Money may very well equal power, but so does information — especially the dirty kind. Hollywood understands this. From The Sweet Smell of Success to L.A. Confidential, the movies are laden with bullying blackmailers and influence-peddlers using muscle and corruption to scrub the tainted and gain an upper hand. The dynamic, of course, is quite real, and the gripping new two-part documentary Sin Eater: The Crimes of Anthony Pellicano provides a fine if troubling look at how it works in contemporary showbiz.
The latest production from FX’s The New York Times Presents series,...
The latest production from FX’s The New York Times Presents series,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Chris Vognar
- Rollingstone.com
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the Waldorf Declaration, which on November 25, 1947, officially launched the Hollywood Blacklist. On that day, the heads of the major studios, with a few notable exceptions, agreed after a contentious two-day conference at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City to ban the Hollywood Ten and to not “knowingly” employ Communists.
And so began one of the darkest chapters in Hollywood’s history.
Related Story Hollywood Blacklist: 75th Anniversary Of The Waldorf Declaration – Photo Gallery Related Story Donald Anthony St. Claire Dies: 'The Amazing Race' Oldest Competitor Was 87 Related Story Irene Cara Remembered By Colleagues, Friends And Fans
Just a few weeks earlier, the Hollywood Ten had denounced and refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee and later were sent to federal prison for contempt of Congress.
“We will forthwith discharge or suspend without compensation those in our employ,” the Waldorf Declaration stated,...
And so began one of the darkest chapters in Hollywood’s history.
Related Story Hollywood Blacklist: 75th Anniversary Of The Waldorf Declaration – Photo Gallery Related Story Donald Anthony St. Claire Dies: 'The Amazing Race' Oldest Competitor Was 87 Related Story Irene Cara Remembered By Colleagues, Friends And Fans
Just a few weeks earlier, the Hollywood Ten had denounced and refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee and later were sent to federal prison for contempt of Congress.
“We will forthwith discharge or suspend without compensation those in our employ,” the Waldorf Declaration stated,...
- 11/25/2022
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
He spoke in a raspy monotone that was at once commanding, yet menacing. Howard Strickling officially was the public relations boss of MGM during its heyday, but his real responsibility, he would explain, was protection more than publicity.
Strickling’s mission was to nurture the roster of stars under studio contract. If he were around today he might even have a few things to say to Brad Pitt or George Clooney.
He’d likely be wary, for example, about Pitt’s decision to play silent star John Gilbert in the forthcoming period movie Babylon. Gilbert’s career ended abruptly in the 1920s due to his stormy personal relationships with other stars, so Strickling would counsel Pitt to avoid references to his litigation with ex-wife Angelina Jolie.
Gilbert experienced well-publicized conflicts with his volatile co-star and fiancée Greta Garbo. Louis B. Mayer opposed the wedding and, in one lethal moment, Gilbert...
Strickling’s mission was to nurture the roster of stars under studio contract. If he were around today he might even have a few things to say to Brad Pitt or George Clooney.
He’d likely be wary, for example, about Pitt’s decision to play silent star John Gilbert in the forthcoming period movie Babylon. Gilbert’s career ended abruptly in the 1920s due to his stormy personal relationships with other stars, so Strickling would counsel Pitt to avoid references to his litigation with ex-wife Angelina Jolie.
Gilbert experienced well-publicized conflicts with his volatile co-star and fiancée Greta Garbo. Louis B. Mayer opposed the wedding and, in one lethal moment, Gilbert...
- 10/27/2022
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
The Grifter, the Hitter, the Hacker, the Thief, the Fixer and the Maker are on their way back to your screens.
TVLine can exclusively report that Season 2 of Leverage: Redemption will get underway on Wednesday, Nov. 16, with the release of its first three episodes on Freevee (fka IMDb TV, Amazon’s free streaming hub).
More from TVLineTimothy Hutton Sues Leverage Producers for Cutting Him From Revival -- Studio Calls His Claims 'Baseless'Leverage: Redemption Renewed for Season 2 at IMDb TVTVLine Items: AGT: Extreme Judges, When Calls the Heart Reunion and More
The heist drama’s 13-episode season will then roll out a new episode each Wednesday,...
TVLine can exclusively report that Season 2 of Leverage: Redemption will get underway on Wednesday, Nov. 16, with the release of its first three episodes on Freevee (fka IMDb TV, Amazon’s free streaming hub).
More from TVLineTimothy Hutton Sues Leverage Producers for Cutting Him From Revival -- Studio Calls His Claims 'Baseless'Leverage: Redemption Renewed for Season 2 at IMDb TVTVLine Items: AGT: Extreme Judges, When Calls the Heart Reunion and More
The heist drama’s 13-episode season will then roll out a new episode each Wednesday,...
- 9/29/2022
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
They’re non-corporeal cut-ups, rich ghosts on the town with nothing better to do than spice up the love life of Roland Young’s harried, henpecked bank president. Hal Roach’s screwball hit did good things for everybody concerned, especially star Cary Grant and bit player Arthur Lake. But the show’s nostalgic heart is Billie Burke, of the tinkly-glass voice. Also starring platinum blonde Constance Bennett, Alan Mowbray and Eugene Pallette.
Topper
Blu-ray
Vci
1937 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 97 min. / Street Date October, 2017 / 20.99
Starring: Constance Bennett, Cary Grant, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, Eugene Pallette, Arthur Lake, Hedda Hopper, Virginia Sale, Theodore von Eltz, J. Farrell MacDonald, Elaine Shepard, Ward Bond, Hoagy Carmichael, Lana Turner, Russell Wade, Claire Windsor.
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Film Editor: William Terhune
Art Director: William Stevens
Original Music: Marvin Hatley
Written by Jack Jevne, Eric Hatch, Eddie Moran from a novel by Thorne Smith...
Topper
Blu-ray
Vci
1937 / B&W / 1:37 flat full frame / 97 min. / Street Date October, 2017 / 20.99
Starring: Constance Bennett, Cary Grant, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Alan Mowbray, Eugene Pallette, Arthur Lake, Hedda Hopper, Virginia Sale, Theodore von Eltz, J. Farrell MacDonald, Elaine Shepard, Ward Bond, Hoagy Carmichael, Lana Turner, Russell Wade, Claire Windsor.
