Stephen Frears is the British director who began his feature film directing career with 1971’s “Gumshoe” after first gaining wide international recognition with his 1985 film “My Beautiful Laundrette.” It was originally made for Channel 4 television, but its quality was so high that it was released theatrically, and world recognition for Frears followed.
In the intervening years, Frears directed three films — “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988), “The Queen” (2006) and “Philomena” (2013) — that received Academy Award nominations as Best Picture, and Frears himself earned two Oscar nominations as Best Director — for “The Grifters” (1990) and “The Queen.”
Although most of his work directing for television was early in his career, in recent years, Frears has returned to TV, earning an Emmy Award nomination as Best Director for HBO’s “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” (2013) and competing again for directing the three-part Amazon limited series, “A Very English Scandal,” starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw (2018). In 2019, he...
In the intervening years, Frears directed three films — “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988), “The Queen” (2006) and “Philomena” (2013) — that received Academy Award nominations as Best Picture, and Frears himself earned two Oscar nominations as Best Director — for “The Grifters” (1990) and “The Queen.”
Although most of his work directing for television was early in his career, in recent years, Frears has returned to TV, earning an Emmy Award nomination as Best Director for HBO’s “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” (2013) and competing again for directing the three-part Amazon limited series, “A Very English Scandal,” starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw (2018). In 2019, he...
- 6/17/2023
- by Tom O'Brien, Misty Holland and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
This past week I happily immersed myself in the latest book by protean film critic/biographer/sometime novelist David Thomson, A Light in the Dark: A History of Movie Directors. Even as he approaches 80, the author of the invaluable Biographical Dictionary of Film editions is able to find fresh things to say about such cinematic imperishables as Hitchcock, Welles, Lang, Renoir, Bunuel, Hawks, Godard and Nicholas Ray.
Midway through the new tome, Thomson delivers his most unexpected and welcome piece, a savory appreciation of a director who, almost defiantly, is not an auteur and therefore remains somewhat taken for granted, far too much so, despite having made any number of notable films of considerable class and merit. That would be Stephen Frears, who himself will turn 80 in June.
Like such Hollywood non-auteurs as Michael Curtiz, Raoul Walsh, Don Siegel, Henry Hathaway, Richard Fleischer and any number of others, Frears is not a writer.
Midway through the new tome, Thomson delivers his most unexpected and welcome piece, a savory appreciation of a director who, almost defiantly, is not an auteur and therefore remains somewhat taken for granted, far too much so, despite having made any number of notable films of considerable class and merit. That would be Stephen Frears, who himself will turn 80 in June.
Like such Hollywood non-auteurs as Michael Curtiz, Raoul Walsh, Don Siegel, Henry Hathaway, Richard Fleischer and any number of others, Frears is not a writer.
- 4/21/2021
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
HBO Max has given out a pilot order to the comedy “Minx,” Variety has learned.
The half-hour project is set in 1970s Los Angeles, in which an earnest young feminist joins forces with a low-rent publisher to create the first erotic magazine for women.
Ellen Rapoport is attached to write and executive produce. Paul Feig and Dan Magnante of FeigCo Entertainment will also executive produce. Lionsgate Television, where FeigCo is currently set up under an overall deal, will serve as the studio.
Rapoport most recently wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Netflix comedy film “Desperados” and Paramount’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog” movie. She is repped by Management 360 and Jackoway Tyerman.
“Minx” marks the second HBO Max project announced for Feig. He is also an executive producer on the streamer’s comedy anthology series “Love Life,” with the first season of that show set to star Anna Kendrick. FeigCo...
The half-hour project is set in 1970s Los Angeles, in which an earnest young feminist joins forces with a low-rent publisher to create the first erotic magazine for women.
Ellen Rapoport is attached to write and executive produce. Paul Feig and Dan Magnante of FeigCo Entertainment will also executive produce. Lionsgate Television, where FeigCo is currently set up under an overall deal, will serve as the studio.
Rapoport most recently wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Netflix comedy film “Desperados” and Paramount’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog” movie. She is repped by Management 360 and Jackoway Tyerman.
“Minx” marks the second HBO Max project announced for Feig. He is also an executive producer on the streamer’s comedy anthology series “Love Life,” with the first season of that show set to star Anna Kendrick. FeigCo...
- 2/19/2020
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
HBO Max has ordered a comedy pilot for an untitled single-camera series from Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky.
All three serve as writers and executive producers on the pilot, with Mike Schur also executive producing. Downs, Aniello, and Statsky all previously worked together on the critically-acclaimed Comedy Central series “Broad City,” while Statsky and Schur have worked together on “The Good Place” and “Parks and Recreation.” Downs and Aniello will executive produce through their company, Paulilu, while Schur will executive produce under his Fremulon banner and Statsky via First Thought Productions. David Miner of 3 Arts and Morgan Sackett are executive producers as well, Aniello is also attached to direct the pilot.
