 1960s as a writer for "My Three Sons" and "The Bob Newhart Show" (the unsuccessful precursor to the wildly successful 1970s sitcom of the same name), and received credit for some of the best episodes of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." He wrote on arguably the greatest mystery series to ever air on network TV (we're not arguing if you read that passage and immediately thought "Columbo"), and kept Dennis Weaver employed as a producer on "McCloud."
But his most lasting impact on the medium was his 1985 - 2002 run as the producer of such old-people-go-a-sleuthin' shows as the "Perry Mason" television movies, "Jake and the Fatman," "The Father Dowling Mysteries," "Diagnosis: Murder" and the grandpappy of them all, "Matlock."
Hargrove's genius was turning America's favorite TV...
- 2/6/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Courtesy of Kino Lorber
by Chad Kennerk
Set in the 1920s, Has Anybody Seen My Gal? gets its name from the once-popular jazz song recorded by the California Ramblers in 1925. Loosely based upon the Eleanor Porter novel Oh Money! Money! (she was also the author behind Pollyanna), the 1952 jukebox musical comedy was given the full Technicolor treatment – a visual bee’s knees in Kino Lorber’s sterling release.
The Universal Pictures title makes good use of Twenties tunes such as ‘Tiger Rag,’ ‘When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along,’ ‘It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More,’ ‘Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?’ - and of course, ‘Has Anybody Seen My Gal?’. It was directed by studio regular Douglas Sirk, who would go on to make his name with lush, slyly ironic melodramas such as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind (all with Rock Hudson), There's Always Tomorrow,...
by Chad Kennerk
Set in the 1920s, Has Anybody Seen My Gal? gets its name from the once-popular jazz song recorded by the California Ramblers in 1925. Loosely based upon the Eleanor Porter novel Oh Money! Money! (she was also the author behind Pollyanna), the 1952 jukebox musical comedy was given the full Technicolor treatment – a visual bee’s knees in Kino Lorber’s sterling release.
The Universal Pictures title makes good use of Twenties tunes such as ‘Tiger Rag,’ ‘When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along,’ ‘It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More,’ ‘Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?’ - and of course, ‘Has Anybody Seen My Gal?’. It was directed by studio regular Douglas Sirk, who would go on to make his name with lush, slyly ironic melodramas such as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind (all with Rock Hudson), There's Always Tomorrow,...
- 1/15/2024
- by Chad Kennerk
- Film Review Daily
Albert Einstein had his theory of relativity, and Breaking Baz has his theory of party lift-off.
Friday night at the Universal filmed entertainment soiree, the moment of fusion came when Snoop Dogg hit the room at the Sunset Tower and was immediately embraced by Oppenheimer stars Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh.
No wait. Surely, it was when Blunt took Robert Downey Jr. in her arms and a giddy little waltz ensued.
Maybe the right molecular vibe kicked in when Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan arrived with Emma Thomas, its producer, and they fell into a lively conversation with Cillian Murphy and Downey Jr.
Perhaps it was when Colman Domingo sauntered in, resplendent in red. He stars in Netflix movie Rustin and WB’s The Color Purple, neither of them linked to Universal. Didn’t matter a jot. The warmth of the welcome for him was palpable. “I’m happy to be here,...
Friday night at the Universal filmed entertainment soiree, the moment of fusion came when Snoop Dogg hit the room at the Sunset Tower and was immediately embraced by Oppenheimer stars Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh.
No wait. Surely, it was when Blunt took Robert Downey Jr. in her arms and a giddy little waltz ensued.
Maybe the right molecular vibe kicked in when Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan arrived with Emma Thomas, its producer, and they fell into a lively conversation with Cillian Murphy and Downey Jr.
Perhaps it was when Colman Domingo sauntered in, resplendent in red. He stars in Netflix movie Rustin and WB’s The Color Purple, neither of them linked to Universal. Didn’t matter a jot. The warmth of the welcome for him was palpable. “I’m happy to be here,...
- 1/13/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
If Hollywood truly suffers from a leadership malaise, as some charge, would the return of Monroe Stahr resuscitate the system? Filmmakers respect his judgment, stars his panache and investors his discipline, so Stahr’s return may ignite a new Irving Thalberg-like era.
