Jean Allison, the familiar character actress who appeared on dozens of TV shows, from Have Gun — Will Travel, Bonanza, Hawaiian Eye and The Rifleman to McCloud, Adam-12, The Waltons and Highway to Heaven, has died. She was 94.
Allison, a resident of Rancho Palos Verdes, died Feb. 28, her family announced.
Allison made her big-screen debut as a woman menaced by a psychopath (Michael Higgins) in the United Artists drama Edge of Fury (1958), and her film résumé also included The Devil’s Partner (1960), Paul Sylbert’s The Steagle (1971), Robert Benton’s Bad Company (1972) and Paul Schrader’s Hardcore (1979).
Born in New York on Oct. 24, 1929, Allison attended Marymount High School in Tarrytown, New York, and Adelphi College, also in New York.
While appearing on stage in the Patricia Joudry drama Teach Me How to Cry, she was spotted and signed by agent Doovid Barskin. Her first TV gig came in 1957 on CBS’ General Electric Theater.
Allison, a resident of Rancho Palos Verdes, died Feb. 28, her family announced.
Allison made her big-screen debut as a woman menaced by a psychopath (Michael Higgins) in the United Artists drama Edge of Fury (1958), and her film résumé also included The Devil’s Partner (1960), Paul Sylbert’s The Steagle (1971), Robert Benton’s Bad Company (1972) and Paul Schrader’s Hardcore (1979).
Born in New York on Oct. 24, 1929, Allison attended Marymount High School in Tarrytown, New York, and Adelphi College, also in New York.
While appearing on stage in the Patricia Joudry drama Teach Me How to Cry, she was spotted and signed by agent Doovid Barskin. Her first TV gig came in 1957 on CBS’ General Electric Theater.
- 3/8/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Carol Littleton, one of four people who will receive awards from the Motion Picture Academy at Tuesday night’s Governors Awards, is part of an unusual statistic. She’s a film editor, a job that over the course of movie history has been done largely by men, who have been nominated for and won about 86% of all the editing Oscars.
And yet only three people have been named recipients of Honorary Academy Awards for film editing, and all three have been women. Margaret Booth, who began her career with D.W. Griffith and edited well into her 80s, received the first-ever Honorary Oscar for editing in 1977, while Anne V. Coates, who won an Oscar for “Lawrence of Arabia” in 1962, was given an honorary award in 2016.
Littleton will be the third, in recognition of a career that has included “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial,” “The Big Chill,” “The Accidental Tourist,” “Benny & Joon” and “Margot at the Wedding.
And yet only three people have been named recipients of Honorary Academy Awards for film editing, and all three have been women. Margaret Booth, who began her career with D.W. Griffith and edited well into her 80s, received the first-ever Honorary Oscar for editing in 1977, while Anne V. Coates, who won an Oscar for “Lawrence of Arabia” in 1962, was given an honorary award in 2016.
Littleton will be the third, in recognition of a career that has included “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial,” “The Big Chill,” “The Accidental Tourist,” “Benny & Joon” and “Margot at the Wedding.
- 1/8/2024
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here – today – we talk about movie Editors! Not the movies they edited that were legendary but the less legendary ones in between.
Today we speak with the great editor Darrin Navarro about the lauded editor Sam O’Steen, who worked on such masterpieces as The Graduate, Rosemary’s Baby, and Chinatown. The O’Steen-edited films we cover today are: The Day of the Dolphin, Straight Time, Nadine, and A Dry White Season.
Navarro talks about the editing process with William Friedkin (and how it changed a bit with The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial), how knowing when not to cut is as important as knowing when to cut when editing a film, O’Steen’s essential book Cut to the Chase: Forty-Five Years of Editing America’s Favourite Movies (written with his wife Bobbie O’Steen), and what a gem of a film Nadine is.
Highlights include...
Today we speak with the great editor Darrin Navarro about the lauded editor Sam O’Steen, who worked on such masterpieces as The Graduate, Rosemary’s Baby, and Chinatown. The O’Steen-edited films we cover today are: The Day of the Dolphin, Straight Time, Nadine, and A Dry White Season.
Navarro talks about the editing process with William Friedkin (and how it changed a bit with The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial), how knowing when not to cut is as important as knowing when to cut when editing a film, O’Steen’s essential book Cut to the Chase: Forty-Five Years of Editing America’s Favourite Movies (written with his wife Bobbie O’Steen), and what a gem of a film Nadine is.
Highlights include...
- 12/28/2023
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
‘Shane’ celebrates 70th anniversary with Academy Museum screening and Christopher Nolan conversation
There are many films that have quotable last lines such as “After all, tomorrow is another day” from “Gone with the Wind.” And who can forget Humphrey Bogart telling Claude Rains: “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” But the beloved 1953 George Stevens’ Western “Shane” perhaps has one of the most endearing and emotional final lines. Young Joey (Brandon De Wilde) wants his idol, the former gunslinger Shane (Alan Ladd), to stay with his family. But the wounded hero continues to ride off.
“Shane………come back,” Joey cries out.
Be prepared to bring you handkerchiefs to the Academy Museum’s 70th anniversary screening Dec 10 at the David Geffen Theatre. Ladd, in his strongest performance, plays a world-weary gunslinger who wants to hang up his six-shooter. He ends up working for an honest, struggling rancher Joe, (Van Heflin), his wife Marian (Jean Arthur) and young son...
“Shane………come back,” Joey cries out.
Be prepared to bring you handkerchiefs to the Academy Museum’s 70th anniversary screening Dec 10 at the David Geffen Theatre. Ladd, in his strongest performance, plays a world-weary gunslinger who wants to hang up his six-shooter. He ends up working for an honest, struggling rancher Joe, (Van Heflin), his wife Marian (Jean Arthur) and young son...
- 12/7/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
“Sleepless in Seattle,” “Punch-Drunk Love” and four more films from Columbia Pictures will make their 4K Ultra HD debut Feb. 13, 2024, via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 4, the latest installment in Sphe’s series of limited edition sets culling critical and commercial hits from the studio’s storied library, will feature Nora Ephron and Paul Thomas Anderson’s romantic comedies — along with Howard Hawks’ “His Girl Friday,” Stanley Kramer’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” Robert Benton’s “Kramer vs. Kramer” and John Carpenter’s “Starman.” In addition to more than 30 hours of legacy bonus content for each film, the set includes a bonus disc featuring the entirety of the 1986 “Starman” television series, as well as an 80-page hardbound book exploring the impact and legacy of the six films.
Matching its predecessors, the packaging for the set showcases the included titles, and opens to display...
Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Vol. 4, the latest installment in Sphe’s series of limited edition sets culling critical and commercial hits from the studio’s storied library, will feature Nora Ephron and Paul Thomas Anderson’s romantic comedies — along with Howard Hawks’ “His Girl Friday,” Stanley Kramer’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” Robert Benton’s “Kramer vs. Kramer” and John Carpenter’s “Starman.” In addition to more than 30 hours of legacy bonus content for each film, the set includes a bonus disc featuring the entirety of the 1986 “Starman” television series, as well as an 80-page hardbound book exploring the impact and legacy of the six films.
Matching its predecessors, the packaging for the set showcases the included titles, and opens to display...
- 11/17/2023
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Variety Film + TV
Female directors have had a hard time at the Academy Awards. Over the first 95 years of the Oscars, only seven women have ever been nominated for Best Director: Lina Wertmüller in 1977 for “Seven Beauties,” Jane Campion in 1994 for “The Piano” and in 2022 for “The Power of the Dog,” Sofia Coppola in 2004 for “Lost in Translation,” Kathryn Bigelow in 2010 for “The Hurt Locker,” Greta Gerwig in 2018 for “Lady Bird,” Emerald Fennell in 2021 for “Promising Young Woman,” and Chloé Zhao in the same year for “Nomadland.”
