Wes Anderson has revealed that his next feature film project will be simpler in terms of its production scale and with a more compact cast, after his ensemble works The French Dispatch and Asteroid City.
“I have a script that we wrote right before the strike… It’s simple with three characters and totally linear and it’s, I wouldn’t say traditional because it’s very weird, but it’s more straightforward,” he said.
The director teased the details in a packed masterclass at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, which he is attending this year with his medium-length Roald Dahl adaptation, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.
Hundreds of mainly young fans queued around the block to get into event at which Anderson shared his many influences from directors like Jean-Luc Godard and Louis Malle to Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.
(Watch) Wes Anderson fans queue for Venice masterclass #Venezia80 pic.
“I have a script that we wrote right before the strike… It’s simple with three characters and totally linear and it’s, I wouldn’t say traditional because it’s very weird, but it’s more straightforward,” he said.
The director teased the details in a packed masterclass at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, which he is attending this year with his medium-length Roald Dahl adaptation, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.
Hundreds of mainly young fans queued around the block to get into event at which Anderson shared his many influences from directors like Jean-Luc Godard and Louis Malle to Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray.
(Watch) Wes Anderson fans queue for Venice masterclass #Venezia80 pic.
- 9/2/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
August 22nd marked the 37th anniversary of the release director Tobe Hooper‘s sequel to his 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. A sequel appropriately titled The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (get it Here). Many fans celebrated the film with star Bill Moseley on social media – and the occasion inspired Moseley to reminisce about the moment when he ad-libbed one of the most popular lines in the film: “Lick my plate, you dog dick!”
In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Moseley played the maniacal goofball Chop Top, who is revealed to have had a metal plate placed in his head after he received a head wound during the Vietnam War. He wrote on Facebook, “Damn, a whole lotta love for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 yesterday on the occasion of its 37th birthday! Love the movie, love the memories, love Chop Top! Funny, I’ve done so many different characters over the years,...
In The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Moseley played the maniacal goofball Chop Top, who is revealed to have had a metal plate placed in his head after he received a head wound during the Vietnam War. He wrote on Facebook, “Damn, a whole lotta love for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 yesterday on the occasion of its 37th birthday! Love the movie, love the memories, love Chop Top! Funny, I’ve done so many different characters over the years,...
- 8/24/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Now up for pre-order, Vinegar Syndrome is bringing Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 to 4K Ultra HD later this month, the film newly scanned and restored in 4K!
Pre-orders ship on or around the ship date of October 25, and you can grab the Standard Edition or the Limited Slipcase Edition from Vinegar Syndrome’s website right now.
The special limited edition hard case + slipcover (designed by Tony Stella) is limited to 10,000 units and is only available at VinegarSyndrome.com.
Special Features for the release include…
4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray Set 4K Uhd presented in High-Dynamic-Range Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative Presented with it’s original 2.0 stereo theatrical mix Brand new audio commentary with film critic Patrick Bromley Audio commentary with director Tobe Hooper Audio commentary with actors Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams and special effects makeup creator Tom Savini Audio commentary...
Pre-orders ship on or around the ship date of October 25, and you can grab the Standard Edition or the Limited Slipcase Edition from Vinegar Syndrome’s website right now.
The special limited edition hard case + slipcover (designed by Tony Stella) is limited to 10,000 units and is only available at VinegarSyndrome.com.
Special Features for the release include…
4K Ultra HD / Region A Blu-ray Set 4K Uhd presented in High-Dynamic-Range Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative Presented with it’s original 2.0 stereo theatrical mix Brand new audio commentary with film critic Patrick Bromley Audio commentary with director Tobe Hooper Audio commentary with actors Bill Moseley, Caroline Williams and special effects makeup creator Tom Savini Audio commentary...
- 10/3/2022
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
With the weather getting cooler (at least in some parts of the country) and Halloween just around the corner, it’s beginning to feel a little more like fall. And what’s better than grabbing a cup of cider, cuddling underneath your favorite blanket and watching hours and hours of movies? You’re right, nothing.
This month, HBO has a great mixture of new movies, from this summer’s sleeper hit “Elvis” to earlier-this-year’s sci-fi disaster movie “Moonfall” to a true gem of 1980s cinema, and some great spooky season starter movies.
Below you’ll find some of the very best new movies streaming on HBO Max this month.
“Elvis” Warner Bros.
There’s very little middle ground when it comes to “Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s extravagant musical biopic. Either you fall in love with its aesthetic, which depicts Elvis (as portrayed by “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood...
This month, HBO has a great mixture of new movies, from this summer’s sleeper hit “Elvis” to earlier-this-year’s sci-fi disaster movie “Moonfall” to a true gem of 1980s cinema, and some great spooky season starter movies.
Below you’ll find some of the very best new movies streaming on HBO Max this month.
“Elvis” Warner Bros.
There’s very little middle ground when it comes to “Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann’s extravagant musical biopic. Either you fall in love with its aesthetic, which depicts Elvis (as portrayed by “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood...
- 9/18/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Any horror fan knows Leatherface, and the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movies are some of the most iconic in the genre.
The original movie, released in 1974, tells the story of a group of friends who end up stranded in rural Texas, where they’re picked off one by one by a family of cannibals. The movie was a huge success, spawning multiple sequels. The franchise is still strong today, with the latest film released in Feb 2022.
Whether you like the original film or the more recent entries in the franchise, there’s no denying that the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise is some of the most iconic horror films ever made.
If you’re a fan of horror movie series, then the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” series is worth checking out.
This post will list all the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movies in chronological order, so you can watch them all and experience the series in its entirety.
The original movie, released in 1974, tells the story of a group of friends who end up stranded in rural Texas, where they’re picked off one by one by a family of cannibals. The movie was a huge success, spawning multiple sequels. The franchise is still strong today, with the latest film released in Feb 2022.
Whether you like the original film or the more recent entries in the franchise, there’s no denying that the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise is some of the most iconic horror films ever made.
If you’re a fan of horror movie series, then the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” series is worth checking out.
This post will list all the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movies in chronological order, so you can watch them all and experience the series in its entirety.
- 8/11/2022
- by Israr
- buddytv.com
Wim Wenders’ iconic vision of American alienation, starring Stanton as a weatherbeaten drifter, has held its mystery for 40 years
After almost 40 years, Wim Wenders’s Euro-Americanist masterpiece Paris, Texas feels as richly mysterious and mesmeric as ever: an outsider’s connoisseur-perspective on the US with its wailing, shuddering slide guitar by Ry Cooder which became as much of an instant classic as Ennio Morricone’s theme for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It mimicked the desolate beauty of the Texas desert and the micro-landscape of the star’s own weatherbeaten face. He was, of course, the unforgettably gaunt and haunted Harry Dean Stanton, who at 58 years old, and after a lifetime of self-effacing supporting roles, suddenly leapfrogged mere star status to become an icon.
Paris, Texas is a beautiful-looking, beautiful-sounding film, although I have to confess to being unsure about the ending (reportedly one of a number considered...
After almost 40 years, Wim Wenders’s Euro-Americanist masterpiece Paris, Texas feels as richly mysterious and mesmeric as ever: an outsider’s connoisseur-perspective on the US with its wailing, shuddering slide guitar by Ry Cooder which became as much of an instant classic as Ennio Morricone’s theme for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It mimicked the desolate beauty of the Texas desert and the micro-landscape of the star’s own weatherbeaten face. He was, of course, the unforgettably gaunt and haunted Harry Dean Stanton, who at 58 years old, and after a lifetime of self-effacing supporting roles, suddenly leapfrogged mere star status to become an icon.
Paris, Texas is a beautiful-looking, beautiful-sounding film, although I have to confess to being unsure about the ending (reportedly one of a number considered...
- 7/27/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Screenwriter and award-winning producer Cynthia Hargrave, who helped launch the careers of Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, has died due to complications from systemic scleroderma. She was 64.
With Anderson’s 1993 debut “Bottle Rocket,” Hargrave was the first producer to turn a Sundance Film Festival short into a Hollywood studio feature. Hargrave was a producer on the original short as well as the subsequent 1996 feature film of the same name, which stars Owen and Luke Wilson and has become an indie classic.
Hargrave was married to the late L.M. Kit Carson, who also produced and acted in “Bullfighter” and “Hurricane Streets.” She helped lift her husband’s projects off the ground and served as a mentor for cinematographer Enrique Chediak, composer Jan Kaczmark and a long list of below-the-line professionals.
Hargrave also produced Morgan J. Freeman’s debut feature “Hurricane Streets,” which was the first film to win three awards at Sundance,...
With Anderson’s 1993 debut “Bottle Rocket,” Hargrave was the first producer to turn a Sundance Film Festival short into a Hollywood studio feature. Hargrave was a producer on the original short as well as the subsequent 1996 feature film of the same name, which stars Owen and Luke Wilson and has become an indie classic.
Hargrave was married to the late L.M. Kit Carson, who also produced and acted in “Bullfighter” and “Hurricane Streets.” She helped lift her husband’s projects off the ground and served as a mentor for cinematographer Enrique Chediak, composer Jan Kaczmark and a long list of below-the-line professionals.
