Watch just about any media from the mid-20th century and you'll quickly notice something: people smoked a lot more onscreen back then -- like, a lot more. Those born in the current century would no doubt be shocked to learn that even beloved cartoon icons like Donald Duck would light up a pipe or puff away on a stogie when the occasion merited (and that's to say nothing of commercials like the jaw-dropping marketing campaign where Fred Flinstone gets his buddy Barney and his wife Wilma hooked on Winston cigarettes).
Smoking was a useful visual shorthand for a variety of things. When Cruella De Vil spewed a wreath of putrid yellow smoke from her infamous cigarette holder in Disney's animated "101 Dalmatians," you just knew she was trouble, even before dog-napping entered the equation. Alternatively, when Cary Grant carefully lit Eva Marie Saint's cigarette in perhaps the ultimate Alfred Hitchcock picture,...
Smoking was a useful visual shorthand for a variety of things. When Cruella De Vil spewed a wreath of putrid yellow smoke from her infamous cigarette holder in Disney's animated "101 Dalmatians," you just knew she was trouble, even before dog-napping entered the equation. Alternatively, when Cary Grant carefully lit Eva Marie Saint's cigarette in perhaps the ultimate Alfred Hitchcock picture,...
- 4/28/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest arrives on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for its 65th birthday: more on the release here.
Something that’s occasionally forgotten when talking about the work of Alfred Hitchcock is just how big and mainstream his films were. Because he’s now such a revered movie director, he tends to get boxed in towards art house classics sections, when actually, so many of his films are very, very broad churches.
Which leads me to North By Northwest. It took me a while to get to the film for the first time, but this is in its own way a big, broad, blockbuster film. Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason star, in a film that’s got some ambitious set pieces in it. And, well, it’s just a hell of a rollercoaster, that really holds up. Not bad for a movie that’s celebrating its 65th birthday.
Something that’s occasionally forgotten when talking about the work of Alfred Hitchcock is just how big and mainstream his films were. Because he’s now such a revered movie director, he tends to get boxed in towards art house classics sections, when actually, so many of his films are very, very broad churches.
Which leads me to North By Northwest. It took me a while to get to the film for the first time, but this is in its own way a big, broad, blockbuster film. Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason star, in a film that’s got some ambitious set pieces in it. And, well, it’s just a hell of a rollercoaster, that really holds up. Not bad for a movie that’s celebrating its 65th birthday.
- 4/23/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
James Gunn has found Kal-El’s adoptive Earth parents for his upcoming Dcu film, Superman. Neva Howell takes over from Daine Lane as Martha Kent and Pruitt Taylor Vince has landed the role of Jonathan Kent. The role of Superman’s mother was also portrayed by Phyllis Thaxter in the 1978 film and Eva Marie Saint in the 2006 film. The Georgia-born actress joined the production of Gunn’s film, currently progressing in her hometown.
Fever Dreams actress Neva Howell and The Mentalist actor Pruitt Taylor Vince are cast as Martha and Jonathan Kent in James Gunn’s Superman
Gunn renamed his film from Superman: Legacy to Superman while making the announcement of the film’s start of production on February 29. The film will be the first to come out of the first chapter of the DC Universe, Gods and Monsters.
3 Neva Howell Movies To Watch Before Her Role As Martha Kent...
Fever Dreams actress Neva Howell and The Mentalist actor Pruitt Taylor Vince are cast as Martha and Jonathan Kent in James Gunn’s Superman
Gunn renamed his film from Superman: Legacy to Superman while making the announcement of the film’s start of production on February 29. The film will be the first to come out of the first chapter of the DC Universe, Gods and Monsters.
3 Neva Howell Movies To Watch Before Her Role As Martha Kent...
- 4/18/2024
- by Hashim Asraff
- FandomWire
Georgia-born actress Neva Howell will portray Martha Kent, Clark Kent’s adoptive Earth mother, in Warner Bros/DC Studios’ Superman, from filmmaker and studio co-boss James Gunn.
The news comes in the wake of Pruitt Taylor Vince landing the role of Pa Kent, who is Martha’s husband.
Howell joins a list of those who’ve played Ma Kent on the big screen that includes Phyllis Thaxter in Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman, Eva Marie Saint in Bryan Singer’s 2006 Superman Returns, and Diane Lane in Zack Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel.
Howell joins the Georgia shoot of Superman which features Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, David Corenswet in the title role, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Wendell Pierce as Daily Planet editor Perry White, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer,...
The news comes in the wake of Pruitt Taylor Vince landing the role of Pa Kent, who is Martha’s husband.
Howell joins a list of those who’ve played Ma Kent on the big screen that includes Phyllis Thaxter in Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman, Eva Marie Saint in Bryan Singer’s 2006 Superman Returns, and Diane Lane in Zack Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel.
Howell joins the Georgia shoot of Superman which features Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, David Corenswet in the title role, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Wendell Pierce as Daily Planet editor Perry White, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer,...
- 4/17/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Yesterday, The Wrap had the scoop on who would play Jonathan Kent in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie, and now they’ve got the inside story on Martha Kent as well. The outlet reports that Neva Howell has been cast as Martha Kent in Superman, joining Pruitt Taylor-Vince as Jonathan Kent. Together, the pair are the human adoptive parents of Clark Kent.
As with Taylor-Vince as Jonathan Kent, Neva Howell will be the latest in a long line of actors who have played Martha Kent in movies and television, including Phyllis Thaxter in the original Superman movie, Annette O’Toole in Smallville, Eva Marie Saint in Superman Returns, and Diane Lane in Man of Steel. Howell’s credits include Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Long Haul, Logan Lucky, October Sky, and more.
Related Superman: Pruitt Taylor-Vince to play Jonathan Kent in James Gunn movie
Superman stars David Corenswet (Pearl...
As with Taylor-Vince as Jonathan Kent, Neva Howell will be the latest in a long line of actors who have played Martha Kent in movies and television, including Phyllis Thaxter in the original Superman movie, Annette O’Toole in Smallville, Eva Marie Saint in Superman Returns, and Diane Lane in Man of Steel. Howell’s credits include Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Long Haul, Logan Lucky, October Sky, and more.
Related Superman: Pruitt Taylor-Vince to play Jonathan Kent in James Gunn movie
Superman stars David Corenswet (Pearl...
- 4/17/2024
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Honors were even atop the U.K. and Ireland box office as Universal’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” and Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” battled for top spot during the Easter holiday weekend.
While “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” won the three-day weekend, “Kung Fu Panda 4” had the higher gross including previews. According to numbers provided by Comscore, “Kung Fu Panda 4” collected £5 million ($6.3) million, while “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” took in £4.1 million ($5.2 million).
In third place, in its second weekend, Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” collected £2.1 million for a total of £8.2 million. In its fifth weekend, in fourth place, Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part II” grossed £1.6 million to take its total to £34 million.
Debuting at fifth place was Indian filmmaker Blessy’s acclaimed desert saga “Aadujeevitham” (“The Goat Life”), distributed by Dg Tech, with £480,977.
There were two more debuts in the top 10. Studiocanal...
While “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” won the three-day weekend, “Kung Fu Panda 4” had the higher gross including previews. According to numbers provided by Comscore, “Kung Fu Panda 4” collected £5 million ($6.3) million, while “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” took in £4.1 million ($5.2 million).
In third place, in its second weekend, Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” collected £2.1 million for a total of £8.2 million. In its fifth weekend, in fourth place, Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part II” grossed £1.6 million to take its total to £34 million.
Debuting at fifth place was Indian filmmaker Blessy’s acclaimed desert saga “Aadujeevitham” (“The Goat Life”), distributed by Dg Tech, with £480,977.
There were two more debuts in the top 10. Studiocanal...
