Few creative talents have the breadth of a career equal to Lee Grant. The 98-year-old director, actor, and writer has a storied body of work, debuting on screen in 1951 in William Wyler’s Detective Story, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination and Cannes Best Actress win, while also receiving a Supporting Actress Oscar for Shampoo. Grant, who has also appeared in Mulholland Drive, Valley of the Dolls, and In the Heat of the Night, has also set a few records: she’s the oldest living film director, while 1980’s Tell Me a Riddle was the first major American film to be entirely written, produced and directed by women, and she’s the only Academy Award-winning actor to also direct an Academy Award-winning documentary with 1986’s Down and Out in America.
Among the most revelatory repertory cinema I saw last year, the much-deserved 4K restorations of Grant...
Among the most revelatory repertory cinema I saw last year, the much-deserved 4K restorations of Grant...
- 5/2/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
With its list of May 2024 releases, Amazon Prime Video is giving us the kindest gift of all: cougar Anne Hathaway.
May 2 sees the premiere of The Idea of You, a romantic-comedy that features Hathaway as a 40-year-old mom finding romance with a 24-year-old boy band singer (Nicholas Galitzine). Having saved the medium of film forever, Prime Video is celebrating with some big time library titles this month as well. American Fiction and BlacKkKlansman arrive on May 14 and will be followed by Creed and Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story on May 16.
For its TV offerings, Prime is leading off with Outer Range season 2 on May 16. This James Brolin sci-fi Western will continue the mysteries of the strange happenings on Thanos’ ranch. Reality TV fans will be able to enjoy the Daniel Tosh-hosted competition series The Goat on May 9.
Here’s everything coming to Prime Video and Freevee in April – Amazon...
May 2 sees the premiere of The Idea of You, a romantic-comedy that features Hathaway as a 40-year-old mom finding romance with a 24-year-old boy band singer (Nicholas Galitzine). Having saved the medium of film forever, Prime Video is celebrating with some big time library titles this month as well. American Fiction and BlacKkKlansman arrive on May 14 and will be followed by Creed and Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story on May 16.
For its TV offerings, Prime is leading off with Outer Range season 2 on May 16. This James Brolin sci-fi Western will continue the mysteries of the strange happenings on Thanos’ ranch. Reality TV fans will be able to enjoy the Daniel Tosh-hosted competition series The Goat on May 9.
Here’s everything coming to Prime Video and Freevee in April – Amazon...
- 5/1/2024
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Luca Guadagnino’s tennis relationship drama “Challengers” (Amazon MGM) opens Friday amidst chatter that it represents the rarest of films — a wide-release American sex sizzler, an erotically charged story with young actors with sexual impulses central to its plot.
The marketing forebears for “Challengers” are akin to movies that we’ve not seen in a long time like “Carnal Knowledge,” “Body Heat,” “Don’t Look Now,” and “Fatal Attraction.” These films, where sex can be sweaty and dangerous, were elevated by big stars who dared to play off their images. Other examples include Kevin Costner (“No Way Out”), Debra Winger (“An Officer and a Gentleman”), Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver (“The Year of Living Dangerously”), Jane Fonda (“Klute”), and Warren Beatty.
In the “Challengers” press tour, Zendaya (also a producer here) — with six of her previous seven live-action theatrical releases having domestic grosses of $100 million or more — took pains to dispel...
The marketing forebears for “Challengers” are akin to movies that we’ve not seen in a long time like “Carnal Knowledge,” “Body Heat,” “Don’t Look Now,” and “Fatal Attraction.” These films, where sex can be sweaty and dangerous, were elevated by big stars who dared to play off their images. Other examples include Kevin Costner (“No Way Out”), Debra Winger (“An Officer and a Gentleman”), Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver (“The Year of Living Dangerously”), Jane Fonda (“Klute”), and Warren Beatty.
In the “Challengers” press tour, Zendaya (also a producer here) — with six of her previous seven live-action theatrical releases having domestic grosses of $100 million or more — took pains to dispel...
- 4/25/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Barbara Rush, the classy yet largely unheralded leading lady who sparkled in the 1950s melodramas Magnificent Obsession, Bigger Than Life and The Young Philadelphians, has died. She was 97.
Rush, a regular on the fifth and final season of ABC’s Peyton Place and a favorite of sci-fi fans thanks to her work in When Worlds Collide (1951) and It Came From Outer Space (1953), died Sunday in Westlake Village, her daughter, Fox News senior correspondent Claudia Cowan, announced.
“My wonderful mother passed away peacefully at 5:28 this evening. I was with her this morning and know she was waiting for me to return home safely to transition,” Cowan said. “It’s fitting she chose to leave on Easter as it was one of her favorite holidays and now, of course, Easter will have a deeper significance for me and my family.”
A starlet at Paramount, Universal and Fox whose career blossomed at...
Rush, a regular on the fifth and final season of ABC’s Peyton Place and a favorite of sci-fi fans thanks to her work in When Worlds Collide (1951) and It Came From Outer Space (1953), died Sunday in Westlake Village, her daughter, Fox News senior correspondent Claudia Cowan, announced.
“My wonderful mother passed away peacefully at 5:28 this evening. I was with her this morning and know she was waiting for me to return home safely to transition,” Cowan said. “It’s fitting she chose to leave on Easter as it was one of her favorite holidays and now, of course, Easter will have a deeper significance for me and my family.”
A starlet at Paramount, Universal and Fox whose career blossomed at...
- 4/1/2024
- by Mike Barnes and Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When, in a Feb. 7 report, short-sellers eviscerated Soho House — pronouncing it “a zero,” prophesying it would “meet the same fate” as notorious IPO flameout WeWork — the company’s crisis of cool had already been years in the making. The publicly listed private members club, a seeming oxymoron bearing the sticker symbol Shco, has for years faced brickbats about how it shed its exclusive appeal: It morphed from a Hollywood-favored hangout with just a few outposts in London, Manhattan and Los Angeles into an international empire of 42 locations with a quarter million dues-paying clients. But now, along with serious allegations about its accounting and critiques of its debt levels, the club is also fending off mortifying questions about overexpansion, overcrowding and brand dilution.
Soho House, now known even to your small-town aunt as the place Prince Harry met Meghan Markle, owes much of its runaway success to conjuring spaces for the...
Soho House, now known even to your small-town aunt as the place Prince Harry met Meghan Markle, owes much of its runaway success to conjuring spaces for the...
- 3/6/2024
- by Gary Baum and Lachlan Cartwright
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lee Grant, the Oscar-winning actress (“Shampoo”) says she decided after her win to try to direct since good roles for older women were limited. It turns out that was about the halfway point of her 98 year (so far) life. What followed was a narrative feature (“Tell Me a Riddle”) and several documentaries, including “Down and Out in America,” which won an Oscar.
When we last ran our list of the oldest living feature film directors in late 2022, where Grant stood was a mystery. Since her breakout in William Wyler’s “The Detective Story” (1951), her first nomination, her year of birth was unclear. But recently she has clarified that that she was born in 1925. That makes her, to the best of our knowledge, older than any of her peers.
Below are listed the 25 oldest. Since our most recent list, Norman Lear, Robert M. Young (both of who briefly were the oldest...
When we last ran our list of the oldest living feature film directors in late 2022, where Grant stood was a mystery. Since her breakout in William Wyler’s “The Detective Story” (1951), her first nomination, her year of birth was unclear. But recently she has clarified that that she was born in 1925. That makes her, to the best of our knowledge, older than any of her peers.
Below are listed the 25 oldest. Since our most recent list, Norman Lear, Robert M. Young (both of who briefly were the oldest...