Hargrave also produced Morgan J. Freeman’s debut feature “Hurricane Streets,” which was the first film to win three awards at Sundance,...
- 6/28/2021
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Award-winning film producer Cynthia Hargrave, who produced Wes Anderson’s debut feature film, “Bottle Rocket,” passed away on June 9 from complications of systemic scleroderma. She was 64.
Hargrave was the first producer to leverage a Sundance Film Festival short film into a Hollywood studio feature with Anderson’s “Bottle Rocket” from 1993, starring Owen and Luke Wilson. In addition to producing the original short, she was a producer on the subsequent 1996 feature of the same name, now regarded as an indie classic.
“When Bob Wilson introduced me and his sons Owen, Luke, and Andrew to Kit Carson and Cynthia Hargrave thirty years ago, he introduced us to the pathway to the rest of our lives,” Anderson said in a statement. “We think of both of our old friends often and very fondly, and we send our condolences to all of Cynthia’s closest friends and family.”
Hargrave also executive produced Morgan J.
Hargrave was the first producer to leverage a Sundance Film Festival short film into a Hollywood studio feature with Anderson’s “Bottle Rocket” from 1993, starring Owen and Luke Wilson. In addition to producing the original short, she was a producer on the subsequent 1996 feature of the same name, now regarded as an indie classic.
“When Bob Wilson introduced me and his sons Owen, Luke, and Andrew to Kit Carson and Cynthia Hargrave thirty years ago, he introduced us to the pathway to the rest of our lives,” Anderson said in a statement. “We think of both of our old friends often and very fondly, and we send our condolences to all of Cynthia’s closest friends and family.”
Hargrave also executive produced Morgan J.
- 6/28/2021
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Wim Wenders’ fatalistic road movie stars Harry Dean Stanton as an amnesiac who wanders Texas in search of his lost wife. Dean Stockwell co-stars as Stanton’s estranged brother and Nastassja Kinski is Stanton’s runaway bride. Graced with a keenly literate script by L.M. Kit Carson and Sam Shepard, the film is made complete by Ry Cooder’s bluesy dust-bowl score. The film won the Palme d’Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.
The post Paris, Texas appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Paris, Texas appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 11/18/2020
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
This week, we will be looking at Wim Wenders‘ classic, ‘Paris, Texas‘ in honor of Harry Dean Stanton, who recently passed. For the genesis of Canon Of Film, you can click here.
Paris, Texas (1984)
Director: Wim Wenders
Screenplay: Sam Shepard, adapted by L.M. Kit Carson
As much as I admire the leader of the New German cinema movement of the sixties and seventies, R.W. Fassbinder, and as much as I admire, probably the best and most important director in that movement Werner Herzog, if I actually had to pick a favorite New German Director, and one of my favorite directors of all-time, it’d have to be Wim Wenders. I rank his film ‘Wings of Desire‘ among the Ten best films ever made, and all his films–even his less-than-stellar ones–all have this intuit sense to them. It’s not empathy; it’s almost spiritual. While Herzog is constantly...
Paris, Texas (1984)
Director: Wim Wenders
Screenplay: Sam Shepard, adapted by L.M. Kit Carson
As much as I admire the leader of the New German cinema movement of the sixties and seventies, R.W. Fassbinder, and as much as I admire, probably the best and most important director in that movement Werner Herzog, if I actually had to pick a favorite New German Director, and one of my favorite directors of all-time, it’d have to be Wim Wenders. I rank his film ‘Wings of Desire‘ among the Ten best films ever made, and all his films–even his less-than-stellar ones–all have this intuit sense to them. It’s not empathy; it’s almost spiritual. While Herzog is constantly...
- 9/23/2017
- by David Baruffi
- Age of the Nerd
"When I die," Harry Dean Stanton told me once, "people are going to say, 'I thought he was dead already.'" Typical Stanton – and atypically wrong. Though reports insist that the man actually has died at 91, avid moviegoers know he's always been around when we needed a Stanton fix at the movies. Hell, he made over 200 of them. His latest, ironically titled Lucky, with Stanton starring as an atheist on a spiritual journey, opens in two weeks.
Stanton was known as the quintessential character actor. He hated the phrase. "When you label something,...
Stanton was known as the quintessential character actor. He hated the phrase. "When you label something,...
- 9/16/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Harry Dean Stanton stole more scenes than most other actors even appeared in. Over his six-decade career, the late, great actor managed the improbable feat of being as recognizable from his highbrow fare (like “Paris, Texas”) as he was from his high-school movie (“Pretty in Pink”) — and that was just in the mid-‘80s.
Stanton also worked with David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, John Carpenter, and Monte Hellman, among many others; he left his indelible mark on all their movies, as he did on those who watched them. Here are some of our favorites.
Read More:Harry Dean Stanton Dies at 91 “Alien”
“Right.” Harry Dean Stanton doesn’t say much else in “Alien,” but he doesn’t need to. Along with Yaphet Kotto’s Parker, his Brett provides some much-needed levity aboard the Uscss Nostromo — it may be true that in space no one can hear you scream,...
Stanton also worked with David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, John Carpenter, and Monte Hellman, among many others; he left his indelible mark on all their movies, as he did on those who watched them. Here are some of our favorites.
Read More:Harry Dean Stanton Dies at 91 “Alien”
“Right.” Harry Dean Stanton doesn’t say much else in “Alien,” but he doesn’t need to. Along with Yaphet Kotto’s Parker, his Brett provides some much-needed levity aboard the Uscss Nostromo — it may be true that in space no one can hear you scream,...
- 9/16/2017
- by Michael Nordine, Kate Erbland, Anne Thompson, William Earl, Jude Dry and Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Chicago – He was a true renaissance man, but his unassuming persona would conceal that lofty designation. Sam Shepard was a playwright, actor, author, screenwriter and director of countless important stage and screen works. Shepard died on July 27th, 2017, of complications due to Lou Gehrig’s Disease (Als). He was 73.
Sam Shepard, American Storyteller
Photo credit: File Photo
He was born Samuel Shepard Rogers III in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and graduated high school in California. After a brief stint in college, he started his career in a traveling theater repertory company. After landing in New York City, he dropped the Rogers from his name and began to work Off Broadway. He won six Obie Awards for his stage writing, and began his screen career by penning “Me and My Brother” (1968) and “Zabriskie Point” (1970). His had a love connection with rocker Patti Smith, which led to the collaborative play “Cowboy Mouth” (1971). He...
Sam Shepard, American Storyteller
Photo credit: File Photo
He was born Samuel Shepard Rogers III in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and graduated high school in California. After a brief stint in college, he started his career in a traveling theater repertory company. After landing in New York City, he dropped the Rogers from his name and began to work Off Broadway. He won six Obie Awards for his stage writing, and began his screen career by penning “Me and My Brother” (1968) and “Zabriskie Point” (1970). His had a love connection with rocker Patti Smith, which led to the collaborative play “Cowboy Mouth” (1971). He...
- 8/3/2017
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
These fugitives on the run aren’t innocent young lovers. Still wanted for anti-war violence from years before, an ex-radical couple struggles to remain free just as their children become old enough to think for themselves. Screenwriter Naomi Foner and director Sidney Lumet’s fascinating movie is a sympathetic look at an untenable lifestyle.
Running on Empty
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1988 / Color / 1:85 enhanced widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date June 27, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Jonas Abry, Martha Plimpton, Ed Crowley, L.M. Kit Carson, Steven Hill, Augusta Dabney, David Margulies, Lynne Thigpen, Bobo Lewis, Daniel Dassin.
Cinematography: Gerry Fisher
Film Editor: Andrew Mondshein
Original Music: Tony Mottola
Written by Naomi Foner
Produced by Griffin Dunne, Amy Robinson
Directed by Sidney Lumet
1988 suddenly seems much farther in the past than it did just a few months ago. The small town high school in Running on Empty has a dedicated, classically trained music teacher on the payroll. He earns enough to afford a rather nice house. The public school system is not being undermined, with all the wealthy students going to new kinds of exclusive, alternative schools siphoning off public money. We all have our own ideas about what ‘making America great again’ means, I suppose.
It doesn’t happen any more, but we used to read about ex- radicals from the Vietnam War days surfacing to turn themselves in. Not that many were directly involved in violent acts, but some had lived for decades under assumed identities, while their wanted photos were posted down at the Post Office. Some of them tried to raise families.
“We are all outlaws in the eyes of America.
Everything they say we are, we are.
. . . And we are very proud of ourselves.”
— The Jefferson Airplane
Naomi Foner’s Running on Empty is basically a ‘what comes next?’ chapter in the lives of former political public enemies like The Weather Underground. An unusual family is on the lam. The parents are militant radicals from the Nixon years, who went underground when one of their bombs maimed a janitor. Now they are nearing their forties, and must move from town to town whenever they think the Feds have picked up their trail. The couple chose their life and has accepted the consequences, but where does that leave their growing children, who are likewise forced to live like gypsies under assumed names?
