Brian McConnachie, the Emmy-winning writer with the offbeat sense of humor who worked on Sctv Network and Saturday Night Live and appeared in Caddyshack and several films for Woody Allen, has died. He was 81.
McConnachie died Friday of complications from Parkinson’s disease in Venice, Florida, Michael Gerber, editor and publisher of The American Bystander, told The Hollywood Reporter. The duo relaunched the humor magazine in 2015 after McConnachie — an original staff member at National Lampoon — originally got it going in 1981.
“Every day, on every page, he has been our North Star,” Gerber said in a statement. “From his days at National Lampoon, Brian was ‘every comedy writer’s favorite comedy writer,’ crafting an unmistakable one-of-a-kind laid-back eccentricity that inspired generations.
“He is the only person I know who wrote for the Holy Trinity of Seventies Comedy — National Lampoon, SNL and Sctv. This speaks to not only his writing talent, but...
McConnachie died Friday of complications from Parkinson’s disease in Venice, Florida, Michael Gerber, editor and publisher of The American Bystander, told The Hollywood Reporter. The duo relaunched the humor magazine in 2015 after McConnachie — an original staff member at National Lampoon — originally got it going in 1981.
“Every day, on every page, he has been our North Star,” Gerber said in a statement. “From his days at National Lampoon, Brian was ‘every comedy writer’s favorite comedy writer,’ crafting an unmistakable one-of-a-kind laid-back eccentricity that inspired generations.
“He is the only person I know who wrote for the Holy Trinity of Seventies Comedy — National Lampoon, SNL and Sctv. This speaks to not only his writing talent, but...
- 1/9/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kicking October to the curb and bringing in some November goodness is a fresh slate of new content headed to Paramount Global’s streamer Paramount+, including the sequel to the hit 1997 film “Good Burger.”
Paramount+ started off November by adding more than 30 titles to its library, some of which include “Above the Rim,” Season 15 of “Ink Master,” “Gladiator” and “The Color Purple.”
And if you’re looking for some holiday movies to watch with the family, you can deck the halls with “Happy Christmas,” “Mistletoe Ranch” or “Christmas Eve.” When the kids go to sleep, adult-friendly treats like “Bad Santa” and “Bad Santa 2” are also available.
The highly-anticipated “Good Burger 2,” which stars Kel Mitchell, Keenan Thompson, Shar Jackson, Carmen Electra, Josh Server, Alex R. Hibbert, Lori Beth Denberg and Lil Rel Howery, hits the platform on Nov. 22
Here’s everything coming to Paramount+ this November, from “The Truman Show” to “Paw Patrol.
Paramount+ started off November by adding more than 30 titles to its library, some of which include “Above the Rim,” Season 15 of “Ink Master,” “Gladiator” and “The Color Purple.”
And if you’re looking for some holiday movies to watch with the family, you can deck the halls with “Happy Christmas,” “Mistletoe Ranch” or “Christmas Eve.” When the kids go to sleep, adult-friendly treats like “Bad Santa” and “Bad Santa 2” are also available.
The highly-anticipated “Good Burger 2,” which stars Kel Mitchell, Keenan Thompson, Shar Jackson, Carmen Electra, Josh Server, Alex R. Hibbert, Lori Beth Denberg and Lil Rel Howery, hits the platform on Nov. 22
Here’s everything coming to Paramount+ this November, from “The Truman Show” to “Paw Patrol.
- 11/3/2023
- by Raquel 'Rocky' Harris
- The Wrap
How many films have been made on which the director never met the the majority of the actors? How often have performers had to operate the camera themselves rather than the cinematographer or operator or director? Any number of films have been made under great duress, but The Same Storm is a rare bird, a scripted feature made last July under Covid conditions in New York City on which the actors performed while isolated from anyone other than their fellow castmates. It even features a number of name actors, beginning with Elaine May, appearing in her first big-screen film since Woody Allen’s Small Time Crooks 21 years ago. And she’s terrific in it.
That alone would justify checking out this modest but adventurous film, which assumes a La Ronde-like structural approach by skipping from one very short story to another on the way to creating a panoramic, if still limited,...
That alone would justify checking out this modest but adventurous film, which assumes a La Ronde-like structural approach by skipping from one very short story to another on the way to creating a panoramic, if still limited,...
- 9/8/2021
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, Afm tells attendees that Santa Monica isn’t burning, the La Film Critics honor Elaine May and MarketCast hires a Nielsen executive.
Afm Reassurance
With less than a week before the American Film Market opens in Santa Monica, Afm has assured attendees that the beachside city has not been hit by the region’s wildfires.
