At its core, John Sturges’s Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is another retelling of the exploits of Wyatt Earp (Burt Lancaster) and Doc Holliday (Kirk Douglas) where the facts are buried under layers of myth. Doc is introduced as a surly card sharp and drunk, and he’s ultimately steered out of trouble by Wyatt. This is a different approach from John Ford’s My Darling Clementine, in which Doc doesn’t appear until well into the film and is a public nuisance to Wyatt and others. By initially focusing on Doc, who’s more receptive to Wyatt’s council here, the film winds up giving the men equal footing as protagonists, making this something closer to a buddy picture.
After a prologue set in Fort Griffin, Texas, the film’s story is neatly mapped out in a two-act structure, with the characters travelling from Dodge City to Tombstone,...
After a prologue set in Fort Griffin, Texas, the film’s story is neatly mapped out in a two-act structure, with the characters travelling from Dodge City to Tombstone,...
- 2/26/2024
- by Clayton Dillard
- Slant Magazine
A new documentary argues some young Jewish Americans – including the directors themselves – have been raised in a system that demands pro-Israel activism
Erin Axelman was a fervent Zionist by the time they reached high school in the late 2000s. For their bat mitzvah, they had received a copy of Exodus by Leon Uris. The 1958 novel, one of the bestselling books of the decade, tells a story about the creation of the Israeli state that helped cement American Zionism. “It’s this kind of heroic, almost mythical tale of the creation of the state of Israel and it was incredibly empowering,” Axelman said.
After reading Exodus, Axelman “became obsessed with Israel”, they said. “I considered joining the Israeli military and fantasized about moving there.” They latched on to the story of Jews returning home.
Erin Axelman was a fervent Zionist by the time they reached high school in the late 2000s. For their bat mitzvah, they had received a copy of Exodus by Leon Uris. The 1958 novel, one of the bestselling books of the decade, tells a story about the creation of the Israeli state that helped cement American Zionism. “It’s this kind of heroic, almost mythical tale of the creation of the state of Israel and it was incredibly empowering,” Axelman said.
After reading Exodus, Axelman “became obsessed with Israel”, they said. “I considered joining the Israeli military and fantasized about moving there.” They latched on to the story of Jews returning home.
- 11/12/2023
- by Sam Wolfson
- The Guardian - Film News
Robert Gottlieb, the legendary editor at Simon & Schuster, Alfred A. Knopf and The New Yorker who helped shape the work of many of the world’s greatest writers over the past six decades, has died, according to Knopf and The New Yorker. He was 92.
A partial list of the literary talents whose work Gottlieb edited includes Nobel laureates such as Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing and V.S. Naipaul; bestselling novelists such as John le Carré, Michael Crichton and Ray Bradbury; Hollywood types such as Elia Kazan, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Nora Ephron and Lauren Bacall; Pulitzer Prize-winners such as John Cheever, Katharine Graham and Robert Caro; and even a president, Bill Clinton.
Gottlieb was featured in the documentary Turn Every Page, directed by his daughter Lizzie, which premiered at last year’s Tribeca Festival and was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics. The film focuses on Gottlieb and Caro as...
A partial list of the literary talents whose work Gottlieb edited includes Nobel laureates such as Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing and V.S. Naipaul; bestselling novelists such as John le Carré, Michael Crichton and Ray Bradbury; Hollywood types such as Elia Kazan, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Nora Ephron and Lauren Bacall; Pulitzer Prize-winners such as John Cheever, Katharine Graham and Robert Caro; and even a president, Bill Clinton.
Gottlieb was featured in the documentary Turn Every Page, directed by his daughter Lizzie, which premiered at last year’s Tribeca Festival and was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics. The film focuses on Gottlieb and Caro as...
- 6/14/2023
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Famed literary editor Robert Gottlieb, former Simon & Schuster editor-in-chief and editor of Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Beloved,” has died at the age of 92.
The writer died of natural causes at a New York hospital on Wednesday, and his death was announced by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. The New Yorker, where Gottlieb also previously served as editor-in-chief, shared the news of his death via Twitter, posting an article that details his life and impact.
Gottlieb was born April 29, 1931, and was raised in the Manhattan borough of New York City. He graduated from Columbia University in 1952 before attending Cambridge University in the U.K for two years.
