Sun Valley, Idaho — Brian Grazer and Bobby Kotick goofed around a little bit when they ran into each other in the driveway outside the Sun Valley Lodge.
Grazer pretended to be announcing Kotick’s name in sports announcer fashion (“Bob-bee Kooo-tick”). But other than a little backslapping and mugging for a selfie by the chairman of Imagine Entertainment and the CEO of Activision Blizzard, Allen & Co. conference attendees were all business for the gathering here that brings together business moguls, tech titans and other influential figures for heady conversations about issues ranging from business to public health (a natural topic after last year’s conference was Ko’d by Covid) to immigration to climate change.
Upon arriving at the mountain resort, Allen & Co. conference-goers were directed to take a rapid Covid-19 test. That sober reminder of real-world conditions outside of this picturesque Alpine village-style setting definitely cut into the willingness...
Grazer pretended to be announcing Kotick’s name in sports announcer fashion (“Bob-bee Kooo-tick”). But other than a little backslapping and mugging for a selfie by the chairman of Imagine Entertainment and the CEO of Activision Blizzard, Allen & Co. conference attendees were all business for the gathering here that brings together business moguls, tech titans and other influential figures for heady conversations about issues ranging from business to public health (a natural topic after last year’s conference was Ko’d by Covid) to immigration to climate change.
Upon arriving at the mountain resort, Allen & Co. conference-goers were directed to take a rapid Covid-19 test. That sober reminder of real-world conditions outside of this picturesque Alpine village-style setting definitely cut into the willingness...
- 7/7/2021
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Werner Herzog collaborator Spring Films plots ambitious project.
UK documentary producer and director André Singer (The Act Of Killing) has revealed he is working on an ambitious new project about iconic former Russian statesman Mikhail Gorbachev and his role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Singer, the regular Werner Herzog collaborator who produces under the banner of London-based Spring Films, unveiled the project – titled The Enigma Of Mikhail Gorbachev – as one of the central pitches at Sunny Side Of The Doc (Ssd) on Tuesday (June 20).
The feature documentary and series will focus on Gorbachev’s six-year reign as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Cpsu) from 1985 to 1991, during which time his policies of “glasnost” (openness) and “perestroika” (restructuring) hastened the dissolution of the Soviet Union, fall of Russian-style communism and the end of the Cold War.
“There’s a surprising amount of material about Gorbachev in film but there has not been...
UK documentary producer and director André Singer (The Act Of Killing) has revealed he is working on an ambitious new project about iconic former Russian statesman Mikhail Gorbachev and his role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Singer, the regular Werner Herzog collaborator who produces under the banner of London-based Spring Films, unveiled the project – titled The Enigma Of Mikhail Gorbachev – as one of the central pitches at Sunny Side Of The Doc (Ssd) on Tuesday (June 20).
The feature documentary and series will focus on Gorbachev’s six-year reign as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Cpsu) from 1985 to 1991, during which time his policies of “glasnost” (openness) and “perestroika” (restructuring) hastened the dissolution of the Soviet Union, fall of Russian-style communism and the end of the Cold War.
“There’s a surprising amount of material about Gorbachev in film but there has not been...
- 6/20/2017
- ScreenDaily
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump sold himself as a successful businessman and deal-maker who gets things done. But former Secretary of State and White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III warns that “running a business and running the government are two entirely different functions.”
In a wide-ranging new interview with Politico, the widely respected Republican — who counts admirers from both sides of the aisle and reigned as Washington’s top backstage power broker under former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan — shares his criticisms, hopes and advice for the 45th president.
Rule No. 1: “Process matters,...
In a wide-ranging new interview with Politico, the widely respected Republican — who counts admirers from both sides of the aisle and reigned as Washington’s top backstage power broker under former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan — shares his criticisms, hopes and advice for the 45th president.
Rule No. 1: “Process matters,...
- 2/6/2017
- by Tierney McAfee
- PEOPLE.com
Fox News Channel chief Roger Ailes will make a rare appearance on CNN on June 15, when the network premieres 41ON41, a profile of President George H.W. Bush. The gimmick is that 41 people will be seen on screen, talking about Bush – including Ailes, who was a campaign advisor. And yes, the two-hour film, weaving first-person accounts of the policy decisions and personal life experiences that shaped Bush’s life and presidency, is premiering on Father’s Day — and three days after Bush celebrates his 90th birthday. The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation funded the film, which is executive produced by Bush’s former White House speechwriter Mary Kate Cary and Rick Kaplan, formerly of CNN and ABC News. The film team also includes Nancy Stern Winters and Lisa Lax at Lookalike Productions who produced and directed the film. In addition to former First Lady Barbara Bush, the film’s 41 storytellers include:...