The Getty Fire near the Getty Museum is the closest fire. The blaze, which ignited on Oct. 28, is about seven miles away from Afm headquarters at the Loews Hotel. It has now burned more than 700 acres, forcing evacuations from more than 7,000 homes.
“We would like to assure you that there are no fires in Santa Monica,” Afm said in a message. “Some media have referred to fires in the ‘Santa Monica Mountains.’ This mountain range is actually in Los Angeles, miles from Santa Monica. There is no threat to the Santa Monica business area.
Afm Reassurance
With less than a week before the American Film Market opens in Santa Monica, Afm has assured attendees that the beachside city has not been hit by the region’s wildfires.
The Getty Fire near the Getty Museum is the closest fire. The blaze, which ignited on Oct. 28, is about seven miles away from Afm headquarters at the Loews Hotel. It has now burned more than 700 acres, forcing evacuations from more than 7,000 homes.
“We would like to assure you that there are no fires in Santa Monica,” Afm said in a message. “Some media have referred to fires in the ‘Santa Monica Mountains.’ This mountain range is actually in Los Angeles, miles from Santa Monica. There is no threat to the Santa Monica business area.
- 11/1/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Slate also includes Cannes hopefuls Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You, Kore-eda Hirokazu’s The Truth and Kantemir Balagov’s Beanpole.
Wild Bunch has boarded sales on zeitgeisty drama Les Misérables, the directorial debut of filmmaker Ladj Ly, a long-time collaborator of French street artist Jr, whose work focuses on the tough eastern suburbs of Paris where he grew up.
Inspired by the 2005 riots in the notorious Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil suburbs east of Paris, Les Misérables revolves around three members of an anti-crime brigade who are overrun while trying to make an arrest.
“It’s a challenging, exciting title for us,...
Wild Bunch has boarded sales on zeitgeisty drama Les Misérables, the directorial debut of filmmaker Ladj Ly, a long-time collaborator of French street artist Jr, whose work focuses on the tough eastern suburbs of Paris where he grew up.
Inspired by the 2005 riots in the notorious Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil suburbs east of Paris, Les Misérables revolves around three members of an anti-crime brigade who are overrun while trying to make an arrest.
“It’s a challenging, exciting title for us,...
- 2/6/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
All episodes were provided prior to broadcast.
For Woody Allen enthusiasts, Amazon’s Crisis in Six Scenes is an enjoyable piece of early autumn fluff. It’s a laissez faire effort, unrigged and unbothered, though one that, at its very best, might be Allen’s most comedically-inspired work since 2011’s Midnight in Paris. But as the auteur’s first venture into television in his storied 40-plus career, it’s certainly not without its faults.
The six-episode comedic mini-series — each written and directed by the filmmaker as busy as he’s nervous — is often clumsy and unsure of itself in its story pacing. It never quite finds its rhythm until the last two episodes, and the first few are a little sluggish and rather excessive at times. You get the sense Allen is mostly reformatting his usual film structure into the popular TV mold, which makes the whole project feel like...
For Woody Allen enthusiasts, Amazon’s Crisis in Six Scenes is an enjoyable piece of early autumn fluff. It’s a laissez faire effort, unrigged and unbothered, though one that, at its very best, might be Allen’s most comedically-inspired work since 2011’s Midnight in Paris. But as the auteur’s first venture into television in his storied 40-plus career, it’s certainly not without its faults.
The six-episode comedic mini-series — each written and directed by the filmmaker as busy as he’s nervous — is often clumsy and unsure of itself in its story pacing. It never quite finds its rhythm until the last two episodes, and the first few are a little sluggish and rather excessive at times. You get the sense Allen is mostly reformatting his usual film structure into the popular TV mold, which makes the whole project feel like...
- 9/28/2016
- by Will Ashton
- We Got This Covered
Tracey Ullman is back on television with a hilarious new sketch series “Tracey Ullman’s Show.” The first trailer for the comedy, set to debut next month on HBO, has been released and features the comedian impersonating Maggie Smith, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Judi Dench keying a car and slashing the tires right in front of the owner.
The six-episode series will show Ullman portraying a wide array of everyday people and famous faces, as well as look at modern life on the British side of the pond. The first season aired earlier this year in the U.K. and has already been renewed for a second season.
Read More: ‘Insecure’: First Episode of Issa Rae’s HBO Comedy is Available To Stream
In 1987 Ullman starred in her own comedy sketches series “The Tracey Ullman Show” on Fox. She then worked with HBO from 1996 to 1999 on her show “Tracey Takes On…...
