Jerry Herman’s musical “Hello, Dolly!” dominated the 18th Tony Awards which took place at the New York Hilton on May 24, 1964. “Hello, Dolly!” entered the ceremony with 11 nominations and walked out with ten awards including best musical, best actress for Carol Channing, original score for Herman and for Gower Champion’s choreography and direction.
Other musicals in contention for multiple awards that year were “High Spirits,” based on Noel Coward’s classic comedy “Blithe Spirit,” “Funny Girl,” which transformed Barbra Streisand into a Broadway superstar, and “110 in the Shade,” based on the straight play “The Rainmaker.”
Bert Lahr, best known as the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz,” won lead actor in a musical for “Foxy,” based on Ben Jonson’s “Volpone.” The musical was not a hit closed after 72 performances. Also nominated in the category was Bob Fosse for a short-lived revival of Rodgers and Hart’s “Pal Joey.
Other musicals in contention for multiple awards that year were “High Spirits,” based on Noel Coward’s classic comedy “Blithe Spirit,” “Funny Girl,” which transformed Barbra Streisand into a Broadway superstar, and “110 in the Shade,” based on the straight play “The Rainmaker.”
Bert Lahr, best known as the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz,” won lead actor in a musical for “Foxy,” based on Ben Jonson’s “Volpone.” The musical was not a hit closed after 72 performances. Also nominated in the category was Bob Fosse for a short-lived revival of Rodgers and Hart’s “Pal Joey.
- 5/15/2024
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Earlier this year, NBC pulled out all the stops for it special “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love.” And on Dec. 21, CBS is throwing a birthday party for one of its biggest stars, Dick Van Dyke, who headlined the landmark 1961-66 sitcom “The Dick Van Dyke Show” as well as the lighthearted detective series “Diagnosis, Murder,” which ran from 1993-2000.
“Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic” is a two-hour valentine to the actor, who celebrated his birthday on Dec. 13, featuring special guests such as Jane Seymour, Rob Reiner, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen and testimonials from Carol Burnett, Mark Hamill and “Mary Poppins” herself, Julie Andrews. Song-and-dance also play an important part of the special. Van Dyke earned a Tony in 1961 for “Bye Bye Birdie” and reprised his role in the 1963 musical. He introduced the Oscar-winning tune “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from 1964’s “Mary Poppins” as well as the...
“Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic” is a two-hour valentine to the actor, who celebrated his birthday on Dec. 13, featuring special guests such as Jane Seymour, Rob Reiner, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen and testimonials from Carol Burnett, Mark Hamill and “Mary Poppins” herself, Julie Andrews. Song-and-dance also play an important part of the special. Van Dyke earned a Tony in 1961 for “Bye Bye Birdie” and reprised his role in the 1963 musical. He introduced the Oscar-winning tune “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from 1964’s “Mary Poppins” as well as the...
- 12/19/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
There’s no place like prison?
A federal grand jury today indicted a man in the 2005 theft of a pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. Terry Martin is charged with one count of stealing a major artwork — specifically facing a charge of theft of an object of cultural heritage from the care, custody or control of a museum.
The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in Minneapolis, did not give Martin’s age or hometown, nor did it suggest a potential maximum prison term. It alleges that he stole the revered footwear from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Mn. At the time, the slippers were insured for $1 million, but a current fair-market appraisal value the slippers at $3.5 million, the Justice Department said.
A pair of the ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ on...
A federal grand jury today indicted a man in the 2005 theft of a pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. Terry Martin is charged with one count of stealing a major artwork — specifically facing a charge of theft of an object of cultural heritage from the care, custody or control of a museum.
The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in Minneapolis, did not give Martin’s age or hometown, nor did it suggest a potential maximum prison term. It alleges that he stole the revered footwear from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Mn. At the time, the slippers were insured for $1 million, but a current fair-market appraisal value the slippers at $3.5 million, the Justice Department said.
A pair of the ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ on...
- 5/17/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
You wish to have the curse reversed? You’ll need to win a Tony first! Brian d’Arcy James gave an impressive performance as the Baker in the recent revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods.” Despite an impressive stage career, James has never won a Tony Award. That could all change thanks to one of the biggest hits of the 2022-23 Broadway season, and he would break a major Tony stat in the process.
James has amassed a whopping 15 Broadway credits over the course of his career, including “Into the Woods.” He scored his first Tony nomination for the musical “Sweet Smell of Success” in 2002 before picking up additional bids as the titular ogre in “Shrek the Musical” (2010) and for the farce “Something Rotten!” (2015).
The actor also had a hand in shaping characters from two Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning musicals. He originated the roles of Dan...
James has amassed a whopping 15 Broadway credits over the course of his career, including “Into the Woods.” He scored his first Tony nomination for the musical “Sweet Smell of Success” in 2002 before picking up additional bids as the titular ogre in “Shrek the Musical” (2010) and for the farce “Something Rotten!” (2015).
The actor also had a hand in shaping characters from two Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning musicals. He originated the roles of Dan...
- 3/15/2023
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
TV’s Norman Lear produced William Friedkin’s good-natured farce about early American burlesque houses and the inadvertent invention of the striptease. Jason Robards plays a fast talking vaudevillian and Britt Ekland is Rachel Schpitendavel, a showbiz hopeful who hits the big time by losing her clothes. The supporting cast is a who’s who of comedians including Elliott Gould, Norman Wisdom, and the great Bert Lahr.
The post The Night They Raided Minsky’s appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post The Night They Raided Minsky’s appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 8/29/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Click here to read the full article.
Kenya Barris is set to do a fresh take on The Wizard of Oz for Warner Bros., The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Barris will reimagine the Oscar-winning fantasy musical, which starred Judy Garland, Billie Burke, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. Warner Bros. Pictures owns the rights to the 1939 Hollywood classic.
Barris will also produce Wizard of Oz through his production banner, Khalabo Ink Society.
Warner Bros. was developing an animated Wizard of Oz retelling, working with veteran scribe Mark Burton. The film, from Toto’s perspective, was to be based on a children’s book by War Horse writer Michael Morpurgo, which tells the story of Dorothy’s trip through Oz through the eyes of her faithful dog.
Elsewhere, Snoop Dogg and Barris are teaming for The Underdoggs comedy for MGM, with Charles Stone to direct, and MGM and Barris are...
Kenya Barris is set to do a fresh take on The Wizard of Oz for Warner Bros., The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Barris will reimagine the Oscar-winning fantasy musical, which starred Judy Garland, Billie Burke, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. Warner Bros. Pictures owns the rights to the 1939 Hollywood classic.
Barris will also produce Wizard of Oz through his production banner, Khalabo Ink Society.
Warner Bros. was developing an animated Wizard of Oz retelling, working with veteran scribe Mark Burton. The film, from Toto’s perspective, was to be based on a children’s book by War Horse writer Michael Morpurgo, which tells the story of Dorothy’s trip through Oz through the eyes of her faithful dog.