- 6/2/2014
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
'Presidents' Gatekeepers' Sneak Peak: President Carter on His Unconventional Style (Exclusive Video)
For the first time, all 20 living White House Chiefs of Staff come together to share their previously untold stories in The Presidents' Gatekeepers, a two-night special debuting Wednesday on Discovery Channel. The four-hour special, airing at 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, spans nine administrations and 50 years. Photos: Actors Who've Played Politicians The program features exclusive interviews with former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush and chiefs of staff including Howard Baker Jr., James A. Baker III, Joshua Bolten, Erskine Bowles, Andrew Card, Dick Cheney, William M. Daley, Kenneth Duberstein, Rahm Emanuel,
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- 9/11/2013
- by Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Not surprisingly, Discovery Channel announced this morning it will roll out its documentary from the Naudet brothers, in which they interviewed every living White House Chiefs of Staff, on Sept. 11. The two hour special will air for one hour that night and one hour the next night, at 9 Pm Et/Pt. Gedeon and Jules Naudet, you’ll recall, are the young documentary filmmakers who happened to be at the right/wrong place at just the right/wrong time when Jules accompanied members of the Engine 7, Ladder 1 firehouse in Lower Manhattan to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 and shot footage of American Airlines Flight 11 hitting the north tower of the center and the complex’s collapse. (He and Gedeon were working on a docu about the firehouse at the time.) That footage became the 2002 documentary 9/11 which was aired to acclaim by CBS.This time, working with NBCUniversal’s Peacock Productions,...
- 7/17/2013
- by LISA DE MORAES, TV Columnist
- Deadline TV
Discovery Channel will focus on the men behind the U.S. presidency in its special The Gatekeepers, premiering next year. Photos: 22 of Hollywood's Best Presidents in Movies and TV Gatekeepers will take a look at the role of White House chiefs of staff, spanning at least nine administrations. Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush as well as former chiefs of staff including Rahm Emanuel, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, James Baker III, John Sununu and Mack McLarty will interview for the project. “When Discovery does history, it’s about great storytelling,” Discovery and TLC Networks Group president Eileen
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- 3/28/2012
- by Jethro Nededog
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kelly Duane de la Vega, Katie Galloway's Better This World From Pinochet and Reagan to General Butt Naked and Terrorism Paranoia: International Documentary Association Nominations Best Feature Award Better This World Directors/Producers/Writers: Katie Galloway & Kelly Duane de la Vega Producer: Mike Nicholson Executive Producers: Julie Goldman, John Battsek, Nicole Stott, Chana Ben-Dov, Sally Jo Fifer (Itvs), Simon Kilmurry (American Documentary|Pov) Loteria Films, Bullfrog Films, Cat & Docs How To Die In Oregon Director/Producer: Peter D. Richardson Executive Producers: Melody Korenbrot, Sheila Nevins (HBO) Supervising Producer: Jacqueline Glover (HBO) Associate Producers: Sophie Harris, Jordan Curnes Clearcut Productions in association with HBO Documentary Films Nostalgia For The Light Director/Writer: Patricio Guzmán Producer: Renate Sachse Atacama Productions (France), Blinker Filmproduction GmbH and Wdr (Germany), and Cronomedia Ltda. (Chile), Icarus Films The Redemption Of General Butt Naked Directors/Producers: Eric Strauss & Daniele Anastasion Executive Producers: Gregory Henry, David Shadrack Smith...
- 10/27/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
You know the motto. "If Ronnie Reagan can do it, so can any Hollywood A Lister!" Ok, maybe that's not a real motto. But from the looks of Republican candidates as of the last few decades, there's got to be a seriously similar one that those guys are running with.
For instance, back in 1988 George Hw Bush’s camp considered tapping Clint Eastwood for the vice pres position – that's according to newly released tapes aired by ABC News. In one recording, you can hear Bush’s former campaign chief and Secretary of State James Baker during a Q&A, which took place sometime after Bush had won the election, discussing the possible running mates.
The interviewer said: "[Bob] Dole, [Dan] Quayle, [Alan] Simpson, [Jack] Kemp - anyone else you remember being an important candidate?"