The six-episode series will show Ullman portraying a wide array of everyday people and famous faces, as well as look at modern life on the British side of the pond. The first season aired earlier this year in the U.K. and has already been renewed for a second season.
Read More: ‘Insecure’: First Episode of Issa Rae’s HBO Comedy is Available To Stream
In 1987 Ullman starred in her own comedy sketches series “The Tracey Ullman Show” on Fox. She then worked with HBO from 1996 to 1999 on her show “Tracey Takes On…...
- 9/24/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Woody Allen narrates CAFÉ Society, his 47th film and at age 80, his voice is sounding sadly geezerish. Set in the mid-1930’s, CAFÉ Society has a cool period soundtrack, an older man courting a much younger woman, a Jewish family kibitzing around the dinner table, quotable dialog on love and life, and a neurotic Jewish hero channeling a much younger Woody. In other words, all the elements of a great Woody Allen film. It also has Vittorio Storaro’s rapturous cinematography (a Woody first) and a terrific and complex central performance from Jesse Eisenberg. CAFÉ Society is the most romantic Woody since Annie Hall and one of his best.
Leaving his (very) Jewish family back in the Bronx, young Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) heads west to “learn the movie business” from his Uncle Phil (Steve Carell), a bigtime Hollywood talent agent. Phil assigns his captivating, but romantically unavailable, secretary Vonnie...
Leaving his (very) Jewish family back in the Bronx, young Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) heads west to “learn the movie business” from his Uncle Phil (Steve Carell), a bigtime Hollywood talent agent. Phil assigns his captivating, but romantically unavailable, secretary Vonnie...
- 7/28/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Warner Bros.
It can be hard directing actors, especially when they’re a bona fide star, replete with their own neuroses and comforts. But that’s nothing compared to a director having to direct themselves to a great performance in a movie, one which draws on both his skill as a filmmaker and as a performer to deliver something special.
This is tougher than you might think (after all, who better to tell you what to do than yourself?), and one only needs to look at some recent examples (Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Don Jon or Ben Stiller’s Zoolander 2 spring immediately to mind) to see that this directing/acting (and in many cases, writing, too) combination rarely delivers anything that amazing.
But when it works, it really works, as shown in these eight films that managed to achieve greatness with their director and star as one. That at least...
It can be hard directing actors, especially when they’re a bona fide star, replete with their own neuroses and comforts. But that’s nothing compared to a director having to direct themselves to a great performance in a movie, one which draws on both his skill as a filmmaker and as a performer to deliver something special.
This is tougher than you might think (after all, who better to tell you what to do than yourself?), and one only needs to look at some recent examples (Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Don Jon or Ben Stiller’s Zoolander 2 spring immediately to mind) to see that this directing/acting (and in many cases, writing, too) combination rarely delivers anything that amazing.
But when it works, it really works, as shown in these eight films that managed to achieve greatness with their director and star as one. That at least...
- 2/17/2016
- by Taylor Burns
- Obsessed with Film
Woody Allen: Miley Cyrus will star in a new television series for Amazon, written and to be directed by Woody Allen. Cyrus and Allen will star in the series along with Elaine May, who previously appeared with Allen in Small Time Crooks (2000). The show will consist of six 30-minute episodes and is set in the 1960s; production begins in March. [Deadline] The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir: Uma Thurman will join comedy adventure The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir. The movie, to be directed by Marjane Satrapi (The Voices), follows a storyteller who travels from New Delhi to Paris, where he falls in love with a woman and is then accidentally deported. Alexandra Daddario (above, right) is in advanced negotiations to play one of the lead roles...
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- 1/26/2016
- by Peter Martin
- Movies.com
Guess who's coming in like a wrecking ball to Woody Allen's upcoming Amazon comedy?
Deadline reports the veteran filmmaker has cast Miley Cyrus in the untitled project. Allen himself and "Small Time Crooks" actress Elaine May will also star. This marks Allen's first time creating a television show and Cyrus's first return to "television" since her "Hannah Montana" days.
Cyrus confirmed the news on Instagram:
Fuck yeah ! Stoked to be in Woody Allens first series!!!!! I had claimed 2016 to be my year of "chillin the fuck out" but next to my bed for a few years now has been this portrait of W.A. & I was looking into his eyes when I got the call to be apart of the cast and work alongside the bad a$$ Elaine May & da dude himself! 1960zzzz here I cummmmm...
Deadline reports the veteran filmmaker has cast Miley Cyrus in the untitled project. Allen himself and "Small Time Crooks" actress Elaine May will also star. This marks Allen's first time creating a television show and Cyrus's first return to "television" since her "Hannah Montana" days.
