Dianne Crittenden, the casting director whose impressive résumé included the first Star Wars film, The In-Laws and the Terrence Malick features Badlands, Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, has died. She was 82.
Crittenden died Wednesday at her home in Pacific Palisades after a battle with several cancers, fellow casting director Ilene Starger told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Dianne was my mentor, we’ve known each other for 44 years,” Starger said. “She was also my dear friend, more like an older sister, really. So generous, kind, brilliant, funny. A people magnet. Her knowledge of and insight into actors was extraordinary.”
A former head of casting at Warner Bros., Crittenden collaborated with Martin Ritt on Murphy’s Romance (1985) and Stanley & Iris (1990); with Roger Donaldson on Thirteen Days (2000) and The World’s Fastest Indian (2005); and with Peter Weir on Witness (1985), The Mosquito Coast (1986) and Green Card (1990).
Crittenden was born in Queens on Aug.
Crittenden died Wednesday at her home in Pacific Palisades after a battle with several cancers, fellow casting director Ilene Starger told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Dianne was my mentor, we’ve known each other for 44 years,” Starger said. “She was also my dear friend, more like an older sister, really. So generous, kind, brilliant, funny. A people magnet. Her knowledge of and insight into actors was extraordinary.”
A former head of casting at Warner Bros., Crittenden collaborated with Martin Ritt on Murphy’s Romance (1985) and Stanley & Iris (1990); with Roger Donaldson on Thirteen Days (2000) and The World’s Fastest Indian (2005); and with Peter Weir on Witness (1985), The Mosquito Coast (1986) and Green Card (1990).
Crittenden was born in Queens on Aug.
- 3/21/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Since the beginning of the Academy Awards in the late 1920s, Hollywood filmmakers have been making socially conscious films. Many of the best of those have scored the film town’s top honor — Oscar best picture.
This year, that winner could be “Oppenheimer,” a film that boldly and starkly dramatizes the creation of man’s most dangerous invention: atomic weapons.
It could be “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a film that brought a lost and dreadful piece of American history into the sunlight of the Cannes Film Festival and ultimately the spotlights of awards season.
It could be either “Barbie” or “Poor Things,” two of the wildest, most colorful and inventive investigations of feminist and/or post-feminist womanhood to ever hit the big screen.
It could be “American Fiction,” a wry and witty look at Black American middle-class identity and family relations under preposterous, dispiriting cultural pressures.
But will the...
This year, that winner could be “Oppenheimer,” a film that boldly and starkly dramatizes the creation of man’s most dangerous invention: atomic weapons.
It could be “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a film that brought a lost and dreadful piece of American history into the sunlight of the Cannes Film Festival and ultimately the spotlights of awards season.
It could be either “Barbie” or “Poor Things,” two of the wildest, most colorful and inventive investigations of feminist and/or post-feminist womanhood to ever hit the big screen.
It could be “American Fiction,” a wry and witty look at Black American middle-class identity and family relations under preposterous, dispiriting cultural pressures.
But will the...
- 2/16/2024
- by Steven Gaydos
- Variety Film + TV
Under the non de plume John Le Carre, David Cornwall penned a series of best-selling spy novels including “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” ‘The Little Drummer Girl’’ and “The Russia House,” that are cerebral, unadorned, gritty. The antitheist of Ian Fleming’s suave James Bond. In fact, his most popular character George Smiley just blended into the crowd: “Obscurity was his nature, as well as his profession,” Cornwall described him in “A Murder of Quality.” “The byways of espionage are not populated by the brash and colorful adventure of fiction. A man who, like Smiley, had lived and worked for years among his country’s enemies learns only one prayer; that he may never, never be noticed. Assimilation is his highest aim.”
Before his death at the age of 89 in in December, 2020, Cornwall sat down for a rare interview with award-winning documentarian Errol Morris...
Before his death at the age of 89 in in December, 2020, Cornwall sat down for a rare interview with award-winning documentarian Errol Morris...
- 10/23/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
David Jacobs, the writer and producer who changed the face of television in the 1980s by creating the primetime soap operas Dallas and Knots Landing, has died. He was 84.
Jacobs died Sunday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, his son Aaron told The Hollywood Reporter. He had battled Alzheimer’s over the years and died of complications from a series of infections.
Dallas in its original incarnation aired for 14 seasons and 357 episodes, starting out as a five-part miniseries in April 1978 before wrapping in May 1991, and it was the No. 1 show in the Nielsen ratings after its fourth, fifth and seventh seasons. Meanwhile, the spinoff Knots Landing debuted in December 1979 and also ran for 14 seasons — and 344 episodes — a solid Thursday night staple through May 1993.
Based on his work as a story editor for the ABC drama Family, Jacobs had scored a deal at Lorimar Productions, where he struck up a friendship with Michael Filerman,...
Jacobs died Sunday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, his son Aaron told The Hollywood Reporter. He had battled Alzheimer’s over the years and died of complications from a series of infections.
Dallas in its original incarnation aired for 14 seasons and 357 episodes, starting out as a five-part miniseries in April 1978 before wrapping in May 1991, and it was the No. 1 show in the Nielsen ratings after its fourth, fifth and seventh seasons. Meanwhile, the spinoff Knots Landing debuted in December 1979 and also ran for 14 seasons — and 344 episodes — a solid Thursday night staple through May 1993.
Based on his work as a story editor for the ABC drama Family, Jacobs had scored a deal at Lorimar Productions, where he struck up a friendship with Michael Filerman,...
- 8/23/2023
- by Chris Koseluk
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If you ever happen across Tommy Lee Jones in a public setting, should you find yourself sharing an elevator with him or spot him across the room in a restaurant, do yourself a favor and leave him be. If you're at all adept at reading body language, you should realize fairly quickly that the man is a walking "do not disturb" sign. Should you try to engage, know that he will swiftly and bluntly shut you down. Whatever bond you feel you've formed with Jones, it doesn't extend beyond the movie theater or your television screen. Not for him.
If you ever get the opportunity to interview Tommy Lee Jones, prepare. Do your research, write your very specific questions down well in advance and do not deviate. If you ask good, thoughtful questions, you'll get a good interview. Do not try to have a conversation. If your inquiries ramble or,...
If you ever get the opportunity to interview Tommy Lee Jones, prepare. Do your research, write your very specific questions down well in advance and do not deviate. If you ask good, thoughtful questions, you'll get a good interview. Do not try to have a conversation. If your inquiries ramble or,...
- 8/16/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Harlan County, USA
Filmmakers loves an underdog and movies have a long tradition of supporting the rights of workers, dating all the way back to the silent era. Here are some classic movies that celebrate workers’ right to strike for better wages and safer working conditions and the sometimes unlikely allies they find along the way. Many are based on true stories, including John Sayles’ masterful “Matewan,” about a coal miner strike in West Virginia, as well as Barbara Kopple’s Oscar-winning documentary, “Harlan County, USA.”
Photo credit: Disney
“Newsies” (1992)
“Headlines don’t sell papes, Newsies sell papes!” In this exuberant and pro-worker musical, Christian Bale’s Jack Kelly leads a group of newsboys in a strike against penny-pinching newspaper owner Joseph Pulitzer. They’re aided by Bill Pullman’s kindly, reform-minded journalist and, of course, Teddy Roosevelt, who was then governor of New York.
Photo credit: 20th Century
“Norma Rae...
Filmmakers loves an underdog and movies have a long tradition of supporting the rights of workers, dating all the way back to the silent era. Here are some classic movies that celebrate workers’ right to strike for better wages and safer working conditions and the sometimes unlikely allies they find along the way. Many are based on true stories, including John Sayles’ masterful “Matewan,” about a coal miner strike in West Virginia, as well as Barbara Kopple’s Oscar-winning documentary, “Harlan County, USA.”