- 4/2/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
At the inaugural Academy Awards in 1929, native Pennsylvanian Janet Gaynor made history as the first American-born performer to win an Oscar by taking the Best Actress prize for her body of work in “7th Heaven,” “Street Angel,” and “Sunrise.” Over the subsequent 95 years, 215 more thespians originating from the United States won the academy’s favor, meaning the country has now produced 68.1% of all individual acting Oscar recipients. Considering the last decade alone, the rate of such winners is even higher, at 70.3%.
At this point, 96.8% of American-born acting Oscar victors have hailed from one of 34 actual states. Of those constituting the remainder, three originated from the federal District of Columbia, while four were born in the territory of Puerto Rico. New York (home to 49 winners) is the most common birth state among the entire group, followed by California (34), Illinois (13), Massachusetts (11), and Pennsylvania (11).
Bearing in mind our specific birthplace focus, the 16 states...
At this point, 96.8% of American-born acting Oscar victors have hailed from one of 34 actual states. Of those constituting the remainder, three originated from the federal District of Columbia, while four were born in the territory of Puerto Rico. New York (home to 49 winners) is the most common birth state among the entire group, followed by California (34), Illinois (13), Massachusetts (11), and Pennsylvania (11).
Bearing in mind our specific birthplace focus, the 16 states...
- 3/18/2024
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
The Oscars ceremony that took place in 2009 remains an all-time favorite for many who watched it, including your humble correspondent, largely because of the thrilling way in which the four acting Oscars were presented: Five past winners introduced the five current nominees for each award. This resulted in massive standing ovations from the audience at the Dolby (even awards show veterans like Brad Pitt and Meryl Streep looked absolutely giddy in cutaway shots); introductory remarks from past winners that left current nominees visibly moved (Anne Hathaway was in tears); and group hugs of the new winners that were akin to welcoming them into an elite fraternity or sorority (see: Kate Winslet).
Over the 15 years since that night, which was the brainchild of producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon, Oscar lovers have been begging the Academy to bring back this Field of Dreams-like format. The Hollywood Reporter has learned and...
Over the 15 years since that night, which was the brainchild of producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon, Oscar lovers have been begging the Academy to bring back this Field of Dreams-like format. The Hollywood Reporter has learned and...
- 2/27/2024
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In 1965, Martin Scorsese was 22 and surrounded by legends when he won the Jesse L. Laskey Intercollegiate Award at the Milestone Awards dinner hosted by the then-called Screen Producers Guild on March 8, 1965. Now, almost 60 years later, the filmmaker received the David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the 2024 PGA Awards in what he called a “full-circle” moment.
Guillermo del Toro introduced the Killers of the Flower Moon director and producer at Sunday’s award show, calling him an “indispensable titan.” When Scorsese, now 81, took the stage, he started to tell the story of the 1965 awards show and how he kissed German actress Elke Sommer on stage.
“On the stage, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Jack Benny, Samuel Goldwyn, Jack Warner and Norman Lear, Lew Wasserman, Julie Stein, Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, Janel Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer and David O. Selznick,” said Scorsese. “They were the people on the dais at...
Guillermo del Toro introduced the Killers of the Flower Moon director and producer at Sunday’s award show, calling him an “indispensable titan.” When Scorsese, now 81, took the stage, he started to tell the story of the 1965 awards show and how he kissed German actress Elke Sommer on stage.
“On the stage, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Jack Benny, Samuel Goldwyn, Jack Warner and Norman Lear, Lew Wasserman, Julie Stein, Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, Janel Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer and David O. Selznick,” said Scorsese. “They were the people on the dais at...
- 2/26/2024
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Martin Scorsese accepted the Producers Guild’s David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the PGA Awards tonight and took the Hollywood & Highland Ovation Ballroom down memory lane — to about 60 years ago, when he accepted a PGA nod for his student film, It’s Not Just You, Murray! at the ripe age of 22.
Painting the scene, the Killers of the Flower Moon filmmaker said: “On the stage, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Jack Benny, Samuel Goldwyn, Jack Warner and Norman Lear, Lew Wasserman, Julie SteinCary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, Janel Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer and David O. Selznick. They were the people on the dais at the 13th edition of this event on March 8, 1965. That dinner was called the Milestone Awards Dinner and presented at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
“At the very end of the dais was me,” Scorsese continued. “I was all the way on the end. I was receiving the Jesse L.
Painting the scene, the Killers of the Flower Moon filmmaker said: “On the stage, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Jack Benny, Samuel Goldwyn, Jack Warner and Norman Lear, Lew Wasserman, Julie SteinCary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, Janel Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer and David O. Selznick. They were the people on the dais at the 13th edition of this event on March 8, 1965. That dinner was called the Milestone Awards Dinner and presented at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
“At the very end of the dais was me,” Scorsese continued. “I was all the way on the end. I was receiving the Jesse L.
- 2/26/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro and Fred Topel
- Deadline Film + TV
Just 30 minutes after final voting for the Screen Actors Guild Awards wrapped up, I made a last-minute switch in my best actress prediction — from Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon” to Emma Stone in “Poor Things.” Let this be a lesson: Second-guessing yourself is seldom a good idea.
Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American and Indigenous person to clinch an individual SAG Award for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman, in Martin Scorsese’s gripping crime saga. With a lead actress (drama) Golden Globe and a SAG Award now under her belt, Gladstone’s award-season momentum continues to be formidable. Historically, only seven performers have failed to win the Oscar after winning the unique combination of Globe and SAG:
1995: Lauren Bacall (“The Mirror Has Two Faces”) lost to Juliette Binoche 2001: Russell Crowe (“A Beautiful Mind”) lost to Denzel Washington (“Training Day...
Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American and Indigenous person to clinch an individual SAG Award for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman, in Martin Scorsese’s gripping crime saga. With a lead actress (drama) Golden Globe and a SAG Award now under her belt, Gladstone’s award-season momentum continues to be formidable. Historically, only seven performers have failed to win the Oscar after winning the unique combination of Globe and SAG:
1995: Lauren Bacall (“The Mirror Has Two Faces”) lost to Juliette Binoche 2001: Russell Crowe (“A Beautiful Mind”) lost to Denzel Washington (“Training Day...
- 2/25/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Don Murray, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance opposite Marilyn Monroe in the 1956 film adaptation of William Inge’s play “Bus Stop,” has died. He was 94.
His son Christopher confirmed his death to the New York Times.
In the 2017 reboot of “Twin Peaks,” he played Bushnell Mullins, the chief executive of Lucky 7 Insurance.
Murray also starred in the fourth entry in the “Planet of the Apes” franchise, “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes”; played Brooke Shield’s father in “Endless Love”; and recurred on prime-time soap “Knots Landing” as Sid Fairgate.
Reviewing “Bus Stop,” directed by Joshua Logan, the New York Times said: “With a wondrous new actor named Don Murray playing the stupid, stubborn poke and with the clutter of broncos, blondes and busters beautifully tangled, Mr. Logan has a booming comedy going before he gets to the romance. A great deal is owed to Mr.
His son Christopher confirmed his death to the New York Times.
In the 2017 reboot of “Twin Peaks,” he played Bushnell Mullins, the chief executive of Lucky 7 Insurance.
Murray also starred in the fourth entry in the “Planet of the Apes” franchise, “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes”; played Brooke Shield’s father in “Endless Love”; and recurred on prime-time soap “Knots Landing” as Sid Fairgate.
Reviewing “Bus Stop,” directed by Joshua Logan, the New York Times said: “With a wondrous new actor named Don Murray playing the stupid, stubborn poke and with the clutter of broncos, blondes and busters beautifully tangled, Mr. Logan has a booming comedy going before he gets to the romance. A great deal is owed to Mr.
- 2/2/2024
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Don Murray, the venturesome actor who earned an Oscar nomination for playing a rodeo cowboy smitten by Marilyn Monroe in Bus Stop, then spurned Hollywood’s attempts to mold him, has died. He was 94.