- 2/16/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
One may resist celebrity culture, but most people have at least a few actors from pop culture history that mean something to them, whether they're from the silver screen or the flickering box.
Actors know how to spark our emotions and suspend our disbelief. They embody our favorite stories and the visions of our favorite filmmakers. The stars of film and television have the privilege of immortalizing themselves in certain times and places. But it is not just themselves that they immortalize. In their best projects, they capture many complexities of emotion and culture that are relevant to millions. Steve McQueen and his Mustang in "Bullet," Warren Beatty and his freewheeling libido in "Shampoo," Anthony Hopkins and his empathetic presidential turn in "Nixon" -- for better or worse, actors color our memories of the past in both trivial and important ways.
It can be wistful, therefore, when an old favorite passes,...
Actors know how to spark our emotions and suspend our disbelief. They embody our favorite stories and the visions of our favorite filmmakers. The stars of film and television have the privilege of immortalizing themselves in certain times and places. But it is not just themselves that they immortalize. In their best projects, they capture many complexities of emotion and culture that are relevant to millions. Steve McQueen and his Mustang in "Bullet," Warren Beatty and his freewheeling libido in "Shampoo," Anthony Hopkins and his empathetic presidential turn in "Nixon" -- for better or worse, actors color our memories of the past in both trivial and important ways.
It can be wistful, therefore, when an old favorite passes,...
- 2/11/2024
- by Jack Hawkins
- Slash Film
The real Bonnie and Clyde may have died in 1933, but the legend of the couple's crime spree lives on in the form of songs, stories, and one groundbreaking movie. Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" took Hollywood by storm when it hit theaters in 1967, generating controversy for its on-screen violence and sensuality -- and kick-starting nationwide conversations about who deserves to be the subject of a movie. While film fans still talk about these topics today, the movie's brutal final shootout feels mild compared to modern blood-soaked movie scenes.
Still, "Bonnie and Clyde" is a fantastic film, thanks in large part to its great cast. Warren Beatty plays cocky Clyde Barrow to Faye Dunaway's initially innocent Bonnie Parker, while actors Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, and Estelle Parsons round out the Barrow gang. A young Gene Wilder made his big screen debut as one of Clyde's hostages, while Denver...
Still, "Bonnie and Clyde" is a fantastic film, thanks in large part to its great cast. Warren Beatty plays cocky Clyde Barrow to Faye Dunaway's initially innocent Bonnie Parker, while actors Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, and Estelle Parsons round out the Barrow gang. A young Gene Wilder made his big screen debut as one of Clyde's hostages, while Denver...
- 1/8/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
J.J. Abrams touts Warren Beatty’s Bonnie and Clyde and Shampoo for must-see viewing as part of the January 2024 Turner Classic Movies lineup in his own TCM Picks video that dropped on Tuesday.
“They could not be more different,” Abrams says of Arthur Penn’s 1967 crime spree drama Bonnie and Clyde, which also starred Faye Dunaway, and Hal Ashby’s Oscar-winning dramedy Shampoo. Bonnie and Clyde “portrayed violence in a way that had not typically been seen in American cinema and really ushered in a new age of bold graphic storytelling in a way that you really hadn’t seen before,” Abrams says in the video.
Having made a name for himself in Hollywood with television and popular series like Felicity, Alias and Lost, you can see the grounds for Abrams’ eventual success making action tentpole movies, given his love for classic Hollywood pics.
Shampoo becomes a time capsule movie for Abrams,...
“They could not be more different,” Abrams says of Arthur Penn’s 1967 crime spree drama Bonnie and Clyde, which also starred Faye Dunaway, and Hal Ashby’s Oscar-winning dramedy Shampoo. Bonnie and Clyde “portrayed violence in a way that had not typically been seen in American cinema and really ushered in a new age of bold graphic storytelling in a way that you really hadn’t seen before,” Abrams says in the video.
Having made a name for himself in Hollywood with television and popular series like Felicity, Alias and Lost, you can see the grounds for Abrams’ eventual success making action tentpole movies, given his love for classic Hollywood pics.
Shampoo becomes a time capsule movie for Abrams,...
- 1/2/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s now been over 50 years ago that Goldie Hawn won her first Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for “Cactus Flower” (1969). One of the most successful comic actresses for decades, Hawn has been a staple on the awards scene, earning a second Oscar nomination (Best Actress for “Private Benjamin”) and a total of eight Golden Globe nods, plus one win (“Cactus Flower”). Let’s take a look back at 10 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
- 11/18/2023
- by Tom O'Brien, Chris Beachum and Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
In the most shockingly funny moment of Alexander Payne’s “Sideways,” Miles Raymond, the desperate English teacher and wine aficionado played by Paul Giamatti, has just learned that his book was turned down by the publisher he had his hopes pinned on. It’s more than a rejection; it’s the death of his dream. Miles is in the middle a chi-chi Napa Valley wine tasting, and suddenly he’s in dire need of a drink. He asks the bartender for a glass of red, but all the man will pour him is a “taste.” Miles offers to pay for a full glass, but no go: That would be breaking the rules. It’s like the side-order-of-toast scene in “Five Easy Pieces,” only what happens here is three times as explosive. Miles grabs the bottle on the bar and pours himself a drink, and he and the bartender wind up wrestling over it.
- 11/12/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
With his long hair, sunglasses and bellbottoms, Hal Ashby was the epitome of the 1970s flower child, even though he was a decade older than most of the filmmakers working at the time. Though his flame burned brightly and briefly, he left behind a series of classics that signified the nose-thumbing, countercultural attitude of the era, with a bit of humanism and heart thrown in for good measure. Let’s take a look back at all 12 of his films, ranked worst to best.
Born on September 2, 1929 in Utah, Ashby ambled around before becoming an apprentice editor for Robert Swink, working for Hollywood legends William Wyler and George Stevens. He moved up the ranks to become an editor for Norman Jewison, with whom he shared a fraternal and professional relationship. They cut five films together, including “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!” (1966), which earned him his first Oscar nomination,...
Born on September 2, 1929 in Utah, Ashby ambled around before becoming an apprentice editor for Robert Swink, working for Hollywood legends William Wyler and George Stevens. He moved up the ranks to become an editor for Norman Jewison, with whom he shared a fraternal and professional relationship. They cut five films together, including “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!” (1966), which earned him his first Oscar nomination,...
- 8/25/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Daughter Billie Lourd and Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill paid tribute to the late Carrie Fisher on Thursday in a ceremony that awarded her a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The event took place on May 4, also known as Star Wars Day.
Lourd wore a dress that featured an image of Fisher’s Star Wars character Princess Leia while speaking about her mom.
> 100 Celebrity Kids & Their Famous Parents – Slideshow!
“People’s love for Leia didn’t die with my mom, it continues to get passed on from generation to generation, just like my mom passed it on to me, and I am now passing it onto my children. And hopefully, they will pass it onto theirs,” Lourd said.
She later added, “I feel so lucky that even though they won’t get to meet my mom, they will get to know a piece of her through Leia.
Lourd wore a dress that featured an image of Fisher’s Star Wars character Princess Leia while speaking about her mom.
> 100 Celebrity Kids & Their Famous Parents – Slideshow!
“People’s love for Leia didn’t die with my mom, it continues to get passed on from generation to generation, just like my mom passed it on to me, and I am now passing it onto my children. And hopefully, they will pass it onto theirs,” Lourd said.
She later added, “I feel so lucky that even though they won’t get to meet my mom, they will get to know a piece of her through Leia.