Whoops — he’s not available.
The manic and manipulative hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon ruled MGM in its ‘30s heyday, but Stahr’s fictional reign was short-lived. So was Fitzgerald’s brilliant but never completed 1939 novel, which modeled Stahr after Thalberg.
Having achieved literary stardom with The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s decision to write a Hollywood novel, while simultaneously working as a script doctor, plunged the novelist into alcoholic paralysis. He never managed to finish his book and even his screenplays were unrealized.
The Last Tycoon briefly flickered back to life as a movie thanks to the great Elia Kazan, who cast Robert De Niro,...
Whoops — he’s not available.
The manic and manipulative hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon ruled MGM in its ‘30s heyday, but Stahr’s fictional reign was short-lived. So was Fitzgerald’s brilliant but never completed 1939 novel, which modeled Stahr after Thalberg.
Having achieved literary stardom with The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s decision to write a Hollywood novel, while simultaneously working as a script doctor, plunged the novelist into alcoholic paralysis. He never managed to finish his book and even his screenplays were unrealized.
The Last Tycoon briefly flickered back to life as a movie thanks to the great Elia Kazan, who cast Robert De Niro,...
- 1/4/2024
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Director and all-round legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg has had a legacy in cinema that has transcended several generations. While names like Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Elia Kazan, and John Ford represent filmmakers of the Golden Age of Hollywood, Steven Spielberg is known and recognized for his contribution as one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era of filmmaking. Spielberg-directed movies have grossed over $10 billion at the Box Office. With a half-a-century filmmaking career, Steven Spielberg has directed over 30 feature films. Over the years, the filmmaker built a working relationship with several actors, screenwriters, filmmakers, and cinematographers.
- 12/27/2023
- by Onyinye Izundu
- TVovermind.com
Screenwriter Norma Barzman, who got her start during the Golden Age of Hollywood and was blacklisted with her husband during the McCarthy era, died Sunday in Beverly Hills, her son Paolo confirmed. She was 103.
Barzman and her husband, fellow screenwriter Ben Barzman, moved to Europe as did many other Hollywood progressives who came under McCarthy’s scrutiny. The couple and their seven children lived in London, Paris and Mougins, France between 1949 and 1976. Ben Barzman died in 1989.
Norma Barzman was also active in getting credits restored for blacklisted writers whose films were released with a “front” name, such as her film “The Locket.” In 1999, her writing credit was restored on the 1953 film “Luxury Girls,” which had carried the name of the front Ennio Flaiano.
Barzman spoke out in protest when Elia Kazan, who was a witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, was given an honorary Oscar in 1998, and was...
Barzman and her husband, fellow screenwriter Ben Barzman, moved to Europe as did many other Hollywood progressives who came under McCarthy’s scrutiny. The couple and their seven children lived in London, Paris and Mougins, France between 1949 and 1976. Ben Barzman died in 1989.
Norma Barzman was also active in getting credits restored for blacklisted writers whose films were released with a “front” name, such as her film “The Locket.” In 1999, her writing credit was restored on the 1953 film “Luxury Girls,” which had carried the name of the front Ennio Flaiano.
Barzman spoke out in protest when Elia Kazan, who was a witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, was given an honorary Oscar in 1998, and was...
- 12/19/2023
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
Norma Barzman, Screenwriter Who Was Among the Last Survivors of the Hollywood Blacklist, Dies at 103
Norma Barzman, an admired screenwriter of 1940s films whose career was derailed by the Hollywood blacklist and who was one of its last survivors, died Sunday. She was 103.
Barzman died of natural causes, surrounded by family, at her home in Beverly Hills, her daughter Suzo Barzman told The Hollywood Reporter.
Born Norma Levor in New York City on Sept. 15, 1920, and raised between the U.S. and Europe, Barzman moved to Hollywood on her 21st birthday. By that time, she had already attended Radcliffe for two years before dropping out and had spent a year living in Princeton, New Jersey, as the young bride of Claude Shannon — later known as “the father of information theory” — before their divorce in 1941.