Murray’s son Christopher announced his dad’s death to The New York Times without providing details.
The actor was also known for the interesting parts he went after in such serious films as A Hatful of Rain (1957), The Hoodlum Priest (1961) and Advise & Consent (1962).
Fresh off a starring role in a 1955 Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, Murray was sought by director Joshua Logan to portray Bo Decker, the naive Montana man who falls for the chanteuse Chérie (Monroe), in Bus Stop (1956). It was his first movie, and he was 26 at the time.
“No one could have been less equipped for the job,” he once said. “I was a New...
Murray’s son Christopher announced his dad’s death to The New York Times without providing details.
The actor was also known for the interesting parts he went after in such serious films as A Hatful of Rain (1957), The Hoodlum Priest (1961) and Advise & Consent (1962).
Fresh off a starring role in a 1955 Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth, Murray was sought by director Joshua Logan to portray Bo Decker, the naive Montana man who falls for the chanteuse Chérie (Monroe), in Bus Stop (1956). It was his first movie, and he was 26 at the time.
“No one could have been less equipped for the job,” he once said. “I was a New...
- 2/2/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Turner Classic Movies has a lot going on as it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
On Friday, execs from the beloved cable channel unveiled a new podcast, 2024 programming initiatives, a new branded studio tour of the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank and details about the 15th annual TCM Classic Film Festival in April.
On Jan. 16, TCM and sister streamer Max will debut Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz will join filmmakers and actors as they discuss “their earliest film memories, favorite movies, creative influences and guilty pleasures,” with guests including Mel Brooks, Nancy Meyers and Patty Jenkins.
The TCM podcast The Plot Thickens is returning this year for a fifth season, with the subject yet to be disclosed.
In April, TCM will introduce a new franchise, Two for One, with prominent filmmakers co-hosting a double feature of their choice on Saturday nights. Guests will include Jenkins,...
On Friday, execs from the beloved cable channel unveiled a new podcast, 2024 programming initiatives, a new branded studio tour of the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank and details about the 15th annual TCM Classic Film Festival in April.
On Jan. 16, TCM and sister streamer Max will debut Talking Pictures: A Movie Memories Podcast. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz will join filmmakers and actors as they discuss “their earliest film memories, favorite movies, creative influences and guilty pleasures,” with guests including Mel Brooks, Nancy Meyers and Patty Jenkins.
The TCM podcast The Plot Thickens is returning this year for a fifth season, with the subject yet to be disclosed.
In April, TCM will introduce a new franchise, Two for One, with prominent filmmakers co-hosting a double feature of their choice on Saturday nights. Guests will include Jenkins,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rod Serling was famous for a lot of things. He was one of the most acclaimed television writers of the mid-20th century, the creator of the genre-defining anthology series "The Twilight Zone," he co-wrote the screenplay to the original "Planet of the Apes," and he even helped give Steven Spielberg his big break. But even though he's famous for a lot of things, he was a prolific writer and even some of his best and most fascinating projects have been largely forgotten by the public over time. Like, for example, an adaptation of one of the most popular Christmas stories ever told, transformed into one of the most politically charged Christmas movies ever filmed.
Serling was no stranger to Christmas stories. After all, he wrote the classic yuletide episode "Night of the Meek," a hopeful story about an alcoholic department store Santa who stumbles across a magical sack that...
Serling was no stranger to Christmas stories. After all, he wrote the classic yuletide episode "Night of the Meek," a hopeful story about an alcoholic department store Santa who stumbles across a magical sack that...
- 12/22/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Norby Walters, the onetime music agent who ran the annual “Night of 100 Stars” Oscar party for years and hosted an iconic low-stakes poker party for actors, died December 12. He was 91. His son, Walters Media Group founder and former Bold Films CEO Gary Michael Walters, confirmed the news but did not provide details.
Born Norbert Meyer, in 1952 Walters started booking jazz luminaries such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz into his father’s bar.
Walters and his brother, Walter took over a place from their father and dubbed it Norby & Walter’s Bel Air, but its sign had no ampersand — which led to the name Walters would use during his career. He later took over a failing nightclub located next to the world-famous Copacabana, dubbed it Norby Walters’s Supper Club, and attracted a who’s who of boldfaced New York City names.
“What was I going to do?...
Born Norbert Meyer, in 1952 Walters started booking jazz luminaries such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz into his father’s bar.
Walters and his brother, Walter took over a place from their father and dubbed it Norby & Walter’s Bel Air, but its sign had no ampersand — which led to the name Walters would use during his career. He later took over a failing nightclub located next to the world-famous Copacabana, dubbed it Norby Walters’s Supper Club, and attracted a who’s who of boldfaced New York City names.
“What was I going to do?...
- 12/21/2023
- by Erik Pedersen and Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Norby Walters, a music agent who worked with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye, Kool & the Gang and Public Enemy before gaining renown in Hollywood for his annual “Night of 100 Stars” Oscar party and weekly poker game, has died. He was 91.
Walters died Dec. 10 of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Burbank, his son, producer Gary Michael Walters (Whiplash), told The Hollywood Reporter.
Walters hosted his first Oscar night gala in 1990 and the last in 2017, most often inside the Beverly Hilton’s Crystal Ballroom. Among those who attended were Shirley Jones, Robert Forster, Charles Bronson, Patricia Neal, Richard Dreyfuss, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Landau, Louis Gossett Jr., J.K. Simmons, Cliff Robertson, Red Buttons, Jon Voight and Allison Janney.
Walters for years also presided over a weekly poker game at his West Hollywood high-rise condo. The low-stakes $2 game was, his son said, “designed to be a place where actors could kibbutz,...
Walters died Dec. 10 of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Burbank, his son, producer Gary Michael Walters (Whiplash), told The Hollywood Reporter.
Walters hosted his first Oscar night gala in 1990 and the last in 2017, most often inside the Beverly Hilton’s Crystal Ballroom. Among those who attended were Shirley Jones, Robert Forster, Charles Bronson, Patricia Neal, Richard Dreyfuss, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Landau, Louis Gossett Jr., J.K. Simmons, Cliff Robertson, Red Buttons, Jon Voight and Allison Janney.
Walters for years also presided over a weekly poker game at his West Hollywood high-rise condo. The low-stakes $2 game was, his son said, “designed to be a place where actors could kibbutz,...
- 12/21/2023
- by Mike Barnes and Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nancy Meyers has written a love letter to Cary Grant by recommending his screwball comedies and classics like North by Northwest and The Philadelphia Story as part of the December 2023 Turner Classic Movies lineup in her own TCM Picks video.
“He’s a brilliant prototype for a leading man in a romantic comedy certainly. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t think of him sometimes as I’m writing. You can picture him doing it and it makes you better,” Meyers, whose rom-com canon includes box office performers like Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday and What Women Want, tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Her TCM movie picks follow Meyers insisting she has viewed most Cary Grant movies dozens of times, not least to study the iconic star’s slapstick humor and verbal sparring with leading ladies to see beneath his debonair looks and onscreen charisma, to the...
“He’s a brilliant prototype for a leading man in a romantic comedy certainly. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t think of him sometimes as I’m writing. You can picture him doing it and it makes you better,” Meyers, whose rom-com canon includes box office performers like Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday and What Women Want, tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Her TCM movie picks follow Meyers insisting she has viewed most Cary Grant movies dozens of times, not least to study the iconic star’s slapstick humor and verbal sparring with leading ladies to see beneath his debonair looks and onscreen charisma, to the...
- 12/1/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
[Editor’s note: This article was first published in August 2022 and has been updated multiple times since.]
Movies might seem like magic, but Hollywood’s favorite actors, directors, producers, stunt performers, props masters, costumers, script coordinators, and cinematographers are still only human. Since before that child extra prematurely covered his ears for Eva Marie Saint shooting Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” audiences have delighted in finding the little moments that make their favorite films imperfect.