That Fennell and Zhao were nominated in that same year is history in and of itself. That is the one and only time that more than one woman has been nominated for Best Director in the same year. But could that be about to change this year? There are a number of strong contenders who could be looking to join that short list of female directors to earn Best Director bids.
That Fennell and Zhao were nominated in that same year is history in and of itself. That is the one and only time that more than one woman has been nominated for Best Director in the same year. But could that be about to change this year? There are a number of strong contenders who could be looking to join that short list of female directors to earn Best Director bids.
- 8/11/2023
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
“How do people do this?” asks well-to-do New York book publisher Nicky (Luke Evans) in a state of exasperation. Nicky is in the thick of a bitter custody battle for his eight-year-old son Owen (Christopher Woodley), after Gabriel (Billy Porter), his partner of 13 years, has decided to call time on their relationship. It’s a well-worn premise in mainstream cinema — essayed most recently by Noah Baumbach’s acerbic Marriage Story, and still portrayed most famously in Robert Benton’s 1979 weepie Kramer vs. Kramer — but gay cinema has been slow to tackle the issue. With his second movie, the follow-up to the 2018 sci-fi Jonathan, Bill Oliver corrects that oversight with a beautifully judged human drama that dissects a dying marriage with humor and intelligence, drawing out an especially open and moving performance from Porter.
The most noticeable thing about Oliver’s film, which he co-scripted with regular collaborator Peter Nickowitz, is...
The most noticeable thing about Oliver’s film, which he co-scripted with regular collaborator Peter Nickowitz, is...
- 6/10/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a film in the Oscar best picture race that has younger Academy voters and a new generation of film critics excited, while their older peers in both camps appear more what one might call agitated.
It’s a fairly neat generational split. The film’s anarchic spirit and unorthodox mix of genre filmmaking and biting social commentary is seen as daring and refreshing by its young fans, while its older detractors are scratching their heads over weird tonal shifts, from comic and rollicking one minute, serious and reflective in the next, shifting from spoofing genre tropes to questioning of societal norms.
The year is 1968 and the film is Arthur Penn’s “Bonnie and Clyde.”
But you’d be forgiven if you found the paragraphs above an apt description of this year’s Producers Guild Awards best feature winner, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Just as “Bonnie” was a landmark film in Academy history,...
It’s a fairly neat generational split. The film’s anarchic spirit and unorthodox mix of genre filmmaking and biting social commentary is seen as daring and refreshing by its young fans, while its older detractors are scratching their heads over weird tonal shifts, from comic and rollicking one minute, serious and reflective in the next, shifting from spoofing genre tropes to questioning of societal norms.
The year is 1968 and the film is Arthur Penn’s “Bonnie and Clyde.”
But you’d be forgiven if you found the paragraphs above an apt description of this year’s Producers Guild Awards best feature winner, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Just as “Bonnie” was a landmark film in Academy history,...
- 2/26/2023
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Richard Donner's 1978 film "Superman" changed how people thought of comic book films. Before this, we had silly superheroes like Adam West's "Batman" series. It was a blast, but it wasn't a serious take on comics or characters like this. "Superman" really started it all, nabbing three Oscar nominations and winning a Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects. Christopher Reeve played Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman in his breakout role and starred with the likes of Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Margot Kidder.
Both the 1978 film and 1980's "Superman II" were set to be filmed simultaneously, and after shooting a big chunk of the second film in addition to the first one, Donner ("Lethal Weapon," "The Goonies," "Scrooged") was fired from the production. He stated that he was never given a budget or a schedule for the film and was replaced by Richard Lester, who reshot a lot of...
Both the 1978 film and 1980's "Superman II" were set to be filmed simultaneously, and after shooting a big chunk of the second film in addition to the first one, Donner ("Lethal Weapon," "The Goonies," "Scrooged") was fired from the production. He stated that he was never given a budget or a schedule for the film and was replaced by Richard Lester, who reshot a lot of...
- 1/19/2023
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
(Welcome to Best Actor Ever, an ongoing series where we explore the careers and performances of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen.)
At the outset of the 1980s, five years after earning her Mfa from the Yale School of Drama in 1975, Meryl Streep had been nominated for two Oscars and won one (Best Supporting Actress for "Kramer vs. Kramer"). By the end of the decade, she had six more nominations to her name, and a Best Actress win for "Sophie's Choice." Though her penchant for flawlessly adopting a new accent with seemingly every role had begun to feel like something of a stunt, few could deny that each character felt fresh and fully realized. She became these women.
But who was Meryl Streep? Which of her characters most closely resembled the New Jersey-born daughter of an artist and a pharmaceutical executive? No one, not even her directors, could say for sure.
At the outset of the 1980s, five years after earning her Mfa from the Yale School of Drama in 1975, Meryl Streep had been nominated for two Oscars and won one (Best Supporting Actress for "Kramer vs. Kramer"). By the end of the decade, she had six more nominations to her name, and a Best Actress win for "Sophie's Choice." Though her penchant for flawlessly adopting a new accent with seemingly every role had begun to feel like something of a stunt, few could deny that each character felt fresh and fully realized. She became these women.
But who was Meryl Streep? Which of her characters most closely resembled the New Jersey-born daughter of an artist and a pharmaceutical executive? No one, not even her directors, could say for sure.
- 1/19/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
In 2023, we are living in the age of superhero films. The Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe, as well as assorted others, have become the dominant form of entertainment these days. Back in the late 1970s, however, superheroes were the stuff of comic books, relegated to the world of camp and kids entertainment. Sure, we'd seen superheroes on TV with shows like "Wonder Woman" and "Batman," with the latter getting a film version as well in 1966, but it was all a bit on the silly side. (This is not a judgment. Campy superheroes are lovely.) Then came the Richard Donner-directed "Superman" in 1978, starring Christopher Reeve in his breakout role.
This was a whole different kind of superhero film. "Superman" wasn't as dark as some of the comic book movies we have now, but it was indeed taken more seriously than anything we'd seen before. The cast included heavy hitters like Marlon Brando,...
This was a whole different kind of superhero film. "Superman" wasn't as dark as some of the comic book movies we have now, but it was indeed taken more seriously than anything we'd seen before. The cast included heavy hitters like Marlon Brando,...
- 1/19/2023
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
Filmmaker Spike Lee is set to receive the Ian McClellan Hunter Award from the Writers Guild of America East at the Writers Guild Awards in March.
The kudo recognizes writers who have made significant contributions to film and TV through a body work that takes on timely issues and social concerns. Past recipients include Robert Benton, Tom Fontana, Geoffrey Ward, Andrew Bergman, John Sayles, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, John Waters, Richard Lagravenese, Nora Ephron and Walter Bernstein.
“For nearly forty years, Spike Lee has written and directed some of the most meaningful and creative films in cinema,” said WGA East president Michael Winship. “With a unique ability to challenge, entertain, and inform, his narratives spotlight the racism and bigotry that too often have defined the Black experience in America. Spike Lee is a moviemaker and storyteller greatly deserving to be honored with the WGA East’s Hunter Award for Career Achievement.
The kudo recognizes writers who have made significant contributions to film and TV through a body work that takes on timely issues and social concerns. Past recipients include Robert Benton, Tom Fontana, Geoffrey Ward, Andrew Bergman, John Sayles, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, John Waters, Richard Lagravenese, Nora Ephron and Walter Bernstein.
“For nearly forty years, Spike Lee has written and directed some of the most meaningful and creative films in cinema,” said WGA East president Michael Winship. “With a unique ability to challenge, entertain, and inform, his narratives spotlight the racism and bigotry that too often have defined the Black experience in America. Spike Lee is a moviemaker and storyteller greatly deserving to be honored with the WGA East’s Hunter Award for Career Achievement.
