Diarra Kilpatrick loves a mystery. Growing up watching classic detective tales like the original Perry Mason, Murder, She Wrote and Columbo with her grandmother created a lifelong love of the genre. That love has resulted in her creating and starring in investigative tales like American Koko and acting in detective noirs such as HBO‘s Perry Mason. Diarra From Detroit, streaming in full now on BET+, is her latest mysterious creation. Kilpatrick stars as Diarra Brickland, who’s juggling her messy divorce with husband Francois, aka “Swa,” played by Morris Chestnut, while also trying to move on in her love life. She goes on a magical Tinder date with a new man, Chris (Shannon Wallace), who then goes M.I.A. Determined to prove she wasn’t ghosted and that something really happened to this man, Diarra turns herself into a private investigator, recruiting help from her reluctant but supportive best friends,...
- 3/22/2024
- TV Insider
As He Took his sunrise walk through a quiet Las Vegas suburb of tan stucco houses and desert landscaping in late September, Duane Davis resembled nobody’s idea of a gangster legend. A bald man on the soft side of 60 in a white Polo Sport T-shirt and loose-fitting pants, he could have been just another middle-aged neighbor plodding uphill against the ravages of time.
Whatever reverie Davis enjoyed ended as officers from Las Vegas Metro’s Criminal Apprehension Team swiftly approached in tactical gear out of unmarked vehicles. “Hey, Keffe,...
Whatever reverie Davis enjoyed ended as officers from Las Vegas Metro’s Criminal Apprehension Team swiftly approached in tactical gear out of unmarked vehicles. “Hey, Keffe,...
- 1/25/2024
- by John L. Smith
- Rollingstone.com
"The Twilight Zone" is often lauded for its social commentary; it condemned things like racism and nationalism and beauty standards, even as the world around it failed to follow suit. It was a bold and innovative show, but it was also churning out up to 37 episodes a season, so a few clunkers were all but guaranteed. Such was the case with season 3's "The Mirror," an episode that is very much not ahead of its time. Instead, it's perfectly in line with mainstream political opinion in 1961, and it makes for a somewhat dull, grating viewing experience as a result.
"The Mirror" focuses on a revolutionary figure named Ramos Clemente, who has just overthrown the previous government of a unspecified Central American country and is looking forward to his glorious reign. Although the episode does not call this man Fidel Castro, he's clearly based on him. He's played by Peter Falk,...
"The Mirror" focuses on a revolutionary figure named Ramos Clemente, who has just overthrown the previous government of a unspecified Central American country and is looking forward to his glorious reign. Although the episode does not call this man Fidel Castro, he's clearly based on him. He's played by Peter Falk,...
- 1/21/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
Hailing from the country that gave us such grim social critics as Michael Haneke and Ulrich Seidl, Vantablack Austrian satire “Veni Vidi Vici” opens with a senseless homicide. It’s a startling scene, no less upsetting than the Scorpio killing that kick-starts “Dirty Harry” — except that in this case, the incident is calibrated as the darkest sort of comedy. Rather than picking off an unsuspecting rooftop swimmer, the serial killer does his hunting out in the open, without shame or any pretense of covering his tracks.
The movie makes no mystery of the sniper’s identity, revealing it right from the jump, the way a “Columbo” episode might. And yet the authorities show zero interest in arresting the guilty party, even going so far as to toss an eyewitness out of the police station (that man winds up offing himself in exasperation). That’s because the person responsible, Amon Maynard (Laurence Rupp), is a millionaire,...
The movie makes no mystery of the sniper’s identity, revealing it right from the jump, the way a “Columbo” episode might. And yet the authorities show zero interest in arresting the guilty party, even going so far as to toss an eyewitness out of the police station (that man winds up offing himself in exasperation). That’s because the person responsible, Amon Maynard (Laurence Rupp), is a millionaire,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The deceptively unassuming figure of Los Angeles homicide detective Lieutenant Columbo (Peter Falk), with his rumpled raincoat, cheap cigars, and seeming absentmindedness, might not call to mind the sprawling existentialist novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky. But Columbo’s ancestry can be traced all the way back to Porfiry Petrovich, the pesky, psychologically attuned investigator in Crime and Punishment.
Like that literary classic, the show that shares Columbo’s name functions as an inverted detective story, not so much a whodunit as a howcatchem. In each episode, we spend time with the murderer, soak up their milieu, and witness the commission of the crime. Only then does Columbo make his entrance onto the scene. From there, it’s an escalating battle of nerves between the dogged detective and the initially arrogant murderer.
While Rodion Raskolnikov, the tortured protagonist of Crime and Punishment, is an impoverished student who kills out of economic necessity...
Like that literary classic, the show that shares Columbo’s name functions as an inverted detective story, not so much a whodunit as a howcatchem. In each episode, we spend time with the murderer, soak up their milieu, and witness the commission of the crime. Only then does Columbo make his entrance onto the scene. From there, it’s an escalating battle of nerves between the dogged detective and the initially arrogant murderer.
While Rodion Raskolnikov, the tortured protagonist of Crime and Punishment, is an impoverished student who kills out of economic necessity...
- 12/7/2023
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
More than 13 years ago, the world said goodbye to Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) after eight seasons on the USA Network. Monk is a genius detective riddled with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and dozens of phobias. And yet, these very qualities make him such an astute investigator — "It's a gift and a curse." Now, fans get one more sample of Monk's gift with a follow-up movie, "Mr. Monk's Last Case." The film is not a "legacy sequel" as is the trend these days, but a classical post-series TV reunion movie. It's not just the main cast that returns either, but "Monk" co-creators Andy Breckmann and David Hoberman and prolific series director Randy Zisk. The reunion feels complete because of it, since their presence means the storytelling of "Mr. Monk's Last Case" feels like, well, "Monk."
In the series finale, "Mr. Monk and the End," Monk finally solved the murder of his late...
In the series finale, "Mr. Monk and the End," Monk finally solved the murder of his late...
- 12/6/2023
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Peter S. Fischer, co-creator of “Murder, She Wrote,” died in a care facility in Pacific Grove, Calif. on Oct. 30. He was 88.
Fischer’s grandson Jake McElrath confirmed the news of his death.
Fischer was a writer, producer and novelist, known for penning over 40 scripts for “Murder, She Wrote.” He created the series alongside Richard Levinson and William Link. He also served as executive producer for several seasons. The hit murder-mystery crime show spanned 12 seasons, running from 1984-1992. Angela Lansbury starred as Jessica Fletcher, a widow who is both a mystery writer and amateur detective. She lives in the small coastal Maine town of Cabot Cove, where she frequently solves murders a step ahead of the police.
In a similar vein, Fischer also wrote 12 episodes of “Columbo,” the long-running crime drama about Lieutenant Columbo (Peter Falk), a homicide detective in Los Angeles. He additionally penned a season of “Ellery Queen,” another...
Fischer’s grandson Jake McElrath confirmed the news of his death.
Fischer was a writer, producer and novelist, known for penning over 40 scripts for “Murder, She Wrote.” He created the series alongside Richard Levinson and William Link. He also served as executive producer for several seasons. The hit murder-mystery crime show spanned 12 seasons, running from 1984-1992. Angela Lansbury starred as Jessica Fletcher, a widow who is both a mystery writer and amateur detective. She lives in the small coastal Maine town of Cabot Cove, where she frequently solves murders a step ahead of the police.
In a similar vein, Fischer also wrote 12 episodes of “Columbo,” the long-running crime drama about Lieutenant Columbo (Peter Falk), a homicide detective in Los Angeles. He additionally penned a season of “Ellery Queen,” another...