Also Read:
Cormac McCarthy, Legendary Author of ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘The Road,’ Dies at 89
Three years later, Gottlieb joined publishing company Simon and Schuster working as an editorial assistant for Jack Goodman, then-editor-in-chief. While there he edited Joseph Heller’s “Catch 22,...
The writer died of natural causes at a New York hospital on Wednesday, and his death was announced by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. The New Yorker, where Gottlieb also previously served as editor-in-chief, shared the news of his death via Twitter, posting an article that details his life and impact.
Gottlieb was born April 29, 1931, and was raised in the Manhattan borough of New York City. He graduated from Columbia University in 1952 before attending Cambridge University in the U.K for two years.
Also Read:
Cormac McCarthy, Legendary Author of ‘No Country for Old Men’ and ‘The Road,’ Dies at 89
Three years later, Gottlieb joined publishing company Simon and Schuster working as an editorial assistant for Jack Goodman, then-editor-in-chief. While there he edited Joseph Heller’s “Catch 22,...
- 6/14/2023
- by Raquel "Rocky" Harris
- The Wrap
L.Q. Jones, the colorful character actor who worked on dozens of Westerns, including the Sam Peckinpah classics The Wild Bunch and Ride the High Country as a member of the famed filmmaker’s regular posse, has died. He was 94.
Jones died Saturday of natural causes at his home in the Hollywood Hills, his grandson Erté deGarces told The Hollywood Reporter.
Jones portrayed ranch hand Andy Belden on 25 episodes of NBC’s The Virginian over an eight-year span, was one of the bad guys who slipped a noose over Clint Eastwood’s neck in Hang ‘Em High (1968) and played a sheriff on the 1983-84 NBC primetime soap The Yellow Rose, starring Sam Elliott, Cybill Shepherd and Chuck Connors.
The Texas native also portrayed Clark County Commissioner Pat Webb, Robert De Niro’s nemesis, in Martin Scorsese’s Casino (1995) and country singer Chuck Akers in...
Jones died Saturday of natural causes at his home in the Hollywood Hills, his grandson Erté deGarces told The Hollywood Reporter.
Jones portrayed ranch hand Andy Belden on 25 episodes of NBC’s The Virginian over an eight-year span, was one of the bad guys who slipped a noose over Clint Eastwood’s neck in Hang ‘Em High (1968) and played a sheriff on the 1983-84 NBC primetime soap The Yellow Rose, starring Sam Elliott, Cybill Shepherd and Chuck Connors.
The Texas native also portrayed Clark County Commissioner Pat Webb, Robert De Niro’s nemesis, in Martin Scorsese’s Casino (1995) and country singer Chuck Akers in...
- 7/9/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Oregon-based Blackstone Publishing has brought on former Miramax and Macmillan executive Brendan Deneen as the company’s Director of Media, TV & Film.
Deneen will spearhead this new multimedia division, mining Blackstone’s backlist and creating new IP for both publishing and adaptation opportunities.
Blackstone’s catalog counts over 13,000 audiobook titles from such authors as Ayn Rand, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Pablo Neruda, Cs Lewis, Karin Slaughter, Don Winslow and Neil deGrasse Tyson. They also publish for such companies and properties as Disney, Marvel, and the James Bond franchise. Blackstone’s thriving print and eBook imprint releases count over 80 titles a year by both new and established writers, including James Clavell, Rex Pickett, PC Cast, Catherine Coulter, Leon Uris, Norman Reedus, and Meg Gardiner, among others.
Deneen recently exited Assemble Media, where he was the company’s President of Literary and IP Development. During his three years at Assemble, he developed...
Deneen will spearhead this new multimedia division, mining Blackstone’s backlist and creating new IP for both publishing and adaptation opportunities.
Blackstone’s catalog counts over 13,000 audiobook titles from such authors as Ayn Rand, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Pablo Neruda, Cs Lewis, Karin Slaughter, Don Winslow and Neil deGrasse Tyson. They also publish for such companies and properties as Disney, Marvel, and the James Bond franchise. Blackstone’s thriving print and eBook imprint releases count over 80 titles a year by both new and established writers, including James Clavell, Rex Pickett, PC Cast, Catherine Coulter, Leon Uris, Norman Reedus, and Meg Gardiner, among others.
Deneen recently exited Assemble Media, where he was the company’s President of Literary and IP Development. During his three years at Assemble, he developed...