I should think that this good movie would have a tough time in today’s market. If the online mob harps on Wonder Woman for promoting non-traditional values, what would they make of a movie ‘glorifying terrorism?’ Half of America still wants to see Jane Fonda strung up by her thumbs, and death threats for ‘enemies’ singled out on the web are now routine. Our channels of information are so jammed with stories elbowing each other for attention, I don’t think anybody could rouse the general public to even consider the problems of this kind of fugitive. Who has time for scurrilous pleas for sympathy for ‘undeserving’ people, when the public responds better to patriotic pieces about veterans . . . or cute animals?
Always watching for signs of F.B.I. surveillance, young Danny Pope (River Phoenix) alerts the rest of his family through pre-arranged signals. Annie and Arthur Pope (Christine Lahti & Judd Hirsch) abandon their jobs, their belongings and even their dog and flee to a new state with Danny and their other son Harry (Jonas Abry). With new identities they start new lives. Arthur and Annie find off-the-books employment as a cook and a medical receptionist and the boys are enrolled in school with ‘previous transcripts on the way.’ We see the unusual preparations that must be made, with secret arrangements so that any family member can alert the others if they’re found out; we also see that the family is supported to some degree by a network of post-radical (or still radical?) sympathizers, such as a doctor (David Marguiles) who tends to political fugitives. But the Popes are cut off from their own families. Annie’s disapproving father (Steven Hill) can only see her in an extraordinary circumstance arranged by a third party. Potential trouble comes when former comrade Gus Winant (L.M. Kit Carson) drops by. He’d like to sleep with his old flame Annie, and is carrying guns in the assumption that Arthur will agree to rob a bank with him. But a more troubling problem is closer to home. Young Danny has inherited his mother’s musical talent, and his teacher Mr. Phillips (Ed Crowley) is encouraging him to apply to Julliard in New York. Danny is also stuck on Phillips’ teenage daughter Lorna (Martha Plimpton), a girl to whom he might be ready to commit. As far as Arthur is concerned, Danny can’t do any of those things because his first duty is to help his family in the undercover life. Annie doesn’t know what to do. If she leaves her son behind, she may never see him again.
Practically speaking, Running on Empty will only play well to a certain segment of the public. Are you the kind that sympathizes with draft deserters that fled to Canada, or the kind that wants to hand them long terms in prison? The Popes aren’t victims of injustice, at least not directly; they knew what they were doing when they went militant, and the injuries they caused can’t simply be dismissed as youthful idealism. They are also hopelessly associated with fanatics they inspired, like the Sla. And there’s no statute of limitations on armed insurrection. I think almost all of the radical fugitives that went underground are now accounted for. Some served prison time and others got off because courtroom prosecutions would reveal or publicize the government’s own illegal doings. Running on Empty dramatizes what might have been reality for just a few of these ‘outlaws in the eyes of America.’ Some radicals reportedly found it easy to live undetected while still on various Most Wanted lists. Others found ways to turn themselves in, square themselves with the authorities and re-commence academic lives interrupted years before to oppose the government. *
Running on Empty is a fascinating show, with a cast that clearly had to work hard to make their characters believable. Christine Lahti puts up with her bossy, security-minded husband. He himself gets drunk one night and starts shouting his real name loud enough to wake the neighbors. Judd Hirsch and director Lumet know that these can’t be ordinary people. He doesn’t try to make them Ozzie and Harriet types, somehow (sniff!) trapped by their youthful mistakes. No, they’re still promoting various Union and social justice causes here and there, although Arthur must back away whenever he becomes visible enough to appear in a news photo. Every year they celebrate a birthday to Sam, the man struck by their bomb. It’s not a joke, but a ritual so they won’t forget their crime.
At the center of the movie is the cult actor River Phoenix, who graduated briefly to good roles after his appearance as an adolescent space voyager in the fantasy film Explorers. Phoenix is excellent as Danny, a kid raised to never let down his guard. The show begins with Danny detecting a plainclothes tail and executing what must be ‘escape plan 9.’ The family is out of town in a matter of minutes. Danny’s a sensitive, smart guy. If he plays by the rules, he must keep himself a complete mystery to his new girlfriend Lorna. The boy is committed to his family, but feels the pull to go off on his own, where a decent future awaits. In a way, it’s not a situation wholly unique to these former radicals. This must happen all the time when someone breaks away from a strongly structured family, or a religious cult.
The movie’s tension level doubles when Danny takes the forbidden step of telling Lorna everything. How many of us living normal lives (well, reasonably normal lives) could trust our sweethearts with such a volatile secret: “I and my whole family are fugitives from justice. Anybody helping us is a potential accomplice. Just by letting you know, I’m putting you in legal jeopardy. Will you turn me in, or become a criminal with me?”
At this age Martha Plimpton might remind one of a teenage Lauren Bacall. A survivor of Goonies, she is featured in what I think is the best Cannon film, Shy People. Plimpton and Phoenix have several worthy melodramatic romantic scenes to play, and they’re excellent together.
With the ace director Sidney Lumet in charge the strange relationships seem credible, even when the flaky, reckless Gus Winant breezes through. The former radical patriot is now nothing but an outlaw bum. In a nice choice, Gus is played by L.M. Kit Carson, the original fake counterculture hero in the classic experimental faux-documentary David Holzman’s Diary. With dangerous idiots like Gus on the loose, the Popes can’t even consider themselves part of a noble creed. Some of their old colleagues are indeed armed and dangerous.
I don’t think the Popes would stand a chance of evading the cops in today’s security state. One can no longer simply find the name of a dead infant and apply for a new birth certificate and passport. The Popes aren’t hiding in a shack in the woods, but are out and about in the public, working and rubbing elbows with schools and doctors. I guess that back in the 1980s Arthur could become a cook and Annie a receptionist without references, but it’s less likely now, when one can’t buy bubble gum without leaving a data trail. Traffic and security surveillance cameras are now everywhere. Billions of smart-phone photos are taken at public gatherings, and routinely posted on the web. A high-level security agency could be (is?) scanning the web with face recognition software.
Sidney Lumet wrote that his movies Running on Empty and Daniel had the same theme: “Who pays for the passion and commitment of the parents?” This is an even-handed and insightful drama. Lumet made a wide range of great entertainments, and some of the best- ever ‘New York Jewish Liberal Movies.’ He’s also one of the few directors who could take on fundamentally controversial material like this, and continue to maintain a busy career.
The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray of Running on Empty is a good encoding of what was already a very good Wac Mod disc from just two years ago. The improved picture and sound reveals the expected quality of a top Sidney Lumet product. The small town we see is very attractive, a political landscape completely different from the corporate/banking rapacious wasteland of last year’s Hell or High Water. ‘Radicals unselfishly trying to stop a war in 1971’ is still anathema, while Mr. and Mrs. U.S.A. now considers it justifiable for ‘radicals to selfishly try to rescue their ruined finances.’
Madonna is on the soundtrack for a scene in Daniel’s music class. The final James Taylor song Fire and Rain works extremely well in context: “. . . and I always thought that I’d see you again.”
On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,
Running on Empty Blu-ray rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: none
Deaf and Hearing Impaired Friendly? Yes; Subtitles: English (feature only)
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: June 21, 2017
(5451empt)
* I remember a major case from 2001. A radical who had evaded capture for thirty years finalized arrangements to turn herself in, after a delicate negotiation aimed at running her quietly through the legal system to let her get on with her life. She was reportedly not personally responsible for any violent acts, and under her assumed identity had worked for decades in a socially productive job. I followed her story for a couple of days in the newspaper . . . and then 9/11 happened. In the storm of security-minded post-attack chaos that followed, her story thread just vanished from the media-scape. I don’t have a clue what happened to her next. The timing couldn’t possibly have been worse for a former Enemy of the State.
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Text © Copyright 2017 Glenn Erickson...
Running on Empty
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1988 / Color / 1:85 enhanced widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date June 27, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Christine Lahti, River Phoenix, Judd Hirsch, Jonas Abry, Martha Plimpton, Ed Crowley, L.M. Kit Carson, Steven Hill, Augusta Dabney, David Margulies, Lynne Thigpen, Bobo Lewis, Daniel Dassin.
Cinematography: Gerry Fisher
Film Editor: Andrew Mondshein
Original Music: Tony Mottola
Written by Naomi Foner
Produced by Griffin Dunne, Amy Robinson
Directed by Sidney Lumet
1988 suddenly seems much farther in the past than it did just a few months ago. The small town high school in Running on Empty has a dedicated, classically trained music teacher on the payroll. He earns enough to afford a rather nice house. The public school system is not being undermined, with all the wealthy students going to new kinds of exclusive, alternative schools siphoning off public money. We all have our own ideas about what ‘making America great again’ means, I suppose.
It doesn’t happen any more, but we used to read about ex- radicals from the Vietnam War days surfacing to turn themselves in. Not that many were directly involved in violent acts, but some had lived for decades under assumed identities, while their wanted photos were posted down at the Post Office. Some of them tried to raise families.
“We are all outlaws in the eyes of America.
Everything they say we are, we are.
. . . And we are very proud of ourselves.”
— The Jefferson Airplane
Naomi Foner’s Running on Empty is basically a ‘what comes next?’ chapter in the lives of former political public enemies like The Weather Underground. An unusual family is on the lam. The parents are militant radicals from the Nixon years, who went underground when one of their bombs maimed a janitor. Now they are nearing their forties, and must move from town to town whenever they think the Feds have picked up their trail. The couple chose their life and has accepted the consequences, but where does that leave their growing children, who are likewise forced to live like gypsies under assumed names?