- 11/2/2023
- by Jaden Thompson
- Variety Film + TV
Peter S. Fischer, co-creator of Murder, She Wrote and writer on dozens of crime series such as Columbo, Ellery Queen and Murder spinoff The Law and Harry McGraw, has died. Grandson Jake McElrath confirmed his passing to The Hollywood Reporter. Fischer was 88.
Peter S. Fischer is best known for co-creating the juggernaut Murder, She Wrote franchise with Richard Levinson and William Link. He wrote 264 episodes of the CBS series, including the pilot, which ran from 1984-1996. The lighthearted mystery drama landed in the Top 10 for eight of those seasons and the Top 15 for the first 11.
Fischer also created and wrote 15 episodes of spinoff The Law and Harry McGraw, starring Jerry Orbach. It spotlighted McGraw, a private investigator who appeared in three episodes of Murder, She Wrote. It ran for one season from 1987 to 1988.
The year after the Angela Lansbury-starring show ended, Fischer wrote a TV movie featuring the Jessica Fletcher...
Peter S. Fischer is best known for co-creating the juggernaut Murder, She Wrote franchise with Richard Levinson and William Link. He wrote 264 episodes of the CBS series, including the pilot, which ran from 1984-1996. The lighthearted mystery drama landed in the Top 10 for eight of those seasons and the Top 15 for the first 11.
Fischer also created and wrote 15 episodes of spinoff The Law and Harry McGraw, starring Jerry Orbach. It spotlighted McGraw, a private investigator who appeared in three episodes of Murder, She Wrote. It ran for one season from 1987 to 1988.
The year after the Angela Lansbury-starring show ended, Fischer wrote a TV movie featuring the Jessica Fletcher...
- 11/2/2023
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Peter S. Fischer, the late-blooming TV writer and producer who co-created Murder, She Wrote after serving on such other crime-solving series as Columbo, Baretta and Ellery Queen, has died. He was 88.
Fischer died Monday at a care facility in Pacific Grove, California, his grandson Jake McElrath announced.
He became a prolific novelist after he exited Hollywood, writing murder mysteries, of course.
Fischer, who had worked with Columbo co-creators Richard Levinson and William Link on the iconic Peter Falk series as well as on the Jim Hutton-starring Ellery Queen, accompanied the pair to a meeting with CBS executives in 1984, he recalled in a 2011 interview.
“CBS wanted to do a murder mystery and they called Dick, who was our ringleader. He said, ‘Ok, I’ll bring the boys,'” Fischer said. “We went over there and pitched a premise called Blacke’s Magic, about a retired magician who solves mysteries. It became...
Fischer died Monday at a care facility in Pacific Grove, California, his grandson Jake McElrath announced.
He became a prolific novelist after he exited Hollywood, writing murder mysteries, of course.
Fischer, who had worked with Columbo co-creators Richard Levinson and William Link on the iconic Peter Falk series as well as on the Jim Hutton-starring Ellery Queen, accompanied the pair to a meeting with CBS executives in 1984, he recalled in a 2011 interview.
“CBS wanted to do a murder mystery and they called Dick, who was our ringleader. He said, ‘Ok, I’ll bring the boys,'” Fischer said. “We went over there and pitched a premise called Blacke’s Magic, about a retired magician who solves mysteries. It became...
- 11/2/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Burt Young, a former boxer who was in Sylvester Stallone’s corner as his brother-in-law Paulie in the six Rocky films and received a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his turn in the original, has died. He was 83.
He died on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles, his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, told The New York Times Wednesday.
A tough guy in real life who usually played tough guys onscreen, Young portrayed a rotten client of gumshoe Jack Nicholson’s in Chinatown (1974), was mobster “Bed Bug” Eddie in The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) and played Rodney Dangerfield’s protector/chauffeur Lou in Back to School (1986).
Young also appeared in four movies in four straight years with fellow Queens guy James Caan — Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Gambler (1974), The Killer Elite (1975) and Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) — before they worked together again in Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).
He played a getaway driver in Sam Peckinpah’s The Killer Elite,...
He died on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles, his daughter, Anne Morea Steingieser, told The New York Times Wednesday.
A tough guy in real life who usually played tough guys onscreen, Young portrayed a rotten client of gumshoe Jack Nicholson’s in Chinatown (1974), was mobster “Bed Bug” Eddie in The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) and played Rodney Dangerfield’s protector/chauffeur Lou in Back to School (1986).
Young also appeared in four movies in four straight years with fellow Queens guy James Caan — Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Gambler (1974), The Killer Elite (1975) and Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976) — before they worked together again in Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).
He played a getaway driver in Sam Peckinpah’s The Killer Elite,...
- 10/19/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Only Murders in the Building may be done for now — after Ben Glenroy’s (Paul Rudd) murder was solved in the third season finale. But binge-worthy whodunnits with elusive killers pursued by troubled detectives or amateur sleuths are everywhere.
Below, The Hollywood Reporter plucks 10 murder mysteries to keep viewers sharp and solving crime puzzles until the Hulu murder mystery comedy returns — with the intrepid trio played by Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez — for an even deadlier fourth season (following that cliffhanger).
Get set for more more mutilated victims left at the bottom of staircases, more clues left behind, more dark and evil killers, and more prime suspects in their own webs of lies and deceit to be played by mega Hollywood stars, all to keep you guessing and engaged from the safety of your living room couch.
The Afterparty (Apple TV+) Tiffany Haddish in The Afterparty
Only Murders in the Building...
Below, The Hollywood Reporter plucks 10 murder mysteries to keep viewers sharp and solving crime puzzles until the Hulu murder mystery comedy returns — with the intrepid trio played by Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez — for an even deadlier fourth season (following that cliffhanger).
Get set for more more mutilated victims left at the bottom of staircases, more clues left behind, more dark and evil killers, and more prime suspects in their own webs of lies and deceit to be played by mega Hollywood stars, all to keep you guessing and engaged from the safety of your living room couch.
The Afterparty (Apple TV+) Tiffany Haddish in The Afterparty
Only Murders in the Building...
- 10/16/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Columbo was one of those shows that epitomized the 1970s — if you were young back then, you can still picture yourself watching it with your grandparents on their plastic-covered sofa with the volume too loud. You loved the sight of Peter Falk in his famous trenchcoat, And, of course, you were always impressed by the way he would catch the culprit at the end of the show. Fifty years later, the show is finding new audiences on streaming platforms — no doubt inspired by the Columbo comparisons mentioned in many reviews of the hit streaming series Poker Face. Falk, who won four Emmy Awards for playing the role, once talked to us about the qualities he loved most in the character. (Click on the media bar below to hear Peter Falk) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Peter_Falk_Columbo_.mp3 Columbo is currently streaming on Peacock and Amazon Freevee.
The...
The...
- 10/16/2023
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
If we are living through the Murder Mysterenaissance right now – with shows like :a[Only Murders In The Building]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/only-murders-in-the-building-season-3/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'} and :a[The Afterparty]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/the-afterparty/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}, and films like Kenneth Branagh's Poirot mysteries and See How They Run lighting up our screens – then consider Rian Johnson the genre's Leonardo DaVinci. Having dazzled us with the one-two punch of 2019's :a[Knives Out]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/knives-out/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'} and last year's star-studded sequel :a[Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/glass-onion-a-knives-out-mystery/' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}, as well as Natasha Lyonne-starring Columbo spiritual successor :a[Poker Face]{href='https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/poker-face...
- 10/16/2023
- by Jordan King
- Empire - Movies
We know that the broadcast networks have produced some of its best series as spinoffs from other shows – like “Cheers” spawning “Frasier” and “Happy Days” giving us “Laverne and Shirley.” What is discussed less often are the stinkers that are spun from successful shows much more often. For instance, “AfterMASH” probably seemed like a good idea in 1983 when it hit the CBS air the fall after “M*A*S*H” departed. But it never caught on. The same was true of the producers of “Friends” deciding to give Matt LeBlanc his own series as his Joey Tribbiani character in 2004. But it too proved to be a relatively short-lived flop.