- 1/12/2023
- by William Earl
- Variety Film + TV
Spike Lee will be this year’s recipient of the WGA East’s Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement.
The award, which will be presented March 5 at the 75th anniversary WGA Awards in New York City, is named after the famed writer who fronted for Dalton Trumbo and Ring Lardner Jr. during the Hollywood Blacklist before being blacklisted himself. In announcing Lee’s selection, the guild described him as “one of the greatest writer/directors in film history.”
“For nearly 40 years, Spike Lee has written and directed some of the most meaningful and creative films in cinema,” said WGA East President Michael Winship. “With a unique ability to challenge, entertain and inform, his narratives spotlight the racism and bigotry that too often have defined the Black experience in America.”
Lee began his storied career in the 1980s as a writer-director of such films as She’s Gotta Have It,...
The award, which will be presented March 5 at the 75th anniversary WGA Awards in New York City, is named after the famed writer who fronted for Dalton Trumbo and Ring Lardner Jr. during the Hollywood Blacklist before being blacklisted himself. In announcing Lee’s selection, the guild described him as “one of the greatest writer/directors in film history.”
“For nearly 40 years, Spike Lee has written and directed some of the most meaningful and creative films in cinema,” said WGA East President Michael Winship. “With a unique ability to challenge, entertain and inform, his narratives spotlight the racism and bigotry that too often have defined the Black experience in America.”
Lee began his storied career in the 1980s as a writer-director of such films as She’s Gotta Have It,...
- 1/12/2023
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Robert Benton and Paul Newman’s show-biz detective tale is one of the best-looking thrillers of 1998. With its star lineup of Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing and James Garner, its the equivalent of a dog-eared comfy mystery paperback. The classic themes and stylistics are here, but in a new Hollywood where movie stars can get away with murder, and nobody seems to care. Everyone is excellent and the show quite enjoyable, even if it seems we’ve seen a lot of it before. A solid academic extra is the audio commentary by Alain Silver and James Ursini.
Twilight (1998)
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1998 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date December 27, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing, James Garner, Giancarlo Esposito, Liev Schreiber, Margo Martindale, John Spencer, M. Emmet Walsh, Lewis Arquette, Jack Wallace.
Cinematography: Piotr Sobocinski
Production Designer: David Gropman...
Twilight (1998)
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1998 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date December 27, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing, James Garner, Giancarlo Esposito, Liev Schreiber, Margo Martindale, John Spencer, M. Emmet Walsh, Lewis Arquette, Jack Wallace.
Cinematography: Piotr Sobocinski
Production Designer: David Gropman...
- 12/6/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Above: French grande for Love in the Afternoon (aka Chloé in the Afternoon) which was the opening night film of the 10th New York Film Festival. Designer tbd.In the catalogue for the 10th New York Film Festival in 1972, festival director Richard Roud looked back on the first decade of the NYFF, musing on the changes in cinema of the previous 10 years: “a greater freedom of subject matter,” “an accompanying new freedom of form,” the obsolescence of “the tightly plotted film,” the rise of personal filmmaking and the inroads of political cinema and documentary techniques into narrative film. He also muses on international movements: the snuffing out of the Czech Renaissance (there were no Czech films in the 1972 festival), the rise of New Hollywood and American independent cinema, and the ebbing of the movement that had in many ways defined the festival to that point, the French New Wave:Some of...
- 9/29/2022
- MUBI
We might be Ok, but we’re actually not fine at all after Taylor Swift suggested that the scarf from her fan-favorite epic ballad “All Too Well” might not actually be lingering in the drawer of a former flame. In fact, the scarf with the power to remind ex-lovers of innocence and that reportedly smells like the chart-topping singer-songwriter is, according to Swift, nothing but a carefully constructed metaphor.
The revelation came during Swift’s appearance Friday evening at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the Grammy Award-winning artist was...
The revelation came during Swift’s appearance Friday evening at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the Grammy Award-winning artist was...
- 9/10/2022
- by Kat Bouza
- Rollingstone.com
Director Robert Benton and Paul Newman come through with an extremely pleasing small town story. Snowy North Bath New York would seem a pit of failures big and small, until we begin to appreciate its social web of ‘support relationships’ that fill in for broken family connections. Newman’s injured laborer can’t get a fair shake, but he begins to realize the importance of his neighbors and his grandson. The comic conflicts are wholly believable, with Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Philip Seymour Hoffman on board: this one is Mellow and Mature (and a little racy) without succumbing to Hallmark TV drama sentimentality.
Nobody’s Fool
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 145
1994 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date July 27, 2022 / Available from / aud 34.95
Starring: Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Dylan Walsh, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Gene Saks, Josef Sommer, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco, Catherine Dent, Margo Martindale,...
Nobody’s Fool
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 145
1994 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 110 min. / Street Date July 27, 2022 / Available from / aud 34.95
Starring: Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Dylan Walsh, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Gene Saks, Josef Sommer, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco, Catherine Dent, Margo Martindale,...
- 8/27/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
When Neil Gaiman's "Sandman," one of the most stirring and enveloping sagas I've ever experienced in any medium, at long last found safe harbor at Netflix, I was relieved. Even if the live-action adaptation of arguably the greatest comic book series ever written fell short of my fevered imagination, it would at least be realized on the author's terms. And this was important to me not only because I adore the work, but because I know how very, very wrong it could've gone had Warner Bros. moved forward with William Farmer's rewrite of Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay adaptation in 1998.
Everything I just said about "Sandman" as a comic book? The extreme opposite goes for Farmer's script. We've seen great works of fiction travestied by misguided screenplays: Brian De Palma's "The Bonfire of the Vanities" is a miscast gutter-ball that veers from satire to caricature...
Everything I just said about "Sandman" as a comic book? The extreme opposite goes for Farmer's script. We've seen great works of fiction travestied by misguided screenplays: Brian De Palma's "The Bonfire of the Vanities" is a miscast gutter-ball that veers from satire to caricature...
- 8/26/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
This year, the Cannes Film Festival kicked off with a restoration of Jean Eustache’s 1973 ménage à trois scandal “The Mother and the Whore” and concluded with a screening of controversial Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness,” creating an odd kind of symmetry for the event’s 75th anniversary edition. Made half a century apart, Eustache and Östlund’s rhyming triangles were hardly the only parallels to be found at Cannes — though anyone who’s ever binge-watched movies at a major festival knows the feeling of such connections, often just a fluke of the order in which you see movies whose images and ideas inevitably resonate with one another.
Masked in screening rooms full of Covid-defiant strangers, I somehow managed to screen all 21 films in competition this year, and such similarities were myriad, while the masterpieces were scarce.
Consider this could-be coincidence: Roughly midway through Östlund’s diamond-sharp, influencer-skewering...
Masked in screening rooms full of Covid-defiant strangers, I somehow managed to screen all 21 films in competition this year, and such similarities were myriad, while the masterpieces were scarce.
Consider this could-be coincidence: Roughly midway through Östlund’s diamond-sharp, influencer-skewering...
- 5/30/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
By Lee Pfeiffer
In the 1970s and 1980s director Brian De Palma had some high profile hits with Hitchcockian thrillers such as "Sisters", "Obsession", "Dressed to Kill", "Blow Out" and "Body Double". De Palma's defenders extolled the virtues of these films as clever homages to Hitchcock while detractors accused De Palma of using The Master's formulas to make a fast buck. In 1982 director Robert Benton jumped on the same bandwagon with his own Hitchcockian project, "Still of the Night", which was shot under the title "Stab" before the marketing campaign had been re-evaluated. A few years earlier Benton had triumphed at the Oscars with "Kramer vs. Kramer", taking home the Best Director Oscar. That film also provided an important career boost for Meryl Streep, who also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The two were reunited for this project which stands out on both of their credentials as an odd choice.