Photo credit: Disney
“Newsies” (1992)
“Headlines don’t sell papes, Newsies sell papes!” In this exuberant and pro-worker musical, Christian Bale’s Jack Kelly leads a group of newsboys in a strike against penny-pinching newspaper owner Joseph Pulitzer. They’re aided by Bill Pullman’s kindly, reform-minded journalist and, of course, Teddy Roosevelt, who was then governor of New York.
Photo credit: 20th Century
“Norma Rae...
- 7/24/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Malcolm McDowell is saddling up with James Paxton, Bernadette Peters and Laura Marano for Adam Rifkin’s Western Last Train to Fortune.
Last Train to Fortune also reteams McDowell with his former wife, Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen, the duo previously starring together in the 1979 sci-fi drama Time After Time and the 1983 Martin Ritt drama Cross Creek.
In the pic, McDowell plays Cecil Peachtree, a stuffed-shirt schoolmaster who misses the last train to Fortune and meets an outlaw named Dooley (Paxton), at which point they strike a deal: The gunslinger will ride the book-loving Cecil to Fortune in exchange for his teacher’s stipend awaiting him. Along the way there are gunfights, jailbreaks and saloon gals, and our mismatched heroes form an unlikely bond. The pic, which is produced by Michael Gerstein, Paxton, Matt Williams, Rifkin and Brad Wyman (the Oscar-winning Charlize Theron drama Monster) is said to be in the spirit of True Grit,...
Last Train to Fortune also reteams McDowell with his former wife, Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen, the duo previously starring together in the 1979 sci-fi drama Time After Time and the 1983 Martin Ritt drama Cross Creek.
In the pic, McDowell plays Cecil Peachtree, a stuffed-shirt schoolmaster who misses the last train to Fortune and meets an outlaw named Dooley (Paxton), at which point they strike a deal: The gunslinger will ride the book-loving Cecil to Fortune in exchange for his teacher’s stipend awaiting him. Along the way there are gunfights, jailbreaks and saloon gals, and our mismatched heroes form an unlikely bond. The pic, which is produced by Michael Gerstein, Paxton, Matt Williams, Rifkin and Brad Wyman (the Oscar-winning Charlize Theron drama Monster) is said to be in the spirit of True Grit,...
- 4/24/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
So, did you ever wonder why Carol Burnett always tugs her ear? It was a way she could say “hi” to her beloved grandmother. The first time she did it was when she made her TV debut at 22 on the Dec. 17, 1955 episode of the popular “The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show.” She played the girlfriend of the woody dummy. “The first song I sang on TV was ‘Over the Rainbow’ to Jerry Mahoney,” she noted in a 2016 L.A. Times interview with me. “I remember I called my grandmother to tell her I was going to be on television. Nanny said say hello to me. That’s when we came up with pulling my ear.”
Nearly seven decades later, Burnett is still tugging at her ear, singing and making people laugh And on April 26th, which is her 90th birthday, NBC is throwing her a celebration “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love.
Nearly seven decades later, Burnett is still tugging at her ear, singing and making people laugh And on April 26th, which is her 90th birthday, NBC is throwing her a celebration “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love.
- 4/24/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The relationship between fathers and sons is complicated. It can be tough, tender, loving, combative, disappointing, violent, the stuff of Shakespearean and even Greek tragedy. It’s little wonder there have been countless films exploring fathers and sons including “East of Eden,” “Finding Nemo,” “Back to the Future,” “Field of Dreams,” “Nebraska,” “Fences,” “Beginners” and “Kramer vs. Kramer.”
One of the most indelible is Martin Ritt’s “Hud,” which celebrates its 60th anniversary. And time hasn’t diminished the power of this unapologetic drama starring Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and Brandon De Wilde.
Newman had played characters of questionable morality such as his Oscar-nominated turn “Fast” Eddie Felsen in 1961’s “The Hustler,” but he had never played anyone quite like Hud, the ultimate heel who never met a bottle of booze he wouldn’t drink or a married woman he didn’t seduce. Living on a cattle ranch in a tiny,...
One of the most indelible is Martin Ritt’s “Hud,” which celebrates its 60th anniversary. And time hasn’t diminished the power of this unapologetic drama starring Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and Brandon De Wilde.
Newman had played characters of questionable morality such as his Oscar-nominated turn “Fast” Eddie Felsen in 1961’s “The Hustler,” but he had never played anyone quite like Hud, the ultimate heel who never met a bottle of booze he wouldn’t drink or a married woman he didn’t seduce. Living on a cattle ranch in a tiny,...
- 2/16/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Fifty years ago, Angela Lansbury opened the 45th Academy Awards ceremony, with a song-and-dance number that paid homage to a day on a movie set. Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Charlton Heston and Rock Hudson shared Oscars hosting duties on March 27, 1973, a historical night of Academy controversies, record-making, and memorable moments. Enjoy our Oscar flashback 50 years to the ceremony on NBC.
It began with Heston running late due to a flat tire; he was scheduled to deliver the voting rules in a “Ten Commandments” manner. Asked to fill in at the last minute was Clint Eastwood, who humorously claimed, “They pick the guy who hasn’t said but three lines in 12 movies to substitute for him.” Fortunately, Moses showed up and saved Dirty Harry about midway through the speech.
SEEOscar Best Picture Gallery: History of Every Academy Award-Winning Movie
Five completely different types of films were represented in the Best Picture category,...
It began with Heston running late due to a flat tire; he was scheduled to deliver the voting rules in a “Ten Commandments” manner. Asked to fill in at the last minute was Clint Eastwood, who humorously claimed, “They pick the guy who hasn’t said but three lines in 12 movies to substitute for him.” Fortunately, Moses showed up and saved Dirty Harry about midway through the speech.
SEEOscar Best Picture Gallery: History of Every Academy Award-Winning Movie
Five completely different types of films were represented in the Best Picture category,...
- 1/4/2023
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
It’s Labor vs. Capital, in basic terms! Sean Connery is the tough, embittered miner looking to strike back against the bosses, and Richard Harris the underdog who sees a way out by becoming an agent provocateur for the Pinkertons. An admirable true-life history lesson, Walter Bernstein & Martin Ritt’s downer of a drama didn’t grab the public’s imagination. But there’s no better vision of the time and place, thanks to James Wong Howe’s realistic, nearly monochromatic cinematography.
The Molly Maguires
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 172
1970 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 124 min. / Street Date October 26, 2022 / Available from Viavision / au 34.95
Starring: Sean Connery, Richard Harris, Samantha Eggar, Frank Finlay, Anthony Zerbe, Philip Bourneuf, Anthony Costello, Bethel Leslie, Brendan Dillon.
Cinematography: James Wong Howe
Art Director: Tambi Larsen
Costumes designed by: Dorothy Jeakins
Film Editor: Frank Bracht
Original Music: Henry Mancini
Written by Walter Bernstein suggested by a book by Arthur H. Lewis
Produced by Walter Bernstein,...
The Molly Maguires
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 172
1970 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 124 min. / Street Date October 26, 2022 / Available from Viavision / au 34.95
Starring: Sean Connery, Richard Harris, Samantha Eggar, Frank Finlay, Anthony Zerbe, Philip Bourneuf, Anthony Costello, Bethel Leslie, Brendan Dillon.
Cinematography: James Wong Howe
Art Director: Tambi Larsen
Costumes designed by: Dorothy Jeakins
Film Editor: Frank Bracht
Original Music: Henry Mancini
Written by Walter Bernstein suggested by a book by Arthur H. Lewis
Produced by Walter Bernstein,...
