Sam Mercer, producer on several M. Night Shyamalan movies and former head of Ilm, died Feb. 12 of younger onset Alzheimer’s in South Pasadena. He was 69.
Raised in Weston, Mass., he attended Occidental College and then started working as a location manager on 1980s classics including “Stripes,” “The Escape Artist,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Swing Shift,” “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “The Witches of Eastwick.”
He joined the Walt Disney Company as a production executive, supervising films including “Good Morning Vietnam,” “Three Fugitives” and “Dead Poets Society.” He then became VP of motion picture production at Hollywood Pictures, where he oversaw releases including “Quiz Show,” “The Joy Luck Club,” “Born Yesterday,” “Swing Kids,” “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” and “Arachnophobia.”
Mercer then worked as an independent producer, starting with “Congo,” “The Relic” and “Mission to Mars.” After working with Shyamalan on “The Sixth Sense,” then went on...
Raised in Weston, Mass., he attended Occidental College and then started working as a location manager on 1980s classics including “Stripes,” “The Escape Artist,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Swing Shift,” “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “The Witches of Eastwick.”
He joined the Walt Disney Company as a production executive, supervising films including “Good Morning Vietnam,” “Three Fugitives” and “Dead Poets Society.” He then became VP of motion picture production at Hollywood Pictures, where he oversaw releases including “Quiz Show,” “The Joy Luck Club,” “Born Yesterday,” “Swing Kids,” “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” and “Arachnophobia.”
Mercer then worked as an independent producer, starting with “Congo,” “The Relic” and “Mission to Mars.” After working with Shyamalan on “The Sixth Sense,” then went on...
- 3/14/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Sam Mercer, who produced eight M. Night Shyamalan films starting with the spooky blockbuster The Sixth Sense, has died. He was 69.
Mercer died Feb. 12 at his home in South Pasadena after a battle with younger-onset Alzheimer’s, his wife, Tegan Jones, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Mercer was seen as an out-of-the-box hire when he joined Industrial Light & Magic in September 2015 to oversee and coordinate activities of the VFX giant’s studios in San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Singapore. However, he left the next year after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Mercer began his career as a location manager on films including Stripes (1981), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987).
He joined Disney and was a production executive on such features as Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and Dead Poets Society (1989), and as a production vp at Hollywood Pictures, he oversaw the release of films...
Mercer died Feb. 12 at his home in South Pasadena after a battle with younger-onset Alzheimer’s, his wife, Tegan Jones, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Mercer was seen as an out-of-the-box hire when he joined Industrial Light & Magic in September 2015 to oversee and coordinate activities of the VFX giant’s studios in San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Singapore. However, he left the next year after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Mercer began his career as a location manager on films including Stripes (1981), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987).
He joined Disney and was a production executive on such features as Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and Dead Poets Society (1989), and as a production vp at Hollywood Pictures, he oversaw the release of films...
- 3/14/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sam Mercer, who produced seven M. Night Shyamalan films including The Sixth Sense, headed Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic and was location manager on several classic 1980s pics, has died. He was 69.
His wife Tegan Jones told Deadline that Mercer died February 12 of younger-onset Alzheimer’s.
“He was the best big brother I could have hoped for,” Shyamalan said in a statement. “He made every movie a family, and I’ve tried to emulate that in every film since.”
Mercer moved to Los Angeles from Weston, Ma, to work in the movie industry. He began his career as a location manager on such 1980s gems as Stripes, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Peggy Sue Got Married and The Witches of Eastwick before moving to Walt Disney Studios.
Paul Reubens in ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ (1985)
There he worked as a production executive, supervising movies including Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society,...
His wife Tegan Jones told Deadline that Mercer died February 12 of younger-onset Alzheimer’s.
“He was the best big brother I could have hoped for,” Shyamalan said in a statement. “He made every movie a family, and I’ve tried to emulate that in every film since.”
Mercer moved to Los Angeles from Weston, Ma, to work in the movie industry. He began his career as a location manager on such 1980s gems as Stripes, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Peggy Sue Got Married and The Witches of Eastwick before moving to Walt Disney Studios.
Paul Reubens in ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ (1985)
There he worked as a production executive, supervising movies including Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society,...
- 3/14/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Films made by the likes of Netflix seem to have one chance to get noticed – and then they’re falling away, almost forgotten. A few thoughts.
You might just have noticed, but we’ve just had the Academy Awards come and go, with a traditional studio taking home the top prize. Snapping at their heels, streaming services spending a lot of money to promote their wares, but not winning a lot of gold.
Among this year’s streaming contenders: Maestro, Killers Of The Flower Moon, Nyad, Society Of The Snow and Rustin. Some smashing films there: my fear is, in some cases, that’s going to be pretty much the last we’ve heard of them.
The unsuccessful Oscar campaign is nothing fresh of course. In recent years though, streaming services – Netflix in particular – have allowed hard cash to flow into their attempt to earn Academy Awards. Of those streamers,...
You might just have noticed, but we’ve just had the Academy Awards come and go, with a traditional studio taking home the top prize. Snapping at their heels, streaming services spending a lot of money to promote their wares, but not winning a lot of gold.
Among this year’s streaming contenders: Maestro, Killers Of The Flower Moon, Nyad, Society Of The Snow and Rustin. Some smashing films there: my fear is, in some cases, that’s going to be pretty much the last we’ve heard of them.
The unsuccessful Oscar campaign is nothing fresh of course. In recent years though, streaming services – Netflix in particular – have allowed hard cash to flow into their attempt to earn Academy Awards. Of those streamers,...
- 3/13/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
One of our great character actors, John Turturro, is equally adept at at drama, comedy and tough-guy roles. A New York stage veteran, he made his way to Hollywood following a character actor’s path, but thanks to several influential mentors, his career soared as he appeared in film after film that would prove to become classics.
Although he continues to have a successful career in television — he is an Emmy winner from two nominations and has earned a Golden Globe nod and three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for his TV work — I suspect that it will be for his work in film for which he will be most remembered, from small indelible roles in “Do the Right Thing” and “The Big Lebowski” to great leading parts, such as in the Coens’ “Barton Fink” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
So let’s raise a glass to Turturro by...
Although he continues to have a successful career in television — he is an Emmy winner from two nominations and has earned a Golden Globe nod and three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for his TV work — I suspect that it will be for his work in film for which he will be most remembered, from small indelible roles in “Do the Right Thing” and “The Big Lebowski” to great leading parts, such as in the Coens’ “Barton Fink” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
So let’s raise a glass to Turturro by...
- 2/23/2024
- by Tom O'Brien, Misty Holland and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
"Three Days of the Condor" is one of the most suspenseful crime thrillers that came out of '70s cinema. The New Hollywood movement was in full effect with audiences turning to gritty, low-budget films for thrills outside of the failing studio system. Sydney Pollack was one of the foremost leaders of the cinematic era, and "Three Days of the Condor" was one of the final entries into its canon. The filmmaker's 1970 film "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" earned him his first Academy Award nomination, so "Three Days" was a highly anticipated follow-up.
Robert Redford stars as Joe Turner, a code-breaker for the CIA who shows up to work one morning and finds his entire department has been killed. When he tries to find solace in his superiors, he quickly learns that the agency is in on the job. Joe is left to discover why the CIA wants him and his colleagues dead,...
Robert Redford stars as Joe Turner, a code-breaker for the CIA who shows up to work one morning and finds his entire department has been killed. When he tries to find solace in his superiors, he quickly learns that the agency is in on the job. Joe is left to discover why the CIA wants him and his colleagues dead,...
- 2/4/2024
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
On June 17, 1972, thieves acting on behalf of Richard Nixon's presidential campaign broke into the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC, the location of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. The group was looking for papers and secrets that would have given Nixon an unfair advantage in the election. Nixon was bafflingly still elected during this kerfuffle and served as president for two more years before enough details about the break-in emerged to warrant his infamous resignation from office. The many, many details of the Watergate scandal have been recorded in innumerable books, documentaries, and Hollywood dramas in the ensuing decades, and Watergate shows are being made to this day; the miniseries "Gaslit" aired in 2022 and "White House Plumbers" in 2023.