In the 1970s and 1980s director Brian De Palma had some high profile hits with Hitchcockian thrillers such as "Sisters", "Obsession", "Dressed to Kill", "Blow Out" and "Body Double". De Palma's defenders extolled the virtues of these films as clever homages to Hitchcock while detractors accused De Palma of using The Master's formulas to make a fast buck. In 1982 director Robert Benton jumped on the same bandwagon with his own Hitchcockian project, "Still of the Night", which was shot under the title "Stab" before the marketing campaign had been re-evaluated. A few years earlier Benton had triumphed at the Oscars with "Kramer vs. Kramer", taking home the Best Director Oscar. That film also provided an important career boost for Meryl Streep, who also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The two were reunited for this project which stands out on both of their credentials as an odd choice.
- 4/30/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Sally Field is so happy to be reunited with Dashiell Hammett.
The two-time Oscar-winning actor had been missing her cuddly Cavapoo — who’s nicknamed Dash — all morning while she was away rehearsing for “80 for Brady,” a road-trip movie she stars in with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Rita Moreno about four best friends who travel to the 2017 Super Bowl to see New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in action.
When Field arrives at our Variety studio, she is joined by her furry companion (brought to her by her assistant), who winds up sharing some screen time with the actor for our cover shoot and video interview. The two had bonded during the pandemic.
“When I got him, I think it really saved my life because my focus was on this little dog,” Field recalls.
Field says that Covid presented a unique set of challenges, but the actor is no stranger to struggle.
The two-time Oscar-winning actor had been missing her cuddly Cavapoo — who’s nicknamed Dash — all morning while she was away rehearsing for “80 for Brady,” a road-trip movie she stars in with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Rita Moreno about four best friends who travel to the 2017 Super Bowl to see New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in action.
When Field arrives at our Variety studio, she is joined by her furry companion (brought to her by her assistant), who winds up sharing some screen time with the actor for our cover shoot and video interview. The two had bonded during the pandemic.
“When I got him, I think it really saved my life because my focus was on this little dog,” Field recalls.
Field says that Covid presented a unique set of challenges, but the actor is no stranger to struggle.
- 3/23/2022
- by Claudia Eller and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
If at first you don’t succeed, try again. Just one year after failing to score an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for penning Netflix’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Aaron Sorkin is back and vying once more to become the latest screenwriter to take home both screenplay Oscars. This time, he’s eligible for writing the script for the upcoming film “Being the Ricardos.”
The movie stars Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, respectively, and depicts the personal and professional relationships between the married couple and “I Love Lucy” co-stars over the course of a particularly fraught week in 1952. Early reactions to the film have been overwhelmingly positive, with many critics praising Kidman’s performance. The movie is currently sitting in sixth place in Gold Derby’s combined odds for Best Original Screenplay at 14/1, but it’s been on the rise of late,...
The movie stars Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, respectively, and depicts the personal and professional relationships between the married couple and “I Love Lucy” co-stars over the course of a particularly fraught week in 1952. Early reactions to the film have been overwhelmingly positive, with many critics praising Kidman’s performance. The movie is currently sitting in sixth place in Gold Derby’s combined odds for Best Original Screenplay at 14/1, but it’s been on the rise of late,...
- 11/23/2021
- by Kaitlin Thomas
- Gold Derby
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By Fred Blosser
Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s “There Was a Crooked Man . . .” debuted in theaters on Christmas Day 1970, a disruptive year for Hollywood as the moviegoing audience continued to fracture along the Vietnam War divide. Studios were desperate to retain their core demographic of older, conservative viewers while courting younger, affluent ticket-buyers who wanted stronger fare. “There Was a Crooked Man . . .” tried to offer a little something for everybody. For the older guys at the Vfw Hall, it was a Western starring Henry Fonda and Kirk Douglas, supported largely by a cast of other well-established, middle-aged actors. For the “Easy Rider” crowd, there was plenty of nudity, cussing, and innuendo about weed that you’d never encounter on “Gunsmoke” or “Bonanza.” In Mankiewicz’s cynical, R-rated Western, now available from the Warner Archive Collection, outlaw Paris Pitman Jr. (Kirk Douglas) and his partners rob a wealthy banker,...
By Fred Blosser
Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s “There Was a Crooked Man . . .” debuted in theaters on Christmas Day 1970, a disruptive year for Hollywood as the moviegoing audience continued to fracture along the Vietnam War divide. Studios were desperate to retain their core demographic of older, conservative viewers while courting younger, affluent ticket-buyers who wanted stronger fare. “There Was a Crooked Man . . .” tried to offer a little something for everybody. For the older guys at the Vfw Hall, it was a Western starring Henry Fonda and Kirk Douglas, supported largely by a cast of other well-established, middle-aged actors. For the “Easy Rider” crowd, there was plenty of nudity, cussing, and innuendo about weed that you’d never encounter on “Gunsmoke” or “Bonanza.” In Mankiewicz’s cynical, R-rated Western, now available from the Warner Archive Collection, outlaw Paris Pitman Jr. (Kirk Douglas) and his partners rob a wealthy banker,...
- 8/18/2021
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
We'll be celebrating each of the upcoming Honorary Oscar winners with a few pieces on their career. First up is Danny Glover who turns 75 today. Happy Birthday to a fine American actor!
by Eric Blume
Danny Glover shows up about fifteen minutes into director Robert Benton’s 1984 Oscar winner Places in the Heart, looking dapper and handsome in his worn suit, with an effortless charm that belies his character’s backstory. He insinuates his way into the life of widowed Edna Spalding and into the film’s narrative. Sadly he always stays on the sidelines but Glover provides a radiance and a verve that display his burgeoning talent and resourcefulness.
Places in the Heart marked Glover’s first large-scale film role, and he seizes the role of drifter Moses and does everything he can with it...
by Eric Blume
Danny Glover shows up about fifteen minutes into director Robert Benton’s 1984 Oscar winner Places in the Heart, looking dapper and handsome in his worn suit, with an effortless charm that belies his character’s backstory. He insinuates his way into the life of widowed Edna Spalding and into the film’s narrative. Sadly he always stays on the sidelines but Glover provides a radiance and a verve that display his burgeoning talent and resourcefulness.
Places in the Heart marked Glover’s first large-scale film role, and he seizes the role of drifter Moses and does everything he can with it...
- 7/22/2021
- by Eric Blume
- FilmExperience
“Ah, nothing like fried chicken while it’s still hot and crispy! So the quicker you open that safe and give us the money, the quicker you can get back to that tasty-looking chicken.”
Kirk Douglas in There Was A Crooked Man…(1970) is currently available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive
Kirk Douglas plays a charming inmate scheming to recover $500K in stolen loot he has hidden away, while Henry Fonda looms as his new prison warden. Each man will find the tables turning in this boisterous yet blistering Western packed with brawls, shootouts and wry wit. Hume Cronyn, Burgess Meredith, Warren Oates and Lee Grant provide sterling support in this devilishly entertaining film by Academy Award® winner(Directing and Writing (Screenplay) for Both A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950) Joseph L. Mankiewicz from a script by David Newman and Robert Benton (Bonnie and Clyde).
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The post Kirk...
Kirk Douglas in There Was A Crooked Man…(1970) is currently available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive
Kirk Douglas plays a charming inmate scheming to recover $500K in stolen loot he has hidden away, while Henry Fonda looms as his new prison warden. Each man will find the tables turning in this boisterous yet blistering Western packed with brawls, shootouts and wry wit. Hume Cronyn, Burgess Meredith, Warren Oates and Lee Grant provide sterling support in this devilishly entertaining film by Academy Award® winner(Directing and Writing (Screenplay) for Both A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950) Joseph L. Mankiewicz from a script by David Newman and Robert Benton (Bonnie and Clyde).
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The post Kirk...