- 7/9/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Fifty years ago, 1,500 individuals from 53 countries attended the fifth edition of MipTV at Cannes. It’s a small fraction of the estimated 10,500 expected this year, but organizers in 1969 were ecstatic at the turnout. They were also ecstatic to welcome celebs such as Harold Robbins, plugging “The Survivors,” starring Lana Turner.
On April 30, 1969, Variety reported that the hour-long drama was budgeted at “a new all-time high of $300,000 per episode.” Robbins was hot stuff in the 1960s as he virtually invented sex-and-wealth blockbuster novels with “The Carpetbaggers” and “Where Love Has Gone.” In addition to his Mip-promoted “Survivors,” various companies were planning adaptations of four Robbins works, including big-screen projects “The Adventurers,” “The Inheritors” and “Stiletto,” plus the TV-targeted “79 Park Avenue.” That quartet represented a total investment of $36 million.
“I am the only writer able to make three major companies go broke in one year,” he joked at Cannes.
“The Survivors,” which also starred George Hamilton,...
On April 30, 1969, Variety reported that the hour-long drama was budgeted at “a new all-time high of $300,000 per episode.” Robbins was hot stuff in the 1960s as he virtually invented sex-and-wealth blockbuster novels with “The Carpetbaggers” and “Where Love Has Gone.” In addition to his Mip-promoted “Survivors,” various companies were planning adaptations of four Robbins works, including big-screen projects “The Adventurers,” “The Inheritors” and “Stiletto,” plus the TV-targeted “79 Park Avenue.” That quartet represented a total investment of $36 million.
“I am the only writer able to make three major companies go broke in one year,” he joked at Cannes.
“The Survivors,” which also starred George Hamilton,...
- 4/8/2019
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Move over James Jones — Leon Uris clobbers the big screen with a sprawling adaptation of his WW2 combat novel, loaded down with roles for promising young actors. This is the one where twice as much time is spent on love affairs than fighting. War may be hell, but if Mona Freeman, Nancy Olson, Dorothy Malone and Allyn McLerie are going to be there for comfort, sign me up.
Battle Cry
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 148 min. / Street Date , 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, Mona Freeman, Nancy Olson, James Whitmore, Raymond Massey, Tab Hunter, Dorothy Malone, Anne Francis, William Campbell, Fess Parker, Justus E. McQueen (L.Q. Jones), Perry Lopez, Jonas Applegarth, Tommy Cook, Felix Noriego, Susan Morrow, Carleton Young, Rhys Williams, Allyn Ann McLerie, Gregory Walcott, Frank Ferguson, Sarah Selby, Willis Bouchey, Victor Milian.
Cinematography: Sidney Hickox
Film Editor: William H. Zeigler
Original Music: Max Steiner...
Battle Cry
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 148 min. / Street Date , 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Van Heflin, Aldo Ray, Mona Freeman, Nancy Olson, James Whitmore, Raymond Massey, Tab Hunter, Dorothy Malone, Anne Francis, William Campbell, Fess Parker, Justus E. McQueen (L.Q. Jones), Perry Lopez, Jonas Applegarth, Tommy Cook, Felix Noriego, Susan Morrow, Carleton Young, Rhys Williams, Allyn Ann McLerie, Gregory Walcott, Frank Ferguson, Sarah Selby, Willis Bouchey, Victor Milian.
Cinematography: Sidney Hickox
Film Editor: William H. Zeigler
Original Music: Max Steiner...
- 11/7/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Exclusive: David Brookwell and Sean McNamara's Brookwell McNamara Entertainment have set the Leon Uris novel Trinity as an Irish/Canadian co-production that will get underway in September. McNamara, who helmed Live Like Line, will direct his adaptation of an ambitious novel that captures the “terrible beauty” of Ireland, during its long and bloody struggle for freedom. Story is told through an idealistic young Catholic rebel, and a Protestant girl who defied her heritage…...
- 3/29/2017
- Deadline
Robert Mitchum all but snoozes through this promising war-espionage thriller that pits lazy Gestapo agents against clueless partisans in occupied Greece. It's got great locations and a good cast, but director Robert Aldrich seems off his feed -- there's not a lot of excitement to be had. The Angry Hills DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1959 / B&W / 2:35 enhanced widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date February 16, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Robert Mitchum, Stanley Baker, Elisabeth Mueller, Gia Scala, Theodore Bikel, Sebastian Cabot, Donald Wolfit, Marius Goring, Jocelyn Lane, Kieron Moore, George Pastell, Marita Constantinou, Alec Mango. Cinematography Stephen Dade Film Editor Peter Tanner Production Design Ken Adam Original Music Richard Rodney Bennett Written by A.I. Bezzerides from the novel by Leon Uris Produced by Raymond Stross Directed by Robert Aldrich
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Director Robert Aldrich had come through with successes for Burt Lancaster's production company (Apache, Vera Cruz...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Director Robert Aldrich had come through with successes for Burt Lancaster's production company (Apache, Vera Cruz...
