Jean Rouverol Butler, an actress turned screenwriter who was blacklisted by Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s and fled to Mexico with her husband, died Friday at the age of 100, according to a funeral notice posted by her family. Rouverol Butler’s introduction to showbiz came at an early age. Her mother, playwright Aurania (Ellerbeck) Rouverol, was the creator of Andy Hardy and many films for MGM. At 17, the young Rouverol was discovered in true Hollywood style while in a high school production. Her first professional acting role was as W.C. Fields’ daughter in “It’s a Gift” (1934), and...
- 3/25/2017
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
Filmmakers and stars have often taken a political stance by choosing which projects to make. But when the Academy Awards ceremony began in 1929 to honor the best in film, this created a more public way to demonstrate opinions about the state of the world, the government or a cause.
Read More: Meryl Streep Fires Back at Donald Trump in Blistering Speech: ‘We Have the Right to Live Our Lives’
Not everyone has taken this opportunity though, except for maybe wearing the odd ribbon to support awareness or using their attendance (or lack thereof) to show solidarity. Those blessed by winning a coveted statuette, however, can use their actual acceptance speech as a platform to speak out. Although the awards started being televised in 1953, it took until the 1970s until winners began to really take advantage of having a massive audience for their views. And at times, even the Academy itself got political.
Read More: Meryl Streep Fires Back at Donald Trump in Blistering Speech: ‘We Have the Right to Live Our Lives’
Not everyone has taken this opportunity though, except for maybe wearing the odd ribbon to support awareness or using their attendance (or lack thereof) to show solidarity. Those blessed by winning a coveted statuette, however, can use their actual acceptance speech as a platform to speak out. Although the awards started being televised in 1953, it took until the 1970s until winners began to really take advantage of having a massive audience for their views. And at times, even the Academy itself got political.
- 2/26/2017
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
In the season 1 finale of Timeless, we find the team heading back to the 1950s to stop Flynn from claiming more innocent lives. But as Flynn teams up with Joseph McCarthy, Lucy, Wyatt and Rufus must race to the Rittenhouse summit to halt Flynn's mission and end Rittenhouse for good. Can our favorite time traveling trio accomplish the impossible? Or will Rittenhouse gain the upper hand? Find out in our recap of "The Red Scare" below.
- 2/20/2017
- by editor@buddytv.com
- buddytv.com
Debbie Reynolds, who died on Wednesday at the age of 84, was one of the last icons of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Throughout her nearly seven decade career, Reynolds made a name for herself as a triple-threat singer, dancer, and actor — with roles in big-screen MGM musicals and Broadway shows. She was also chart-topping recording artist and dynamic live performer, who toured the country for years as a night club entertainer.
Music was an inescapable part of Reynolds career. Here are 11 of her best musical moments.
“Aba Daba Honeymoon” (1950)
Arthur Fields and Walter Donovan’s “Aba Daba Honeymoon” was first recorded...
Throughout her nearly seven decade career, Reynolds made a name for herself as a triple-threat singer, dancer, and actor — with roles in big-screen MGM musicals and Broadway shows. She was also chart-topping recording artist and dynamic live performer, who toured the country for years as a night club entertainer.
Music was an inescapable part of Reynolds career. Here are 11 of her best musical moments.
“Aba Daba Honeymoon” (1950)
Arthur Fields and Walter Donovan’s “Aba Daba Honeymoon” was first recorded...
- 12/29/2016
- by Dave Quinn
- PEOPLE.com
Angels in America is considered by many to be the seminal play on America at the end of the twentieth century-not the least of which because it features the lawyer Roy Cohn. Cohn, who served as Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the Senator's Communist witch hunt that terrorized many in the artistic community and provided the inspiration for Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Cohn also served as the attorney for high-level members of the mafia, and, perhaps most relevant to today's current political environment, worked as Donald Trump's lawyer during the 1970s and 1980s.
- 10/23/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
In the golden age of movies, big name actors would often direct and produce their own movies. Spending 16 hour days on a film set is sure to teach you a thing or two about filmmaking and in some cases, this helps actors make the best directors. With the Cambridge Film Festival coming up, Cambridge storage solutions provider Storebox, wanted to celebrate a few of those actors who decided to branch out in the industry. They take a look at some of the ‘actor to director’ success stories and highlight just a few of the actors who took to directing and won.
Ron Howard
Some may know Ron Howard better as Happy Days Richie Cunningham, and best friend of The Fonz. However, after leaving the hit show in 1980, he changed course and directed his first, low-budget film Grand Theft Auto. Since his directorial debut, Ron Howard has gone on to direct...
Ron Howard
Some may know Ron Howard better as Happy Days Richie Cunningham, and best friend of The Fonz. However, after leaving the hit show in 1980, he changed course and directed his first, low-budget film Grand Theft Auto. Since his directorial debut, Ron Howard has gone on to direct...
- 10/19/2016
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
By Lee Pfeiffer
By 1974 John Wayne was in the twilight of his long, distinguished film career that had spanned six decades. Although the genre that we associate him most with, the Western, was still in vogue, the trend among audience preferences had clearly shifted to urban crime dramas. Surprisingly, Wayne had never played a cop or detective - unless you want to count his role in the lamentable "Big Jim McLain", a 1952 Warner Brothers propaganda film that served as a love letter to Sen. Joseph McCarthy. In that turkey, Wayne played an investigator for Huac, the House UnAmerican Activities Committee that served as McCarthy's private police force, presumably searching out commie infiltrators. All they ended up doing was ruining the lives of left-wing people in the arts and academia. Wayne, for his part, remained unapologetic for his support of Huac even after McCarthy's popularity plummeted and he ended his career in shame and disgrace.
By 1974 John Wayne was in the twilight of his long, distinguished film career that had spanned six decades. Although the genre that we associate him most with, the Western, was still in vogue, the trend among audience preferences had clearly shifted to urban crime dramas. Surprisingly, Wayne had never played a cop or detective - unless you want to count his role in the lamentable "Big Jim McLain", a 1952 Warner Brothers propaganda film that served as a love letter to Sen. Joseph McCarthy. In that turkey, Wayne played an investigator for Huac, the House UnAmerican Activities Committee that served as McCarthy's private police force, presumably searching out commie infiltrators. All they ended up doing was ruining the lives of left-wing people in the arts and academia. Wayne, for his part, remained unapologetic for his support of Huac even after McCarthy's popularity plummeted and he ended his career in shame and disgrace.