I should think that this good movie would have a tough time in today’s market. If the online mob harps on Wonder Woman for promoting non-traditional values, what would they make of a movie ‘glorifying terrorism?’ Half of America still wants to see Jane Fonda strung up by her thumbs, and death threats for ‘enemies’ singled out on the web are now routine. Our channels of information are so jammed with stories elbowing each other for attention, I don’t think anybody could rouse the general public to even consider the problems of this kind of fugitive. Who has time for scurrilous pleas for sympathy for ‘undeserving’ people, when the public responds better to patriotic pieces about veterans . . . or cute animals?
Always watching for signs of F.B.I. surveillance, young Danny Pope (River Phoenix) alerts the rest of his family through pre-arranged signals. Annie and Arthur Pope (Christine Lahti & Judd Hirsch) abandon their jobs, their belongings and even their dog and flee to a new state with Danny and their other son Harry (Jonas Abry). With new identities they start new lives. Arthur and Annie find off-the-books employment as a cook and a medical receptionist and the boys are enrolled in school with ‘previous transcripts on the way.’ We see the unusual preparations that must be made, with secret arrangements so that any family member can alert the others if they’re found out; we also see that the family is supported to some degree by a network of post-radical (or still radical?) sympathizers, such as a doctor (David Marguiles) who tends to political fugitives. But the Popes are cut off from their own families. Annie’s disapproving father (Steven Hill) can only see her in an extraordinary circumstance arranged by a third party. Potential trouble comes when former comrade Gus Winant (L.M. Kit Carson) drops by. He’d like to sleep with his old flame Annie, and is carrying guns in the assumption that Arthur will agree to rob a bank with him. But a more troubling problem is closer to home. Young Danny has inherited his mother’s musical talent, and his teacher Mr. Phillips (Ed Crowley) is encouraging him to apply to Julliard in New York. Danny is also stuck on Phillips’ teenage daughter Lorna (Martha Plimpton), a girl to whom he might be ready to commit. As far as Arthur is concerned, Danny can’t do any of those things because his first duty is to help his family in the undercover life. Annie doesn’t know what to do. If she leaves her son behind, she may never see him again.
Practically speaking, Running on Empty will only play well to a certain segment of the public. Are you the kind that sympathizes with draft deserters that fled to Canada, or the kind that wants to hand them long terms in prison? The Popes aren’t victims of injustice, at least not directly; they knew what they were doing when they went militant, and the injuries they caused can’t simply be dismissed as youthful idealism. They are also hopelessly associated with fanatics they inspired, like the Sla. And there’s no statute of limitations on armed insurrection. I think almost all of the radical fugitives that went underground are now accounted for. Some served prison time and others got off because courtroom prosecutions would reveal or publicize the government’s own illegal doings. Running on Empty dramatizes what might have been reality for just a few of these ‘outlaws in the eyes of America.’ Some radicals reportedly found it easy to live undetected while still on various Most Wanted lists. Others found ways to turn themselves in, square themselves with the authorities and re-commence academic lives interrupted years before to oppose the government. *
Running on Empty is a fascinating show, with a cast that clearly had to work hard to make their characters believable. Christine Lahti puts up with her bossy, security-minded husband. He himself gets drunk one night and starts shouting his real name loud enough to wake the neighbors. Judd Hirsch and director Lumet know that these can’t be ordinary people. He doesn’t try to make them Ozzie and Harriet types, somehow (sniff!) trapped by their youthful mistakes. No, they’re still promoting various Union and social justice causes here and there, although Arthur must back away whenever he becomes visible enough to appear in a news photo. Every year they celebrate a birthday to Sam, the man struck by their bomb. It’s not a joke, but a ritual so they won’t forget their crime.
At the center of the movie is the cult actor River Phoenix, who graduated briefly to good roles after his appearance as an adolescent space voyager in the fantasy film Explorers. Phoenix is excellent as Danny, a kid raised to never let down his guard. The show begins with Danny detecting a plainclothes tail and executing what must be ‘escape plan 9.’ The family is out of town in a matter of minutes. Danny’s a sensitive, smart guy. If he plays by the rules, he must keep himself a complete mystery to his new girlfriend Lorna. The boy is committed to his family, but feels the pull to go off on his own, where a decent future awaits. In a way, it’s not a situation wholly unique to these former radicals. This must happen all the time when someone breaks away from a strongly structured family, or a religious cult.
The movie’s tension level doubles when Danny takes the forbidden step of telling Lorna everything. How many of us living normal lives (well, reasonably normal lives) could trust our sweethearts with such a volatile secret: “I and my whole family are fugitives from justice. Anybody helping us is a potential accomplice. Just by letting you know, I’m putting you in legal jeopardy. Will you turn me in, or become a criminal with me?”
At this age Martha Plimpton might remind one of a teenage Lauren Bacall. A survivor of Goonies, she is featured in what I think is the best Cannon film, Shy People. Plimpton and Phoenix have several worthy melodramatic romantic scenes to play, and they’re excellent together.
With the ace director Sidney Lumet in charge the strange relationships seem credible, even when the flaky, reckless Gus Winant breezes through. The former radical patriot is now nothing but an outlaw bum. In a nice choice, Gus is played by L.M. Kit Carson, the original fake counterculture hero in the classic experimental faux-documentary David Holzman’s Diary. With dangerous idiots like Gus on the loose, the Popes can’t even consider themselves part of a noble creed. Some of their old colleagues are indeed armed and dangerous.
I don’t think the Popes would stand a chance of evading the cops in today’s security state. One can no longer simply find the name of a dead infant and apply for a new birth certificate and passport. The Popes aren’t hiding in a shack in the woods, but are out and about in the public, working and rubbing elbows with schools and doctors. I guess that back in the 1980s Arthur could become a cook and Annie a receptionist without references, but it’s less likely now, when one can’t buy bubble gum without leaving a data trail. Traffic and security surveillance cameras are now everywhere. Billions of smart-phone photos are taken at public gatherings, and routinely posted on the web. A high-level security agency could be (is?) scanning the web with face recognition software.
Sidney Lumet wrote that his movies Running on Empty and Daniel had the same theme: “Who pays for the passion and commitment of the parents?” This is an even-handed and insightful drama. Lumet made a wide range of great entertainments, and some of the best- ever ‘New York Jewish Liberal Movies.’ He’s also one of the few directors who could take on fundamentally controversial material like this, and continue to maintain a busy career.
The Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray of Running on Empty is a good encoding of what was already a very good Wac Mod disc from just two years ago. The improved picture and sound reveals the expected quality of a top Sidney Lumet product. The small town we see is very attractive, a political landscape completely different from the corporate/banking rapacious wasteland of last year’s Hell or High Water. ‘Radicals unselfishly trying to stop a war in 1971’ is still anathema, while Mr. and Mrs. U.S.A. now considers it justifiable for ‘radicals to selfishly try to rescue their ruined finances.’
Madonna is on the soundtrack for a scene in Daniel’s music class. The final James Taylor song Fire and Rain works extremely well in context: “. . . and I always thought that I’d see you again.”
On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor,
Running on Empty Blu-ray rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: none
Deaf and Hearing Impaired Friendly? Yes; Subtitles: English (feature only)
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: June 21, 2017
(5451empt)
* I remember a major case from 2001. A radical who had evaded capture for thirty years finalized arrangements to turn herself in, after a delicate negotiation aimed at running her quietly through the legal system to let her get on with her life. She was reportedly not personally responsible for any violent acts, and under her assumed identity had worked for decades in a socially productive job. I followed her story for a couple of days in the newspaper . . . and then 9/11 happened. In the storm of security-minded post-attack chaos that followed, her story thread just vanished from the media-scape. I don’t have a clue what happened to her next. The timing couldn’t possibly have been worse for a former Enemy of the State.
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- 6/23/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
Lineup Announcements
– Cardiff Animation Nights will be returning to run a dedicated animation strand at Cardiff Independent Film Festival (C.I.F.F.) for a second year this May. This year’s animation strand at C.I.F.F. will comprise three programs of animated short films in competition for the Best Animation Award, as well as an Animated Family Shorts program curated by renowned Cardiff-based studio Cloth Cat Animation, networking events, and an Animation Quiz run by the team at Skwigly Animation Magazine.
The competition program features animated short films from across Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Australia, including Mikey Hill’s The Orchestra, Anete Melece’s Analysis Paralysis, Chris Shepherd’s Johnno’s Dead, Ross Hogg’s Life Cycles and Alois Di Leo’s Way of Giants.
Lineup Announcements
– Cardiff Animation Nights will be returning to run a dedicated animation strand at Cardiff Independent Film Festival (C.I.F.F.) for a second year this May. This year’s animation strand at C.I.F.F. will comprise three programs of animated short films in competition for the Best Animation Award, as well as an Animated Family Shorts program curated by renowned Cardiff-based studio Cloth Cat Animation, networking events, and an Animation Quiz run by the team at Skwigly Animation Magazine.