Elsewhere, Snoop Dogg and Barris are teaming for The Underdoggs comedy for MGM, with Charles Stone to direct, and MGM and Barris are...
- 8/15/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
One of the most anticipated honors to be handed out Sunday at the 75th annual Tony Awards is Angela Lansbury’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The big question is: Why did it take so long?
Now 96, the beloved Lansbury has won five competitive Tony and was nominated for two more. She’s also one of the leading interpreters of the work of composers Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman. Her Broadway career is best described with the lyric from Herman’s 1966 musical “Mame: “You came, you saw, your conquered and absolutely nothing is the same…we think you’re just sensational!”
In fact, she’s been sensational since making her film debut at 18 in 1944’s “Gaslight,” received her first of three Oscar nominations — she earned an Honorary Oscar in 2013 — and starred for 12 seasons as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher on ‘Murder, She Wrote.” And she brought her musical talents to movie and TV...
Now 96, the beloved Lansbury has won five competitive Tony and was nominated for two more. She’s also one of the leading interpreters of the work of composers Stephen Sondheim and Jerry Herman. Her Broadway career is best described with the lyric from Herman’s 1966 musical “Mame: “You came, you saw, your conquered and absolutely nothing is the same…we think you’re just sensational!”
In fact, she’s been sensational since making her film debut at 18 in 1944’s “Gaslight,” received her first of three Oscar nominations — she earned an Honorary Oscar in 2013 — and starred for 12 seasons as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher on ‘Murder, She Wrote.” And she brought her musical talents to movie and TV...
- 6/10/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Few costumes in movie history are as iconic as the blue and white checkered dress that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz.” MGM’s classic film was one of the first movies to be filmed in Technicolor, and the initial reveal of Garland’s Dorothy stepping out into the colorful Land of Oz is instantly recognizable both for its narrative significance and the technological breakthrough that it signified.
Many film memorabilia collectors would kill to get their hands on such an important piece, but while Garland wore several versions of the dress while filming, only one has been thought to remain in existence. Until now.
The New York Times reported that a second dress worn by Garland was recently unearthed at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In 1973, the dress was given to Father Gilbert Hartke, a priest who was in charge of the school’s drama department.
Many film memorabilia collectors would kill to get their hands on such an important piece, but while Garland wore several versions of the dress while filming, only one has been thought to remain in existence. Until now.
The New York Times reported that a second dress worn by Garland was recently unearthed at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In 1973, the dress was given to Father Gilbert Hartke, a priest who was in charge of the school’s drama department.
- 4/23/2022
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Carleton Carpenter, who performed on stage and screen alongside stars such as Debbie Reynolds in “Two Weeks With Love” and Judy Garland in “Summer Stock,” died Monday in Warwick, N.Y., according to his reps. He was 95.
Carpenter was a multi-hyphenate artist whose career spanned eight decades. His 1950 duet with Debbie Reynolds covering the song “Aba Daba Honeymoon” sold more than a million copies. He performed in countless radio, television and film productions and on stages on- and off-Broadway. He even went on to write a number of books, including his 2017 memoir, “The Absolute Joy of Work.”
Born Carleton Upham Carpenter Jr. on July 10, 1926 in Bennington, Vt., Carpenter attended Bennington High School and served as a Seabee in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He attended the National High School Institute for Theatre Arts at Northwestern University and began his performance career as a clown and magician at carnivals.
Carpenter was a multi-hyphenate artist whose career spanned eight decades. His 1950 duet with Debbie Reynolds covering the song “Aba Daba Honeymoon” sold more than a million copies. He performed in countless radio, television and film productions and on stages on- and off-Broadway. He even went on to write a number of books, including his 2017 memoir, “The Absolute Joy of Work.”
Born Carleton Upham Carpenter Jr. on July 10, 1926 in Bennington, Vt., Carpenter attended Bennington High School and served as a Seabee in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He attended the National High School Institute for Theatre Arts at Northwestern University and began his performance career as a clown and magician at carnivals.
- 1/31/2022
- by Sasha Urban
- Variety Film + TV
It is a sea of red. Its architect calls it his “magic lantern.” Some movie buffs tabbed it the “Death Star.”
After standing empty for more than two years, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ grandiose 1,000-seat spherical theater opened Thursday to standing ovations, and a few skeptical reviews. Following a morning of ribbon cutting and official speeches, excited audiences wallowed in the period magic of The Wizard of Oz backed by a full symphony orchestra.
Leaders of the Motion Picture Academy and civic officials, having been battered for years for delays and overages, had a right to view it all as a minor miracle. The theater itself represents an exercise in cinematic optimism at a moment when theaters around the nation stand forlorn.
The David Geffen Theater, in all its splash, is the mirror opposite of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, which it succeeds. The Goldwyn was a stodgy structure...
After standing empty for more than two years, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ grandiose 1,000-seat spherical theater opened Thursday to standing ovations, and a few skeptical reviews. Following a morning of ribbon cutting and official speeches, excited audiences wallowed in the period magic of The Wizard of Oz backed by a full symphony orchestra.
Leaders of the Motion Picture Academy and civic officials, having been battered for years for delays and overages, had a right to view it all as a minor miracle. The theater itself represents an exercise in cinematic optimism at a moment when theaters around the nation stand forlorn.
The David Geffen Theater, in all its splash, is the mirror opposite of the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, which it succeeds. The Goldwyn was a stodgy structure...
- 10/1/2021
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Professor Marvel’s crystal ball probably didn’t predict that the Avengers could go on to star in The Wizard of Oz, but a deepfake called The Avengers of Oz, posted back in March by NextFace, manages to get the job done.
The clip, which re-imagines the classic 1939 musical fantasy film using deepfake tech, casts Tom Holland as Dorothy, Robert Downey Jr as Scarecrow, Chris Pratt as Tin-Man and Chris Hemsworth as the Cowardly Lion, roles that were originally played by Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr respectively.
You can watch The Avengers of Oz below, but it cannot be unseen.
A deepfake earlier this year that imagined Holland and Downey Jr as Marty and Doc Brown in Back to the Future instead of Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd initially provoked a negative response from the young actor, though he later found the fun in it.
The clip, which re-imagines the classic 1939 musical fantasy film using deepfake tech, casts Tom Holland as Dorothy, Robert Downey Jr as Scarecrow, Chris Pratt as Tin-Man and Chris Hemsworth as the Cowardly Lion, roles that were originally played by Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr respectively.
You can watch The Avengers of Oz below, but it cannot be unseen.
A deepfake earlier this year that imagined Holland and Downey Jr as Marty and Doc Brown in Back to the Future instead of Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd initially provoked a negative response from the young actor, though he later found the fun in it.