Like freckles on a human face, mistakes can make movies infinitely more special to the audiences that love them. Consider the clumsy stormtrooper of “A New Hope,” whose hilariously audible collision with an Imperial spaceship doorframe turned the extra’s true identity into an ongoing mystery for the Star Wars ages. Or, for “The Lord of the Rings” fans among us, there’s the anachronistic automobile appearing in “Fellowship of the Ring” right alongside Sam and Frodo. As for the Wizarding World, how about that bike seat on Harry’s broomstick?...
Movies might seem like magic, but Hollywood’s favorite actors, directors, producers, stunt performers, props masters, costumers, script coordinators, and cinematographers are still only human. Since before that child extra prematurely covered his ears for Eva Marie Saint shooting Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest,” audiences have delighted in finding the little moments that make their favorite films imperfect.
Like freckles on a human face, mistakes can make movies infinitely more special to the audiences that love them. Consider the clumsy stormtrooper of “A New Hope,” whose hilariously audible collision with an Imperial spaceship doorframe turned the extra’s true identity into an ongoing mystery for the Star Wars ages. Or, for “The Lord of the Rings” fans among us, there’s the anachronistic automobile appearing in “Fellowship of the Ring” right alongside Sam and Frodo. As for the Wizarding World, how about that bike seat on Harry’s broomstick?...
- 9/22/2023
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds has become such an acknowledged classic and even cultural touchstone that it is easy to forget how revolutionary it was upon its 1963 release. For the Master of Suspense himself, it was a departure in many ways from his previous work while still a testament to his craft and devotion to “pure cinema.” It all but single-handedly created, or at least redefined, an enduring horror subgenre—the animal attack film. Finally, in creating this subgenre, The Birds explores themes of humankind’s place in the world and the unpredictable power of nature. It is also a particularly meaningful film for me as it was my first Hitchcock film and was introduced to me by my grandmother, who was a great fan of classic cinema in general and Alfred Hitchcock in particular. I saw the film during a memorable stay at her home when I was around...
- 9/15/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Years after his death in 2003, two-time Oscar-winning director Elia Kazan remains both an influential and controversial figure, respected and reviled in equal measure. Let’s take a look back at 15 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Kazan started his career as a stage actor, soon transitioning into directing. He mounted several landmark productions, including the original run of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Throughout his career he received three Tony awards for Best Director of a Play: “All My Sons” in 1947, “Death of a Salesman” in 1949, and “J.B.” in 1959.
He transitioned into filmmaking with “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” (1945). Two years later, he won his first Oscar for Best Director for “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947), which also took home Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm). A taboo-shattering drama about antisemitism, the film established Kazan as a director drawn towards contemporary, hot-button topics.
Kazan scored his second Best Director...
Kazan started his career as a stage actor, soon transitioning into directing. He mounted several landmark productions, including the original run of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Throughout his career he received three Tony awards for Best Director of a Play: “All My Sons” in 1947, “Death of a Salesman” in 1949, and “J.B.” in 1959.
He transitioned into filmmaking with “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” (1945). Two years later, he won his first Oscar for Best Director for “Gentleman’s Agreement” (1947), which also took home Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm). A taboo-shattering drama about antisemitism, the film established Kazan as a director drawn towards contemporary, hot-button topics.
Kazan scored his second Best Director...
- 9/1/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Alan Arkin etched many indelible performances over his long career in movies. From heroin-snorting grandfathers (“Little Miss Sunshine”) to ornery movie producers (“Argo”) to harried dentists (“The In-Laws”), Arkin, who died on June 29 at the age of 89, played an extraordinary range of roles with great gusto.
But it’s fair to say that none of it would have been possible were it not for 1966’s “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” a Cold War comedy that marked Arkin’s first major screen role. It’s the film that earned him the first of four Oscar nominations (he’d win for 2006’s “Little Miss Sunshine”) and a part that launched his career as a shape-shifting character actor.
And it was Norman Jewison, riding high on the success of “The Cincinnati Kid,” who took a bet that Arkin, a gifted Broadway actor but movie novice, could make the transition from stage to screen.
But it’s fair to say that none of it would have been possible were it not for 1966’s “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” a Cold War comedy that marked Arkin’s first major screen role. It’s the film that earned him the first of four Oscar nominations (he’d win for 2006’s “Little Miss Sunshine”) and a part that launched his career as a shape-shifting character actor.
And it was Norman Jewison, riding high on the success of “The Cincinnati Kid,” who took a bet that Arkin, a gifted Broadway actor but movie novice, could make the transition from stage to screen.
- 7/2/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
In a 2021 interview with The New York Times, Jodie Foster, one of our most guarded movie stars, confessed, "I am a solitary, internal person in an extroverted, external job. I don't think I will ever not feel lonely. It's a theme in my life. It's not such a bad thing. I don't need to be known by everyone."
Movie stardom can be a curse in this regard. Each performance, splashed across a big screen and examined time and again in the home-viewing format of your choosing, draws us near to them. We want to know them, befriend them, tear up the town with them... we want them. And since we are typically not an empathetic species (particularly in the United States), too many of us do not understand why these seemingly blessed individuals recoil from the public eye or feel ambivalent about their success.
This tension has been the central theme of Foster's career,...
Movie stardom can be a curse in this regard. Each performance, splashed across a big screen and examined time and again in the home-viewing format of your choosing, draws us near to them. We want to know them, befriend them, tear up the town with them... we want them. And since we are typically not an empathetic species (particularly in the United States), too many of us do not understand why these seemingly blessed individuals recoil from the public eye or feel ambivalent about their success.
This tension has been the central theme of Foster's career,...
- 6/5/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Danette Herman was one of the key staff members of the Academy Awards ceremonies from the 1970s into the 2010s, beginning as a production assistant and rising through the ranks to become the show’s executive in charge of talent and coordinating producer. One of the few women to serve in key positions at the Oscars, she was with the show during the years of its highest ratings and largest cultural impact.
As the Academy prepares for the 95th Oscars ceremony, Herman asked TheWrap if she could share some memories of past shows, from an encounter with Katharine Hepburn in 1974 to a pair of anniversary shows in which she assembled historic groups of past winners. —Steve Pond
Congratulations to the Academy on 95 years of the Academy Awards. Almost 40 of those years are my history, also.
It began in April 1968 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The 40th Academy Awards were hosted by Bob Hope,...
As the Academy prepares for the 95th Oscars ceremony, Herman asked TheWrap if she could share some memories of past shows, from an encounter with Katharine Hepburn in 1974 to a pair of anniversary shows in which she assembled historic groups of past winners. —Steve Pond
Congratulations to the Academy on 95 years of the Academy Awards. Almost 40 of those years are my history, also.
It began in April 1968 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The 40th Academy Awards were hosted by Bob Hope,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Danette Herman
- The Wrap
The 70th Academy Award ceremony on March 23, 1998, is the most-watched Oscar ceremony to date — most likely due to a “Titanic” film nominated for several awards. However, Gil Gates, who produced 14 Oscar ceremonies between 1990 and 2008, also wanted a special segment to recognize Oscar’s platinum anniversary, and arranged for 70 past acting winners to sit together on the stage, with Norman Rose announcing the films for which each performer won. It was a spectacular gathering of actors and actresses from Classic Hollywood, New Hollywood and the contemporary period.
Let’s flashback to the first Oscars family album featured in the ceremony 25 years ago.
SEEOscar flashback 25 years to 1998: Winners are Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Robin Williams and ‘Titanic’ ratings for ABC
Among those present was the first performer to win back-to-back acting Oscars, Best Actress champ Luise Rainer. At the age of 88, she was the oldest one on the stage; when she...