- 7/16/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Robert F. Kennedy - best known to his family and friends as Bobby - still continues to be a figure of public fascination, nearly 50 years after his assassination. A new book, Bobby Kennedy: The Making of A Liberal Icon, by Larry Tye, shares new insights on the late Senator's tragically cut-short life. Tye spoke with Bobby's widow, Ethel Kennedy, 88, about the events that shaped his life. People spoke with Tye about some of the biggest revelations from the book - and what the people in Bobby's life had to say about them. 1. Bobby most likely had affairs - but...
- 6/16/2016
- by Diana Pearl, @dianapearl_
- PEOPLE.com
Robert F. Kennedy - best known to his family and friends as Bobby - still continues to be a figure of public fascination, nearly 50 years after his assassination. A new book, Bobby Kennedy: The Making of A Liberal Icon, by Larry Tye, shares new insights on the late Senator's tragically cut-short life. Tye spoke with Bobby's widow, Ethel Kennedy, 88, about the events that shaped his life. People spoke with Tye about some of the biggest revelations from the book - and what the people in Bobby's life had to say about them. 1. Bobby most likely had affairs - but...
- 6/16/2016
- by Diana Pearl, @dianapearl_
- PEOPLE.com
Anne Marie is tracking Judy Garland's career through musical numbers...
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. revolutionized entertainment. Though he was best known for the Vaudeville showgirls in the musical review that bore his name, but his reach extended beyond the Follies. He legitimized Vaudeville and funded the show that would spawn the modern American musical. Though Ziegfeld died in 1932, MGM continued glorifying - and profiting from - Ziegfeld's legacy. In 1936, MGM released a biopic, The Great Ziegfeld based on the life of Ziegfeld and his wife, Billy Burke. The success of that film led the studio to announce a spiritual successor in 1938: Ziegfeld Girl, set to star Joan Crawford, Eleanor Powell, and Virginia Bruce. But when the movie was finally made 3 years later, the cast had changed a bit.
The Movie: Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
The Songwriters: Joseph McCarthy & Harry Carroll, from a tune by Chopin
The Players: Judy Garland, Lana Turner,...
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. revolutionized entertainment. Though he was best known for the Vaudeville showgirls in the musical review that bore his name, but his reach extended beyond the Follies. He legitimized Vaudeville and funded the show that would spawn the modern American musical. Though Ziegfeld died in 1932, MGM continued glorifying - and profiting from - Ziegfeld's legacy. In 1936, MGM released a biopic, The Great Ziegfeld based on the life of Ziegfeld and his wife, Billy Burke. The success of that film led the studio to announce a spiritual successor in 1938: Ziegfeld Girl, set to star Joan Crawford, Eleanor Powell, and Virginia Bruce. But when the movie was finally made 3 years later, the cast had changed a bit.
The Movie: Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
The Songwriters: Joseph McCarthy & Harry Carroll, from a tune by Chopin
The Players: Judy Garland, Lana Turner,...
- 4/13/2016
- by Anne Marie
- FilmExperience
Anne Marie is charting Judy Garland's career through musical numbers...
In 1936, 14 year old Judy was selected to perform at Clark Gable's birthday party. Gable, the biggest MGM star at that time, was to have an all out bash. For Judy's performance, Roger Edens wrote an intro lyric to an old MGM property, "You Made Me Love You," which directed the 1917 song specifically at Gable. At the party, Judy jumped out of a cake and sang the star his song, charming not only the birthday boy, but also his boss, Louis B. Mayer.
The Movie: Broadway Melody of 1938 (MGM, 1937)
The Songwriter: James V. Monaco (music), Joseph McCarthy (lyrics), Roger Edens (new title & intro)
The Players: Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, Judy Garland, Clark Gable's photo, directed by Roy del Ruth
The Story: The result of her hit at the birthday party was that Judy Garland was cast...
In 1936, 14 year old Judy was selected to perform at Clark Gable's birthday party. Gable, the biggest MGM star at that time, was to have an all out bash. For Judy's performance, Roger Edens wrote an intro lyric to an old MGM property, "You Made Me Love You," which directed the 1917 song specifically at Gable. At the party, Judy jumped out of a cake and sang the star his song, charming not only the birthday boy, but also his boss, Louis B. Mayer.
The Movie: Broadway Melody of 1938 (MGM, 1937)
The Songwriter: James V. Monaco (music), Joseph McCarthy (lyrics), Roger Edens (new title & intro)
The Players: Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, Judy Garland, Clark Gable's photo, directed by Roy del Ruth
The Story: The result of her hit at the birthday party was that Judy Garland was cast...
- 1/27/2016
- by Anne Marie
- FilmExperience
In an interview for a 2013 documentary, former Daily Show star/Ep Jon Stewart paid homage to Washington Post‘s celebrated editorial page cartoonist Herbert Block, aka Herblock, who’d coined the expression “McCarthyism” in 1950 to attack the demagoguery of Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his anti-communist hearings. Last night, Stewart’s writing-producing staff, most of whom remain with the show Stewart turned into a formidable political satire now hosted by Trevor Noah, unveiled…...
- 12/1/2015
- Deadline TV
The Brave One: Roach Recapitulates Black List Era Hollywood
Examining the past from the safer perspective of our more enlightened period, Jay Roach’s Trumbo is a salutation to famed screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, a man who defied the blacklist following Joseph McCarthy’s witch hunt in Hollywood. Unfortunately the film doesn’t seem worthy of the talented man it’s lionizing. Some might conclude, now more than ever, a remembrance of Trumbo and those brave souls who continue to stand against a corrupt system despite personal losses, are important. But then, one would expect a much more unruly and rebellious film, something harpooning Hollywood’s greedy, superficial sugarcoating rather than just another period send-up. Despite a sympathetic and altogether enjoyable performance from Bryan Cranston, Roach dithers around with a host of stereotypes and clichés, presenting mimicry of cinematic golden days sporting a cavalcade of caricatures not unlike Sacha Gervasi...
Examining the past from the safer perspective of our more enlightened period, Jay Roach’s Trumbo is a salutation to famed screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, a man who defied the blacklist following Joseph McCarthy’s witch hunt in Hollywood. Unfortunately the film doesn’t seem worthy of the talented man it’s lionizing. Some might conclude, now more than ever, a remembrance of Trumbo and those brave souls who continue to stand against a corrupt system despite personal losses, are important. But then, one would expect a much more unruly and rebellious film, something harpooning Hollywood’s greedy, superficial sugarcoating rather than just another period send-up. Despite a sympathetic and altogether enjoyable performance from Bryan Cranston, Roach dithers around with a host of stereotypes and clichés, presenting mimicry of cinematic golden days sporting a cavalcade of caricatures not unlike Sacha Gervasi...