The Watergate scandal represented a loss of American innocence for many. It was positive proof that the Republican party was openly corrupt. The scandal was bad enough, but then Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon of all his recorded,...
The Watergate scandal represented a loss of American innocence for many. It was positive proof that the Republican party was openly corrupt. The scandal was bad enough, but then Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon of all his recorded,...
- 1/27/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Not everyone knows this, but Jason Alexander and Robert Redford have a lot in common. They are both actors, for example. They have both won a lot of awards for acting, just none of the same awards. They were both born in the United States of America. They both directed the 1993 movie "Quiz Show." Oh, wait, no they didn't. That was just Redford, never mind.
Okay, so maybe Jason Alexander and Robert Redford don't have a whole lot in common. But there is one unusual bit of trivia that connects. They both played completely against type as the Grim Reaper in an excellent episode of "The Twilight Zone," and they both knocked it out of the park. Robert Redford played Death as an unexpectedly kind and angelic specter of death in the 1962 episode "Nothing in the Dark," and Jason Alexander played Death as an overwhelmingly depressed burnout who wants to...
Okay, so maybe Jason Alexander and Robert Redford don't have a whole lot in common. But there is one unusual bit of trivia that connects. They both played completely against type as the Grim Reaper in an excellent episode of "The Twilight Zone," and they both knocked it out of the park. Robert Redford played Death as an unexpectedly kind and angelic specter of death in the 1962 episode "Nothing in the Dark," and Jason Alexander played Death as an overwhelmingly depressed burnout who wants to...
- 12/21/2023
- by William Bibbiani
- Slash Film
Mayim Bialik has faced her final “Jeopardy!” Two years after stepping in as a permanent host for the beloved game show following the death of its long-running emcee Alex Trebek, Bialik is exiting her regular role on the series. In a statement posted to Instagram on Friday afternoon, Bialik shared that producer Sony Pictures Television had informed her that she will no longer have hosting duties on the series beginning in 2024.
“As the holiday break begins in Hollywood, I have some ‘Jeopardy!’ news. Sony has informed me that I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of ‘Jeopardy!'” Bialik wrote in the post. “I am incredibly honored to have been nominated for a primetime Emmy for hosting this year and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been a pat of the ‘Jeopardy!’ family.”
“For all of you who have supported me through this incredible journey and to the fans,...
“As the holiday break begins in Hollywood, I have some ‘Jeopardy!’ news. Sony has informed me that I will no longer be hosting the syndicated version of ‘Jeopardy!'” Bialik wrote in the post. “I am incredibly honored to have been nominated for a primetime Emmy for hosting this year and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have been a pat of the ‘Jeopardy!’ family.”
“For all of you who have supported me through this incredible journey and to the fans,...
- 12/16/2023
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
A show with a cast of Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, Jason Schwartzman, Tony Hale, and Will Ferrell should bring the laughs and then some, right? Find out when “Quiz Show” premieres on Friday, Nov. 3 on Hulu. The show centers on a pair of sisters who begin an epic cross-country quest to win quick cash by becoming game show champions! You can watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Hulu.
How to Watch 'Quiz Lady' When: Friday, November 3, 2023 Where: Hulu Stream: Watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Hulu. 30-Day Free Trial$7.99+ / month hulu.com About 'Quiz Lady'
“Quiz Lady” centers on two sisters. Anne (Awkwafina) is thoroughly obsessed with gameshows, rarely missing an episode of her favorites. Her sister Jenny (Oh) is the exact opposite; loud, messy, and inarguably a trouble-maker. The two are estranged, but when their mother racks up a truly heroic amount of gambling debt,...
How to Watch 'Quiz Lady' When: Friday, November 3, 2023 Where: Hulu Stream: Watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Hulu. 30-Day Free Trial$7.99+ / month hulu.com About 'Quiz Lady'
“Quiz Lady” centers on two sisters. Anne (Awkwafina) is thoroughly obsessed with gameshows, rarely missing an episode of her favorites. Her sister Jenny (Oh) is the exact opposite; loud, messy, and inarguably a trouble-maker. The two are estranged, but when their mother racks up a truly heroic amount of gambling debt,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
Chicago – On September 13th, the celebrity participants of the 32nd Season of “Dancing with the Stars” was revealed, and among those taking on the challenge is Mira Sorvino, the Oscar-winning actor and activist. Ms. Sorvino was recently photographed by Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com at Chicago’s Fan Expo in August.
Mira Katherine Sorvino was born in New York City, and is the daughter of actors Paul Sorvino and Lorraine Ruth Davis. Despite many directions in her young life, including a study of East Asian studies at Harvard University and fluent Mandarin, she chose to follow the path of her parents and made her TV debut with the syndicated “Swans Crossing” in 1992. A year later she made her film debut with “Amongst Friends” and followed that up with 1994 roles in “Quiz Show” and “Barcelona.” “Mighty Aphrodite” (1995), directed by Woody Allen, put her in the spotlight for the Oscar win, and...
Mira Katherine Sorvino was born in New York City, and is the daughter of actors Paul Sorvino and Lorraine Ruth Davis. Despite many directions in her young life, including a study of East Asian studies at Harvard University and fluent Mandarin, she chose to follow the path of her parents and made her TV debut with the syndicated “Swans Crossing” in 1992. A year later she made her film debut with “Amongst Friends” and followed that up with 1994 roles in “Quiz Show” and “Barcelona.” “Mighty Aphrodite” (1995), directed by Woody Allen, put her in the spotlight for the Oscar win, and...
- 9/20/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
In the realm of road movies, family ties, and the complexities of sisterhood, the Hulu/20th Century Studio offers up Quiz Lady, a film that charts a familiar course. Directed by Jessica Yu and penned by Jen D’Angelo, the film boasts an ensemble cast led by the undeniable talent of Sandra Oh and Awkwafina, supported by the comedic prowess of Will Ferrell, Holland Taylor and Jason Schwartzman.
Young Anne loves Can’t Stop the Quiz game show and its host Terry McTeer (Ferrell). She enjoys watching it on evening television while her older sister slacks off on the phone all day, and her parents argue over her mother’s gambling addiction. In adulthood, Anne (Awkwafina) is still obsessed with quiz shows, works at a dull 9-to-5 and gets yelled at by her neighbor Francine (Taylor) on a daily basis. One day she finds her mother escaped from the senior living facility with her boyfriend Jeff.
Young Anne loves Can’t Stop the Quiz game show and its host Terry McTeer (Ferrell). She enjoys watching it on evening television while her older sister slacks off on the phone all day, and her parents argue over her mother’s gambling addiction. In adulthood, Anne (Awkwafina) is still obsessed with quiz shows, works at a dull 9-to-5 and gets yelled at by her neighbor Francine (Taylor) on a daily basis. One day she finds her mother escaped from the senior living facility with her boyfriend Jeff.
- 9/10/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Quiz Lady’ Trailer: Comedy With Awkwafina & Sandra Oh Has Its World Premiere At TIFF On September 9
TIFF 2023 kicks off today, and this weekend is flush with all sorts of intriguing world premieres. On the comedy front, one such debut is “Quiz Show,” a comedy from director Jessica Yu which hits Hulu later this Fall.
Awakfina and Sandra Oh star in the hilarious and heartfelt comedy, about a dysfunctional family and the game show that might be the key to their salvation.
Continue reading ‘Quiz Lady’ Trailer: Comedy With Awkwafina & Sandra Oh Has Its World Premiere At TIFF On September 9 at The Playlist.
Awakfina and Sandra Oh star in the hilarious and heartfelt comedy, about a dysfunctional family and the game show that might be the key to their salvation.
Continue reading ‘Quiz Lady’ Trailer: Comedy With Awkwafina & Sandra Oh Has Its World Premiere At TIFF On September 9 at The Playlist.