- 5/31/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
"This land is mine, God made this land for me." Those are just song lyrics, while Otto Preminger's politically daring 70mm mega-production is a lot more subtle in its presentation of the 'Palestinian problem' that led to the formation of the State of Israel. It's a bit ponderous, but Dalton Trumbo's screenplay avoids the pitfalls -- 56 years later, the story is still relevant. Exodus Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1960 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 208 min. / Ship Date March 15, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, Peter Lawford, Lee J. Cobb, Sal Mineo, John Derek, David Opatoshu, Jill Haworth, Hugh Griffith, Gregory Ratoff, Felix Aylmer, Marius Goring, Alexandra Stewart, Martin Benson, Paul Stevens, George Maharis, John Crawford, Victor Maddern, Paul Stassino, John Van Eyssen Cinematography Sam Leavitt Art Direction Richard Day Film Editor Louis R. Loeffler Original Music Ernest Gold Written by Dalton Trumbo from...
- 4/9/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here’s your first look at the new Trumbo trailer – one of the most anticipated movies of 2015.
Bryan Cranston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Louis C.K., David James Elliott, Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Diane Lane, Alan Tudyk, Michael Stuhlbarg and Helen Mirren star.
The successful career of 1940s screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) comes to a crushing end when he and other Hollywood figures are blacklisted for their political beliefs.
Trumbo (directed by Jay Roach) tells the story of his fight against the U.S. government and studio bosses in a war over words and freedom, which entangled everyone in Hollywood from Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) and John Wayne to Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger.
Part of the Hollywood Ten, Trumbo won two Academy Awards while blacklisted. With the support of Otto Preminger, Trumbo was credited for his screenplay for the 1960 film Exodus, adapted from the novel by Leon Uris. Shortly thereafter, Kirk Douglas...
Bryan Cranston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Louis C.K., David James Elliott, Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Diane Lane, Alan Tudyk, Michael Stuhlbarg and Helen Mirren star.
The successful career of 1940s screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) comes to a crushing end when he and other Hollywood figures are blacklisted for their political beliefs.
Trumbo (directed by Jay Roach) tells the story of his fight against the U.S. government and studio bosses in a war over words and freedom, which entangled everyone in Hollywood from Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) and John Wayne to Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger.
Part of the Hollywood Ten, Trumbo won two Academy Awards while blacklisted. With the support of Otto Preminger, Trumbo was credited for his screenplay for the 1960 film Exodus, adapted from the novel by Leon Uris. Shortly thereafter, Kirk Douglas...
- 8/13/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Otto Preminger’s 1960 film Exodus, which stars Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson and Lee J. Cobb, celebrates it’s 55th anniversary this year. The Royale Laemmle Theater in Los Angeles will be holding a special one-night-only showing of the 280-minute film on Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 7:00 pm. Prior to the screening, actress Eva Marie Saint is scheduled to partake in a Q & A and discussion on the making of the film.
From the press release:
Exodus, based on the best-selling novel by Leon Uris about the founding of the state of Israel, was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1960 and won the Oscar for Ernest Gold's majestic, memorable score. Otto Preminger's lavish production, with a screenplay by formerly blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, was filmed on location with an all-star cast headed by Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Sal Mineo, Jill Haworth, Peter Lawford, Ralph Richardson, and Lee J. Cobb.
From the press release:
Exodus, based on the best-selling novel by Leon Uris about the founding of the state of Israel, was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1960 and won the Oscar for Ernest Gold's majestic, memorable score. Otto Preminger's lavish production, with a screenplay by formerly blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, was filmed on location with an all-star cast headed by Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Sal Mineo, Jill Haworth, Peter Lawford, Ralph Richardson, and Lee J. Cobb.