- 11/4/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Longtime Coen brothers collaborator George Clooney, who stars in their Hollywood caper, "Hail, Caesar!"—due out from Universal early next year—is looking to team up with the pair again, this time behind the camera. Deadline reports that the "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and "Intolerable Cruelty" star is rumored to direct the Coens' long-gestating noir, "Suburbicon," to be produced by Joel Silver. Read More: "Watch: Half of Hollywood Turns Up in Bonkers Trailer for Coens' Epic Caper, 'Hail, Caesar!'" It would be Clooney's first turn in the director's chair since 2014's "The Monuments Men," and perhaps a chance to recapture the magic of his black-and-white portrait of Edward R. Murrow's challenge to red-baiting Sen. Joseph McCarthy, "Good Night and Good Luck." Clooney's directorial efforts since then, including "Leatherheads" and "The Ides of March," were largely unsuccessful with critics and...
- 10/26/2015
- by Matt Brennan
- Thompson on Hollywood
There can be no question that the Hollywood Blacklist, which came about as a result of the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings in the 1950s, represents the most shameful period in the industry’s history. So many talented people lost their careers — and more — after being accused of being a communist during a hysterical period in the U.S. when the likes of Sen. Joseph McCarthy conducted nothing less than a witch hunt with strong political motivations. The new…...
- 10/23/2015
- Deadline
Early in Steve Jobs, the Aaron Sorkin-scripted, Danny Boyle-directed biopic about the mercurial Apple co-founder, the hero does something so right yet so peculiar that you understand why a cult sprung up around him. It's 1984, a few weeks after the legendary SuperBowl commercial heralding the arrival of the Apple Macintosh. The official public unveiling is minutes away. The crowd, which has been kept waiting as its creator dithers and tinkers backstage, has begun muttering and stomping its feet. Jobs is a serenely confident pill of a man, micromanaging everything,...
- 10/12/2015
- Rollingstone.com
By Patrick Shanley
Managing Editor
The Walk, the true story adaption of high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) 1974 walk across the World Trade Center from director Robert Zemeckis, premiered this Saturday at the 53rd New York Film Festival. The film has been receiving major Oscar buzz for Gordon-Levitt and Zemeckis, and hopes to garner a best picture nomination.
However, the film’s rating, PG, makes it a bit of a rarity in relation to recent Oscar success. Though it is not considered a children’s film by any means, with moments of extreme tension and drama, The Walk is nonetheless a family-friendly picture and its Npaa rating reflects that.
Since the turn of the new millennium, the majority of best pictures noms and winners have been rated PG-13 or R, a trend Zemeckis is hoping to buck this season.
Here’s a look back on recent films that were...
Managing Editor
The Walk, the true story adaption of high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) 1974 walk across the World Trade Center from director Robert Zemeckis, premiered this Saturday at the 53rd New York Film Festival. The film has been receiving major Oscar buzz for Gordon-Levitt and Zemeckis, and hopes to garner a best picture nomination.
However, the film’s rating, PG, makes it a bit of a rarity in relation to recent Oscar success. Though it is not considered a children’s film by any means, with moments of extreme tension and drama, The Walk is nonetheless a family-friendly picture and its Npaa rating reflects that.
Since the turn of the new millennium, the majority of best pictures noms and winners have been rated PG-13 or R, a trend Zemeckis is hoping to buck this season.
Here’s a look back on recent films that were...
- 9/28/2015
- by Patrick Shanley
- Scott Feinberg
By Patrick Shanley
Managing Editor
The 53rd New York Film Festival will begin this Saturday (postponed from today due to Pope Francis‘ visit) with Robert Zemeckis‘ high-wire biopic The Walk opening the event.
The Joseph Gordon-Levitt-starring picture, in which he plays French high-wire artist Philippe Petit, is Zemeckis’ first film since 2012’s Flight which earned two Oscar nominations, but none for Zemeckis himself.
Premiering on opening night in New York has led to Oscar success for films in past years, and with a season that has so far not seen a frontrunner, The Walk is hoping to capitalize.
Here’s a look at films that have premiered on New York Film Festival’s opening night and gone on to receive recognition from the Academy:
Chariots of Fire (1981): The drama about two runners competing in the 1924 Olympic Games opened the 19th Nyff on its way to winning four Academy Awards,...
Managing Editor
The 53rd New York Film Festival will begin this Saturday (postponed from today due to Pope Francis‘ visit) with Robert Zemeckis‘ high-wire biopic The Walk opening the event.
The Joseph Gordon-Levitt-starring picture, in which he plays French high-wire artist Philippe Petit, is Zemeckis’ first film since 2012’s Flight which earned two Oscar nominations, but none for Zemeckis himself.
Premiering on opening night in New York has led to Oscar success for films in past years, and with a season that has so far not seen a frontrunner, The Walk is hoping to capitalize.
Here’s a look at films that have premiered on New York Film Festival’s opening night and gone on to receive recognition from the Academy:
Chariots of Fire (1981): The drama about two runners competing in the 1924 Olympic Games opened the 19th Nyff on its way to winning four Academy Awards,...
- 9/25/2015
- by Patrick Shanley
- Scott Feinberg
Spies at work in North By Northwest
He was the lead film critic at the Daily Express and spent an extensive period in Hollywood working for the New York Sun before moving on to work with MI6, but newly released files in the National Archive have revealed that Cedric Belfrage was a spy. Over the course of three years he passed secret documents to the Soviet Union, but he was never prosecuted - partly because MI5 couldn't prove he had intended harm, and partly because of fears that his popularity could lead to more people sympathising with the other side.
Belfrage, who died in 1990, said that he had always sympathsed with the poor and had been uncomfortable about the wealth inequality he saw in Hollywood. He was deported from the Us in 1955 after Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee found that he had once been a secret member of the Communist Party.
He was the lead film critic at the Daily Express and spent an extensive period in Hollywood working for the New York Sun before moving on to work with MI6, but newly released files in the National Archive have revealed that Cedric Belfrage was a spy. Over the course of three years he passed secret documents to the Soviet Union, but he was never prosecuted - partly because MI5 couldn't prove he had intended harm, and partly because of fears that his popularity could lead to more people sympathising with the other side.
Belfrage, who died in 1990, said that he had always sympathsed with the poor and had been uncomfortable about the wealth inequality he saw in Hollywood. He was deported from the Us in 1955 after Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee found that he had once been a secret member of the Communist Party.