- 6/9/2020
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
Mother of mercy, did the movies mark the beginning of Rico? The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was named after the character Rico Bandello in what is largely considered to be the first gangster movie, Little Caesar. While Edward G. Robinson’s Rico wasn’t specifically Al Capone in that film, the real-life gangster’s signature cigar fumes are all over it. Josh Trank replaced the Cuban Corona with a carrot in the recent Vertical Entertainment film Capone, which stars Tom Hardy as the title character in his twilight years, suffering from a premature burial. The aging mobster’s memories were buried by the syphilis microbe, and along with it went the clues to his buried treasure.
That speculative biopic also depicts Capone as a film aficionado. He sings along with Bert Lahr’s incomparable “If I Were King of the Forest,” from The Wizard of Oz, and educates...
That speculative biopic also depicts Capone as a film aficionado. He sings along with Bert Lahr’s incomparable “If I Were King of the Forest,” from The Wizard of Oz, and educates...
- 5/15/2020
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
In “Capone,” Tom Hardy, as the aging, broken-down, not-all-there Al Capone, acts under a corpse-gray mask of desiccated-mobster makeup, and he speaks in a bullfrog croak so raspy it sounds like he’s only got one or two vocal cords left, and that they’ve been burnt to a crisp. It’s 1946, and Capone’s days as the legendary underworld kingpin of Chicago are long gone; so are the eleven years he spent in prison for tax evasion. He’s now 47, a retired gangster, comfortable but ailing, teetering towards death as he drifts through the days at his creamy mansion in Palm Island, Florida, surrounded by federal agents who are watching his every move.
Written and directed by Josh Trank, “Capone” is a portrait of the mobster as a burnt-out husk. Hardy’s Capone, who everyone calls Fonz (for Alphonse — the use of “Al” is strictly verboten), is blotchy and pasty,...
Written and directed by Josh Trank, “Capone” is a portrait of the mobster as a burnt-out husk. Hardy’s Capone, who everyone calls Fonz (for Alphonse — the use of “Al” is strictly verboten), is blotchy and pasty,...
- 5/11/2020
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
You knew this was coming. The 40th annual Golden Raspberry Awards dishonored the cinematic feline felony known as”Cats” with eight nominations, including one for no less than Dame Judi Dench herself. In fact, the organization even felt the need to describe her Old Deuteronomy as looking suspiciously similar to the Cowardly Lion from “The Wizard of Oz.” Somewhere, Bert Lahr is crying.
But incredibly, there were two other 2019 releases that proved egregious enough to also be pelted with eight nominations: Sylvester Stallone‘s “Rambo: Last Blood” and Tyler Perry‘s 12th and purportedly last appearance in a wig and dress, “A Medea Family Funeral.”
As per usual, the competitors for disgraced excellence were announced on the eve of the Academy Awards, which airs live on ABC on Sunday. The cheeky Razzies also had the nerve to slap around two other Oscars winners besides Dame Judi: Anne Hathaway, up for both “The Hustle” and “Serenity,...
But incredibly, there were two other 2019 releases that proved egregious enough to also be pelted with eight nominations: Sylvester Stallone‘s “Rambo: Last Blood” and Tyler Perry‘s 12th and purportedly last appearance in a wig and dress, “A Medea Family Funeral.”
As per usual, the competitors for disgraced excellence were announced on the eve of the Academy Awards, which airs live on ABC on Sunday. The cheeky Razzies also had the nerve to slap around two other Oscars winners besides Dame Judi: Anne Hathaway, up for both “The Hustle” and “Serenity,...
- 2/8/2020
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Michael Winterbottom’s entertaining mockumentary about a high-street fashion tycoon presents a hideous carnival of obscene wealth, vanity and moral squalor
That exhilaratingly prolific film-maker Michael Winterbottom – working with additional material from Sean Gray from The Thick of It – has served up a breezy, funny, unsubtle scattershot satire-melodrama all about the moral squalor of the super-rich. They are epitomised by a fictional high-street fashion mogul called Sir Richard “Greedy” McCreadie as he prepares for a monumentally tasteless, Fyre festival-ish, Roman-themed 60th birthday party on the plutocrats’ island of Mykonos. (Rome in Greece? Why not?)
McCreadie has just suffered a nightmare of bad publicity following a catastrophic performance in front of a parliamentary select committee, and all the celebs are starting to pull out of his bash. One star who will be there is Clarence, a real, live lion for a re-creation of the Coloseum scene from the movie Gladiator. There...
That exhilaratingly prolific film-maker Michael Winterbottom – working with additional material from Sean Gray from The Thick of It – has served up a breezy, funny, unsubtle scattershot satire-melodrama all about the moral squalor of the super-rich. They are epitomised by a fictional high-street fashion mogul called Sir Richard “Greedy” McCreadie as he prepares for a monumentally tasteless, Fyre festival-ish, Roman-themed 60th birthday party on the plutocrats’ island of Mykonos. (Rome in Greece? Why not?)
McCreadie has just suffered a nightmare of bad publicity following a catastrophic performance in front of a parliamentary select committee, and all the celebs are starting to pull out of his bash. One star who will be there is Clarence, a real, live lion for a re-creation of the Coloseum scene from the movie Gladiator. There...
- 9/11/2019
- by Peter Bradshaw in Toronto
- The Guardian - Film News
Burbank, CA, August 22, 2019 – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced today that 1939’s acclaimed and beloved classic The Wizard of Oz will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital on October 29th. Directed by Victor Fleming (Gone With the Wind) and starring Judy Garland as Dorothy Gayle, The Wizard of Oz is widely considered to be one of the most influential films in cinematic history.
Adapted from L. Frank Baum’s timeless children’s tale about a Kansas girl’s journey over the rainbow, The Wizard of Oz officially premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on August 15, 1939. The film was directed by Victor Fleming (who that same year directed Gone With the Wind), produced by Mervyn LeRoy, and scored by Herbert Stothart, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Ray Bolger appeared as the Scarecrow; Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Woodman.
Adapted from L. Frank Baum’s timeless children’s tale about a Kansas girl’s journey over the rainbow, The Wizard of Oz officially premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on August 15, 1939. The film was directed by Victor Fleming (who that same year directed Gone With the Wind), produced by Mervyn LeRoy, and scored by Herbert Stothart, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Ray Bolger appeared as the Scarecrow; Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Woodman.
- 8/24/2019
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Robert “Bob” Ullman, a longtime Broadway and Off Broadway press agent whose career spanned Ethel Merman, A Chorus Line, Curse of the Starving Class and many others, died of cardiac arrest on July 31 in Bayshore, Long Island, New York. He was 97.
His death was announced by longtime friend (and former Broadway press agent) Rev. Joshua Ellis.
Among the many Broadway productions on which Ullman worked were Ethel Merman and Mary Martin: Together on Broadway, A Chorus Line (from workshop to Public Theater to Broadway), Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Visit, Lauren Bacall in Cactus Flower, The Dining Room, Driving Miss Daisy, Sunday in the Park with George, and over 150 additional Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals.