- 5/5/2023
- by Alex Nguyen
- Uinterview
It wasn’t until Billie Lourd was in middle school that she finally took a seat in front of the television, unprompted, to watch a little film called Star Wars.
While her mother, the late Carrie Fisher, had been trying for years to get her to check out George Lucas’s sci-fi classic as a way to earn cool points thanks to her starring role as Princess Leia, Lourd, now 30, would typically “roll my eyes and yell, ‘It’s too loud.'” But when boys her age confessed how much they fantasized about Fisher, she decided to press play.
“I went home to investigate who this person was they were talking about. I finally watched the movie I had forever considered too loud, and finally figured out what all the fuss was about with the lady in the TV,” Lourd relayed from the podium on Thursday during Fisher’s posthumous Walk of Fame ceremony.
While her mother, the late Carrie Fisher, had been trying for years to get her to check out George Lucas’s sci-fi classic as a way to earn cool points thanks to her starring role as Princess Leia, Lourd, now 30, would typically “roll my eyes and yell, ‘It’s too loud.'” But when boys her age confessed how much they fantasized about Fisher, she decided to press play.
“I went home to investigate who this person was they were talking about. I finally watched the movie I had forever considered too loud, and finally figured out what all the fuss was about with the lady in the TV,” Lourd relayed from the podium on Thursday during Fisher’s posthumous Walk of Fame ceremony.
- 5/4/2023
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Well, it's about time! The late actor, novelist and humorist, Carrie Fisher, will finally receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a posthumous ceremony that will take place on Star Wars Day, May the 4th. When Fisher passed away suddenly just after Christmas day in 2016, a fan-made star appeared on Hollywood and North Orange Drive to serve as a makeshift memorial to the screen legend where onlookers and tourists started to gather to pay their respects. The star read, "Carrie Fisher. May the Force be with you always. Hope." Now, Fisher will be honored with an official star on Hollywood Boulevard just down the street from the El Capitan Theater.
Fittingly, Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd (who shared the screen with her mother in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy) will be accepting the star on her behalf. Fisher's own mother, Debbie Reynolds, received her own star on the...
Fittingly, Fisher's daughter Billie Lourd (who shared the screen with her mother in the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy) will be accepting the star on her behalf. Fisher's own mother, Debbie Reynolds, received her own star on the...
- 4/27/2023
- by Drew Tinnin
- Slash Film
Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, is finally getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 4, with her daughter, Billie Lourd, set to accept the honor on her behalf.
Co-star and friend Mark Hamill said on Instagram that the honor is “long overdue and so well-deserved.”
“Fans will be over the moon to know that their favorite movie princess, Carrie Fisher will be honored with her star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame! Carrie will join her ‘Star Wars’ co-stars and fellow Walk of Famers Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford on this historic sidewalk” stated Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Also Read:
Rosario Dawson Credits Carrie Fisher for Her Path to Joining ‘Star Wars’ Universe: ‘She Sprinkled Some Magic Fairy Dust on Me’
Hamill, 71, received his star in 2018 while Harrison Ford, 80, received his in 2003 ahead of the cop comedy “Hollywood Homicide.”
“I am...
Co-star and friend Mark Hamill said on Instagram that the honor is “long overdue and so well-deserved.”
“Fans will be over the moon to know that their favorite movie princess, Carrie Fisher will be honored with her star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame! Carrie will join her ‘Star Wars’ co-stars and fellow Walk of Famers Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford on this historic sidewalk” stated Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Also Read:
Rosario Dawson Credits Carrie Fisher for Her Path to Joining ‘Star Wars’ Universe: ‘She Sprinkled Some Magic Fairy Dust on Me’
Hamill, 71, received his star in 2018 while Harrison Ford, 80, received his in 2003 ahead of the cop comedy “Hollywood Homicide.”
“I am...
- 4/26/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
Julie Christie is an Oscar-winning actress who has been largely absent from movie screens this century, enjoying a semi-retirement that finds her returning for the odd performance here and there. Yet she’s always finding new fans as younger generations discover her cinematic classics. Let’s take a look at 20 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born on April 14, 1940, Christie rose to prominence for her work in London, starting with a breakthrough performance in John Schlesinger‘s “Billy Liar” (1963). She won the Oscar as Best Actress just two years later for Schlesinger’s “Darling” (1965), playing a fashion model who sleeps her way to the top. That same year, she shot to stardom thanks to David Lean‘s romantic epic “Doctor Zhivago” (1965), which casts her as a political activist’s wife who falls in love with a physician (Omar Sharif) during the Russian Revolution.
She earned a second Best...
Born on April 14, 1940, Christie rose to prominence for her work in London, starting with a breakthrough performance in John Schlesinger‘s “Billy Liar” (1963). She won the Oscar as Best Actress just two years later for Schlesinger’s “Darling” (1965), playing a fashion model who sleeps her way to the top. That same year, she shot to stardom thanks to David Lean‘s romantic epic “Doctor Zhivago” (1965), which casts her as a political activist’s wife who falls in love with a physician (Omar Sharif) during the Russian Revolution.
She earned a second Best...
- 4/7/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
One was fiercely focused, the other accident-prone. They both made it.
The careers of Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise first collided exactly 40 years ago when the two very young but ambitious actors showed up at an Oklahoma location to assume their roles in The Outsiders, directed by Francis Coppola.
Although thrilled by the opportunity, they didn’t exactly click: Asked to share hotel rooms, Cruise had his agent demand a single because the actor wanted to study his script each night. Lowe found another roommate for camaraderie.
On opening night, Lowe angrily discovered most of his scenes had been cut while Cruise’s had survived. It was an ominous portent because Cruise soon moved on to hits like Risky Business and Top Gun. Lowe struggled with early disappointments like Class and Masquerade.
(L-r) Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze and Tom Cruise in ‘The Outsiders’
Now circling...
The careers of Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise first collided exactly 40 years ago when the two very young but ambitious actors showed up at an Oklahoma location to assume their roles in The Outsiders, directed by Francis Coppola.
Although thrilled by the opportunity, they didn’t exactly click: Asked to share hotel rooms, Cruise had his agent demand a single because the actor wanted to study his script each night. Lowe found another roommate for camaraderie.
On opening night, Lowe angrily discovered most of his scenes had been cut while Cruise’s had survived. It was an ominous portent because Cruise soon moved on to hits like Risky Business and Top Gun. Lowe struggled with early disappointments like Class and Masquerade.
(L-r) Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze and Tom Cruise in ‘The Outsiders’
Now circling...
- 4/6/2023
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
The Beach Boys were one of the biggest musical groups of the 1960s. But that doesn’t mean they completely dominated the entertainment industry. The band provided the theme song for a short-lived ’60s sitcom that few have heard of today.
The Beach Boys’ massive musical success, including dozens of hit songs and best-selling albums
The Beach Boys were formed in 1961 and were composed of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Brian was the creative mastermind behind the group’s music, while dad Murry Wilson managed them.
The group dominated the charts in the ’60s with hit singles like “Surfin’ U.S.A,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” and “California Girls.” The Beach Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide and still tour today.
The Beach Boys provided the theme song for ‘Karen,’ a one-season sitcom from the ’60s
Undeniably,...
The Beach Boys’ massive musical success, including dozens of hit songs and best-selling albums
The Beach Boys were formed in 1961 and were composed of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Brian was the creative mastermind behind the group’s music, while dad Murry Wilson managed them.
The group dominated the charts in the ’60s with hit singles like “Surfin’ U.S.A,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” and “California Girls.” The Beach Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide and still tour today.