- 9/7/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Robert Redford has had a highly successful 50-year career as an actor dating back to early appearances on television (most famously as “Death” in an episode of The Twilight Zone”), then successfully on Broadway and finally as one of the biggest movie stars of all time.
His acting career has included two outstanding films with Paul Newman, Oscar Best Picture nominee “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and Best Picture champ “The Sting.” He has explored politics with “The Candidate” and “All the President’s Men.” And he starred in Best Picture winner “Out of Africa” with Meryl Streep among his many roles. All of these movies and more are now featured in our photo gallery of his 15 best films (view above).
In addition to his acclaimed work as an actor Redford has been a major force behind-the-scenes in the film industry with his directorial and producing efforts as well as...
His acting career has included two outstanding films with Paul Newman, Oscar Best Picture nominee “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and Best Picture champ “The Sting.” He has explored politics with “The Candidate” and “All the President’s Men.” And he starred in Best Picture winner “Out of Africa” with Meryl Streep among his many roles. All of these movies and more are now featured in our photo gallery of his 15 best films (view above).
In addition to his acclaimed work as an actor Redford has been a major force behind-the-scenes in the film industry with his directorial and producing efforts as well as...
- 8/12/2023
- by Misty Holland, Robert Pius and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Given that the Sundance Kid — aka Robert Redford — has been acting since he was 21, racking up 78 credits in film and on TV along the way (according to IMDb), no one can say he hasn’t paid his dues and then some. That Redford received just one acting Oscar nomination for his con man in 1972’s “The Sting” seems, well, a little stingy. However, the Academy voters have a habit of shunning so-called “pretty boys” – just look at what Leonardo DiCaprio suffered through in “The Revenant” to deserve winning the gold on his fifth try.
However, what this Electric Cowboy did Not say is that he is quitting directing. In fact, Redford has impressed Oscar most when he goes behind the camera and calls the shots – even if a few of his movies possess dubious reputations. Tour our photo gallery above for a ranking of all nine of his film-making efforts,...
However, what this Electric Cowboy did Not say is that he is quitting directing. In fact, Redford has impressed Oscar most when he goes behind the camera and calls the shots – even if a few of his movies possess dubious reputations. Tour our photo gallery above for a ranking of all nine of his film-making efforts,...
- 8/12/2023
- by Susan Wloszczyna, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
Chicago – The celebrity line-up at the upcoming Fan Expo Chicago is top of the pops, and making a prime appearance is actor Mira Sorvino, who made a big splash by winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “Mighty Aphrodite” in the 1990s. The Fan Expo takes place from August 10-13, 2023. For tickets and information, click Fan Expo Chicago.
Mira Katherine Sorvino was born in New York City, and is the daughter of actors Paul Sorvino and Lorraine Ruth Davis. Despite many directions in her young life, including a study of East Asian studies at Harvard University and fluent Mandarin, she chose to follow the path of her parents and made her TV debut with the syndicated “Swans Crossing” in 1992. A year later she made her film debut with “Amongst Friends” and followed that up with 1994 roles in “Quiz Show” and “Barcelona.” “Mighty Aphrodite” (1995), directed by Woody Allen, put her in...
Mira Katherine Sorvino was born in New York City, and is the daughter of actors Paul Sorvino and Lorraine Ruth Davis. Despite many directions in her young life, including a study of East Asian studies at Harvard University and fluent Mandarin, she chose to follow the path of her parents and made her TV debut with the syndicated “Swans Crossing” in 1992. A year later she made her film debut with “Amongst Friends” and followed that up with 1994 roles in “Quiz Show” and “Barcelona.” “Mighty Aphrodite” (1995), directed by Woody Allen, put her in...
- 8/8/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Game shows have been a staple of the world's television-viewing diet since the medium's infancy. "Spelling Bee" first hit the British telly in 1938, while "Truth or Consequences" made a one-off debut on New York City's Wnbt in 1941. Our fascination with smarty pants contestants flaunting their vast trivia knowledge brought us the high-stakes duo of NBC's "Twenty-One" and CBS' "The 64,000 Question," which led to the 1950s quiz show scandals.
Over a half-century later, we're still hooked on programs like "Jeopardy," "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Price Is Right." Some of these shows require contestants to be genuinely well-read; others ask people to be semi-knowledgeable about retail value and physically capable of spinning a big wheel. Regardless of the skill (or utter lack thereof) involved, there is something undeniably thrilling about watching a regular working stiff go on live television and win a decent chunk of change. Depending on the show,...
Over a half-century later, we're still hooked on programs like "Jeopardy," "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Price Is Right." Some of these shows require contestants to be genuinely well-read; others ask people to be semi-knowledgeable about retail value and physically capable of spinning a big wheel. Regardless of the skill (or utter lack thereof) involved, there is something undeniably thrilling about watching a regular working stiff go on live television and win a decent chunk of change. Depending on the show,...
- 7/24/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
*Please note: This interview was conducted before SAG-AFTRA’s decision to take strike action.
So rarely do modern audiences get to experience a “cult classic” film or television show anymore. The internet has seen to that. Even independent films that 20-30 years ago would have to rely on word of mouth or for the local Blockbuster to run out of copies to create any kind of buzz now get thousands of people sharing their thoughts about it within online forums.
It is with no sense of irony that The Venture Bros. is perhaps one of the last cult classics. The animated series is one of the veterans of Cartoon Network’s original Adult Swim line of shows, and throughout the last two decades has clawed its way to survive seven seasons and stave off cancellation. That’s largely in part to its cult-like following. The show has been a refuge...
So rarely do modern audiences get to experience a “cult classic” film or television show anymore. The internet has seen to that. Even independent films that 20-30 years ago would have to rely on word of mouth or for the local Blockbuster to run out of copies to create any kind of buzz now get thousands of people sharing their thoughts about it within online forums.
It is with no sense of irony that The Venture Bros. is perhaps one of the last cult classics. The animated series is one of the veterans of Cartoon Network’s original Adult Swim line of shows, and throughout the last two decades has clawed its way to survive seven seasons and stave off cancellation. That’s largely in part to its cult-like following. The show has been a refuge...
- 7/21/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Samuel L. Jackson told The Times last year that he deserved to win the Oscar for best supporting actor over Martin Landau (“Ed Wood”) at the 1995 Academy Awards. In a new interview with Vulture, the actor said he was robbed of a second chance to win an Oscar just a couple years later with Joel Schumacher’s 1996 legal drama “A Time to Kill,” co-starring Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock. The John Grisham adaptation starred Jackson as a man on trial in Mississippi for killing the two men who raped his daughter.
“In ‘A Time to Kill,’ when I kill those guys, I kill them because my daughter needs to know that those guys are not on the planet anymore and they will never hurt her again — that I will do anything to protect her,” Jackson said. “That’s how I played that character throughout. And there were specific things we shot,...
“In ‘A Time to Kill,’ when I kill those guys, I kill them because my daughter needs to know that those guys are not on the planet anymore and they will never hurt her again — that I will do anything to protect her,” Jackson said. “That’s how I played that character throughout. And there were specific things we shot,...
- 7/20/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis held a packed union meeting at their Beverly Hills home. Desi Arnaz poured his heart out in an open letter to the industry while Lew Wasserman worked the numbers quietly behind the scenes. And it was none other than future Oval Office occupant Ronald Reagan who led the Screen Actors Guild through the war in 1960, the last time that Hollywood experienced such a season of labor strife with actors and the Writers Guild of America on strike at the same time.
And it was already a tumultuous time for the industry. In 1959, Congress and the Justice Department were deep into their investigation of “payola” corruption involving music labels and radio station owners. Congress also held hearings that year on the notorious TV quiz show scandals (see 1994’s “Quiz Show” for a primer).
For Hollywood, the “Mad Men” era began with strike fever. Coverage of the...