The project details a dark mentorship that forms between two women from different generations — a Las Vegas diva and an entitled, outcast 25-year-old. Universal Television, where both Statsky and Schur are under overall deals, will produce.
All three serve as writers and executive producers on the pilot, with Mike Schur also executive producing. Downs, Aniello, and Statsky all previously worked together on the critically-acclaimed Comedy Central series “Broad City,” while Statsky and Schur have worked together on “The Good Place” and “Parks and Recreation.” Downs and Aniello will executive produce through their company, Paulilu, while Schur will executive produce under his Fremulon banner and Statsky via First Thought Productions. David Miner of 3 Arts and Morgan Sackett are executive producers as well, Aniello is also attached to direct the pilot.
The project details a dark mentorship that forms between two women from different generations — a Las Vegas diva and an entitled, outcast 25-year-old. Universal Television, where both Statsky and Schur are under overall deals, will produce.
- 1/28/2020
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
ABC has handed out their first comedy pilot order of the 2020-2021 season.
ABC has ordered the single-cam project “Prospect.” It is described as a comedic western about an idealistic young woman who moves to the frontier to be a schoolteacher. Her ideals are quickly tested when she learns that her students are rowdy ranch hands, not children.
“Prospect” hails from the team of Sherry Bilsing-Graham and Ellen Kreamer. Both will serve as writers and executive producers, with Randall Einhorn attached to direct the pilot and executive produce. ABC Studios, where Bilsing-Graham and Kreamer and Einhorn are currently under overall deals, will produce.
Bilsing-Graham and Kreamer have previously worked together on shows such as “Friends,” “Joey,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “Trial and Error,” and “American Housewife.” They also co-created the Fox series “I Hate My Teenage Daughter.”
Einhorn has previously directed multiple episodes of “The Office,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,...
ABC has ordered the single-cam project “Prospect.” It is described as a comedic western about an idealistic young woman who moves to the frontier to be a schoolteacher. Her ideals are quickly tested when she learns that her students are rowdy ranch hands, not children.
“Prospect” hails from the team of Sherry Bilsing-Graham and Ellen Kreamer. Both will serve as writers and executive producers, with Randall Einhorn attached to direct the pilot and executive produce. ABC Studios, where Bilsing-Graham and Kreamer and Einhorn are currently under overall deals, will produce.
Bilsing-Graham and Kreamer have previously worked together on shows such as “Friends,” “Joey,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “Trial and Error,” and “American Housewife.” They also co-created the Fox series “I Hate My Teenage Daughter.”
Einhorn has previously directed multiple episodes of “The Office,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,...
- 1/21/2020
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: HBO Max has ordered a script for 1% Happy, a single camera comedy from Ralph Breaks the Internet star Dani Fernandez and The Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr.
The comedy will star Fernandez, who will write the script, and she will also exec produce alongside Wood via his South Park and Princeton Productions banner. Fernandez recently contributed to The Good Immigrant book.
1% Happy centers around a woman who, after a particularly dark period in her life, is forced to move back in with her estranged father and attend weekly group therapy with a class of oddballs. Showing the funny and relatable sides of Clinical Depression, the series challenges both the stigma of mental illness and the United States healthcare system itself.
Wood Jr. has been on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah since 2015 as a correspondent, and in 2017, he was named the host of Comedy Central...
The comedy will star Fernandez, who will write the script, and she will also exec produce alongside Wood via his South Park and Princeton Productions banner. Fernandez recently contributed to The Good Immigrant book.
1% Happy centers around a woman who, after a particularly dark period in her life, is forced to move back in with her estranged father and attend weekly group therapy with a class of oddballs. Showing the funny and relatable sides of Clinical Depression, the series challenges both the stigma of mental illness and the United States healthcare system itself.
Wood Jr. has been on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah since 2015 as a correspondent, and in 2017, he was named the host of Comedy Central...
- 12/10/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
HBO Max has given out a series order to the half-hour high school dramedy “Generation.” The project had been ordered to pilot at the nascent streamer earlier this year, meaning this is the first HBO Max pilot to get picked up to series.
The ten-episode series follows a group of high school students whose exploration of modern sexuality (devices and all) tests deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their conservative community. The cast includes Nathanya Alexander, Chloe East, Nava Mau, Lukita Maxwell, Haley Sanchez, Uly Schlesinger, Sam Trammell, and Chase Sui Wonders, with Justice Smith and Martha Plimpton.
The series was created by 18-year old Zelda Barnz and her father Daniel Barnz, with Daniel also having directed the pilot. Daniel serves as executive producers along with Ben Barnz for We’re Not Brothers Productions, with Zelda co-executive producing. Lena Dunham executive produces under her Good Thing Going Productions banner.
The ten-episode series follows a group of high school students whose exploration of modern sexuality (devices and all) tests deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their conservative community. The cast includes Nathanya Alexander, Chloe East, Nava Mau, Lukita Maxwell, Haley Sanchez, Uly Schlesinger, Sam Trammell, and Chase Sui Wonders, with Justice Smith and Martha Plimpton.