- 12/6/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A comprehensive, personal, and kaleidoscopic look at representation, Elvis Mitchell’s Is That Black Enough For You?!? is a passionate and loving walk through film history framed by Blaxploitation cinema of the 1970s. Written, directed, and narrated by the master conversationalist, curator, film scholar, and cultural critic, this is a densely packed visual essay told through film clips, archival materials, and interviews with Black stars of multiple eras who speak to the influence of this sub-genre on their lives and careers.
Borne from the notion that America was in a freefall spiral circa 1968, a new kind of subversive independent cinema arrived on the scene, forcing Hollywood to compete and adapt. Mitchell notes landmarks of representation along with the way—including Robert Downy Sr.’s Putney Swope, an experimental comedy set in the world of advertising,, and Martin Ritt’s The Great White Hope starring James Earl Jones.
Black Enough is...
Borne from the notion that America was in a freefall spiral circa 1968, a new kind of subversive independent cinema arrived on the scene, forcing Hollywood to compete and adapt. Mitchell notes landmarks of representation along with the way—including Robert Downy Sr.’s Putney Swope, an experimental comedy set in the world of advertising,, and Martin Ritt’s The Great White Hope starring James Earl Jones.
Black Enough is...
- 11/9/2022
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Angela Lansbury, whose career crossed theater, film, and television across more than seven decades, has died at the age of 96. Her death was announced by MSNBC’s Ali Velshi on his Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon and confirmed by NBC News. “The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30 Am today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday,” her family said in a statement.
The actress is best known for “Murder, She Wrote,” but started her career in 1944 and has delighted generations of fans with nearly 150 credits. That includes everything ranging from voice-over performances to musicals and dramas. Lansbury was able to be anything an audience needed, from a warmhearted mother to a vicious villain.
Angela Brigid Lansbury was born on October 16, 1925 in London, England. She was born into entertainment,...
The actress is best known for “Murder, She Wrote,” but started her career in 1944 and has delighted generations of fans with nearly 150 credits. That includes everything ranging from voice-over performances to musicals and dramas. Lansbury was able to be anything an audience needed, from a warmhearted mother to a vicious villain.
Angela Brigid Lansbury was born on October 16, 1925 in London, England. She was born into entertainment,...
- 10/11/2022
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
Actor/writer/director Ethan Hawke discusses a few of his favorite films with Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Explorers (1985) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Verdict (1982)
The Color Of Money (1986) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
Nobody’s Fool (1994)
Three Faces Of Eve (1957)
Mr. And Mrs. Bridge (1990)
North By Northwest (1959)
Torn Curtain (1966)
Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Frenzy (1972) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
Topaz (1969)
Boyhood (2014)
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Blue Collar (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
First Reformed (2017) – Glenn Erickson’s trailer commentary
Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
The Left Handed Gun (1958)
Hombre (1967)
Hud (1963)
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean (1972) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Buffalo Bill And The Indians, Or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Outrage (1964)
Rashomon (1950) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary,...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Explorers (1985) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Verdict (1982)
The Color Of Money (1986) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
Nobody’s Fool (1994)
Three Faces Of Eve (1957)
Mr. And Mrs. Bridge (1990)
North By Northwest (1959)
Torn Curtain (1966)
Psycho (1960) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
Frenzy (1972) – Joe Dante’s trailer commentary
Topaz (1969)
Boyhood (2014)
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Blue Collar (1978) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
First Reformed (2017) – Glenn Erickson’s trailer commentary
Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
The Left Handed Gun (1958)
Hombre (1967)
Hud (1963)
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean (1972) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Buffalo Bill And The Indians, Or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
The Outrage (1964)
Rashomon (1950) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary,...
- 10/4/2022
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Though their “’80s Horror” lineup would constitute enough of a Halloween push, the Criterion Channel enter October all guns blazing. The month’s lineup also includes a 19-movie vampire series running from 1931’s Dracula (English and Spanish both) to 2014’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, the collection in-between including Herzog’s Nosferatu, Near Dark, and Let the Right One In. Last year’s “Universal Horror” collection returns, a 17-title Ishirō Honda retrospective has been set, and a few genre titles stand alone: Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The House of the Devil, and Island of Lost Souls.
Streaming premieres include restorations of Tsai Ming-liang’s Vive L’amour and Ed Lachman’s Lou Reed / John Cale concert film Songs for Drella; October’s Criterion editions are Samuel Fuller’s Forty Guns, Bill Duke’s Deep Cover, Haxan, and My Own Private Idaho. Meanwhile, Ari Aster has curated an “Adventures...
Streaming premieres include restorations of Tsai Ming-liang’s Vive L’amour and Ed Lachman’s Lou Reed / John Cale concert film Songs for Drella; October’s Criterion editions are Samuel Fuller’s Forty Guns, Bill Duke’s Deep Cover, Haxan, and My Own Private Idaho. Meanwhile, Ari Aster has curated an “Adventures...
- 9/26/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Cinematography retrospectives are the way to go—more than a thorough display of talent, it exposes the vast expanse a Dp will travel, like an education in form and business all the same. Accordingly I’m happy to see the Criterion Channel give a 25-film tribute to James Wong Howe, whose career spanned silent cinema to the ’70s, populated with work by Howard Hawks, Michael Curtz, Samuel Fuller, Alexander Mackendrick, Sydney Pollack, John Frankenheimer, and Raoul Walsh.
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
- 8/22/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
HBO’s “The Last Movie Stars,” Ethan Hawkes’ exceptional six-part series on Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, works on so many levels. For baby boomers who grew up watching the Oscar-winning couple, the series is a strong emotional tug at the heartstrings. For actors and those who love acting, it’s a primer on the craft. For those who love and admire the fact they remained married for 50 years, it’s a perceptive depiction of the highs, lows and struggles of a marriage. And by peeling away the legend of their union, you end up admiring and loving Newman and Woodward more than ever. And be prepared to blubber several times in the final episode.
The couple collaborated on 16 movies and three plays. And in honor of “The Last Movie Stars,” here’s a look at several of those projects.
The two fell in love while working on William Inge’s 1953 Pulitzer-Prize-winning romantic drama ‘Picnic.
The couple collaborated on 16 movies and three plays. And in honor of “The Last Movie Stars,” here’s a look at several of those projects.
The two fell in love while working on William Inge’s 1953 Pulitzer-Prize-winning romantic drama ‘Picnic.
- 7/25/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSJafar Panahi.Having been detained last week for protesting the arrest of fellow Iranian filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad, Jafar Panahi has now been ordered to serve six years in prison. Ahead of this development Eric Kohn reported on the broader situation in Indiewire. “Maybe they will come for all of us one by one,” says one anonymous filmmaker who is quoted in the article.Martine Marignac, a producer of vital films by Jacques Rivette, Chantal Akerman, Leos Carax, Jeanne Balibar, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, and others, has died aged 75.The juries have been announced for the 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival. Julianne Moore will head up the main jury, supported by filmmakers Audrey Diwan, Leonardo di Costanzo, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, and Mariano Cohn, plus actor Leila Hatami and author Kazuo Ishiguro.
- 7/20/2022
- MUBI
Lewis John Carlino’s family-oriented Mafia tale was filmed four years before The Godfather: Kirk Douglas is a loose-cannon capo who bosses his own brother Alex Cord and won’t listen when his fellow kingpins talk about modernization. Irene Papas and Susan Strasberg are married to the mob, while veteran hoods Luther Adler and Eduardo Ciannelli provide the menacing atmosphere. Director Martin Ritt was supposedly not thrilled with the project yet it’s a polished, involving crime-time drama set both in New York City and Palermo, Sicily.
The Brotherhood
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] #119
1968 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date April 27, 2022 / Available from / £34.95
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Alex Cord, Irene Papas, Luther Adler, Susan Strasberg, Murray Hamilton, Eduardo Ciannelli, Joe De Santis, Connie Scott, Val Avery, Val Bisoglio, Alan Hewitt, Barry Primus, Michele Cimarosa, Louis Badolati.