Cinematography: Norbert Brodine
Film Editor: William Terhune
Art Director: William Stevens
Original Music: Marvin Hatley
Written by Jack Jevne, Eric Hatch, Eddie Moran from a novel by Thorne Smith...
- 10/17/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
What seemed too raw for 1955 still packs a punch, as Robert Aldrich takes a meat cleaver to the power politics of the old studio system. Monstrous studio head Rod Steiger has just the leverage he needs to blackmail frazzled star Jack Palance into signing the big contract. But will Hollywood corruption destroy them all?
The Big Knife
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1955 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date September 5, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen,
Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ilka Chase, Everett Sloane, Wesley Addy, Paul Langton, Nick Dennis.
Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo
Art Direction: William Glasgow
Film Editor: Michael Luciano
Original Music: Frank De Vol
Adapted by James Poe from the play by Clifford Odets
Produced and Directed by Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich’s 1940s film apprenticeship was largely spent as an assistant director for strong, creative filmmakers that wanted to do good personal work free of the constraints of the big studios.
The Big Knife
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1955 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date September 5, 2017 / 39.95
Starring: Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen,
Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ilka Chase, Everett Sloane, Wesley Addy, Paul Langton, Nick Dennis.
Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo
Art Direction: William Glasgow
Film Editor: Michael Luciano
Original Music: Frank De Vol
Adapted by James Poe from the play by Clifford Odets
Produced and Directed by Robert Aldrich
Robert Aldrich’s 1940s film apprenticeship was largely spent as an assistant director for strong, creative filmmakers that wanted to do good personal work free of the constraints of the big studios.
- 9/26/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Scarlett Johansson’s Best Comedic Performances: 5 Moments That Put Her ‘Rough Night’ Role In Context
Scarlett Johansson is no stranger to the world of comedy — she is a member of the so-called Five-Timers Club, an enviable group of stars who have hosted “Saturday Night Live” at least five times — and she’s managed to emerge as an unexpected comedic Mvp without ever toplining an outright comedy. Some 20 years into her career, Johansson has yet to star in a raunchy knee-slapper that takes full advantages of her more light-leaning chops…until now. This week, that changes with the release of “Rough Night.”
An unabashedly female-centric comedy in the vein of “Bridesmaids” and “Bachelorette,” the new film from “Broad City” regulars Lucia Aniello (who makes her feature directorial debut with the film) and Paul W. Downs (who wrote it alongside Aniello and also co-stars) casts Johansson in a lead role alongside a strong ensemble of other (also very funny) women, including Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer,...
An unabashedly female-centric comedy in the vein of “Bridesmaids” and “Bachelorette,” the new film from “Broad City” regulars Lucia Aniello (who makes her feature directorial debut with the film) and Paul W. Downs (who wrote it alongside Aniello and also co-stars) casts Johansson in a lead role alongside a strong ensemble of other (also very funny) women, including Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer,...
- 6/13/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Mark Harrison May 19, 2017
From the currently playing Their Finest to the likes of Bowfinger and Boogie Nights, we salute the movies about making movies...
If you haven't caught up yet, Their Finest is currently playing in UK cinemas and it's a gorgeous little love letter to perseverance through storytelling, set against the backdrop of a film production office at the British Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Based on Lissa Evans' novel, Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy play characters whose access to the film industry has been contingent on the global crisis that takes other young men away from such trifling matters, and it's a real joy to watch.
Among other things, the film got us thinking about other films about making films. We're not talking about documentaries, even though Hearts Of Darkness, the documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now, may be the greatest film about...
From the currently playing Their Finest to the likes of Bowfinger and Boogie Nights, we salute the movies about making movies...
If you haven't caught up yet, Their Finest is currently playing in UK cinemas and it's a gorgeous little love letter to perseverance through storytelling, set against the backdrop of a film production office at the British Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Based on Lissa Evans' novel, Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy play characters whose access to the film industry has been contingent on the global crisis that takes other young men away from such trifling matters, and it's a real joy to watch.
Among other things, the film got us thinking about other films about making films. We're not talking about documentaries, even though Hearts Of Darkness, the documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now, may be the greatest film about...
- 5/3/2017
- Den of Geek
Films by the Coen Brothers can be hit or miss for audiences, and there isn’t much to predict how things are going to go when you enter the theater. From the wide variety of genres, to the level of wackiness inherent in any given picture, you can certainly tell a Coen Brothers film when you see it, but you don’t know if you’ll love it.
Hail, Caesar! is a film that ups the game when it comes to the zaniness pushing forward the layers that don’t appear to have much to do with each other, and that makes it a hard sell even to Coen fans. The focal character, Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), or at least the pinball that we watch bounce around this madness, doesn’t quite get a chance to solidify himself into someone worth watching. Worse, he doesn’t get a story that...
Hail, Caesar! is a film that ups the game when it comes to the zaniness pushing forward the layers that don’t appear to have much to do with each other, and that makes it a hard sell even to Coen fans. The focal character, Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), or at least the pinball that we watch bounce around this madness, doesn’t quite get a chance to solidify himself into someone worth watching. Worse, he doesn’t get a story that...
- 12/16/2016
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
To mark the release of Hail, Caesar! on 11th July, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on Blu-ray. Hail, Caesar! follows a single day in the life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), head of production and all-around problem solver for Hollywood studio Capitol Pictures. When Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), the world’s biggest star, […]
The post Win Hail, Caesar! on Blu-ray appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The post Win Hail, Caesar! on Blu-ray appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 7/8/2016
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The latest directorial effort from the Coen brothers, Hail, Caesar!, follows a day in the life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a Hollywood fixer for Capitol Pictures in the 1950s, who cleans up and solves problems for big names and stars in the industry. But when studio star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) disappears, Mannix has to deal with more than just the fix. That includes a run-in with a lovely star... Read More...
- 6/7/2016
- by Sean Wist
- JoBlo.com
No matter the era, Josh Brolin has a pretty firm handle on Hollywood.
If you missed brothers Joel and Ethan Coen's most recent movie, "Hail, Caesar!," you've got a new opportunity to check out the flip-side of "Barton Fink," their poison-pen take on the conflicts between Hollywood and creativity. The film, which features Brolin as a studio fixer -- the squasher of potential star scandals detrimental to box office business -- is, even with its somewhat cynical lens trained on spoiled celebrities with bad judgment, a loopy love letter of sorts to a bygone cinematic era where even the by-any-means-necessary fixer's just doing his best for the image of the system and its stars.
