“True Detective” is back with a bang thanks to an electric fourth entry in the franchise from Issa López, who injects the crime series with darkness, humanity, and intrigue. This fourth edition of the HBO hit follows Jodie Foster as a police chief in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska. She leads an investigation into the disappearance of eight men from a research station. Seasons two and three of “True Detective” weren’t received as rapturously as the first season, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, but numerous critics have proclaimed that this fourth entry is as good if not better than season one.
Katie Rife (IGN) opined: “‘True Detective: Night Country’ is the best season of the series since the original. The horror sequences are especially good, and creator Issa López thoughtfully engages with the Alaska location without sacrificing the intrigue of a good detective story.”
Brian Tallerico (Roger Ebert...
Katie Rife (IGN) opined: “‘True Detective: Night Country’ is the best season of the series since the original. The horror sequences are especially good, and creator Issa López thoughtfully engages with the Alaska location without sacrificing the intrigue of a good detective story.”
Brian Tallerico (Roger Ebert...
- 3/27/2024
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
Variety writer Jon Burlingame’s new book, “Music for Prime Time: A History of American Television Themes and Scoring,” is published today. The product of 35 years of research and more than 450 interviews, it tells the backstory of every great TV theme dating back to 1949. What follows is an excerpt from the sitcom chapter.
In the summer of 1994, ABC Entertainment president Ted Harbert (in response to a question from this writer at a network press conference) admitted that he was asking his producers to eliminate the traditional main-title sequence – and with it, the musical theme – from all new shows.
“I think it’s an antiquated practice,” he said. “It gives the audience an opportunity to take the little remote and zap around. We really have to find ways to stop them from doing that. The 60-second, or in some cases 90-second, main title that they see week after week, given all the choices they have,...
In the summer of 1994, ABC Entertainment president Ted Harbert (in response to a question from this writer at a network press conference) admitted that he was asking his producers to eliminate the traditional main-title sequence – and with it, the musical theme – from all new shows.
“I think it’s an antiquated practice,” he said. “It gives the audience an opportunity to take the little remote and zap around. We really have to find ways to stop them from doing that. The 60-second, or in some cases 90-second, main title that they see week after week, given all the choices they have,...
- 3/28/2023
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
On July 15, 2022, HBO premiered “The Rehearsal,” a docu-comedy created by Canadian comedian Nathan Fielder, in which he also stars and directs. The six-episode series explores the lengths one man will go to reduce the uncertainties of everyday life. With a construction crew, a legion of actors, and seemingly unlimited resources, Fielder allows ordinary people to prepare for life’s biggest moments by “rehearsing” them in carefully crafted simulations of his own design. When a single misstep could shatter your entire world, why leave life to chance?
With a 96 on Rotten Tomatoes, the show has already struck a cord with viewers. The gushing consensus states, “‘The Rehearsal’ gives Nathan Fielder carte blanche to take his absurdist comedy to the limit, which he pushes even further past with deadpan aplomb in what might be his most uncomfortably funny feat yet.” But what exactly did the critics think of it?
See over 130 interviews...
With a 96 on Rotten Tomatoes, the show has already struck a cord with viewers. The gushing consensus states, “‘The Rehearsal’ gives Nathan Fielder carte blanche to take his absurdist comedy to the limit, which he pushes even further past with deadpan aplomb in what might be his most uncomfortably funny feat yet.” But what exactly did the critics think of it?
See over 130 interviews...
- 7/18/2022
- by Vincent Mandile
- Gold Derby
In today’s TV News Roundup, Apple TV Plus released a teaser for “Foundation,” and Starz released a trailer for “P-Valley.”
Dates
Netflix has announced that the first half of the fifth and final season of “Lucifer” will premiere on the streamer on Aug. 21. The series picks up with the former Lord of Hell continuing to help the LAPD under higher stakes than ever. Tom Kapinos, Ildy Modrovich, Len Wiseman, Jonathan Littman, Jerry Bruckheimer and Joe Henderson serve as executive producers.