- 3/20/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
‘Montezuma’: Steven Spielberg next movie (or at least a Spielberg movie some time in the future)? Will Steven Spielberg next tackle the life and times of Aztec king Montezuma, from a screenplay by none other than former Hollywood Ten member Dalton Trumbo? If so, that won’t be the first time that Spielberg has adapted a Trumbo screenplay (more on that below). Anyhow, following Lincoln, which earned Spielberg his seventh Best Director Academy Award nomination, the Jaws, E.T., Schindler’s List, and Saving Private Ryan filmmaker has had his name attached to — and then detached from — a couple of projects. First, there was Drew Goddard’s adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson’s novel Robopocalypse, which isn’t a RoboCop spin-off but a sci-fier about a smart robot who reaches the (perfectly logical) conclusion that the only way to save the planet is to get rid of human beings. Robopocalypse,...
- 1/6/2014
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
At a Zurich Film Festival masterclass, the mogul also confirms plans to direct Mila 18 “sooner rather than later.”
Harvey Weinstein, speaking at a Masterclass at the Zurich Film Festival, said that this year’s Oscars race is “the most competitive season I’ve ever seen.”
He was responding to a question from the audience about Olivier Dahan’s Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman being moved back from November 2013 to spring 2014. Weinstein said this was simply a case of the film not being ready. “The only reason is because it just wasn’t ready…The score wasn’t ready, a lot of things weren’t ready…Also we’ve played no festivals on that movie, so it’s hard to get into an Oscar race without at least some festival exposure. The movie is going to be fantastic, and very glamorous. I think this could be bigger than My Week With Marilyn and in the same category...
Harvey Weinstein, speaking at a Masterclass at the Zurich Film Festival, said that this year’s Oscars race is “the most competitive season I’ve ever seen.”
He was responding to a question from the audience about Olivier Dahan’s Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman being moved back from November 2013 to spring 2014. Weinstein said this was simply a case of the film not being ready. “The only reason is because it just wasn’t ready…The score wasn’t ready, a lot of things weren’t ready…Also we’ve played no festivals on that movie, so it’s hard to get into an Oscar race without at least some festival exposure. The movie is going to be fantastic, and very glamorous. I think this could be bigger than My Week With Marilyn and in the same category...
- 9/29/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
At a Zurich Film Festival masterclass, the mogul also confirms plans to direct Mila 18 “sooner rather than later.”
Harvey Weinstein, speaking at a Masterclass at the Zurich Film Festival, said that this year’s Oscars race is “the most competitive season I’ve ever seen.”
He was responding to a question from the audience about Olivier Dahan’s Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman being moved back from November 2013 to spring 2014. Weinstein said this was simply a case of the film not being ready. “The only reason is because it just wasn’t ready…The score wasn’t ready, a lot of things weren’t ready…Also we’ve played no festivals on that movie, so it’s hard to get into an Oscar race without at least some festival exposure. The movie is going to be fantastic, and very glamorous. I think this could be bigger than My Week With Marilyn and in the same category...
Harvey Weinstein, speaking at a Masterclass at the Zurich Film Festival, said that this year’s Oscars race is “the most competitive season I’ve ever seen.”
He was responding to a question from the audience about Olivier Dahan’s Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman being moved back from November 2013 to spring 2014. Weinstein said this was simply a case of the film not being ready. “The only reason is because it just wasn’t ready…The score wasn’t ready, a lot of things weren’t ready…Also we’ve played no festivals on that movie, so it’s hard to get into an Oscar race without at least some festival exposure. The movie is going to be fantastic, and very glamorous. I think this could be bigger than My Week With Marilyn and in the same category...
- 9/29/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Ranking Alfred Hitchcock’s famous movies from Best to Worst is always going to be a highly controversial endeavour. His filmography is so vast and he has many many popular pictures – not just the big ones like Vertigo and Rear Window, but he has cult followings for films such as Rope, Marnie and Life Boat. It is an impossible task to satisfy all of his fans.
I have tried in this feature to represent a wide range of Hitchcock pictures from his oeuvre. I have not ranked them according to my personal preference, but to a preference that I think will satisfy the majority of his fans. I have also decided to keep it to just ten movies.
It has not been an easy task and I doubt that it will please everyone but you can add your comments and dissent into the box below.
10. Topaz (1969)
Topaz is based on...
I have tried in this feature to represent a wide range of Hitchcock pictures from his oeuvre. I have not ranked them according to my personal preference, but to a preference that I think will satisfy the majority of his fans. I have also decided to keep it to just ten movies.