The competition program features animated short films from across Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Australia, including Mikey Hill’s The Orchestra, Anete Melece’s Analysis Paralysis, Chris Shepherd’s Johnno’s Dead, Ross Hogg’s Life Cycles and Alois Di Leo’s Way of Giants.
- 4/13/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Here you have another Scream Factory title, which will be judged a little harsher than usual. MGM recently released its own Blu-ray version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and for the most part, it was just fine. In addition to the MGM Region A release, there was also an Arrow Video-released Region B Blu-ray, which most fans have considered the “definitive edition” until now. I have nothing but respect for Arrow Video. They are basically the Criterion of B-movies right now. But I think this new TCM Blu-ray may just trump their excellent release, at least ever-so-slightly in the Pq department. As for the movie itself, I’m a big fan, always have been. I know it’s a divisive title among fans because it abandoned the relentlessly terrifying tone of the first movie, and opted for a more humorous approach, but it’s utterly fascinating. That opening scene is...
- 4/23/2016
- by Shawn Savage
- The Liberal Dead
Recognizing that it’s more than likely an unpopular opinion, I need to come clean and confess that I prefer Tobe Hooper’s 1986 sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, to its predecessor, which I’m also quick to point out is an unparalleled masterpiece of the genre. This has everything to do with personal taste. Tobe Hooper is one of my favorite filmmakers of all-time, and while I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen his 1974 classic, I probably revisit Part 2 every year. It’s one of my very favorite horror movies.
The third film in a trilogy Hooper made for Cannon Films in the 1980s (the other two being the brilliantly bonkers Lifeforce and Hooper’s remake of Invaders From Mars, released just a couple of months before TCM2 in ’86), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 was the movie the director had to...
The third film in a trilogy Hooper made for Cannon Films in the 1980s (the other two being the brilliantly bonkers Lifeforce and Hooper’s remake of Invaders From Mars, released just a couple of months before TCM2 in ’86), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 was the movie the director had to...
- 4/21/2016
- by Patrick Bromley
- DailyDead
This third week of April has some exciting home entertainment offerings for us genre fans, including the special edition releases of two cult classics I adore, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and The Stuff. An indie film I’ve been hearing about for a while now, Grimewave, also makes its way to DVD this Tuesday and while it may not be traditional horror, Oscar-winner The Revenant certainly has enough badassery contained within its cinematic frames to be worthy of mentioning this week, and it arrives on both Blu-ray and DVD on April 19th.
Other notable releases this week include Smothered (which features a ton of horror icons and was directed by John Schneider of Smallville and Dukes of Hazzard fame), 15 Till Midnight, Classroom 6, Ip Man 3, German Angst and She Wolf Rising.
Grimewave (Wild Eye Raw, DVD)
When the legendary, unstoppable serial killer Cfk stumbles upon a drug deal, he accidentally...
Other notable releases this week include Smothered (which features a ton of horror icons and was directed by John Schneider of Smallville and Dukes of Hazzard fame), 15 Till Midnight, Classroom 6, Ip Man 3, German Angst and She Wolf Rising.
Grimewave (Wild Eye Raw, DVD)
When the legendary, unstoppable serial killer Cfk stumbles upon a drug deal, he accidentally...
- 4/19/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Scream Factory pays tribute to the Sawyer family on April 19th with their Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and we’ve been provided with three copies to give away to Daily Dead readers.
————
Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Collector’s Edition Blu-ray copy of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on April 22nd. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.
————
From the Press Release: “The buzzz is back! On April 19, 2016, Scream Factory will release The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 [Collector’s Edition] in a comprehensive 2-disc...
————
Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Collector’s Edition Blu-ray copy of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on April 22nd. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.
————
From the Press Release: “The buzzz is back! On April 19, 2016, Scream Factory will release The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 [Collector’s Edition] in a comprehensive 2-disc...
- 4/16/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Scream Factory celebrates the upcoming 30th anniversary of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in style on Tuesday with their Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of the beloved sequel, and we have a clip and a trailer that tease the film’s high-def makeover, as well as a look at the new episode of Horror’s Hallowed Grounds that is included in the bonus features.
From the Press Release: “The buzzz is back! On April 19, 2016, Scream Factory will release The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 [Collector’s Edition] in a comprehensive 2-disc set with 10 hours of bonus features, including nearly 5 hours of exclusive content.
In 1974, horror fans rejoiced upon the release of Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The movie raised the stakes of in-your-face filmmaking and changed the face of horror. Twelve years later, Hooper and the Sawyer clan are back with this deviously entertaining sequel, starring Dennis Hopper in one of...
From the Press Release: “The buzzz is back! On April 19, 2016, Scream Factory will release The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 [Collector’s Edition] in a comprehensive 2-disc set with 10 hours of bonus features, including nearly 5 hours of exclusive content.
In 1974, horror fans rejoiced upon the release of Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The movie raised the stakes of in-your-face filmmaking and changed the face of horror. Twelve years later, Hooper and the Sawyer clan are back with this deviously entertaining sequel, starring Dennis Hopper in one of...
- 4/16/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Herzog: Ecstatic Truths, a retrospective dedicated to Werner Herzog's documentary work, will be running on Mubi in the United States from March 31 - May 20, 2016. It will be followed by Herzog: Ecstatic Fictions, devoted to the director's fictional features.“The collapse of the stellar universe will occur – like creation – in grandiose splendor." In white letters sharply defined against a black screen, Blaise Pascal’s famous quote fittingly opens Lessons of Darkness (1992), Werner Herzog’s spectacular documentary about ecological disaster and the Gulf War. I say fittingly because the quote is fake (it was fabricated by Herzog to direct his audience to engage on a very “high level” before the movie even properly begins) and because Lessons of Darkness, for all its profundity, isn’t exactly a true documentary, either. It is, however, exemplary of Herzog's nonfiction style.Werner Herzog’s fame has been focused on his feature-length fiction films since...
- 3/31/2016
- by Ben Simington
- MUBI
Decades before Shia LeBeouf transformed from blockbuster actor into head-scratching performance-art weirdo and Joaquin Phoenix grew a beard for a mockumentary about his career as a rapper, Dennis Hopper explored his own mythos in a unique documentary that is now getting a new life.
Fresh off the breakout success of his 1969 directorial debut Easy Rider, the filmmaker attempted to repeat the feat with The Last Movie – a picture about a film crew member who stays in a Peruvian village after a shoot and attempts to prevent locals from reenacting the movie's dangerous stunts.
Fresh off the breakout success of his 1969 directorial debut Easy Rider, the filmmaker attempted to repeat the feat with The Last Movie – a picture about a film crew member who stays in a Peruvian village after a shoot and attempts to prevent locals from reenacting the movie's dangerous stunts.
- 3/29/2016
- Rollingstone.com
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and to celebrate, Scream Factory revealed the release details for their upcoming Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of the sequel, which includes nearly five hours of new bonus features content:
Press Release: The buzzz is back! On April 19, 2016, Scream Factory will release The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 [Collector’s Edition] in a comprehensive 2-disc set with 10 hours of bonus features, including nearly 5 hours of exclusive content.
In 1974, horror fans rejoiced upon the release of Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The movie raised the stakes of in-your-face filmmaking and changed the face of horror. Twelve years later, Hooper and the Sawyer clan are back with this deviously entertaining sequel, starring Dennis Hopper in one of the most deliciously crazed performances of his career.
For a decade, Texas Ranger Lefty Enright (Hopper) has sought to avenge the brutal...
Press Release: The buzzz is back! On April 19, 2016, Scream Factory will release The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 [Collector’s Edition] in a comprehensive 2-disc set with 10 hours of bonus features, including nearly 5 hours of exclusive content.
In 1974, horror fans rejoiced upon the release of Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The movie raised the stakes of in-your-face filmmaking and changed the face of horror. Twelve years later, Hooper and the Sawyer clan are back with this deviously entertaining sequel, starring Dennis Hopper in one of the most deliciously crazed performances of his career.
For a decade, Texas Ranger Lefty Enright (Hopper) has sought to avenge the brutal...
- 3/10/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
All this month, Mubi is presenting the exclusive worldwide online debut of L.M. Kit Carson and Lawrence Schiller’s 1971 documentary The American Dreamer, a fascinating and revelatory portrait of Dennis Hopper during the making of his legendary folly The Last Movie.For the film’s theatrical screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco and Austin, Mondo creative director Jay Shaw designed a new poster for the film:When we were asked to create a poster for The American Dreamer I was instantly overwhelmed. I’ve seen the film several times and absolutely love it. It’s a candid and endearing portrait of Dennis Hopper’s maniacal creative process. Lawrence Schiller, the film’s [co-] director and acclaimed photojournalist, sent a collection of photographs he’d taken during production back in 1971. When I saw these wonderful photos I realized there was nothing we’d be able to illustrate that would capture the...
- 2/19/2016
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
Mubi is exclusively presenting the global online premiere of L.M. Kit Carson and Lawrence Schiller's cult documentary The American Dreamer, starring Dennis Hopper. Shot during the drug-and-orgy fueled making of The Last Movie, the legendary follow-up to Hopper's debut movie Easy Rider, Hopper stars as himself: a new kind of Hollywood—and American—icon. The American Dreamer is playing on Mubi through March 12, 2016. For more about the film, read Mike Opal's exploration on the Notebook.