The second in a now-emerging Brolin Acting Dynasty -- his dad, James, paved the way; daughter Eden is following in his footsteps -- Brolin, who brings a distinctive heart and conscience to a role that...
If you missed brothers Joel and Ethan Coen's most recent movie, "Hail, Caesar!," you've got a new opportunity to check out the flip-side of "Barton Fink," their poison-pen take on the conflicts between Hollywood and creativity. The film, which features Brolin as a studio fixer -- the squasher of potential star scandals detrimental to box office business -- is, even with its somewhat cynical lens trained on spoiled celebrities with bad judgment, a loopy love letter of sorts to a bygone cinematic era where even the by-any-means-necessary fixer's just doing his best for the image of the system and its stars.
The second in a now-emerging Brolin Acting Dynasty -- his dad, James, paved the way; daughter Eden is following in his footsteps -- Brolin, who brings a distinctive heart and conscience to a role that...
- 6/7/2016
- by Scott Huver
- Moviefone
At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's new on Netflix and TV, we've got you covered.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Zootopia"
Those sloths at the Dmv could learn from Disney's super-fast home release of "Zootopia." The instant classic blockbuster came out in theaters in early March, and it's already arriving on Digital HD, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD, and On-Demand on June 7. The Blu-ray and Digital releases come with a magical amount of bonus features, including "Zoology: The Roundtables," with Ginnifer Goodwin (who voices rabbit officer Judy Hopps) leading an in-depth look at the movie's characters, animation, environments, and more. Other extras include "The Origin of an Animal Tale," "Research: A True-Life Adventure," "Z.P.D. Forensic Files," "Scoretopia," a look at deleted characters, a bunch of deleted and alternate scenes (including an alternate opening), and Shakira's "Try Everything" music video.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
"Zootopia"
Those sloths at the Dmv could learn from Disney's super-fast home release of "Zootopia." The instant classic blockbuster came out in theaters in early March, and it's already arriving on Digital HD, Disney Movies Anywhere, DVD, and On-Demand on June 7. The Blu-ray and Digital releases come with a magical amount of bonus features, including "Zoology: The Roundtables," with Ginnifer Goodwin (who voices rabbit officer Judy Hopps) leading an in-depth look at the movie's characters, animation, environments, and more. Other extras include "The Origin of an Animal Tale," "Research: A True-Life Adventure," "Z.P.D. Forensic Files," "Scoretopia," a look at deleted characters, a bunch of deleted and alternate scenes (including an alternate opening), and Shakira's "Try Everything" music video.
- 6/6/2016
- by Gina Carbone
- Moviefone
The Coen Brothers’ lyrical homage to Classic Hollywood, Hail, Caesar! hits Blu-ray next week. A more optimistic companion piece to the darker, seamier Hollywood of Barton Fink, Hail, Caesar! succeeds more than it fails, delivering an enjoyable and diverting, if somewhat unfocused, paean to a bygone world.
Hail, Caesar! chronicles a day in the life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), the head of physical production at Capitol Pictures and a Hollywood fixer who manages everything behind the scenes of a Hollywood dream factory. We follow Eddie as he juggles recalcitrant directors, pregnant starlets, Communist writers and invasive gossip columnists, all while trying to hold onto his love of Hollywood in the midst of a growing studio crisis.
At the center of the loose narrative is the disappearance of Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), leading man and star of Capitol’s latest prestige picture Hail, Caesar!, a thinly veiled Biblical epic that references Ben Hur,...
Hail, Caesar! chronicles a day in the life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), the head of physical production at Capitol Pictures and a Hollywood fixer who manages everything behind the scenes of a Hollywood dream factory. We follow Eddie as he juggles recalcitrant directors, pregnant starlets, Communist writers and invasive gossip columnists, all while trying to hold onto his love of Hollywood in the midst of a growing studio crisis.
At the center of the loose narrative is the disappearance of Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), leading man and star of Capitol’s latest prestige picture Hail, Caesar!, a thinly veiled Biblical epic that references Ben Hur,...
- 6/4/2016
- by Lauren Humphries-Brooks
- We Got This Covered
Not funny enough, or too hip for the house? I found the Coen Bros.' send-up of old-fashioned movie madness good fun, with some great new actors. If you like droll comedy combined with spot-on recreations of old movie genres, this show can't lose. And there has to be somebody out there who wants to see George Clooney in a skirt. Hail, Caesar! Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD Universal Pictures Home Entertainment 2016 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date June 7, 2016 / 34.98 Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Channing Tatum, Veronica Osorio, Heather Goldenhersh, Max Baker, Clancy Brown, Fisher Stevens, Patick Fischler, Robert Picardo, Christopher Lambert, Robert Trebor, Michael Gambon (voice), Dolph Lundgren. Cinematography Roger Deakins Film Editors Ethan and Joel Coen Original Music Carter Burwell Produced by Tim Bevan, Ethan and Joel Coen, Eric Fellner Written and Directed by Ethan and Joel Coen...
- 5/28/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Coens whitewash Hollywood fixer Eddie Mannix and up the communism to create their sharp but inaccurate satire
Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
Entertainment grade: A–
History grade: Fail
Along with his associate Howard Strickling, Eddie Mannix was the most famous of all Hollywood “fixers” – charged with protecting the reputation of big-name stars and studios against revelations of debauchery and, on occasion, criminal activity.
Continue reading...
Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
Entertainment grade: A–
History grade: Fail
Along with his associate Howard Strickling, Eddie Mannix was the most famous of all Hollywood “fixers” – charged with protecting the reputation of big-name stars and studios against revelations of debauchery and, on occasion, criminal activity.
Continue reading...
- 3/11/2016
- by Alex von Tunzelmann
- The Guardian - Film News
Thankfully, a comma and an exclamation mark go a long way to stopping the confusion between this and the woeful 1994 comedy Hail Caesar. Well, there is that, and not to mention the likes of George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johannson, Channing Tatum, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes and one of the finest ensemble casts in some time. And that's before you put the Coen Brothers name on the poster. Brolin plays a Hollywood fixer, similar to the likes of Ray Donovan, albeit a bit more classy with less violent tendencies. When the studio's biggest star, Baird Whitlock (Clooney) goes missing during a shoot, things get a bit more problematic (we're going spoiler free here) for Eddie Mannix (Brolin) Fans of bygone Hollywood days will lap this up. From the characters, to the dialogue, not to mention some wonderful colour correction (we're geeks, what can I say) Hail, Caesar! looks incredible. You...