And it was already a tumultuous time for the industry. In 1959, Congress and the Justice Department were deep into their investigation of “payola” corruption involving music labels and radio station owners. Congress also held hearings that year on the notorious TV quiz show scandals (see 1994’s “Quiz Show” for a primer).
For Hollywood, the “Mad Men” era began with strike fever. Coverage of the...
- 7/17/2023
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
Judith James, producer of “Quiz Show” and “Mad Dog Time” and Richard Dreyfuss’ longtime collaborator, died in Santa Barbara after a bout with cancer. She was 86.
James’ friend, Alex. B Block, confirmed the news to Variety.
James’ was an accomplished producer who worked alongside Dreyfuss on projects including “Funny, You Don’t Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville,” “Prisoner of Honor” and “The Lightkeepers.”
“From the minute I met Judy James at the Mark Taper Forum, I knew I had found someone who had the same passion for storytelling that I did,” Dreyfuss said in a statement. “In all the years we were producing partners, we were of like mind, not gender, and we always found a way to agree and wouldn’t have done anything without each other’s approval. She was a wonderful woman and a great friend.”
James was born in Worcester, Mass., and graduated from Vassar College...
James’ friend, Alex. B Block, confirmed the news to Variety.
James’ was an accomplished producer who worked alongside Dreyfuss on projects including “Funny, You Don’t Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville,” “Prisoner of Honor” and “The Lightkeepers.”
“From the minute I met Judy James at the Mark Taper Forum, I knew I had found someone who had the same passion for storytelling that I did,” Dreyfuss said in a statement. “In all the years we were producing partners, we were of like mind, not gender, and we always found a way to agree and wouldn’t have done anything without each other’s approval. She was a wonderful woman and a great friend.”
James was born in Worcester, Mass., and graduated from Vassar College...
- 7/17/2023
- by McKinley Franklin
- Variety Film + TV
Judith James, a film, TV and Broadway producer who was Richard Dreyfuss’ producing partner for many years and worked on such projects as Quiz Show, Mr. Holland’s Opus and Eleanor: In Her Own Words, has died July 14 of cancer in Santa Barbara, CA. She was 86.
Her son, Jackson James, revealed the news.
“From the minute I met Judy James at the Mark Taper Forum [in Los Angeles], I knew I had found someone who had the same passion for storytelling that I did,” The Goodbye Girl Oscar winner Dreyfuss said in a statement. “In all the years we were producing partners, we were of like mind, not gender, and we always found a way to agree and wouldn’t have done anything without each others’ approval. She was a wonderful woman and a great friend.”
Born Judith Rutherford, James moved to New York after college to pursue a career in theater. She...
Her son, Jackson James, revealed the news.
“From the minute I met Judy James at the Mark Taper Forum [in Los Angeles], I knew I had found someone who had the same passion for storytelling that I did,” The Goodbye Girl Oscar winner Dreyfuss said in a statement. “In all the years we were producing partners, we were of like mind, not gender, and we always found a way to agree and wouldn’t have done anything without each others’ approval. She was a wonderful woman and a great friend.”
Born Judith Rutherford, James moved to New York after college to pursue a career in theater. She...
- 7/17/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Judith James, the longtime producing partner of Richard Dreyfuss who worked with the Oscar winner on films including Mr. Holland’s Opus, Quiz Show and Mad Dog Time, has died. She was 86.
James died Friday at her home in Santa Barbara after a bout with cancer, according to her son, Jackson James.
James and Dreyfuss worked together for 35 years, and their partnership also included the telefilms Funny, You Don’t Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville and the Prisoner of Honor, which aired in 1987 and 1991, respectively, and The Lightkeepers (2009). They were co-writers on You Don’t Look 200 as well.
“From the minute I met Judy James at the Mark Taper Forum, I knew I had found someone who had the same passion for storytelling that I did,” Dreyfuss said in a statement. “In all the years we were producing partners, we were of like mind, not gender, and we always found...
James died Friday at her home in Santa Barbara after a bout with cancer, according to her son, Jackson James.
James and Dreyfuss worked together for 35 years, and their partnership also included the telefilms Funny, You Don’t Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville and the Prisoner of Honor, which aired in 1987 and 1991, respectively, and The Lightkeepers (2009). They were co-writers on You Don’t Look 200 as well.
“From the minute I met Judy James at the Mark Taper Forum, I knew I had found someone who had the same passion for storytelling that I did,” Dreyfuss said in a statement. “In all the years we were producing partners, we were of like mind, not gender, and we always found...
- 7/17/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
20th Century Studios announced on Thursday that its previously untitled comedy starring Awkwafina and Sandra Oh, now known as Quiz Lady, about a dysfunctional family and the game show which just might be the key to their salvation, will premiere on November 3rd exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America, and Disney+ under the Star banner in all other territories.
In the film also starring Jason Schwartzman, Holland Taylor, Tony Hale and Will Ferrell, the brilliant but tightly wound, gameshow-obsessed young woman, Anne (Awkwafina), and her estranged, train-wreck of a sister, Jenny (Oh), must work together to help cover their mother’s gambling debts. When Anne’s beloved dog is kidnapped, they set out on a wild, cross-country trek to get the cash the only way they know how: by turning Anne into a bona-fide gameshow champion.
Veteran TV helmer Jessica Yu directed the pic from a script by Jen D’Angelo (Totally Killer). Producers on the project included Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum, Maggie Haskins, Itay Reiss, D’Angelo, Awkwafina and Oh. Alex Brown and Erika Hampson served as exec producers. View the first stills from Quiz Show below.
In the film also starring Jason Schwartzman, Holland Taylor, Tony Hale and Will Ferrell, the brilliant but tightly wound, gameshow-obsessed young woman, Anne (Awkwafina), and her estranged, train-wreck of a sister, Jenny (Oh), must work together to help cover their mother’s gambling debts. When Anne’s beloved dog is kidnapped, they set out on a wild, cross-country trek to get the cash the only way they know how: by turning Anne into a bona-fide gameshow champion.
Veteran TV helmer Jessica Yu directed the pic from a script by Jen D’Angelo (Totally Killer). Producers on the project included Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum, Maggie Haskins, Itay Reiss, D’Angelo, Awkwafina and Oh. Alex Brown and Erika Hampson served as exec producers. View the first stills from Quiz Show below.
- 7/13/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Sunday’s Oscars hosted by Jimmy Kimmel were slap-less, but still a hit for ABC.
The 95th Academy Awards scored 18.7 million total viewers, according to Nielsen, up 12 percent from last year to the largest audience for any awards show in three years. Among adults 18-49, these Oscars rose 5 percent (from a 3.8 rating last year to a 4.0 last night.) These are what Nielsen calls its “Fast National” numbers — we should get final figures with a slight upward adjustment on Tuesday.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” won Best Picture and six other awards: Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for writer-director duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan, and Best Film Editing.
Find the full list of winners here; IndieWire’s review of the 2023 Oscars can be found here.
Last year’s Academy Awards,...
The 95th Academy Awards scored 18.7 million total viewers, according to Nielsen, up 12 percent from last year to the largest audience for any awards show in three years. Among adults 18-49, these Oscars rose 5 percent (from a 3.8 rating last year to a 4.0 last night.) These are what Nielsen calls its “Fast National” numbers — we should get final figures with a slight upward adjustment on Tuesday.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” won Best Picture and six other awards: Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for writer-director duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan, and Best Film Editing.
Find the full list of winners here; IndieWire’s review of the 2023 Oscars can be found here.
Last year’s Academy Awards,...
- 3/13/2023
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
The gag about Bullseye is always the speedboat. How many contestants in the ITV darts-based game show that originally ran from 1981 – 1995, had room in their life or garage for occasional Star Prize, the speedboat? (Bullseye presenter Jim Bowen’s 2012 joke to The Mirror that “the only contestants who ever won them lived in top floor flats in Coventry” was taken literally by The Coventry Telegraph who in 2021 launched a local winners search that is presumably ongoing.)