Actors and theater greats with whom Ullman worked include Tallulah Bankhead, Luise Rainer, James Dean, Dame Edith Evans, Geraldine Page, Phil Silvers, Bert Lahr, Rosemary Harris, James Earl Jones, Sam Waterston, Colleen Dewhurst,...
His death was announced by longtime friend (and former Broadway press agent) Rev. Joshua Ellis.
Among the many Broadway productions on which Ullman worked were Ethel Merman and Mary Martin: Together on Broadway, A Chorus Line (from workshop to Public Theater to Broadway), Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in The Visit, Lauren Bacall in Cactus Flower, The Dining Room, Driving Miss Daisy, Sunday in the Park with George, and over 150 additional Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals.
Actors and theater greats with whom Ullman worked include Tallulah Bankhead, Luise Rainer, James Dean, Dame Edith Evans, Geraldine Page, Phil Silvers, Bert Lahr, Rosemary Harris, James Earl Jones, Sam Waterston, Colleen Dewhurst,...
- 8/8/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Chicago – The Windy City is off to see the Wizard again, as the Grant Park Music Festival celebrates the 80th Anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz” at the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park. The festivities include a costume party, hosted by Linda Kollmeyer (“The Lottery Lady”), followed by the presentation with a live orchestra accompaniment – on the Park’s giant Led screen – of the classic 1939 film.
The event is free and open to the public in both the “seating bowl” area and lawn, and begins at 6:30pm with the costume party, with the screening at 8pm. For more information, click here.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Millennium Park
Photo credit: Warner Home Video
At the time of the late 1930s filming of “The Wizard of Oz,” the idea of an event children’s film was brand new. The film stars Judy Garland in...
The event is free and open to the public in both the “seating bowl” area and lawn, and begins at 6:30pm with the costume party, with the screening at 8pm. For more information, click here.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at Millennium Park
Photo credit: Warner Home Video
At the time of the late 1930s filming of “The Wizard of Oz,” the idea of an event children’s film was brand new. The film stars Judy Garland in...
- 7/9/2019
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Harvey Sabinson, one of Broadway’s legendary press agents and a former long-time executive director of The Broadway League, died on April 18 of natural causes at his residence in Sarasota, Florida. He was 94 years old. Sabinson capped a 50-year career in the theater when he was honored with a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1995. That year he stepped down as executive director of the League of American Theatres and Producers, (now known as the Broadway League) a national trade association of theatrical producers, presenters and theatre operators. Sabinson joined the organization early in 1976, when it was known as the League of New York Theatres and Producers, as director of special projects. Prior to this appointment, he spent 30 years as a theatrical publicist, beginning shortly after his discharge from Army service during World War II, during which time he received a Purple Heart. He became executive director in 1982. In...
- 4/21/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Harvey Fierstein’s glorious voice, that frog with a human stuck in it, remains so powerful you might swear you still hear it, loud and, well, loud in a Torch Song that can often only shout over the Harvey-shaped hole at its center.
Last year’s hit Off Broadway revival, Torch Song (nee Torch Song Trilogy, the award-gathering marvel from 1982 that introduced Fierstein to the world) opens at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater tonight, its oh-so-cute bunny slippers in place. Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) and Oscar-winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King) reprise their Off Broadway performances as the big-hearted drag queen Arnold Beckoff and his caustic, disapproving but down-deep lovin’ Ma.
Okay, so the slippers fit better than the roles that were custom-made way back when by Fierstein and a soon-to-be-Golden Estelle Getty. And no some of the gags don’t land. Urie is too trim for big-boned jokes, Ruehl...
Last year’s hit Off Broadway revival, Torch Song (nee Torch Song Trilogy, the award-gathering marvel from 1982 that introduced Fierstein to the world) opens at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater tonight, its oh-so-cute bunny slippers in place. Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) and Oscar-winner Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King) reprise their Off Broadway performances as the big-hearted drag queen Arnold Beckoff and his caustic, disapproving but down-deep lovin’ Ma.
Okay, so the slippers fit better than the roles that were custom-made way back when by Fierstein and a soon-to-be-Golden Estelle Getty. And no some of the gags don’t land. Urie is too trim for big-boned jokes, Ruehl...
- 11/2/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Chicago – Norman Lear is one of the greatest TV creators of the 20th Century, and beyond. The producer was a titan of 1970s television, with shows like “All in the Family,” “Good Times,” “Maude” and “Sanford and Son.” He is the topic of a new film documentary, “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.”
Lear is the embodiment of television history, having worked in the medium since its advent in the 1950s. He began with partner Ed Simmons, writing for shows like the “Ford Star Revue” and “The Colgate Comedy Hour” (with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis). Throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, he produced television that was common at the time – star oriented and non-controversial – while also writing and producing movie satire like “Divorce, American Style” and “Cold Turkey,” with partner Bud Yorkin. In the late 1960s, he began to work on a pilot called “Justice for All,” featuring a bigoted character named “Archie Justice.
Lear is the embodiment of television history, having worked in the medium since its advent in the 1950s. He began with partner Ed Simmons, writing for shows like the “Ford Star Revue” and “The Colgate Comedy Hour” (with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis). Throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, he produced television that was common at the time – star oriented and non-controversial – while also writing and producing movie satire like “Divorce, American Style” and “Cold Turkey,” with partner Bud Yorkin. In the late 1960s, he began to work on a pilot called “Justice for All,” featuring a bigoted character named “Archie Justice.
- 8/1/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Pat O'Brien movies on TCM: 'The Front Page,' 'Oil for the Lamps of China' Remember Pat O'Brien? In case you don't, you're not alone despite the fact that O'Brien was featured – in both large and small roles – in about 100 films, from the dawn of the sound era to 1981. That in addition to nearly 50 television appearances, from the early '50s to the early '80s. Never a top star or a critics' favorite, O'Brien was nevertheless one of the busiest Hollywood leading men – and second leads – of the 1930s. In that decade alone, mostly at Warner Bros., he was seen in nearly 60 films, from Bs (Hell's House, The Final Edition) to classics (American Madness, Angels with Dirty Faces). Turner Classic Movies is showing nine of those today, Nov. 11, '15, in honor of what would have been the Milwaukee-born O'Brien's 116th birthday. Pat O'Brien and James Cagney Spencer Tracy had Katharine Hepburn.
- 11/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Happy 77th birthday to one of our favorite actors, Christopher Lloyd!
The actor, who's played some of filmdom's most beloved characters, including Doc Brown in "Back to the Future," Professor Plum in "Clue," and Uncle Fester in the "Addams Family" films, was born on October 22, 1938 in Stamford, Conn.
Partly because of his height, and partly because of his manic intensity and commitment to even the wildest characters, he's portrayed a series of eccentrics, from mad scientists to aliens; had an impressive, award-winning theater career; and will always be remembered as Reverend Jim on "Taxi."
In honor of his 77th birthday, we've come up with 75 reasons why he's so awesome.