Cinematography: Boris Kaufman
Art Director: Tambi Larsen
Film Editor: Frank Bracht
Original Music: Lalo Schifrin
Written...
The Brotherhood
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] #119
1968 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date April 27, 2022 / Available from / £34.95
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Alex Cord, Irene Papas, Luther Adler, Susan Strasberg, Murray Hamilton, Eduardo Ciannelli, Joe De Santis, Connie Scott, Val Avery, Val Bisoglio, Alan Hewitt, Barry Primus, Michele Cimarosa, Louis Badolati.
Cinematography: Boris Kaufman
Art Director: Tambi Larsen
Film Editor: Frank Bracht
Original Music: Lalo Schifrin
Written...
- 6/25/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
May on the Criterion Channel will be good to the auteurs. In fact they’re giving Richard Linklater better treatment than the distributor of his last film, with a 13-title retrospective mixing usual suspects—the Before trilogy, Boyhood, Slacker—with some truly off the beaten track. There’s a few shorts I haven’t seen but most intriguing is Heads I Win/Tails You Lose, the only available description of which calls it a four-hour (!) piece “edited together by Richard Linklater in 1991 from film countdowns and tail leaders from films submitted to the Austin Film Society in Austin, Texas from 1987 to 1990. It is Linklater’s tribute to the film countdown, used by many projectionists over the years to cue one reel of film after another when switching to another reel on another projector during projection.” Pair that with 2008’s Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach and your completionism will be on-track.
- 4/21/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Normal 0 false false false En-gb X-none X-none
Cinema Retro continues covering films that are not currently available on home video in the U.S. or U.K.
By Brian Hannan
"Sanctuary" is an overheated melodrama that stands as a classic example of Hollywood’s offensive attitudes to women. Nobel prize-winning author William Faulkner could hardly blame the movies for sensationalising his misogynistic source material since, if anything, the movie took a softer line. The story is told primarily in flashback as headstrong southern belle Temple Drake (Lee Remick) attempts to mitigate the death sentence passed on her maid Nancy (Odetta). Given that such appeals are directed at Drake’s Governor father (Howard St John), and that the maid has been condemned for murdering Drake’s infant child, that’s a whole lot of story to swallow.
Worse is to follow. Drake takes up with Prohibition bootlegger Candy Man (Yves Montand...
Cinema Retro continues covering films that are not currently available on home video in the U.S. or U.K.
By Brian Hannan
"Sanctuary" is an overheated melodrama that stands as a classic example of Hollywood’s offensive attitudes to women. Nobel prize-winning author William Faulkner could hardly blame the movies for sensationalising his misogynistic source material since, if anything, the movie took a softer line. The story is told primarily in flashback as headstrong southern belle Temple Drake (Lee Remick) attempts to mitigate the death sentence passed on her maid Nancy (Odetta). Given that such appeals are directed at Drake’s Governor father (Howard St John), and that the maid has been condemned for murdering Drake’s infant child, that’s a whole lot of story to swallow.
Worse is to follow. Drake takes up with Prohibition bootlegger Candy Man (Yves Montand...
- 3/18/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
I have always had a philosophy that if you are going to do a remake, remake a movie that didn’t work the first time like Howard the Duck, not a classic by a great filmmaker. Well, the latter is exactly what director Oliver Hermanus (Moffie) and Nobel Prize-winning screenwriter Kazuo Ishiguro have had the audacity to do in “reimagining” (the popular term for remakes today) iconic Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s highly praised 1952 drama Ikiru. And they haven’t even bothered to change the early ’50s era in which it takes place, only the location and language, moving from Japan to England. Despite my reservations I am happy to say Living, which has its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, works very well and that is solely thanks to the loving care these filmmakers have put into...
- 1/21/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Sidney Poitier, Oscar-winning actor, filmmaker, activist, and Hollywood trailblazer, has died at the age of 94. The news was shared by Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell out of the Bahamas, where Poitier held dual citizenship.
Representatives for Poitier did not immediately return IndieWire’s request for comment.
Poitier broke the color barrier in Hollywood. Rising to superstar status in an industry that has forever been controlled on both sides of the camera by primarily white men, he was an actor, director, and producer who completely shifted perceptions of race that had long been held, prior to his arrival, by both audiences and studio executives.
Getting his start in the 1940s, as a member of Harlem’s American Negro Theatre, where he met lifelong friend Harry Belafonte, Poitier emerged as one of the most talented actors of his era. He was among the first Black actors to appear alongside white actors,...
Representatives for Poitier did not immediately return IndieWire’s request for comment.
Poitier broke the color barrier in Hollywood. Rising to superstar status in an industry that has forever been controlled on both sides of the camera by primarily white men, he was an actor, director, and producer who completely shifted perceptions of race that had long been held, prior to his arrival, by both audiences and studio executives.
Getting his start in the 1940s, as a member of Harlem’s American Negro Theatre, where he met lifelong friend Harry Belafonte, Poitier emerged as one of the most talented actors of his era. He was among the first Black actors to appear alongside white actors,...
- 1/7/2022
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Oscar-nominated actress Alfre Woodard is joining New Line’s Salem’s Lot bunch in the big-screen take of the 1975 Stephen King vampire novel, we can tell you first.
She’ll play Dr. Cody, who in the novel is a guy, Dr. Jimmy Cody. Cody assists Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman in the film), Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh) and Matt Burke (Bill Camp) in fighting the spread of vampires. Spencer Treat Clark also stars as Mike Ryerson, as Deadline first reported. In King’s first New York Times No. 1 bestseller, author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.
Woodard recently starred in the critically acclaimed feature Clemency, for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and a Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. On the small screen,...
She’ll play Dr. Cody, who in the novel is a guy, Dr. Jimmy Cody. Cody assists Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman in the film), Susan Norton (Makenzie Leigh) and Matt Burke (Bill Camp) in fighting the spread of vampires. Spencer Treat Clark also stars as Mike Ryerson, as Deadline first reported. In King’s first New York Times No. 1 bestseller, author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.
Woodard recently starred in the critically acclaimed feature Clemency, for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and a Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. On the small screen,...
- 9/2/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“That’s all he ever wanted out of life… was love. That’s the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane. You see, he just didn’t have any to give.”
Orson Welles’ classic Citizen Kane (1941) will be available on 4k and Blu-ray October 19th. A 4-disc 4K Uhd+Blu-ray Combo and a 3-blu-ray Edition will both be available.
In the most dazzling debut feature in cinema history, twenty-five-year-old writer-producer-director-star Orson Welles synthesized the possibilities of sound-era filmmaking into what could be called the first truly modern movie. In telling the story of the meteoric rise and precipitous fall of a William Randolph Hearst–like newspaper magnate named Charles Foster Kane, Welles not only created the definitive portrait of American megalomania, he also unleashed a torrent of stylistic innovations—from the jigsaw-puzzle narrative structure to the stunning deep-focus camera work of Gregg Toland—that have ensured that Citizen Kane remains fresh and...
Orson Welles’ classic Citizen Kane (1941) will be available on 4k and Blu-ray October 19th. A 4-disc 4K Uhd+Blu-ray Combo and a 3-blu-ray Edition will both be available.
In the most dazzling debut feature in cinema history, twenty-five-year-old writer-producer-director-star Orson Welles synthesized the possibilities of sound-era filmmaking into what could be called the first truly modern movie. In telling the story of the meteoric rise and precipitous fall of a William Randolph Hearst–like newspaper magnate named Charles Foster Kane, Welles not only created the definitive portrait of American megalomania, he also unleashed a torrent of stylistic innovations—from the jigsaw-puzzle narrative structure to the stunning deep-focus camera work of Gregg Toland—that have ensured that Citizen Kane remains fresh and...