TV history is jam-packed with ill-conceived and poorly-received spinoffs that in hindsight seem tailor-made for failure. I’m talking about you, “Mrs. Columbo,” and you too, “The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.” In fact, “Mrs. Columbo” was an idea that neither the producers of the original...
TV history is jam-packed with ill-conceived and poorly-received spinoffs that in hindsight seem tailor-made for failure. I’m talking about you, “Mrs. Columbo,” and you too, “The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.” In fact, “Mrs. Columbo” was an idea that neither the producers of the original...
- 10/9/2023
- by Ray Richmond and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
We know that the broadcast networks have produced some of its best series as spinoffs from other shows – like “Cheers” spawning “Frasier” and “Happy Days” giving us “Laverne and Shirley.” What is discussed less often are the stinkers that are spun from successful shows much more often. For instance, “AfterMASH” probably seemed like a good idea in 1983 when it hit the CBS air the fall after “M*A*S*H” departed. But it never caught on. The same was true of the producers of “Friends” deciding to give Matt LeBlanc his own series as his Joey Tribbiani character in 2004. But it too proved to be a relatively short-lived flop.
TV history is jam-packed with ill-conceived and poorly-received spinoffs that in hindsight seem tailor-made for failure. I’m talking about you, “Mrs. Columbo,” and you too, “The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.” In fact, “Mrs. Columbo” was an idea that neither the producers of the original...
TV history is jam-packed with ill-conceived and poorly-received spinoffs that in hindsight seem tailor-made for failure. I’m talking about you, “Mrs. Columbo,” and you too, “The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.” In fact, “Mrs. Columbo” was an idea that neither the producers of the original...
- 10/8/2023
- by Misty Holland, Ray Richmond and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Since 1991 (and primarily within the last 10 years), a total of six TV performers have earned recognition from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for reprising roles that had brought them Golden Globe nominations at least a decade earlier. With this and his own stellar HFPA track record in mind, Kelsey Grammer – the two-time Best TV Comedy Actor-winning star of “Frasier” – can more than reasonably be expected to join said prestigious club by scoring his ninth bid in the category (and first in 22 years) for the Paramount Plus revival of his beloved NBC sitcom. What’s more, he might actually make history as the first actor involved in such a situation to pull off a comeback victory.
Grammer collected his first eight Golden Globe nominations for “Frasier” between 1994 and 2002 and emerged triumphant in both 1996 and 2001. After saying goodbye to Dr. Frasier Crane 19 years ago, he is now set to lead a long-awaited...
Grammer collected his first eight Golden Globe nominations for “Frasier” between 1994 and 2002 and emerged triumphant in both 1996 and 2001. After saying goodbye to Dr. Frasier Crane 19 years ago, he is now set to lead a long-awaited...
- 10/6/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
NBCUniversal has reached a deal to resolve a long-running case over back profits it allegedly owes to the creators of Columbo.
The heirs of William Link and Richard Levinson have settled their lawsuit against the studio, according to a court notice filed Monday, averting a trial that was scheduled to start next month. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
University City Studios was sued by Foxcroft Productions and Fairmont Productions in 2017 in a lawsuit accusing it of shortchanging the Columbo creators on profits. Although Columbo has generated $600 million in gross revenue, the plaintiffs say the studio has only paid the loan-out companies $5 million because it deducted distribution fees.
The case has bounced around among a jury, multiple judges and a state appellate court. Jurors in 2019 found that Universal wasn’t entitled to deduct distribution fees in accounting to profit participants. A panel of accounting referees, tasked with analyzing income and expense statements,...
The heirs of William Link and Richard Levinson have settled their lawsuit against the studio, according to a court notice filed Monday, averting a trial that was scheduled to start next month. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
University City Studios was sued by Foxcroft Productions and Fairmont Productions in 2017 in a lawsuit accusing it of shortchanging the Columbo creators on profits. Although Columbo has generated $600 million in gross revenue, the plaintiffs say the studio has only paid the loan-out companies $5 million because it deducted distribution fees.
The case has bounced around among a jury, multiple judges and a state appellate court. Jurors in 2019 found that Universal wasn’t entitled to deduct distribution fees in accounting to profit participants. A panel of accounting referees, tasked with analyzing income and expense statements,...
- 9/26/2023
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Saturday marks 96 years since the great Peter Falk was born (9-16-27), which strikes us as a great reason to revisit a detective drama as timeless as it is entertaining. In the whole of television history, few actors have been as identified with a single character than was Falk with Lieutenant Columbo, the eccentric, rumpled, cigar-chomping, trench coat-clad, implausibly wily Los Angeles Police Department homicide detective who always got his man. In the process, Falk and the producers revolutionized what a cop show could be. We’re wishing him a Happy Birthday, even though he left us on June 23, 2011.
It’s been more than a half-century since Falk began portraying the world’s favorite lieutenant as part of the rotating “NBC Mystery Movie” franchise on September 15, 1971. It would grow to become a global phenomenon originally across eight seasons (1971-78), then again sporadically from 1989 to 2003. The series itself would win 13 Emmys.
It’s been more than a half-century since Falk began portraying the world’s favorite lieutenant as part of the rotating “NBC Mystery Movie” franchise on September 15, 1971. It would grow to become a global phenomenon originally across eight seasons (1971-78), then again sporadically from 1989 to 2003. The series itself would win 13 Emmys.
- 9/14/2023
- by Ray Richmond and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
In "A Haunting in Venice," Hercule Poirot (star and director Kenneth Branagh) is tired. He is tired of solving murders. He is tired of the entire concept of death and dying. He wonders if this should be the last time he tries to solve a case. And as a viewer, you can't help but agree with him - he should stop there.
"A Haunting in Venice" is billed as an adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Hallowe'en Party," but the movie has almost nothing to do with that story, changing most of the details of the characters and their relationships to each other. Branagh's film is set in the early days after World War II, and Poirot has retired from crime solving. Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly) is holding a Halloween party for the city's orphans - a morbid reminder of the cost of war - and after the children are gone,...
"A Haunting in Venice" is billed as an adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Hallowe'en Party," but the movie has almost nothing to do with that story, changing most of the details of the characters and their relationships to each other. Branagh's film is set in the early days after World War II, and Poirot has retired from crime solving. Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly) is holding a Halloween party for the city's orphans - a morbid reminder of the cost of war - and after the children are gone,...
- 9/13/2023
- by Victoria Edel
- Popsugar.com
Saturday marks 96 years since the great Peter Falk was born (9-16-27), which strikes us as a great reason to revisit a detective drama as timeless as it is entertaining. In the whole of television history, few actors have been as identified with a single character than was Falk with Lieutenant Columbo, the eccentric, rumpled, cigar-chomping, trench coat-clad, implausibly wily Los Angeles Police Department homicide detective who always got his man. In the process, Falk and the producers revolutionized what a cop show could be.
It’s been more than a half-century since Falk began portraying the world’s favorite lieutenant as part of the rotating “NBC Mystery Movie” franchise on September 15, 1971. It would grow to become a global phenomenon originally across eight seasons (1971-78), then again sporadically from 1989 to 2003. The series itself would win 13 Emmys..
SEE30 best TV detectives ranked
From the first official installment of “Columbo” – entitled “Murder by the Book...
It’s been more than a half-century since Falk began portraying the world’s favorite lieutenant as part of the rotating “NBC Mystery Movie” franchise on September 15, 1971. It would grow to become a global phenomenon originally across eight seasons (1971-78), then again sporadically from 1989 to 2003. The series itself would win 13 Emmys..