- 8/21/2015
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
'The Beginning or the End' 1947 with Robert Walker and Tom Drake. Hiroshima bombing 70th anniversary: Six movies dealing with the A-bomb terror Seventy years ago, on Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. Ultimately, anywhere between 70,000 and 140,000 people died – in addition to dogs, cats, horses, chickens, and most other living beings in that part of the world. Three days later, America dropped a second atomic bomb, this time over Nagasaki. Human deaths in this other city totaled anywhere between 40,000-80,000. For obvious reasons, the evisceration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been a quasi-taboo in American films. After all, in the last 75 years Hollywood's World War II movies, from John Farrow's Wake Island (1942) and Mervyn LeRoy's Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) to Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor (2001), almost invariably have presented a clear-cut vision...
- 8/7/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
A prototype of what would come to be familiarly known as the home invasion thriller, 1951’s He Ran All the Way is also an important artifact from the Huac witch hunt during Joseph McCarthy’s pillaging of the entertainment industry. Director John Berry would go uncredited for this and his next several features due to his reputation as a Communist sympathizer, eventually leading him to France for the remainder of the decade.
The film was based on a novel by a more famous blacklisted alumnus, Dalton Trumbo, writing under the pseudonym Sam Ross, also adapting the screenplay. Sadly, the film is also the last performance from 40’s icon John Garfield, who died in 1952 from coronary thrombosis, his health woes credited to his blacklisting following his refusal to name names while testifying in front of Huac, a tragedy co-star Shelley Winters vocalized bitterly for years to come. Though these intense tidbits...
The film was based on a novel by a more famous blacklisted alumnus, Dalton Trumbo, writing under the pseudonym Sam Ross, also adapting the screenplay. Sadly, the film is also the last performance from 40’s icon John Garfield, who died in 1952 from coronary thrombosis, his health woes credited to his blacklisting following his refusal to name names while testifying in front of Huac, a tragedy co-star Shelley Winters vocalized bitterly for years to come. Though these intense tidbits...
- 8/4/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
For the sake of this particular movie column let’s just consider the media types of news personalities, journalists and reporters as interchangeable. With that in mind Newsmakers and Media Shakers: Top Ten Reporters in the Movies will look at some of cinema’s top inquirers in the name of getting down to the nitty-gritty in bringing the truth to the forefront.
The movies have intensely, if not sometimes comically, showcased those characters that felt justified in reporting their newsworthy findings in the name of riveting entertainment. Whether spotlighting real-life newsmaker and shakers such as legendary luminaries in Edward R. Murrow to Watergate busters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein or profiling parodies of probing journalists as Natural Born Killer’s Wayne Gale it has been a trippy ride in witnessing cinematic reporters and their excitable exploits.
Perhaps Newmakers and Media Shakers: Top Ten Reporters in the Movies will be irresponsibly...
The movies have intensely, if not sometimes comically, showcased those characters that felt justified in reporting their newsworthy findings in the name of riveting entertainment. Whether spotlighting real-life newsmaker and shakers such as legendary luminaries in Edward R. Murrow to Watergate busters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein or profiling parodies of probing journalists as Natural Born Killer’s Wayne Gale it has been a trippy ride in witnessing cinematic reporters and their excitable exploits.
Perhaps Newmakers and Media Shakers: Top Ten Reporters in the Movies will be irresponsibly...
- 2/14/2015
- by Frank Ochieng
- SoundOnSight
Directors Guild President Paris Barclay has announced the TV, documentary and commercial nominees for this year's DGA Awards. “The spectrum of directorial excellence across today's nine television and documentary categories is revelatory for the breadth and depth in what each of these women and men have directed – from 30-second commercials to multi-hour miniseries,” said Barclay in a statement. “As fellow filmmakers, we’re inspired by the quality, imagination and creativity demonstrated by these impressive nominees; as audience members, we’re incredibly fortunate to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Our congratulations to all of the nominees.” First-time nominees include Jodie Foster ("House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black"), Cary Fukunaga ("True Detective"), Mike Judge ("Silicon Valley"), Lisa Cholodenko ("Olive Kitteridge"), Michael Wilson ("The Trip to Bountiful") and Jill Soloway ("Transparent"). Winners will be announced Saturday, February 7, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles at a ceremony hosted by Jane Lynch.
- 1/14/2015
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
For fans of Hollywood's Golden Age, Trumbo should hold many delights. The biopic of the famed screenwriter will shine some light on the darker corners of the Communist witchhunt and in so doing introduce luminaries like Edward G. Robinson, Kirk Douglas and John Wayne. Dalton Trumbo himself is played by Bryan Cranston, here looking suitably learned in a first-look still from the film. Trumbo, the writer of Spartacus and Roman Holiday, among other classics, was one of those blacklisted for having ties with the Communist party in 1947. Refusing to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee (a kind of Hydra for Senator Joseph McCarthy and his closest pals), he was jettisoned from Hollywood's inner circle and left having to use a pseudonym on his screenplays.Trumbo will major on the story behind Spartacus in 1960 and, in particular, the writer's rapport with Kirk Douglas (The Hobbit's Dean O'Gorman). The movie star's...
- 11/12/2014
- EmpireOnline
The movie journalist is always caught up in scandal, gossip and invasions of privacy. Though plenty of movies have been made about authors, poets, and other writers, the physical act of writing and editing rarely makes it into Hollywood journalism. Thankfully, the more sensational aspects of media have made for scathing satire and commentary, loathsome anti-heroes, and pulpy, investigative reporting that the camera loves.
This week’s Nightcrawler features Jake Gyllenhaal as a crime journalist in L.A., but he’s more Travis Bickle than Anderson Cooper. Even other films released this year have fit the template of being more about something else than actually about journalism, from a theater critic in Birdman trying to destroy Riggan Thompson’s career to Jeremy Renner in Kill the Messenger about how noble voices get squashed.
The best movies about journalism are more than the newsroom politics, so in honor of Nightcrawler’s release,...
This week’s Nightcrawler features Jake Gyllenhaal as a crime journalist in L.A., but he’s more Travis Bickle than Anderson Cooper. Even other films released this year have fit the template of being more about something else than actually about journalism, from a theater critic in Birdman trying to destroy Riggan Thompson’s career to Jeremy Renner in Kill the Messenger about how noble voices get squashed.
The best movies about journalism are more than the newsroom politics, so in honor of Nightcrawler’s release,...
- 10/30/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
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As Trumbo arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, we look back at the Oscar-winning screenwriter who couldn't get his award...
This article originally appeared in 2014. It has been reposted to blatantly attempt to cash in on the disc release of Trumbo in the UK, and to hope more people read it this time around. We figured the honest approach was worth a shot...