The series was created by 18-year old Zelda Barnz and her father Daniel Barnz, with Daniel also having directed the pilot. Daniel serves as executive producers along with Ben Barnz for We’re Not Brothers Productions, with Zelda co-executive producing. Lena Dunham executive produces under her Good Thing Going Productions banner.
- 12/5/2019
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
The HBO Max pilot “Gumshoe” has added five series regulars to its cast, Variety has learned exclusively.
Sonya Cassidy and Miles J. Harvey will play the lead roles in the comedy, with Carla Jimenez, Max Casella, and Phillipa Soo also cast. The project follows sweet, optimistic young cop Cassie (Cassidy) and creepy, crime-obsessed teenager Eamon (Harvey) who secretly team up to solve a murder.
Harvey recently recurred on the second season of “American Vandal” and also appeared in the 2017 film “The Babysitter.” He will next be seen in the film “SuperCool.” He is repped by Buchwald and Shirley Grant Management.
Cassidy most recently starred in the AMC series “Lodge 49.” Her other TV credits include “The Great Fire,” “Vera,” and “Olympus.” She is repped by UTA in the U.S., Independent Talent Group in the U.K., and Stone Genow.
Jimenez will play Henrietta, a medical examiner who has strange...
Sonya Cassidy and Miles J. Harvey will play the lead roles in the comedy, with Carla Jimenez, Max Casella, and Phillipa Soo also cast. The project follows sweet, optimistic young cop Cassie (Cassidy) and creepy, crime-obsessed teenager Eamon (Harvey) who secretly team up to solve a murder.
Harvey recently recurred on the second season of “American Vandal” and also appeared in the 2017 film “The Babysitter.” He will next be seen in the film “SuperCool.” He is repped by Buchwald and Shirley Grant Management.
Cassidy most recently starred in the AMC series “Lodge 49.” Her other TV credits include “The Great Fire,” “Vera,” and “Olympus.” She is repped by UTA in the U.S., Independent Talent Group in the U.K., and Stone Genow.
Jimenez will play Henrietta, a medical examiner who has strange...
- 12/2/2019
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
HBO Max, the upcoming WarmerMedia streaming service, has given pilot orders to single-camera comedy Gumshoe, from writers Aaron Brownstein & Simon Ganz, director Randall Einhorn (The Kids Are Alright) and Conan O’Brien’s Conaco; and 1990s drama Vegas High, from writer Sarah-Raquel Jimenez, director Gillian Robespierre (Mrs. Fletcher) and Michael Showalter’s Semi-Formal Prods. HBO Max is the studio on both.
Written by Brownstein and Ganz (Santa Clarita Diet) and directed by Einhorn (The Kids Are Alright), Gumshoe is about a sweet, optimistic young cop and a creepy, crime-obsessed teenager who secretly team up to solve a murder.
Longtime writing partners Brownstein and Ganz wrote Gumshoe on spec and sold it to HBO Max. They will serve as showrunners on the pilot, which they will executive produce with Einhorn as well Conaco’s O’Brien, David Kissinger, Jeff Ross, and Larry Sullivan.
Written by Jimenez and directed by Robespierre, Vegas High...
Written by Brownstein and Ganz (Santa Clarita Diet) and directed by Einhorn (The Kids Are Alright), Gumshoe is about a sweet, optimistic young cop and a creepy, crime-obsessed teenager who secretly team up to solve a murder.
Longtime writing partners Brownstein and Ganz wrote Gumshoe on spec and sold it to HBO Max. They will serve as showrunners on the pilot, which they will executive produce with Einhorn as well Conaco’s O’Brien, David Kissinger, Jeff Ross, and Larry Sullivan.
Written by Jimenez and directed by Robespierre, Vegas High...
- 11/15/2019
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
HBO Max has ordered two shows to pilot, one a comedy and the other a drama. The streamer will produce both pilots.
The comedy is titled “Gumshoe.” It follows a sweet, optimistic young cop and a creepy, crime-obsessed teenager who secretly team up to solve a murder. Aaron Brownstein and Simon Ganz will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunners with Randall Einhorn set to direct and executive produce. Conan O’Brien, David Kissinger, Jeff Ross, and Larry Sullivan for Conaco.
Brownstein and Ganz have previously worked together on shows such as “Santa Clarita Diet” and “About a Boy.” They are repped by Anonymous Content and Gang Tyre.
Einhorn, meanwhile, a comedy directing veteran, having helmed multiple episodes of shows such as “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Office,” “Modern Family,” and “Wilfred.” He is repped by Wme, Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment, and Goodman Schenkman & Brecheen.
O’Brien continues...
The comedy is titled “Gumshoe.” It follows a sweet, optimistic young cop and a creepy, crime-obsessed teenager who secretly team up to solve a murder. Aaron Brownstein and Simon Ganz will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunners with Randall Einhorn set to direct and executive produce. Conan O’Brien, David Kissinger, Jeff Ross, and Larry Sullivan for Conaco.