- 3/7/2016
- by noreply@blogger.com (Vic Barry)
- www.themoviebit.com
The Coen brothers conjure up nostalgic joy from this hilarious knockabout homage to the golden age of film
The Coen brothers’ lovingly goofy latest comes on like a breezy flipside companion-piece to Barton Fink – a jaunt through the underbelly of old Hollywood which finds not the fiery hell of the tortured artist but the upbeat splash of synchronised swimming, On the Town toe-tapping and toga-wearing biblical balderdash. With a ramshackle plot that appears to have been cooked up after drawing deep on the Dude’s biggest bong, the film pinballs between awol movie stars, red-scare nightmares and Bikini Atoll bomb tests, while raising important questions of whether God is still angry (“what, he got over it?”), how to make a lasso out of spaghetti, and the secret of balancing a bunch of bananas on your head (it’s all in the hips, lips, eyes and thighs, apparently).
It’s 1951, and...
The Coen brothers’ lovingly goofy latest comes on like a breezy flipside companion-piece to Barton Fink – a jaunt through the underbelly of old Hollywood which finds not the fiery hell of the tortured artist but the upbeat splash of synchronised swimming, On the Town toe-tapping and toga-wearing biblical balderdash. With a ramshackle plot that appears to have been cooked up after drawing deep on the Dude’s biggest bong, the film pinballs between awol movie stars, red-scare nightmares and Bikini Atoll bomb tests, while raising important questions of whether God is still angry (“what, he got over it?”), how to make a lasso out of spaghetti, and the secret of balancing a bunch of bananas on your head (it’s all in the hips, lips, eyes and thighs, apparently).
It’s 1951, and...
- 3/6/2016
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
Full of the Coen Brothers’ usual exuberant joie de cinema, and a helluva lot of fun, but too scattershot to ever settle on saying the things it has to say. I’m “biast” (pro): love the Coen Brothers, and most of the cast
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Hail, Coens! Even when their films aren’t entirely successful — as Hail, Caesar! is not — they are always fascinating to watch and to ponder. This one is in the same realm as The Hudsucker Proxy and O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Burn After Reading for its exuberant joie de cinema. Hail is a helluva lot of fun… but it’s too scattershot to ever settle on saying the things it has to say, and it never gives most of its many characters — too many, probably — room to work as stand-ins...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Hail, Coens! Even when their films aren’t entirely successful — as Hail, Caesar! is not — they are always fascinating to watch and to ponder. This one is in the same realm as The Hudsucker Proxy and O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Burn After Reading for its exuberant joie de cinema. Hail is a helluva lot of fun… but it’s too scattershot to ever settle on saying the things it has to say, and it never gives most of its many characters — too many, probably — room to work as stand-ins...
- 3/4/2016
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
The Hail, Caesar! actor still marvels over being cast by the Coen brothers. Eight years after his breakthrough role in No Country for Old Men, he talks about cultivating the ‘Tom Hanks role’ in Joel and Ethan’s latest
Related: Hail, Caesar! review – George Clooney bigger, broader, zanier in classic Coen caper
“I’ve always played punks,” says Josh Brolin. “Bad guys. This guy I don’t see as bad at all.” Brolin is talking about Eddie Mannix, the 1950s Hollywood studio boss he plays in Hail, Caesar! The character is based – at several removes – on a real-life figure, a fixer and executive who was possibly more than tangentially involved in one of the era’s more notorious episodes, the shooting dead of Superman actor George Reeves in 1959.
Continue reading...
Related: Hail, Caesar! review – George Clooney bigger, broader, zanier in classic Coen caper
“I’ve always played punks,” says Josh Brolin. “Bad guys. This guy I don’t see as bad at all.” Brolin is talking about Eddie Mannix, the 1950s Hollywood studio boss he plays in Hail, Caesar! The character is based – at several removes – on a real-life figure, a fixer and executive who was possibly more than tangentially involved in one of the era’s more notorious episodes, the shooting dead of Superman actor George Reeves in 1959.
Continue reading...
- 3/3/2016
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
The Hail, Caesar! actor still marvels over being cast by the Coen brothers. Eight years after his breakthrough role in No Country for Old Men, he talks about cultivating the ‘Tom Hanks role’ in Joel and Ethan’s latest
Related: Hail, Caesar! review – George Clooney bigger, broader, zanier in classic Coen caper
“I’ve always played punks,” says Josh Brolin. “Bad guys. This guy I don’t see as bad at all.” Brolin is talking about Eddie Mannix, the 1950s Hollywood studio boss he plays in Hail, Caesar! The character is based – at several removes – on a real-life figure, a fixer and executive who was possibly more than tangentially involved in one of the era’s more notorious episodes, the shooting dead of Superman actor George Reeves in 1959.
Continue reading...
Related: Hail, Caesar! review – George Clooney bigger, broader, zanier in classic Coen caper
“I’ve always played punks,” says Josh Brolin. “Bad guys. This guy I don’t see as bad at all.” Brolin is talking about Eddie Mannix, the 1950s Hollywood studio boss he plays in Hail, Caesar! The character is based – at several removes – on a real-life figure, a fixer and executive who was possibly more than tangentially involved in one of the era’s more notorious episodes, the shooting dead of Superman actor George Reeves in 1959.
Continue reading...
- 3/3/2016
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Stars: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Scarlett Johansson, Heather Goldenhersh, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Frances McDormand, Christopher Lambert, Jonah Hill, Veronica Osorio | Written and Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
In case you didn’t know, the Coens are pretty crazy about the movies. Having come close to making a film in every genre, a logical conclusion would see them swapping out western landscapes for dazzling musical numbers scene by scene rather than picture by picture, and Hail, Caesar! does just that. It’s not surprising to learn that Joel and Ethan can switch abruptly from cold war intrigue to farcical comedy (often in the same exchange); what is surprising is how natural it all feels.
The film takes us on a whirlwind tour of 1950s Hollywood with tough-talking, guilt-ridden studio fixer Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin, playing a fictionalised version of a real Hollywood executive) as our guide...
In case you didn’t know, the Coens are pretty crazy about the movies. Having come close to making a film in every genre, a logical conclusion would see them swapping out western landscapes for dazzling musical numbers scene by scene rather than picture by picture, and Hail, Caesar! does just that. It’s not surprising to learn that Joel and Ethan can switch abruptly from cold war intrigue to farcical comedy (often in the same exchange); what is surprising is how natural it all feels.