Let’s flashback to the first Oscars family album featured in the ceremony 25 years ago.
SEEOscar flashback 25 years to 1998: Winners are Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Robin Williams and ‘Titanic’ ratings for ABC
Among those present was the first performer to win back-to-back acting Oscars, Best Actress champ Luise Rainer. At the age of 88, she was the oldest one on the stage; when she...
- 3/7/2023
- by Susan Pennington and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
The mean-spirited children’s books of Roald Dahl have, rather oddly, become indelible classics. That’s probably because Dahl — a former British espionage agent, and writer of even grimmer short stories for adults — was under no illusion that childhood was a wonderful time.
Books like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda” and “The Witches” confirm what most children already suspected: that adults have a general disdain for kids, and that if kids were going to survive, they’d have to save themselves. At their best, adaptations of Dahl’s work capture that cynical spirit. At their worst, they fall prey to Dahl’s basest instincts, an unfortunate tendency towards bigoted portrayals and unhealthy themes.
When exploring every Roald Dahl movie, however, you can’t stop at the kids’ films. Dahl was also a screenwriter who adapted the works of other authors to the big screen, and not every filmmaker was...
Books like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda” and “The Witches” confirm what most children already suspected: that adults have a general disdain for kids, and that if kids were going to survive, they’d have to save themselves. At their best, adaptations of Dahl’s work capture that cynical spirit. At their worst, they fall prey to Dahl’s basest instincts, an unfortunate tendency towards bigoted portrayals and unhealthy themes.
When exploring every Roald Dahl movie, however, you can’t stop at the kids’ films. Dahl was also a screenwriter who adapted the works of other authors to the big screen, and not every filmmaker was...
- 12/25/2022
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
"Vertigo" is the kind of movie that lends itself to any interpretation you want to throw at it. Its multi-layered narrative has all kinds of things to say about love, madness, and obsession — particularly of the male variety. But what makes the film especially noteworthy in comparison to Hitch's other work, is how he so boldly confronts what one reviewer called his own "thematic and personal sexual fixations."
Hitchcock is known for obsessing over every aspect of his films. But he saved his most pedantic fixation for his actresses, who he seemed to revel in controlling. In the case of "The Birds" star Tippi Hedren, the director made the poor woman's life miserable. And his onscreen treatment of women wasn't much better. The heroines of Hitchcock movies are often little more than representations of the director's own myopic view of females. They're at once conniving and helpless — caught in the...
Hitchcock is known for obsessing over every aspect of his films. But he saved his most pedantic fixation for his actresses, who he seemed to revel in controlling. In the case of "The Birds" star Tippi Hedren, the director made the poor woman's life miserable. And his onscreen treatment of women wasn't much better. The heroines of Hitchcock movies are often little more than representations of the director's own myopic view of females. They're at once conniving and helpless — caught in the...
- 12/11/2022
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
Cary Grant was James Bond before James Bond. Sixty years since the release of Dr. No and Sean Connery’s era-defining performance as 007, it sounds crazy that Grant almost beat him to the role, but as late as 1962 it made perfect sense—including to the men who produced the James Bond movies. As the Hollywood leading man who perfected the Hollywood ideal of debonair sophistication and unflappable suaveness, Grant was a class act that couldn’t be beaten, and for the better part of 30 years all of Hollywood agreed.
This included one of the two godfathers of the James Bond franchise and Eon Productions, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. Along with his partner Harry Saltzman, Broccoli saw the long-term viability of the James Bond character as a genre unto himself. Broccoli also wasn’t a delusional producer who just wanted to cast one of the biggest stars of his heyday as 007—he...
This included one of the two godfathers of the James Bond franchise and Eon Productions, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. Along with his partner Harry Saltzman, Broccoli saw the long-term viability of the James Bond character as a genre unto himself. Broccoli also wasn’t a delusional producer who just wanted to cast one of the biggest stars of his heyday as 007—he...
- 11/10/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Henry Silva, a character actor known for playing bad guys and gangsters in movies like “The Manchurian Candidate” and “Ocean’s 11,” has died.
Silva died Wednesday of natural causes at the Motion Picture Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, his son Scott Silva confirmed to Variety. He was 95.
The stage and screen actor, whose career spanned 50 years and 140 TV and film credits, was also an honorary member of The Rat Pack. He starred alongside Frank Sinatra in both “Ocean’s 11” (1960) and “The Manchurian Candidate,” (1962) in which he played one of the 11 casino robbers in the classic caper film. Also in 1962, they both appeared in “Sergeants 3” and would go on to collaborate on the TV movie “Contract on Cherry Street” (1977) and “Cannonball Run II” (1984) with Dean Martin.
Also Read:
Henry Fuhrmann, Longtime LA Times Editor Who Championed Inclusive Writing in Journalism, Dies at 65
In the wake of the news,...
Silva died Wednesday of natural causes at the Motion Picture Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, his son Scott Silva confirmed to Variety. He was 95.
The stage and screen actor, whose career spanned 50 years and 140 TV and film credits, was also an honorary member of The Rat Pack. He starred alongside Frank Sinatra in both “Ocean’s 11” (1960) and “The Manchurian Candidate,” (1962) in which he played one of the 11 casino robbers in the classic caper film. Also in 1962, they both appeared in “Sergeants 3” and would go on to collaborate on the TV movie “Contract on Cherry Street” (1977) and “Cannonball Run II” (1984) with Dean Martin.
Also Read:
Henry Fuhrmann, Longtime LA Times Editor Who Championed Inclusive Writing in Journalism, Dies at 65
In the wake of the news,...
- 9/16/2022
- by Brian Welk and Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
Henry Silva, an actor with a striking look who often played villains and had credits in hundreds of films including “Ocean’s Eleven” and “The Manchurian Candidate,” died of natural causes Wednesday at the Motion Picture Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif., his son Scott confirmed. He was 95.
One of Silva’s most memorable roles came in John Frankenheimer’s classic thriller “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962), in which he played Chunjin, the Korean houseboy for Laurence Harvey’s Raymond Shaw — and an agent for the Communists — who engages in a thrilling, well-choreographed martial arts battle with Frank Sinatra’s Major Bennett Marco in Shaw’s New York apartment.
Silva appeared in a number of other movies with Sinatra, including the original, Rat Pack-populated “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960) with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., where he was one of the 11 thieves, and 1962 Western “Sergeants 3.”
His death was...
One of Silva’s most memorable roles came in John Frankenheimer’s classic thriller “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962), in which he played Chunjin, the Korean houseboy for Laurence Harvey’s Raymond Shaw — and an agent for the Communists — who engages in a thrilling, well-choreographed martial arts battle with Frank Sinatra’s Major Bennett Marco in Shaw’s New York apartment.
Silva appeared in a number of other movies with Sinatra, including the original, Rat Pack-populated “Ocean’s Eleven” (1960) with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., where he was one of the 11 thieves, and 1962 Western “Sergeants 3.”
His death was...
- 9/16/2022
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
There is an old adage about filmmaking that says 90 of the director's job is casting. The reasoning behind this comes from the fact that during a fictional, narrative feature, the audience will spend the vast majority of the time looking at the faces on screen. The characters are our entry point to the cinematic world laid out in front of us. If the people you put in front of the camera are compelling, unique, and, more than anything, truthful, you will be able to take the audience wherever you wish. While I think the percentage is certainly a little hyperbolic, I do not think you can undersell the importance of casting.
What directors look for in casting varies wildly from person to person. Some just want a collection of the most attractive people they can find to dazzle the audience. Some want to surround one or two movie stars with a collection of warm,...
What directors look for in casting varies wildly from person to person. Some just want a collection of the most attractive people they can find to dazzle the audience. Some want to surround one or two movie stars with a collection of warm,...