- 2/12/2016
- by Notebook
- MUBI
L.M. Kit Carson and Lawrence Schiller's The American Dreamer (1971) is exclusively playing on Mubi through March 12, 2016.Photo by Lawrence SchillerWith a budget of $1 million, 1971's The Last Movie is the cheapest film ever to be considered a major folly. Tugging on his beard and watching a rough cut, Dennis Hopper prepares for his new project's inevitable critical disemboweling. He knows, after all, that among many delirious and noxious (though often brilliant) self-referential shenanigans it features a gigantic breast ejaculating milk onto Hopper's own receptive face. With self-aggrandizing irony (or is that ironic self-aggrandizement?), Hopper aspires to Orson Welles's career trajectory: "I can become Orson Welles, poor bastard." He declares his debut, 1969's Easy Rider, his Citizen Kane and The Last Movie his The Magnificent Ambersons. Nevertheless, the response to The Last Movie scared him away from directing for nearly a decade, rather than duplicating Welles's indomitable retreat to self-,...
- 2/11/2016
- by Mike Opal
- MUBI
In today's roundup: Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver at 40, a personal history of Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket, an appreciation of Miguel Gomes's Arabian Nights, another on Moussa Touré's The Pirogue, revisiting Cecil B. DeMille's The Cheat, Alex Ross Perry on Dennis Hopper in Lawrence Schiller and L.M. Kit Carson's The American Dreamer, Nicole Brenez on Jocelyne Saab, J. Hoberman on Richard Lester, Jonathan Rosenbaum on Tran Anh Hung's The Scent of Green Papaya, Daniel Kasman on Michael Bay, Stuart Klawans on Amos Gitai’s Rabin, the Last Day and Joseph Dorman and Oren Rudavsky's Colliding Dreams, Soraya Roberts on Winona Ryder, Matt Thrift on Robert De Niro—and much, much more. » - David Hudson...
- 2/9/2016
- Keyframe
In today's roundup: Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver at 40, a personal history of Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket, an appreciation of Miguel Gomes's Arabian Nights, another on Moussa Touré's The Pirogue, revisiting Cecil B. DeMille's The Cheat, Alex Ross Perry on Dennis Hopper in Lawrence Schiller and L.M. Kit Carson's The American Dreamer, Nicole Brenez on Jocelyne Saab, J. Hoberman on Richard Lester, Jonathan Rosenbaum on Tran Anh Hung's The Scent of Green Papaya, Daniel Kasman on Michael Bay, Stuart Klawans on Amos Gitai’s Rabin, the Last Day and Joseph Dorman and Oren Rudavsky's Colliding Dreams, Soraya Roberts on Winona Ryder, Matt Thrift on Robert De Niro—and much, much more. » - David Hudson...
- 2/9/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
★★★☆☆ Lawrence Schiller and L.M. Kit Carson could hardly have better timed their thirty-day intersection with Dennis Hopper that formed the raw materials of the quasi-documentary The American Dreamer. They caught Hopper fresh from Easy Rider when he was a generational icon, high on his success - and just plain high - and boldly attempting to establish a reputation as a serious filmmaker. The film was shot and edited in early 1971, in the eye of the New Hollywood storm, but never received a release beyond as companion piece to Hopper's Easy Rider follow-up The Last Picture.
- 2/8/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Dennis Hopper’s fleeting success with Easy Rider in the late sixties famously came undone with his 1971 follow-up, The Last Movie. A critical and commercial failure, the rambling, chaotic nature on screen mirrored that of the behind-the-scenes production. Into the fray came directors Lawrence Schiller and L.M. Kit Carson, who captured an unbalanced and tormented
The post Interview With The American Dreamer Co-director Lawrence Schiller appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The post Interview With The American Dreamer Co-director Lawrence Schiller appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 2/5/2016
- by Adam Lowes
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Rushes collects news, articles, images, videos and more for a weekly roundup of essential items from the world of film.NEWSThe big news in Hollywood is that "the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has approved a series of major changes, in terms of voting and recruitment, also adding three new seats to the 51-person board — all part of a goal to double the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020. The changes were approved by the board Thursday night in an emergency meeting," Variety reports. A major step, certainly, but we've still to see what the results will be. And certainly Academy membership does little to alter what kinds of movies get produced and by whom.Charles Silver, the head of the Museum of Modern Art's Film Study Center, passed away last week. IndieWire is running an homage by Laurence Kardish, a former MoMA film curator:"Perhaps,...
- 1/27/2016
- by Notebook
- MUBI
There are few Hollywood icons that are both as magnetic and enigmatic as the late, great Dennis Hopper. And while there are plenty of ways for you to dive into the work of the actor, director, and artist, a newly rediscovered documentary has arrived that offers a window into one of the most fascinating periods of Hopper's life. Read More: The 10 Best Dennis Hopper Performances Directed by Lawrence Schiller and L.M. Kit Carson, "The American Friend" drops in on Hopper as he assembles his infamous "The Last Movie," a film which found Hopper battling a troubled production and his own demons in trying to complete it. The documentary is a look at Hopper during one of the most curious periods of life, and largely unseen for years, "The American Dream" is now going to be much more widely available. “Journeying to New Mexico with Kit to make 'The American Dreamer...
- 1/25/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Shot in the wake of Dennis Hopper’s breakout hit, Easy Rider, and as he was about the embark on his personal – and disastrous – project The Last Movie, Lawrence Schiller and Kit Carson’s 1971 study of the film-maker, The American Dreamer, has been little-seen over the past 45 years. The film captures Hopper, and the country in which he lives, at a key turning point in their histories. Proceeds from the release of the film will benefit the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis
The American Dreamer is released in UK cinemas on 5 February and on Mubi on 12 February and in select Us cinemas the same month Continue reading...
The American Dreamer is released in UK cinemas on 5 February and on Mubi on 12 February and in select Us cinemas the same month Continue reading...
- 1/22/2016
- by Guardian Staff
- The Guardian - Film News
There have been few names to enter the film landscape quite like the late-thespian/enfant terrible Dennis Hopper. Best known for directing and helping write the iconic New Hollywood masterpiece Easy Rider, Hopper began his career starring in various TV series until hitting big screens with pictures like Rebel Without A Cause, Giant and eventually Night Tide, a film that would become a calling card for the actor and a movement of surrealist filmmaking unlike anything the Us had seen cinematically up to that moment. However, while his career would continue growing from Rider, his work on that film would seemingly change him from avant garde character actor to the idol of his generation.
And then there was The Last Movie. Still nearly impossible to see, Hopper’s Rider follow up would see him heading to New Mexico to make what sounds like a masterpiece of the “films about films” genre,...
And then there was The Last Movie. Still nearly impossible to see, Hopper’s Rider follow up would see him heading to New Mexico to make what sounds like a masterpiece of the “films about films” genre,...
- 10/23/2015
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Wim Wenders’ fatalistic road movie stars Harry Dean Stanton as an amnesiac who wanders Texas in search of his lost wife. Dean Stockwell co-stars as Stanton’s estranged brother and Nastassja Kinski is Stanton’s runaway bride. Graced with a keenly literate script by L.M. Kit Carson and Sam Shepard, the film is made complete by Ry Cooder’s bluesy dust-bowl score. The film won the Palme d’Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.
- 10/9/2015
- by Trailers From Hell
- Thompson on Hollywood
Wim Wenders’ fatalistic road movie stars Harry Dean Stanton as an amnesiac who wanders Texas in search of his lost wife. Dean Stockwell co-stars as Stanton’s estranged brother and Nastassja Kinski is Stanton’s runaway bride. Graced with a keenly literate script by L.M. Kit Carson and Sam Shepard, the film is made complete by Ry Cooder’s bluesy dust-bowl score. The film won the Palme d’Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival...
- 10/9/2015
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
Read More: 10 Cool and Crazy Must-See Films at SXSW 2015 The 15th Annual Texas Film Awards unofficially kicked off South By Southwest last night by honoring Texans who contribute to film. Animator and filmmaker Mike Judge hosted the ceremony, which honored the 2015 inductees into the Texas Film Hall of Fame, including Tommy Lee Jones, Luke Wilson, Bonnie Curtis, Guillermo del Toro, Christopher Evan Welch and L.M. Kit Carson. During producer Bonnie Curtis' segment, her 17-year partner Stephen Spielberg popped up on the screen to offer her congratulations and many thanks for her hard work over the years. "We've shared some of the greatest moments of our careers together," said Spielberg. Curtis has worked with Spielberg on his films "Saving Private Ryan," A.I," "Minority Report" and "The Lost World: Jurassic Park." Take a look at Spielberg's touching tribute above. Is it us, or does he give himself a little pause after saying.