Out west, Barzman was enrolled by her older cousin, a writer, at the left-leaning School of Writers. In 1942, after a fateful meeting at a Halloween party, she married the up-and-coming screenwriter Ben Barzman,...
Barzman died of natural causes, surrounded by family, at her home in Beverly Hills, her daughter Suzo Barzman told The Hollywood Reporter.
Born Norma Levor in New York City on Sept. 15, 1920, and raised between the U.S. and Europe, Barzman moved to Hollywood on her 21st birthday. By that time, she had already attended Radcliffe for two years before dropping out and had spent a year living in Princeton, New Jersey, as the young bride of Claude Shannon — later known as “the father of information theory” — before their divorce in 1941.
Out west, Barzman was enrolled by her older cousin, a writer, at the left-leaning School of Writers. In 1942, after a fateful meeting at a Halloween party, she married the up-and-coming screenwriter Ben Barzman,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series spotlighting the year’s most talked-about scripts continues with Asteroid City, Wes Anderson’s latest film that had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Anderson penned the script with his frequent collaborator Roman Coppola after the two previously teamed on the Anderson-directed The Darjeeling Limited, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch and Moonrise Kingdom, the latter of which scored the pair an Original Screenplay Oscar nom in 2023.
The plot is set in 1955 and revolves around the American Southwest desert town of Asteroid City (population: 87), whose famed attraction is a giant meteor crater and observatory. The one-telephone-booth town is playing host to the military and astronomers honoring five Junior Stargazers with awards for their scientific inventions. It’s also the weekend celebrating Asteroid Day, commemorating September 27, 3007 BC, when that Arid Plains meteorite made impact.
It’s also the weekend an alien appears,...
Anderson penned the script with his frequent collaborator Roman Coppola after the two previously teamed on the Anderson-directed The Darjeeling Limited, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch and Moonrise Kingdom, the latter of which scored the pair an Original Screenplay Oscar nom in 2023.
The plot is set in 1955 and revolves around the American Southwest desert town of Asteroid City (population: 87), whose famed attraction is a giant meteor crater and observatory. The one-telephone-booth town is playing host to the military and astronomers honoring five Junior Stargazers with awards for their scientific inventions. It’s also the weekend celebrating Asteroid Day, commemorating September 27, 3007 BC, when that Arid Plains meteorite made impact.
It’s also the weekend an alien appears,...
- 12/14/2023
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Rounding up the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood, as voted on by hundreds of film executives, The Black List has been a strong resource to clue one in on projects to potentially anticipate, but first, to kickstart Hollywood on bringing them to screen. Today we have this year’s edition, as voted on by more than 375 film executives.
Topping the 2023 edition is Travis Braun’s Bad Boy, which follows a rescue dog who suspects his loving new owner is a serial killer. Other scripts include The Great Pretender, a drama which imagines the kidnapping of Tom Hanks; the Super Bowl-set sniper drama The Nest; the Area 51 thriller 10/24/02; a Hans Christian Andersen meets Charles Dickens fantasy; plus films about Patsy Cline, Didier Drogba, Arthur Miller and Elia Kazan, Ftx’s downfall, and more.
See the list below via Deadline (and Pdf here), ranked from top to bottom by number of votes.
Topping the 2023 edition is Travis Braun’s Bad Boy, which follows a rescue dog who suspects his loving new owner is a serial killer. Other scripts include The Great Pretender, a drama which imagines the kidnapping of Tom Hanks; the Super Bowl-set sniper drama The Nest; the Area 51 thriller 10/24/02; a Hans Christian Andersen meets Charles Dickens fantasy; plus films about Patsy Cline, Didier Drogba, Arthur Miller and Elia Kazan, Ftx’s downfall, and more.
See the list below via Deadline (and Pdf here), ranked from top to bottom by number of votes.
- 12/11/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Black List announced the top unproduced screenplays of the year on Monday, December 11.
The “most liked” scripts include 76 feature screenplays by 80 writers, selected by more than 375 film executives. In the 19th edition of the annual list, the topics range from a Tom Hanks meta satire to a time-traveling couple who try to fall out of love. The making of ill-fated Broadway production “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” a Patsy Cline biopic, and the true story behind the feud between Elia Kazan and Arthur Miller are also among the selected scripts.