- 8/31/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Next month’s lineup at The Criterion Channel has been unveiled, featuring no shortage of excellent offerings. Leading the pack is a massive, 20-film retrospective dedicated to John Huston, featuring a mix of greatest and lesser-appreciated works, including Fat City, The Dead, Wise Blood, The Man Who Would Be King, and Key Largo. (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre will join the series on October 1.)
Also in the lineup is series on the works of Budd Boetticher (specifically his Randolph Scott-starring Ranown westerns), Ephraim Asili, Josephine Baker, Nikos Papatakis, Jean Harlow, Lee Isaac Chung (pre-Minari), Mani Kaul, and Michelle Parkerson.
The sparkling new restoration of La Piscine will also debut, along with Amores perros, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s To the Ends of the Earth, Cate Shortland’s Lore, both Oxhide films, Moonstruck, and much more.
See the full list of August titles below and more on The Criterion Channel.
Abigail Harm,...
Also in the lineup is series on the works of Budd Boetticher (specifically his Randolph Scott-starring Ranown westerns), Ephraim Asili, Josephine Baker, Nikos Papatakis, Jean Harlow, Lee Isaac Chung (pre-Minari), Mani Kaul, and Michelle Parkerson.
The sparkling new restoration of La Piscine will also debut, along with Amores perros, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s To the Ends of the Earth, Cate Shortland’s Lore, both Oxhide films, Moonstruck, and much more.
See the full list of August titles below and more on The Criterion Channel.
Abigail Harm,...
- 7/26/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Director Richard Donner, who died on Monday at age 91, was once compared to Victor Fleming (“Gone with the Wind”) and Michael Curtiz (“Casablanca”), old-school filmmakers who worked hard to give their studio bosses what they wanted (and to give the public what they thought it wanted).
Donner may have come into his own as a hit-maker during the New Hollywood of the 1970s, but no one ever accused him of being an auteur. He made accessible entertainments — and if that were an easy task, everyone would have done it — and helped usher in the modern era of superhero cinema with 1978’s “Superman,” a thrilling and utterly unironic take on the comic-book icon that feels more influential to contemporary moviemaking with each passing year.
Born Richard Donald Schwartzberg in the Bronx, Donner moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s with hopes of becoming an actor. He was soon mentored by director Martin Ritt,...
Donner may have come into his own as a hit-maker during the New Hollywood of the 1970s, but no one ever accused him of being an auteur. He made accessible entertainments — and if that were an easy task, everyone would have done it — and helped usher in the modern era of superhero cinema with 1978’s “Superman,” a thrilling and utterly unironic take on the comic-book icon that feels more influential to contemporary moviemaking with each passing year.
Born Richard Donald Schwartzberg in the Bronx, Donner moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s with hopes of becoming an actor. He was soon mentored by director Martin Ritt,...
- 7/5/2021
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Richard Donner, the prolific filmmaker best known for directing blockbusters like Superman, Lethal Weapon, and The Goonies, died on Monday, The New York Times reports. He was 91.
Donner’s wife, film producer Lauren Shuler Donner, confirmed the director’s death. However, she did not reveal a cause of death.
Several filmmakers memorialized Donner on Twitter, including Edgar Wright, who wrote that the director’s “big heart & effervescent charm shone in his movies through the remarkable performances of his cast, which is no mean feat.”
Richard Donner's big heart & effervescent charm...
Donner’s wife, film producer Lauren Shuler Donner, confirmed the director’s death. However, she did not reveal a cause of death.
Several filmmakers memorialized Donner on Twitter, including Edgar Wright, who wrote that the director’s “big heart & effervescent charm shone in his movies through the remarkable performances of his cast, which is no mean feat.”
Richard Donner's big heart & effervescent charm...
- 7/5/2021
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
Director-producer Richard Donner, best known for helming the “Lethal Weapon” film series, “The Goonies” and the original “Superman” film, died on Monday. He was 91.
Donner’s production company confirmed news of his death to Variety, though the cause was not disclosed.
Though not his first bigscreen effort, his big feature break came with 1976’s “The Omen,” starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. Thereafter, he brought his craftsmanship to the first “Superman.” He also branched out into producing, usually with his wife Lauren Shuler Donner — he executive produced the huge 2000 success “X-Men” and later the prequel “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” But his career was highlighted by the “Lethal Weapon” series, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, which elevated him to the ranks of directors generating more than a billion dollars in box office.
Born Richard Donald Schwartzberg in the Bronx, he attended Parker Junior College and then NYU, where he majored in business and theater.
Donner’s production company confirmed news of his death to Variety, though the cause was not disclosed.
Though not his first bigscreen effort, his big feature break came with 1976’s “The Omen,” starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. Thereafter, he brought his craftsmanship to the first “Superman.” He also branched out into producing, usually with his wife Lauren Shuler Donner — he executive produced the huge 2000 success “X-Men” and later the prequel “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” But his career was highlighted by the “Lethal Weapon” series, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, which elevated him to the ranks of directors generating more than a billion dollars in box office.
Born Richard Donald Schwartzberg in the Bronx, he attended Parker Junior College and then NYU, where he majored in business and theater.
- 7/5/2021
- by Richard Natale
- Variety Film + TV
Diana Ossana is flat on her back, wracked with grief. She’s just lost her best friend and writing partner, Larry McMurtry, a man she nursed through open heart surgery in 1991 and a couple of other heart attacks, who after three years of battling congestive heart failure, finally succumbed Thursday in his home in Archer City, Texas. He was 84. “Larry through stubbornness and brilliance kept going,” said Ossana. “He kept going. I feel like one of my limbs is cut off. We’re all pretty crushed.”
Ossana picked up the phone to talk about her writing partner of 28 years, with whom she shared the 2006 Screenplay Oscar for adapting Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain.” “We were each other’s best friend,” she said. “Larry would tell people to call me in the last 10 years or so: ‘Ask Diana, she knows me better than I do myself.’ From the beginning of our friendship,...
Ossana picked up the phone to talk about her writing partner of 28 years, with whom she shared the 2006 Screenplay Oscar for adapting Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain.” “We were each other’s best friend,” she said. “Larry would tell people to call me in the last 10 years or so: ‘Ask Diana, she knows me better than I do myself.’ From the beginning of our friendship,...
- 3/27/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Diana Ossana is flat on her back, wracked with grief. She’s just lost her best friend and writing partner, Larry McMurtry, a man she nursed through open heart surgery in 1991 and a couple of other heart attacks, who after three years of battling congestive heart failure, finally succumbed Thursday in his home in Archer City, Texas. He was 84. “Larry through stubbornness and brilliance kept going,” said Ossana. “He kept going. I feel like one of my limbs is cut off. We’re all pretty crushed.”
Ossana picked up the phone to talk about her writing partner of 28 years, with whom she shared the 2006 Screenplay Oscar for adapting Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain.” “We were each other’s best friend,” she said. “Larry would tell people to call me in the last 10 years or so: ‘Ask Diana, she knows me better than I do myself.’ From the beginning of our friendship,...
Ossana picked up the phone to talk about her writing partner of 28 years, with whom she shared the 2006 Screenplay Oscar for adapting Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain.” “We were each other’s best friend,” she said. “Larry would tell people to call me in the last 10 years or so: ‘Ask Diana, she knows me better than I do myself.’ From the beginning of our friendship,...