- 3/13/2015
- by Casey Cipriani
- Indiewire
On Thursday night, the Austin Film Society will hold its 15th annual Texas Film Awards ceremony, which traditionally takes place the night before the SXSW Film Festival. Honorees this year include famous Texans Tommy Lee Jones, Guillermo Del Toro, Bonnie Curtis and Luke Wilson, alongside a posthumous tribute to Austin film guru L.M. Kit Carson. Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” will also receive a special award. But Linklater will have more than one reason to celebrate: This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of Afs, the non-profit film organization that he co-founded with cinematographer Lee Daniel in 1985. Over the years, as Linklater’s filmmaking career has blossomed, he has retained a prominent role at Afs — shaping Austin’s thriving film culture in the process. Now, the Film Society has its own theater and a successful grant program that has so far awarded a cumulative total of $1.6 million to filmmakers. Indiewire reached out...
- 3/12/2015
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The Austin Film Society hosts its annual Texas Film Awards, one of the most high-profile events in the city, on Thursday night, March 12. This year marks the awards' 15th year and to celebrate its "crystal anniversary" of honoring the best in Texas film, honorees include some of the biggest names in the industry from actors to producers to writers. Local filmmaker Mike Judge is this year's emcee.
The event itself is sold out, but a few tickets are still available to The Texas Party, the after-party featuring a DJ set by Wooden Wisdom, aka Elijah Wood and Zach Cowie.
In anticipation of Thursday's event, I thought a spotlight on each of the honorees and some of their finest contributions to the cinematic world was more than in order.
L.M. Kit Carson -- The American Dreamer (1971)
Precious few screenwriters in the history of film have been gifted with a voice as unique and diverse as Carson's.
The event itself is sold out, but a few tickets are still available to The Texas Party, the after-party featuring a DJ set by Wooden Wisdom, aka Elijah Wood and Zach Cowie.
In anticipation of Thursday's event, I thought a spotlight on each of the honorees and some of their finest contributions to the cinematic world was more than in order.
L.M. Kit Carson -- The American Dreamer (1971)
Precious few screenwriters in the history of film have been gifted with a voice as unique and diverse as Carson's.
- 3/9/2015
- by Frank Calvillo
- Slackerwood
We're on the verge of the SXSW Film Festival, so several area theaters will be turning into official venues by this time next week. Specialty screenings are still going on in the week ahead, but it definitely is about to slow down until after the festival has us all wiped out.
Austin Film Society has a Free Member Friday tonight at the Marchesa with Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket. The group will be screening the movie along with the original short film that inspired it and it's free to all Afs members. Members can also go the Afs website to claim two free tickets to a special advance screening on Tuesday night at the Paramount of Alex Gibney's new documentary Going Clear, which examines the Church of Scientology. The film will debut on HBO later this month, but this special advance screening will feature Gibney and Texas author Lawrence Wright...
- 3/6/2015
- by Matt Shiverdecker
- Slackerwood
From April 20 to April 28, 2015, filmgoers will celebrate the 19th edition of Colcoa French Film Festival, "9 Days of Film Premieres in Hollywood." The festival has recently unveiled the Focus on a Filmmaker program as well as an exclusive line up of French Classics of predominantly digitally restored films, presented as World, International or North American Premieres. All screenings will take place at the Directors Guild of America. For the first time, the Colcoa Classics Series from Tuesday to Saturday will be free with no reservation, on a first come, first served, basis.
Focus on a Filmmaker: Academy Award-Winner Michel Hazanavicius
Colcoa will honor Academy Award-winning writer-director Michel Hazanavicius on Thursday, April 23 with a special encore presentation of "Oss 117 Cairo Nest of Spies" (2006) (Colcoa Classics), as well as the Los Angeles Premiere of his new film , three years after the triumph of multi-Academy Award- winner, "The Artist." The cast of "The Search" includes Academy Award Nominee Bérénice Bejo and Academy Award nominee AAnnette Bening . "The Search" had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Hazanavicius joins writer-directors Cedric Klapisch, Bertrand Blier, Costa Gavras, Florent Siri, Julie Delpy and Alain Resnais, whose key body of work has been cited in past festivals. This will be his third film presented at the festival, following "Oss 117 Cairo Nest of Spies" and the International Premiere of "Oss 117, Lost in Rio." Michel Hazanavicius will meet the audience for a Happy Hour Talk panel dedicated to his work. (Colcoa Classics + Panel + Premiere of "The Search.")
30th Anniversary of Palme D'Or Winner "Paris,Texas"
The digitally restored version of French production "Paris,Texas" (1984) will have its West Coast Premiere at Colcoa. The Cannes Palme d'Or winner, co-written by Sam Shepard and L.M. Kit Carson, and directed by Academy Award Nominee Wim Wenders, will be presented in association with Argos Films and Janus Films. The cast includes Nastassja Kinski who will present the film, Harry Dean Stanton and Dean Stockwell. (Colcoa Classics)
North American Premiere of Digitally Restored "La Chienne"
Colcoa will present the digitally restored version of "La Chienne" (1931), the second talking movie co-written and directed by Jean Renoir. It stars Michel Simon, Janie Marèse and Georges Flamant. This exclusive new presentation in the U.S. is made possible thanks to the Franco-American Cultural Fund (Facf), Janus Films La Cinémathèque Française and Les Films du Jeudi. (Colcoa Classics)
World Premiere of Digitally Restored "Will It Snow for Christmas?"
A special 20th anniversary screening of digitally restored "Will It Snow for Christmas?" (1996) will be offered to the Colcoa audience. The film, written and directed by Sandrine Veysset, starring Dominique Reymond, Daniel Duval and Jessica Martinez, will be presented for the first time in advance of a U.S. release by Carlotta Films. (Colcoa Classics)
First American Presentation Since 1961 "Five Day Lover"
This romantic comedy by the late writer-director Philippe de Broca, starring Jean-Pierre Cassel François Périer, Jean Seberg and Micheline Presle, will be presented in an American theatre for the first time since its opening in 1961. Colcoa will present the digitally restored version of "Five Day Lover" as a World Premiere. The Cohen Media Group will release the film later this year in the U.S.. (Colcoa Classics) World Premiere of Digitally Restored "Two Men in Town"
A classic film noir written and directed by José Giovanni, starring Alain Delon and Jean Gabin, "Two Men in Town"(1973) will be presented for the first time on the big screen in a digitally restored version. The Cohen Media group will release the film later this year (Colcoa Classics). North American Premiere of Digitally Restored "The Last Metro"
Following last year's homage to the universally renowned François Truffaut, Colcoa is proud to offer the North American Premiere of the digitally restored "The Last Metro" (1980), presented in association with the Franco-American Cultural Fund, La Cinématheque Française, MK2 and Janus Films. This masterpiece was also Truffaut's most successful box office success. It stars Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu. (Colcoa Classics...
Focus on a Filmmaker: Academy Award-Winner Michel Hazanavicius
Colcoa will honor Academy Award-winning writer-director Michel Hazanavicius on Thursday, April 23 with a special encore presentation of "Oss 117 Cairo Nest of Spies" (2006) (Colcoa Classics), as well as the Los Angeles Premiere of his new film , three years after the triumph of multi-Academy Award- winner, "The Artist." The cast of "The Search" includes Academy Award Nominee Bérénice Bejo and Academy Award nominee AAnnette Bening . "The Search" had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year. Hazanavicius joins writer-directors Cedric Klapisch, Bertrand Blier, Costa Gavras, Florent Siri, Julie Delpy and Alain Resnais, whose key body of work has been cited in past festivals. This will be his third film presented at the festival, following "Oss 117 Cairo Nest of Spies" and the International Premiere of "Oss 117, Lost in Rio." Michel Hazanavicius will meet the audience for a Happy Hour Talk panel dedicated to his work. (Colcoa Classics + Panel + Premiere of "The Search.")
30th Anniversary of Palme D'Or Winner "Paris,Texas"
The digitally restored version of French production "Paris,Texas" (1984) will have its West Coast Premiere at Colcoa. The Cannes Palme d'Or winner, co-written by Sam Shepard and L.M. Kit Carson, and directed by Academy Award Nominee Wim Wenders, will be presented in association with Argos Films and Janus Films. The cast includes Nastassja Kinski who will present the film, Harry Dean Stanton and Dean Stockwell. (Colcoa Classics)
North American Premiere of Digitally Restored "La Chienne"
Colcoa will present the digitally restored version of "La Chienne" (1931), the second talking movie co-written and directed by Jean Renoir. It stars Michel Simon, Janie Marèse and Georges Flamant. This exclusive new presentation in the U.S. is made possible thanks to the Franco-American Cultural Fund (Facf), Janus Films La Cinémathèque Française and Les Films du Jeudi. (Colcoa Classics)
World Premiere of Digitally Restored "Will It Snow for Christmas?"