SEE30 best TV detectives ranked
From the first official installment of “Columbo” – entitled “Murder by the Book...
- 9/13/2023
- by Chris Beachum and Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
To the list of TV series being turned into films we can now, finally add Murder, She Wrote. And we say, "finally" because this is one that you'd have enough cult appeal and a compelling hook to have headed to cinemas years ago. But according to Above The Line, the series, which starred Angela Lansbury as crime writer/ace sleuth Jessica Fletcher is the subject of a new potential film from Universal.
Power producer Amy Pascal has Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who wrote upcoming GameStop share affair comedy drama Dumb Money, attached to craft the script (though any forward movement on it will have to wait until the writers and actors' strike is over).
Murder, She Wrote ran on TV between 1984 and 1996. Lansbury's Fletcher outwitted criminals (and the police) and solved murders both in her home town of Cabot Cove and around the States/abroad.
In that time,...
Power producer Amy Pascal has Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who wrote upcoming GameStop share affair comedy drama Dumb Money, attached to craft the script (though any forward movement on it will have to wait until the writers and actors' strike is over).
Murder, She Wrote ran on TV between 1984 and 1996. Lansbury's Fletcher outwitted criminals (and the police) and solved murders both in her home town of Cabot Cove and around the States/abroad.
In that time,...
- 9/12/2023
- by James White
- Empire - Movies
Some of your favorite shows are now available to watch thanks to Fast (free ad-supporting streaming TV) channels. NBCUniversal and Roku have announced new Fast linear content offerings with shows from across the NBC Global Distribution library are now available on The Roku Channel. (More will be available later this year.) The channels include: Murder, She Wrote; Little House on the Prairie; and Universal Crime, including notable library series of mystery, suspense, and drama like Columbo, Kojak, The Rockford Files, and more. Other Fast channels now available on The Roku Channel include Saved By the Bell; Tnbc (Teen NBC), with series about the highs and lowers of growing up like Punky Brewster, Major Dad, and Hang Time; and Bad Girls Club. Also coming later this year are: Universal Action, which will include action-packed series like The A-Team; Magnum P.I., starring Tom Selleck; and Knight Rider, as well as Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
- 8/15/2023
- TV Insider
NBCUniversal and Roku are expanding their streaming relationship, adding to the roster of classic and nostalgia TV titles available on the Roku Channel.
The NBCU Global Distribution Studio library is backing a number of new channels launching today, including dedicated ones for Murder, She Wrote, Little House on the Prairie, Saved By The Bell and Bad Girls Club. The Universal Crime channel offers a rotation including Columbo, Kojak and The Rockford Files, while Teen NBC packages the likes of Punky Brewster, Major Dad and Hang Time.
Additional offerings launching down the road include the Universal Action channel, featuring The A-Team, Magnum P.I. and Knight Rider; as well as Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
NBCU has already had Roku Channel distribution for NBC News Now, Dateline 24/7, Today All Day, Lx, NBC local channels, Telemundo regional news channels, Sky News International, and The Rotten Tomatoes Channel. NBCU Global Distribution has also licensed select films,...
The NBCU Global Distribution Studio library is backing a number of new channels launching today, including dedicated ones for Murder, She Wrote, Little House on the Prairie, Saved By The Bell and Bad Girls Club. The Universal Crime channel offers a rotation including Columbo, Kojak and The Rockford Files, while Teen NBC packages the likes of Punky Brewster, Major Dad and Hang Time.
Additional offerings launching down the road include the Universal Action channel, featuring The A-Team, Magnum P.I. and Knight Rider; as well as Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
NBCU has already had Roku Channel distribution for NBC News Now, Dateline 24/7, Today All Day, Lx, NBC local channels, Telemundo regional news channels, Sky News International, and The Rotten Tomatoes Channel. NBCU Global Distribution has also licensed select films,...
- 8/15/2023
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
“Why does murder always have to be such a dreary business, anyway?” wonders fountain of mirth Martin Short in the third season of Hulu’s hit mystery spoof Only Murders in the Building. As comeback-seeking theater director Oliver Putnam, he hopes to capitalize on the death of his marquee movie-star leading man (Paul Rudd in gleeful jerk mode) by turning a gloomy warhorse (Death Rattle) into a splashy Broadway musical (Death Rattle Dazzle.) Don’t laugh. Ok, laugh already. We’re in a boom time for whodunits that balance comedy with suspense, smartly delivering punchlines with each shocking twist. The Knives Out franchise (including the Netflix sequel Glass Onion) helped popularize the mystery-comedy hybrid, and Peacock’s terrific Poker Face refined the format with its funky human lie detector Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) bringing back Columbo vibes. Already well underway is Season 2 of the Apple TV+ puzzler The Afterparty, where each...
- 8/7/2023
- TV Insider
It makes all-too-perfect sense that the third season of Hulu's hit mystery-comedy "Only Murders in the Building" would set its sights on Broadway. The show has proudly been set and filmed in New York since its inception, and many of the supporting players have had long careers on the Great White Way in between appearing on the program, which focuses on a disparate trio living in a swanky apartment building who become podcasters and sleuths while trying to solve a mysterious death in their abode. The limits of the premise of the series -- as former TV star Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) specified in the series premiere, they should keep their focus on what stories to tell to where they live -- were clear, though. At a certain point, if people kept dying in their building, it would strain credulity. With the third season of "Only Murders in the Building,...
- 7/27/2023
- by Josh Spiegel
- Slash Film
Lew Palter, the veteran character actor and admired CalArts School of Theater faculty member who portrayed the department store magnate Isidor Straus in James Cameron’s Titanic, has died. He was 94.
Palter died May 21 of lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles, his daughter, Catherine Palter, told The Hollywood Reporter.
The New York native played one of the Supreme Court justices in First Monday in October (1981), starring Walter Matthau, Jill Clayburgh and Barnard Hughes, and he donned a robe for stints on The Flying Nun, Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law as well.
Plus, he portrayed an LAPD detective on the 1976-77 CBS series Delvecchio, starring Judd Hirsch.
Palter joined CalArts in 1971 and served as an acting teacher and director at the Santa Clarita school until his retirement in 2013, but he also conducted private workshops and taught around the country and around the world, including in Edinburgh and at Carnegie Mellon and UCLA.
Palter died May 21 of lung cancer at his home in Los Angeles, his daughter, Catherine Palter, told The Hollywood Reporter.
The New York native played one of the Supreme Court justices in First Monday in October (1981), starring Walter Matthau, Jill Clayburgh and Barnard Hughes, and he donned a robe for stints on The Flying Nun, Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law as well.
Plus, he portrayed an LAPD detective on the 1976-77 CBS series Delvecchio, starring Judd Hirsch.
Palter joined CalArts in 1971 and served as an acting teacher and director at the Santa Clarita school until his retirement in 2013, but he also conducted private workshops and taught around the country and around the world, including in Edinburgh and at Carnegie Mellon and UCLA.
- 6/26/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A version of this story about the cinematography of “Poker Face” first appeared in the Comedy Series issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Cinematographer Steve Yedlin has collaborated with two-time Oscar nominee Rian Johnson on every feature the latter has made, from 2005’s junior-noir “Brick” to the sci-fi mind-bender “Looper” to the striking “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” to last year’s “Knives Out” sequel, “Glass Onion,” and admits that “Poker Face,” Peacock’s sly fox of a mystery (for the uninitiated — envision a gender-swapped “Columbo” doing time on a fairly malevolent “Love Boat” that instead stays docked in different cities), is just part of a larger theme in their careers.
Also Read:
How ‘Poker Face’s’ Stop-Motion Animation Episode Was Brought to Life
“Strangely, I had been a ‘Columbo’ fan since I was a kid,” Yedlin said. “And I think for Rian, it’s actually a more recent thing.