Brownstein and Ganz have previously worked together on shows such as “Santa Clarita Diet” and “About a Boy.” They are repped by Anonymous Content and Gang Tyre.
Einhorn, meanwhile, a comedy directing veteran, having helmed multiple episodes of shows such as “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Office,” “Modern Family,” and “Wilfred.” He is repped by Wme, Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment, and Goodman Schenkman & Brecheen.
O’Brien continues...
- 11/15/2019
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Happy birthday to director Stephen Frears, who turns 78 on June 20, 2019. The British director, who began his feature film directing career with 1971’s “Gumshoe,” first gained wide international recognition with his 1985 film “My Beautiful Laundrette.” It was originally made for Channel 4 television, but its quality was so high that it was released theatrically, and world recognition for Frears followed.
SEEHelen Mirren movies: 12 greatest films ranked from worst to best
In the intervening years, Frears directed three films — “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988), “The Queen” (2006) and “Philomena” (2013) — that received Academy Award nominations as Best Picture, and Frears himself earned two Oscar nominations as Best Director — for “The Grifters” (1990) and “The Queen.” Although most of his work directing for television was early in his career, in recent years, Frears has returned to TV, earning an Emmy Award as Best Director for HBO’s “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” (2013). And once again, he is in Emmy contention,...
SEEHelen Mirren movies: 12 greatest films ranked from worst to best
In the intervening years, Frears directed three films — “Dangerous Liaisons” (1988), “The Queen” (2006) and “Philomena” (2013) — that received Academy Award nominations as Best Picture, and Frears himself earned two Oscar nominations as Best Director — for “The Grifters” (1990) and “The Queen.” Although most of his work directing for television was early in his career, in recent years, Frears has returned to TV, earning an Emmy Award as Best Director for HBO’s “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” (2013). And once again, he is in Emmy contention,...
- 6/20/2019
- by Tom O'Brien and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
This week, the world lost a legendary actor in Albert Finney. He might’ve already been an icon as the handsome, rugged face of the British New Wave of cinema, but he soon transformed into an actor who loved disappearing into roles, whether behind pounds of makeup or thick accents. And in doing so he found himself in everything from Oscar favorites to star-studded blockbusters to auteur-driven indies. Here we’ve compiled 15 of his greatest roles, and that might not even begin to scratch the surface.
“Saturday Night, Sunday Morning” (1960)
Finney’s breakout role in “Saturday Night, Sunday Morning” branded him as the first “Angry Young Man,” an archetype that would grow out of the rebellious ’60s and Britain’s rising lower class. From the film’s opening minutes, Finney looks like a British James Dean, and you can immediately sense his disdain at any sort of authority figure, giving...
“Saturday Night, Sunday Morning” (1960)
Finney’s breakout role in “Saturday Night, Sunday Morning” branded him as the first “Angry Young Man,” an archetype that would grow out of the rebellious ’60s and Britain’s rising lower class. From the film’s opening minutes, Finney looks like a British James Dean, and you can immediately sense his disdain at any sort of authority figure, giving...
- 2/8/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Tributes to the late Albert Finney flooded social media on Friday following the announcement that the acclaimed British star of stage and screen had died at the age of 82.
James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson said they were “heartbroken” at the loss of the actor, whose final screen appearance came as gamekeeper Kincade in 2012’s “Skyfall.” “It was a privilege to work with him and an honor to have had him as part of our Bond family,” said the pair in a statement issued via the official James Bond Twitter account.
“Skyfall” director Sam Mendes told Variety: “It is desperately sad news that Albert Finney has gone. He really was one of the greats – a brilliant, beautiful, big-hearted, life loving delight of a man. He will be terribly missed.”
Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said: "We are heartbroken at the loss of Albert Finney. It...
James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson said they were “heartbroken” at the loss of the actor, whose final screen appearance came as gamekeeper Kincade in 2012’s “Skyfall.” “It was a privilege to work with him and an honor to have had him as part of our Bond family,” said the pair in a statement issued via the official James Bond Twitter account.
“Skyfall” director Sam Mendes told Variety: “It is desperately sad news that Albert Finney has gone. He really was one of the greats – a brilliant, beautiful, big-hearted, life loving delight of a man. He will be terribly missed.”
Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said: "We are heartbroken at the loss of Albert Finney. It...
- 2/8/2019
- by Robert Mitchell
- Variety Film + TV
Hollywood is showing their outpouring of support over the loss of Albert Finney, who passed away Friday at the age of 82.
Actors, directors and his co-stars alike are recognizing Finney for his versatility as an actor, his ability to disappear into roles and his handsome charm that helped define a screen persona for generations.
“Remember the great Albert Finney tonight by watching ‘Miller’s Crossing’ and ‘Under the Volcano’ — two vastly different performances that showcase his unique ability to combine power with powerlessness,” “Mission:Impossible – Fallout” director Christopher McQuarrie tweeted.