The Beach Boys provided the theme song for ‘Karen,’ a one-season sitcom from the ’60s
Undeniably,...
- 3/8/2023
- by India McCarty
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Four years after “Black Panther” became the first Oscar-winning film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” cast member Angela Bassett has made history as the first person to achieve academy recognition for an MCU performance. Included among the numerous actors with whom she reunites in the 2022 sequel is Lupita Nyong’o, who first played her role of Nakia four years after earning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “12 Years a Slave.” If Bassett ends up prevailing in the same category this year, Nyong’o will be the 16th woman to have acted in a film that won the same Oscar she previously received.
Until this year, “12 Years a Slave” was the only acting Oscar-nominated film Nyong’o had appeared in. Two of her cast mates in the 2014 Best Picture winner – Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender – respectively competed for the male lead and supporting prizes but eventually...
Until this year, “12 Years a Slave” was the only acting Oscar-nominated film Nyong’o had appeared in. Two of her cast mates in the 2014 Best Picture winner – Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender – respectively competed for the male lead and supporting prizes but eventually...
- 3/7/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
In the post-New Hollywood era, there are movie stars and there is Warren Beatty. The sturdily built, 6'2" dreamboat could've been a fine football player, but his movie-mad sister, Shirley MacLaine, got him fired up about acting. Beatty studied under Stella Adler, and arrived fully formed as a matinee idol opposite Natalie Wood in Elia Kazan's 1961 hit, "Splendor in the Grass." Beatty took not just to the craft, but the game. He produced and starred in Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde," which, by dint of his star power, drop-kicked studios into an era of blind risk-taking.
But there was nothing blind about investing in Beatty. "Easy Rider," "Five Easy Pieces," and even "The French Connection" were long shots. Place Beatty at the top of the marquee, and you had an event. The problem for studios was that Beatty had peculiar appetites. Ideally, you'd plug him into "Love Story" or "The Way We Were.
But there was nothing blind about investing in Beatty. "Easy Rider," "Five Easy Pieces," and even "The French Connection" were long shots. Place Beatty at the top of the marquee, and you had an event. The problem for studios was that Beatty had peculiar appetites. Ideally, you'd plug him into "Love Story" or "The Way We Were.
- 2/11/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Director/Tfh Guru Allan Arkush discusses his favorite year in film, 1975, with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Rules of the Game (1939)
Le Boucher (1970)
Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)
Topaz (1969)
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary
The Innocents (1961) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
The Earrings of Madame De… (1953)
Rope (1948) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary
Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)
The Awful Truth (1937) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Duck Soup (1933) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Going My Way (1944)
Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary
M*A*S*H (1970)
Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Bonnie And Clyde (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Nada Gang (1975)
Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Night Moves (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Katt Shea’s trailer...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Rules of the Game (1939)
Le Boucher (1970)
Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)
Topaz (1969)
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary
The Innocents (1961) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
The Earrings of Madame De… (1953)
Rope (1948) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary
Make Way For Tomorrow (1937)
The Awful Truth (1937) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Duck Soup (1933) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Going My Way (1944)
Nashville (1975) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Dan Perri’s trailer commentary
M*A*S*H (1970)
Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Bonnie And Clyde (1967) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Nada Gang (1975)
Get Crazy (1983) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary
Night Moves (1975) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Katt Shea’s trailer...
- 9/20/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
The Oscar-winning actor lost 12 years of her career refusing to out her partner as a communist, then had to endure his lectures about Marx while being treated as a ‘maid’. But a remarkable third act as a documentarian showcased her unique voice
Lee Grant, child of the Depression, survivor of the anti-communist blacklist, director, Oscar winner and – incredibly – 95 and looking nothing of the sort, is standing in her Manhattan kitchen. It is the size of a medieval castle’s, with copper pots hanging from the ceiling, a catering-size fridge and what appear to be three ovens. “They’re all used,” says Grant, triumphantly, a tone she has earned. For 12 years during the McCarthy-era witch-hunt of the 1950s, Grant was banned from working in Hollywood, re-emerging in the 60s to become not only a wildly successful actor, but one of the US’s finest documentary makers of the late 20th century.
Lee Grant, child of the Depression, survivor of the anti-communist blacklist, director, Oscar winner and – incredibly – 95 and looking nothing of the sort, is standing in her Manhattan kitchen. It is the size of a medieval castle’s, with copper pots hanging from the ceiling, a catering-size fridge and what appear to be three ovens. “They’re all used,” says Grant, triumphantly, a tone she has earned. For 12 years during the McCarthy-era witch-hunt of the 1950s, Grant was banned from working in Hollywood, re-emerging in the 60s to become not only a wildly successful actor, but one of the US’s finest documentary makers of the late 20th century.
- 5/6/2022
- by Emma Brockes
- The Guardian - Film News
Emmy award winning show runner Mitch Watson discusses some of the movies he saw when he was a kid that ruined him for life.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
A History Of Violence (2005)
On The Border (1998)
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness celebration
E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964)
Harold and Maude (1971) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary
Witchfinder General (1968) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Swashbuckler (1976)
Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s Shark Attack At Hero Complex Gallery
The Neverending Story (1984)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Videodrome (1983) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary
Don’t Look Up (2021)
Starship Troopers (1997)
They Live (1988)
Magic (1978)
Dead Of Night...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
A History Of Violence (2005)
On The Border (1998)
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) – Jon Davison’s trailer commentary
Gremlins (1984) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review, Tfh’s Mogwai Madness celebration
E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)
Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964)
Harold and Maude (1971) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary
Witchfinder General (1968) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s review
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
Shampoo (1975) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Swashbuckler (1976)
Jaws (1975) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Tfh’s Shark Attack At Hero Complex Gallery
The Neverending Story (1984)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) – Adam Rifkin’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Videodrome (1983) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary
Don’t Look Up (2021)
Starship Troopers (1997)
They Live (1988)
Magic (1978)
Dead Of Night...
- 4/26/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Sometimes a star burns so bright in Hollywood that they are just able to make whatever movie they want. Today, that basically does not exist at all, because studios do not want to spend a penny on something they aren't sure will earn a billion dollars at the box office. But before the studios bet on intellectual property, they bet on stars. The brands were the artists, and few stars burned brighter throughout the 1960s and '70s than Warren Beatty. The "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Shampoo" star managed to make every film he appeared in an event. He was sexy, charismatic, and knew...
The post The Warren Beatty Movie That Marked The End Of The Intermission Era appeared first on /Film.
The post The Warren Beatty Movie That Marked The End Of The Intermission Era appeared first on /Film.
- 3/31/2022
- by Kathleen McHale
- Slash Film
This year’s Academy Awards could be decided by a few votes among the Academy’s 9,000 or so members. No category is as down-to-the-wire as Best Actress, with experts making the case for any of the nominees to prevail, as four of the women have evenly split the precursor awards. TheWrap’s Steve Pond is forecasting Carey Mulligan of “Promising Young Woman” to win, but writes, “Does anybody have a four-sided coin I can flip?”
In 1969, the Best Actress category was host to the most spectacular tie in Oscar history, with two of the most famous performers of the twentieth century each winning the statuette. Here are the six times that ties have occurred since Oscar’s beginning. A seventh could be right on track for this year.
1932: Best Actor
Fredric March in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and Wallace Beery in “The Champ”
The 5th Annual Academy Awards...
In 1969, the Best Actress category was host to the most spectacular tie in Oscar history, with two of the most famous performers of the twentieth century each winning the statuette. Here are the six times that ties have occurred since Oscar’s beginning. A seventh could be right on track for this year.