Back in 1953, Roman Holiday was a raging success. The Audrey Hepburn-headlined romantic comedy picked up seven Oscar nominations, and its box office run brought in $12m off a $1.5m budget (if you go by inflation-adjusted totals, that'd be receipts of well over $150m). Furthermore, come the night of the Academy Awards, further riches were to be bestowed on the film. Audrey Hepburn took home Oscar gold for Best Actress, whilst the costume designer, Edith Head, was rewarded for her work.
The film collected a third Oscar too,...
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As Trumbo arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, we look back at the Oscar-winning screenwriter who couldn't get his award...
This article originally appeared in 2014. It has been reposted to blatantly attempt to cash in on the disc release of Trumbo in the UK, and to hope more people read it this time around. We figured the honest approach was worth a shot...
Back in 1953, Roman Holiday was a raging success. The Audrey Hepburn-headlined romantic comedy picked up seven Oscar nominations, and its box office run brought in $12m off a $1.5m budget (if you go by inflation-adjusted totals, that'd be receipts of well over $150m). Furthermore, come the night of the Academy Awards, further riches were to be bestowed on the film. Audrey Hepburn took home Oscar gold for Best Actress, whilst the costume designer, Edith Head, was rewarded for her work.
The film collected a third Oscar too,...
- 9/22/2014
- Den of Geek
George Clooney will direct a film based on the News International phone hacking scandal.
The upcoming movie is inspired by the book Hack Attack by Nick Davies, the journalist who investigated hacking allegations against Rupert Murdoch's company.
George Clooney on Daily Mail spat: 'It's fun to slap those bad guys'
News of the World was shut down amidst Davies and other reporters' discovery that missing school girl Milly Dowler's phone was hacked by the paper.
Clooney, who is also producing the film with partner Grant Heslov and Michael De Luca, has described his upcoming movie as an exploration of "lying, corruption [and] blackmail".
He said in a statement: "This has all the elements - lying, corruption, blackmail - at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London.
"And the fact that it's true is the best part. Nick is a brave and stubborn reporter and we consider...
The upcoming movie is inspired by the book Hack Attack by Nick Davies, the journalist who investigated hacking allegations against Rupert Murdoch's company.
George Clooney on Daily Mail spat: 'It's fun to slap those bad guys'
News of the World was shut down amidst Davies and other reporters' discovery that missing school girl Milly Dowler's phone was hacked by the paper.
Clooney, who is also producing the film with partner Grant Heslov and Michael De Luca, has described his upcoming movie as an exploration of "lying, corruption [and] blackmail".
He said in a statement: "This has all the elements - lying, corruption, blackmail - at the highest levels of government by the biggest newspaper in London.
"And the fact that it's true is the best part. Nick is a brave and stubborn reporter and we consider...
- 9/3/2014
- Digital Spy
Breaking: The son of a journalist, George Clooney chronicled a high-water mark for the craft, when Edward R. Murrow stood up to Red-baiting Senator Joseph McCarthy in Good Night, And Good Luck. Clooney will next direct a film covering the opposite end of the spectrum. He’ll helm for Sony Pictures an adaptation of the Nick Davies book Hack Attack, a dissection of the British phone-hacking scandal that became a commonplace news gathering technique within Rupert Murdoch’s news empire. Clooney and his Smokehouse partner Grant Heslov will produce.
Over six years, Davies investigated News Corp and its subsidiary, News International, in a book that showed how they gained an advantage over their tabloid rivals by hacking into the voicemail messages of elected officials, celebrities, and even ordinary British citizens and the victims of terror attacks. When it was finally uncovered — the low point came when journos hacked the phone...
Over six years, Davies investigated News Corp and its subsidiary, News International, in a book that showed how they gained an advantage over their tabloid rivals by hacking into the voicemail messages of elected officials, celebrities, and even ordinary British citizens and the victims of terror attacks. When it was finally uncovered — the low point came when journos hacked the phone...
- 9/3/2014
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline
They may not have shared any scenes, but Bryan Cranston and John Goodman were both great in Argo. Now they may get the chance to shine together as director Jay Roach has Goodman in talks for a role in Trumbo, which Cranston is locked to star in alongside Helen Mirren.It’ll be based on the experiences of Dalton Trumbo, who was locked up in 1950 for refusing to answer questions before the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. The panel was obsessed with rooting out suspected communists in Hollywood (and elsewhere) and for his stance, Trumbo was blacklisted and refused work. He managed to score assignments under various pseudonyms, but it wasn't until Spartacus in 1960 that he got public credit for his work again.Assuming he accepts the job offer, Goodman would play Frank King, a powerful producer in Hollywood who hires Trumbo to work for...
- 7/30/2014
- EmpireOnline
There has always been an understated rivalry between the mediums of movies and television. Many years ago it was even thought as being somewhat of a drastic career letdown if actors/actresses from film decided to depart for the landscape of television. The truth is that for some performers that had stalled or uneventful momentum in motion pictures that the concept of “slumming it” in television actually saved their show business profession. Hence, the boob tube made them relevant whereas the big screen had unceremoniously passed them by.
However, there is also a mutual respect that cinema and television share that go hand in hand when shaping our appreciation for entertainment on both the big and small screen. When movies depict the aspects of the TV world giving a sociological, psychological or emotional perspective then it is not so uncool to be a proud couch potato after all, right? Let...
However, there is also a mutual respect that cinema and television share that go hand in hand when shaping our appreciation for entertainment on both the big and small screen. When movies depict the aspects of the TV world giving a sociological, psychological or emotional perspective then it is not so uncool to be a proud couch potato after all, right? Let...
- 7/13/2014
- by Frank Ochieng
- SoundOnSight
Last September, word emerged that Bryan Cranston was looking to add a biopic of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo to his cinematic CV with Trumbo. The film’s producers are now looking to score Helen Mirren’s services as Trumbo’s wife, Cleo.Hitchcock provided yet more evidence of the magic Mirren can weave when she’s given a compelling female character to play and while a lot less is known about Cleo Trumble, it’s a fascinating, real-life story that has Jay Roach attached to direct John McNamara’s script.It’ll be based experiences of Trumbo, who was locked up in 1950 for refusing to answer questions before the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. The panel was obsessed with rooting out suspected communists in Hollywood and for his stance, Trumbo was blacklisted and refused work. He managed to score assignments under various pseudonyms, but it...