Also Read: Albert Finney, Oscar-Nominated Star of 'Tom Jones' and 'Bourne' Movies, Dies at 82
And those two films don’t even scratch the surface of his career, with others recognizing him for his early achievements in the 1963 Best Picture-winning film “Tom Jones,” his Oscar-nominated work opposite Julia Roberts in 2000’s “Erin Brockovich” and up until his final role in the James Bond thriller “Skyfall.
Actors, directors and his co-stars alike are recognizing Finney for his versatility as an actor, his ability to disappear into roles and his handsome charm that helped define a screen persona for generations.
“Remember the great Albert Finney tonight by watching ‘Miller’s Crossing’ and ‘Under the Volcano’ — two vastly different performances that showcase his unique ability to combine power with powerlessness,” “Mission:Impossible – Fallout” director Christopher McQuarrie tweeted.
Also Read: Albert Finney, Oscar-Nominated Star of 'Tom Jones' and 'Bourne' Movies, Dies at 82
And those two films don’t even scratch the surface of his career, with others recognizing him for his early achievements in the 1963 Best Picture-winning film “Tom Jones,” his Oscar-nominated work opposite Julia Roberts in 2000’s “Erin Brockovich” and up until his final role in the James Bond thriller “Skyfall.
- 2/8/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Albert Finney, one of the leading actors of the postwar period, has died after a short illness. He was 82.
The robust British actor began as a stage actor before transitioning to film. With his gravely voice and rumbling stare he brought an intense realism to his work, rising to fame in such 1960s classics as “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” and “Tom Jones.” He later memorably played Agatha Christie’s legendary sleuth Hercule Poirot in “Murder on the Orient Express” and impressed critics and audiences with towering performances in “The Dresser” and “Under the Volcano.” Finney was nominated for five Oscars but never won the prize.
In 1963, Finney played the foundling hero in Tony Richardson’s Oscar best picture winner “Tom Jones.” The role made Finney an international movie star and earned him the first of four best actor Oscar nominations. A year earlier, Finney had turned down the title...
The robust British actor began as a stage actor before transitioning to film. With his gravely voice and rumbling stare he brought an intense realism to his work, rising to fame in such 1960s classics as “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” and “Tom Jones.” He later memorably played Agatha Christie’s legendary sleuth Hercule Poirot in “Murder on the Orient Express” and impressed critics and audiences with towering performances in “The Dresser” and “Under the Volcano.” Finney was nominated for five Oscars but never won the prize.
In 1963, Finney played the foundling hero in Tony Richardson’s Oscar best picture winner “Tom Jones.” The role made Finney an international movie star and earned him the first of four best actor Oscar nominations. A year earlier, Finney had turned down the title...
- 2/8/2019
- by Rick Schultz
- Variety Film + TV
When is a private eye parody not a parody? Stephen Frears’ first feature strikes a delicate balance — its nearly absurd hardboiled lingo outdoes the spoofs, but the story and characters are pitched 100% straight. Albert Finney Is Eddie Ginley, surrounded by a pack of exciting, imaginatively cast actors.
Gumshoe
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1971 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 88 min. / / Street Date March 19, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Albert Finney, Billie Whitelaw, Frank Finlay, Janice Rule, Carolyn Seymour, Fulton Mackay, George Innes, George Silver, Bill Dean, Wendy Richard, Maureen Lipman, Neville Smith, Oscar James.
Cinematography: Chris Menges
Film Editor: Charles Rees
Original Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Written by Neville Smith
Produced by Michael Medwin, Albert Finney
Directed by Stephen Frears
At first one thinks it’s a parody, and not a very good one. Then we wonder if Albert Finney is simply taking his Humphrey Bogart imitation out for a walk, as when he...
Gumshoe
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1971 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 88 min. / / Street Date March 19, 2018 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £15.99
Starring: Albert Finney, Billie Whitelaw, Frank Finlay, Janice Rule, Carolyn Seymour, Fulton Mackay, George Innes, George Silver, Bill Dean, Wendy Richard, Maureen Lipman, Neville Smith, Oscar James.
Cinematography: Chris Menges
Film Editor: Charles Rees
Original Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Written by Neville Smith
Produced by Michael Medwin, Albert Finney
Directed by Stephen Frears
At first one thinks it’s a parody, and not a very good one. Then we wonder if Albert Finney is simply taking his Humphrey Bogart imitation out for a walk, as when he...
- 4/10/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ross Macdonald’s Cool Cat detective — originally Lew Archer — comes alive in Jack Smight’s smart SoCal kidnapping mystery, thanks to a charismatic Paul Newman and a hot cast of bright, smart actors. It’s the first screenplay sale for the celebrated William Goldman, and the crisp cinematography by ace cameraman Conrad Hall doesn’t hurt either.