Showtime has announced that Season 5 of “The Circus” will premiere on Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. Co-hosts John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Mark McKinnon will take viewers into the Trump and Biden campaigns as the election season unfolds over the fall. The series is produced by Left/Right. Heilemann, McKinnon, Wagner, Banks Tarver, Ken Druckerman, Ted Bourne, Tom Johnson and Siobhan Walshe serve as executive producers. Watch a new trailer for the season below.
Dates
Netflix has announced that the first half of the fifth and final season of “Lucifer” will premiere on the streamer on Aug. 21. The series picks up with the former Lord of Hell continuing to help the LAPD under higher stakes than ever. Tom Kapinos, Ildy Modrovich, Len Wiseman, Jonathan Littman, Jerry Bruckheimer and Joe Henderson serve as executive producers.
Showtime has announced that Season 5 of “The Circus” will premiere on Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. Co-hosts John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Mark McKinnon will take viewers into the Trump and Biden campaigns as the election season unfolds over the fall. The series is produced by Left/Right. Heilemann, McKinnon, Wagner, Banks Tarver, Ken Druckerman, Ted Bourne, Tom Johnson and Siobhan Walshe serve as executive producers. Watch a new trailer for the season below.
- 6/22/2020
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
“The Haunting of Hill House” meets “Homecoming” — that could be Apple’s pitch to awards voters for “Servant,” its new half-hour drama premiering November 28. With the narrative transpiring entirely inside (and occasionally on the block just outside) a Philadelphia townhouse, “Servant” compensates for set pieces with atmospheric directing led by M. Night Shyamalan, complete with the long takes that were critically acclaimed hallmarks of the other aforementioned streaming series. Although there are flourishes of horror, like in the title sequence reminiscent of “The Haunting of Hill House,” this is a psychological thriller that builds tension with incomplete memories and unconventional framing in the vein of “Homecoming.”
Still on hiatus, fellow half-hour “Homecoming” leaves nomination slots open at the Golden Globe Awards this year for Best Drama Series, Actress and Actor that could be filled by “Servant.” The “Homecoming” nomination recognized past favorite Sam Esmail, who had won the same prize for creating “Mr. Robot.
Still on hiatus, fellow half-hour “Homecoming” leaves nomination slots open at the Golden Globe Awards this year for Best Drama Series, Actress and Actor that could be filled by “Servant.” The “Homecoming” nomination recognized past favorite Sam Esmail, who had won the same prize for creating “Mr. Robot.
- 11/16/2019
- by Riley Chow
- Gold Derby
Laurie Luhn, the former Fox News staffer who made sexual abuse allegations against Roger Ailes, has dropped a $750 million lawsuit against Showtime over the forthcoming miniseries “Loudest Voice.”
Luhn filed suit in January, accusing Showtime, Blumhouse and journalist Gabriel Sherman of violating her right to privacy. The suit alleged that Sherman was “cashing in” on her history of psychosexual torture at Ailes’ hands, and had failed even to notify her that the story would be turned into a series.
Luhn and her attorney, Larry Klayman, filed a notice on Friday dismissing the case.
“The matter has been resolved to the parties’ mutual satisfaction,” Klayman said in a statement.
The network declined to comment.
The seven-episode series is set to debut on Sunday on Showtime. The show is based on Sherman’s 2014 book, “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” and his subsequent reporting. Following Ailes’ ouster in July 2016, Sherman published a...
Luhn filed suit in January, accusing Showtime, Blumhouse and journalist Gabriel Sherman of violating her right to privacy. The suit alleged that Sherman was “cashing in” on her history of psychosexual torture at Ailes’ hands, and had failed even to notify her that the story would be turned into a series.
Luhn and her attorney, Larry Klayman, filed a notice on Friday dismissing the case.