1. He's played a Klingon, a cartoon, the Wizard of Oz, an angel, a leper, and a geriatric vampire.
2. He stands an impressive 6'1."
3. Because he's so tall, he had to hunch over to appear in the same frame with "Back to the Future...
The actor, who's played some of filmdom's most beloved characters, including Doc Brown in "Back to the Future," Professor Plum in "Clue," and Uncle Fester in the "Addams Family" films, was born on October 22, 1938 in Stamford, Conn.
Partly because of his height, and partly because of his manic intensity and commitment to even the wildest characters, he's portrayed a series of eccentrics, from mad scientists to aliens; had an impressive, award-winning theater career; and will always be remembered as Reverend Jim on "Taxi."
In honor of his 77th birthday, we've come up with 75 reasons why he's so awesome.
1. He's played a Klingon, a cartoon, the Wizard of Oz, an angel, a leper, and a geriatric vampire.
2. He stands an impressive 6'1."
3. Because he's so tall, he had to hunch over to appear in the same frame with "Back to the Future...
- 10/22/2015
- by Sharon Knolle
- Moviefone
Happy Birthday Angela Lansbury Lansbury - who returned to Broadway in this year's revival of The Best Man - has enjoyed an unprecedented career, first as a star of motion pictures, and then as an award-winning stage actor in New York and London. She appeared as Madame Armfeldt in the 2009 revival of A Little Night Music, and before that as Madame Arcati in the 2009 revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, for which she won her fifth Tony Award, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. She performed in 2006 in Terrence McNally's Deuce, for which she was also nominated for a Tony Award. She made her Broadway debut in 1957 as Bert Lahr's wife in Hotel Paradiso. In 1960, she returned to Broadway as Joan Plowright's mother in the season's most acclaimed drama, A Taste of Honey, by Shelagh Delaney. A year later, she starred in her first musical,...
- 10/16/2015
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
B&B Wildwood Theatre is having their March Retro Night on Thursday, April 2. They are showing the classic film, The Wizard Of Oz. Shows are at 4pm & 7pm.
This magical cinematic event finds Kansas farm girl Judy Garland (“A Star is Born,” “Meet Me in St. Louis”) caught in a tornado and magically transported to the Land of Oz. Needing help to return home, she is told to follow the Yellow Brick Road and find the powerful Wizard (Frank Morgan). On her perilous journey, she is befriended by the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Tin Man (Jack Haley), and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) who help her battle the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) and her flying monkeys. Based on the classic book by Frank L. Baum, “The Wizard of Oz” is a dazzling motion picture achievement, featuring unforgettable songs (including Oscar-winner “Over the Rainbow”), scenery, and costumes.
Tickets...
This magical cinematic event finds Kansas farm girl Judy Garland (“A Star is Born,” “Meet Me in St. Louis”) caught in a tornado and magically transported to the Land of Oz. Needing help to return home, she is told to follow the Yellow Brick Road and find the powerful Wizard (Frank Morgan). On her perilous journey, she is befriended by the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Tin Man (Jack Haley), and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) who help her battle the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) and her flying monkeys. Based on the classic book by Frank L. Baum, “The Wizard of Oz” is a dazzling motion picture achievement, featuring unforgettable songs (including Oscar-winner “Over the Rainbow”), scenery, and costumes.
Tickets...
- 3/26/2015
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Following his directorial debut, the 1967 Sonny and Cher vignette flick Good Times, director William Friedkin struggled through a couple of projects before landing his first really provocative title with 1970’s The Boys in the Band. Of course, following that would be The French Connection and so on and so forth. But prior to that, Friedkin helmed a period piece penned and produced by Norman Lear, The Night They Raided Minsky’s, which more or less depicts the accidental invention of stripping during the golden period of burlesque. Plagued by various production issues, including the death of Bert Lahr (you know him as the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz) during filming, the initial cut of the film was famously termed ‘disastrous,’ and the title would be retooled for nine months by editor Ralph Rosenblum and finally see release a year after production ended. While not quite charming or as...
- 2/24/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
'Cat People' 1942 actress Simone Simon Remembered: Starred in Jacques Tourneur's cult horror movie classic (photo: Simone Simon in 'Cat People') Pert, pouty, pretty Simone Simon is best remembered for her starring roles in Jacques Tourneur's cult horror movie Cat People (1942) and in Jean Renoir's French film noir La Bête Humaine (1938). Long before Brigitte Bardot, Mamie Van Doren, Ann-Margret, and (for a few years) Jane Fonda became known as cinema's Sex Kittens, Simone Simon exuded feline charm in a film career that spanned a quarter of a century. From the early '30s to the mid-'50s, she seduced men young and old on both sides of the Atlantic – at times, with fatal results. During that period, Simon was featured in nearly 40 movies in France, Italy, Germany, Britain, and Hollywood. Besides Jean Renoir, in her native country she worked for the likes of Jacqueline Audry...
- 2/6/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
This summer marked the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, and it was a big enough occasion that Warner Bros. not only retrofitted the classic fantasy film for a one-week IMAX 3D re-release but also spent $25m on marketing its brief return to theaters. Meanwhile, there’s absolutely no fanfare at all for the movie’s sequel, which also has a special birthday this year. No, I’m not referring to Return to Oz (which likely also won’t get much notice for its 30th anniversary next summer). There is another “Oz” movie that was more directly intended to be an official follow-up to the 1939 version, an animated feature titled Journey Back to Oz, which hit theaters on this day back in 1974. Aside from taking place soon after The Wizard of Oz and being mostly yet loosely adapted from L. Frank Baum’s second Oz book, “The Marvelous Land of Oz,” the...
- 12/5/2014
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The Cowardly Lion costume from The Wizard of Oz has fetched $3.07 million (£1.95m) at auction in New York.
Actor Bert Lahr wore the outfit in the classic 1939 film.
Re-Viewed: The Wizard of Oz
Selling at a Bonham auction, the costume was made of real lion hide and featured a face sculpted to resemble Lahr's.
Also sold in the auction were items and memorabilia from Casablanca, including a piano from the 1942 film which was sold for $2.9m (£1.85m).
The early life of Wizard of Oz author L Frank Baum will be the subject of a new film.
The Wizard of Oz, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, was digitally restored frame-by-frame over the course of 18 months for a fresh run on the big screen earlier this year.
Actor Bert Lahr wore the outfit in the classic 1939 film.
Re-Viewed: The Wizard of Oz
Selling at a Bonham auction, the costume was made of real lion hide and featured a face sculpted to resemble Lahr's.
Also sold in the auction were items and memorabilia from Casablanca, including a piano from the 1942 film which was sold for $2.9m (£1.85m).
The early life of Wizard of Oz author L Frank Baum will be the subject of a new film.
The Wizard of Oz, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, was digitally restored frame-by-frame over the course of 18 months for a fresh run on the big screen earlier this year.