It has not been an easy task and I doubt that it will please everyone but you can add your comments and dissent into the box below.
10. Topaz (1969)
Topaz is based on...
- 5/9/2013
- by Clare Simpson
- Obsessed with Film
Top 10 Ryan Lambie Feb 13, 2013
From classic noir thrillers to modern special effects blockbusters, we look at 10 movies that began production without a finished script...
"We started the film without a script, without a cast and without a shark," was how Richard Dreyfuss famously summed up the nightmarish production of Jaws, whose last-minute rewrites, technical hitches and sinking boats almost halted Steven Spielberg's career before it had even begun.
Incredibly, Jaws was defined rather than destroyed by its arduous shoot. The presence of the murderous shark was implied through editing and music rather than excessive effects shots, while the absence of a finished script for much of the movie resulted in some of Jaws' most memorable lines - "We're gonna need a bigger boat", Quint's bloodcurdling Indianapolis speech - were either improvised or partly written by the actors themselves.
As this article aims to demonstrate, starting a film production...
From classic noir thrillers to modern special effects blockbusters, we look at 10 movies that began production without a finished script...
"We started the film without a script, without a cast and without a shark," was how Richard Dreyfuss famously summed up the nightmarish production of Jaws, whose last-minute rewrites, technical hitches and sinking boats almost halted Steven Spielberg's career before it had even begun.
Incredibly, Jaws was defined rather than destroyed by its arduous shoot. The presence of the murderous shark was implied through editing and music rather than excessive effects shots, while the absence of a finished script for much of the movie resulted in some of Jaws' most memorable lines - "We're gonna need a bigger boat", Quint's bloodcurdling Indianapolis speech - were either improvised or partly written by the actors themselves.
As this article aims to demonstrate, starting a film production...
- 2/12/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
We pick up the story a few months after my parents pulled me out of Quinnipiac and sent me off to work to “learn the value of a dollar.”
I joined the drones commuting to lackluster jobs on Wall Street. Got a job as a receptionist. Had my first experience with sexual harassment from the big boss, though it wasn’t called that back then and zero-tolerance policies were still twenty years in the future. Didn’t crumble. Called the guy an asshole and quit. A good feeling. Went home. Worried about what the parents would say. Told them I got laid off. Said I would start looking for a new job “tomorrow.” Picked up my battered copy of Exodus (by Leon Uris) and started reading. Started crying instead. (Failure). Coincidentally the movie version of Exodus was on television that night. I watched it. Paul Newman as Ari Ben Canaan.
I joined the drones commuting to lackluster jobs on Wall Street. Got a job as a receptionist. Had my first experience with sexual harassment from the big boss, though it wasn’t called that back then and zero-tolerance policies were still twenty years in the future. Didn’t crumble. Called the guy an asshole and quit. A good feeling. Went home. Worried about what the parents would say. Told them I got laid off. Said I would start looking for a new job “tomorrow.” Picked up my battered copy of Exodus (by Leon Uris) and started reading. Started crying instead. (Failure). Coincidentally the movie version of Exodus was on television that night. I watched it. Paul Newman as Ari Ben Canaan.
- 6/4/2012
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
Like a lot of people, I've adored watching reruns of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone and waited eagerly to hear the writer-producer-host's voice informing us that something eerily unexpected was about to happen. With his well-fitting suits and unsettlingly calm delivery, it seemed as if Serling was almost marveling at his ability to shock both his characters and his viewers.
If most of us knew him as a suave presence on the small screen, his daughter Anne has a far different memory of the man who wrote insightful and gut-wrenching television plays like Patterns and Requiem for a Heavyweight and the who adapted Seven Days in May and Planet of the Apes. Her genial father is sometimes tricky to reconcile with his sometimes grim public persona.
Serling was only 50 when he died in 1975, and his daughter was only 20. Nonetheless, the younger Serling has astonishingly vivid recollections of him and...
If most of us knew him as a suave presence on the small screen, his daughter Anne has a far different memory of the man who wrote insightful and gut-wrenching television plays like Patterns and Requiem for a Heavyweight and the who adapted Seven Days in May and Planet of the Apes. Her genial father is sometimes tricky to reconcile with his sometimes grim public persona.
Serling was only 50 when he died in 1975, and his daughter was only 20. Nonetheless, the younger Serling has astonishingly vivid recollections of him and...
- 2/8/2012
- by Dan Lybarger
- Aol TV.
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