- 4/15/2014
- EmpireOnline
It was shortly before the series finale of "Breaking Bad" last year that word broke of Bryan Cranston signing on to headline Trumbo , a biopic of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo that Jay Roach ( The Campaign , Game Change ) will direct. Now, Variety reports that Helen Mirren is eyeing a role opposite Cranston as Trumbo's wife, Cleo. Trumbo published his first novel, "Eclipse," in 1935 with his first screenplay, director Louis King's Road Gang , hitting the big screen the following year. With more than a dozen subsequent credits to his name, Trumbo was the highest paid screenwriter of his day when he was brought before Senator Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee. Refusing to testify, Trumbo was blacklisted, but continued to write...
- 4/14/2014
- Comingsoon.net
In the 1950s, when Senator Joseph McCarthy was nodding his head in demagogic agreement with himself, animation pioneer and Hollywood blacklist member John Hubley was tapping his toes to the rhythm of jazz. His experimental animation seemed uncontainable— wildly singular visions that owed more to Hans Hoffman than Max Fleischer. Hubley (whose films are currently touring the country to celebrate his 100th birthday) gave audiences intimate glimpses into the lives of those who were often ignored by major animation studios, and tackled topics such as nuclear war, agnosticism, and social justice. While children hunkered down in front of big, boxy televisions to watch Silly Symphonies, John Hubley was recording his children's voices and using them to create socially-conscious animated films. Hubley started his career painting backgrounds and layouts for Walt Disney Studios in 1935, when he was 22-years-old. He worked on the first classic Disney film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,...
- 4/7/2014
- by Greg Cwik
- Indiewire
Captain America has had a tough life. Steve Rogers, created over 73 years ago by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, has been put through the wringer time and time again. Sure, he made a hell of an introduction by punching Adolf Hitler in his first issue ever, but his luck soon ran out. He went to hell, fought communists for Joseph McCarthy, and, at his lowest and most desperate, worked as a History professor. As we all know, teaching history is far worse a gig than having to fight Nazi Werewolves. Now things are on the up for Captain America, at least for his public image. In 2011 he got his own movie — let’s just pretend the 1990 version never happened — and it was the top dog of Marvel’s Phase I. Now that the studio has successfully moved into Phase II, Director Joe Johnston‘s Captain America: The First Avenger has managed to remain the best of the...
- 4/5/2014
- by Jack Giroux
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy recently announced that Season Four will have a carnival theme. This is exciting news, especially for fans that circulated the rumor during Coven, based on clues they found in the finale, and throughout the rest of Season Three. Because each season stands alone like an entire series, the show-runners are known for putting clues in one season that hints at the theme for the following season. For example, there are many hints to what lies ahead in the first season, known as Murder House. Moira acts as an angel of death when she unplugs her terminal mother's oxygen machine, and becomes the literal Angel of Death in the second season, kissing characters goodbye and whisking them away to heaven. Leah talks about the devil being real. Hayden remarks to Ben at one point that he can "get back to Saint Vivien." Vivien even dresses as a witch for Halloween,...
- 3/28/2014
- by Kalyn Corrigan
- FEARnet
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
The Hollywood Blacklist, with Screenwriter Walter Bernstein\
When: Thursday, March 6, 6:30 pm
Where: The New School, The Auditorium at 66 West 12th St (between 5th and 6th Aves.)
Register: visit www.cencom.org, e-mail info@cencom.org or call (212) 686-5005
In the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Sen. Joseph McCarthy carried out a witch hunt for Communists that led to the creation of the infamous Hollywood blacklist, resulting in 150 directors, actors, writers, and others in the entertainment business, being banned from making a living for over a decade.
Don't miss our screening of The Front, written by Walter Bernstein, who received an Oscar nomination for best screenplay in 1976, and directed by Martin Ritt. Both were victims of the blacklist themselves. The movie takes a comedic look at what happened during this dark period in American History. Screening to be followed by a conversation and Q&A.
The Hollywood Blacklist, with Screenwriter Walter Bernstein\
When: Thursday, March 6, 6:30 pm
Where: The New School, The Auditorium at 66 West 12th St (between 5th and 6th Aves.)
Register: visit www.cencom.org, e-mail info@cencom.org or call (212) 686-5005
In the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Sen. Joseph McCarthy carried out a witch hunt for Communists that led to the creation of the infamous Hollywood blacklist, resulting in 150 directors, actors, writers, and others in the entertainment business, being banned from making a living for over a decade.
Don't miss our screening of The Front, written by Walter Bernstein, who received an Oscar nomination for best screenplay in 1976, and directed by Martin Ritt. Both were victims of the blacklist themselves. The movie takes a comedic look at what happened during this dark period in American History. Screening to be followed by a conversation and Q&A.
- 3/5/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
As the deliciously twisted American Horror Story: Coven enters its endgame with just two episodes left, showrunner Ryan Murphy is already teasing where his Emmy-winning horror anthology series will travel in its fourth season, which was officially ordered by FX last November. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Murphy revealed that the next, currently untitled series will take place in the year 1950.
The show has already explored a haunted house in 2011 Los Angeles (in the first season, retroactively subtitled Murder House), a 1946 Massachusetts mental institution (Asylum) and modern-day New Orleans (Coven), with many extensive flashbacks to other time periods, so jumping around in time is certainly nothing new for Murphy and co.
The showrunner also dropped the following tease as to what viewers can expect from the fourth season of American Horror Story:
If you look historically what happened in the year 1950, there’s some more clues in that year. It’s a period piece.
The show has already explored a haunted house in 2011 Los Angeles (in the first season, retroactively subtitled Murder House), a 1946 Massachusetts mental institution (Asylum) and modern-day New Orleans (Coven), with many extensive flashbacks to other time periods, so jumping around in time is certainly nothing new for Murphy and co.
The showrunner also dropped the following tease as to what viewers can expect from the fourth season of American Horror Story:
If you look historically what happened in the year 1950, there’s some more clues in that year. It’s a period piece.
- 1/16/2014
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 31 Oct 2013 - 07:01
We train our sights on the year 1996, and the 25 underappreciated films it has to offer...
Independence Day managed to revive both the alien invasion movie and the disaster flick in 1996, and just about every other mainstream picture released that year lived in its saucer-shaped shadow.
Yet beyond the aerial battles of Independence Day, the flying cows in Twister, and the high-wire antics of Tom Cruise in Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible, there sat an entire library of lesser-known and underappreciated movies.
As part of our attempts to highlight the unsung greats of the 90s, here's our selection of 25 such films from 1996 - the year chess champion Garry Kasparov lost to the might of the computer Deep Blue, and the year comedy star Jim Carrey starred in an unexpectedly dark tale of obsession...
25. The Cable Guy
We can't sit here and...
We train our sights on the year 1996, and the 25 underappreciated films it has to offer...