Cinematographer Steve Yedlin has collaborated with two-time Oscar nominee Rian Johnson on every feature the latter has made, from 2005’s junior-noir “Brick” to the sci-fi mind-bender “Looper” to the striking “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” to last year’s “Knives Out” sequel, “Glass Onion,” and admits that “Poker Face,” Peacock’s sly fox of a mystery (for the uninitiated — envision a gender-swapped “Columbo” doing time on a fairly malevolent “Love Boat” that instead stays docked in different cities), is just part of a larger theme in their careers.
Also Read:
How ‘Poker Face’s’ Stop-Motion Animation Episode Was Brought to Life
“Strangely, I had been a ‘Columbo’ fan since I was a kid,” Yedlin said. “And I think for Rian, it’s actually a more recent thing.
- 6/13/2023
- by Jason Clark
- The Wrap
Ever since his debut feature “Brick,” writer-director Rian Johnson has been a reliable creator of intricately structured thrillers that skillfully weave plot, theme, and character into perfectly calibrated pieces of smart and satisfying entertainment. Johnson’s Peacock show “Poker Face,” a mystery series that follows eccentric fugitive Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) as she solves crimes using a unique gift (she can tell whenever someone is lying), is no different, but in telling its story over the course of 10 episodes, it adds a whole new dimension to Johnson’s form of storytelling.
“Poker Face” has many remarkable qualities, but perhaps the most impressive is the combination of standalone episodes with the serialization of Charlie’s story — it’s the closest any show has come to Johnson’s beloved “Columbo” since that series went off the air and a treat for fans who got essentially a new Natasha Lyonne movie every week.
The...
“Poker Face” has many remarkable qualities, but perhaps the most impressive is the combination of standalone episodes with the serialization of Charlie’s story — it’s the closest any show has come to Johnson’s beloved “Columbo” since that series went off the air and a treat for fans who got essentially a new Natasha Lyonne movie every week.
The...
- 6/6/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
In a studio overlooking Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, Rian Johnson is strapped to a lie detector machine. Next to him at the controls sits Natasha Lyonne, twiddling the device’s knobs with all the sinister intent of a supervillain. This photoshoot tableau is, of course, ripped right from the Meet the Parents Ben Stiller-Robert De Niro interrogation scene. Next, in an homage to the pithiest of TV detective tropes, Lyonne will pose at a typewriter, fake-talking into a rotary-dial phone. The visual nod this time goes to Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote.
In fact, the late, great Lansbury is connective tissue for Johnson and Lyonne. Lansbury and Lyonne appeared briefly together in Johnson’s film, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, on a Zoom call playing the mystery game Among Us with Daniel Craig’s Detective Benoit Blanc.
Little did we know back when that film premiered,...
In fact, the late, great Lansbury is connective tissue for Johnson and Lyonne. Lansbury and Lyonne appeared briefly together in Johnson’s film, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, on a Zoom call playing the mystery game Among Us with Daniel Craig’s Detective Benoit Blanc.
Little did we know back when that film premiered,...
- 6/1/2023
- by Antonia Blyth
- Deadline Film + TV
The latest in the Hannah Swenson Mysteries series installment airs tonight on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
Hannah (Alison Sweeney) is again drawn into a murder investigation, and her fiancé and police detective Mike (Cameron Mathison) is right there by her side, helping the budding detective sift through evidence.
The series has been a bright spot on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries schedule, first as Murder She Baked, as Hannah runs a thriving bakery, tickling the sweet tooth of Eden Lake's residents.
The Carrot Cake Murder brings the whole town together with a cold case in a sweeping mystery that spans several decades. It's a lot of fun from start to finish.
We had the opportunity to talk with Mathison in support of the Carrot Cake Murder, and he's as pleased as we are that the series lives on (another movie was just announced).
"We're a really fun cast. We get along really,...
Hannah (Alison Sweeney) is again drawn into a murder investigation, and her fiancé and police detective Mike (Cameron Mathison) is right there by her side, helping the budding detective sift through evidence.
The series has been a bright spot on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries schedule, first as Murder She Baked, as Hannah runs a thriving bakery, tickling the sweet tooth of Eden Lake's residents.
The Carrot Cake Murder brings the whole town together with a cold case in a sweeping mystery that spans several decades. It's a lot of fun from start to finish.
We had the opportunity to talk with Mathison in support of the Carrot Cake Murder, and he's as pleased as we are that the series lives on (another movie was just announced).
"We're a really fun cast. We get along really,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Carissa Pavlica
- TVfanatic
Finally: the mystery is solved. For months now, UK-based fans of intelligent, inventive murder-mysteries have been left looking for clues around when Poker Face would be hitting our screens. Because, as if dropping Glass Onion at Christmas wasn’t enough, the ever-excellent Rian Johnson_ is making its way to the UK, and it’s hitting Sky Max (and Now) on 26 May.
All ten episodes of the show will be dropping at once – boasting episodes directed by Zola’s Janicza Bravo, Natasha Lyonne, and Johnson himself. Lyonne also wrote on the show, while Johnson penned three episodes. And it’s packed with guest stars too, including Johnson lucky charm Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adrien Brody, Hong Chau, Lil Real Howery, Jameela Jamil, Tim Blake Nelson, Nick Nolte and Ron Perlman. We really have been missing out, haven’t we? In the show, Lyonne’s detective has a knack for knowing exactly when people are lying – and,...
All ten episodes of the show will be dropping at once – boasting episodes directed by Zola’s Janicza Bravo, Natasha Lyonne, and Johnson himself. Lyonne also wrote on the show, while Johnson penned three episodes. And it’s packed with guest stars too, including Johnson lucky charm Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adrien Brody, Hong Chau, Lil Real Howery, Jameela Jamil, Tim Blake Nelson, Nick Nolte and Ron Perlman. We really have been missing out, haven’t we? In the show, Lyonne’s detective has a knack for knowing exactly when people are lying – and,...
- 5/10/2023
- by Ben Travis
- Empire - TV
When a group of thirty-something friends took New York City by storm in the 1998 groundbreaking HBO TV series Sex and the City, audiences didn’t know what hit them. The show that openly discussed sex, dating, and careers was an enormous hit that ran for six seasons, ending in 2004.
Nominated for 54 Emmy awards, and winning seven, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Sex and the City evolved into two movies that debuted in 2008 and 2010.
While a reboot of the original series was discussed over the years, it wasn’t until a surprising event convinced Sarah Jessica Parker to reprise her role as New York columnist Carrie Bradshaw.
‘And Just Like That…’ was born And Just Like That… star Sarah Jessica Parker | Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/Gc Images
In a recent episode of The Hollywood Reporter Awards Chatter podcast, Parker reflected on a conversation she had with Michael Patrick King, the showrunner of Sex and the City.
Nominated for 54 Emmy awards, and winning seven, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Sex and the City evolved into two movies that debuted in 2008 and 2010.
While a reboot of the original series was discussed over the years, it wasn’t until a surprising event convinced Sarah Jessica Parker to reprise her role as New York columnist Carrie Bradshaw.
‘And Just Like That…’ was born And Just Like That… star Sarah Jessica Parker | Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/Gc Images
In a recent episode of The Hollywood Reporter Awards Chatter podcast, Parker reflected on a conversation she had with Michael Patrick King, the showrunner of Sex and the City.
- 5/4/2023
- by Rita DeMichiel
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Julius Avery’s bucket list is now a little bit shorter.
The Australian director behind The Pope’s Exorcist has wanted to work with the New Zealand-born, Australian-raised Russell Crowe since he first saw the actor’s breakout performance in Romper Stomper (1992). The Australian drama earned Crowe the attention of Hollywood, and he’s since gone on to have a storied career that includes an Oscar win for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2001).