- 6/9/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Auteur! Auteur! Four of this year’s Best Director Oscar nominees — Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”), Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”), Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”) and Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”) — have a writing credit on their films. Zhao, Fennell and Chung reaped bids for their scripting efforts.
Over the past decade, the majority of the Oscar-winning directors were also nominated for their screenplays. Last year, Boon Joon-Ho won Best Director and shared in the Original Screenplay award with Han Jan for their work on the Best Picture champ “Parasite.”
Though writer/directors getting Oscar love is the norm these days, that wasn’t always the case. When nominations were announced for the first Academy Awards, Charlie Chaplin was cited for both Best Actor and Comedy Direction for his 1928 masterpiece “The Circus,” which he also wrote and produced. But the academy decided to withdraw his name from the competitive classes and decided “that...
Over the past decade, the majority of the Oscar-winning directors were also nominated for their screenplays. Last year, Boon Joon-Ho won Best Director and shared in the Original Screenplay award with Han Jan for their work on the Best Picture champ “Parasite.”
Though writer/directors getting Oscar love is the norm these days, that wasn’t always the case. When nominations were announced for the first Academy Awards, Charlie Chaplin was cited for both Best Actor and Comedy Direction for his 1928 masterpiece “The Circus,” which he also wrote and produced. But the academy decided to withdraw his name from the competitive classes and decided “that...
- 3/28/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
One could have watched the Critics Choice Awards last Sunday and thought they were re-watching the Golden Globes. Same nominees, mostly the same winners, same sweatshirt for Jason Sudeikis. Wait … didn’t the professional entertainment judgers generally blast the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for, well, for being what and who they are?
What happened to early critics’ winners like “First Cow”? How quickly they forget and go with the flow. In fact, this is the time critics — respect or resent them — are currently getting a taste of their own.
Consider “Malcolm and Marie,” the controversial film from Sam Levinson starring John Thomas Washington and Zendaya. It is basically one long argument about whether “that white lady of the L.A. Times” wrote a positive or negative review of Washington’s character’s film, seen through the racial lens. Washington ends his screed by saying he hopes the writer gets “f...
What happened to early critics’ winners like “First Cow”? How quickly they forget and go with the flow. In fact, this is the time critics — respect or resent them — are currently getting a taste of their own.
Consider “Malcolm and Marie,” the controversial film from Sam Levinson starring John Thomas Washington and Zendaya. It is basically one long argument about whether “that white lady of the L.A. Times” wrote a positive or negative review of Washington’s character’s film, seen through the racial lens. Washington ends his screed by saying he hopes the writer gets “f...
- 3/13/2021
- by Michele Willens
- The Wrap
For more than 30 years, Aaron Sorkin has maintained a reputation as one of Hollywood’s best writers. His output is consistently topical and thought-provoking, and his unique brand of storytelling has brought him success in every medium. His name is easily associated with his work, which is filled with intelligent characters who expound liberal ideals with emotional heft and often engage in extended bouts of snappy dialogue.
Though his projects all bear his trademark style, each conveys its own distinct message. That is true of his latest film, Netflix’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which is proving to be a career highlight. As its writer and director, he is on track to potentially score Oscar gold twice in one night. If he pulls off both wins, he will join an exclusive group of solo writer-directors that so far only includes John Huston (“The Treasure of the Sierra Madre...
Though his projects all bear his trademark style, each conveys its own distinct message. That is true of his latest film, Netflix’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which is proving to be a career highlight. As its writer and director, he is on track to potentially score Oscar gold twice in one night. If he pulls off both wins, he will join an exclusive group of solo writer-directors that so far only includes John Huston (“The Treasure of the Sierra Madre...
- 2/5/2021
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
Aaron Sorkin already has a number of awards to his name, many of them Primetime Emmys for his television work, but he could add another statuette to his collection with an Oscar win for Best Original Screenplay for “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” The movie, which debuted on Netflix in October and tells the story of the real-life Chicago 7, who were anti-Vietnam War protesters charged with a number of crimes, including intention to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, is currently leading Gold Derby’s combined odds at 18/5. And frankly, it’s not even a close competition at this point.
Although the much-hyped “Mank” was close behind the Sorkin-directed film for a while, it started a downward trend soon after its release on Netflix in early December. Written by the late Jack Fincher, “Mank” actually continues to dive in the odds, and this week fell below Lee Isaac Chung‘s “Minari,...
Although the much-hyped “Mank” was close behind the Sorkin-directed film for a while, it started a downward trend soon after its release on Netflix in early December. Written by the late Jack Fincher, “Mank” actually continues to dive in the odds, and this week fell below Lee Isaac Chung‘s “Minari,...
- 2/1/2021
- by Kaitlin Thomas
- Gold Derby
Here’s a story about a different kind of ‘lockdown.’ This near-perfect Americana drama might be the real pinnacle of Sissy Spacek’s wonderful career. The no-baloney tale of rural life on the Texas coastline during WW2 is packed with strong emotions and solid sentiment. Wartime hardship and catch-as-catch-can romance strike an uneasy balance with more threatening material, including a highly suspenseful finish. First-time director Jack Fisk hits this one out of the park, with help from Eric Roberts, William Sanderson, Tracey Walter, R.G. Armstrong, Sam Shepard and little Henry Thomas. This is one of those special pictures that creates a warm feeling about people. The ‘Rum and Coca Cola’ scene is perfection of a special kind.
Raggedy Man
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date July 28, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Eric Roberts, Sam Shepard, William Sanderson, Tracey Walter, R.G. Armstrong, Henry Thomas,...
Raggedy Man
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 94 min. / Street Date July 28, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Eric Roberts, Sam Shepard, William Sanderson, Tracey Walter, R.G. Armstrong, Henry Thomas,...
- 7/28/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Warning: This interview contains spoilers about tonight’s series finale of NBC/Warner Bros. TV’s Blindspot.
After FBI big baddie Madeline Burke (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) poisoned herself in episode 9 in front of Tasha Zapata (Audrey Esparza), the Blindspot gang were left with another dangler: Ivy (Julee Cerda), Madeline’s henchwoman, who left a canister of the zip bomb somewhere in New York City. The bomb if activated can take out millions. Kurt (Sullivan Stapleton) convinces newly installed FBI head Arla (Tracie Thoms) that his team is the best to battle Ivy.
But Jane (Jaimie Alexander), having survived one of the memory erasing zip bombs, begins have hallucinations, visions which could ultimately kill her. However, somewhere in Jane’s memory is the location of Ivy’s bomb. She knows it, just needs to search it. She learns from FBI therapist Robert Benton in a vision:...
After FBI big baddie Madeline Burke (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) poisoned herself in episode 9 in front of Tasha Zapata (Audrey Esparza), the Blindspot gang were left with another dangler: Ivy (Julee Cerda), Madeline’s henchwoman, who left a canister of the zip bomb somewhere in New York City. The bomb if activated can take out millions. Kurt (Sullivan Stapleton) convinces newly installed FBI head Arla (Tracie Thoms) that his team is the best to battle Ivy.
But Jane (Jaimie Alexander), having survived one of the memory erasing zip bombs, begins have hallucinations, visions which could ultimately kill her. However, somewhere in Jane’s memory is the location of Ivy’s bomb. She knows it, just needs to search it. She learns from FBI therapist Robert Benton in a vision:...
- 7/24/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu)
From Escape from Alcatraz to Cool Hand Luke to The Shawshank Redemption, cinema is rich with not only prison films focused on the plight of the prisoner, but also depicting wardens in an evil light. Clemency, winner of the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival, flips the script in both ways, both turning the spotlight on a warden and painting her in an empathetic, complicated light. Led by Alfre Woodard, she gives a riveting, emotional performance as the Bernadine Williams, a woman who is stuck between the demands of her grueling job and a disintegrating marriage, and can’t give her all to both.
Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu)
From Escape from Alcatraz to Cool Hand Luke to The Shawshank Redemption, cinema is rich with not only prison films focused on the plight of the prisoner, but also depicting wardens in an evil light. Clemency, winner of the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival, flips the script in both ways, both turning the spotlight on a warden and painting her in an empathetic, complicated light. Led by Alfre Woodard, she gives a riveting, emotional performance as the Bernadine Williams, a woman who is stuck between the demands of her grueling job and a disintegrating marriage, and can’t give her all to both.
- 7/17/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
As much as we adore and revere the theatrical experience, as theater chains prep to reopen amidst a virus that is spreading rapidly in certain areas of the country, one is far better off staying at home and enjoying films from around the world. There’s no better place to do that than The Criterion Channel, and now they’ve unveiled their July lineup.
Coming to the channel next month are retrospectives dedicated to the stellar early films of Atom Egoyan, works by Miranda July, films featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto scores, Olympic films (including their recent release Tokyo Olympiad), plus Kelly Reichardt’s masterful Certain Women, Med Hondo’s Soleil Ô (coming soon to disc with Scorsese’s next World Cinema Project release), Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames, Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation, and much more.
See the lineup below and explore more on their platform. One can also see our weekly streaming picks here.
Coming to the channel next month are retrospectives dedicated to the stellar early films of Atom Egoyan, works by Miranda July, films featuring Ryuichi Sakamoto scores, Olympic films (including their recent release Tokyo Olympiad), plus Kelly Reichardt’s masterful Certain Women, Med Hondo’s Soleil Ô (coming soon to disc with Scorsese’s next World Cinema Project release), Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames, Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation, and much more.
See the lineup below and explore more on their platform. One can also see our weekly streaming picks here.
- 6/26/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Streamer's Choice: "Nobody's Fool"
Because so many of our readers find themselves house-bound during this period of Coronavirus, we'll be providing occasional reviews of films and series currently available on popular streaming services.
By Lee Pfeiffer
Paul Newman gives a delightful, Oscar-nominated late career performance in "Nobody's Fool", a comedy/drama written and directed by Robert Benton. Newman plays Sully Sullivan, a 60 year-old lovable cad who finds himself down on his luck in his boyhood hometown of Bath, in upstate New York. He barely scrapes by doing odd jobs for Carl Roebuck (an inexplicably unbilled Bruce Willlis), the obnoxious owner of a local construction company. The two men are sworn enemies but they maintain a relationship because they mutually benefit. Sully makes his home in the boarding house of the elderly widow, Beryl Peoples (Jessica Tandy), who showers him with maternal love. The feeling is mutual and Sully acts as handyman and confidant to Beryl.
Because so many of our readers find themselves house-bound during this period of Coronavirus, we'll be providing occasional reviews of films and series currently available on popular streaming services.
By Lee Pfeiffer
Paul Newman gives a delightful, Oscar-nominated late career performance in "Nobody's Fool", a comedy/drama written and directed by Robert Benton. Newman plays Sully Sullivan, a 60 year-old lovable cad who finds himself down on his luck in his boyhood hometown of Bath, in upstate New York. He barely scrapes by doing odd jobs for Carl Roebuck (an inexplicably unbilled Bruce Willlis), the obnoxious owner of a local construction company. The two men are sworn enemies but they maintain a relationship because they mutually benefit. Sully makes his home in the boarding house of the elderly widow, Beryl Peoples (Jessica Tandy), who showers him with maternal love. The feeling is mutual and Sully acts as handyman and confidant to Beryl.
- 5/11/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
A never ending mission to save the world featuring Ron Perlman, Peter Ramsey, James Adomian, Will Menaker, and Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Karado: The Kung Fu Flash a.k.a. Karado: The Kung Fu Cat a.k.a. The Super Kung Fu Kid (1974)
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Nobody’s Fool (1994)
The Hustler (1961)
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Mean Dog Blues (1978)
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)
Mona Lisa (1986)
The Crying Game (1992)
The Hairdresser’s Husband (1990)
Ridicule (1996)
Man on the Train (2002)
The Girl on the Bridge (1999)
Pale Flower (1964)
Out of the Past (1947)
The Lunchbox (2013)
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Raw Deal (1986)
Commando (1985)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers...
Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Karado: The Kung Fu Flash a.k.a. Karado: The Kung Fu Cat a.k.a. The Super Kung Fu Kid (1974)
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
Nobody’s Fool (1994)
The Hustler (1961)
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Mean Dog Blues (1978)
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)
Mona Lisa (1986)
The Crying Game (1992)
The Hairdresser’s Husband (1990)
Ridicule (1996)
Man on the Train (2002)
The Girl on the Bridge (1999)
Pale Flower (1964)
Out of the Past (1947)
The Lunchbox (2013)
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
The Last Boy Scout (1991)
Raw Deal (1986)
Commando (1985)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
The Last Man On Earth (1964)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers...
- 4/24/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
François Truffaut was a revered member of the French New Wave, but few people know about the filmmaker’s longtime friend and colleague, Helen Scott. Serge Toubiana, the president of Unifrance and the former director of the Cinematheque Française, aims to change that with his new book. “The American Friend,” which will be published by Albertine Books in March 2020, tracks the life of Scott in New York and Paris as the writer and translator played a key role in Truffaut’s career.
At one point, that included her insistence that Truffaut direct “Bonnie and Clyde” at the height of his popularity. While Arthur Penn eventually directed the seminal 1967 film, the history of Truffaut’s involvement in the project is retold in this exclusive excerpt — entitled “The Bonnie and Clyde Hypothesis” — from Toubiana’s book, translated into English for IndieWire.
Helen Scott was given the film treatment for “Bonnie and Clyde” by Eleanor Wright-Jones,...
At one point, that included her insistence that Truffaut direct “Bonnie and Clyde” at the height of his popularity. While Arthur Penn eventually directed the seminal 1967 film, the history of Truffaut’s involvement in the project is retold in this exclusive excerpt — entitled “The Bonnie and Clyde Hypothesis” — from Toubiana’s book, translated into English for IndieWire.
Helen Scott was given the film treatment for “Bonnie and Clyde” by Eleanor Wright-Jones,...
- 3/3/2020
- by IndieWire Staff
- Indiewire
Tony Sokol Jan 9, 2020
Buck Henry, who created classic comedy for big and small screens, dies at 89.
Genius comedy writer and actor Buck Henry died of a heart attack at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Health Center at the age of 89, according to Variety. Henry was a frequent host on Saturday Night Live, wrote the screenplays for such comedy classics as The Graduate and What’s Up, Doc? and co-created Get Smart with Mel Brooks.
Buck Henry, who was born Henry Zuckerman on Dec. 9, 1930, was the son of silent film actress Ruth Taylor, who was also the star of the original Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. His stockbroker father was a retired Air Force brigadier general named Paul Steinberg Zuckerman. Given Henry’s penchant for comic corruption, this may have informed the educational subterfuge he mined to adapt, along with collaborator Calder Willingham, Charles Webb's novel The Graduate for Mike Nichols' 1967 classic generational comedy. “I...
Buck Henry, who created classic comedy for big and small screens, dies at 89.
Genius comedy writer and actor Buck Henry died of a heart attack at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Health Center at the age of 89, according to Variety. Henry was a frequent host on Saturday Night Live, wrote the screenplays for such comedy classics as The Graduate and What’s Up, Doc? and co-created Get Smart with Mel Brooks.
Buck Henry, who was born Henry Zuckerman on Dec. 9, 1930, was the son of silent film actress Ruth Taylor, who was also the star of the original Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. His stockbroker father was a retired Air Force brigadier general named Paul Steinberg Zuckerman. Given Henry’s penchant for comic corruption, this may have informed the educational subterfuge he mined to adapt, along with collaborator Calder Willingham, Charles Webb's novel The Graduate for Mike Nichols' 1967 classic generational comedy. “I...