After Todd Haynes helmed The Black List alum Samy Burch’s “May December” script, leading to multiple Golden Globe nominations, this year’s crop of best scripts is all the more essential following the writers strike.
“This year, the industry was defined by a debate about the value of writers within it, and I think it’s inevitable that...
The “most liked” scripts include 76 feature screenplays by 80 writers, selected by more than 375 film executives. In the 19th edition of the annual list, the topics range from a Tom Hanks meta satire to a time-traveling couple who try to fall out of love. The making of ill-fated Broadway production “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” a Patsy Cline biopic, and the true story behind the feud between Elia Kazan and Arthur Miller are also among the selected scripts.
After Todd Haynes helmed The Black List alum Samy Burch’s “May December” script, leading to multiple Golden Globe nominations, this year’s crop of best scripts is all the more essential following the writers strike.
“This year, the industry was defined by a debate about the value of writers within it, and I think it’s inevitable that...
- 12/11/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Travis Braun’s screenplay Bad Boy, which follows a rescue dog who suspects that his loving new owner is a serial killer, topped the 2023 Black List today. The 19th edition, which was selected by more than 375 film executives, counts 76 feature screenplays by 80 writers.
Second place went to Justin Piasecki’s Stakehorse which follows a racetrack veterinarian who runs an off-the-books ER for criminals, and finds his practice and life in jeopardy when he’s recruited for his patient’s heist.
“This year, the industry was defined by a debate about the value of writers within it, and I think it’s inevitable that this year’s Black List means more than it has in the past,” said its founder Franklin Leonard. “I’ve been saying that writing is the lifeblood of the industry for almost twenty years now, and I’ll continue saying it until the industry actually starts acting like it.
Second place went to Justin Piasecki’s Stakehorse which follows a racetrack veterinarian who runs an off-the-books ER for criminals, and finds his practice and life in jeopardy when he’s recruited for his patient’s heist.
“This year, the industry was defined by a debate about the value of writers within it, and I think it’s inevitable that this year’s Black List means more than it has in the past,” said its founder Franklin Leonard. “I’ve been saying that writing is the lifeblood of the industry for almost twenty years now, and I’ll continue saying it until the industry actually starts acting like it.
- 12/11/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Since 2012, revered filmmaker Martin Scorsese has belonged to a select group of three-time Best Director Golden Globe winners that grew to include six members when Steven Spielberg took last year’s prize for “The Fabelmans.” Over a decade later, the ever-active octogenarian has a strong chance at rising above his fellow triple champs by achieving another directing victory for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” thus following Elia Kazan as the second quadruple honoree in this category’s 81-year history. Since this would be his 10th time competing here, he would also join Spielberg in the rare distinction of having double-digit directing mentions.
Scorsese earned his first Golden Globe Award in 2003 for “Gangs of New York” (on his sixth bid) and was then further lauded for “The Departed” (2007) and “Hugo” (2012). His remaining half dozen directing notices came for his work on “Raging Bull” (1981), “Goodfellas” (1991), “The Age of Innocence” (1994), “Casino” (1996), “The Aviator...
Scorsese earned his first Golden Globe Award in 2003 for “Gangs of New York” (on his sixth bid) and was then further lauded for “The Departed” (2007) and “Hugo” (2012). His remaining half dozen directing notices came for his work on “Raging Bull” (1981), “Goodfellas” (1991), “The Age of Innocence” (1994), “Casino” (1996), “The Aviator...
- 12/7/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Victor J. Kemper, the cinematographer behind “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation” and other notable films, has died. He was 96.
American Cinematographer, the international publication of the American Society of Cinematographers, confirmed the news of his passing on social media.
One of Kemper’s most prominent films is the biographical crime drama “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino. The film, which tells the true story of a 1972 bank robbery and hostage situation in Brooklyn, was nominated for six Academy Awards and was admitted to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
Kemper also had an ongoing collaborative relationship with director Arthur Hiller, working together on films like “The Tiger Makes Out” (1969) and “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” (1989). Other prominent directors he worked with include John Cassavetes, Anthony Harvey, Michael Ritchie, Elaine May, J. Lee Thompson and Elia Kazan, among many others.