The film takes us on a whirlwind tour of 1950s Hollywood with tough-talking, guilt-ridden studio fixer Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin, playing a fictionalised version of a real Hollywood executive) as our guide...
- 3/3/2016
- by Mark Allen
- Nerdly
The media likes to build up actors into these untouchable icons, only to gleefully tear them down when they show the first sign of humanity. It's happened since the early days of Hollywood, when guys like Eddie Mannix controlled the images of his studio's stars (see: Hail, Caesar!), and you only have to glance at the magazine rack as you check out at the grocery store to see it's still happening today. Sometimes actors drink, and sometimes they do it while they're working — whether to further dive into their characters, or because the movie they're in is so bad, they'd rather do anything but continue.
Dorkly has put together a list of times that actors were actually drunk on screen, though there are a couple of these that are vague or questionable. Either way, it's interesting to hear the behind-the-scenes stories about some of these if you haven't heard them already.
Dorkly has put together a list of times that actors were actually drunk on screen, though there are a couple of these that are vague or questionable. Either way, it's interesting to hear the behind-the-scenes stories about some of these if you haven't heard them already.
- 2/18/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
© Universal PicturesThe opening film of major film festivals can usually be counted on to be two closely connected things. The first is that the film is intended to fulfill a certain, amorphous requirement of image, pleasing a wide variety of industry interests, including that of the red carpet press (stars, please), that of the sponsors and important guests, and that of the movie business, the studios, sales agents and the like. This fulcrum of compromise almost inevitably causes the second thing, which is that more of than not, a festival's opening night film will be utterly bland.Not so at the Berlin International Film Festival this year—or, at least, not quite. Despite an earlier rumor that the Berlinale had the world premiere of Hail, Caesar!, the new film by Joel and Ethan Coen, Hollywood had other ideas and the film actually opened in the United States last week. But...
- 2/13/2016
- by Daniel Kasman
- MUBI
★★★☆☆ 'Second time's a charm' is not the feeling that hits home when reflecting upon the Coen brothers' Hail, Caesar!, the opening film of this year's Berlinale. Second as this is their second time opening the festival (after True Grit did the honours in 2011 before scooping a number of Oscars) and more importantly sees them reentering an homage, pastiche and/or parody of the 1950s Hollywood Golden Age. This latest offering focuses on Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) and is partly based on the real MGM studio fixer of the same name on an average day spent dealing with kidnapped stars, pregnant starlets and the like.
- 2/12/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Recycling genres, troubleshooting studio politics and making scandals disappear might have been too much of a cross to bear for Josh Brolin's Eddie Mannix in "Hail, Caesar!" But for cinematographer Roger Deakins, it was a fun return to the cockeyed caravan of working with Joel and Ethan Coen. "The thing was not to go too far with the films-within-the-films because it wouldn't flow as a unified piece," said Deakins, who, of course, shot on film once again. "And it helped that most of the time you're seeing the films on a screen in a dailies room or during a sequence at a movie premiere." "Hail, Caesar!" embraces the gray zone of Hollywood reality and artifice in typical Coen brothers fashion. And the early '50s studio shenanigans are almost film noir compared to the tired movies they're making at the MGM-like Capitol Pictures. There's the "Quo Vadis" vibe of...
- 2/10/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Thompson on Hollywood
I still get nervous about certain interviews. It's human. I love movies dearly, and have since I was young, and when I talk to filmmakers who I respect enormously, I tend to either talk waaaaaaay too fast or just overcomplicate my questions. Once things start, though, a good conversation is a good conversation, and I relax into things. That's particularly easy when you're talking to someone who give back as good as they get, and that's the Coen Brothers in spades. Three quick points before we dig in. First, enjoy Backstory, a new video series we're doing here at HitFix in which I pull back the curtain a bit on the stories that went unreported or untold over the last 25 years while I've been working here in La. While I spoke to the Coens about To The White Sea during our interview, we didn't get into the impact that the film's implosion had on them,...
- 2/8/2016
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
There's a reason the Coens make a lot of comedies. They're funny. Read one of their inimitable scripts or see "Burn After Reading," "Raising Arizona," or "The Big Lebowski," and you'll be howling with laughter. Even their "serious" movies are pretty funny. "Hail, Ceasar!" is an out-and-out comedy in the vein of such other period valentines as "The Hudsucker Proxy" or "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" So it's no surprise that hanging out with them in a relaxed way is a huge amount of fun, even if it doesn't amount to much in the way of a ground-breaking 15-minute interview. The pattern is the same. Joel sits down and tends to lead the answers, while Ethan paces around and jumps in with additions, curlicues and comments. And they often laugh at each other. They crack each other up. And me. Josh Brolin and George Clooney are front and center in this homage to 50s Hollywood.
- 2/6/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Coen brothers first started publicly discussing their idea for Hail, Caesar! over a decade ago, but the resulting film feels jauntily tossed together in a fraction of that time. In some ways that’s a good thing. The film has a loose comic energy that allows it to slip easily from lengthy sketches to plottier sequences. But it’s also lacking in coherence. The Coens seem unsure if they’re making a statement about old Hollywood or just riffing on it, and audiences will likely become confused as to whether the brothers’ treatment of classic cinema is delivered laughingly or lovingly.
The 1950s-set film follows Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a movie studio “fixer” whose already hectic existence is burdened by the disappearance of Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), the bumbling star of a Biblical epic called Hail, Caesar! Baird, it turns out, has been kidnapped by Communists, whose plans for...
The 1950s-set film follows Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a movie studio “fixer” whose already hectic existence is burdened by the disappearance of Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), the bumbling star of a Biblical epic called Hail, Caesar! Baird, it turns out, has been kidnapped by Communists, whose plans for...
- 2/5/2016
- by Patrick Dunn
- CinemaNerdz
Sign of the Cross: The Coen Bros. Revisit the Backlot Desires of Hollywood’s Golden Era
The Coen Bros., back with their first title since 2013’s Cannes darling Inside Llewyn Davis, step back to an even earlier era with Hail, Caesar!, a 1950s set allegory parallelizing movie studio heads with their supernatural equivalent—God. A rather stressful day unfolds on the backlot of Capitol Pictures, where a leading star currently set to film the final, important speech in a Biblical epic is kidnapped by a serene group of Communist writers. Meanwhile, the general cadre of hungry gossip columnists, disgruntled auteurs, and budding celebrities must be continuously juggled and groomed by the studio’s omnipotent figurehead. It’s an ideal environment for the duo, who seem to be consistently recapitulating earlier films and eras, like their rehash of True Grit (2010). There’s something about this latest effort which hints at the...