- 1/10/2020
- Den of Geek
Fashion historian and collector Sandy Schreier on Theadora Van Runkle, Julie Weiss and Marlene Stewart: “I know all the Hollywood designers, they're very good friends of mine.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
At the press preview for The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute exhibition In Pursuit of Fashion The Sandy Schreier Collection, fashion historian and film enthusiast Sandy Schreier told me that she worked with George Clooney’s father Nick Clooney doing Sunday nights on the AMC (American Movie Classics) channel and wrote Lauren Bacall's scripts for her appearances on the show.
Portrait of Sandy Schreier by Theadora Van Runkle Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Oscar nominated costume designers Theadora Van Runkle, Julie Weiss and Oscar winner Ann Roth for Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient are a part of her world.
We started out with why Sandy Schreier wanted film production designers Shane Valentino and...
At the press preview for The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute exhibition In Pursuit of Fashion The Sandy Schreier Collection, fashion historian and film enthusiast Sandy Schreier told me that she worked with George Clooney’s father Nick Clooney doing Sunday nights on the AMC (American Movie Classics) channel and wrote Lauren Bacall's scripts for her appearances on the show.
Portrait of Sandy Schreier by Theadora Van Runkle Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Oscar nominated costume designers Theadora Van Runkle, Julie Weiss and Oscar winner Ann Roth for Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient are a part of her world.
We started out with why Sandy Schreier wanted film production designers Shane Valentino and...
- 12/12/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep brought divorce to the masses with an imperfect yet sensitive portrayal of a difficult scenario
It’s hard to believe that 40 years have passed since Kramer vs Kramer was a cultural phenomenon, a conversation-starter that grossed more than any other movie in 1979 and then swept the Oscars four months later, winning best picture along with prizes for both Kramers, Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, and two awards for Robert Benton for his adapted screenplay and direction. And yet there are aspects of the film that seem older still, as if it were some artifact from a culture that’s utterly foreign and incomprehensible. The judgment rendered against Ted Kramer in divorce court – and the shockingly odious terms of his child visitation rights – is so unjust that the film could be interpreted as Men’s Rights propaganda.
Related: The Warriors at 40: the enduring appeal of...
It’s hard to believe that 40 years have passed since Kramer vs Kramer was a cultural phenomenon, a conversation-starter that grossed more than any other movie in 1979 and then swept the Oscars four months later, winning best picture along with prizes for both Kramers, Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, and two awards for Robert Benton for his adapted screenplay and direction. And yet there are aspects of the film that seem older still, as if it were some artifact from a culture that’s utterly foreign and incomprehensible. The judgment rendered against Ted Kramer in divorce court – and the shockingly odious terms of his child visitation rights – is so unjust that the film could be interpreted as Men’s Rights propaganda.
Related: The Warriors at 40: the enduring appeal of...
- 12/11/2019
- by Scott Tobias
- The Guardian - Film News
Hollywood had handled the topic of divorce on the big screen before 1979’s “Kramer vs. Kramer,” from the 1934 musical “The Gay Divorce” with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire to 1967’s “Divorce American Style” with Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds. The year previously brought a female-centric focus to a break-up caused by a husband’s extra-marital affair with a younger woman in 1978’s “An Unmarried Woman,” as Jill Clayburgh discovers life without a louse of a spouse is actually quite liberating and enriching.
But the fracturing of a family unit was rarely handled in fully realistic emotional terms until 1979’s “Kramer vs. Kramer,” in which the cause of the parting of ways was Meryl Streep‘s stay-at-home mother’s feelings of being smothered and unfulfilled by her matriarchal duties. It was an era when gender roles began to shift as more women looked to pursue a career outside of the...
But the fracturing of a family unit was rarely handled in fully realistic emotional terms until 1979’s “Kramer vs. Kramer,” in which the cause of the parting of ways was Meryl Streep‘s stay-at-home mother’s feelings of being smothered and unfulfilled by her matriarchal duties. It was an era when gender roles began to shift as more women looked to pursue a career outside of the...
- 12/3/2019
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Bill Macy, who played the frustrated husband Walter Findlay opposite Bea Arthur on the hit 1970s sitcom Maude, has died. He was 97.
Macy, who also portrayed Sy Benson, the head writer of a 1950s sketch comedy show, in the classic My Favorite Year (1982), died Thursday night in Los Angeles at 7:13 p.m. local time, producer and manager Matt Beckoff told The Hollywood Reporter.
Macy also stood out as the weaselly Charlie Hatter, an old pal of Art Carney's aging detective character, in Robert Benton's The Late Show (1977), and his Stan Fox helped Steve Martin's Navin R. Johnson ...
Macy, who also portrayed Sy Benson, the head writer of a 1950s sketch comedy show, in the classic My Favorite Year (1982), died Thursday night in Los Angeles at 7:13 p.m. local time, producer and manager Matt Beckoff told The Hollywood Reporter.
Macy also stood out as the weaselly Charlie Hatter, an old pal of Art Carney's aging detective character, in Robert Benton's The Late Show (1977), and his Stan Fox helped Steve Martin's Navin R. Johnson ...
- 10/18/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bill Macy, who played the frustrated husband Walter Findlay opposite Bea Arthur on the hit 1970s sitcom Maude, has died. He was 97.
Macy, who also portrayed Sy Benson, the head writer of a 1950s sketch comedy show, in the classic My Favorite Year (1982), died Thursday night in Los Angeles, producer and manager Matt Beckoff told The Hollywood Reporter.
Macy also stood out as the weaselly Charlie Hatter, an old pal of Art Carney's aging detective character, in Robert Benton's The Late Show (1977), and his Stan Fox helped Steve Martin's Navin R. Johnson bring the (ultimately flawed) eyeglass invention ...
Macy, who also portrayed Sy Benson, the head writer of a 1950s sketch comedy show, in the classic My Favorite Year (1982), died Thursday night in Los Angeles, producer and manager Matt Beckoff told The Hollywood Reporter.
Macy also stood out as the weaselly Charlie Hatter, an old pal of Art Carney's aging detective character, in Robert Benton's The Late Show (1977), and his Stan Fox helped Steve Martin's Navin R. Johnson bring the (ultimately flawed) eyeglass invention ...
- 10/18/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Marriage Story is Noah Baumbach's funny and poignant meditation on divorce, one with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson's best work.
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Charlie and Nicole are the married couple on the train. You’d be forgiven if you didn’t notice though. Despite the pair being the toast of Off-Off-Broadway, with him the prestigious director of an underfunded theater company and her its brightest star, when they come back from a party, they’re not on the same page—they’re not even on the same subway bench. Nicole sits quietly on the 3 train’s empty pew, and Charlie stands across the aisle, despondent. They are still together, and given their marriage story includes the birth of a loved son, they always will be, in a way. But they’re headed in different directions even when they’re on the same track.
This is one of...
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Charlie and Nicole are the married couple on the train. You’d be forgiven if you didn’t notice though. Despite the pair being the toast of Off-Off-Broadway, with him the prestigious director of an underfunded theater company and her its brightest star, when they come back from a party, they’re not on the same page—they’re not even on the same subway bench. Nicole sits quietly on the 3 train’s empty pew, and Charlie stands across the aisle, despondent. They are still together, and given their marriage story includes the birth of a loved son, they always will be, in a way. But they’re headed in different directions even when they’re on the same track.
This is one of...
- 10/10/2019
- Den of Geek
Noah Baumbach‘s “Marriage Story” very much plays like a 2019 version of Robert Benton‘s 1980 Best Picture winner “Kramer vs. Kramer.” It’s an obvious comparison, but an unavoidable one. But why would you want to avoid it? Aside from Best Picture, Benton’s film won four more Oscars – Best Actor for Dustin Hoffman, Best Supporting Actress for Meryl Streep, and both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Benton.