American Cinematographer, the international publication of the American Society of Cinematographers, confirmed the news of his passing on social media.
One of Kemper’s most prominent films is the biographical crime drama “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino. The film, which tells the true story of a 1972 bank robbery and hostage situation in Brooklyn, was nominated for six Academy Awards and was admitted to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
Kemper also had an ongoing collaborative relationship with director Arthur Hiller, working together on films like “The Tiger Makes Out” (1969) and “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” (1989). Other prominent directors he worked with include John Cassavetes, Anthony Harvey, Michael Ritchie, Elaine May, J. Lee Thompson and Elia Kazan, among many others.
- 11/29/2023
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
Victor J. Kemper, the veteran cinematographer who shot more than 50 features, including Dog Day Afternoon, Eyes of Laura Mars, The Jerk and Slap Shot, has died. He was 96.
Kemper died Monday of natural causes in Sherman Oaks, his son, Steven Kemper, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kemper earned his inaugural D.P. credit on Husbands (1970), written and directed by John Cassavetes, then shot Elia Kazan’s final feature, The Last Tycoon (1976) and Tim Burton’s first, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).
Kemper also did six films for director Arthur Hiller — The Tiger Makes Out (1967), The Hospital (1971), Author! Author! (1982), The Lonely Guy (1984), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Married to It (1991) — and three in a row for Carl Reiner: Oh God! (1977), The One and Only (1978) and The Jerk (1979).
The New Jersey native said he had to wear ice skates when he photographed the hockey scenes in George Roy Hill’s Slap Shot (1977) and...
Kemper died Monday of natural causes in Sherman Oaks, his son, Steven Kemper, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kemper earned his inaugural D.P. credit on Husbands (1970), written and directed by John Cassavetes, then shot Elia Kazan’s final feature, The Last Tycoon (1976) and Tim Burton’s first, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985).
Kemper also did six films for director Arthur Hiller — The Tiger Makes Out (1967), The Hospital (1971), Author! Author! (1982), The Lonely Guy (1984), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Married to It (1991) — and three in a row for Carl Reiner: Oh God! (1977), The One and Only (1978) and The Jerk (1979).
The New Jersey native said he had to wear ice skates when he photographed the hockey scenes in George Roy Hill’s Slap Shot (1977) and...
- 11/29/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When Barbra Streisand’s “Yentl” opened on Nov. 18, 1983, directing was very much a man’s world. In the 1970s, there had been a few inroads for women. Italian director Lina Wertmuller was nominated for best director for 1976’s “Seven Beauties” Stateside, actress Barbara Loden, who was married to Oscar-winning director Elia Kazan, wrote, directed and starred in the acclaimed 1970 indie drama “Wanda,” which won best foreign film at the Venice Film Festival. She never followed up with another movie and died of breast cancer in 1980.
There was also Joan Micklin Silver (“Hester Street”), Claudia Weill (“Girlfriends”), Martha Coolidge (“Not a Pretty Picture”), Joan Tewkesbury (“Old Boyfriends”) and Joan Darling (“First Love”). But those filmmakers ran into brick walls when they tried to set up projects with the major studios. The late Silver told Vanity Fair in 2021 that a studio executive didn’t mince his word: “Feature films are expensive to make and expensive to market,...
There was also Joan Micklin Silver (“Hester Street”), Claudia Weill (“Girlfriends”), Martha Coolidge (“Not a Pretty Picture”), Joan Tewkesbury (“Old Boyfriends”) and Joan Darling (“First Love”). But those filmmakers ran into brick walls when they tried to set up projects with the major studios. The late Silver told Vanity Fair in 2021 that a studio executive didn’t mince his word: “Feature films are expensive to make and expensive to market,...
- 11/19/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
by Cláudio Alves
Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl was the last performance William Wyler directed to an Oscar win.