Independence Day managed to revive both the alien invasion movie and the disaster flick in 1996, and just about every other mainstream picture released that year lived in its saucer-shaped shadow.
Yet beyond the aerial battles of Independence Day, the flying cows in Twister, and the high-wire antics of Tom Cruise in Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible, there sat an entire library of lesser-known and underappreciated movies.
As part of our attempts to highlight the unsung greats of the 90s, here's our selection of 25 such films from 1996 - the year chess champion Garry Kasparov lost to the might of the computer Deep Blue, and the year comedy star Jim Carrey starred in an unexpectedly dark tale of obsession...
25. The Cable Guy
We can't sit here and...
- 10/30/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
With just two episodes left to air of his critically acclaimed series, "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston is making plans to headline an upcoming biopic of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Deadline reports that Jay Roach ( The Campaign , Game Change ) will direct with a screenplay by John McNamara. Trumbo published his first novel, "Eclipse," in 1935 with his first screenplay, director Louis King's Road Gang , hitting the big screen the following year. With more than a dozen subsequent credits to his name, Trumbo was the highest paid screenwriter of his day when he was brought before Senator Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee. Refusing to testify, Trumbo was blacklisted, but continued to write under fake names, winning Academy...
- 9/19/2013
- Comingsoon.net
He’s busy breaking our hearts in Heisenbergian style as the finale of Breaking Bad looms ever closer. But for an upcoming film gig, the man behind the goatee, Bryan Cranston, will be playing someone altogether more moral. He’s signed on to Trumbo, taking the lead role of blacklisted Hollywood writer Dalton Trumbo.Jay Roach is tackling the indie drama, working from John McNamara’s script. It’ll be based on the real-life experiences of Trumbo, who was locked up in 1950 for refusing to answer questions before the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy. The panel was obsessed with rooting out suspected communists in Hollywood and for his refusal, Trumbo was blacklisted and refused work.He managed to score assignments under various pseudonyms, but it wasn't until Spartacus in 1960 that he got public credit for his work again. Cranston is currently starring as another true-life figure,...
- 9/18/2013
- EmpireOnline
“Old man sitting there/he’s so fine in his chair/Watching him grow his hair/its so long he doesn’t care/…A pod is waiting for him.”
–I Monster “A Pod is Waiting”
Introduction:
What started out as a 120 page novella by Jack Finny published in 1955 has steadily become a quasi-film- franchise. The first film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, was released in 1956 which then went on to be remade three more times: in 1978 by Philip Kaufman, in 1993 (Body Snatchers) by Abel Ferrara and in 2007 (The Invasion) by director Oliver Hirschbiegel. While each version carries the same plot (an alien race that replaces humans with imposters) it is the political turmoil and current events and attitudes of the times that influence and change each interpretation of the story. Whether it be yuppie culture, McCarthyism or Militarism, each film carries its own agenda and spin on the matter and...
–I Monster “A Pod is Waiting”
Introduction:
What started out as a 120 page novella by Jack Finny published in 1955 has steadily become a quasi-film- franchise. The first film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, was released in 1956 which then went on to be remade three more times: in 1978 by Philip Kaufman, in 1993 (Body Snatchers) by Abel Ferrara and in 2007 (The Invasion) by director Oliver Hirschbiegel. While each version carries the same plot (an alien race that replaces humans with imposters) it is the political turmoil and current events and attitudes of the times that influence and change each interpretation of the story. Whether it be yuppie culture, McCarthyism or Militarism, each film carries its own agenda and spin on the matter and...
- 7/12/2013
- by Andrew Perez
- SoundOnSight
Michael Stevens' documentary "Herblock: The Black and the White" will make its way to next month's AFI Docs festival as a gala presentation, it was announced today. The film -- which traces the career and influence of Washington Post cartoonist Herb Block -- will screen as part of the 11th edition of the revamped festival (it was formerly known as SilverDocs) -- which runs June 19-23. Full press release below. For Immediate Release, May 21, 2013, Washington, DC – AFI Docs presented by Audi announced today its gala presentation at the Newseum of the Washington, DC premiere of Herblock: The Black & The White written and directed by Michael Stevens and produced by George Stevens Jr. The film, traces the career and influence of the most influential political cartoonist of the 20th century and the people who became his subjects during his 55 years at the Washington Post. His work spanned thirteen presidents, contributed to...
- 5/21/2013
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
This week, the documentary Herblock — The Black & the White, about the life and legacy of the revered political cartoonist Herbert Block — who earned three Pulitzers, total editorial control, and the warning “Don’t mess with Herb” around The Washington Post newsroom where he spent 55 years – premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival. It should come as no surprise that it features insights from Daily Show host Jon Stewart. “From the nearly three years it took to assemble the 40-plus interviews that make up , we heard from so many how Jon Stewart is an heir in many ways to Herb and his satirical style,...
- 4/24/2013
- by Mandi Bierly
- EW - Inside Movies
Chicago – One of most important counterculture novels in American literature history is “On the Road,” by Jack Kerouac. First published in 1957, the film rights were purchased at the time, but it took over fifty more years to get it onto the screen. Director Walter Salles (“The Motorcycle Diaries”) took on the adaptation.
The history of adapting the book to film is as much of a journey as the characters take in the story. After late 1950s Hollywood couldn’t interpret the radical morality in the book (Marlon Brando was attached to play the lead role at one point), and the rights were reacquired by Francis Ford Coppola in the late 1970s. Problems with several screenplay versions occurred, and it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that the team that produced “The Motorcycle Diaries” – screenwriter Jose Rivera and director Walter Salles – took their own journey with the classic novel, and the...
The history of adapting the book to film is as much of a journey as the characters take in the story. After late 1950s Hollywood couldn’t interpret the radical morality in the book (Marlon Brando was attached to play the lead role at one point), and the rights were reacquired by Francis Ford Coppola in the late 1970s. Problems with several screenplay versions occurred, and it wasn’t until the mid-2000s that the team that produced “The Motorcycle Diaries” – screenwriter Jose Rivera and director Walter Salles – took their own journey with the classic novel, and the...
- 3/20/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
South African filmmaker Darrell Roodt ("Sarafina," "Cry the Beloved Country") has signed on to helm the indie biopic "Robeson" for Four Stars International and Nexus Film.
"Homeland" star David Harewood is already attached to play singer and actor Paul Robeson.
Robeson's political activism brought him to the attention of Senator Joseph McCarthy, leading to the revocation of his passport for eight years despite his contributions as an entertainer to the Allied forces in WWII.
Louis Gossett Jr. is also onboard to play W.E.B. Dubois. Filming kicks off this Summer.