- 3/27/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Writer, director, producer Nicole Holofcener joins podcast hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss some of her favorite films.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Enough Said (2013)
True Romance (1993)
Coming Home (1978)
Bound for Glory (1976)
Hal (2018)
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
The Cowboys (1972)
Harold And Maude (1971)
Conrack (1974)
Norma Rae (1979)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Naked (1993)
The Short And Curlies (1987)
Short Cuts (1993)
Nashville (1975)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
The Father (2020)
Carnal Knowledge (1971)
Sex, Lies And Videotape (1989)
Jaws (1975)
Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy (1955)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
World Without End (1956)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Goodfellas (1990)
Adaptation (2002)
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Lolita (1962)
The Shining (1980)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
12 Angry Men (1957)
A Serious Man (2009)
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
Capote (2005)
A History of Violence (2005)
The 400 Blows...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Enough Said (2013)
True Romance (1993)
Coming Home (1978)
Bound for Glory (1976)
Hal (2018)
The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
The Cowboys (1972)
Harold And Maude (1971)
Conrack (1974)
Norma Rae (1979)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Naked (1993)
The Short And Curlies (1987)
Short Cuts (1993)
Nashville (1975)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
The Father (2020)
Carnal Knowledge (1971)
Sex, Lies And Videotape (1989)
Jaws (1975)
Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy (1955)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
World Without End (1956)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Goodfellas (1990)
Adaptation (2002)
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Lolita (1962)
The Shining (1980)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
12 Angry Men (1957)
A Serious Man (2009)
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
Capote (2005)
A History of Violence (2005)
The 400 Blows...
- 3/16/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
The Criterion Channel has unveiled their March 2021 lineup, which includes no shortage of remarkable programming. Highlights from the slate include eight gems from Preston Sturges, Elaine May’s brilliant A New Leaf, a series featuring Black Westerns, Ann Hui’s Boat People, the new restoration of Ousmane Sembène’s Mandabi.
They will also add films from their Essential Fellini boxset, series on Dirk Bogarde and Nelly Kaplan, and Luchino Visconti’s The Damned and Death in Venice, and more. In terms of recent releases, there’s also Matthew Rankin’s The Twentieth Century and Claire Denis’ Let the Sunshine In.
Check out the lineup below, along with the teaser for the Black Westerns series. For weekly streaming updates across all services, bookmark this page.
The Adventurer, Charles Chaplin, 1917
Bandini, Bimal Roy, 1963
Behind the Screen, Charles Chaplin, 1916
Black Jack, Ken Loach, 1979
Black Rodeo, Jeff Kanew, 1972
Blood Simple, Joel and Ethan Coen,...
They will also add films from their Essential Fellini boxset, series on Dirk Bogarde and Nelly Kaplan, and Luchino Visconti’s The Damned and Death in Venice, and more. In terms of recent releases, there’s also Matthew Rankin’s The Twentieth Century and Claire Denis’ Let the Sunshine In.
Check out the lineup below, along with the teaser for the Black Westerns series. For weekly streaming updates across all services, bookmark this page.
The Adventurer, Charles Chaplin, 1917
Bandini, Bimal Roy, 1963
Behind the Screen, Charles Chaplin, 1916
Black Jack, Ken Loach, 1979
Black Rodeo, Jeff Kanew, 1972
Blood Simple, Joel and Ethan Coen,...
- 2/26/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Screenwriter blacklisted in Hollywood for leftwing sympathies who based The Front on his own experiences
In Martin Ritt’s 1976 film The Front, Woody Allen plays an unassuming dolt who agrees to pose as the author of scripts written by blacklisted victims of the anti-communist McCarthy witch-hunts, which resulted in the hearings of the Huac (House Un-American Activities committee). Ritt himself was a survivor of the blacklist, as were several of his cast members, including the actor Zero Mostel and the film’s writer, Walter Bernstein, who based the Oscar-nominated screenplay on his own experiences.
Bernstein, who has died aged 101, joined the Young Communist League at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, in 1937 and the Communist party shortly after the second world war. His membership lasted until the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. The initial blacklist, of the so-called Hollywood Ten, occurred in 1947 when his screenwriting career was just starting. “I never thought...
In Martin Ritt’s 1976 film The Front, Woody Allen plays an unassuming dolt who agrees to pose as the author of scripts written by blacklisted victims of the anti-communist McCarthy witch-hunts, which resulted in the hearings of the Huac (House Un-American Activities committee). Ritt himself was a survivor of the blacklist, as were several of his cast members, including the actor Zero Mostel and the film’s writer, Walter Bernstein, who based the Oscar-nominated screenplay on his own experiences.
Bernstein, who has died aged 101, joined the Young Communist League at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, in 1937 and the Communist party shortly after the second world war. His membership lasted until the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. The initial blacklist, of the so-called Hollywood Ten, occurred in 1947 when his screenwriting career was just starting. “I never thought...
- 2/9/2021
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Cicely Tyson, the trailblazing actress died whose career spanned more than six decades, died Thursday afternoon, her manager Larry Thompson confirmed. She was 96.
From the start of her career, Tyson resolved to portray strong, positive, and realistic images of black women onscreen, and for many, she represented an enduring strength. Tyson received an Oscar nomination in 1973 for Martin Ritt’s drama Sounder (and was finally given an honorary Oscar in 2018), and became famous to a wider audience for her starring role in the 1974 TV movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,...
From the start of her career, Tyson resolved to portray strong, positive, and realistic images of black women onscreen, and for many, she represented an enduring strength. Tyson received an Oscar nomination in 1973 for Martin Ritt’s drama Sounder (and was finally given an honorary Oscar in 2018), and became famous to a wider audience for her starring role in the 1974 TV movie The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,...
- 1/29/2021
- by Jerry Portwood
- Rollingstone.com
America doesn’t have a system of knights or dames, as Britain, Australia and New Zealand do. If there were such a system, Cicely Tyson would have undoubtedly been honored. But Tyson, who died on Thursday, a month after her 96th birthday, didn’t need any government-sanctioned titles: Admirers such as Ava DuVernay, Tyler Perry and Shonda Rhimes call her Queen Cicely, which was much more appropriate for her.
Her 70-year career was filled with landmark works, including the film “Sounder” (1972) and TV’s “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” (1974), “Roots” (1977), “A Woman Called Moses”, and “The Trip to Bountiful” (2014), among many others. There was also her recurring role in “How to Get Away With Murder,” in which she was Emmy-nominated five times, most recently in 2020, for playing the mother of lead character Annalise Keating (Viola Davis).
In 2018, Whoopi Goldberg told Variety, “When you think about artistry and elegance in acting,...
Her 70-year career was filled with landmark works, including the film “Sounder” (1972) and TV’s “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman” (1974), “Roots” (1977), “A Woman Called Moses”, and “The Trip to Bountiful” (2014), among many others. There was also her recurring role in “How to Get Away With Murder,” in which she was Emmy-nominated five times, most recently in 2020, for playing the mother of lead character Annalise Keating (Viola Davis).
In 2018, Whoopi Goldberg told Variety, “When you think about artistry and elegance in acting,...
- 1/29/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Emmy- and Tony-winning actress Cicely Tyson, who distinguished herself in theater, film and television, died on Thursday afternoon. She was 96.
“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” her manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement. “Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.”
Her memoir “Just As I Am” was published on Tuesday.
Tyson broke into movies with the 1959 Harry Belafonte film “Odds Against Tomorrow,” followed by “The Comedians,” “The Last Angry Man,” “A Man Called Adam” and “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.” Refusing to participate in the blaxploitation movies that became popular in the late ’60s, she waited until 1972 to return to the screen in the drama “Sounder,” which captured several...
“I have managed Miss Tyson’s career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing,” her manager, Larry Thompson, said in a statement. “Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament, a Star, on top of the tree.”
Her memoir “Just As I Am” was published on Tuesday.
Tyson broke into movies with the 1959 Harry Belafonte film “Odds Against Tomorrow,” followed by “The Comedians,” “The Last Angry Man,” “A Man Called Adam” and “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.” Refusing to participate in the blaxploitation movies that became popular in the late ’60s, she waited until 1972 to return to the screen in the drama “Sounder,” which captured several...