Cyrus confirmed the news on Instagram:
Fuck yeah ! Stoked to be in Woody Allens first series!!!!! I had claimed 2016 to be my year of "chillin the fuck out" but next to my bed for a few years now has been this portrait of W.A. & I was looking into his eyes when I got the call to be apart of the cast and work alongside the bad a$$ Elaine May & da dude himself! 1960zzzz here I cummmmm...
- 1/26/2016
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
Elaine May and Miley Cyrus will star alongside Woody Allen in the filmmaker's upcoming TV series for Amazon.
Six half-hour episodes are being produced for the series which will take place in the 1960s. Allen penned all the scripts and will direct each episode.
As per usual, there's no title or story information at this point, and there's no planned air date either. Allen previously worked with May on "Small Time Crooks," but this marks the first time he has worked with Cyrus.
Source: Deadline...
Six half-hour episodes are being produced for the series which will take place in the 1960s. Allen penned all the scripts and will direct each episode.
As per usual, there's no title or story information at this point, and there's no planned air date either. Allen previously worked with May on "Small Time Crooks," but this marks the first time he has worked with Cyrus.
Source: Deadline...
- 1/26/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Woody Allen: Miley Cyrus will star in a new television series for Amazon, written and to be directed by Woody Allen. Cyrus and Allen will star in the series along with Elaine May, who previously appeared with Allen in Small Time Crooks (2000). The show, not yet titled, will consist of six 30-minute episodes and is set in the 1960s; production begins in March. [Deadline] The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir: Uma Thurman will join comedy-adventure The Extraordinary Journey of...
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- 1/26/2016
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
Miley Cyrus is returning to a TV series, and this time it's starring alongside Woody Allen for a show he is creating for Amazon. As Deadline reports, the six half-hour episode series is set in the 1960s.
Allen is slated to star, script and direct the as-yet untitled project, which also stars actress/comedian Elaine May. He and May worked together previously in Small Time Crooks, and it will be his first time working with Cyrus. The show begins shooting in March.
Cyrus is no stranger to acting and comedy.
Allen is slated to star, script and direct the as-yet untitled project, which also stars actress/comedian Elaine May. He and May worked together previously in Small Time Crooks, and it will be his first time working with Cyrus. The show begins shooting in March.
Cyrus is no stranger to acting and comedy.
- 1/26/2016
- Rollingstone.com
Woody Allen has found his new muse, and it's not who you'd expect. According to Deadline, Allen has cast Miley Cyrus (who recently appeared in Sofia Coppola's Netflix special " A Very Murray Christmas") and Elaine May in his upcoming Amazon series. Allen worked with May in "Small Time Crooks," but this will be his first venture with Cyrus, who has not starred in a TV series since "Hannah Montana" ended in 2011. Read More: Watch: 'House of Cards' Season 4 Teaser Fits a Killer Twist Into 30 Seconds A few more details were also announced about the production, including its setting and length. The untitled series will be set in the 1960s and run for six half-hour episodes. Shooting begins in March of this year, making an end of 2016 release questionable but certainly a possibility. Allen (in)famously announced his regret over agreeing to the Amazon project in May 2015, and...
- 1/25/2016
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
The chances that Woody Allen‘s new Amazon series will include twerking just got a lot higher.
In her first major TV gig since Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus has booked a starring role on Allen’s in-the-works project, Deadline reports.
RelatedBosch, Catastrophe Get Season 2 Premiere Dates From Amazon
Details about the 1960s-set series are being kept under wraps, but Allen will write and direct all six half-hour episodes. Elaine May — who appeared in Allen’s 2000 film Small Time Crooks — will co-star.
Since ending her run on the Disney Channel smash, Cyrus has appeared on Two and a Half Men and...
In her first major TV gig since Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus has booked a starring role on Allen’s in-the-works project, Deadline reports.
RelatedBosch, Catastrophe Get Season 2 Premiere Dates From Amazon
Details about the 1960s-set series are being kept under wraps, but Allen will write and direct all six half-hour episodes. Elaine May — who appeared in Allen’s 2000 film Small Time Crooks — will co-star.
Since ending her run on the Disney Channel smash, Cyrus has appeared on Two and a Half Men and...