Source: Variety...
"Homeland" star David Harewood is already attached to play singer and actor Paul Robeson.
Robeson's political activism brought him to the attention of Senator Joseph McCarthy, leading to the revocation of his passport for eight years despite his contributions as an entertainer to the Allied forces in WWII.
Louis Gossett Jr. is also onboard to play W.E.B. Dubois. Filming kicks off this Summer.
Source: Variety...
- 2/14/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Variety has some news on the Paul Robeson biographical film staring Homeland's David Harewood. South African director Darrell Roodt has agreed to direct the film for Four Star International and Greg Carter of Nexus films. Some of his works include Winnie and Cry, The Beloved Country. Paul Robeson was a singer and actor "whose political activism brought him to the attention of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, leading to the revocation of his passport for eight years despite his contributions as...
- 2/12/2013
- by Jesse Giroux
- JoBlo.com
Odd List Mark Williams Jan 2, 2013
From superheroes in disguise to vain news anchors, Mark celebrates 12 particularly fine movie journalists...
With the news that Clark Kent has quit his job at the Daily Planet because of its preference for soft entertainment stories, the world of fictional journalism was rocked to its foundations. After all, he's been there since the Superman comics began in the 1940s, despite the lack of career progress. But, it seems the Man of Steel's civilian day-job has lost its appeal, and now he's going into business on his own.
Journalism is a topic that raises its head in films regularly across the genres, and it has provided some fine, and not so fine, examples of the hardy reporter, always on the lookout for the next scoop. Oftentimes, there is the route of the truth or the route of the fast buck, with the majority of those...
From superheroes in disguise to vain news anchors, Mark celebrates 12 particularly fine movie journalists...
With the news that Clark Kent has quit his job at the Daily Planet because of its preference for soft entertainment stories, the world of fictional journalism was rocked to its foundations. After all, he's been there since the Superman comics began in the 1940s, despite the lack of career progress. But, it seems the Man of Steel's civilian day-job has lost its appeal, and now he's going into business on his own.
Journalism is a topic that raises its head in films regularly across the genres, and it has provided some fine, and not so fine, examples of the hardy reporter, always on the lookout for the next scoop. Oftentimes, there is the route of the truth or the route of the fast buck, with the majority of those...
- 12/21/2012
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
List of scripts yet to be made into films includes biopics of Sam Peckinpah, Hillary Clinton and Marlon Brando
Intrigued by the prospect of a romantic drama about future first lady Hillary Rodham as she vacillates between her career and the attentions of a charming young suitor from Arkansas? Prefer the sound of a period piece about the early artistic struggles of one Ted Geisel, Aka Dr Seuss? Maybe the stirring, gin-soaked tale of film-maker Sam Peckinpah's bid to revive a ruined big-screen career sounds more up your celluloid street? All of the above could find their way into cinemas in the coming years after they were included on the annual "Black List" of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood.
This year's list was released by film executive Franklin Leonard, who has been compiling it since 2005. The 2012 edition consists of 78 screenplays that more than 290 film executives have voted their...
Intrigued by the prospect of a romantic drama about future first lady Hillary Rodham as she vacillates between her career and the attentions of a charming young suitor from Arkansas? Prefer the sound of a period piece about the early artistic struggles of one Ted Geisel, Aka Dr Seuss? Maybe the stirring, gin-soaked tale of film-maker Sam Peckinpah's bid to revive a ruined big-screen career sounds more up your celluloid street? All of the above could find their way into cinemas in the coming years after they were included on the annual "Black List" of the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood.
This year's list was released by film executive Franklin Leonard, who has been compiling it since 2005. The 2012 edition consists of 78 screenplays that more than 290 film executives have voted their...
- 12/19/2012
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Legends
Sean Bean has signed on to replace Brendan Fraser in the TNT drama series "Legends". Fraser reportedly exited the series due to "creative differences".
Bean plays a deep-cover operative Martin Odum, who has an uncanny ability to transform himself into a different person for each job. But his own identity comes into question when a mysterious stranger suggests that Martin isn’t who he thinks he is. [Source: The Av Club]
Robeson
"Homeland" star David Harewood is in talks to play Paul Robeson in the indie biopic "Robeson" from Four Stars Intl. Shooting aims to begin next year.
Robeson, born in 1898, was a singer, actor and orator from the 1920s through the 1950s best known for his acting in "Othello" and his singing of "Ol' Man River." His political activism brought him to the attention of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. [Source: Variety]
3 Pegs
Tom Sizemore will star in Jac Mulder's coming-of-age political comedy "Three Pegs" which...
Sean Bean has signed on to replace Brendan Fraser in the TNT drama series "Legends". Fraser reportedly exited the series due to "creative differences".
Bean plays a deep-cover operative Martin Odum, who has an uncanny ability to transform himself into a different person for each job. But his own identity comes into question when a mysterious stranger suggests that Martin isn’t who he thinks he is. [Source: The Av Club]
Robeson
"Homeland" star David Harewood is in talks to play Paul Robeson in the indie biopic "Robeson" from Four Stars Intl. Shooting aims to begin next year.
Robeson, born in 1898, was a singer, actor and orator from the 1920s through the 1950s best known for his acting in "Othello" and his singing of "Ol' Man River." His political activism brought him to the attention of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. [Source: Variety]
3 Pegs
Tom Sizemore will star in Jac Mulder's coming-of-age political comedy "Three Pegs" which...
- 12/5/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
I’m sure you all remember David Harewood aka David Estes, the director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center in Homeland. Well, guess what’s new? Harewood is currently in some serious negotiatons to star in an upcoming indie biopic titled Robeson. And, if everything works out – he will come on board to play Paul Robeson, an American singer & actor who was also a political activist for the Civil Rights Movement!
The whole thing comes from producers Richard Akel and Greg Carter, and Akel wrote the script together with with Terry Bisson. No director is attached to Robeson biopic at this moment, although producers hope to begin shooting next year.
The movie will center on Robeson, a singer, actor and orator from the 1920s through the 1950s best known for his acting in Othello and his singing of Ol’ Man River.
But, the movie will also show us Robeson as...
The whole thing comes from producers Richard Akel and Greg Carter, and Akel wrote the script together with with Terry Bisson. No director is attached to Robeson biopic at this moment, although producers hope to begin shooting next year.
The movie will center on Robeson, a singer, actor and orator from the 1920s through the 1950s best known for his acting in Othello and his singing of Ol’ Man River.
But, the movie will also show us Robeson as...
- 12/5/2012
- by Jeanne Standal
- Filmofilia
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