After a brief chuckle, Baker responded: "You don’t have Clint Eastwood - make my day."
As the interviewer laughed him off,...
For instance, back in 1988 George Hw Bush’s camp considered tapping Clint Eastwood for the vice pres position – that's according to newly released tapes aired by ABC News. In one recording, you can hear Bush’s former campaign chief and Secretary of State James Baker during a Q&A, which took place sometime after Bush had won the election, discussing the possible running mates.
The interviewer said: "[Bob] Dole, [Dan] Quayle, [Alan] Simpson, [Jack] Kemp - anyone else you remember being an important candidate?"
After a brief chuckle, Baker responded: "You don’t have Clint Eastwood - make my day."
As the interviewer laughed him off,...
- 10/15/2011
- by Ellen Thompson
- Celebsology
Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.
This Week’s New Instant Releases…
Promised Lands (1974)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Documentary
Director: Susan Sontag
Synopsis: Set in Israel during the final days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, this powerful documentary — initially barred by Israel authorities — from writer-director Susan Sontag examines divergent perceptions of the enduring Arab-Israeli clash. Weighing in on matters related to socialism, anti-Semitism, nation sovereignty and American materialism are The Last Jew writer Yoram Kaniuk and military physicist Yuval Ne’eman.
Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Barbara Sukowa, Heino Ferch, Hannah Herzsprung, Gerald Alexander Held, Lena Stolze, Sunnyi Melles
Synopsis: Directed by longtime star of independent German cinema Margarethe von Trotta, this reverent...
This Week’s New Instant Releases…
Promised Lands (1974)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Documentary
Director: Susan Sontag
Synopsis: Set in Israel during the final days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, this powerful documentary — initially barred by Israel authorities — from writer-director Susan Sontag examines divergent perceptions of the enduring Arab-Israeli clash. Weighing in on matters related to socialism, anti-Semitism, nation sovereignty and American materialism are The Last Jew writer Yoram Kaniuk and military physicist Yuval Ne’eman.
Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen (2009)
Streaming Available: 04/19/2011
Cast: Barbara Sukowa, Heino Ferch, Hannah Herzsprung, Gerald Alexander Held, Lena Stolze, Sunnyi Melles
Synopsis: Directed by longtime star of independent German cinema Margarethe von Trotta, this reverent...
- 4/20/2011
- by Travis Keune
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Countdown to Zero
Directed by Lucy Walker
2010, USA
For most people under 30, Nuclear War is kitsch. Like all the stalwart characters of the Cold War, from Mao to Chez to the Ussr, the spectre of nuclear war now seems like a silly superstition your parents believed in; something from a time with two Germanys, a 3rd World and seemingly dozens of Kennedys. The idea of large-scale war between nations is a foreign concept for most young people, and the idea that those nations could destroy most of the planet in the process now reads like a sci-fi story (or a Michael Bay movie). As such, Countdown to Zero seems at first glance to come out of nowhere, or at least out of context.
Some might anticipate a largely historical doc tracing the origins of the nuclear bomb, but Countdown is really a three-part film with a considerably greater sweep; one part nuclear history,...
Directed by Lucy Walker
2010, USA
For most people under 30, Nuclear War is kitsch. Like all the stalwart characters of the Cold War, from Mao to Chez to the Ussr, the spectre of nuclear war now seems like a silly superstition your parents believed in; something from a time with two Germanys, a 3rd World and seemingly dozens of Kennedys. The idea of large-scale war between nations is a foreign concept for most young people, and the idea that those nations could destroy most of the planet in the process now reads like a sci-fi story (or a Michael Bay movie). As such, Countdown to Zero seems at first glance to come out of nowhere, or at least out of context.
Some might anticipate a largely historical doc tracing the origins of the nuclear bomb, but Countdown is really a three-part film with a considerably greater sweep; one part nuclear history,...
- 1/13/2011
- by Mike Waldman
- SoundOnSight
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
Burlesque – Christina Aguilera, Cher
Faster – Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Maggie Grace
Love and Other Drugs – Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway
Tangled – Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Ron Perlman
Movie of the Week
Faster
The Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Maggie Grace
The Plot: An ex-con (Johnson) sets out to avenge his brother’s death.