“The matter has been resolved to the parties’ mutual satisfaction,” Klayman said in a statement.
The network declined to comment.
The seven-episode series is set to debut on Sunday on Showtime. The show is based on Sherman’s 2014 book, “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” and his subsequent reporting. Following Ailes’ ouster in July 2016, Sherman published a...
- 6/29/2019
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
New York — Jason Mittell had other things to do last month when ABC aired a two-hour debut of the drama "Red Widow," so he set his digital video recorder to capture it.
Then the Middlebury College professor and Just TV blogger saw the show's disappointing ratings the next day. He deleted the DVR file. If the show already appears to be on thin ice, why bother watching?
Skittish viewers who guard their time are making the already difficult task of establishing new dramas on broadcast television even harder. If the show becomes a hit, technology offers many ways to catch up later. It's just one more advantage for cable networks at a time when they already seem to have the upper hand with dramas.
"Zero Hour," the series that Zack Estrin helped produce for ABC, debuted on Valentine's Day. Starring Anthony Edwards, "Zero Hour" demanded a viewer's attention as it...
Then the Middlebury College professor and Just TV blogger saw the show's disappointing ratings the next day. He deleted the DVR file. If the show already appears to be on thin ice, why bother watching?
Skittish viewers who guard their time are making the already difficult task of establishing new dramas on broadcast television even harder. If the show becomes a hit, technology offers many ways to catch up later. It's just one more advantage for cable networks at a time when they already seem to have the upper hand with dramas.
"Zero Hour," the series that Zack Estrin helped produce for ABC, debuted on Valentine's Day. Starring Anthony Edwards, "Zero Hour" demanded a viewer's attention as it...
- 4/1/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Los Angeles -- Before there was MTV, before "American Idol" made overnight stars of people you never heard of, there was "The Monkees," a band fronted by a diminutive singer named Davy Jones who was so boyishly good looking that teenage girls swooned the first time they ever saw him.
That was at the end of the summer of 1966, when Jones and his three Monkee cohorts, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, arrived on weekly television, portraying a carbon copy of another band called the Beatles.
Each Monday night for the next two years, people would tune into NBC to see the comical trials and tribulations of four young musicians who tooled around in a tricked-out car called the Monkeemobile. When they weren't introducing two or three new songs per show, they would be busy rescuing damsels in distress or being chased by bumbling outlaws in a comical display...
That was at the end of the summer of 1966, when Jones and his three Monkee cohorts, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, arrived on weekly television, portraying a carbon copy of another band called the Beatles.
Each Monday night for the next two years, people would tune into NBC to see the comical trials and tribulations of four young musicians who tooled around in a tricked-out car called the Monkeemobile. When they weren't introducing two or three new songs per show, they would be busy rescuing damsels in distress or being chased by bumbling outlaws in a comical display...
- 3/1/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Los Angeles — Before there was MTV, before "American Idol" made overnight stars of people you never heard of, there was "The Monkees," a band fronted by a diminutive singer named Davy Jones who was so boyishly good looking that teenage girls swooned the first time they ever saw him.
That was at the end of the summer of 1966, when Jones and his three Monkee cohorts, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, arrived on weekly television, portraying a carbon copy of another band called the Beatles.
Each Monday night for the next two years, people would tune into NBC to see the comical trials and tribulations of four young musicians who tooled around in a tricked-out car called the Monkeemobile. When they weren't introducing two or three new songs per show, they would be busy rescuing damsels in distress or being chased by bumbling outlaws in a comical display of...
That was at the end of the summer of 1966, when Jones and his three Monkee cohorts, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, arrived on weekly television, portraying a carbon copy of another band called the Beatles.
Each Monday night for the next two years, people would tune into NBC to see the comical trials and tribulations of four young musicians who tooled around in a tricked-out car called the Monkeemobile. When they weren't introducing two or three new songs per show, they would be busy rescuing damsels in distress or being chased by bumbling outlaws in a comical display of...