The Coen Bros., back with their first title since 2013’s Cannes darling Inside Llewyn Davis, step back to an even earlier era with Hail, Caesar!, a 1950s set allegory parallelizing movie studio heads with their supernatural equivalent—God. A rather stressful day unfolds on the backlot of Capitol Pictures, where a leading star currently set to film the final, important speech in a Biblical epic is kidnapped by a serene group of Communist writers. Meanwhile, the general cadre of hungry gossip columnists, disgruntled auteurs, and budding celebrities must be continuously juggled and groomed by the studio’s omnipotent figurehead. It’s an ideal environment for the duo, who seem to be consistently recapitulating earlier films and eras, like their rehash of True Grit (2010). There’s something about this latest effort which hints at the...
- 2/5/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Once branded as essentially sophomoric, Joel and Ethan Coen have, over the past decade, established their artistic and philosophical seriousness, creating their own, distinctive border world straddling farce and tragedy. But they’re still kind of sophomoric. Nothing turns them on as much as fooling around with what they’ve called “movie fodder” — tired genre archetypes plunked down in radically different contexts and given a fresh, antic spin. Their amalgamations can be feats of genius, like their stoner-gumshoe farrago The Big Lebowski. Or they can pretty much lie there, like much of their new, star-packed comedy, Hail, Caesar!, which is nothing but movie fodder.Set in the 1950s, the film centers on a Hollywood studio called Capitol Pictures and its “fixer,” Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), who functions almost like a head of production. Mannix herds wayward actresses and dipsomaniacal actors, plugs casting holes, and tries to keep the whole multi-ring...
- 2/5/2016
- by David Edelstein
- Vulture
Chicago – Writer/directors Joel and Ethan Coen love the movies, and that love is magnificently played out in “Hail, Caesar!” As they riff on religion, geopolitics and 1950s morality, while wonderfully celebrating and spoofing an era in movies that will never be again, the Coens abide and deliver.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
This film is a celebration, couched in references to other studio-era stars, the communist scare of McCarthyism (the Coens do it better than the film “Trumbo,” which was directly about that witch hunt), and the odd personalities that people once had, as celebrity culture was something still being invented. Josh Brolin is in the middle of the madness, as a over-scheduled studio head whose days spent as a “fixer” are hilarious as they are defining. The film works on all levels – as comedy, social commentary and allegory – but it never is pretentious, and prefers a light touch over any other type of narrative.
Rating: 5.0/5.0
This film is a celebration, couched in references to other studio-era stars, the communist scare of McCarthyism (the Coens do it better than the film “Trumbo,” which was directly about that witch hunt), and the odd personalities that people once had, as celebrity culture was something still being invented. Josh Brolin is in the middle of the madness, as a over-scheduled studio head whose days spent as a “fixer” are hilarious as they are defining. The film works on all levels – as comedy, social commentary and allegory – but it never is pretentious, and prefers a light touch over any other type of narrative.
- 2/5/2016
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Hail, Caesar! Universal Pictures Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for Shockya, d-based on Rotten Tomatoes Grade: B+ Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Written by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen Cast: George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand Screened at: Regal E-Walk, NYC, 2/2/16 Opens: February 5, 2016 Irving Berlin’s song “There’s no business like show business” may have been written for the stage, but it sure as hell0 applies as well to movies. Consider this: Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), who works as a movie studio “fixer” in the 1950s, receives a lucrative offer from an aviation company, one that would give him a [ Read More ]
The post Hail, Caesar! Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Hail, Caesar! Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 2/5/2016
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
This story first appeared in the Feb. 12 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. The glitz, glam and behind-the-scenes foibles of Hollywood's golden age get the Coen brothers treatment in Hail, Caesar!, which premieres Feb. 3 in Berlin ahead of its Feb. 5 opening. Chronicling a day in the life of 1950s studio "head of physical production" (aka "fixer") Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin, in a role inspired by and named for a real MGM exec and fixer, see p. 69), the modest Universal release ($22 million net budget) features a
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- 2/5/2016
- by Cathy Whitlock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A kidnapping is at the center of some of the Coen Brothers’ most indelible pictures. From Raising Arizona to Fargo to The Big Lebowski, someone goes missing and it’s through this unfortunate victim’s disappearance that characters are revealed. You can now add Hail, Caesar! to this list. However, while most of these kidnappings spawn a colorful cast of characters where hilarity and morality often sway from the light to the very dark, Hail, Caesar! doesn’t exactly use the taking of the half-wit Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) as the catalyst to propel most of the characters and the story. In fact, it becomes simply just another piece of this collage that the Coens have assembled that is equally both an ode to classic cinema and a biting satire showcasing a facade of what many believe to be what Hollywood is really like.
As studio fixer for Capitol Pictures...
As studio fixer for Capitol Pictures...
- 2/5/2016
- by Michael Haffner
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Ah, old Hollywood cinema: the glamour, the stars, the back-lot romances - all fake, of course. But that’s what made it grand. The Coen brothers' latest is a paean to the 1950s studio system, with Josh Brolin running herd as Eddie Mannix, the fixer on the lot. It’s a rough day for Eddie, what with aquatic actress DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) getting knocked up, a gossip columnist (Tilda Swinton) nosing around and biblical-epic star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) going missing. It's all nuts, and the actors couldn't be having more fun, including Ralph Fiennes as an exacting auteur,...
- 2/5/2016
- by Alynda Wheat, @AlyndaWheat
- PEOPLE.com
Ah, old Hollywood cinema: the glamour, the stars, the back-lot romances - all fake, of course. But that’s what made it grand. The Coen brothers' latest is a paean to the 1950s studio system, with Josh Brolin running herd as Eddie Mannix, the fixer on the lot. It’s a rough day for Eddie, what with aquatic actress DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson) getting knocked up, a gossip columnist (Tilda Swinton) nosing around and biblical-epic star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) going missing. It's all nuts, and the actors couldn't be having more fun, including Ralph Fiennes as an exacting auteur,...