As stated in the Scorsese at the Oscars write-up, the Killers of the Flower Moon auteur is one of only four directors to have helmed Academy Award-winning performances in all acting categories. The others are William Wyler, Elia Kazan, and Hal Ashby, with the former having the record to end all records. Across 32 years, Wyler directed fourteen victorious turns, including multiple champions in the four races. Such a feat won't likely be equaled, but that doesn't mean the quartet is bound to stay put forever. Some directors are on the cusp of joining the ranks of Wyler, Kazan, Ashby, and Scorsese…...
Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl was the last performance William Wyler directed to an Oscar win.
As stated in the Scorsese at the Oscars write-up, the Killers of the Flower Moon auteur is one of only four directors to have helmed Academy Award-winning performances in all acting categories. The others are William Wyler, Elia Kazan, and Hal Ashby, with the former having the record to end all records. Across 32 years, Wyler directed fourteen victorious turns, including multiple champions in the four races. Such a feat won't likely be equaled, but that doesn't mean the quartet is bound to stay put forever. Some directors are on the cusp of joining the ranks of Wyler, Kazan, Ashby, and Scorsese…...
- 11/17/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Michel Ciment, the esteemed French film critic, historian, author, radio producer and editor of the influential film magazine Positif, has died. He was 85.
His death was reported Monday by the French radio channel France Inter, the home of his culture program Le Masque et la Plume since 1970.
Ciment was “perhaps the freest and most encyclopedic mind that film criticism has ever produced,” Le Masque et la Plume producer Jérome Garcin in a statement. He made what would be his last appearance on the show in September.
The Paris native also produced Projection privée on France Culture radio from 1990-2016. He was “an immense critic and historian who devoted his entire life to passing on, in words and in writing, his erudition and his passion for the seventh art,” a statement from the channel said.
Ciment joined Positif after sending in a story about the Orson Welles film The Trial in 1963 and would become its editor,...
His death was reported Monday by the French radio channel France Inter, the home of his culture program Le Masque et la Plume since 1970.
Ciment was “perhaps the freest and most encyclopedic mind that film criticism has ever produced,” Le Masque et la Plume producer Jérome Garcin in a statement. He made what would be his last appearance on the show in September.
The Paris native also produced Projection privée on France Culture radio from 1990-2016. He was “an immense critic and historian who devoted his entire life to passing on, in words and in writing, his erudition and his passion for the seventh art,” a statement from the channel said.
Ciment joined Positif after sending in a story about the Orson Welles film The Trial in 1963 and would become its editor,...
- 11/14/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
French critic, historian and author was loyal contributor to Screen’s Cannes jury grid.
Iconic French film critic and historian Michel Ciment has died, his entourage confirmed on Monday evening to French radio station France Inter, home to his world-renowned radio show Le Masque et la Plume since 1970. He was 85.
Born in 1938 in Paris, Ciment devoted his life to cinema and became a pillar of French film criticism and history for more than half a century.
He served as a juror at major festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Locarno and received numerous French civic honours including the Legion of Honour,...
Iconic French film critic and historian Michel Ciment has died, his entourage confirmed on Monday evening to French radio station France Inter, home to his world-renowned radio show Le Masque et la Plume since 1970. He was 85.
Born in 1938 in Paris, Ciment devoted his life to cinema and became a pillar of French film criticism and history for more than half a century.
He served as a juror at major festivals including Cannes, Venice, Berlin and Locarno and received numerous French civic honours including the Legion of Honour,...
- 11/13/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
French film critic and historian Michel Ciment, the long-time publishing director of film magazine Positif, has died Monday, French media reported. He was 85.
Ciment first started writing for the Lyon-based magazine in 1963, when he contributed a piece about the cinema of Orson Welles.
The magazine was launched in 1952 shortly after Les Cahiers du Cinéma by Bernard Chardère, who also died this year.
In a talk at Paris’s Forum Des Images in 2022, marking Positif’s 70th anniversary, Ciment recounted how he started reading the magazine in the 1950s as a teenager, while hanging around the Le Minotaure bookshop in the Paris quarter of Saint-Germain-des-Près.
“It was an amazing place where you’d bump into other cinephiles like Jean-Claude Romer, who went on to create [the cinema magazine] Midi Minuit Fantastique,” recounted Ciment.