- 3/1/2012
- by AP
- Aol TV.
Los Angeles -- Before there was MTV, before "American Idol" made overnight stars of people you never heard of, there was "The Monkees," a band fronted by a diminutive singer named Davy Jones who was so boyishly good looking that teenage girls swooned the first time they ever saw him.
That was at the end of the summer of 1966, when Jones and his three Monkee cohorts, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, arrived on weekly television, portraying a carbon copy of another band called the Beatles.
Each Monday night for the next two years, people would tune into NBC to see the comical trials and tribulations of four young musicians who tooled around in a tricked-out car called the Monkeemobile. When they weren't introducing two or three new songs per show, they would be busy rescuing damsels in distress or being chased by bumbling outlaws in a comical display...
That was at the end of the summer of 1966, when Jones and his three Monkee cohorts, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, arrived on weekly television, portraying a carbon copy of another band called the Beatles.
Each Monday night for the next two years, people would tune into NBC to see the comical trials and tribulations of four young musicians who tooled around in a tricked-out car called the Monkeemobile. When they weren't introducing two or three new songs per show, they would be busy rescuing damsels in distress or being chased by bumbling outlaws in a comical display...
- 3/1/2012
- by AP
- Aol TV.
New York — In an era when Beyonce and Jay-z are music royalty, when Barack Obama is the nation's chief executive, and when black stars in the cast of a TV show are commonplace, it may be hard to grasp the magnitude of what Don Cornelius created once he got his "Soul Train" rolling.
Yes, the syndicated series delivered the music of Earth Wind & Fire, the Jacksons, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder into America's households, infusing them with soul in weekly doses. Yes, it gave viewers groovy dances and Afro-envy, helping get them hip to a funky world that many had never experienced, or maybe even suspected.
But it was more than that. Before Bet would give African-Americans their own channel, and before black music and faces found their way to MTV videos as well as network dramas and comedies, "Soul Train" became a pioneering outlet for a culture whose access to television was strictly limited.
Yes, the syndicated series delivered the music of Earth Wind & Fire, the Jacksons, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder into America's households, infusing them with soul in weekly doses. Yes, it gave viewers groovy dances and Afro-envy, helping get them hip to a funky world that many had never experienced, or maybe even suspected.
But it was more than that. Before Bet would give African-Americans their own channel, and before black music and faces found their way to MTV videos as well as network dramas and comedies, "Soul Train" became a pioneering outlet for a culture whose access to television was strictly limited.
- 2/1/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
According to reports, George Clooney and partner Grant Heslov, through their Smokehouse Pictures will adapt the novel, "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'" by author David Bianculli, as a big screen Sony motion picture.
The book covers the comedy duo's 1967-69, 'subversively funny', CBS variety hour TV series.
With a writing staff that included Steve Martin and Rob Reiner, the original series, freaked out CBS censors on a weekly basis by including social commentary about the Vietnam War and politicians.
"I'm thrilled on behalf of Tom and Dick, whose story deserves to be told and retold," said Bianculli, "and whose efforts to inject topicality into scripted TV comedy in the 1960's led very directly to the sort of thing Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher are doing today."
Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman ("Atari") will write the screenplay for Smokehouse.
Click the images to...
The book covers the comedy duo's 1967-69, 'subversively funny', CBS variety hour TV series.
With a writing staff that included Steve Martin and Rob Reiner, the original series, freaked out CBS censors on a weekly basis by including social commentary about the Vietnam War and politicians.
"I'm thrilled on behalf of Tom and Dick, whose story deserves to be told and retold," said Bianculli, "and whose efforts to inject topicality into scripted TV comedy in the 1960's led very directly to the sort of thing Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher are doing today."
Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman ("Atari") will write the screenplay for Smokehouse.
Click the images to...