- 9/3/2022
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
For as much as the films of Alfred Hitchcock are consumed by the psychologies of their protagonists, the "Master of Suspense" was not particularly interested in delving deep into them when it came to working with his actors. To be fair, he was working in a time where the internalization of character was not nearly as important as it is today. Film acting in classic Hollywood was presentational, practical, and technical. The actor was required to showcase emotional truth, not necessarily feel it themselves. Of course, moments where the two collided did occur, but it was not standard practice.
Alfred Hitchcock did not have much respect for an actor's process, even going so far as to say they should be "treated like cattle." This was said in his sarcastic, sinister way, but there's probably some underlying truth to that sentiment. He was someone who used every artistic discipline that goes...
Alfred Hitchcock did not have much respect for an actor's process, even going so far as to say they should be "treated like cattle." This was said in his sarcastic, sinister way, but there's probably some underlying truth to that sentiment. He was someone who used every artistic discipline that goes...
- 8/22/2022
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
Apple TV +’s “Schmigadoon” is the musical equivalent to a warm, happy smile. The six-part limited series that premiered on the streaming service last July is a smart, clever and fun parody of the classic musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. It was a golden era of the Broadway musical dominated by such influential, eminent composers as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Alan Jay Lerner Lerner & Frederick Loewe, Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II, Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim, Meredith Willson, and Richard Adler & Jerry Ross.
Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key star as two doctors who have grown tired in their relationship and decide to get on a camping retreat. Before you can say “Brigadoon” they get lost in the woods only to cross a bridge into a Hallmark Card of a town where every day is a musical. But checking out of Schmigadoon is no easy task. They can’t leave...
Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key star as two doctors who have grown tired in their relationship and decide to get on a camping retreat. Before you can say “Brigadoon” they get lost in the woods only to cross a bridge into a Hallmark Card of a town where every day is a musical. But checking out of Schmigadoon is no easy task. They can’t leave...
- 6/27/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
The Best Limited Series/TV Movie Actress race is already shaping up to be one of the most competitive ones at the Emmys. That is due in part to Showtime’s “The First Lady,” which premieres on Sunday, April 17 at 9/8c and could inaugurate not one, not two, but three nominees: Gillian Anderson, Viola Davis and Michelle Pfeiffer.
An anthology series reframing American leadership through the lens of three first ladies, the first installment, directed by Emmy winner Susanne Bier (“The Night Manager”), stars Davis as Michelle Obama, Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, and delves into the women’s personal and political lives, exploring everything from their journeys to Washington, their family life and their world-changing political contributions, making their impact visible.
Of the three leading ladies, Davis is currently ranked the highest in our early combined Emmy odds, sitting in second place, just behind Margaret Qualley...
An anthology series reframing American leadership through the lens of three first ladies, the first installment, directed by Emmy winner Susanne Bier (“The Night Manager”), stars Davis as Michelle Obama, Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, and delves into the women’s personal and political lives, exploring everything from their journeys to Washington, their family life and their world-changing political contributions, making their impact visible.
Of the three leading ladies, Davis is currently ranked the highest in our early combined Emmy odds, sitting in second place, just behind Margaret Qualley...
- 4/10/2022
- by Luca Giliberti
- Gold Derby
Every year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences gets together to single out the best movies, performances and craftsmanship, and sometimes they actually get it right. Sure, sometimes it goes the other way, but throughout the history of the Oscars, there are many excellent examples of actors who gave astounding performances for the ages. The types of roles may change, and the acting styles may evolve, but these Oscar-winning actors of yesteryear absolutely deserved their gold statues and remain some of the gold standards for screen acting.
Norma Shearer, “The Divorcee” (1930)
Norma Shearer gives an astoundingly multifaceted performance in Robert Z. Leonard’s “The Divorcee,” as a woman whose husband is unfaithful and decides turnabout is fair play, only to see her role in polite society shift dramatically. What could have been a tawdry and finger-wagging cautionary tale lights up because Shearer explores all the emotional complexity of her...
Norma Shearer, “The Divorcee” (1930)
Norma Shearer gives an astoundingly multifaceted performance in Robert Z. Leonard’s “The Divorcee,” as a woman whose husband is unfaithful and decides turnabout is fair play, only to see her role in polite society shift dramatically. What could have been a tawdry and finger-wagging cautionary tale lights up because Shearer explores all the emotional complexity of her...
- 3/23/2022
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
The race for Oscar gold is in full swing so a bit of advice for potential winners as Will Smith, Benedict Cumberbatch, Nicole Kidman and Jessica Chastain: Please, please prepare a speech. Something nice, moving and touching. Mentioning your family is good. Also, praising your director and co-stars is a nice touch. But please, please don’t mention every member of your team. The majority of the TV viewers don’t know who you’re talking about and don’t care to find out.
Acceptance speeches are important. Bad ones could turn into comedians’ fodder like Sally Field’s emotional “you really like me” when she received her second Best Actress Oscar for 1984’s “Places in the Heart” and controversial ones could cost actors roles such as Vanessa Redgrave’s reference to “Zionist hoodlums” when she accepted Supporting Actress for 1977’s “Julia.”
But over the past 93 years, there have been memorable moments.
Acceptance speeches are important. Bad ones could turn into comedians’ fodder like Sally Field’s emotional “you really like me” when she received her second Best Actress Oscar for 1984’s “Places in the Heart” and controversial ones could cost actors roles such as Vanessa Redgrave’s reference to “Zionist hoodlums” when she accepted Supporting Actress for 1977’s “Julia.”
But over the past 93 years, there have been memorable moments.
- 1/24/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Eugene Pack, creator of the live stage comedy show Celebrity Autobiography and writer-director of The Pack Podcast, has signed with CAA.
Celebrity Autobiography, which played a limited engagement on Broadway in 2018, features celebrities on stage performing the memoirs of other celebrities. The show tours the United States and abroad, and in addition to Broadway has played London’s West End, Australia’s Sydney Opera House, and the Edinburgh Festival.
Pack also writes and directs The Pack Podcast, an ongoing collection of his original short comedies with casts including Annette Bening, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Eva Marie Saint, Marisa Tomei, and Martin Short.
Pack’s play Stan the Man was workshopped at the Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York, with Alec Baldwin, Blair Underwood, and Rob Morrow.
Pack was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Writing for Variety, Comedy or Music for the special America: A Tribute To Heroes, which won...
Celebrity Autobiography, which played a limited engagement on Broadway in 2018, features celebrities on stage performing the memoirs of other celebrities. The show tours the United States and abroad, and in addition to Broadway has played London’s West End, Australia’s Sydney Opera House, and the Edinburgh Festival.
Pack also writes and directs The Pack Podcast, an ongoing collection of his original short comedies with casts including Annette Bening, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Eva Marie Saint, Marisa Tomei, and Martin Short.
Pack’s play Stan the Man was workshopped at the Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York, with Alec Baldwin, Blair Underwood, and Rob Morrow.
Pack was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Writing for Variety, Comedy or Music for the special America: A Tribute To Heroes, which won...
- 9/14/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
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Having helped shape modern cinema, Alfred Hitchcock is revered as one of the most prolific directors in history and this year, his birthday falls on Friday the 13th.
That date couldn’t be more fitting for the Master of Suspense. Hitchcock released over 50 films in his 60-year career amassing a catalog of classics such as “Rear Window,” “Psycho,” “The Birds,” “Marnie,” “North by Northwest,” “Vertigo,” “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” and “Rebecca.”
Although he never won a Best Director Oscar, Hitchcock cemented his place as a cinematic genius. Beyond the virtuosic camera techniques that gave audiences unique points of view and ways of identifying with his characters (even when they’re doing...
Having helped shape modern cinema, Alfred Hitchcock is revered as one of the most prolific directors in history and this year, his birthday falls on Friday the 13th.