- 11/25/2014
- Digital Spy
Somewhere out there is a wealthy customer who just won himself one of the most expensive Halloween costumes out there: the Cowardly Lion costume from 1939's The Wizard of Oz fetched over $3 million at auction at Bonhams in New York City on Monday. According to the Associated Press, the costume was authenticated to be the one that Bert Lahr wore in the film; a back-up costume fetched almost $1 million in recent years. The costume's previous owner, Los Angeles Museum of Television founder James Comisar, said that the costume was made out of real lion skins, and was extensively analyzed to...
- 11/25/2014
- by Teresa Jue
- EW.com - PopWatch
Wizardly sums! The costume that the matchless Bert Lahr wore as the Cowardly Lion in 1939's The Wizard of Oz and the piano Dooley Wilson played in 1942's Casablanca have each been sold by Bonham's auction house for more than $3 million. And while neither result is a record, both sale prices were at the higher end of pre-auction estimates. The Cowardly Lion costume, which had been owned by Los Angeles TV museum founder James Comisar, went for $3,077,000, which includes a buyer's premium of $477,000. The outfit - which is made of real lion's skins - had been rescued from an old...
- 11/25/2014
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- PEOPLE.com
Wizardly sums! The costume that the matchless Bert Lahr wore as the Cowardly Lion in 1939's The Wizard of Oz and the piano Dooley Wilson played in 1942's Casablanca have each been sold by Bonham's auction house for more than $3 million. And while neither result is a record, both sale prices were at the higher end of pre-auction estimates. The Cowardly Lion costume, which had been owned by Los Angeles TV museum founder James Comisar, went for $3,077,000, which includes a buyer's premium of $477,000. The outfit - which is made of real lion's skins - had been rescued from an old...
- 11/25/2014
- by Alex Heigl, @alex_heigl
- PEOPLE.com
How much would you spend for a one-of-a-kind Wizard of Oz costume? For one lucky consumer, the answer is in the millions. During the Bonham Turner Classic Movies auction, an unknown shopper purchased the Cowardly Lion costume for $3,077,000, which includes a buyer's premium of $477,000. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the costume had been sitting in an old MGM structure before it was saved by a junk dealer who was simply cleaning out the abandoned building. As they like to say: One man's trash is another man's treasure. The memorable costume, which is made up of a real lion's fur, is the very same outfit used in key scenes featuring the lion played by Bert Lahr. If...
- 11/25/2014
- E! Online
Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion costume from the classic film The Wizard of Oz is up for sale. The costume will be auctioned with other Hollywood items Monday in New York by Bonhams, according to a spokesman for costume owner James Comisar. See more Hollywood's 100 Favorite Films The big cat outfit has been authenticated as the one Lahr wore in the 1939 film, according to a Bonhams' sales catalog. It is topped by a sculpted likeness of the late actor. A secondary costume used in the film was sold at auction in recent years for close to $1 million, the owner's
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- 11/23/2014
- by The Associated Press
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Happy Birthday Angela Lansbury Lansbury - who returned to Broadway in this year's revival of The Best Man - has enjoyed an unprecedented career, first as a star of motion pictures, and then as an award-winning stage actor in New York and London. She appeared as Madame Armfeldt in the 2009 revival of A Little Night Music, and before that as Madame Arcati in the 2009 revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, for which she won her fifth Tony Award, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards. She performed in 2006 in Terrence McNally's Deuce, for which she was also nominated for a Tony Award. She made her Broadway debut in 1957 as Bert Lahr's wife in Hotel Paradiso. In 1960, she returned to Broadway as Joan Plowright's mother in the season's most acclaimed drama, A Taste of Honey, by Shelagh Delaney. A year later, she starred in her first musical,...
- 10/16/2014
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
It's difficult to think of a film that has inspired more urban legends than Victor Fleming's 1939 children's classic The Wizard of Oz. Depending on who you believe, Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon syncs perfectly with the action (not true), the production was cursed with a series of horrendous accidents (true), and the Munchkins were all shag-happy party animals (also untrue, but a favourite talk show gag of star Judy Garland). Perhaps the tall tales have something to do with the hellish shoot, which involved five directors and at least 15 writers, or maybe it's because The Wizard of Oz is watched by a lot of stoned people.
What many don't seem to realise is that The Wizard Of Oz is itself a remake. L Frank Baum's original 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz (the first in a series of more than a dozen books) was filmed...
What many don't seem to realise is that The Wizard Of Oz is itself a remake. L Frank Baum's original 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz (the first in a series of more than a dozen books) was filmed...
- 9/7/2014
- Digital Spy
The end is here – if someone asked you what the most important movie musical of all time was, it would come from this portion of the list. Obviously, it’s all subjective, but it’s difficult to make a case against the influence of these films on our culture and the industry as a whole. So, cue the orchestra and practice your dance moves, because the closing number is here.
courtesy of rowthree.com
10. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Directed by John Badham
Signature Song: “Stayin’ Alive” (http://youtu.be/Fa9n7GirhsI)
After making a name for himself with TV’s “Welcome Back Kotter,” John Travolta became a star with 1977′s cultural landmark Saturday Night Fever, a dance musical where Travolta plays Tony Manero, a young man who works a dead-end job, but spends his weekends as the king of the dance floor at a Brooklyn disco. The soundtrack, which was...
courtesy of rowthree.com
10. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Directed by John Badham
Signature Song: “Stayin’ Alive” (http://youtu.be/Fa9n7GirhsI)
After making a name for himself with TV’s “Welcome Back Kotter,” John Travolta became a star with 1977′s cultural landmark Saturday Night Fever, a dance musical where Travolta plays Tony Manero, a young man who works a dead-end job, but spends his weekends as the king of the dance floor at a Brooklyn disco. The soundtrack, which was...
- 5/26/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
Without really trying, William Friedkin has been on the cutting edge for nearly half a century.
He won Best Picture and Best Director for "The French Connection" (1971), followed it up with the scariest movie of all time (1973's "The Exorcist"), and followed that up with "Sorcerer" (1977), a movie so far ahead of its time that only in recent years has it been acknowledged as an overlooked masterpiece. (A newly-restored print of the allegorical adventure tale, released this week on Blu-ray, should help burnish the film's reputation.)
At 78, Friedkin continues to stay ahead of the pack. In his most recent movie, "Killer Joe" (2011), he cast Matthew McConaughey in an unlikely role as a corrupt cop/hitman, thus helping launch the "McConnaissance" that changed the actor's image and led to his recent Oscar victory for "Dallas Buyers Club." For his upcoming projects, he's thrilled to be working in digital and scoffs at...
He won Best Picture and Best Director for "The French Connection" (1971), followed it up with the scariest movie of all time (1973's "The Exorcist"), and followed that up with "Sorcerer" (1977), a movie so far ahead of its time that only in recent years has it been acknowledged as an overlooked masterpiece. (A newly-restored print of the allegorical adventure tale, released this week on Blu-ray, should help burnish the film's reputation.)