Harper
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date February 27, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, Julie Harris, Arthur Hill, Janet Leigh, Pamela Tiffin, Robert Wagner, Robert Webber, Shelley Winters, Harold Gould, Roy Jenson, Strother Martin, Martin West, Jacqueline deWit.
Cinematography Conrad Hall
Art Direction Alfred Sweeney
Film Editor Stefan Arnsten
Original Music Johnny Mandel
Written by William Goldman from The Moving Target by Ross Macdonald
Produced by Jerry Gershwin, Elliott Kastner
Directed by Jack Smight
Gumshoe detective movies (as opposed to police movies about detectives) suffered a dip in the 1960s,...
Harper
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date February 27, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, Julie Harris, Arthur Hill, Janet Leigh, Pamela Tiffin, Robert Wagner, Robert Webber, Shelley Winters, Harold Gould, Roy Jenson, Strother Martin, Martin West, Jacqueline deWit.
Cinematography Conrad Hall
Art Direction Alfred Sweeney
Film Editor Stefan Arnsten
Original Music Johnny Mandel
Written by William Goldman from The Moving Target by Ross Macdonald
Produced by Jerry Gershwin, Elliott Kastner
Directed by Jack Smight
Gumshoe detective movies (as opposed to police movies about detectives) suffered a dip in the 1960s,...
- 2/13/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Streep & StephenThe "Posterized" series has fallen into a 'totally inconsistent director' zone. Last week we looked at Woody Allen's filmography, full of impossible peaks and embarrassing valleys and everything inbetween. The 75 year old British director Stephen Frears hasn't had peaks that are quite as dizzy from the genius altitude but his valleys aren't as cringeworthy as Allen's, either. He's a safe middle distance director that critics and audiences and Oscar can all love, albeit not stay married to. He's made 22 features over the course of his long career which began with 1971's Gumshoe after which he disappeared into epidodic British TV for a decade or so until his movie career really started to sizzle; My Beautiful Laundrette put him on the global map. But did he ever really top that breakthrough?
For all the ups and downs that followed, the consistency is his love for actresses: he famously directed Helen Mirren to her Oscar,...
For all the ups and downs that followed, the consistency is his love for actresses: he famously directed Helen Mirren to her Oscar,...
- 8/12/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Oscar-winning cinematographer worked on Kes, The Killing Fields and The Reader among others.
British cinematographer Chris Menges is to receive a lifetime achievement award at Camerimage (Nov 14-21), the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography.
Menges will attend the 23rd edition of Camerimage in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz to accept the award, introduce screenings of his films and will meet with the festival’s audience.
Across a 50-year career, Menges has won two Academy Awards for Roland Joffé’s The Killing Fields in 1985, for which he also won a BAFTA, and The Mission in 1987.
More recently, he was Oscar-nominated (with Roger Deakins) for his work on Stephen Daldry’s The Reader in 2010.
Menges began his career in the 1960s as camera operator for documentaries by Adrian Cowell and for films like Poor Cow by Ken Loach and If… by Lindsay Anderson.
He returned to work with Loach on Kes, which marked...
British cinematographer Chris Menges is to receive a lifetime achievement award at Camerimage (Nov 14-21), the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography.
Menges will attend the 23rd edition of Camerimage in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz to accept the award, introduce screenings of his films and will meet with the festival’s audience.
Across a 50-year career, Menges has won two Academy Awards for Roland Joffé’s The Killing Fields in 1985, for which he also won a BAFTA, and The Mission in 1987.
More recently, he was Oscar-nominated (with Roger Deakins) for his work on Stephen Daldry’s The Reader in 2010.
Menges began his career in the 1960s as camera operator for documentaries by Adrian Cowell and for films like Poor Cow by Ken Loach and If… by Lindsay Anderson.
He returned to work with Loach on Kes, which marked...
- 8/25/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Billie Whitelaw, the acclaimed British actress who won praise for her roles on stage as well as on screen, has died in a nursing home at age 82. Whitelaw began appearing in British films in the 1960s and gradually became one of the nation's most reliable and respected actresses. Her film titles include "Carve Her Name With Pride", "Charlie Bubbles", "The Krays", "Gumshoe", Hitchcock's "Frenzy", "Start the Revolution Without Me", "The Dark Crystal" and her final big screen venture, the 2007 hit cult comedy "Hot Fuzz". She is best known to American audiences as Mrs. Baylock, the creepy housemaid from the 1976 version of "The Omen" who has a knock-down brawl to the death with Gregory Peck. Whitelaw, who was also a popular presence through frequent appearances in television series, attributed her rise to stardom to her close association with avant garde playwright Samuel Beckett, with whom she collaborated on numerous acclaimed stage productions.
- 12/24/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
On TV this Tuesday: Glee marks a milestone (with a flurry of familiar faces), Brooklyn Nine-Nine chips away at a cold case, Trophy Wife welcomes Florence Henderson into their bunch and bad blood boils over on Justified. As a supplement to TVLine’s original features (linked within), here are 10 programs to keep on your radar.