Crowe’s latest role as Father Gabriele Amorth in Avery’s The Pope’s Exorcist is based on the real Father Amorth’s memoirs that chronicle his time as the Chief Exorcist to the Vatican. But similar to James Wan’s The Conjuring franchise, Avery merely used real life as a jumping-off point for his heightened genre picture about a young boy’s possession.
Avery, who’s perhaps best known for directing Bad Robot’s World War II action-horror film...
The Australian director behind The Pope’s Exorcist has wanted to work with the New Zealand-born, Australian-raised Russell Crowe since he first saw the actor’s breakout performance in Romper Stomper (1992). The Australian drama earned Crowe the attention of Hollywood, and he’s since gone on to have a storied career that includes an Oscar win for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2001).
Crowe’s latest role as Father Gabriele Amorth in Avery’s The Pope’s Exorcist is based on the real Father Amorth’s memoirs that chronicle his time as the Chief Exorcist to the Vatican. But similar to James Wan’s The Conjuring franchise, Avery merely used real life as a jumping-off point for his heightened genre picture about a young boy’s possession.
Avery, who’s perhaps best known for directing Bad Robot’s World War II action-horror film...
- 4/14/2023
- by Brian Davids
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Poker Face” is a throwback in both format and tone — an episodic murder mystery of the week series in an age of serialized storytelling that focuses on overlooked pockets of America as opposed to fantastical realms and post-apocalyptic what-ifs. With the first season over, there won’t be much like it on television for a while — at least until Season 2 premieres.
But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t more like it on television at one point. For the sake of fighting your “Poker Face” withdrawal, the Peacock series’ showrunners Nora and Lilla Zuckerman shared the shows that influenced the series’ take on the howcatchem on a recent episode of IndieWire’s Tooklit podcast.
Listen to our entire interview with Nora and Lilla Zuckerman below. To hear this and more conversations with your favorite TV and film creators, subscribe to the Toolkit podcast via Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Spotify, or Overcast.
But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t more like it on television at one point. For the sake of fighting your “Poker Face” withdrawal, the Peacock series’ showrunners Nora and Lilla Zuckerman shared the shows that influenced the series’ take on the howcatchem on a recent episode of IndieWire’s Tooklit podcast.
Listen to our entire interview with Nora and Lilla Zuckerman below. To hear this and more conversations with your favorite TV and film creators, subscribe to the Toolkit podcast via Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Spotify, or Overcast.
- 3/16/2023
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Chaim Topol, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Tevye in acclaimed musical Fiddler on the Roof, has died. He was 87.
Although born in Israel, Chaim Topol gained his greatest prominence in American and British movies. Following Fiddler on the Roof (for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy), he played astronomer Galileo Galilei. But it was his appearances in 1980’s Flash Gordon and the 1981 Bond movie For Your Eyes Only that gained him a new fanbase.
In Flash Gordon, Topol played disgraced scientist Hans Zarkov, a useful ally to the titular hero. The following year, at the insistence of producer Alfred R. Broccoli’s wife, he landed the role of Milos Columbo. The smuggler Columbo, like Zarkov, proved a necessary aid to the protagonist, saving James Bond’s (Roger Moore) life in the last act. Always a rich man of character,...
Although born in Israel, Chaim Topol gained his greatest prominence in American and British movies. Following Fiddler on the Roof (for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy), he played astronomer Galileo Galilei. But it was his appearances in 1980’s Flash Gordon and the 1981 Bond movie For Your Eyes Only that gained him a new fanbase.
In Flash Gordon, Topol played disgraced scientist Hans Zarkov, a useful ally to the titular hero. The following year, at the insistence of producer Alfred R. Broccoli’s wife, he landed the role of Milos Columbo. The smuggler Columbo, like Zarkov, proved a necessary aid to the protagonist, saving James Bond’s (Roger Moore) life in the last act. Always a rich man of character,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Chaim Topol, who became professionally known solely by his last name in a career that included starring in “Fiddler on the Roof” on stage and screen and co-starring in the James Bond movie “For Your Eyes Only” and the sci-fi film “Flash Gordon,” died Thursday in Tel Aviv after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 87 years old.
Topol’s death was confirmed by Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, who described him as a “gifted actor who conquered many stages in Israel and overseas, filled the cinema screens with his presence and especially entered deep into our hearts.”
Topol began his long association with the starring role of Tevye the milkman in the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” in 1967, appearing in the West End production, which ran for 2,030 performances. He starred in Norman Jewison’s 1971 film version, which carried a budget estimated at $9 million and garnered a domestic gross of $80 million.
Topol’s death was confirmed by Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, who described him as a “gifted actor who conquered many stages in Israel and overseas, filled the cinema screens with his presence and especially entered deep into our hearts.”
Topol began his long association with the starring role of Tevye the milkman in the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” in 1967, appearing in the West End production, which ran for 2,030 performances. He starred in Norman Jewison’s 1971 film version, which carried a budget estimated at $9 million and garnered a domestic gross of $80 million.
- 3/9/2023
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Back when I worked a desk job, I always looked forward to my business trips to the UK. It was great to have a little jolly on the company's tab and a few days off from regular dad duty. I couldn't wait for that big comfy hotel bed all to myself and get some solid sleep without kids waking me up in the middle of the night.
That was the theory, anyway. When I actually got into that big comfy hotel bed, I couldn't sleep at all. It was just too uncannily quiet and it felt so weird being the only person in the room. So instead of catching up on some sleep, I'd return to my family even more knackered than before.
I faced a similar problem when I separated from my partner and moved out last October. Sleeping by myself again proved a bit tricky after 18 years of living with someone.
That was the theory, anyway. When I actually got into that big comfy hotel bed, I couldn't sleep at all. It was just too uncannily quiet and it felt so weird being the only person in the room. So instead of catching up on some sleep, I'd return to my family even more knackered than before.
I faced a similar problem when I separated from my partner and moved out last October. Sleeping by myself again proved a bit tricky after 18 years of living with someone.
- 3/7/2023
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
“Poker Face” is one of the most purely enjoyable new shows of the year, and we’ve got an exclusive clip from Episode 8 (co-written and directed by Natasha Lyonne) to tease Nick Nolte’s guest-starring role.
Created by “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion” mastermind Rian Johnson and starring Lyonne as Charlie, a woman with an uncanny knack for knowing when someone is lying (there’s an ongoing joke about how much the central conceit resembles one of the USA Network’s “Blue Sky” dramas), the series follows in the footsteps of “Columbo” – less whodunnit than whydunit. There are threads of connective tissue between the episodes but each week focuses on a different mystery. And this week’s is a humdinger, so you can imagine how thrilled we are to be debuting an exclusive clip (watch above).
In the episode, “The Orpheus Syndrome,” Lyonne starts working for a reclusive stop-motion animator...
Created by “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion” mastermind Rian Johnson and starring Lyonne as Charlie, a woman with an uncanny knack for knowing when someone is lying (there’s an ongoing joke about how much the central conceit resembles one of the USA Network’s “Blue Sky” dramas), the series follows in the footsteps of “Columbo” – less whodunnit than whydunit. There are threads of connective tissue between the episodes but each week focuses on a different mystery. And this week’s is a humdinger, so you can imagine how thrilled we are to be debuting an exclusive clip (watch above).
In the episode, “The Orpheus Syndrome,” Lyonne starts working for a reclusive stop-motion animator...
- 2/22/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Strike: Troubled Blood really is an extraordinarily fine crime drama, where a range of exceptional talents come together to create something that is actually greater than the sum of its very formidable parts. That is something rare and to be cherished. And indeed watched, and I can unreservedly commend this four-parter as a highlight of your festive viewing. It starts brilliantly, but gets better, and there are some surprising and compelling star performances to come.