The Bullseye speedboat was its prize anomaly, a symbol of glamour and excitement in a sea of hostess trolleys, sheepskin coats and stainless steel cutlery. After the winning team of two had built their cash fund by answering trivia questions from dart-selected categories, they faced Bully’s Prize Board. There, they threw nine darts in an attempt to win eight prizes plus the bullseye special. Having done that, they had the option to gamble...
The Bullseye speedboat was its prize anomaly, a symbol of glamour and excitement in a sea of hostess trolleys, sheepskin coats and stainless steel cutlery. After the winning team of two had built their cash fund by answering trivia questions from dart-selected categories, they faced Bully’s Prize Board. There, they threw nine darts in an attempt to win eight prizes plus the bullseye special. Having done that, they had the option to gamble...
- 2/13/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Jamie Lee Curtis is finally an Oscar-nominated actress, and “Michelle Yeoh is the reason,” she emotionally tells Variety. “Michelle Yeoh is the reason that for the rest of my life, you will say, ‘Oscar-nominated actress Jamie Lee Curtis.'”
Curtis, 64, is raw, unassuming, and undeniably grateful for this time in her life and the five decades that have preceded it. Curtis is the daughter of two Oscar-nominated actors — Tony Curtis (1958’s “The Defiant Ones”) and Janet Leigh (1960’s “Psycho”) — and the wife of the brilliant British comedian and filmmaker Christopher Guest (who is working on the sequel to “Spinal Tap”). After 38 years together, what’s her secret to a long-lasting marriage? “I will not be in the sequel to Spinal Tap,” she jokes.
On this episode of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Curtis opens up about receiving her first Oscar nomination, thanks to her performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Curtis, 64, is raw, unassuming, and undeniably grateful for this time in her life and the five decades that have preceded it. Curtis is the daughter of two Oscar-nominated actors — Tony Curtis (1958’s “The Defiant Ones”) and Janet Leigh (1960’s “Psycho”) — and the wife of the brilliant British comedian and filmmaker Christopher Guest (who is working on the sequel to “Spinal Tap”). After 38 years together, what’s her secret to a long-lasting marriage? “I will not be in the sequel to Spinal Tap,” she jokes.
On this episode of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, Curtis opens up about receiving her first Oscar nomination, thanks to her performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.
- 2/9/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Jim Carrey once called himself the “Tom Hanks of the Golden Globes” after his second straight victory with the Hollywood Foreign Press in 2000 (for “Man on the Moon” following “The Truman Show”). He could win with that group but somehow couldn’t impress Oscar voters. And he’s not the only actor in that situation. Our photo gallery features Carrey among the 20 actors who’ve never been nominated for an Oscar.
Even Academy Awards hosts such as Billy Crystal and Steve Martin haven’t been noticed by Oscar voters other than seeing them perform on the ceremony stage. They have both received critics awards and Golden Globe nominations in their long careers. Martin has at least received an honorary Oscar, as has Donald Sutherland, but alas no individual nomination for either one throughout their careers.
Other Golden Globe film winners have included Richard Gere (“Chicago”) and Hugh Grant (“Four Weddings and a Funeral...
Even Academy Awards hosts such as Billy Crystal and Steve Martin haven’t been noticed by Oscar voters other than seeing them perform on the ceremony stage. They have both received critics awards and Golden Globe nominations in their long careers. Martin has at least received an honorary Oscar, as has Donald Sutherland, but alas no individual nomination for either one throughout their careers.
Other Golden Globe film winners have included Richard Gere (“Chicago”) and Hugh Grant (“Four Weddings and a Funeral...
- 1/24/2023
- by Chris Beachum, Misty Holland and Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
Click here to read the full article.
John Lithgow is set to direct the off-Broadway run of Everything’s Fine, the one-man show from Academy Award and BAFTA nominee Douglas McGrath.
The autobiographical play recounts the actor, writer and director’s life, starting at the age of 14 in Midland, Texas, the town made famous by the 1987 well rescue of “Baby Jessica.” The Emma and Nicholas Nickleby screenwriter will detail some of his most significant remembrances, including the courtship of his one-eyed father and his mother — the latter of whom worked at Harper’s Bazaar for Diana Vreeland and became pals with Andy Warhol — and an eighth-grade teacher who changed McGrath’s life in the most unexpected way.
Everything’s Fine will mark McGrath’s first New York stage performance in more than 25 years. The show serves as Lithgow’s return to directing after more than four decades.
The world premiere is set...
John Lithgow is set to direct the off-Broadway run of Everything’s Fine, the one-man show from Academy Award and BAFTA nominee Douglas McGrath.
The autobiographical play recounts the actor, writer and director’s life, starting at the age of 14 in Midland, Texas, the town made famous by the 1987 well rescue of “Baby Jessica.” The Emma and Nicholas Nickleby screenwriter will detail some of his most significant remembrances, including the courtship of his one-eyed father and his mother — the latter of whom worked at Harper’s Bazaar for Diana Vreeland and became pals with Andy Warhol — and an eighth-grade teacher who changed McGrath’s life in the most unexpected way.
Everything’s Fine will mark McGrath’s first New York stage performance in more than 25 years. The show serves as Lithgow’s return to directing after more than four decades.
The world premiere is set...
- 8/22/2022
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Mammoth Pictures has acquired film and TV rights to the bestselling novella Diary of a Murderer from award-winning Korean author Young-ha Kim. The company’s Creative Director Kourosh Ahari is set to direct an English-language feature adaptation, marking the first production under the deal, from a script by Henry Chaisson.
Diary of a Murderer tells the story of a former serial killer stricken with Alzheimer’s disease and suffering from escalating memory loss. When his now peaceful life with his daughter is threatened by new killings mimicking his murders of decades past, he sets his sights on one final kill before he loses his memory completely: the new serial killer he suspects is stalking his daughter – all told in a series of notes the narrator writes to himself throughout his psychological descent into dementia.
Kim’s novella was previously...
Diary of a Murderer tells the story of a former serial killer stricken with Alzheimer’s disease and suffering from escalating memory loss. When his now peaceful life with his daughter is threatened by new killings mimicking his murders of decades past, he sets his sights on one final kill before he loses his memory completely: the new serial killer he suspects is stalking his daughter – all told in a series of notes the narrator writes to himself throughout his psychological descent into dementia.
Kim’s novella was previously...
- 8/17/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Do you like rom-coms? If you answered, "Hell, yes," or even, "Maybe I do," then you will surely be interested in the upcoming movie, "Maybe I Do," which is indeed a romantic comedy and has assembled a starry cast including Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, William H. Macy, Diane Keaton, Emma Roberts, and Luke Bracey.
"Maybe I Do" is written and directed by Michael Jacobs, who co-produced Robert Redford's "Quiz Show" and co-created a number of well-known sitcoms, such as ABC's "Boy Meets World" and its Disney Channel follow-up, "Girl Meets World," as well as "Dinosaurs," "My Two Dads," and "Charles...
The post Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, William H. Macy, Diane Keaton, and More Join The Star-Studded Cast of Rom-Com Maybe I Do appeared first on /Film.
"Maybe I Do" is written and directed by Michael Jacobs, who co-produced Robert Redford's "Quiz Show" and co-created a number of well-known sitcoms, such as ABC's "Boy Meets World" and its Disney Channel follow-up, "Girl Meets World," as well as "Dinosaurs," "My Two Dads," and "Charles...
The post Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere, William H. Macy, Diane Keaton, and More Join The Star-Studded Cast of Rom-Com Maybe I Do appeared first on /Film.
- 5/6/2022
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
Welcome back to Oscars Playback, in which Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng revisit Oscar ceremonies and winners of yesteryear. This week, we look at the 67th Academy Awards in 1995, honoring the films of 1994.
While mama claimed that life is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you’re gonna get, everyone knew what they were getting at this ceremony. “Forrest Gump,” a 13-time nominee and the No. 1 domestic box office hit of 1994, was going to win Best Picture, and it did, along with five other awards. It beat out “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Quiz Show” and “The Shawshank Redemption,” four films that you could argue would make for better winners over “Gump,” which has not particularly aged well.