- 1/25/2016
- TVLine.com
Stars: Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, James Corden, Daniel Huttlestone, Christine Baranski, Tammy Blanchard, Lucy Punch, Lilla Crawford, Simon Russell Beale, Johnny Depp, Billy Magnussen, Richard Glover, Frances de la Tour | Written by James Lapine, Stephen Sondheim | Directed by Rob Marshall
Rob Marshall has had plenty of success in the world of musical motion picture. His 2002 film adaptation of Chicago won Academy Awards and boosted Marshall’s name into the Hollywood “it crowd” in the process. Following up Chicago with a lovely adaptation of the Arthur Golden novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, showed Marshall was an accomplished director who was capable of more than musicals. Those two films showed style, heart and confidence. Since then, Marshall has directed Nine, a less well-received musical in 2009, On Stranger Tides, the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, in 2011, a film that many thought was unnecessary and failed in comparison to its prior instalments,...
Rob Marshall has had plenty of success in the world of musical motion picture. His 2002 film adaptation of Chicago won Academy Awards and boosted Marshall’s name into the Hollywood “it crowd” in the process. Following up Chicago with a lovely adaptation of the Arthur Golden novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, showed Marshall was an accomplished director who was capable of more than musicals. Those two films showed style, heart and confidence. Since then, Marshall has directed Nine, a less well-received musical in 2009, On Stranger Tides, the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie, in 2011, a film that many thought was unnecessary and failed in comparison to its prior instalments,...
- 1/18/2015
- by Chris Cummings
- Nerdly
★★★★☆As Woody Allen stumbled his way into the 21st century with Small Time Crooks (2000) and The Curse of Jade Scorpion (2001), the image of an artist adrift in a new decade was cemented. As he coasted from one uninspired project to another, a great critical fallacy came to pass; Woody had lost it. Over the past fifteen years, Allen has continued to make a film a year. The quality may have veered significantly, but accepted critical wisdom has served to temper any serious discussion of the period. Taken as a whole, his recent work represents a distinct chapter in Allen's canon in which new themes began to emerge; in particular, we see an ageing director at a crossroads between something of a golden and gilded age.
- 9/20/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
View Photo Gallery
By Christopher Rosa
If you watched Woody Allen‘s latest film, Magic in the Moonlight over the weekend, you may have noticed something interesting about its romantic leads: Emma Stone and Colin Firth have a 28-year age difference between them. This example of a May-December romance is drastic but — surprise, surprise — not uncommon in Allen’s films.
The director must have a fascination with the older man, younger woman affair because this sort of pairing runs rampant in his filmography. From his critically acclaimed musical-comedy Everyone Says I Love You (1996) to kooky crime fare like Small Time Crooks(2000), several of his pictures feature at least one cradle-robbing encounter, no matter how brief. We’ve assembled 10 particularly salacious pairings with the approximate age each actor or actress was at the time of filming. Some have 20, 30 or even 40-year age gaps. In other words, some of these actors could...
By Christopher Rosa
If you watched Woody Allen‘s latest film, Magic in the Moonlight over the weekend, you may have noticed something interesting about its romantic leads: Emma Stone and Colin Firth have a 28-year age difference between them. This example of a May-December romance is drastic but — surprise, surprise — not uncommon in Allen’s films.
The director must have a fascination with the older man, younger woman affair because this sort of pairing runs rampant in his filmography. From his critically acclaimed musical-comedy Everyone Says I Love You (1996) to kooky crime fare like Small Time Crooks(2000), several of his pictures feature at least one cradle-robbing encounter, no matter how brief. We’ve assembled 10 particularly salacious pairings with the approximate age each actor or actress was at the time of filming. Some have 20, 30 or even 40-year age gaps. In other words, some of these actors could...
- 7/28/2014
- by VH1
- TheFabLife - Movies
View Photo Gallery
By Christopher Rosa
If you watched Woody Allen‘s latest film, Magic in the Moonlight over the weekend, you may have noticed something interesting about its romantic leads: Emma Stone and Colin Firth have a 28-year age difference between them. This example of a May-December romance is drastic but — surprise, surprise — not uncommon in Allen’s films.
The director must have a fascination with the older man, younger woman affair because this sort of pairing runs rampant in his filmography. From his critically acclaimed musical-comedy Everyone Says I Love You (1996) to kooky crime fare like Small Time Crooks(2000), several of his pictures feature at least one cradle-robbing encounter, no matter how brief. We’ve assembled 10 particularly salacious pairings with the approximate age each actor or actress was at the time of filming. Some have 20, 30 or even 40-year age gaps. In other words, some of these actors could...
By Christopher Rosa
If you watched Woody Allen‘s latest film, Magic in the Moonlight over the weekend, you may have noticed something interesting about its romantic leads: Emma Stone and Colin Firth have a 28-year age difference between them. This example of a May-December romance is drastic but — surprise, surprise — not uncommon in Allen’s films.