- 12/13/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
George Clooney and producing partner Grant Heslov will take a trip back to the '60s for their next effort, a film about comedians Tom and Dicky Smothers. Specifically, the movie will focus on the brothers' show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which went from clean-cut humor to a promoting the politics of the counter-culture movement. The show was also notable for featuring cutting-edge music acts such as The Who and Jefferson Airplane as well as providing a start for future stars like Steve Martin and Rob Reiner who were part of the writing staff. The film will be based on the David Bianculli book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. No word on whether Clooney will take on acting or directing duties for the project, but since he's involved, expect to see some notable names attached. This material seems well within Clooney's wheelhouse, like...
- 12/13/2011
- by Aaron
- FilmJunk
After collaborating as producing partners and occasionally co-stars on films like Good Night and Good Luck, The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Ides of March this year, George Clooney and Grant Heslov are teaming up again through their Smokehouse production banner to tell the story of Tom and Dicky Smothers, the iconic 60's comedians who brought controversial, topical and irreverent laughs to TV with "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman will write the film based on David Bianculli's book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Deadline says at this time it's not clear of Clooney is looking to direct or star in the film, but since he's taking one role or the other in many of the films from Smokehouse, it's very likely he'll at least do one or the other. Though the show only ran from 1967-1969 on CBS,...
- 12/12/2011
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Everyone on the planet knows George Clooney as an actor and, to a smaller extent, director, but he’s also been in the producing game for some time now. (Call him a renaissance man, if it makes you comfortable.) Things are really taking off on that lattermost front, too; both he and his creative partner, Grant Heslov, have recently been launching new projects under their company, Smoke House — some of which involve Aaron Sorkin and Christopher McQuarrie.
Now, Deadline says that the duo are getting behind an adaptation of David Bianculli‘s Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for Sony Pictures. Though it hasn’t been said if Clooney will star or direct, Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman have been hired to shape the non-fiction book into a screenplay. As an audience, we’ll be presented with their transition “from squeaky clean comics to counterculture troublemakers,...
Now, Deadline says that the duo are getting behind an adaptation of David Bianculli‘s Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour for Sony Pictures. Though it hasn’t been said if Clooney will star or direct, Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman have been hired to shape the non-fiction book into a screenplay. As an audience, we’ll be presented with their transition “from squeaky clean comics to counterculture troublemakers,...
- 12/12/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Sony Pictures is teaming with George Clooney and his Smokehouse partner Grant Hesloy to adapt the story of Tom and Dicky Smothers into a feature film, Deadline is reporting. ‘Atari’ screenwriters Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman have been hired to script the story of the 1960s television comedian brothers. Clooney and Hesloy are on board to produce the movie, but there’s no word yet whether the actor will star in and/or direct the biography. The film comes after Sony, Glooney and Hesloy optioned David Bianculli’s book ‘Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.’ The brother’s show ran from 1967-69 on CBS, and it made headlines for...
- 12/12/2011
- by karen
- ShockYa
Oscar winner George Clooney -- a current awards season favorite with "The Descendants" -- has added another project to his packed upcoming movie slate: Clooney and Smokehouse Pictures partner Grant Heslov will produce a movie about the Smothers Brothers and their groundbreaking TV series. Clooney and Heslov are teaming with Sony to turn David Bianculli's 2009 book "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'" into a film. Bianculli confirmed the project on his site, TV Worth Watching. He called Clooney his dream choice for the movie adaptation of...
- 12/12/2011
- by Kimberly Potts
- The Wrap
George Clooney (The Descendants) and his Smokehouse Pictures are teaming up with Sony to tell the behind-the-scenes story of one of America’s most famous television shows. According to Deadline, Clooney and his producing partner, Grant Heslov had already optioned the rights to, Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, before seeking a deal with Sony. Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman have been hired to write the adapted screenplay from the book was written by television critic, David Bianculli.