See Oscars Playback: Revisiting the 1999 ceremony when ‘Shakespeare in Love’ won the war over ‘Saving Private Ryan’
One of the film...
While mama claimed that life is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you’re gonna get, everyone knew what they were getting at this ceremony. “Forrest Gump,” a 13-time nominee and the No. 1 domestic box office hit of 1994, was going to win Best Picture, and it did, along with five other awards. It beat out “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Quiz Show” and “The Shawshank Redemption,” four films that you could argue would make for better winners over “Gump,” which has not particularly aged well.
See Oscars Playback: Revisiting the 1999 ceremony when ‘Shakespeare in Love’ won the war over ‘Saving Private Ryan’
One of the film...
- 5/5/2022
- by Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Harry Connick Jr. (Dolphin Tale) and Mira Sorvino (Shining Vale) are set to star in the romantic comedy The Islander, from Cyprus-based filmmaker Stelana Kliris, which has also cast newcomer Ali Fumiko Whitney (The Road Dance).
The film shooting next month in Cyprus follows a has-been musician (Connick Jr.) as he moves, sight unseen, to a remote cliffside house on an island, only to discover his new home has an unfortunate notoriety. Through a series of charming mishaps, it turns out maybe love can be found right where he left it.
Kliris will direct from her own screenplay, and produce alongside Keith Arnold and Steven Shapiro. The project is from Uinta Productions (Tommy’s Honour) and Kliris’s Cyprus-based Meraki Films, in association with Das Films (The November Man), with support from the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Cyprus Film Commission’s incentives scheme. Pic will...
The film shooting next month in Cyprus follows a has-been musician (Connick Jr.) as he moves, sight unseen, to a remote cliffside house on an island, only to discover his new home has an unfortunate notoriety. Through a series of charming mishaps, it turns out maybe love can be found right where he left it.
Kliris will direct from her own screenplay, and produce alongside Keith Arnold and Steven Shapiro. The project is from Uinta Productions (Tommy’s Honour) and Kliris’s Cyprus-based Meraki Films, in association with Das Films (The November Man), with support from the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Cyprus Film Commission’s incentives scheme. Pic will...
- 4/28/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Sunday’s Oscars drew 16.6 million total viewers on ABC, according to Nielsen’s Live + Same Day national numbers, a significant improvement from 2021’s record low. (But it is still the second-worst Oscars of all time.) In the key demo of adults 18-49, the 94th Academy Awards received a 3.8 rating. These numbers are 58 percent and 73 percent better, respectively, than last year’s record lows from the same data set.
The April 25, 2021 Academy Awards settled for a nightmarish 10.5 million total viewers and a 2.2 rating in the main demo. Fourteen-and-a-half months earlier, the pre-Covid Feb. 9, 2020 Oscars managed 23.6 million total viewers, which had previously set a record low for the annual celebration of cinema.
The most-watched Academy Awards ever came in 1998, when “Titanic” won Best Picture. That broke the 1995 record of 48.3 million total viewers, when “Forrest Gump” bested “Pulp Fiction” and “Shawshank Redemption” (as well as “Quiz Show” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral...
The April 25, 2021 Academy Awards settled for a nightmarish 10.5 million total viewers and a 2.2 rating in the main demo. Fourteen-and-a-half months earlier, the pre-Covid Feb. 9, 2020 Oscars managed 23.6 million total viewers, which had previously set a record low for the annual celebration of cinema.
The most-watched Academy Awards ever came in 1998, when “Titanic” won Best Picture. That broke the 1995 record of 48.3 million total viewers, when “Forrest Gump” bested “Pulp Fiction” and “Shawshank Redemption” (as well as “Quiz Show” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral...
- 3/29/2022
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
Samuel L. Jackson has a message for the Academy and it has nothing to do with the current drama surrounding the reformatted 94th Academy Awards telecast. Instead, Jackson wants Oscar voters to know that he should have an Academy Award under his belt at this point in his career. Although Jackson is being recognized with an Honorary Oscar this year, he’s only ever received one Oscar nomination: best supporting actor in 1995 for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction.”
“I should have won that one,” Jackson recently told The Times about his “Pulp Fiction” Oscar nomination. Jackson was nominated that year against Martin Landau (“Ed Wood”), Chazz Palminteri (“Bullets Over Broadway”), Paul Scofield (“Quiz Show”) and Gary Sinise (“Forrest Gump”). Landau was awarded the Oscar. Jackson said he missed out on another Oscar for “Jungle Fever,” for which he wasn’t even nominated. Two cast members from “Bugsy...
“I should have won that one,” Jackson recently told The Times about his “Pulp Fiction” Oscar nomination. Jackson was nominated that year against Martin Landau (“Ed Wood”), Chazz Palminteri (“Bullets Over Broadway”), Paul Scofield (“Quiz Show”) and Gary Sinise (“Forrest Gump”). Landau was awarded the Oscar. Jackson said he missed out on another Oscar for “Jungle Fever,” for which he wasn’t even nominated. Two cast members from “Bugsy...
- 3/1/2022
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Joseph Reidy will receive the DGA’s Frank Capra Achievement Award and Garry Hood will receive the guild’s Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award at the 74th annual DGA Awards on Jan. 27 in recognition of their “extraordinary contributions” to the guild.
“Joe Reidy and Garry Hood are widely respected leaders in their fields who have dedicated themselves to representing their fellow members, standing up for their rights, and giving back to their union – including most recently through their participation on our Covid-19 return- to-work committee,” said DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter. “Our guild draws its strength from the service and commitment of our members, and these special award winners embody that spirit at the highest level.”
Reidy, a first assistant director whose credits include Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan and Robert Redford’s Quiz Show, has had a long working relationship with Martin Scorsese,...
“Joe Reidy and Garry Hood are widely respected leaders in their fields who have dedicated themselves to representing their fellow members, standing up for their rights, and giving back to their union – including most recently through their participation on our Covid-19 return- to-work committee,” said DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter. “Our guild draws its strength from the service and commitment of our members, and these special award winners embody that spirit at the highest level.”
Reidy, a first assistant director whose credits include Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan and Robert Redford’s Quiz Show, has had a long working relationship with Martin Scorsese,...
- 1/20/2022
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Ian Alda, Sonny Valicenti, Ben Feldman, Rob Morrow, Rama Vallury and Eva Victor have been announced as cast members in “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber,” which premieres on Showtime Feb. 27 at 10 p.m.
They join previously announced stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kyle Chandler and Uma Thurman in the series, which will follow the highs and lows of Silicon Valley life through Uber’s beginnings as a company.
Alda will play Peter Fenton, a young partner at venture capital firm Benchmark. His previous credits include “Silicon Valley,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Impeachment: American Crime Story.” He is repped by Stewart Talent and Station Three Management.
Valicenti plays young Benchmark partner Matt Cohler. He starred as serial killer Dennis Rader in “Mindhunter” and has also appeared in “Your Honor,” “The Post” and “Office Christmas Party.” Up next, he will appear in Marilyn Monroe biopic “Blonde.” Valicenti is repped by Stewart Talent.
Feldman appears...
They join previously announced stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kyle Chandler and Uma Thurman in the series, which will follow the highs and lows of Silicon Valley life through Uber’s beginnings as a company.
Alda will play Peter Fenton, a young partner at venture capital firm Benchmark. His previous credits include “Silicon Valley,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Impeachment: American Crime Story.” He is repped by Stewart Talent and Station Three Management.
Valicenti plays young Benchmark partner Matt Cohler. He starred as serial killer Dennis Rader in “Mindhunter” and has also appeared in “Your Honor,” “The Post” and “Office Christmas Party.” Up next, he will appear in Marilyn Monroe biopic “Blonde.” Valicenti is repped by Stewart Talent.
Feldman appears...