1932: Best Actor
Fredric March in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and Wallace Beery in “The Champ”
The 5th Annual Academy Awards...
- 3/25/2022
- by Joe McGovern
- The Wrap
Even though many families exchange their presents on the night before the big day, the best Christmas present may just be unwrapped the afternoon of the 25th, at least for movie fans of a “certain age”. Yes see, that’s when this nostalgic gem will spread across the country’s theatres. It’s hard to fathom that its setting is almost fifty years ago, but its director/writer has made his mark by meticulously recreating the past. Plus he’s particularly adept at getting the presiding pop culture touches just right. And he’s not just “churning them out” as we haven’t seen a feature from him in the last four years. So, instead of munching down a slice of pie or cake after the big holiday meal, savor a sweet and salty ( and a bit tart) slice of Licorice Pizza.
Roll the cinema clock back to 1973 in the California burg of Sherman Oaks.
Roll the cinema clock back to 1973 in the California burg of Sherman Oaks.
- 12/23/2021
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Normal 0 false false false En-us X-none X-none
“Age Is Just A Number”
By Raymond Benson
Harold and Maude, which was directed by Hal Ashby (his second feature film) and released in 1971, is one of those initially critically stomped box-office bombs… and yet years later became a cult hit in revival houses, on television broadcasts, and home video releases. It’s one of many examples that illustrate how critics don’t always know everything and how some motion pictures are ahead of their time. Harold and Maude now resides in the top 50 of the AFI’s list of 100 greatest comedy films.
Written by Colin Higgins, who simultaneously turned his original screenplay into a novel (also published in 1971), the movie was unquestionably a counter-culture, rebellious black comedy that from the get-go had the potential to offend some folks. The main character’s fake suicide pranks aside, the theme of a May-December romance...
“Age Is Just A Number”
By Raymond Benson
Harold and Maude, which was directed by Hal Ashby (his second feature film) and released in 1971, is one of those initially critically stomped box-office bombs… and yet years later became a cult hit in revival houses, on television broadcasts, and home video releases. It’s one of many examples that illustrate how critics don’t always know everything and how some motion pictures are ahead of their time. Harold and Maude now resides in the top 50 of the AFI’s list of 100 greatest comedy films.
Written by Colin Higgins, who simultaneously turned his original screenplay into a novel (also published in 1971), the movie was unquestionably a counter-culture, rebellious black comedy that from the get-go had the potential to offend some folks. The main character’s fake suicide pranks aside, the theme of a May-December romance...
- 12/16/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
It was the original cult film. A movie you had to show your girlfriend or boyfriend so they understood you. And it was the comedy Variety called “as much fun as a burning orphanage.”
Making “Harold and Maude” wasn’t easy, and releasing it to the general public was even harder. But 50 years on, the touching, droll and subversive story of a troubled teenager, played by Bud Cort, who falls in love with a nearly 80-year old free spirit, played by Ruth Gordon, still feels fresh and funny.
The idea for the film was hatched by Colin Higgins, a UCLA film student who lucked into a job cleaning the pool of a producer and ended up selling his script to Paramount. Director Hal Ashby fought the establishment at every turn, nearly getting the production shut down. Released with almost no marketing on the same date “The Godfather” was supposed to premiere,...
Making “Harold and Maude” wasn’t easy, and releasing it to the general public was even harder. But 50 years on, the touching, droll and subversive story of a troubled teenager, played by Bud Cort, who falls in love with a nearly 80-year old free spirit, played by Ruth Gordon, still feels fresh and funny.
The idea for the film was hatched by Colin Higgins, a UCLA film student who lucked into a job cleaning the pool of a producer and ended up selling his script to Paramount. Director Hal Ashby fought the establishment at every turn, nearly getting the production shut down. Released with almost no marketing on the same date “The Godfather” was supposed to premiere,...
- 12/10/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical film “Belfast” is opening in theaters this week and has already attracted an immense amount of Oscar buzz, currently sitting as the frontrunner for best picture, director and several other categories. With honors and audience awards from various festivals, the Focus Features black-and-white drama has the famed filmmaker on a path to make Oscar history.
For “Belfast,” Branagh serves as one of the producers, which makes him eligible to be nominated for best picture, along with director and original screenplay. He’s received five nominations during his career, all across different categories – director, actor, supporting actor (“My Week with Marilyn”), adapted screenplay (“Hamlet”) and live action short (“Swan Song”).
Pending any unforeseen catastrophe, Branagh is on track to add two new categories to his arsenal (picture and original screenplay). This possibility could set a couple of records for the Ireland native. First, he would tie George Clooney,...
For “Belfast,” Branagh serves as one of the producers, which makes him eligible to be nominated for best picture, along with director and original screenplay. He’s received five nominations during his career, all across different categories – director, actor, supporting actor (“My Week with Marilyn”), adapted screenplay (“Hamlet”) and live action short (“Swan Song”).
Pending any unforeseen catastrophe, Branagh is on track to add two new categories to his arsenal (picture and original screenplay). This possibility could set a couple of records for the Ireland native. First, he would tie George Clooney,...
- 11/8/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The comedian and former The Daily Show correspondent talks about his favorite Blaxploitation movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Castle (1997)
The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973) – Bill Duke’s trailer commentary
Pressure (1976)
Robinson Crusoe On Mars (1964) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary
Boss (1975)
Django Unchained (2012) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
The Thing With Two Heads (1972) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary
The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971)
The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)
Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970)
Black Samurai (1977)
Truck Turner (1974)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Black Caesar (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Hell Up In Harlem (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)
Friday Foster (1975)
That Man Bolt (1973)
Blacula (1972)
Foxy Brown (1974) – Jack Hill’s trailer commentary
Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976)
Willie Dynamite (1973) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Billy Jack (1971)
John Wick (2014)
The Matrix (1999)
Cleopatra Jones...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Castle (1997)
The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973) – Bill Duke’s trailer commentary
Pressure (1976)
Robinson Crusoe On Mars (1964) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary
Boss (1975)
Django Unchained (2012) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
The Thing With Two Heads (1972) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary
The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971)
The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)
Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970)
Black Samurai (1977)
Truck Turner (1974)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Black Caesar (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Hell Up In Harlem (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)
Friday Foster (1975)
That Man Bolt (1973)
Blacula (1972)
Foxy Brown (1974) – Jack Hill’s trailer commentary
Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976)
Willie Dynamite (1973) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Billy Jack (1971)
John Wick (2014)
The Matrix (1999)
Cleopatra Jones...
- 8/17/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Los Angeles’ turbulent year of mass Covid-19 closures, racial unrest and exacerbated homelessness has led to a somewhat predictable stream of media coverage tied to the notion that the California dream is ending.
If you lived for any length of time in the city, you’ve heard the pessimistic outlook all before, only to see the city recover.
That’s why Ron Brownstein’s new book Rock Me on the Water is a bit of a refresher that the City of Angels has had its very, very good moments, in particular the year 1974 — a time when Los Angeles’ creative energies in TV, music, movies and politics were all their high points. Those sectors of the culture certainly went through periods of renaissance before and since then, but this was a year when all was happening at once. New York, by contrast, was in a state of crisis, not that there...
If you lived for any length of time in the city, you’ve heard the pessimistic outlook all before, only to see the city recover.
That’s why Ron Brownstein’s new book Rock Me on the Water is a bit of a refresher that the City of Angels has had its very, very good moments, in particular the year 1974 — a time when Los Angeles’ creative energies in TV, music, movies and politics were all their high points. Those sectors of the culture certainly went through periods of renaissance before and since then, but this was a year when all was happening at once. New York, by contrast, was in a state of crisis, not that there...