“There were a lot of people from Les Cahiers and Positif… You couldn’t find the cinema revues in kiosks then.
Ciment first started writing for the Lyon-based magazine in 1963, when he contributed a piece about the cinema of Orson Welles.
The magazine was launched in 1952 shortly after Les Cahiers du Cinéma by Bernard Chardère, who also died this year.
In a talk at Paris’s Forum Des Images in 2022, marking Positif’s 70th anniversary, Ciment recounted how he started reading the magazine in the 1950s as a teenager, while hanging around the Le Minotaure bookshop in the Paris quarter of Saint-Germain-des-Près.
“It was an amazing place where you’d bump into other cinephiles like Jean-Claude Romer, who went on to create [the cinema magazine] Midi Minuit Fantastique,” recounted Ciment.
“There were a lot of people from Les Cahiers and Positif… You couldn’t find the cinema revues in kiosks then.
- 11/13/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Film Forum
“50 from the ’50s” continues with films by Howard Hawks, Elia Kazan, Stanley Donen, and many more.
Bam
“Let the Record Show” offers films built from archival material.
Museum of the Moving Image
Reverse Shot celebrates its 20th anniversary with a months-long programming run, continuing this weekend with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on 35mm and two by Maren Ade.
Anthology Film Archives
Work by John Carpenter, Stuart Gordon, and more play in a series of films inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, while two from Buñuel show in “Essential Cinema.”
IFC Center
An extensive William Friedkin series continues, while The Holy Mountain and Army of Darkness play late; Oldboy screens in a new restoration.
Museum of Modern Art
A series on pre-revolution Iranian cinema is underway, as well as a collection of female-made silent cinema.
Roxy Cinema
The Shining...
Film Forum
“50 from the ’50s” continues with films by Howard Hawks, Elia Kazan, Stanley Donen, and many more.
Bam
“Let the Record Show” offers films built from archival material.
Museum of the Moving Image
Reverse Shot celebrates its 20th anniversary with a months-long programming run, continuing this weekend with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on 35mm and two by Maren Ade.
Anthology Film Archives
Work by John Carpenter, Stuart Gordon, and more play in a series of films inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, while two from Buñuel show in “Essential Cinema.”
IFC Center
An extensive William Friedkin series continues, while The Holy Mountain and Army of Darkness play late; Oldboy screens in a new restoration.
Museum of Modern Art
A series on pre-revolution Iranian cinema is underway, as well as a collection of female-made silent cinema.
Roxy Cinema
The Shining...
- 11/3/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Vivien Leigh was the two-time Oscar winner who made only a handful of films before her untimely death in 1967 at the age of 53. Yet several of those titles remain classics. Let’s take a look back at 10 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in British India, Leigh appeared in a number of roles on both the stage and screen in England, including a production of “Hamlet” opposite her husband, Laurence Olivier.
She came to international attention after landing the coveted role of Scarlet O’Hara in David O. Selznick’s massive adaptation of Margaret Mitchell‘s bestseller “Gone with the Wind” (1939). Leigh was far from the first choice to embody the headstrong Southern belle who pines after a married man (Leslie Howard) while wedding another (Clark Gable) against the backdrop of the Civil War. Yet the relatively unknown thespian beat out the likes of Bette Davis, Claudette Colbert,...
Born in British India, Leigh appeared in a number of roles on both the stage and screen in England, including a production of “Hamlet” opposite her husband, Laurence Olivier.
She came to international attention after landing the coveted role of Scarlet O’Hara in David O. Selznick’s massive adaptation of Margaret Mitchell‘s bestseller “Gone with the Wind” (1939). Leigh was far from the first choice to embody the headstrong Southern belle who pines after a married man (Leslie Howard) while wedding another (Clark Gable) against the backdrop of the Civil War. Yet the relatively unknown thespian beat out the likes of Bette Davis, Claudette Colbert,...
- 10/28/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
After a dearth of new releases worth discussing in the few months since Barbenheimer, it’s been refreshing to see the response to Martin Scorsese’s epic Killers of the Flower Moon as it enters a wide release. While we’ll have our own extensive discussion coming soon on The Film Stage Show, the director himself has now provided some welcome homework as he’s highlighted six key films to watch that influenced the making of his David Grann adaptation.