- 1/10/2022
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor, director, producer Rob Morrow has signed with More/Medavoy Management.
Morrow is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Joe Fleishman on the critically acclaimed, long-running series Northern Exposure, as well as his role as Don Eppes on Numb3rs.
Morrow is currently shooting a recurring role in Super Pumped for Showtime and can be seen in a continuation of his multi-season recurring role as Adam Dequillio opposite Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis in Billions. He also will recur in Starz’s series Shining Vale, starring Courtney Cox and Greg Kinnear, and appears in an upcoming episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Behind the camera, Morrow has served as Executive Producer and director of nine out of ten episodes of the second season of the BET series, Games People Play. His past directing credits include The Fosters, Necessary Roughness, NCIS: New Orleans, HBO’s Oz, and...
Morrow is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Joe Fleishman on the critically acclaimed, long-running series Northern Exposure, as well as his role as Don Eppes on Numb3rs.
Morrow is currently shooting a recurring role in Super Pumped for Showtime and can be seen in a continuation of his multi-season recurring role as Adam Dequillio opposite Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis in Billions. He also will recur in Starz’s series Shining Vale, starring Courtney Cox and Greg Kinnear, and appears in an upcoming episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Behind the camera, Morrow has served as Executive Producer and director of nine out of ten episodes of the second season of the BET series, Games People Play. His past directing credits include The Fosters, Necessary Roughness, NCIS: New Orleans, HBO’s Oz, and...
- 10/27/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Following her acclaimed role in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, Anya Taylor-Joy looks to have found her next feature film. She is in negotiations to star in Searchlight’s dark comedy The Menu, with Ralph Fiennes recently closing a deal to also star. Mark Mylod, who has played a major part in the success of HBO’s Succession, will direct. Adam McKay will produce through his Hyperobject Industries banner along with Betsy Koch.
The film is a darkly comedic psychological thriller set in the world of eccentric culinary culture, centering on a young couple who visit an exclusive restaurant on a remote island where an acclaimed chef has prepared a lavish tasting menu. Taylor-Joy will play one half of the couple. Fiennes is playing the chef.
Will Tracy and Seth Reiss penned the script. Searchlight’s SVP Production DanTram Nguyen and director of production Zahra Phillips will oversee for the studio.
The film is a darkly comedic psychological thriller set in the world of eccentric culinary culture, centering on a young couple who visit an exclusive restaurant on a remote island where an acclaimed chef has prepared a lavish tasting menu. Taylor-Joy will play one half of the couple. Fiennes is playing the chef.
Will Tracy and Seth Reiss penned the script. Searchlight’s SVP Production DanTram Nguyen and director of production Zahra Phillips will oversee for the studio.
- 6/7/2021
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
As his new film The Dig comes to Netflix, we take a deep dive into Fiennes’s career – from Quiz Show and The English Patient to In Bruges and The Lego Batman Movie
This version of Dickens’s Great Expectations, scripted by David Nicholls, was maybe not groundbreaking but was watchable and featured Ralph Fiennes as the convict Magwitch. He is seen first leaping out and scaring Pip in the churchyard with a convict’s number-one cut and mud all over his face, and later with longish hair, clean-shaven in a mysterious, new respectable guise. It’s a transformation that should perhaps have given Fiennes more of a performing showcase.
This version of Dickens’s Great Expectations, scripted by David Nicholls, was maybe not groundbreaking but was watchable and featured Ralph Fiennes as the convict Magwitch. He is seen first leaping out and scaring Pip in the churchyard with a convict’s number-one cut and mud all over his face, and later with longish hair, clean-shaven in a mysterious, new respectable guise. It’s a transformation that should perhaps have given Fiennes more of a performing showcase.
- 1/28/2021
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Allan Rich, an actor who was caught up in the Hollywood Blacklist of the 1950s but went on to have a 50-year film and TV career, has died. He was 94. His family said he died August 22 of progressive dementia at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, NJ, which is run by the Actors Fund.
A character actor with an instantly recognizable face, Rich had more than 130 roles in television and film, ranging from Serpico and The Gambler to some of the 1970s’ biggest TV shows and a memorable turn on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He also had supporting roles in four Broadway shows during the 1940s and ’50s before he was blacklisted.
Born on February 8, 1926, in the Bronx, Rich was a rising stage actor in the early 1950s when he name came up during the House Un-American Activities Committee led by Sen. Joseph McCarthy because the actor’s Theater Action...
A character actor with an instantly recognizable face, Rich had more than 130 roles in television and film, ranging from Serpico and The Gambler to some of the 1970s’ biggest TV shows and a memorable turn on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He also had supporting roles in four Broadway shows during the 1940s and ’50s before he was blacklisted.
Born on February 8, 1926, in the Bronx, Rich was a rising stage actor in the early 1950s when he name came up during the House Un-American Activities Committee led by Sen. Joseph McCarthy because the actor’s Theater Action...
- 8/25/2020
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Allan Rich, who was blacklisted in Hollywood early in his career and later found his niche as a versatile character actor in hundreds of roles, died on Aug. 22 at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, N.J. He was 94.
Rich’s notable feature film credits included playing district attorney Herman Tauber in Sidney Lumet’s “Serpico,” Judge Juttson in Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad,” and television executive Robert Kintner in Robert Redford’s “Quiz Show,” for which The New York Times reviewed his performance as having “the gruff assurance of a real executive.”
Rich was born Benjamin Norman Schultz on Feb. 8, 1926, in New York’s the Bronx. In 1943 he made his Broadway debut in “I’ll Take the High Road,” produced by Milton Berle. He became lifelong friends with Berle and went on to work with Edward G. Robinson, Claude Raines, Ralph Bellamy, Jack Palance, Kim Hunter and Henry Fonda.
Rich’s notable feature film credits included playing district attorney Herman Tauber in Sidney Lumet’s “Serpico,” Judge Juttson in Steven Spielberg’s “Amistad,” and television executive Robert Kintner in Robert Redford’s “Quiz Show,” for which The New York Times reviewed his performance as having “the gruff assurance of a real executive.”
Rich was born Benjamin Norman Schultz on Feb. 8, 1926, in New York’s the Bronx. In 1943 he made his Broadway debut in “I’ll Take the High Road,” produced by Milton Berle. He became lifelong friends with Berle and went on to work with Edward G. Robinson, Claude Raines, Ralph Bellamy, Jack Palance, Kim Hunter and Henry Fonda.
- 8/24/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
All the world is a game and we are merely players! The Bard will probably disagree with that assessment, but game shows and panel series have been a staple on both radio and television. And they are going strong today.
In fact, there is the Gsn cable network, as well as Buzzr which features such series as “Password,” “Family Feud,” “Tattletales” and “Classic Concentration.” “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” are still among the top syndicated series and CBS’ daytime “The Price is Right” is heading toward its fifth decade of people coming on down. And ABC is back for its summer of deja “view” with new versions of such series as “Match Game,” “To Tell the Truth,” “Press Your Luck” and “Family Feud.” The network also scored with a limited return of its 20-plus-year old “Who Wants to Be Millionaire” with host Jimmy Kimmel.
Back in the 1950s, contestants became stars like Dr.
In fact, there is the Gsn cable network, as well as Buzzr which features such series as “Password,” “Family Feud,” “Tattletales” and “Classic Concentration.” “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” are still among the top syndicated series and CBS’ daytime “The Price is Right” is heading toward its fifth decade of people coming on down. And ABC is back for its summer of deja “view” with new versions of such series as “Match Game,” “To Tell the Truth,” “Press Your Luck” and “Family Feud.” The network also scored with a limited return of its 20-plus-year old “Who Wants to Be Millionaire” with host Jimmy Kimmel.
Back in the 1950s, contestants became stars like Dr.
- 6/12/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Herbert Stempel, the contestant on NBC’s “Twenty-One” who helped uncover the quiz show rigging scandals of the 1950s, died on April 7 at the age of 93.