A special 20th anniversary screening of digitally restored "Will It Snow for Christmas?" (1996) will be offered to the Colcoa audience. The film, written and directed by Sandrine Veysset, starring Dominique Reymond, Daniel Duval and Jessica Martinez, will be presented for the first time in advance of a U.S. release by Carlotta Films. (Colcoa Classics)
First American Presentation Since 1961 "Five Day Lover"
This romantic comedy by the late writer-director Philippe de Broca, starring Jean-Pierre Cassel François Périer, Jean Seberg and Micheline Presle, will be presented in an American theatre for the first time since its opening in 1961. Colcoa will present the digitally restored version of "Five Day Lover" as a World Premiere. The Cohen Media Group will release the film later this year in the U.S.. (Colcoa Classics) World Premiere of Digitally Restored "Two Men in Town"
A classic film noir written and directed by José Giovanni, starring Alain Delon and Jean Gabin, "Two Men in Town"(1973) will be presented for the first time on the big screen in a digitally restored version. The Cohen Media group will release the film later this year (Colcoa Classics). North American Premiere of Digitally Restored "The Last Metro"
Following last year's homage to the universally renowned François Truffaut, Colcoa is proud to offer the North American Premiere of the digitally restored "The Last Metro" (1980), presented in association with the Franco-American Cultural Fund, La Cinématheque Française, MK2 and Janus Films. This masterpiece was also Truffaut's most successful box office success. It stars Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu. (Colcoa Classics...
- 2/25/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
We’re sad to report that L.M. Kit Carson has passed away at the age of 73.
Deadline reports that renowned screenwriter and actor L.M. Kit Carson passed away on October 20th in Dallas, TX. He had been fighting osteoporosis and other illnesses at the time of his death.
Admired for his exemplary work in both the journalism and independent film fields, Carson is perhaps most widely remembered for co-writing the screenplay for 1984’s Paris, Texas.
Horror film fans know Carson for co-writing the script of the intriguing, dark comedy sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986). Carson also wrote the teleplays for two episodes of the 1980’s TV series, Deadly Nightmares. Our thoughts go out to Carson’s family and friends.
The post L.M. Kit Carson Has Passed Away appeared first on Daily Dead.
Deadline reports that renowned screenwriter and actor L.M. Kit Carson passed away on October 20th in Dallas, TX. He had been fighting osteoporosis and other illnesses at the time of his death.
Admired for his exemplary work in both the journalism and independent film fields, Carson is perhaps most widely remembered for co-writing the screenplay for 1984’s Paris, Texas.
Horror film fans know Carson for co-writing the script of the intriguing, dark comedy sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986). Carson also wrote the teleplays for two episodes of the 1980’s TV series, Deadly Nightmares. Our thoughts go out to Carson’s family and friends.
The post L.M. Kit Carson Has Passed Away appeared first on Daily Dead.
- 10/29/2014
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
An iconoclast in the worlds of independent film and journalism who embodied — and celibrated — Texas individualism, Carson died October 20 in Dallas following a long battle with osteoporosis and other illnesses. He was 73.
A Dallas native whose career took him to Austin, Houston, New York, Los Angeles and many places far afield and in between, Lewis Minor Carson was best known as co-author with Sam Shepard of the Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas (Carson’s official credit was for “adaptation”), which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1984. Known universally as Kit, after his Texas Ranger grandfather, he is credited with helping create the”mockumentary” genre for writing and playing the title role in David Holtzman’s Diary, the Jim McBride film about a navel-gazer who decides to film every moment of his unmomentous life. The 1967 film anticipated such disparate touchstones as the film This Is Spinal Tap and the...
A Dallas native whose career took him to Austin, Houston, New York, Los Angeles and many places far afield and in between, Lewis Minor Carson was best known as co-author with Sam Shepard of the Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas (Carson’s official credit was for “adaptation”), which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1984. Known universally as Kit, after his Texas Ranger grandfather, he is credited with helping create the”mockumentary” genre for writing and playing the title role in David Holtzman’s Diary, the Jim McBride film about a navel-gazer who decides to film every moment of his unmomentous life. The 1967 film anticipated such disparate touchstones as the film This Is Spinal Tap and the...
- 10/29/2014
- by Jeremy Gerard
- Deadline
L.M. Kit Carson, the Texan film legend best known for David Holzman's Diary, has passed away at the age of 73. For Filmmaker Magazine, Vadim Rizov gathers some valuable insight from Fabrice Aragno, the cinematographer of Jean-Luc Godard's Adieu au langage. Eric Hynes provides an excellent and authentic New Yorker take on Gangs of New York for Reverse Shot's Martin Scorsese Symposium. Above: we're disappointed to hear that Paul Schrader's latest film has been essentially taken out of his hands—in response the filmmaker has disowned the picture. For Film Comment, Violet Lucca interviews Ruben Östlund about his acclaimed film, Force majeure:
"Lucca: Like your previous work, Force Majeure is intended to foster a philosophical debate about what human behavior means or implies. Do you envision that being more of an internal process, or do you want people to talk it out?
ÖStlund: Yeah, in a group.
"Lucca: Like your previous work, Force Majeure is intended to foster a philosophical debate about what human behavior means or implies. Do you envision that being more of an internal process, or do you want people to talk it out?
ÖStlund: Yeah, in a group.
- 10/21/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
L.M. Kit Carson, the eclectic, fiercely independent Texas filmmaker best known for starring in the ahead-of-its-time cinéma vérité satire David Holzman's Diary, shaping the narrative arc of Paris, Texas, and helping launch the career of Wes Anderson, died Monday after a lengthy illness, his son Hunter announced on Facebook. He was 73. Born in Irving, Texas in 1941, Carson had a scattered youth: He spent six months in a Jesuit monastery and flitted in and out of various colleges before settling in New York to pursue a freelance work in magazine writing. In 1967 he teamed up with Jim McBride to star in the experimental,...
- 10/21/2014
- by Lindsey Bahr
- EW - Inside Movies
L.M. Kit Carson, a Lone Star State film legend who co-wrote Paris, Texas, Breathless and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, died Monday after a long illness, his son Hunter announced on Facebook. He was 73. Carson, a grandson and namesake of the famous American frontiersman and the third husband of the late actress Karen Black, also worked as an actor, producer and director. He played the title character in (and co-wrote) David Holzman’s Diary (1968), a black-and-white parody of cinema verite that was one of the first mockumentaries, and appeared in Sidney Lumet’s Running on
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- 10/21/2014
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Actor, producer, screenwriter and director L.M. Kit Carson has passed away at the age of 73. Carson co-wrote and starred in David Holzman's Diary (1967), a landmark critique of cinema vérité. He'd team up with director Jim McBride again on a remake of Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless in 1983 that starred Richard Gere and Valérie Kaprisky. He also helped complete the screenplay for Wim Wenders’s Paris, Texas (1984), which starred his son, Hunter Carson, whose mother is the late Karen Black. Carson's 1971 documentary The American Dreamer chronicled the making of Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie. And Carson was instrumental in the making of Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket (1996). » - David Hudson...
- 10/21/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
Actor, producer, screenwriter and director L.M. Kit Carson has passed away at the age of 73. Carson co-wrote and starred in David Holzman's Diary (1967), a landmark critique of cinema vérité. He'd team up with director Jim McBride again on a remake of Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless in 1983 that starred Richard Gere and Valérie Kaprisky. He also helped complete the screenplay for Wim Wenders’s Paris, Texas (1984), which starred his son, Hunter Carson, whose mother is the late Karen Black. Carson's 1971 documentary The American Dreamer chronicled the making of Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie. And Carson was instrumental in the making of Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket (1996). » - David Hudson...
- 10/21/2014
- Keyframe
Co-directed by Mark Peranson and Raya Martin, La última película is several things at once: a documentary pretending to be fiction (and vice versa), a reflexively cinephillic ode to materiality, a deconstruction and/or exploration of disparate forms, a meditation on the (false) apocalypse of the world and cinema, and an (experimental) comedy. Its one-line synopsis is as follows: "a famous American filmmaker travels to the Yucatán to scout locations for his last movie. The Mayan Apocalypse intercedes." Inspired by Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie and its subsequent documentary cousin The American Dreamer (both 1971), La última película taps into a sort of artistic freedom of spirit, an all-too-rare ecstasy of moviemaking-as-adventuring. It is a manifesto by implication for the liberation of film from convention, and as thought and life. Starring American independent filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (The Color Wheel, Impolex) and Gabino Rodríguez (Greatest Hits, Together) as the filmmaker protagonist's Mexican guide,...
- 12/9/2013
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
Stars: Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Jim Siedow, Bill Moseley, Bill Johnson, Ken Evert | Written by L.M. Kit Carson | Directed by Tobe Hooper
A key component of just why many sequels don’t satisfy is that age old complaint of repetition. The Saw and Paranormal Activity franchises are just the latest examples of films which don’t do anything all that different from the first in their intent aside from new characters, more complex mythology and the odd new Usp, something which made Paranormal Activity 3 in particular a more interesting installment than it probably should have been with its oscillating camera. Looking at franchises past though, there are quite a few examples where box office and critical results have been disappointing because the sequels are just too different from the original. One of the prime examples of this is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, a film made by the director...
A key component of just why many sequels don’t satisfy is that age old complaint of repetition. The Saw and Paranormal Activity franchises are just the latest examples of films which don’t do anything all that different from the first in their intent aside from new characters, more complex mythology and the odd new Usp, something which made Paranormal Activity 3 in particular a more interesting installment than it probably should have been with its oscillating camera. Looking at franchises past though, there are quite a few examples where box office and critical results have been disappointing because the sequels are just too different from the original. One of the prime examples of this is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, a film made by the director...
- 11/10/2013
- by Ian Loring
- Nerdly
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