- 1/29/2021
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-nominated screenwriter and producer Walter Bernstein, who survived the blacklist era by writing pseudonymous scripts for television and later wrote films including “Fail-Safe,” “The Front” and “Semi-Tough,” died on Jan. 22. He was 101.
Bernstein’s longtime friend and former WGA West president Howard Rodman shared the news of his death on Twitter Saturday. “Truly saddened to hear that Walter Bernstein – legendary screenwriter, and one of the great humans – died last night. He was 101. I feel so damn fortunate that three generations of our family got to know him.”
Truly saddened to hear that Walter Bernstein — legendary screenwriter, and one of the great humans — died last night. He was 101. I feel so damn fortunate that three generations of our family got to know him.
Here's Walter from 10 years ago, when he was a young man of 91. pic.twitter.com/yLGvTb3mJY
— Howard A. Rodman (@howardrodman) January 23, 2021
Bernstein’s promising writing career was...
Bernstein’s longtime friend and former WGA West president Howard Rodman shared the news of his death on Twitter Saturday. “Truly saddened to hear that Walter Bernstein – legendary screenwriter, and one of the great humans – died last night. He was 101. I feel so damn fortunate that three generations of our family got to know him.”
Truly saddened to hear that Walter Bernstein — legendary screenwriter, and one of the great humans — died last night. He was 101. I feel so damn fortunate that three generations of our family got to know him.
Here's Walter from 10 years ago, when he was a young man of 91. pic.twitter.com/yLGvTb3mJY
— Howard A. Rodman (@howardrodman) January 23, 2021
Bernstein’s promising writing career was...
- 1/23/2021
- by Richard Natale
- Variety Film + TV
As Disney quietly disappears huge swathes of film history into its vaults, I've spent 2020 celebrating Twentieth Century Fox and the Fox Film Corporation's films, what one might call their output if only someone were putting it out. This is the final Forgotten By Fox entry."Have you ever seen any of your victims?" Robert Shaw is asked mid-way through End of the Game (1975), a line borrowed from The Third Man (1949). This I take to be author Friedrich Dürrenmatt's revenge, on behalf of his native Switzerland, for Orson Welles' celebrated crack about the cuckoo clock in Carol Reed's thriller, which appeared just before he wrote the book this film is based on.End of the Game is adapted from Dürrenmatt's 1950 novel The Judge and His Hangman by the author himself and Maximilian Schell, who also directs, inventively if a little inconsistently. Some scenes have the correct tragic force...
- 12/22/2020
- MUBI
John le Carré, whose bestselling novels about the chilly world of Cold War espionage were the basis for a long series of popular film and TV adaptations, has died of pneumonia. He was 89.
Le Carré’s literary agency, Curtis Brown, announced his death on Dec. 13 via Twitter. The beloved storyteller, whose real name was David Cornwell, was a favorite among writers and screenwriters for the naturally cinematic touches and propulsive narratives he delivered over a career that spanned a half century and 25 novels, the most recent of which was published in 2019, three days after his 88th birthday.
“It is with great sadness that we must confirm that David Cornwell — John le Carré — passed away from pneumonia last Saturday night after a short battle with the illness… We all grieve deeply his passing. Our thanks go to the wonderful NHS team at the Royal Cornwall hospital in Truro for the care...
Le Carré’s literary agency, Curtis Brown, announced his death on Dec. 13 via Twitter. The beloved storyteller, whose real name was David Cornwell, was a favorite among writers and screenwriters for the naturally cinematic touches and propulsive narratives he delivered over a career that spanned a half century and 25 novels, the most recent of which was published in 2019, three days after his 88th birthday.
“It is with great sadness that we must confirm that David Cornwell — John le Carré — passed away from pneumonia last Saturday night after a short battle with the illness… We all grieve deeply his passing. Our thanks go to the wonderful NHS team at the Royal Cornwall hospital in Truro for the care...
- 12/13/2020
- by Chris Morris
- Variety Film + TV
Yorgos Lanthimos's Nimic is exclusively showing on Mubi in the Luminaries series.Above: Vasilis Marmatakis’s poster for Nimic.Has there ever been a graphic designer more closely allied with a filmmaker than Vasilis Marmatakis is with Yorgos Lanthimos? Saul Bass and Otto Preminger are the team that most easily come to mind, but even then, though Preminger was a great supporter of and advocate for Bass’s work, I don’t feel that Bass’s designs quite express Preminger’s ethos in the same way that Marmatakis’s designs encapsulate the wonderful strangeness of Lanthimos’s work. Starting with Dogtooth in 2009, Marmatakis has created the windows to his friend’s worlds with a series of iconic posters that are among the very best of the past 20 years.Above: Vasilis Marmatakis’s posters for Yorgos Lanthimos’s films (clockwise from top left) Dogtooth (2009), The Lobster (2015), Alps (2011), The Favourite (2018) and...
- 11/28/2020
- MUBI
Martin Ritt’s film about struggling jazz musicians in Paris circa 1961 comes with quite a pedigree, including Duke Ellington’s soundtrack, Louis Armstrong in a prominent role, and evocative black and white cinematography by the great Christian Matras (Jean Renoir’s La Grand Illusion and Max Ophüls’s The Earrings of Madame De…). Not to mention two superb American actors in their prime, Sidney Poitier and Paul Newman, each romantically entangled with two equally fine actresses, Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll. The screenplay initially paired Newman with Carroll but United Artists was having none of that.
The post Paris Blues appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Paris Blues appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 11/16/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
On Nov. 8, Norman Lloyd will celebrate his 106th birthday, which is just one more accomplishment for a man whose nearly-100-year career is filled with amazing milestones. Lloyd worked as an actor, director and/or producer in theater, the early days of radio, film and TV. He wasn’t a household name, but he has always been well known and respected within the industry — not only for his work, but for the people he worked with. That list includes Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Elia Kazan, Jean Renoir, Robin Williams, Martin Scorsese, Denzel Washington, Mark Harmon, Cameron Diaz, Judd Apatow and Amy Schumer.
As his contemporary Karl Malden summed up in 2007, “He is the history of our industry.”
Lloyd was born Norman Perlmutter Nov. 8, 1914, in Jersey City, N.J. He took singing and dancing lessons and was a paid professional by the age of 9. He performed with...
As his contemporary Karl Malden summed up in 2007, “He is the history of our industry.”
Lloyd was born Norman Perlmutter Nov. 8, 1914, in Jersey City, N.J. He took singing and dancing lessons and was a paid professional by the age of 9. He performed with...
- 11/8/2020
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Michael Chapman, the cinematographer who lensed classics like “The Fugitive” and “Raging Bull, died on Sunday. His wife, screenwriter Amy Holden Jones made the announcement on Twitter. Chapman was 84.
“Goodbye to the love of my life. Michael Chapman Sept 20 2020”
Goodbye to the love of my life. Michael Chapman Sept 20 2020 https://t.co/rkhyjGjkMd
— Amy Holden Jones (@aholdenj) September 21, 2020
Chapman received two Oscar nominations for best cinematography for his work on both “Raging Bull” and “The Fugitive.” In 2004, Chapman received a lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Cinematographers.
Other notable credits Chapman earned as director of photography include “Scrooged,” “Ghostbusters II,” “Kindergarten Cop,” “Doc Hollywood” and “Space Jam.”
In 1987, Chapman was also the cinematographer on Michael Jackson’s 18 minute “Bad” music video which was directed by Martin Scorsese.
Chapman was born in New York City on Nov. 21, 1935, and first started working in film production as a camera operator on...
“Goodbye to the love of my life. Michael Chapman Sept 20 2020”
Goodbye to the love of my life. Michael Chapman Sept 20 2020 https://t.co/rkhyjGjkMd
— Amy Holden Jones (@aholdenj) September 21, 2020
Chapman received two Oscar nominations for best cinematography for his work on both “Raging Bull” and “The Fugitive.” In 2004, Chapman received a lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Cinematographers.