Photos | Glee‘s 100th Episode: Puck, Quinn, Mike and April Return! Plus: A Tribute to Finn
Photo | Glee First Look: Kurt, Blaine and More Reunite in 100th Episode Promo Art
Video | Glee First Look: Lea Michele and Others Go Behind the Scenes of Episode...
Photos | Glee‘s 100th Episode: Puck, Quinn, Mike and April Return! Plus: A Tribute to Finn
Photo | Glee First Look: Kurt, Blaine and More Reunite in 100th Episode Promo Art
Video | Glee First Look: Lea Michele and Others Go Behind the Scenes of Episode...
- 3/18/2014
- by Megan Spinelli
- TVLine.com
As if the next James Bond film needed anymore class.
According to the Daily Mail, acting legend Albert Finney has signed on to co-star in Sam Mendes's upcoming James Bond film. He joins fellow Brits Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes, as well as Spaniard Javier Bardem, to compose what could be the most talented casts in the history of the beloved series.
Finney, 75, will play a high ranking intelligence official, with powers that the Mail speculates include supervisory duties over M, played by Dench. M, of course, is in turn the intelligence officer charged with keeping watch over Craig's Bond, however futile the effort. Bardem has been confirmed as one of the villains in the film, while speculation has Fiennes squaring off against 007, as well.
One of entertainment's most decorated stars, Finney's silverware cabinet include multiple BAFTAs, Golden Globes and an Emmy; he has been nominated for five Academy Awards,...
According to the Daily Mail, acting legend Albert Finney has signed on to co-star in Sam Mendes's upcoming James Bond film. He joins fellow Brits Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes, as well as Spaniard Javier Bardem, to compose what could be the most talented casts in the history of the beloved series.
Finney, 75, will play a high ranking intelligence official, with powers that the Mail speculates include supervisory duties over M, played by Dench. M, of course, is in turn the intelligence officer charged with keeping watch over Craig's Bond, however futile the effort. Bardem has been confirmed as one of the villains in the film, while speculation has Fiennes squaring off against 007, as well.
One of entertainment's most decorated stars, Finney's silverware cabinet include multiple BAFTAs, Golden Globes and an Emmy; he has been nominated for five Academy Awards,...
- 10/31/2011
- by Jordan Zakarin
- Huffington Post
Philip French speaks to Ridley Scott, Ken Russell, Gurinder Chadha, Shane Meadows and Stephen Frears about their debut pictures and detects the styles of the then-fledgling auteurs
Do artists discover a personal style and develop their themes gradually or are these to be found in embryonic form in their earliest works? There's no easy answer to this dual question. Take, for example, Ken Russell's Amelia and the Angel (1957), Ridley Scott's Boy and Bicycle (1965), Stephen Frears's The Burning (1967), Gurinder Chadha's I'm British But… (1989) and Shane Meadows's Where's the Money, Ronnie? (1995). All were made on shoestring budgets and each lasts less than half an hour.
First, presented with the directors' names and the credits concealed, would you be able to match up film and film-maker? I think most moviegoers could, which suggests there is something in these first movies that we would now recognise as characteristic. Second,...
Do artists discover a personal style and develop their themes gradually or are these to be found in embryonic form in their earliest works? There's no easy answer to this dual question. Take, for example, Ken Russell's Amelia and the Angel (1957), Ridley Scott's Boy and Bicycle (1965), Stephen Frears's The Burning (1967), Gurinder Chadha's I'm British But… (1989) and Shane Meadows's Where's the Money, Ronnie? (1995). All were made on shoestring budgets and each lasts less than half an hour.
First, presented with the directors' names and the credits concealed, would you be able to match up film and film-maker? I think most moviegoers could, which suggests there is something in these first movies that we would now recognise as characteristic. Second,...
- 9/25/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Stephen Frears is an amused connoisseur. I can't dispute his estimate that the less money he's had at risk on a venture, the better it ends up
Inasmuch as he will be 70 next year, and is a national treasure, I suspect some honours list will notice Stephen Frears soon. Of course, it is possible in his humble, muttering self-effacement that he wouldn't hear of such a distinction (I think there's a republican in there). On the other hand, he did make The Queen (with writer Peter Morgan and pretender Helen Mirren), the most sophisticated public relations boost Hrh has had in 20 years, and all the more affectionate because it was wry and a bit of a tease.
By now, it is taken for granted that Frears – whom I count as a friend – gets away with nearly anything he cares to try, and as he grows older, he is less conventional and obvious.
Inasmuch as he will be 70 next year, and is a national treasure, I suspect some honours list will notice Stephen Frears soon. Of course, it is possible in his humble, muttering self-effacement that he wouldn't hear of such a distinction (I think there's a republican in there). On the other hand, he did make The Queen (with writer Peter Morgan and pretender Helen Mirren), the most sophisticated public relations boost Hrh has had in 20 years, and all the more affectionate because it was wry and a bit of a tease.