That film has become the hallmark picture – a piece of work that sets the bar for all films of the same genre dealing with themes of family, marriage, divorce, and the custody of a child. And Baumbach’s Netflix drama, which will be released in theaters for a month beginning Nov. 6, more than meets the bar. Indeed, it threatens to exceed it as evidenced by the film’s top placement on our various Oscar prediction charts.
Based, in part on...
That film has become the hallmark picture – a piece of work that sets the bar for all films of the same genre dealing with themes of family, marriage, divorce, and the custody of a child. And Baumbach’s Netflix drama, which will be released in theaters for a month beginning Nov. 6, more than meets the bar. Indeed, it threatens to exceed it as evidenced by the film’s top placement on our various Oscar prediction charts.
Based, in part on...
- 10/8/2019
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, one of Netflix's two best picture Oscar hopefuls this season, along with Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, had its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on Saturday night, unspooling before a packed Palm Theatre buzzing with anticipation after strong notices out of Venice, where the film had its world premiere earlier in the week.
The buzz is merited: the film, a 21st century version of Kramer vs. Kramer, Robert Benton's classic film about divorce that won the best picture, director, actor, supporting actress and original screenplay Oscars exactly 40 years ago, is right up ...
The buzz is merited: the film, a 21st century version of Kramer vs. Kramer, Robert Benton's classic film about divorce that won the best picture, director, actor, supporting actress and original screenplay Oscars exactly 40 years ago, is right up ...
Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, one of Netflix's two best picture Oscar hopefuls this season, along with Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, had its North American premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on Saturday night, unspooling before a packed Palm Theatre buzzing with anticipation after strong notices out of Venice, where the film had its world premiere earlier in the week.
The buzz is merited: the film, a 21st century version of Kramer vs. Kramer, Robert Benton's classic film about divorce that won the best picture, director, actor, supporting actress and original screenplay Oscars exactly 40 years ago, is right up ...
The buzz is merited: the film, a 21st century version of Kramer vs. Kramer, Robert Benton's classic film about divorce that won the best picture, director, actor, supporting actress and original screenplay Oscars exactly 40 years ago, is right up ...
Happy Mother’s Day! What better way to spend time with your mom than a fantastic movie with an Oscar-winning performance. Tour our photo gallery above of the 18 greatest of these films, ranked worst to best. All of them feature winning roles by actresses who play mothers that were pivotal to the plot.
Though there are thousands of these types of films, these performances show a wide array of what it means to be a mother. There’s the courageous mother, the inspirational mom, the loving mother and even the monstrous mother. Lead and supporting actresses include Brie Larson, Shirley MacLaine, Frances McDormand, Brie Larson, Allison Janney, Sophia Loren, Julia Roberts, Joan Crawford and more.
SEEOscar Best Supporting Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
18. The Fighter (2010)
On her second Oscar nomination, Melissa Leo took home the Best Supporting Actress prize for her portrayal of the real-life Alice Eklund-Ward,...
Though there are thousands of these types of films, these performances show a wide array of what it means to be a mother. There’s the courageous mother, the inspirational mom, the loving mother and even the monstrous mother. Lead and supporting actresses include Brie Larson, Shirley MacLaine, Frances McDormand, Brie Larson, Allison Janney, Sophia Loren, Julia Roberts, Joan Crawford and more.
SEEOscar Best Supporting Actress Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
18. The Fighter (2010)
On her second Oscar nomination, Melissa Leo took home the Best Supporting Actress prize for her portrayal of the real-life Alice Eklund-Ward,...
- 5/12/2019
- by Chris Beachum and Tom O'Brien
- Gold Derby
“Green Book” scored big Sunday night, taking home the Oscar for best picture amid a competitive field of films that all could have taken home the top prize themselves.
And many viewers thought they should have, including “BlacKkKlansman” director Spike Lee, who reportedly tried to storm out of the Dolby Theatre after the best picture winner was announced. Jordan Peele, the Oscar-winning writer-director behind last year’s “Get Out,” was among other attendees who reportedy didn’t applaud the win.
“I’m snakebit. Every time someone’s driving somebody, I lose,” Lee later told reporters backstage, in reference to his breakout film “Do the Right Thing,” which lost the Oscar for adapted screenplay to 1990’s “Driving Miss Daisy.” “I thought I was court side at the Garden and the refs made a bad call.”
“Green Book” is far from the only controversial decision Academy voters have made over the decades,...
And many viewers thought they should have, including “BlacKkKlansman” director Spike Lee, who reportedly tried to storm out of the Dolby Theatre after the best picture winner was announced. Jordan Peele, the Oscar-winning writer-director behind last year’s “Get Out,” was among other attendees who reportedy didn’t applaud the win.
“I’m snakebit. Every time someone’s driving somebody, I lose,” Lee later told reporters backstage, in reference to his breakout film “Do the Right Thing,” which lost the Oscar for adapted screenplay to 1990’s “Driving Miss Daisy.” “I thought I was court side at the Garden and the refs made a bad call.”
“Green Book” is far from the only controversial decision Academy voters have made over the decades,...
- 2/25/2019
- by Nate Nickolai
- Variety Film + TV
Two of the most iconic DC Super Heroes in pop-culture history are coming back to the big screen December 3rd as each celebrates a milestone cinematic anniversary with special presentations by Fathom Events, Warner Bros. and DC.
Richard Donner’s legendary 1978 “Superman” will play December 3rd at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (local time).
Tickets can be purchased online at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices, but 4 lucky We Are Movie Geeks readers can each win a pair of tickets for the Dec. 3rd screening. Just leave a message in the comments section and tell me which actor is your favorite Superman. It’s so easy. Winners will be chosen at random. Good luck!
Christopher Reeve stars as Superman and Clark Kent, leading an incomparable cast that includes Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Gene Hackman as villainous Lex Luthor, Marlon Brando and Susannah York as...
Richard Donner’s legendary 1978 “Superman” will play December 3rd at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (local time).
Tickets can be purchased online at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices, but 4 lucky We Are Movie Geeks readers can each win a pair of tickets for the Dec. 3rd screening. Just leave a message in the comments section and tell me which actor is your favorite Superman. It’s so easy. Winners will be chosen at random. Good luck!
Christopher Reeve stars as Superman and Clark Kent, leading an incomparable cast that includes Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Gene Hackman as villainous Lex Luthor, Marlon Brando and Susannah York as...
- 11/27/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Each November in Poland, the Camerimage Film Festival, which casts a spotlight on the art and science of cinematography, celebrates an editor with the Unique Visual Sensitivity award. This year’s honoree is Carol Littleton.
Littleton is known for her prolific catalog of work with directors like Steven Spielberg and Lawrence Kasdan on film such as “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “The Big Chill” — but the project she cherishes the most is Robert Benton’s “Places in the Heart,” the film that won Sally Field the second of her two Oscars.
“I grew up in rural Oklahoma,” Littleton says. “The sort of family life, the sense of values and the extraordinary strength of [the characters in ‘Heart’] reminded me of my childhood. I grew up with those people, so it has a real personal resonance for me.”
It’s often assumed that editing is mostly about shaping the actors’ performances, but Littleton notes her most...
Littleton is known for her prolific catalog of work with directors like Steven Spielberg and Lawrence Kasdan on film such as “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “The Big Chill” — but the project she cherishes the most is Robert Benton’s “Places in the Heart,” the film that won Sally Field the second of her two Oscars.
“I grew up in rural Oklahoma,” Littleton says. “The sort of family life, the sense of values and the extraordinary strength of [the characters in ‘Heart’] reminded me of my childhood. I grew up with those people, so it has a real personal resonance for me.”
It’s often assumed that editing is mostly about shaping the actors’ performances, but Littleton notes her most...
- 11/15/2018
- by Valentina I. Valentini
- Variety Film + TV
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