It’s the latest adaptation, by Tom Edge, of the Strike detective works of Jk Rowling, and probably the best. Tom Burke is once again in the title role of Cormoran Strike, the gruff but clever private investigator. Strike is an ex-soldier with a touch of Ptsd, a bit of a drink problem, and a troubled childhood. And his affection and respect for his resourceful business partner, Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger) always threatens, or promises,...
It’s the latest adaptation, by Tom Edge, of the Strike detective works of Jk Rowling, and probably the best. Tom Burke is once again in the title role of Cormoran Strike, the gruff but clever private investigator. Strike is an ex-soldier with a touch of Ptsd, a bit of a drink problem, and a troubled childhood. And his affection and respect for his resourceful business partner, Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger) always threatens, or promises,...
- 12/11/2022
- by Sean O'Grady
- The Independent - TV
This piece contains spoilers for "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery."
"Glass Onion" is out in theaters for a limited one-week engagement before heading to Netflix in December, giving us another Benoit Blanc mystery. The follow-up to "Knives Out" features a new cast of suspects and a new exotic setting. The only constants are Writer/Director Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc. Johnson has repeatedly expressed how his love for Agatha Christie propelled him to make his own modern mystery. With that prospect came the need to create an investigator at least as compelling as those Christie created, such as Hercule Poirot.
And thus, Benoit Blanc was born, played brilliantly by Daniel Craig. The James Bond actor has expressed his joy in playing the detective, saying he would want to keep playing Blanc as long as Johnson keeps writing these stories. That love for the character is...
"Glass Onion" is out in theaters for a limited one-week engagement before heading to Netflix in December, giving us another Benoit Blanc mystery. The follow-up to "Knives Out" features a new cast of suspects and a new exotic setting. The only constants are Writer/Director Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc. Johnson has repeatedly expressed how his love for Agatha Christie propelled him to make his own modern mystery. With that prospect came the need to create an investigator at least as compelling as those Christie created, such as Hercule Poirot.
And thus, Benoit Blanc was born, played brilliantly by Daniel Craig. The James Bond actor has expressed his joy in playing the detective, saying he would want to keep playing Blanc as long as Johnson keeps writing these stories. That love for the character is...
- 11/28/2022
- by Ernesto Valenzuela
- Slash Film
"Amsterdam" is the third collaboration between director David O. Russell and Christian Bale, and even though their latest 1930s-set period piece didn't exactly light the box office on fire, both artists still have every intention of working together again. After winning an Oscar for his role in Russell's "The Fighter," Bale played a con man in "American Hustle." Shortly after that, the idea for "Amsterdam" slowly started to come together, allowing Bale to carefully craft the character of Burt Berendsen, an injured World War I veteran who vows to help other returning veterans get a leg up in New York City during the Great Depression.
A dedicated actor like Bale takes the art of imitation to an entirely new level when he's developing a character, creating every aspect of his next role from the ground up. The quirks and eccentricities that Bale incorporated into Burt became so innate that it...
A dedicated actor like Bale takes the art of imitation to an entirely new level when he's developing a character, creating every aspect of his next role from the ground up. The quirks and eccentricities that Bale incorporated into Burt became so innate that it...
- 11/28/2022
- by Drew Tinnin
- Slash Film
We all love a mystery. That’s the central thrill of a whodunnit, after all. Tell the audience there’s been a murder, trap a group of shifty archetypes in a room, and just keep pulling at threads until the whole thing unravels. It’s an old-fashioned genre that’s undergone something of an unlikely comeback in the past few years, with Rian Johnson’s slick, amusing 2019 puzzler Knives Out sitting among efforts like Murder on the Orient Express, Murder Mystery and See How They Run at the crest of the whodunnaissance. But Johnson knows that when it comes to some things – like the sexual identity of your main character in a buzzy new movie franchise – mystery simply won’t cut it.
Knives Out saw Daniel Craig play Benoit Blanc, a drawling southern private eye brought in to solve the murder of a wealthy crime novelist. Pastiching a long tradition of preternatural screen sleuths,...
Knives Out saw Daniel Craig play Benoit Blanc, a drawling southern private eye brought in to solve the murder of a wealthy crime novelist. Pastiching a long tradition of preternatural screen sleuths,...
- 11/25/2022
- by Louis Chilton
- The Independent - Film
Spoilers ahead for both "Knives Out" and "Glass Onion."
The idea of "true disruption" runs rampant through the new Netflix film "Glass Onion." True disruption, we're told by a very confident billionaire living it up on his private island, comes in many forms. It can come in the form of a viral influencer who pushes questionable medical remedies. It can come in the form of a politician bucking norms regarding worldwide climate change. And it can come in the form of pushing out new energy sources supposedly intended for the benefit of mankind but primarily for the benefit of investors and stakeholders.
Anyone familiar with the work of writer/director Rian Johnson will be unsurprised to know that "Glass Onion," much like its 2019 predecessor "Knives Out," is a force of disruption itself, gleefully upending its own rules by fooling both the audience and many of its characters with information placed...
The idea of "true disruption" runs rampant through the new Netflix film "Glass Onion." True disruption, we're told by a very confident billionaire living it up on his private island, comes in many forms. It can come in the form of a viral influencer who pushes questionable medical remedies. It can come in the form of a politician bucking norms regarding worldwide climate change. And it can come in the form of pushing out new energy sources supposedly intended for the benefit of mankind but primarily for the benefit of investors and stakeholders.
Anyone familiar with the work of writer/director Rian Johnson will be unsurprised to know that "Glass Onion," much like its 2019 predecessor "Knives Out," is a force of disruption itself, gleefully upending its own rules by fooling both the audience and many of its characters with information placed...
- 11/23/2022
- by Josh Spiegel
- Slash Film
Benoit Blanc returns, with a cast of A-listers from Edward Norton to Janelle Monáe, in Rian Johnson’s ingenious new whodunnit romp
The first one was good … this one is better: an ingenious, headspinningly preposterous and enjoyable new whodunnit romp featuring Daniel Craig as the legendary detective from the deep south, Benoit Blanc. Writer-director Rian Johnson has established his own murder-mystery working model, positioned equidistantly between the Agatha Christie approach, in which the culprit is revealed at the very end, and the Columbo approach, in which it happens at the very beginning. Here, as in the first film, the guilty party’s identity gradually emerges in the second half – not so much a twist as an unfurling pirouette. But Johnson and his enigmatic, drawling sleuth keep us guessing.
Edward Norton is an insufferable tech bro called Miles Bron who has become a multitrillionaire through his stake in Alpha, an online network fusing data,...
The first one was good … this one is better: an ingenious, headspinningly preposterous and enjoyable new whodunnit romp featuring Daniel Craig as the legendary detective from the deep south, Benoit Blanc. Writer-director Rian Johnson has established his own murder-mystery working model, positioned equidistantly between the Agatha Christie approach, in which the culprit is revealed at the very end, and the Columbo approach, in which it happens at the very beginning. Here, as in the first film, the guilty party’s identity gradually emerges in the second half – not so much a twist as an unfurling pirouette. But Johnson and his enigmatic, drawling sleuth keep us guessing.
Edward Norton is an insufferable tech bro called Miles Bron who has become a multitrillionaire through his stake in Alpha, an online network fusing data,...
- 11/23/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Click here to read the full article.
Writer-director Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman, his producing partner of two decades, are improbably modest for a pair who made one of the biggest film deals in recent memory — a 469 million two-picture pact with Netflix to have their T-Street production shingle make two sequels to their 2019 whodunit Knives Out.