- 2/5/2016
- by Alynda Wheat, @AlyndaWheat
- PEOPLE.com
Joel and Ethan Coen are as unpredictable as they are prolific. We never know what to expect from them—a downbeat drama, a lighthearted period piece, an existential musing—but we know it will be original and offbeat. And we know the supporting cast will be filled with odd and unusual faces, almost reminiscent of Federico Fellini. Hail, Caesar! is a lark, an extended riff on the peccadilloes and politics of Old Hollywood. Josh Brolin plays a studio executive named Eddie Mannix, who was a real person (portrayed by Bob Hoskins in Hollywoodland), but almost everyone and everything else in the film is a product of the Coens' ...
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- 2/4/2016
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
The Coen brothers are some of Hollywood’s, nay, the world’s most important directors. Since they entered the scene in 1984 with Blood Simple they’ve rightfully found huge success with their brand of offbeat stories and neurotic characters. Like Woody Allen before them, they’ve tried their hand at a variety of genres, yet kept their voice consistent throughout. They also have the rare distinguishment of appealing to the art-house crowds, while also finding commercial success in Hollywood and abroad. Like Allen, every so often they have a “pallet cleanser” project in between some of their “high-brow” fare that just doesn’t congeal the way it ought to. Hail, Caesar! falls into that latter category.
I did my best to go into this with an open mind. It was the Coen Brothers after all, and the trailers did their job well in alerting us to just how many Big...
I did my best to go into this with an open mind. It was the Coen Brothers after all, and the trailers did their job well in alerting us to just how many Big...
- 2/4/2016
- by Sprocket the Dog
- LRMonline.com
As I was driving home from talking to Joel and Ethan Coen about their latest film, I called my parents, laughing about the way the film folds Hollywood truth into Hollywood fiction. I mentioned that the Loretta Young story was an obvious inspiration for one thread of the film, and my parents seemed confused by the reference. They knew who Loretta Young was, no doubt, but they had never heard the defining story of her personal life because back when Young was still an active movie star, my parents were part of the audience who were protected from the truth to help keep those movie star images squeaky-clean. Eddie Mannix, played by Josh Brolin, is officially listed as the Head of Physical Production for Capitol Studios, but what he really does is handle problems. He's a fixer. And there was an actual Eddie Mannix who worked for MGM. If you remember Hollywoodland,...
- 2/4/2016
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Just about every other year, more or less like clockwork, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen unleash another film on audiences across the world. Fans of their work will probably be delighted by Hail, Caesar!, which opens this weekend and really resembles some of the most overtly comedic work from the Coens. It’s got an A list cast and an Old Hollywood setting, which will make some folks assume this is a prestige picture. In reality though, this is more of a romp and an example of the filmmaking brothers just having a grand old time. It didn’t thrill me like it will thrill others, but I suspect this won’t be another big Oscar player of theirs, regardless. The film is a look at the day in the life of a Hollywood fixer. Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) works at a big studio in the early 1950’s, making sure...
- 2/3/2016
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
You can't go wrong with the Coen brothers. Even their off films (see our worst-to-best ranking here) are far better than those of most directors, and are always packed with savory pleasures. Thus "Hail, Ceasar!" qualifies as B-tier Coens, but that doesn't mean it isn't often deliciously entertaining, especially for Golden Age cinephiles who will get a kick out of seeing Channing Tatum in a sailor uniform tap-dancing (almost) like Gene Kelly, or Scarlett Johansson squeezed into an emerald Esther Williams mermaid outfit, surrounded by Busby Berkeley-esque synchronized swimmers and spouting fountains. The Coens put Josh Brolin front and center in this broad comedy, a 50s McCarthy era Hollywood valentine they've been planning to do with George Clooney ever since "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," but finally finished writing. Brolin is straight man Eddie Mannix, the studio fixer at Capitol Pictures (shot on the Warner Bros. lot), who is constantly trouble-shooting.
- 2/3/2016
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
This list may seem a bit deceptive for someone who has not watched Hail, Caesar! Honestly, I cannot say any role in the film was not played perfectly! Just because Scarlett Johannson and Jonah Hill didn't make the list doesn't mean their appearances were somewhat disappointing or unfit for the film. I echo Ben's notion that this is a damn good movie, and while everyone was fantastic, these five really had me the whole movie.
5. George Clooney — Baird Whitlock
It's a film where all Clooney really had to do was show up. Sure, this is a star-studded cast, but he's the name that's guaranteed to put butts in seats. While his performance isn't as shining as some of the other cast, he gives his all to the scenes he's in and really plays the douchey movie star role a little too well!
4. Channing Tatum — Burt Gurney
If you were to...
5. George Clooney — Baird Whitlock
It's a film where all Clooney really had to do was show up. Sure, this is a star-studded cast, but he's the name that's guaranteed to put butts in seats. While his performance isn't as shining as some of the other cast, he gives his all to the scenes he's in and really plays the douchey movie star role a little too well!
4. Channing Tatum — Burt Gurney
If you were to...
- 2/3/2016
- by Mick Joest
- GeekTyrant
George Clooney plays the actor whose disappearance is a headache for studio boss Josh Brolin in the Coens’ glorious tribute to Hollywood’s golden age
Not for the first time, the Coen brothers have reached back to the studio sound stages and producers’ offices of the Hollywood golden age to find their material. Their parallel film is Barton Fink, in which earnest playwright John Turturro heads to Los Angeles to write wrestling pictures. Hail, Caesar! is a much sunnier picture, and more purely comedic than its sepulchral predecessor; it’s also put together with a lissom confidence and a breeziness that more than compensates for a gossamer lightness when it comes to substance.
The year is 1951, and Hail, Caesar! is the name of the film within a film, a clunky Roman epic with religious overtones – more along the lines of Quo Vadis than Ben-Hur, despite sharing the latter’s subtitle: A Tale of the Christ.
Not for the first time, the Coen brothers have reached back to the studio sound stages and producers’ offices of the Hollywood golden age to find their material. Their parallel film is Barton Fink, in which earnest playwright John Turturro heads to Los Angeles to write wrestling pictures. Hail, Caesar! is a much sunnier picture, and more purely comedic than its sepulchral predecessor; it’s also put together with a lissom confidence and a breeziness that more than compensates for a gossamer lightness when it comes to substance.