Other notable credits Chapman earned as director of photography include “Scrooged,” “Ghostbusters II,” “Kindergarten Cop,” “Doc Hollywood” and “Space Jam.”
In 1987, Chapman was also the cinematographer on Michael Jackson’s 18 minute “Bad” music video which was directed by Martin Scorsese.
Chapman was born in New York City on Nov. 21, 1935, and first started working in film production as a camera operator on...
- 9/22/2020
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
In 1968, America was embroiled in protests over civil rights and the Vietnam War. In that tumultuous time, “The Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson turned over hosting duties for an entire week to actor and activist Harry Belafonte. His cast of guests included Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, just months before they were assassinated, during a week that’s been mostly lost in American history. Thankfully it’s now being revisited in a new Peacock documentary, executive produced by MSNBC host Joy Reid and directed by award-winning filmmaker Yoruba Richen, aptly titled “The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show.”
At the time, Carson’s pioneering late night variety show had become one of the country’s most influential platforms. So the move to have Belafonte take this mainstream institution and transform it into a multicultural and political experience, introducing white America to his world of art and activism,...
At the time, Carson’s pioneering late night variety show had become one of the country’s most influential platforms. So the move to have Belafonte take this mainstream institution and transform it into a multicultural and political experience, introducing white America to his world of art and activism,...
- 9/10/2020
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
“You’re an unprincipled man,” the old rancher tells his reckless, short-tempered son. “You live just for yourself.” The younger one has just proposed quickly selling their large herd of diseased cattle before word gets out about the animals’ sickness, a despicable notion that takes his father aback. “It doesn’t take long to kill things,” the patriarch admonishes him. “Not like it does to grow.”
Not about to let his wild, narcissistic kid off the hook quite yet, the straight-talking old-timer further upbraids his selfish offspring for his penchant for lying in order to avoid consequences. “Little by little the look of the country changes because of the men we admire,” says the wizened man, who can now see nothing good lying beyond the horizon, beginning with his impatient progeny.
The scene is from Hud, the 1963 modern Western in which Paul Newman excelled as a short-tempered cad with little...
Not about to let his wild, narcissistic kid off the hook quite yet, the straight-talking old-timer further upbraids his selfish offspring for his penchant for lying in order to avoid consequences. “Little by little the look of the country changes because of the men we admire,” says the wizened man, who can now see nothing good lying beyond the horizon, beginning with his impatient progeny.
The scene is from Hud, the 1963 modern Western in which Paul Newman excelled as a short-tempered cad with little...
- 8/12/2020
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
Before the next Smackdown, Nick Taylor will be visiting some "alternates" to the Supporting Actress Ballot.
There are two noteworthy bits of trivia about Edge of the City. First: This marks the third of five films where Ruby Dee plays Sidney Poitier's wife, as well as the first of these films to focus on her character and their marriage in any real detail. Second: Edge of the City is the directorial debut of Martin Ritt, whose most famous films include Hud (which netted him his only Best Director nomination), Sounder, and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, all of which were highly regarded by critics and Academy members alike. Ritt was a skilled actor’s director, able to craft naturalistic, cinematic performances from his ensembles while paying equal attention to the vastly different tones, milieus, and sociopolitical landscapes of each film. How could I resist the siren...
There are two noteworthy bits of trivia about Edge of the City. First: This marks the third of five films where Ruby Dee plays Sidney Poitier's wife, as well as the first of these films to focus on her character and their marriage in any real detail. Second: Edge of the City is the directorial debut of Martin Ritt, whose most famous films include Hud (which netted him his only Best Director nomination), Sounder, and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, all of which were highly regarded by critics and Academy members alike. Ritt was a skilled actor’s director, able to craft naturalistic, cinematic performances from his ensembles while paying equal attention to the vastly different tones, milieus, and sociopolitical landscapes of each film. How could I resist the siren...
- 6/21/2020
- by Nick Taylor
- FilmExperience
Cicely Tyson, whose more than seven decades of work across stage, screen and TV includes iconic small-screen roles as Jane Pittman, Coretta Scott King and the mother of Rosa Parks, was unveiled Monday as the recipient of the Peabody Awards’ Career Achievement Award. The honor is bestowed on individuals whose work and commitment to broadcasting and digital media have left an indelible mark on the field and in American culture.
Tyson has been nominated for 13 Emmys in all and won two for 1974’s The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, the start of a run that included such iconic TV series as Roots (1977), King (1978), The Women of Brewster Place (1989), Always Outnumbered (1998), A Lesson Before Dying (1999), Jewel (2002) and The Rosa Parks Story (2002).
Her TV career began in 1951 and also included credits from Naked City, I Spy and Mission: Impossible to Gunsmoke and East Side/West Side. Most recently she has appeared in...
Tyson has been nominated for 13 Emmys in all and won two for 1974’s The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, the start of a run that included such iconic TV series as Roots (1977), King (1978), The Women of Brewster Place (1989), Always Outnumbered (1998), A Lesson Before Dying (1999), Jewel (2002) and The Rosa Parks Story (2002).
Her TV career began in 1951 and also included credits from Naked City, I Spy and Mission: Impossible to Gunsmoke and East Side/West Side. Most recently she has appeared in...
- 6/8/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Else Blangsted, a Holocaust survivor who went on to a 35-year career as a film music editor who worked with some of the industry’s most successful directors, producers and composers – Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones, Dave Grusin, Sydney Pollack, among others – died Friday, May 1, from natural causes at her home in Los Angeles. She was 99.
Blangsted’s death, which occurred just three weeks short of her 100th birthday, was confirmed by her cousin, the Oscar–winning filmmaker and producer Deborah Oppenheimer.
Though she occasionally worked in TV throughout the years – Hazel, Dennis the Menace, Apple’s Way and the 1976 miniseries Helter Skelter, among others – it was in film that Blangsted left her most indelible professional mark. A partial roster of her film credits, spanning 1955’s Picnic to 1990’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, includes On Golden Pond, The Great Santini, Ordinary People, The Color Purple, The Goonies, In Cold Blood,...
Blangsted’s death, which occurred just three weeks short of her 100th birthday, was confirmed by her cousin, the Oscar–winning filmmaker and producer Deborah Oppenheimer.
Though she occasionally worked in TV throughout the years – Hazel, Dennis the Menace, Apple’s Way and the 1976 miniseries Helter Skelter, among others – it was in film that Blangsted left her most indelible professional mark. A partial roster of her film credits, spanning 1955’s Picnic to 1990’s The Bonfire of the Vanities, includes On Golden Pond, The Great Santini, Ordinary People, The Color Purple, The Goonies, In Cold Blood,...
- 5/5/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Else Blangsted, the preeminent Hollywood music editor who worked on such landmark films as In Cold Blood, Tootsie, Ordinary People, The Color Purple and On Golden Pond, has died. She was 99.
Blangsted died Friday of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, her cousin, Oscar-winning documentary producer Deborah Oppenheimer, announced. She was three weeks shy of her 100th birthday.
During her four-decade career as a music editor, the German-born Blangsted collaborated with the likes of Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kramer, John Huston, Carl Reiner, Martin Ritt, Norman Jewison, Brian De Palma, Ivan Reitman, Randa Haines, Quincy ...
Blangsted died Friday of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, her cousin, Oscar-winning documentary producer Deborah Oppenheimer, announced. She was three weeks shy of her 100th birthday.
During her four-decade career as a music editor, the German-born Blangsted collaborated with the likes of Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kramer, John Huston, Carl Reiner, Martin Ritt, Norman Jewison, Brian De Palma, Ivan Reitman, Randa Haines, Quincy ...
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