Courtesy of TCM and Letterboxd, the director has joined the latter platform and provided nearly 60 companion films that he studied in preparation for making all of his features. While that entire list is well worth checking out, particularly the accompanying notes the director has provided, we’re keying in on the influences for Killers of the Flower Moon. Find the list below, including where to watch each film, as well as Scorsese’s full commentary.
Courtesy of TCM and Letterboxd, the director has joined the latter platform and provided nearly 60 companion films that he studied in preparation for making all of his features. While that entire list is well worth checking out, particularly the accompanying notes the director has provided, we’re keying in on the influences for Killers of the Flower Moon. Find the list below, including where to watch each film, as well as Scorsese’s full commentary.
- 10/27/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"If the summer doesn't sing in you, then nothing sings in you. And if nothing sings in you, then you can't make music."
This quote is featured prominently in the new trailer for "Maestro," the latest directorial effort from Bradley Cooper, which you can watch above. It's clear that something is really singing for Bradley Cooper with this film, whether it's summer or something else entirely, because this film looks like it is filled with his blood, sweat and tears.
"Maestro" tells the story of acclaimed composer Leonard Bernstein (played by Cooper himself) and the lifelong relationship and marriage he shared with Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Carey Mulligan), which included a fair share of complications because Bernstein also identified as homosexual. But as the official synopsis for the movie describes the movie, "A love letter to life and art, 'Maestro' at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love.
This quote is featured prominently in the new trailer for "Maestro," the latest directorial effort from Bradley Cooper, which you can watch above. It's clear that something is really singing for Bradley Cooper with this film, whether it's summer or something else entirely, because this film looks like it is filled with his blood, sweat and tears.
"Maestro" tells the story of acclaimed composer Leonard Bernstein (played by Cooper himself) and the lifelong relationship and marriage he shared with Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Carey Mulligan), which included a fair share of complications because Bernstein also identified as homosexual. But as the official synopsis for the movie describes the movie, "A love letter to life and art, 'Maestro' at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love.
- 10/25/2023
- by Ethan Anderton
- Slash Film
Among the myriad reasons we could call the Criterion Channel the single greatest streaming service is its leveling of cinematic snobbery. Where a new World Cinema Project restoration plays, so too does Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight. I think about this looking at November’s lineup and being happiest about two new additions: a nine-film Robert Bresson retro including L’argent and The Devil, Probably; and a one-film Hype Williams retro including Belly and only Belly, but bringing as a bonus the direct-to-video Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club. Until recently such curation seemed impossible.
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
November will also feature a 20-film noir series boasting the obvious and the not. Maybe the single tightest collection is “Women of the West,” with Johnny Guitar and The Beguiled and Rancho Notorious and The Furies only half of it. Lynch/Oz, Irradiated, and My Two Voices make streaming premieres; Drylongso gets a Criterion Edition; and joining...
- 10/24/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Gangsters, mobsters, thugs, and mugs. Organized crime holds the upper tier of the international cinematic commission. “Crime pays,” Edward G. Robinson, who played Rico Bandello in the seminal gangster film Little Caesar (1931), is famous for saying. “But only in the movies.” When a good mob movie is on the table, it is an offer no filmmaker can refuse. There is more intrigue, suspense, violence, mayhem, and madness to be found in the criminal element than any other genre.
“Gone are the days of the gangsters,” audiences heard for years, usually in movies about mobsters. They always rise up, even if they are splattered across the ornate fountains of their gangland mansions in the last frame, like Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Brian DePalma’s Scarface (1983), or rolling down the steps of a church, dead from a hail of bullets. That’s how James Cagney’s Eddie Bartlett went out in The Roaring Twenties (1939). Now,...
“Gone are the days of the gangsters,” audiences heard for years, usually in movies about mobsters. They always rise up, even if they are splattered across the ornate fountains of their gangland mansions in the last frame, like Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Brian DePalma’s Scarface (1983), or rolling down the steps of a church, dead from a hail of bullets. That’s how James Cagney’s Eddie Bartlett went out in The Roaring Twenties (1939). Now,...
- 9/16/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
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