The year is 1951, and Hail, Caesar! is the name of the film within a film, a clunky Roman epic with religious overtones – more along the lines of Quo Vadis than Ben-Hur, despite sharing the latter’s subtitle: A Tale of the Christ.
- 2/3/2016
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
As a comedy about early 1950s Hollywood, the Coen brothers’ Hail, Caesar! has trouble achieving lift-off, and even then can barely manage to stay airborne much longer than Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose. But simultaneously hidden in plain sight is a very different film, the story of a notorious real-life big studio fixer, Eddie Mannix, recast here as a secular saint who does nothing but good for the many and diverse people he must tend to in the course of his demanding job. In short, the Coens work in mysterious ways in this odd piece, one that offers just intermittent
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- 2/3/2016
- by Todd McCarthy
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Full of humor and overflowing with the kind of rich themes you expect from the Coen Brothers, Hail, Caesar! is a delightful romp through the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The film is inspired by the real life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a "fixer" for the fictional Capitol Pictures whose responsibility is to shape and control public perception of the company's stars. He's the all-purpose leader of the studio, constantly putting out fires and paying people off to avoid any scandals that may be uncovered by the Thacker sisters — one a journalist and the other a gossip columnist, both played by Tilda Swinton. (The fact that the sisters are identical twins and that their work is also often indistinguishable is one of the many pieces of sly commentary slipped into the story by the Coens.) In a whirlwind 24-hour period, Mannix must engineer a way for one of his starlets...
The film is inspired by the real life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a "fixer" for the fictional Capitol Pictures whose responsibility is to shape and control public perception of the company's stars. He's the all-purpose leader of the studio, constantly putting out fires and paying people off to avoid any scandals that may be uncovered by the Thacker sisters — one a journalist and the other a gossip columnist, both played by Tilda Swinton. (The fact that the sisters are identical twins and that their work is also often indistinguishable is one of the many pieces of sly commentary slipped into the story by the Coens.) In a whirlwind 24-hour period, Mannix must engineer a way for one of his starlets...
- 2/3/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
Dozens of films try to copy the Coens every year, and yet no one ever comes close. They have developed such a delicate, fluid witches’ brew of talent behind and in front of the camera, and a writing style that’s consistently funny and melancholy (often at the same time), that it seems impossible to replicate.
Hail, Caesar! is a film that could only ever be made by the Coens. Just as the brothers themselves love to present dialectics about the duality of triviality and seriousness, so, too, does Hail, Caesar! constantly skate back and forth between feeling slight and monumental.
Its plot, like much of their work, is a tangle of transparent, connected convolutions. Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a fixer for Capitol Pictures in the 1950s. His day to day is problem-solving, and he’s faced with some sizable ones. The studio is in the middle of making...
Hail, Caesar! is a film that could only ever be made by the Coens. Just as the brothers themselves love to present dialectics about the duality of triviality and seriousness, so, too, does Hail, Caesar! constantly skate back and forth between feeling slight and monumental.
Its plot, like much of their work, is a tangle of transparent, connected convolutions. Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is a fixer for Capitol Pictures in the 1950s. His day to day is problem-solving, and he’s faced with some sizable ones. The studio is in the middle of making...
- 2/3/2016
- by Michael Snydel
- The Film Stage
All across Magic Mike and its Xxl sequel, Channing Tatum irrefutably proved that his dancing skills could just about steal any scene that didn’t involve Matthew McConaughey – at least in the former – though the actor will soon be swapping stripper for crooner in Joel and Ethan Coen’s soon-to-be-released drama, Hail, Caesar!
With mere days standing between now and the film’s arrival, Universal has premiered the latest clip from the movie, showcasing that, yes, Tatum can sing just as much as he can dance.
Boasting a decidedly old-school aesthetic, Hail, Caesar! harkens back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, when one studio fixer (Josh Brolin’s Eddie Mannix) spends 24 gruelling hours scrambling around Tinsel Town in search of a wayward A-lister. Said star just so happens to be George Clooney’s character Baird Whitlock – expanding on his American Idiot trilogy under the Coen Brothers, following Burn After Reading,...
With mere days standing between now and the film’s arrival, Universal has premiered the latest clip from the movie, showcasing that, yes, Tatum can sing just as much as he can dance.
Boasting a decidedly old-school aesthetic, Hail, Caesar! harkens back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, when one studio fixer (Josh Brolin’s Eddie Mannix) spends 24 gruelling hours scrambling around Tinsel Town in search of a wayward A-lister. Said star just so happens to be George Clooney’s character Baird Whitlock – expanding on his American Idiot trilogy under the Coen Brothers, following Burn After Reading,...
- 2/1/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
If you've been enjoying the trailers for the Coen brothers' latest film, Hail, Caesar!, then you should get a kick out of the following clips. For those unfamiliar, the film is a comedic period picture set in the 1950s that follows Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a Hollywood fixer who works for the studios to protect their movie stars and their squeaky-clean reputations from gossip rags and jealous rivals... Read More...
- 2/1/2016
- by Sean Wist
- JoBlo.com
It's a great week for fans of the Coen brothers. Their new comedy "Hail, Caesar!" comes out this Friday, starring the A-list team of Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Alden Ehrenreich, and Frances McDormand.
This exclusive featurette focuses on the main character, Josh Brolin's Eddie Mannix, the general manager and vice president of Capitol Pictures in early 1950s Hollywood.
"He's like the fixer, dealing with the looney bin of the movie industry," Brolin says in the video. "It's kind of amazing the debauchery that was going on during this time." (We see Tilda Swinton's character mention all the "womanizing" and "drinking.")
Mannix wants to keep actors happy, Brolin says, but he's also keeping them safe, which turns out to be a big issue in the movie when major movie star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) gets kidnapped while in costume for the studio's movie,...
This exclusive featurette focuses on the main character, Josh Brolin's Eddie Mannix, the general manager and vice president of Capitol Pictures in early 1950s Hollywood.
"He's like the fixer, dealing with the looney bin of the movie industry," Brolin says in the video. "It's kind of amazing the debauchery that was going on during this time." (We see Tilda Swinton's character mention all the "womanizing" and "drinking.")
Mannix wants to keep actors happy, Brolin says, but he's also keeping them safe, which turns out to be a big issue in the movie when major movie star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) gets kidnapped while in costume for the studio's movie,...
- 2/1/2016
- by Gina Carbone
- Moviefone
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