The director must have a fascination with the older man, younger woman affair because this sort of pairing runs rampant in his filmography. From his critically acclaimed musical-comedy Everyone Says I Love You (1996) to kooky crime fare like Small Time Crooks(2000), several of his pictures feature at least one cradle-robbing encounter, no matter how brief. We’ve assembled 10 particularly salacious pairings with the approximate age each actor or actress was at the time of filming. Some have 20, 30 or even 40-year age gaps. In other words, some of these actors could...
- 7/28/2014
- by VH1
- VH1.com
Elaine Stritch, one of the most unforgettable and acerbically funny actors of the Broadway stage, as well as the big and small screen, died at her home in Birmingham, Mich., on Thursday. She was 89.
A brash and beautiful presence who infused audiences with laughter even into her late eighties, Stritch is perhaps best known to young audiences as Colleen Donaghy, the mother of Alec Baldwin’s character on 30 Rock. Since the early 1950s, the actress had been entertaining audiences on the New York stage, racking up four Tony nominations. She was such a titan of Broadway that in 2003, in the late prime of her career, the New York Landmarks Conservancy declared Stritch a “Living Landmark.” She also won three Emmy awards between 1993 and 2007.
On Broadway, she was best known for her performance as Joanne in the Stephen Sondheim-penned musical Company and for stealing the show in Noel Coward’s...
A brash and beautiful presence who infused audiences with laughter even into her late eighties, Stritch is perhaps best known to young audiences as Colleen Donaghy, the mother of Alec Baldwin’s character on 30 Rock. Since the early 1950s, the actress had been entertaining audiences on the New York stage, racking up four Tony nominations. She was such a titan of Broadway that in 2003, in the late prime of her career, the New York Landmarks Conservancy declared Stritch a “Living Landmark.” She also won three Emmy awards between 1993 and 2007.
On Broadway, she was best known for her performance as Joanne in the Stephen Sondheim-penned musical Company and for stealing the show in Noel Coward’s...
- 7/17/2014
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
With a lust for life and one of the most magnetic personalities in showbiz, Elaine Stritch lived a long, full and successful life that ended today (July 17).
The 89-year-old Broadway and screen actress died at her home in Birmingham, Michigan, as confirmed by Julie Keyes, a close friend.
Kicking off her television career in 1948 with “The Growing Paynes,” Elaine went on to star in Woody Allen’s “September” and “Small Time Crooks” as well as high profile gigs like “Monster in Law,” “Paranorman,” and the uber-popular NBC series “30 Rock.”
However, Stritch was known to consider the stage her preferred medium, and she loved working with Stephen Sondheim in a slew of Broadway productions.
The 89-year-old Broadway and screen actress died at her home in Birmingham, Michigan, as confirmed by Julie Keyes, a close friend.
Kicking off her television career in 1948 with “The Growing Paynes,” Elaine went on to star in Woody Allen’s “September” and “Small Time Crooks” as well as high profile gigs like “Monster in Law,” “Paranorman,” and the uber-popular NBC series “30 Rock.”
However, Stritch was known to consider the stage her preferred medium, and she loved working with Stephen Sondheim in a slew of Broadway productions.
- 7/17/2014
- GossipCenter
Beloved actress Elaine Stritch, a Broadway legend who in recent years earned attention for a brilliant recurring role on 30 Rock, died Thursday in her home in Birmingham, Michigan, The New York Times reports. She was 89.
The Best '30 Rock' One-Liners
Stritch began her career in the mid-40s and arrived on Broadway in 1946 in the show Loco; but her career began to truly take off in the 1952 revival of Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and John O'Hara's Pal Joey. In 1961 she picked up her third Tony nomination for her staring role in the musical,...
The Best '30 Rock' One-Liners
Stritch began her career in the mid-40s and arrived on Broadway in 1946 in the show Loco; but her career began to truly take off in the 1952 revival of Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and John O'Hara's Pal Joey. In 1961 she picked up her third Tony nomination for her staring role in the musical,...
- 7/17/2014
- Rollingstone.com
Iconic actress and singer Elaine Stritch died at her home in Birmingham, Mich. on Thursday. She was 89 years old. Recent fans may know her best as the Jack Donaghy’s brash mother on 30 Rock, but her extensive career goes back to the 1940s. With her work spanning across television, film, and Broadway, she truly embodied the role of the performer.