- 12/12/2011
- by Kerry Fleming
- GetTheBigPicture.net
You might think of Tom and Dick Smothers as cute old guys; a quaint, genial and humorously argumentative duo that played folk songs flavored with comedy on variety TV shows and as the stars of their own show in the '60s. And they were that, but there's a history to the Smothers Brothers that is easy to miss with forty years removed between their popular heyday and today. On the face of it, the Smothers Brothers' comedy seems incredibly tame by today's standards. But the duo flirted with controversy for years, as they used their show to highlight emerging counterculture elements (with performances from the Who, Pete Seeger and Joan Baez) and laced their routines with satirical jabs at politics and mainstream culture of the time. Now that sly counterculture aspect of the Smothers Brothers might be remembered once more as producing partners George Clooney and Grant Heslov have...
- 12/12/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
George Clooney has taken on a lot of interesting stories in his relatively brief time as a producer and director, but now he's getting ready to tackle his most challenging role yet: As the other Smothers Brother.
Yes, according to Deadline, Clooney has lined up his next producing gig and unlike previous efforts "Syriana" and "The Ides of March," the story of the 60's comedy duo The Smothers Brothers is going to be totally free of political content. Right?
We're being facetious, of course, because The Smothers Brothers are one of the most famously political comedy acts of all time, to the point where some still consider their three-year run on CBS -- "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" ran from 1967-69 -- to be controversial. Beginning as a standard variety show, "The Smothers Brothers" quickly tapped into the hippie counter-culture and anti-Vietnam sentiment, eventually causing the network's conservative executives to...
Yes, according to Deadline, Clooney has lined up his next producing gig and unlike previous efforts "Syriana" and "The Ides of March," the story of the 60's comedy duo The Smothers Brothers is going to be totally free of political content. Right?
We're being facetious, of course, because The Smothers Brothers are one of the most famously political comedy acts of all time, to the point where some still consider their three-year run on CBS -- "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" ran from 1967-69 -- to be controversial. Beginning as a standard variety show, "The Smothers Brothers" quickly tapped into the hippie counter-culture and anti-Vietnam sentiment, eventually causing the network's conservative executives to...
- 12/11/2011
- by Scott Harris
- NextMovie
As year-end rituals go, remembering those we've lost over the past twelve months is the solemn twin of list-making, though it's often no less an act of celebration. In the new issue of the Brooklyn Rail, Charles Bernstein and Susan Bee look back on the life of George Kuchar, "one of the most creative, original, and influential filmmakers of our time, straddling two generations of North American iconoclasts, from Stan Brakhage, Ken Jacobs, Rudy Burckhardt, Kenneth Anger, and Michael Snow to Warren Sonbert, Ernie Gehr, Abigail Child, and Henry Hills. Often collaborating with his twin brother, Mike, George Kuchar started making films as a Bronx teenager, and the brothers' early films already show the ingenuity, exuberance, and do-it-yourself charm that would pervade scores of their subsequent films."
More from Clara Pais in the freely downloadable December issue of One + One, which also features Diamuid Hester on Jacques Tati, Donna K on Brent Green,...
More from Clara Pais in the freely downloadable December issue of One + One, which also features Diamuid Hester on Jacques Tati, Donna K on Brent Green,...
- 12/11/2011
- MUBI
George Clooney and Grant Heslov are set to make a film about 60's comedians Tom and Dicky Smothers at Sony Pictures and Smokehouse says Deadline.
Based on the David Bianculli book "Dangerously Funny", the story follows the two brothers who famously squabbled both off screen and on air during their late 60's CBS series.
Initially quite clean, the pair became counterculture troublemakers which introduce liberal politics into the mainstream and made them an enemy of Richard Nixon.
It's unknown if Clooney will star or direct. Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman ("Atari") are adapting the script which Clooney and Heslov ("The Ides of March") will produce.
Based on the David Bianculli book "Dangerously Funny", the story follows the two brothers who famously squabbled both off screen and on air during their late 60's CBS series.