- 3/25/2021
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Originating on CBC Television in 2016, “Baroness Von Sketch Show” has seen us through the chaos of the last five years. The Canadian sketch comedy series is created by Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora Browne and Jennifer Whalen, a dynamic foursome whose varying talents combine into comedic gold. A smash hit in their native Canada, the series earned a cult following in the U.S. when sketches began making the rounds on YouTube, earning fans in Reggie Watts and Lea Delaria, who shared early videos. IFC brought the series to American audiences in 2017, and will debut the fifth and final season (which premiered in Canada in the fall) on February 24.
“Baroness” always — and proudly — skews feminist, though the comedy is always queen. The humor is a deeply satisfying blend of broad slapstick with sharp satire. Many of the sketches combine a shrewd social criticism, whether of diet culture or parenting double standards,...
“Baroness” always — and proudly — skews feminist, though the comedy is always queen. The humor is a deeply satisfying blend of broad slapstick with sharp satire. Many of the sketches combine a shrewd social criticism, whether of diet culture or parenting double standards,...
- 2/24/2021
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Robert C. Jones, the acclaimed film editor behind 1960s and ’70s classics “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “Love Story” who garnered a screenplay Academy Award for the war drama “Coming Home,” has died. He was 84.
His daughter, Leslie Jones — who is also an Oscar-nominated film editor — confirmed to Variety that Jones died on Feb. 1 following a long illness.
“My Dad had a tremendous impact on my own editing career with whom I worked on several films as his assistant,” Leslie said in a statement. “Like Bob I did not go to film school and had no formal training in editing. But what I learned was that editing does not always require a specific skill set. He taught me that talent instead is guided by a sense of compassion, and integrity, and the search for truth and authenticity. He had all that and more.”
Throughout his career, Jones collaborated with...
His daughter, Leslie Jones — who is also an Oscar-nominated film editor — confirmed to Variety that Jones died on Feb. 1 following a long illness.
“My Dad had a tremendous impact on my own editing career with whom I worked on several films as his assistant,” Leslie said in a statement. “Like Bob I did not go to film school and had no formal training in editing. But what I learned was that editing does not always require a specific skill set. He taught me that talent instead is guided by a sense of compassion, and integrity, and the search for truth and authenticity. He had all that and more.”
Throughout his career, Jones collaborated with...
- 2/6/2021
- by Natalie Oganesyan
- Variety Film + TV
Mike Fenton, the legendary casting director who worked on the “Back to the Future” franchise, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and scores of other classic movies and TV shows, has died. He was 85.
Fenton co-founded what is now known as Casting Society of America in 1982. He was a prominent casting director for more than 40 years, with a mile-long resume that stretched from “The Andy Griffith Show” and “That Girl” to “Chinatown,” “American Graffiti,” “The Godfather II,” “Blade Runner,” “A Christmas Story,” “Norma Rae,” “Footloose,” “Honeymoon in Vegas” and “Chaplin.”
“Working with Mike Fenton was like working in a candy store — he made casting a blast,” Steven Spielberg said in a statement. “His fervent support of actors was the stuff of legend, and after landing a part, any actor’s smile was rarely as wide as Mike’s. He didn’t just support actors, he launched crusades.
Fenton co-founded what is now known as Casting Society of America in 1982. He was a prominent casting director for more than 40 years, with a mile-long resume that stretched from “The Andy Griffith Show” and “That Girl” to “Chinatown,” “American Graffiti,” “The Godfather II,” “Blade Runner,” “A Christmas Story,” “Norma Rae,” “Footloose,” “Honeymoon in Vegas” and “Chaplin.”
“Working with Mike Fenton was like working in a candy store — he made casting a blast,” Steven Spielberg said in a statement. “His fervent support of actors was the stuff of legend, and after landing a part, any actor’s smile was rarely as wide as Mike’s. He didn’t just support actors, he launched crusades.
- 1/1/2021
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
If the action-fueled, hit genre films “Bonnie and Clyde” in 1967 and “Easy Rider” in 1969 were the shotgun blasts whose breakout success opened the filmmaking doors for what became known as “The New Hollywood,” 1970’s “Five Easy Pieces” actually better represented the kind of film that the era’s aspiring young directors, producers, writers and actors were dreaming of making in those heady, hopeful days.
It’s been 50 years since Bob Rafelson’s powerful, perceptive drama about a young man torn between a life of white privilege and high culture in the Northwest and a more earthy, elemental existence in the oilfields of Bakersfield, scored critical raves and four Oscar nominations; for best picture, Jack Nicholson’s lead performance as Bobby Dupea, Karen Black’s supporting turn as his lovely but not exactly Mensa-contending waitress girlfriend Rayette, and Carole Eastman’s still dazzling, still wise and worldly screenplay.
You don’t...
It’s been 50 years since Bob Rafelson’s powerful, perceptive drama about a young man torn between a life of white privilege and high culture in the Northwest and a more earthy, elemental existence in the oilfields of Bakersfield, scored critical raves and four Oscar nominations; for best picture, Jack Nicholson’s lead performance as Bobby Dupea, Karen Black’s supporting turn as his lovely but not exactly Mensa-contending waitress girlfriend Rayette, and Carole Eastman’s still dazzling, still wise and worldly screenplay.
You don’t...
- 9/12/2020
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
It would probably not be fair to call Jay Sebring “forgotten.” After all, the ‘60s Hollywood stylist was so popular that he served as an inspiration for “Shampoo,” the 1975 satire directed by Hal Ashby and starring Warren Beatty. But in the grander context of the Charles Manson murders – where so many individuals have adopted a larger-than-life persona over the decades – Sebring’s legacy does feel somewhat muted in comparison.
Continue reading ‘Jay Sebring’ Trailer: Tarantino, Others Set The Record Straight About Manson Victim at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Jay Sebring’ Trailer: Tarantino, Others Set The Record Straight About Manson Victim at The Playlist.
- 8/1/2020
- by Matthew Monagle
- The Playlist
The producer of Narcos takes us on a walk through some of the movies that made him.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Contagion (2011)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Rififi (1955)
Night And The City (1950)
Thieves’ Highway (1949)
Never on Sunday (1960)
The Karate Kid (1984)
The Game (1997)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
The Great Escape (1963)
Children of Men (2006)
Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
The Godfather (1972)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Animal House (1978)
An American Werewolf In London (1981)
Trading Places (1983)
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)
Fellini Satyricon (1969)
The Beastmaster (1982)
Sheena (1984)
High Risk (1981)
Ghostbusters (1984)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Piranha (1978)
Gallipoli (1981)
Witness (1985)
The Killing Fields (1984)
Mad Max (1980)
Max Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975)
The Last Wave (1978)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
The Hobbit (1977)
The Return of the King (1980)
Class (1983)
The Great Santini (1979)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Contagion (2011)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Rififi (1955)
Night And The City (1950)
Thieves’ Highway (1949)
Never on Sunday (1960)
The Karate Kid (1984)
The Game (1997)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
The Great Escape (1963)
Children of Men (2006)
Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)
If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
The Godfather (1972)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Animal House (1978)
An American Werewolf In London (1981)
Trading Places (1983)
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)
Fellini Satyricon (1969)
The Beastmaster (1982)
Sheena (1984)
High Risk (1981)
Ghostbusters (1984)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Piranha (1978)
Gallipoli (1981)
Witness (1985)
The Killing Fields (1984)
Mad Max (1980)
Max Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975)
The Last Wave (1978)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
The Hobbit (1977)
The Return of the King (1980)
Class (1983)
The Great Santini (1979)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High...