That date couldn’t be more fitting for the Master of Suspense. Hitchcock released over 50 films in his 60-year career amassing a catalog of classics such as “Rear Window,” “Psycho,” “The Birds,” “Marnie,” “North by Northwest,” “Vertigo,” “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” and “Rebecca.”
Although he never won a Best Director Oscar, Hitchcock cemented his place as a cinematic genius. Beyond the virtuosic camera techniques that gave audiences unique points of view and ways of identifying with his characters (even when they’re doing...
- 8/13/2021
- by Latifah Muhammad
- Indiewire
Eva Marie Saint is particular about one thing.
“It’s Eva Marie, not Eva,” she says with the trademark lilt, the one that melted the likes of Marlon Brando and Cary Grant in such classics as “On the Waterfront” and “North by Northwest.”
“I don’t want to embarrass you,” she adds to her temporarily flummoxed interviewer. “I like the name Eva, but it just sounds better with Marie attached to it.”
Saint has agreed to a rare interview to promote “The Bus Ride,” a roughly 10-minute audio play that is premiering this week as part of “The Pack Podcast.” The Oscar-winning actress, one of the last stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, appeared as an elderly aunt without a filter in the episode opposite Marisa Tomei as her mortified niece.
“It’s exciting to get to feel what the chemistry with Eva is like and to get to experience...
“It’s Eva Marie, not Eva,” she says with the trademark lilt, the one that melted the likes of Marlon Brando and Cary Grant in such classics as “On the Waterfront” and “North by Northwest.”
“I don’t want to embarrass you,” she adds to her temporarily flummoxed interviewer. “I like the name Eva, but it just sounds better with Marie attached to it.”
Saint has agreed to a rare interview to promote “The Bus Ride,” a roughly 10-minute audio play that is premiering this week as part of “The Pack Podcast.” The Oscar-winning actress, one of the last stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, appeared as an elderly aunt without a filter in the episode opposite Marisa Tomei as her mortified niece.
“It’s exciting to get to feel what the chemistry with Eva is like and to get to experience...
- 7/28/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
In a career that spans more than seven decades, Eva Marie Saint has won an Oscar, played Superman’s mom, and acted alongside screen legends such as Paul Newman, Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando. A versatile performer, she appeared in comedies, historical epics (“Raintree County”), social dramas (“On the Waterfront”), and misbegotten superhero films (“Superman Returns”). Saint, who turns 97 on July 4, is one of the last surviving links to Hollywood’s Golden Age, with her style and sophistication serving as a luminous reminder that they “don’t make ’em like they used to.”
Nowhere is this more evident than in “North by Northwest,” where Saint put her own spin on the “Hitchcock Blonde.” It was a role previously filled by the likes of Grace Kelly and Kim Novak (“Vertigo”), and one that would later be played by Tippi Hedren in “The Birds” and “Marnie.” Strangely, Saint’s foray into Alfred Hitchcock...
Nowhere is this more evident than in “North by Northwest,” where Saint put her own spin on the “Hitchcock Blonde.” It was a role previously filled by the likes of Grace Kelly and Kim Novak (“Vertigo”), and one that would later be played by Tippi Hedren in “The Birds” and “Marnie.” Strangely, Saint’s foray into Alfred Hitchcock...
- 7/4/2021
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
“That wasn’t very sporting, using real bullets.”
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, nominated for three Academy Awards and celebrated as one of the most popular spy thrillers of all time, North By Northwest comes to life on the big screen when it plays at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, Il at 7:00pm Tuesday June 8th. $3 (or free with proof of vaccination) Tickets available starting at 3pm day of movie at Wildey Theatre ticket office. Cash or check only. Lobby opens at 6pm. Attendance limited to 150.
Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason and Martin Landau give fast and furious chase across the country, from the skyscrapers of Manhattan to the dizzying peaks of Mount Rushmore, set to the music of Bernard Herrmann, don’t miss your chance to see North By Northwest on the big screen
The post North By Northwest Screening at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville June...
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, nominated for three Academy Awards and celebrated as one of the most popular spy thrillers of all time, North By Northwest comes to life on the big screen when it plays at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, Il at 7:00pm Tuesday June 8th. $3 (or free with proof of vaccination) Tickets available starting at 3pm day of movie at Wildey Theatre ticket office. Cash or check only. Lobby opens at 6pm. Attendance limited to 150.
Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason and Martin Landau give fast and furious chase across the country, from the skyscrapers of Manhattan to the dizzying peaks of Mount Rushmore, set to the music of Bernard Herrmann, don’t miss your chance to see North By Northwest on the big screen
The post North By Northwest Screening at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville June...
- 6/7/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Writer-producer Little Marvin grew up a fan of classic horror, from Alfred Hitchcock to “The Exorcist,” but it wasn’t until he was on set at his own creation, the anthological “Them” for Amazon Prime Video, that he says he had an experience that “codified for me what moves me deeply” about genre fare.
Watching from behind a monitor as cinematographer Checco Varese set up a split diopter shot that showed Henry Emory (Ashley Thomas) smiling at the camera while his wife Lucky (Deborah Ayorinde) is behind him smoking, Little Marvin remembers seeing the image freeze-frame in his mind.
“As a kid, loving all of those classic movies, folks who looked like me never populated the center of those frames,” he says. “Here’s this classic Hitchcock frame that back in the day would have only held Janet Leigh or Eva Marie Saint or Grace Kelly, and instead here’s...
Watching from behind a monitor as cinematographer Checco Varese set up a split diopter shot that showed Henry Emory (Ashley Thomas) smiling at the camera while his wife Lucky (Deborah Ayorinde) is behind him smoking, Little Marvin remembers seeing the image freeze-frame in his mind.
“As a kid, loving all of those classic movies, folks who looked like me never populated the center of those frames,” he says. “Here’s this classic Hitchcock frame that back in the day would have only held Janet Leigh or Eva Marie Saint or Grace Kelly, and instead here’s...
- 4/8/2021
- by Danielle Turchiano
- Variety Film + TV
1. “A Star is Born” (1954)
Why Should I Watch? If the Lady Gaga-starring remake from 2018 did anything, it was to show us the power of the “Star is Born” narrative – and if you’re going to watch any of them why not watch the best? Judy Garland stars in her what-should-have-been Oscar-winning role as Esther Blodgett, a woman whose rise to fame comes at the expense of her husband, Norman Main (played by James Mason). Outside of this being a career best for both Garland and Mason, the movie has an added power if you know anything about Garland’s history. The scene wherein Esther details her feelings about Norman’s alcoholism is a gut punch every time, especially as it’s easy to hear it as Garland talking about herself. Laugh, sing, and cry with “A Star is Born” on March 2.
2. “North By Northwest” (1959)
Why Should I Watch? One...
Why Should I Watch? If the Lady Gaga-starring remake from 2018 did anything, it was to show us the power of the “Star is Born” narrative – and if you’re going to watch any of them why not watch the best? Judy Garland stars in her what-should-have-been Oscar-winning role as Esther Blodgett, a woman whose rise to fame comes at the expense of her husband, Norman Main (played by James Mason). Outside of this being a career best for both Garland and Mason, the movie has an added power if you know anything about Garland’s history. The scene wherein Esther details her feelings about Norman’s alcoholism is a gut punch every time, especially as it’s easy to hear it as Garland talking about herself. Laugh, sing, and cry with “A Star is Born” on March 2.
2. “North By Northwest” (1959)
Why Should I Watch? One...
- 3/2/2021
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
“I didn’t really think there were that many people out there who were interested in Mr. Miyagi,” Kevin Derek says. “But (it turns out) millions and millions of people are.”
Derek is a martial artist, producer, and documentarian, whose latest documentary, More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story, seeks to humanize the man behind some of pop culture’s most mythical characters. The timing for such a doc couldn’t have been better, but it turns out that was simply good fortune.