The Buzz: Dwayne Johnson is back in straight-up action mode — after The Tooth Fairy and The Race to Witch Mountain — I was wondering if he’d ever return. Yes, Faster is certainly an action film, but it appears to be more than that; it appears to be a wildly rampaging, no-holds-barred, glorious tale of bullet-sweet vengeance. Well, that’s my gut-shot feeling anyway. Billy Bob Thornton is poised to play the perfect foil as the “slow justice” cop that stands in Johnson’s vengeful way. There are a couple solid female actresses here as well,...
Burlesque – Christina Aguilera, Cher
Faster – Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Maggie Grace
Love and Other Drugs – Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway
Tangled – Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Ron Perlman
Movie of the Week
Faster
The Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Maggie Grace
The Plot: An ex-con (Johnson) sets out to avenge his brother’s death.
The Buzz: Dwayne Johnson is back in straight-up action mode — after The Tooth Fairy and The Race to Witch Mountain — I was wondering if he’d ever return. Yes, Faster is certainly an action film, but it appears to be more than that; it appears to be a wildly rampaging, no-holds-barred, glorious tale of bullet-sweet vengeance. Well, that’s my gut-shot feeling anyway. Billy Bob Thornton is poised to play the perfect foil as the “slow justice” cop that stands in Johnson’s vengeful way. There are a couple solid female actresses here as well,...
- 11/24/2010
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
About-face: Former Bp refining chief Cynthia Warner, now president of Sapphire Energy, decided "it was better to create the key to the future than to nurse along the dying past." | Photograph by Noah Webb
Biorefinery, 2018: Sapphire Energy plans to produce renewable "green crude" from algae grown in open pools in the New Mexico desert. | Courtesy of Sapphire Energy
How a high-ranking veteran of Bp was won over by the potential of pond scum.
Cynthia Warner was in Morocco on April 20 celebrating International Earth Day, when a friend emailed her with the news: An explosion at a Bp oil well off the Louisiana coast had killed 11 men and ruptured a pipeline almost a mile underwater, sending waves of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. "My first thoughts were for the people who died and the men there witnessing it and the horror of all that," she says. "My heart sank.
Biorefinery, 2018: Sapphire Energy plans to produce renewable "green crude" from algae grown in open pools in the New Mexico desert. | Courtesy of Sapphire Energy
How a high-ranking veteran of Bp was won over by the potential of pond scum.
Cynthia Warner was in Morocco on April 20 celebrating International Earth Day, when a friend emailed her with the news: An explosion at a Bp oil well off the Louisiana coast had killed 11 men and ruptured a pipeline almost a mile underwater, sending waves of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. "My first thoughts were for the people who died and the men there witnessing it and the horror of all that," she says. "My heart sank.
- 6/18/2010
- by Anya Kamenetz
- Fast Company
Poor Joe the Plumber, persecuted by the mainstream media and meanie lefty blogs for having the affrontery, the lese majeste, to question Obama's pinkish socialist policies. Thank heaven, figuratively and literally, for the friendly hospitality of Christianity Today: A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction, where Joe can feel free to be himself and express his opinions without some CNN reporter hovering nearby with a derisive sneer snaking across her lips. Here we can hear Joe Unplugged, intellectually au naturel and heading straight down the turnpike of simple, hard-ass truth. So, Joe, what do you think of same-sex marriage? I personally still think it's wrong. People don't understand the dictionary—it's called queer. Queer means strange and unusual. It's not like a slur, like you would call a white person a honky or something like that. You know, God is pretty explicit in what we're supposed to do—what man and woman are for.
- 5/5/2009
- Vanity Fair
The Emmy awards changed the plot completely yesterday.
Nominations for TV's highest awards were announced yesterday and, for the first time, cable TV - not the traditional broadcast shows - rocked the house.
"This was the watershed breakthrough year for the Emmys," says Tom O'Neil of online awards site theenvelope.com.
"Networks like Showtime, AMC and FX didn't just get into the race - they knocked the door down!"
Dramas like "Mad Men," "Dexter" and "Damages" humbled more highly rated shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" which...
Nominations for TV's highest awards were announced yesterday and, for the first time, cable TV - not the traditional broadcast shows - rocked the house.
"This was the watershed breakthrough year for the Emmys," says Tom O'Neil of online awards site theenvelope.com.
"Networks like Showtime, AMC and FX didn't just get into the race - they knocked the door down!"
Dramas like "Mad Men," "Dexter" and "Damages" humbled more highly rated shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" which...
- 7/18/2008
- by By MICHAEL STARR
- NYPost.com
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