- 6/16/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Jonah Hill teamed up with GQ magazine this week to offer up a handful of movie suggestions to help cinephiles around the world survive these isolating times of self-distancing. Hill’s list is an impressive mix of serious auteur dramas and absurd escapist comedies; surely there’s at least a couple titles here that will help liven up everyones self-distancing. First up is “Shampoo,” Hal Ashby’s 1975 comedy about a hairdresser (Warren Beatty) come undone by his various clients and lovers. “It’s hysterical and it’s really satirical,” Hill says of the film, while noting it marked the era of comedies that no longer get made.
“It is a comedy, but in the ’70s comedies were not genre-fied in the same way,” Hill says. “There were these great films that looked beautiful, made by great directors, where your A-level great filmmakers that made crazy dramas made “comedies” and they...
“It is a comedy, but in the ’70s comedies were not genre-fied in the same way,” Hill says. “There were these great films that looked beautiful, made by great directors, where your A-level great filmmakers that made crazy dramas made “comedies” and they...
- 3/19/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
A prequel series to the classic film “Chinatown” is in early development at Netflix, Variety has confirmed with sources.
David Fincher and Robert Towne, the film’s writer, are attached to pen the script. It will reportedly focus on the exploits of a young Jake “J.J.” Gittes during his early days as a private investigator.
Netflix declined to comment.
The film was released in 1974 and starred Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. Nicholson played Gittes, who is originally hired to expose an adulterer but becomes embroiled in a much larger plot. Roman Polanski directed with Robert Evans producing. The film became a box office and critical hit upon its release, racking up eleven Academy Award nominations. Towne ultimately took home the film’s lone Oscar statuette for best original screenplay. A sequel titled “The Two Jakes” was released in 1990 with Nicholson and Towne returning.
In addition to his Oscar win for “Chinatown,...
David Fincher and Robert Towne, the film’s writer, are attached to pen the script. It will reportedly focus on the exploits of a young Jake “J.J.” Gittes during his early days as a private investigator.
Netflix declined to comment.
The film was released in 1974 and starred Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. Nicholson played Gittes, who is originally hired to expose an adulterer but becomes embroiled in a much larger plot. Roman Polanski directed with Robert Evans producing. The film became a box office and critical hit upon its release, racking up eleven Academy Award nominations. Towne ultimately took home the film’s lone Oscar statuette for best original screenplay. A sequel titled “The Two Jakes” was released in 1990 with Nicholson and Towne returning.
In addition to his Oscar win for “Chinatown,...
- 11/19/2019
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Hal Ashby would’ve celebrated his 90th birthday on September 2, 2019. With his long hair, sunglasses and bellbottoms, he was the epitome of the 1970s flower child, even though he was a decade older than most of the filmmakers working at the time. Though his flame burned brightly and briefly, he left behind a series of classics that signified the nose-thumbing, countercultural attitude of the era, with a bit of humanism and heart thrown in for good measure. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at all 12 of his films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1929 in Utah, Ashby ambled around before becoming an apprentice editor for Robert Swink, working for Hollywood legends William Wyler and George Stevens. He moved up the ranks to become an editor for Norman Jewison, with whom he shared a fraternal and professional relationship. They cut five films together, including “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!...
Born in 1929 in Utah, Ashby ambled around before becoming an apprentice editor for Robert Swink, working for Hollywood legends William Wyler and George Stevens. He moved up the ranks to become an editor for Norman Jewison, with whom he shared a fraternal and professional relationship. They cut five films together, including “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!...
- 9/2/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Actress Sylvia Miles, who was Oscar-nominated for “Midnight Cowboy” and “Farewell, My Lovely,” died Wednesday at her home in New York. Her friends, journalist Michael Musto and actress Geraldine Smith, confirmed her death. She was reportedly 94, although she gave various accounts of her age.
Celebrity journalist Musto, who was about to appear with Smith and Miles in an indie film, said, “She was one of my first celebrity interviews (in the 1970s) and was charismatic and career driven. She’d run up to directors at Studio 54 and say ‘Hire me!’ She was very proud of her two Oscar nominations.”
Smith said “Her family was her New York friends,” and related how she had been excited to get back to acting.
Miles’ first major role came in the 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy” alongside Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. Despite only appearing on screen for about six minutes, her role as Cass earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
Celebrity journalist Musto, who was about to appear with Smith and Miles in an indie film, said, “She was one of my first celebrity interviews (in the 1970s) and was charismatic and career driven. She’d run up to directors at Studio 54 and say ‘Hire me!’ She was very proud of her two Oscar nominations.”
Smith said “Her family was her New York friends,” and related how she had been excited to get back to acting.
Miles’ first major role came in the 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy” alongside Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. Despite only appearing on screen for about six minutes, her role as Cass earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.
- 6/12/2019
- by Pat Saperstein and Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Growing up, Carrie Fisher didn’t want to be an actress. But thanks to her role as Princess Leia in “Star Wars,” she became not only a movie star but an interstellar icon, a testament to the power of resistance. “Inside Star Wars” host Mark Ramsey joins us to talk about her life and legacy in the latest “Shoot This Now” podcast, which you can listen to on Apple or right here:
Fisher resisted the lure of Hollywood because she saw how the industry and the news media wounded her mother, Debbie Reynolds, after her father, Eddie Fisher, left her for Elizabeth Taylor.
But Carrie Fisher fulfilled her destiny to end up on-screen anyway. One early role was in Warren Beatty’s 1975 melancholy sex farce “Shampoo.” Ramsey tells us that on-set, Fisher quickly learned about the cold assessing eye of directors. And took careful notes.
Also Read: Kindred Spirits: When the Irish Starved,...
Fisher resisted the lure of Hollywood because she saw how the industry and the news media wounded her mother, Debbie Reynolds, after her father, Eddie Fisher, left her for Elizabeth Taylor.
But Carrie Fisher fulfilled her destiny to end up on-screen anyway. One early role was in Warren Beatty’s 1975 melancholy sex farce “Shampoo.” Ramsey tells us that on-set, Fisher quickly learned about the cold assessing eye of directors. And took careful notes.
Also Read: Kindred Spirits: When the Irish Starved,...
- 5/17/2019
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
Julie Christie celebrates her 79th birthday on April 14, 2019. The Oscar-winning actress has been largely absent from movie screens this century, enjoying a semi-retirement that finds her returning for the odd performance here and there. Yet she’s always finding new fans as younger generations discover her cinematic classics. In honor of her birthday, let’s take a look at 20 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
SEEOscar Best Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
Born in 1940, Christie rose to prominence for her work in London, starting with a breakthrough performance in John Schlesinger‘s “Billy Liar” (1963). She won the Oscar as Best Actress just two years later for Schlesinger’s “Darling” (1965), playing a fashion model who sleeps her way to the top. That same year, she shot to stardom thanks to David Lean‘s romantic epic “Doctor Zhivago” (1965), which casts her as a political activist’s wife...
SEEOscar Best Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
Born in 1940, Christie rose to prominence for her work in London, starting with a breakthrough performance in John Schlesinger‘s “Billy Liar” (1963). She won the Oscar as Best Actress just two years later for Schlesinger’s “Darling” (1965), playing a fashion model who sleeps her way to the top. That same year, she shot to stardom thanks to David Lean‘s romantic epic “Doctor Zhivago” (1965), which casts her as a political activist’s wife...