At 78, Friedkin continues to stay ahead of the pack. In his most recent movie, "Killer Joe" (2011), he cast Matthew McConaughey in an unlikely role as a corrupt cop/hitman, thus helping launch the "McConnaissance" that changed the actor's image and led to his recent Oscar victory for "Dallas Buyers Club." For his upcoming projects, he's thrilled to be working in digital and scoffs at...
- 4/25/2014
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Sunday night I attended a special "Frozen" musical performance at Vibrato Grill Jazz club with cast members Kristen Bell (Anna), Idina Menzel (Elsa), Josh Gad (Olaf), and Santino Fontana (Hans) singing the songs of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez accompanied by a live orchestra conducted by David Metzger. Bell was funny doing her little girl Anna for "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"; Bell and Fontana had flirty fun with "Love is an Open Door"; Gad performed "In Summer" with a bravado that reminded me of Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion from "The Wizard of Oz" (in fact, Gad admitted to me afterward that Lahr and "Oz" were indeed an inspiration); and Menzel once again brought great power and intimacy to her Oscar-nominated "Let It Go." The packed house included the husband and wife songwriting team, composer Christophe Beck, directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, producer Peter Del Vecho,...
- 2/10/2014
- by Bill Desowitz
- Thompson on Hollywood
It’s still one of the most beloved movies of all time, and “The Wizard of Oz” will get a huge tribute at the 86th Academy Awards in honor of its 75th anniversary.
The 1939 flick, starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton was nominated for six Oscars back in the day, including Best Picture.
And Academy Awards producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are looking forward to giving props to a film which has stood the test of time.
They told press, "We are delighted to celebrate the birthday of one of the most beloved movies of all time at this year’s Oscars.”...
The 1939 flick, starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton was nominated for six Oscars back in the day, including Best Picture.
And Academy Awards producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are looking forward to giving props to a film which has stood the test of time.
They told press, "We are delighted to celebrate the birthday of one of the most beloved movies of all time at this year’s Oscars.”...
- 1/28/2014
- GossipCenter
After 40 years, the British-born actress who conquered Hollywood and starred in TV's Murder, She Wrote is back on the West End stage. As she approaches her 90s, she's in her theatrical prime
In the play Blithe Spirit, the wildly eccentric and chaotic clairvoyant Madame Arcati, Noël Coward's most colourful creation, announces that "time is the reef upon which all our frail mystic ships are wrecked".
No aphorism has ever applied less than this does to the actress now about to don the headscarves and bangles to play Arcati in the West End at the age of 88. Dame Angela Lansbury, ennobled earlier this month, has defied the laws of nature by becoming more theatrically prolific as her years have advanced. In 2007, she was Tony award-nominated for her role in a new Terrence McNally play, Deuce, on Broadway; in 2010, she was nominated again for a revival of Sondheim's A Little Night Music; and then,...
In the play Blithe Spirit, the wildly eccentric and chaotic clairvoyant Madame Arcati, Noël Coward's most colourful creation, announces that "time is the reef upon which all our frail mystic ships are wrecked".
No aphorism has ever applied less than this does to the actress now about to don the headscarves and bangles to play Arcati in the West End at the age of 88. Dame Angela Lansbury, ennobled earlier this month, has defied the laws of nature by becoming more theatrically prolific as her years have advanced. In 2007, she was Tony award-nominated for her role in a new Terrence McNally play, Deuce, on Broadway; in 2010, she was nominated again for a revival of Sondheim's A Little Night Music; and then,...
- 1/26/2014
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has unveiled the first three movies in the lineup for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival, including the recently restored Gone with the Wind (1939) and a presentation of The Wizard of Oz (1939) in its stunning new IMAX 3D format. Set to take place in Hollywood April 10-13, the fifth-annual edition of the festival will also include a screening of the Harold Lloyd comedy classic Why Worry? (1923), with legendary silent-film composer Carl Davis conducting the live world premiere performance of his new original score. Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz are each celebrating their 75th anniversaries in 2014.
Passes for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival are set to go on sale to the public Thursday, Nov. 14, at noon (Et). Passes can be purchased exclusively through the official festival website: http://www.tcm.com/festival. Descriptions for the first three films on the festival slate are included below.
Passes for the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival are set to go on sale to the public Thursday, Nov. 14, at noon (Et). Passes can be purchased exclusively through the official festival website: http://www.tcm.com/festival. Descriptions for the first three films on the festival slate are included below.
- 10/29/2013
- by Melissa Thompson
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Time for some wholesome fun – what are the best movies for the whole family to enjoy? From Bambi to Spirited Away, here are the Guardian and Observer critics' top 10
• Top 10 romantic movies
• Top 10 action movies
• Top 10 comedy movies
• Top 10 horror movies
• Top 10 sci-fi movies
• Top 10 crime movies
• Top 10 arthouse movies
10. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming previously collaborated on You Only Live Twice, but this feels closer to a true fusion: James Bond for juniors with a modern fairytale element. It's easy to unpick who did what: from Fleming's side you get a gadget-stuffed car, a heroine with an absurdly suggestive name (Sally Ann Howes' Truly Scrumptious), a Bond-style baddie (Gert "Goldfinger" Frobe) and a daring assault on his secret lair. It was also produced by Bond-merchant Cubby Broccoli, with sets by Ken Adam. And from Dahl's side you get empathetic children's plight (essential with two...
• Top 10 romantic movies
• Top 10 action movies
• Top 10 comedy movies
• Top 10 horror movies
• Top 10 sci-fi movies
• Top 10 crime movies
• Top 10 arthouse movies
10. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming previously collaborated on You Only Live Twice, but this feels closer to a true fusion: James Bond for juniors with a modern fairytale element. It's easy to unpick who did what: from Fleming's side you get a gadget-stuffed car, a heroine with an absurdly suggestive name (Sally Ann Howes' Truly Scrumptious), a Bond-style baddie (Gert "Goldfinger" Frobe) and a daring assault on his secret lair. It was also produced by Bond-merchant Cubby Broccoli, with sets by Ken Adam. And from Dahl's side you get empathetic children's plight (essential with two...
- 10/27/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Happy 75th birthday to one of our favorite actors, Christopher Lloyd!
The actor, who's played some of filmdom's most beloved characters, including Doc Brown in "Back to the Future," Professor Plum in "Clue," and Uncle Fester in the "Addams Family" films, was born on October 22, 1938 in Stamford, Conn.
Partly because of his height, and partly because of his manic intensity and commitment to even the wildest characters, he's portrayed a series of eccentrics, from mad scientists to aliens; had an impressive, award-winning theater career; and will always be remembered as Reverend Jim on "Taxi."
In honor of his 75th birthday, we've come up with 75 reasons why he's so awesome.
1. He's played a Klingon, a cartoon, the Wizard of Oz, an angel, a leper, and a geriatric vampire.
2. He stands an impressive 6'1."
3. Because he's so tall, he had to hunch over to appear in the same frame with "Back to the Future...
The actor, who's played some of filmdom's most beloved characters, including Doc Brown in "Back to the Future," Professor Plum in "Clue," and Uncle Fester in the "Addams Family" films, was born on October 22, 1938 in Stamford, Conn.