Initially quite clean, the pair became counterculture troublemakers which introduce liberal politics into the mainstream and made them an enemy of Richard Nixon.
It's unknown if Clooney will star or direct. Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman ("Atari") are adapting the script which Clooney and Heslov ("The Ides of March") will produce.
- 12/11/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The Good Night, and Good Luck actor/director will return to the world of politically charged television from the Cold War Era with the help of Sony Pictures in an option for the rights to David Bianculli's book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour". A behind-the-scenes look at the rise and fall of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour — the provocative, politically charged program that shocked the censors, outraged the White House, and forever changed the face of television. Decades before The Daily Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour proved there was a place on television for no-holds-barred political comedy with a decidedly antiauthoritarian point of view. In this explosive, revealing history of the show, veteran entertainment journalist David...
- 12/11/2011
- by Eric Whitman
- The Daily BLAM!
George Clooney will continue his interest in real-life characters by adapting the life story of radical '60s comedian-musicians Tom and Dicky Smothers for the big screen. Clooney and his Smokehouse partner Grant Heslov have optioned the David Bianculli's "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" for Sony. Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman, who wrote the Black Listed script "Atari," about video game pioneer Nolan Bushnell, will pen the screenplay. While Clooney and Heslov are producing, it's unknown at this time if Clooney will star, according to Deadline.com, who broke the story. Best known for the...
- 12/10/2011
- by HitFix Staff
- Hitfix
Actor/producer/director George Clooney is looking to turn the story of of 60s comedians Tom and Dicky Smothers into a full length movie. According to Deadline, Sony Pictures will team up with Smokehouse to adapt David Bianculli book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman. will write the script. While we can confirm Clooney will produce the biopic, we don’t know if he will star or direct.
The show ran from 1967-69 on CBS, and the brothers, who famously squabbled on and off screen, were transformed by the period’s social upheaval. They went from squeaky clean comics to counterculture troublemakers. They were aided by a writing staff that included Steve Martin, and Rob Reiner and they were the first to introduce liberal hippie politics into the mainstream, as well as cutting edge rock acts like The Who, Jefferson Airplane and The Doors.
The show ran from 1967-69 on CBS, and the brothers, who famously squabbled on and off screen, were transformed by the period’s social upheaval. They went from squeaky clean comics to counterculture troublemakers. They were aided by a writing staff that included Steve Martin, and Rob Reiner and they were the first to introduce liberal hippie politics into the mainstream, as well as cutting edge rock acts like The Who, Jefferson Airplane and The Doors.
- 12/10/2011
- by Mike Lee
- FusedFilm
George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Productions are developing a biopic about60s comedians Tom and Dicky Smothers for Sony Pictures. Deadline reports that the project is based on David Bianculli book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman are currently writing the script for Clooney and Heslov to produce. The project is still in the early stages and it’s not known if Clooney will star or direct.
The Smothers Brothers Show ran on CBS from 1967-69 and were known for making waves both on and off the screen during the tumultuous social climate of the times. They went from “squeaky clean comics to counterculture troublemakers. They were aided by a writing staff that included Steve Martin, and Rob Reiner and they were the first to introduce liberal hippie politics into the mainstream, as well as cutting edge rock acts like The Who,...
The Smothers Brothers Show ran on CBS from 1967-69 and were known for making waves both on and off the screen during the tumultuous social climate of the times. They went from “squeaky clean comics to counterculture troublemakers. They were aided by a writing staff that included Steve Martin, and Rob Reiner and they were the first to introduce liberal hippie politics into the mainstream, as well as cutting edge rock acts like The Who,...