It’s not just that the two got Netflix to loosen the purse strings; they’ve pushed the company beyond its well-established comfort zone. The streamer’s first Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion, opens Nov. 23 in 600-plus theaters for a weeklong run before a Dec. 23 shift to digital. The film’s performance in both arenas will be a litmus test for how streamer-backed films may roll out in the future. Speaking over Zoom in early November, Johnson and Bergman seemed well aware of these stakes — though they also maintained that seismic industry shifts are not their priority.
Writer-director Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman, his producing partner of two decades, are improbably modest for a pair who made one of the biggest film deals in recent memory — a 469 million two-picture pact with Netflix to have their T-Street production shingle make two sequels to their 2019 whodunit Knives Out.
It’s not just that the two got Netflix to loosen the purse strings; they’ve pushed the company beyond its well-established comfort zone. The streamer’s first Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion, opens Nov. 23 in 600-plus theaters for a weeklong run before a Dec. 23 shift to digital. The film’s performance in both arenas will be a litmus test for how streamer-backed films may roll out in the future. Speaking over Zoom in early November, Johnson and Bergman seemed well aware of these stakes — though they also maintained that seismic industry shifts are not their priority.
- 11/22/2022
- by Mikey O'Connell
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I’m in a cabin in the middle of nowhere eating vegan chili with Steve from “Blue’s Clues.”
He’s been here — in a town in the Catskill Mountains he asks me not to name — for six years. There’s no train station nearby; from Los Angeles, it took me a flight to Albany plus a 90-minute drive south to get to this place. But for Steve, who lives with the odd kind of fame that leads people to think of his last name as “from ‘Blue’s Clues’” rather than Burns, that remoteness is the appeal.
“I’m most often alone up here, but I’m very rarely lonely,” says Steve, 49, who lived in Brooklyn for most of his adult life before retreating upstate. “There’s much more of me to share here than there was in New York City. I was deflecting all of the stimulus at all times.
He’s been here — in a town in the Catskill Mountains he asks me not to name — for six years. There’s no train station nearby; from Los Angeles, it took me a flight to Albany plus a 90-minute drive south to get to this place. But for Steve, who lives with the odd kind of fame that leads people to think of his last name as “from ‘Blue’s Clues’” rather than Burns, that remoteness is the appeal.
“I’m most often alone up here, but I’m very rarely lonely,” says Steve, 49, who lived in Brooklyn for most of his adult life before retreating upstate. “There’s much more of me to share here than there was in New York City. I was deflecting all of the stimulus at all times.
- 11/16/2022
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
When "Knives Out" was first released in theaters in 2019, /Film's review praised it as hilarious, clever, and endlessly entertaining. While the marketing made it seem like an old-fashioned mystery, Rian Johnson's film managed to surpass and subvert expectations with a layered and engaging thriller. Daniel Craig's Benoit Blanc had the unsuspecting demeanor of Columbo and the style and sharpness of Hercule Poirot — a welcome addition that changed the genre in new and exciting ways. And with Benoit Blanc returning in "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," fans are geared up for another murder mystery with a twist.
The contradictory nature of "Knives Out" is part of what makes the film feel so enthralling — the movie feels timeless because of the murder mystery format but also simultaneously uses characters, story points, and cultural references that capture a specific moment in time. Edward Norton — one of many talented actors that...
The contradictory nature of "Knives Out" is part of what makes the film feel so enthralling — the movie feels timeless because of the murder mystery format but also simultaneously uses characters, story points, and cultural references that capture a specific moment in time. Edward Norton — one of many talented actors that...
- 11/15/2022
- by Ernesto Valenzuela
- Slash Film
"Knives Out" is a near perfect movie. There, I said it. Rian Johnson's love letter to the whodunit genre has everything you would want in a murder mystery; it is brilliantly written, full of surprises, has an exquisite ensemble cast you could easily watch just interacting for hours at a time, a gallery of suspects you love to hate, and some lovely cameos. Drawing inspiration from both Agatha Christie novels and shows like "Murder, She Wrote" and "Columbo," "Knives Out" also has the most important ingredient for a winning whodunit: a great detective.
Enter Benoit Blanc, the secret sauce that makes "Knives Out" endlessly rewatchable. Like Columbo or Hercule Poirot, he is flamboyant, gentlemanly, kind of weird, and extremely brilliant, and Daniel Craig gives a stunning performance that is equal parts mesmerizing and hilarious. Now that "Glass Onion" is set to introduce a whole new cast of characters but bring Blanc back,...
Enter Benoit Blanc, the secret sauce that makes "Knives Out" endlessly rewatchable. Like Columbo or Hercule Poirot, he is flamboyant, gentlemanly, kind of weird, and extremely brilliant, and Daniel Craig gives a stunning performance that is equal parts mesmerizing and hilarious. Now that "Glass Onion" is set to introduce a whole new cast of characters but bring Blanc back,...
- 11/8/2022
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Click here to read the full article.
Ron Masak, the familiar character actor who as Cabot Cove Sheriff Mort Metzger was the beneficiary of Jessica Fletcher’s crime-solving prowess on the last eight seasons of Murder, She Wrote, has died. He was 86.
Masak died Thursday of natural causes at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, his granddaughter Kaylie Defilippis told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Chicago native appeared six times on Police Story, five times on Bewitched and four times on Webster and also showed up on everything from The Flying Nun, Get Smart, I Dream of Jeannie, Ironside and The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Magnum, P.I., The Rockford FIles, Columbo, Falcon Crest and Cold Case during his six-decade career.
In February 1960, the everyman actor portrayed a harmonica-playing soldier on “The Purple Testament,” the 19th episode of The Twilight Zone, and had a turn as a nutty Dracula-like count on...
Ron Masak, the familiar character actor who as Cabot Cove Sheriff Mort Metzger was the beneficiary of Jessica Fletcher’s crime-solving prowess on the last eight seasons of Murder, She Wrote, has died. He was 86.
Masak died Thursday of natural causes at a hospital in Thousand Oaks, his granddaughter Kaylie Defilippis told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Chicago native appeared six times on Police Story, five times on Bewitched and four times on Webster and also showed up on everything from The Flying Nun, Get Smart, I Dream of Jeannie, Ironside and The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Magnum, P.I., The Rockford FIles, Columbo, Falcon Crest and Cold Case during his six-decade career.
In February 1960, the everyman actor portrayed a harmonica-playing soldier on “The Purple Testament,” the 19th episode of The Twilight Zone, and had a turn as a nutty Dracula-like count on...
- 10/21/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Angela Lansbury, the irrepressible three-time Oscar nominee and five-time Tony Award winner who solved 12 seasons’ worth of crimes as the novelist/amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher on CBS’ Murder, She Wrote, has died. She was 96.
Lansbury, who received an Emmy nomination for best actress in a drama series for each and every season of Murder, She Wrote — yet never won — died in her sleep at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles, her family announced. She was five days shy of her birthday.
Lansbury went 0-for-18 in career Emmy noms but did get some love from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who gave her an honorary Oscar in 2013 for her career as “an entertainment icon who has created some of cinema’s most memorable characters, inspiring generations of actors.”
The London-born Lansbury, then 19, received a best supporting actress...
Angela Lansbury, the irrepressible three-time Oscar nominee and five-time Tony Award winner who solved 12 seasons’ worth of crimes as the novelist/amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher on CBS’ Murder, She Wrote, has died. She was 96.
Lansbury, who received an Emmy nomination for best actress in a drama series for each and every season of Murder, She Wrote — yet never won — died in her sleep at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles, her family announced. She was five days shy of her birthday.
Lansbury went 0-for-18 in career Emmy noms but did get some love from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who gave her an honorary Oscar in 2013 for her career as “an entertainment icon who has created some of cinema’s most memorable characters, inspiring generations of actors.”
The London-born Lansbury, then 19, received a best supporting actress...
- 10/11/2022
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.