Prior to returning to her home state due to ill health last year, Stritch was a fixture of New York City — in fact, the New York Landmarks Conservancy declared her a Living Landmark in 2003. She ruled Broadway with an iron voice, starting off as an understudy for the equally brassy Ethel Merman in 1950′s Call Me Madam. From there her star continued to ascend, taking roles in William Inge’s 1955 drama Bus Stop, Noël Coward‘s 1961 Sail Away, and Stephen Sondheim‘s 1970 musical Company, singing the immortal “Ladies Who Lunch.
Prior to returning to her home state due to ill health last year, Stritch was a fixture of New York City — in fact, the New York Landmarks Conservancy declared her a Living Landmark in 2003. She ruled Broadway with an iron voice, starting off as an understudy for the equally brassy Ethel Merman in 1950′s Call Me Madam. From there her star continued to ascend, taking roles in William Inge’s 1955 drama Bus Stop, Noël Coward‘s 1961 Sail Away, and Stephen Sondheim‘s 1970 musical Company, singing the immortal “Ladies Who Lunch.
- 7/17/2014
- by Jordan Runtagh
- VH1.com
Iconic actress and singer Elaine Stritch died at her home in Birmingham, Mich. on Thursday. She was 89 years old. Recent fans may know her best as the Jack Donaghy’s brash mother on 30 Rock, but her extensive career goes back to the 1940s. With her work spanning across television, film, and Broadway, she truly embodied the role of the performer.
Prior to returning to her home state due to ill health last year, Stritch was a fixture of New York City — in fact, the New York Landmarks Conservancy declared her a Living Landmark in 2003. She ruled Broadway with an iron voice, starting off as an understudy for the equally brassy Ethel Merman in 1950′s Call Me Madam. From there her star continued to ascend, taking roles in William Inge’s 1955 drama Bus Stop, Noël Coward‘s 1961 Sail Away, and Stephen Sondheim‘s 1970 musical Company, singing the immortal “Ladies Who Lunch.
Prior to returning to her home state due to ill health last year, Stritch was a fixture of New York City — in fact, the New York Landmarks Conservancy declared her a Living Landmark in 2003. She ruled Broadway with an iron voice, starting off as an understudy for the equally brassy Ethel Merman in 1950′s Call Me Madam. From there her star continued to ascend, taking roles in William Inge’s 1955 drama Bus Stop, Noël Coward‘s 1961 Sail Away, and Stephen Sondheim‘s 1970 musical Company, singing the immortal “Ladies Who Lunch.
- 7/17/2014
- by Jordan Runtagh
- TheFabLife - Movies
One of the Broadway greats has passed away.
Broadway great Elaine Stritch has passed away on Thursday morning. She was 89.
Though the five-time Tony nominee is perhaps best known for her stage presence (Bus Stop, Sail Away, Company), her TV and film resume is also quite impressive.
From 2008-2013, she was nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy for her role as Colleen Donaghy, the mother of Alec Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock. In 1993, she won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for Law & Order.
She's also appeared in two Woody Allen movies, September (1987) and Small Time Crooks (2000). Her other more recent film credits include Monster In Law (2005), Autumn In New York (2000), Screwed (2000) and Out to Sea (1997).
As far as her musical background, Stritch has starred in No No Nanette, The King and I and I Married an Angel. She was also...
Broadway great Elaine Stritch has passed away on Thursday morning. She was 89.
Though the five-time Tony nominee is perhaps best known for her stage presence (Bus Stop, Sail Away, Company), her TV and film resume is also quite impressive.
From 2008-2013, she was nominated for an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy for her role as Colleen Donaghy, the mother of Alec Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock. In 1993, she won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for Law & Order.
She's also appeared in two Woody Allen movies, September (1987) and Small Time Crooks (2000). Her other more recent film credits include Monster In Law (2005), Autumn In New York (2000), Screwed (2000) and Out to Sea (1997).
As far as her musical background, Stritch has starred in No No Nanette, The King and I and I Married an Angel. She was also...
- 7/17/2014
- Entertainment Tonight
Mark Kennedy, Associated Press
Jake Coyle, Associated Press
New York (AP) - Elaine Stritch, the brash theater performer whose gravelly, gin-laced voice and impeccable comic timing made her a Broadway legend, has died. She was 89.
Joseph Rosenthal, Stritch's longtime attorney, said the actress died Thursday of natural causes at her home in Birmingham, Michigan.
Although Stritch appeared in movies and on television, garnering three Emmys and finding new fans as Alec Baldwin's unforgiving mother on "30 Rock," she was best known for her stage work, particularly in her candid one-woman memoir, "Elaine Stritch: At Liberty," and in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Company."