His death, which had not been publicly announced, was confirmed by a former stepdaughter, Bobra Fyne, according to the New York Times. Stempel was portrayed by John Turturro in the 1994 drama “Quiz Show,” directed by Robert Redford.
Stempel was born in the Bronx on Dec. 19, 1926, the son of Solomon and Mary Stempel. He was a gifted student with a prodigious memory. As a child, he represented P.S. 6 on the radio show “Americana Quiz,” and remained undefeated for weeks. He attended Bronx High School of Science and scored at genius level on an I.Q. test. Stempel worked for the post office, served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1952 and enrolled at City College under the G.I. Bill.
Stempel was also a fan...
His death, which had not been publicly announced, was confirmed by a former stepdaughter, Bobra Fyne, according to the New York Times. Stempel was portrayed by John Turturro in the 1994 drama “Quiz Show,” directed by Robert Redford.
Stempel was born in the Bronx on Dec. 19, 1926, the son of Solomon and Mary Stempel. He was a gifted student with a prodigious memory. As a child, he represented P.S. 6 on the radio show “Americana Quiz,” and remained undefeated for weeks. He attended Bronx High School of Science and scored at genius level on an I.Q. test. Stempel worked for the post office, served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1952 and enrolled at City College under the G.I. Bill.
Stempel was also a fan...
- 5/31/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Herb Stempel, the federal whistleblower who exposed how the NBC game show “Twenty-One” was manipulated for ratings, died last month at the age of 93. His death was confirmed this weekend by Stempel’s stepdaughter to The New York Times.
Stempel’s story was told in the Robert Redford film “Quiz Show,” which starred John Turturro as Stempel and earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Stempel, an Army veteran attending school on the G.I. Bill, applied to be on “Twenty-One” and was handpicked by producer Dan Enright to be the star of the show, portrayed as an American underdog making thousands for his family.
Stempel was given the answers to questions in advance, winning thousands during his run on the show.
Also Read: Anthony James, 'In the Heat of the Night' and 'Unforgiven' Actor, Dies at 77
But as ratings began to level off, Enright turned...
Stempel’s story was told in the Robert Redford film “Quiz Show,” which starred John Turturro as Stempel and earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Stempel, an Army veteran attending school on the G.I. Bill, applied to be on “Twenty-One” and was handpicked by producer Dan Enright to be the star of the show, portrayed as an American underdog making thousands for his family.
Stempel was given the answers to questions in advance, winning thousands during his run on the show.
Also Read: Anthony James, 'In the Heat of the Night' and 'Unforgiven' Actor, Dies at 77
But as ratings began to level off, Enright turned...
- 5/31/2020
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Herb Stempel, the contestant on NBC's Twenty-One who helped expose the rigged television quiz shows of the 1950s after he was "defeated" by Charles Van Doren, has died. He was 93.
Stempel, portrayed by John Turturro in the 1994 docudrama Quiz Show, directed by Robert Redford, died April 7, The New York Times reported. His death was confirmed by a former stepdaughter, Bobra Fyne.
As a bespectacled Bronx native with an IQ of 170, Stempel appeared on Twenty-One, hosted by Jack Barry, for six weeks in 1956, winning $49,500. He later said that he was given all the questions and answers in ...
Stempel, portrayed by John Turturro in the 1994 docudrama Quiz Show, directed by Robert Redford, died April 7, The New York Times reported. His death was confirmed by a former stepdaughter, Bobra Fyne.
As a bespectacled Bronx native with an IQ of 170, Stempel appeared on Twenty-One, hosted by Jack Barry, for six weeks in 1956, winning $49,500. He later said that he was given all the questions and answers in ...
- 5/31/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
It’s hard to imagine a time when a television show had the power to dominate an audience, so much so that it was on five days a week and was an event every single day. Maybe it’s easier to envision now in a post-pandemic world, or because our love of recent nostalgia still looms large. But in 1998, when “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” became a smash in England, the world looked very different. Personal computers and the internet were gaining traction, but it wasn’t easy to put a question in Google and find an answer. Maybe that’s the problem with watching this narrative treatment of the show’s creation and the cheating scandal that would….eventually….do something to it?
Because you can Google everything about what “Quiz” shows over its three episodes it only illustrates how truncated and basic Frears’ drama is. With each...
Because you can Google everything about what “Quiz” shows over its three episodes it only illustrates how truncated and basic Frears’ drama is. With each...
- 5/29/2020
- by Kristen Lopez
- Indiewire
Director Luca Guadagnino has added yet another project to his packed slate of upcoming films and television. According to Variety, the Academy Award-nominated “Call Me By Your Name” and “I Am Love” filmmaker is now set to helm a retelling of “Scarface” for Universal Pictures. The script for this latest version comes from Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, working from earlier drafts by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (the “Miss Bala” remake), Jonathan Herman (“Straight Outta Compton”), and Paul Attanasio (“Quiz Show”).
The mythic crime story of Scarface has been told many a time in cinema, from the 1932 Howard Hawks original starring Paul Muni, to Brian De Palma’s lurid Miami-set take, from 1983, with Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. Guadagnino’s version will reportedly be a reimagining of the original immigrant narrative established in both those films, and this time will be set in Los Angeles.
This is not Guadagnino’s first dip into remake territory,...
The mythic crime story of Scarface has been told many a time in cinema, from the 1932 Howard Hawks original starring Paul Muni, to Brian De Palma’s lurid Miami-set take, from 1983, with Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. Guadagnino’s version will reportedly be a reimagining of the original immigrant narrative established in both those films, and this time will be set in Los Angeles.
This is not Guadagnino’s first dip into remake territory,...
- 5/14/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
In Hollywood, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s new Netflix series, we get a revisionist version of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Mira Sorvino, who plays an aging, Lana Turner-esque character named Jeanne Crandall, says she felt like she was on a soundstage in 1940s Hollywood during the movie-within-a-movie sequences. “Everything was done to period perfection. It helped me feel like I was there, just transported back.” Except, as she explains: It’s not quite that world; it’s something a little better…”
In our latest “The First Time” video interview series,...
In our latest “The First Time” video interview series,...
- 5/8/2020
- by Jerry Portwood
- Rollingstone.com
Riverdale Season 4 is here!
This is great news for fans of quirky, unpredictable, and always entertaining TV. Perhaps more so than any other show on TV, Riverdale is very comfortable in its own skin; season three was a weird and wonderful experience, with episodes like “The Midnight Club” flashback installment and the noir experiment pushing the creative parameters of the show… and, wonderfully, sticking the landing each time.
You can read our review of the latest episode here.
Riverdale Season 4 Return Date
Up next? “Lynchian,” which will air on April 2. Check out the trailer…
Riverdale Season 4 Episode Guide Riverdale Season 4 Episode 1 – Chapter 58: In Memorium
As the residence of Riverdale prepare for its upcoming Independence Day parade, Archie receives a phone call that will change the rest of his life forever.
read our review of “In Memoriam” here.
air date: 10/9/19
Riverdale Season 4 Episode 2 – Chapter 59: Fast Times at Riverdale High...
This is great news for fans of quirky, unpredictable, and always entertaining TV. Perhaps more so than any other show on TV, Riverdale is very comfortable in its own skin; season three was a weird and wonderful experience, with episodes like “The Midnight Club” flashback installment and the noir experiment pushing the creative parameters of the show… and, wonderfully, sticking the landing each time.
You can read our review of the latest episode here.
Riverdale Season 4 Return Date
Up next? “Lynchian,” which will air on April 2. Check out the trailer…
Riverdale Season 4 Episode Guide Riverdale Season 4 Episode 1 – Chapter 58: In Memorium
As the residence of Riverdale prepare for its upcoming Independence Day parade, Archie receives a phone call that will change the rest of his life forever.
read our review of “In Memoriam” here.
air date: 10/9/19
Riverdale Season 4 Episode 2 – Chapter 59: Fast Times at Riverdale High...
- 4/16/2020
- by jbindeck2015
- Den of Geek
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