Partly because of his height, and partly because of his manic intensity and commitment to even the wildest characters, he's portrayed a series of eccentrics, from mad scientists to aliens; had an impressive, award-winning theater career; and will always be remembered as Reverend Jim on "Taxi."
In honor of his 75th birthday, we've come up with 75 reasons why he's so awesome.
1. He's played a Klingon, a cartoon, the Wizard of Oz, an angel, a leper, and a geriatric vampire.
2. He stands an impressive 6'1."
3. Because he's so tall, he had to hunch over to appear in the same frame with "Back to the Future...
- 10/22/2013
- by Sharon Knolle
- Moviefone
The Wizard of Oz is a film that needs no introduction (certainly not since the 70th Anniversary Edition), but the latest release is one that actually gives you a lot to talk about, mainly by way of the 3D aspect.
The hype was pretty impressive for the 3D release of the film in theaters, and if you have a 3D home option, this is probably a key film despite the lack of massive effects, but if you’re in the market at all, you also probably have a copy of this.
Of course, there is some additional bonus content (unless you’re getting the massive Collector’s Edition, and then you’re all set… reviews are unnecessary for you), and it’s actually very cool, but the majority of the special features are on that competing Blu-Ray you already own.
So, there are three big questions for the new Wizard of Oz Blu-Ray 3D.
The hype was pretty impressive for the 3D release of the film in theaters, and if you have a 3D home option, this is probably a key film despite the lack of massive effects, but if you’re in the market at all, you also probably have a copy of this.
Of course, there is some additional bonus content (unless you’re getting the massive Collector’s Edition, and then you’re all set… reviews are unnecessary for you), and it’s actually very cool, but the majority of the special features are on that competing Blu-Ray you already own.
So, there are three big questions for the new Wizard of Oz Blu-Ray 3D.
- 10/16/2013
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
So it’s a bit early, but if any motion picture deserves a year-long celebration it’s this one. This weekend, film goers are getting a true treat. The 1939 (August to be exact) classic The Wizard Of Oz is back on Imax screens and in 3D for the very first time. Sure most of you have seen it on cable TV or on home video, but an opportunity to see this gem on the big screen should not be passed up. I mean this is a film that has become a huge part of our culture . The movie itself is legendary as are the stories about its making. There’s even a feature film comedy (Under The Rainbow) that’s set backstage (but I wouldn’t consider that Chevy Chase flick a classic).
Since I’m sure you’re familiar with the plot, lets’ talk about some of the backstage stories.
Since I’m sure you’re familiar with the plot, lets’ talk about some of the backstage stories.
- 9/20/2013
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The happiest 15 minutes in the history of cinema really pop off the screen in the new 3-D IMAX conversion of "The Wizard of Oz." Those minutes, coming as Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) steps into the Technicolor wonder of the Merry Olde Land of Oz, are as giddy, goofy and gloriously kitschy as ever -- singing and dancing dwarfs, silly trilling Broadway star Billie Burke (as Glenda, the Good Witch), gorgeous primary colors in every pixel of the frame.
And thanks to 3-D and digitally cleaned-up copies of the film, the details are nothing short of stunning, even if the depth of field isn't improved much from when Victor Fleming pointed the camera at those sets 75 years ago. The sheen on the fake plants shimmers, the freckles show beneath Garland's ruby-red made-up cheeks and the stitches stand out in the burlap face of Scarecrow Ray Bolger.
Garland's wise-beyond-her-years crooning, full of...
And thanks to 3-D and digitally cleaned-up copies of the film, the details are nothing short of stunning, even if the depth of field isn't improved much from when Victor Fleming pointed the camera at those sets 75 years ago. The sheen on the fake plants shimmers, the freckles show beneath Garland's ruby-red made-up cheeks and the stitches stand out in the burlap face of Scarecrow Ray Bolger.
Garland's wise-beyond-her-years crooning, full of...
- 9/19/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Don't forget that the classic film The Wizard of Oz is coming back to theaters, but this time it will be presented for the first time in IMAX 3D, just before the 75th Anniversary Blu-Ray hits shelves shortly thereafter. Now a cool featurette has surfaced showcasing all the hard work that went into restoring the film and converting it to 3D for the best possible presentation on the giant screen. From a brief display of how the crew outlines the imagery for 3D conversion to the use of the IMAX screen, this is a fantastic look into the restoration of a classic, and shows that this experience will truly be something to behold. Watch below! Here's the cool featurette for The Wizard of Oz IMAX 3D re-release from IMAX: The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland as Dorothy, Ray Bolger as The Scarecrow, Bert Lahr as the Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Man,...
- 9/12/2013
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
With IMAX’s re-rerelease of the Warner Brothers classic The Wizard Of Oz, check out this special Behind the Frame featurette. This particular episode goes behind-the-scenes with both IMAX and Warner Brothers to shed light on the iconic classic brought back to life.
Adapted from L. Frank Baum’s timeless children’s tale about a Kansas girl’s journey over the rainbow,The Wizard of Oz™ opened at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on August 15, 1939. The film was directed by Victor Fleming (who that same year directed Gone With the Wind), produced by Mervyn LeRoy, and scored by Herbert Stothart, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Dorothy™ was portrayed by a 4’11″ sixteen-year-old girl who quickly earned her reputation as “the world’s greatest entertainer”—the incomparable Judy Garland. Ray Bolger appeared as the Scarecrow™; Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion™, Jack Haley as the Tin Man™. Frank Morgan...
Adapted from L. Frank Baum’s timeless children’s tale about a Kansas girl’s journey over the rainbow,The Wizard of Oz™ opened at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on August 15, 1939. The film was directed by Victor Fleming (who that same year directed Gone With the Wind), produced by Mervyn LeRoy, and scored by Herbert Stothart, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Dorothy™ was portrayed by a 4’11″ sixteen-year-old girl who quickly earned her reputation as “the world’s greatest entertainer”—the incomparable Judy Garland. Ray Bolger appeared as the Scarecrow™; Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion™, Jack Haley as the Tin Man™. Frank Morgan...
- 9/10/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In case you've forgotten, the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz is coming back to theaters later this month, but will be presented for the first time in IMAX 3D for just one week before the 75th Anniversary Blu-Ray hits shelves later. Now the collectible arthouse Mondo is getting in on the action with an awesome new print from Graham Erwin featuring the yellow brick road traveling quartet. The 24″x36″ screen print in an edition of 275, and unfortunately, the print has already sold out, but we thought it was still pretty cool. Plus, everyone should be remindedto see The Wizard of Oz in theaters all over again or for the first time! Here's Graham Erwin's The Wizard of Oz print for Mondo via SlashFilm: The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland as Dorothy, Ray Bolger as The Scarecrow, Bert Lahr as the Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Man, Billie Burke...
- 9/5/2013
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
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