“We started shooting this back in 2016, so it was a year before Cobra Kai was even in production,” says Derek. “They didn’t even know that they were going to shoot Cobra Kai.”
Everyone knows Pat Morita from his beloved Oscar-nominated role as Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid franchise, and many remember him as Arnold in the hit TV show Happy Days. However, Morita’s TV...
Derek is a martial artist, producer, and documentarian, whose latest documentary, More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story, seeks to humanize the man behind some of pop culture’s most mythical characters. The timing for such a doc couldn’t have been better, but it turns out that was simply good fortune.
“We started shooting this back in 2016, so it was a year before Cobra Kai was even in production,” says Derek. “They didn’t even know that they were going to shoot Cobra Kai.”
Everyone knows Pat Morita from his beloved Oscar-nominated role as Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid franchise, and many remember him as Arnold in the hit TV show Happy Days. However, Morita’s TV...
- 2/5/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Our exclusive odds predict that Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman will both earn Oscar nominations for their roles in the Sony Pictures Classics release “The Father.” He is a strong Best Actor contender for his heartbreaking portrayal of a man dealing with dementia. And she is coming on strong in the Best Supporting Actress race for her work as the daughter struggling to come to terms with him.
Should both of these past Oscar champs prevail again this year, they’d be just the eighth pair of co-stars nominated in these categories to do so. In the 84 years since the supporting awards were introduced at the 9th Oscars, a lucky seven films can boast victories in both these races.
The last such duo from the same film to both win were Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker for “My Left Foot” in 1990. That marked the first of Day-Lewis’s three Best Actor trophies.
Should both of these past Oscar champs prevail again this year, they’d be just the eighth pair of co-stars nominated in these categories to do so. In the 84 years since the supporting awards were introduced at the 9th Oscars, a lucky seven films can boast victories in both these races.
The last such duo from the same film to both win were Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker for “My Left Foot” in 1990. That marked the first of Day-Lewis’s three Best Actor trophies.
- 1/23/2021
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
So, How Was Your 2020? is a series in which our favorite entertainers answer our questionnaire about the music, culture, and memorable moments that shaped their year. We’ll be rolling out these pieces throughout December.
Tori Amos was scheduled to go on a book tour during the spring, timed to the release of her bestselling memoir, Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage, which came out this past May. In fact, the book offered great insight and guidance to many fans — with its message that “we can...
Tori Amos was scheduled to go on a book tour during the spring, timed to the release of her bestselling memoir, Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage, which came out this past May. In fact, the book offered great insight and guidance to many fans — with its message that “we can...
- 12/11/2020
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
Rhonda Fleming died last Wednesday in Santa Monica, California. The 97-year-old actress, who had left a successful 15-year career as a leading lady in studio films 60 years ago, was correctly noted in her obituaries as “the Queen of Technicolor” because of her flaming red hair, as well as her significant presence as a film noir actress, particularly in Jacques Tourneur’s masterpiece “Out of the Past” (1947).
Her films included a number of now-acclaimed auteurist titles like Budd Boetticher’s “The Killer Is Loose,” Allan Dwan’s “Slightly Scarlet” and “Tennessee’s Partner,” and Fritz Lang’s “While the City Sleeps,” to go along with more mainstream titles like “The Spiral Staircase” and “The Gunfight at O.K. Corral.”
Unlike actresses like Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Tippi Hedren, and others who made multiple films with Alfred Hitchcock, Fleming is less identified with the master. But he provided her with her breakout role in 1945’s “Spellbound.
Her films included a number of now-acclaimed auteurist titles like Budd Boetticher’s “The Killer Is Loose,” Allan Dwan’s “Slightly Scarlet” and “Tennessee’s Partner,” and Fritz Lang’s “While the City Sleeps,” to go along with more mainstream titles like “The Spiral Staircase” and “The Gunfight at O.K. Corral.”
Unlike actresses like Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Tippi Hedren, and others who made multiple films with Alfred Hitchcock, Fleming is less identified with the master. But he provided her with her breakout role in 1945’s “Spellbound.
- 10/18/2020
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Bill Gavin in Cannes in 1988 (Photo credit: © Richard Blanshard).
Former producer, exhibitor and sales agent Bill Gavin has died in Auckland after a short illness, aged 83.
“Bill Gavin’s long career touched on almost every aspect of the screen industry and he was great friend to the many filmmakers whose careers benefited from his touch,” the New Zealand Film Commission said.
A former journalist who covered motor racing in Auckland and internationally, his entrée into filmmaking came when he wrote the narration for John Frankenheimer’s sports drama Grand Prix, which starred James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, Brian Bedford and Jessica Walter, in 1966.
In the early 1970s he moved into the music business, joining Gto in the UK where he managed a number of acts including Sweet and The New Seekers.
At Gto he helped set up Gto Films to make movies promoting its musical acts and later into distribution,...
Former producer, exhibitor and sales agent Bill Gavin has died in Auckland after a short illness, aged 83.
“Bill Gavin’s long career touched on almost every aspect of the screen industry and he was great friend to the many filmmakers whose careers benefited from his touch,” the New Zealand Film Commission said.
A former journalist who covered motor racing in Auckland and internationally, his entrée into filmmaking came when he wrote the narration for John Frankenheimer’s sports drama Grand Prix, which starred James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, Yves Montand, Brian Bedford and Jessica Walter, in 1966.
In the early 1970s he moved into the music business, joining Gto in the UK where he managed a number of acts including Sweet and The New Seekers.
At Gto he helped set up Gto Films to make movies promoting its musical acts and later into distribution,...
- 5/29/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
When Turner Classic Movies announced its popular film festival in Los Angeles would be canceled, yet another public gathering that wouldn’t take place, there was a different feeling in the air. The event, which has taken place every April for the last decade, gives fans of the network and old Hollywood the chance to briefly feel like a movie star, watching glittering black-and-white or Technicolor in legendary movie palaces like Grauman’s Chinese Theatre or the Egyptian.
As the late TCM host Robert Osborne was known to mention, TCM is a salve for audiences not just when they need to escape a long day. Audiences have been known to seek solace with the network to cope with the loss of loved ones, job loss, or medical operations. It’s a welcome respite where fans don’t just know the hosts, but consider them to be friends. And this extends...
As the late TCM host Robert Osborne was known to mention, TCM is a salve for audiences not just when they need to escape a long day. Audiences have been known to seek solace with the network to cope with the loss of loved ones, job loss, or medical operations. It’s a welcome respite where fans don’t just know the hosts, but consider them to be friends. And this extends...
- 4/18/2020
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
Since 2010 when Turner Classic Movies first had the idea to go live with their own Hollywood film festival celebrating the classics that make the basic cable channel that a true outpost of sanity for film lovers of all stripes, I have religiously attended each and every year. I was certainly looking forward to the 11th edition of the fest which always takes place at the Tcl Chinese Theatres and the Egyptian on Hollywood Boulevard.
The festival was to have opened tonight with the 35th anniversary screening of Back To The Future and the stars, including Michael J. Fox, were set to appear. It would have been swell.
More from DeadlineTom Ascheim Joins Warner Bros As President of Global Kids, Young Adults And ClassicsTCM Classic Film Festival Sets Online Edition After Cancellation Due To Coronavirus - UpdateKirk Douglas Daylong Tribute Set For TCM; 'Spartacus' To Screen At TCM Film...
The festival was to have opened tonight with the 35th anniversary screening of Back To The Future and the stars, including Michael J. Fox, were set to appear. It would have been swell.
More from DeadlineTom Ascheim Joins Warner Bros As President of Global Kids, Young Adults And ClassicsTCM Classic Film Festival Sets Online Edition After Cancellation Due To Coronavirus - UpdateKirk Douglas Daylong Tribute Set For TCM; 'Spartacus' To Screen At TCM Film...
- 4/16/2020
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
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