By now, it is taken for granted that Frears – whom I count as a friend – gets away with nearly anything he cares to try, and as he grows older, he is less conventional and obvious.
- 9/2/2010
- by David Thomson
- The Guardian - Film News
From My Beautiful Laundrette to The Queen and his latest, the much-praised Tamara Drewe, the director boasts a reputation for impatience as well as one of the most diverse outputs of any British film-maker. Famously interview-shy, he talks here of his dislike of agents, the glory days of the BBC, and why he is no auteur
Not liking to be interviewed probably starts with the reluctance to submit yourself to an alien, unpredictable critical gaze, but in Stephen Frears's case it has flowered into a bizarre art form. He'll answer questions in fits and starts, gnomically, in obscure one-liners or by means of silences punctuated by cigarette puffs or plaintive grunts. Always courteous and welcoming, he would just rather you didn't ask questions. "Have you got enough?" he asks at the end of a session, in the full knowledge that you haven't. So you arrange to meet him again...
Not liking to be interviewed probably starts with the reluctance to submit yourself to an alien, unpredictable critical gaze, but in Stephen Frears's case it has flowered into a bizarre art form. He'll answer questions in fits and starts, gnomically, in obscure one-liners or by means of silences punctuated by cigarette puffs or plaintive grunts. Always courteous and welcoming, he would just rather you didn't ask questions. "Have you got enough?" he asks at the end of a session, in the full knowledge that you haven't. So you arrange to meet him again...
- 8/14/2010
- by Nick Fraser
- The Guardian - Film News
Two highly-anticipated second feature films from U.S. underground filmmakers will be making their World Premieres all the way over at the 64th annual Edinburgh International Film Festival, which will run for twelve days on June 16-27. The films are Rona Mark’s The Crab and Zach Clark’s Vacation!.
The Crab, which screens on June 21, is the touching story of a verbally abusive man born with two enormous, mutant-like hands; while Vacation!, which screens on June 20, tracks four urban gals let loose in a sunny seaside resort down South.
Both Mark and Clark previously screened their debut features at Eiff. Mark’s Strange Girls screened there in 2008 and Clark’s Modern Love Is Automatic screened in 2009. Both films also ended up as runners-up in Bad Lit’s annual Movie of the Year award, again Strange Girls in 2008 and Modern Love in 2009. Sadly, these two masterpieces are still unavailable on...
The Crab, which screens on June 21, is the touching story of a verbally abusive man born with two enormous, mutant-like hands; while Vacation!, which screens on June 20, tracks four urban gals let loose in a sunny seaside resort down South.
Both Mark and Clark previously screened their debut features at Eiff. Mark’s Strange Girls screened there in 2008 and Clark’s Modern Love Is Automatic screened in 2009. Both films also ended up as runners-up in Bad Lit’s annual Movie of the Year award, again Strange Girls in 2008 and Modern Love in 2009. Sadly, these two masterpieces are still unavailable on...
- 6/4/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Rarely seen works by Ken Russell, Stephen Frears and Albert Finney among festival retrospective
A batch of "lost and forgotten" British films, made more than 30 years ago by many of the industry's leading figures, including Ken Russell, Stephen Frears and Albert Finney, is to be screened at this year's Edinburgh film festival.
The retrospective of 16 rarely seen British-made and directed films from between 1967 and 1979, which have been rediscovered after more than a year's detective work by the event's staff, is expected to be a highlight of the festival, which opens in two weeks.
Some are being shown for the first time in decades, as many of the films, including Savage Messiah made by Ken Russell in 1972 and starring Helen Mirren, the children's detective story What Next, and the original cut of Robert Fuest's The Final Programme, starring Jon Finch, have never been released on video or DVD.
The mini-season,...
A batch of "lost and forgotten" British films, made more than 30 years ago by many of the industry's leading figures, including Ken Russell, Stephen Frears and Albert Finney, is to be screened at this year's Edinburgh film festival.
The retrospective of 16 rarely seen British-made and directed films from between 1967 and 1979, which have been rediscovered after more than a year's detective work by the event's staff, is expected to be a highlight of the festival, which opens in two weeks.
Some are being shown for the first time in decades, as many of the films, including Savage Messiah made by Ken Russell in 1972 and starring Helen Mirren, the children's detective story What Next, and the original cut of Robert Fuest's The Final Programme, starring Jon Finch, have never been released on video or DVD.
The mini-season,...
- 6/1/2010
- by Severin Carrell
- The Guardian - Film News
There's a great line-up of quirky films being shown back-to-back on TCM (North America) tonight. At 8:00 Pm is Woody Allen's hilarious Take the Money and Run. At 10:00 Pm is Ridley Scott's The Duellists starring Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel. At midnight is Stephen Frear's Gumshoe starring Albert Finney, and capping it off at 1:30 Am is Walter Hill's superb (and under-rated) Hard Times (aka The Streetfighter) starring Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Strother Martin. Crank up those DVD recorders!
- 11/7/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
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