- 4/14/2019
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
One of the most delightful parts of the trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was Bruce Lee, who is played by Mike Moh. He is perfect in the role of Lee and we even got to see him show off his fighting skills as he sparred with stuntman Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt.
I’ve actually been wondering why Lee is in the film. I know it’s set in 1969 Hollywood when he was around, but what is the part that he plays in the story? Well, there’s an answer and it’s an interesting one that is based on his relationship with Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate.
Lee actually played a small and bizarre role in the story of the Manson family murders. In fact, according to Matthew Polly, author of the book Bruce Lee: A Life, director Polanski actually thought at...
I’ve actually been wondering why Lee is in the film. I know it’s set in 1969 Hollywood when he was around, but what is the part that he plays in the story? Well, there’s an answer and it’s an interesting one that is based on his relationship with Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate.
Lee actually played a small and bizarre role in the story of the Manson family murders. In fact, according to Matthew Polly, author of the book Bruce Lee: A Life, director Polanski actually thought at...
- 3/22/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Perhaps the greatest delight of the new teaser for Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” is the unexpected prominence of Bruce Lee. Lee, played by Mike Moh, demonstrates his kung-fu mastery with stuntman Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt.
He’s onscreen for about 15 seconds of the one-minute-forty-five-second trailer, but they’re electrifying. Why is Lee there? Partly, of course, because Tarantino adores him. But this isn’t a case of a director shoehorning someone into a story. Lee played a small but significant — and very bizarre — part in the story of the Manson killings.
There’s no telling how much of that story will be in Tarantino’s film. And if you don’t want to know the details, we’d recommend you stop reading now.
Because once upon a time in Hollywood, believe it or not, a young director named Roman Polanski briefly...
He’s onscreen for about 15 seconds of the one-minute-forty-five-second trailer, but they’re electrifying. Why is Lee there? Partly, of course, because Tarantino adores him. But this isn’t a case of a director shoehorning someone into a story. Lee played a small but significant — and very bizarre — part in the story of the Manson killings.
There’s no telling how much of that story will be in Tarantino’s film. And if you don’t want to know the details, we’d recommend you stop reading now.
Because once upon a time in Hollywood, believe it or not, a young director named Roman Polanski briefly...
- 3/20/2019
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
“We Are Movie Geeks?..Aren’t we all” the young gentleman taking the photo for the Oscars badge said, and how correct he was. The stage is set for tomorrow nights awards; red carpet out, lighting set, roads closed, and security up. The crowds are even larger than usual in Hollywood, with movie fans out in force to see the pageantry. Temperatures are cooler than usual, but by this time tomorrow night the town will be hot!
Want to watch the 91st Academy Awards on Oscar Sunday?
It’s Oscar-viewing made easy. Find out where to watch the show on Sunday,
starting at 8 Pm Et/5Pm Pt –https://www.oscars.org/how-to-watch/index.html
The 91st Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 8 p.m. Et/5 p.m. Pt.
The Oscar Week...
Want to watch the 91st Academy Awards on Oscar Sunday?
It’s Oscar-viewing made easy. Find out where to watch the show on Sunday,
starting at 8 Pm Et/5Pm Pt –https://www.oscars.org/how-to-watch/index.html
The 91st Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 8 p.m. Et/5 p.m. Pt.
The Oscar Week...
- 2/23/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Heaven only knows whether Jared Goff will lead the Los Angeles Rams to a historic victory in Super Bowl Liii this Sunday, but kickoff can’t get here quick enough for Hollywood legend Warren Beatty. “The phone keeps ringing,” Beatty said. “What’s been going on, well, it’s kind of ridiculous.”
The reason the phone keeps ringing? Heaven Can Wait, the 1978 celestial comedy hit that Beatty memorably produced, co-directed, co-wrote and starred in. Beatty portrays Rams quarterback Joe Pendleton, who dies before his destined time but, with some angelic assistance, returns to win the Super Bowl inhabiting the body of the team’s unflappable back-up, Tom Jarrett, who wears No. 16.
Goff is also known for playing without panic, he wears No. 16 and his first name sounds a lot like Jarrett — which may sound like skimpy stuff when it comes to cosmic coincidences, but it’s good enough to merit...
The reason the phone keeps ringing? Heaven Can Wait, the 1978 celestial comedy hit that Beatty memorably produced, co-directed, co-wrote and starred in. Beatty portrays Rams quarterback Joe Pendleton, who dies before his destined time but, with some angelic assistance, returns to win the Super Bowl inhabiting the body of the team’s unflappable back-up, Tom Jarrett, who wears No. 16.
Goff is also known for playing without panic, he wears No. 16 and his first name sounds a lot like Jarrett — which may sound like skimpy stuff when it comes to cosmic coincidences, but it’s good enough to merit...
- 2/2/2019
- by Geoff Boucher
- Deadline Film + TV
In any crowded awards field, getting seen is the first order of business. Not surprisingly, a strong roster of 2018 box office hits landed on the Producers Guild of America’s nominated documentary features.
Three summer hits include CNN’s “Rbg” (Magnolia) and “Three Identical Strangers” (Neon) as well as Focus Features’ “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” which so far has not missed a possible nomination.
Oddly, two climbing movies are in contention, NatGeo’s fall hit “Free Solo” and “The Dawn Wall” (The Orchard).
The other nominees get a much-needed boost in awareness as documentary Oscar branch voters plow through a tall list of screeners. Among the many bio-docs in circulation this season, the PGA went with Oscilloscope’s “Hal,” about the legendary film director of “Shampoo” and “The Last Detail,” among other classics.
The films nominated for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures are listed...
Three summer hits include CNN’s “Rbg” (Magnolia) and “Three Identical Strangers” (Neon) as well as Focus Features’ “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” which so far has not missed a possible nomination.
Oddly, two climbing movies are in contention, NatGeo’s fall hit “Free Solo” and “The Dawn Wall” (The Orchard).
The other nominees get a much-needed boost in awareness as documentary Oscar branch voters plow through a tall list of screeners. Among the many bio-docs in circulation this season, the PGA went with Oscilloscope’s “Hal,” about the legendary film director of “Shampoo” and “The Last Detail,” among other classics.
The films nominated for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures are listed...
- 11/20/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
In any crowded awards field, getting seen is the first order of business. Not surprisingly, a strong roster of 2018 box office hits landed on the Producers Guild of America’s nominated documentary features.
Three summer hits include CNN’s “Rbg” (Magnolia) and “Three Identical Strangers” (Neon) as well as Focus Features’ “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” which so far has not missed a possible nomination.
Oddly, two climbing movies are in contention, NatGeo’s fall hit “Free Solo” and “The Dawn Wall” (The Orchard).
The other nominees get a much-needed boost in awareness as documentary Oscar branch voters plow through a tall list of screeners. Among the many bio-docs in circulation this season, the PGA went with Oscilloscope’s “Hal,” about the legendary film director of “Shampoo” and “The Last Detail,” among other classics.
The films nominated for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures are listed...
Three summer hits include CNN’s “Rbg” (Magnolia) and “Three Identical Strangers” (Neon) as well as Focus Features’ “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” which so far has not missed a possible nomination.
Oddly, two climbing movies are in contention, NatGeo’s fall hit “Free Solo” and “The Dawn Wall” (The Orchard).
The other nominees get a much-needed boost in awareness as documentary Oscar branch voters plow through a tall list of screeners. Among the many bio-docs in circulation this season, the PGA went with Oscilloscope’s “Hal,” about the legendary film director of “Shampoo” and “The Last Detail,” among other classics.
The films nominated for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures are listed...
- 11/20/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
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