- 12/10/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
George Clooney continued to be in the awards season spotlight thank to his political drama The Ides of March, which he directed in addition to playing its lead, a presidential candidate facing a scandal, as well as his lead role in director Alexander Payne’s family drama The Descendants. Clooney made news again yesterday when Deadline’s Mike Fleming reported that Clooney and his Smokehouse partner Grant Heslov acquired rights to the David Bianculli book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of ‘The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.’ Sony Pictures joined the project and Clooney and Heslov hired Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman to adapt the book, a look at the transformation of stand-up sibs Tom and Dick Smothers from clean-cut comedians to counter-culture heroes who earned a spot on President Richard Nixon’s enemies list.
- 12/10/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
George Clooney continued to be in the awards season spotlight thank to his political drama The Ides of March, which he directed in addition to playing its lead, a presidential candidate facing a scandal, as well as his lead role in director Alexander Payne’s family drama The Descendants. Clooney made news again yesterday when Deadline’s Mike Fleming reported that Clooney and his Smokehouse partner Grant Heslov acquired rights to the David Bianculli book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of ‘The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.’ Sony Pictures joined the project and Clooney and Heslov hired Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman to adapt the book, a look at the transformation of stand-up sibs Tom and Dick Smothers from clean-cut comedians to counter-culture heroes who earned a spot on President Richard Nixon’s enemies list.
- 12/10/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
George Clooney continued to be in the awards season spotlight thank to his political drama The Ides of March, which he directed in addition to playing its lead, a presidential candidate facing a scandal, as well as his lead role in director Alexander Payne’s family drama The Descendants. Clooney made news again yesterday when Deadline’s Mike Fleming reported that Clooney and his Smokehouse partner Grant Heslov acquired rights to the David Bianculli book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of ‘The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.’ Sony Pictures joined the project and Clooney and Heslov hired Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman to adapt the book, a look at the transformation of stand-up sibs Tom and Dick Smothers from clean-cut comedians to counter-culture heroes who earned a spot on President Richard Nixon’s enemies list.
- 12/10/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Exclusive: Sony Pictures and Smokehouse partners George Clooney and Grant Heslov will turn the story of 60s comedians Tom and Dicky Smothers into a feature film. They’ve optioned the David Bianculli book Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and they’ve set Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman to write the script. Clooney and Heslov will produce. It’s too early to determine whether or not Clooney will star or direct. The show ran from 1967-69 on CBS, and the brothers, who famously squabbled on and off screen, were transformed by the period’s social upheaval. They went from squeaky clean comics to counterculture troublemakers. They were aided by a writing staff that included Steve Martin, and Rob Reiner and they were the first to introduce liberal hippie politics into the mainstream, as well as cutting edge rock acts like The Who, Jefferson Airplane and The Doors.
- 12/10/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
George Clooney has his sights set on another period biopic. Deadline reports that his Smokehouse Pictures is set to team with Sony on the story of Tom and Dick Smothers, specifically focusing on their television variety show, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" that ran in the late '60s. The screenplay, to be drafted by Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman, is based "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" by David Bianculli. Bianculli, a television critic and founder of TV Worth Watching , wrote the fully authorized book in 2009. It's officially described as follows: A behind-the-scenes look at the rise and fall of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" -- the provocative, politically charged program that shocked...
- 12/9/2011
- Comingsoon.net
I'd rather have opened with the spider scene from Annie Hall, but there doesn't seem to be an embeddable version of decent quality. At any rate, it's probably a little unfair to both Woody Allen and Diane Keaton to lump PBS's Woody Allen: A Documentary (airing in two parts tonight and tomorrow) and Keaton's new memoir, Then Again, into the same roundup. After all, of the 46 films he's made and the 50-odd films she's appeared in, Keaton has only been in seven Woody Allen movies (eight, if you count Play It Again, Sam [1972], which he wrote but which Herbert Ross directed). Diane Keaton is, of course, a director in her own right, too (her oeuvre includes an episode of Twin Peaks!), as well as a photographer, artist and designer. And Woody Allen is, well, Woody Allen. Draw a Venn diagram of their careers, and there's just a whole lot...
- 11/20/2011
- MUBI
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