A tart-tongued monument to New York show business endurance, Stritch worked well into her late 80s, most recently as Madame Armfeldt in a revival of Sondheim's musical "A Little Night Music." She replaced Angela Lansbury in 2010 to critical acclaim.
In 2013, Stritch - whose signature "no pants" style...
Jake Coyle, Associated Press
New York (AP) - Elaine Stritch, the brash theater performer whose gravelly, gin-laced voice and impeccable comic timing made her a Broadway legend, has died. She was 89.
Joseph Rosenthal, Stritch's longtime attorney, said the actress died Thursday of natural causes at her home in Birmingham, Michigan.
Although Stritch appeared in movies and on television, garnering three Emmys and finding new fans as Alec Baldwin's unforgiving mother on "30 Rock," she was best known for her stage work, particularly in her candid one-woman memoir, "Elaine Stritch: At Liberty," and in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Company."
A tart-tongued monument to New York show business endurance, Stritch worked well into her late 80s, most recently as Madame Armfeldt in a revival of Sondheim's musical "A Little Night Music." She replaced Angela Lansbury in 2010 to critical acclaim.
In 2013, Stritch - whose signature "no pants" style...
- 7/17/2014
- by The Associated Press
- Moviefone
Elaine Stritch, the legendary Broadway actress and singer, died on Thursday at her Michigan home. She was 89.
Elaine Strich Dies
Stritch’s passing was confirmed by her friend Julie Keyes to The New York Times.
Stritch, a Detroit native, made her Broadway debut in 1946 in Jed Harris’ comedy Loco. She went on to earn Tony nominations for her inspired work in William Inge’s Bus Stop (1955), Noel Coward’s Sail Away (1961), Stephen Sondheim’s Company (1970), in which she sang one of her most enduring numbers – “The Ladies Who Lunch,” and Edward Albee play A Delicate Balance (1996). Stritch finally took home a Tony for her one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty in 2001.
On the small screen, Stritch more recently appeared on Tina Fey’s 30 Rock, on which she played Jack Donaghy’s (Alec Baldwin) mother Colleen. Her recurring guest appearances earned her an Emmy in 2008. Stritch previously won Emmys for a...
Elaine Strich Dies
Stritch’s passing was confirmed by her friend Julie Keyes to The New York Times.
Stritch, a Detroit native, made her Broadway debut in 1946 in Jed Harris’ comedy Loco. She went on to earn Tony nominations for her inspired work in William Inge’s Bus Stop (1955), Noel Coward’s Sail Away (1961), Stephen Sondheim’s Company (1970), in which she sang one of her most enduring numbers – “The Ladies Who Lunch,” and Edward Albee play A Delicate Balance (1996). Stritch finally took home a Tony for her one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty in 2001.
On the small screen, Stritch more recently appeared on Tina Fey’s 30 Rock, on which she played Jack Donaghy’s (Alec Baldwin) mother Colleen. Her recurring guest appearances earned her an Emmy in 2008. Stritch previously won Emmys for a...
- 7/17/2014
- Uinterview
To celebrate the DVD release of The Woody Allen Collection on 7th July, we’re giving away 1 box set a lucky winner.
Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment is pleased to announce the UK release of The Woody Allen Library boxset – a collection of classic Woody Allen films that are also releasing individually on DVD on 7th July 2014; the films will be available digitally from 23rd June 2014.
The Box set includes: Bullets Over Broadway, Deconstructing Harry, Mighty Aphrodite, Celebrity, Everyone Says I love You, Small Time Crooks, Sweet And Lowdown and Wild Man Blues. From directing, to writing, to acting, these eight titles are arguably some of Allen’s most classic and successful pieces of work, featuring outstanding cast lists.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Small Print
Open to UK residents only The competition will close 10th July at 23.59 GMT The winner will be...
Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment is pleased to announce the UK release of The Woody Allen Library boxset – a collection of classic Woody Allen films that are also releasing individually on DVD on 7th July 2014; the films will be available digitally from 23rd June 2014.
The Box set includes: Bullets Over Broadway, Deconstructing Harry, Mighty Aphrodite, Celebrity, Everyone Says I love You, Small Time Crooks, Sweet And Lowdown and Wild Man Blues. From directing, to writing, to acting, these eight titles are arguably some of Allen’s most classic and successful pieces of work, featuring outstanding cast lists.
Please note: This competition is open to UK residents only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Small Print
Open to UK residents only The competition will close 10th July at 23.59 GMT The winner will be...
- 6/30/2014
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment (Khe) has secured a catalogue of classic Woody Allen titles for release this summer.
The deal was negotiated by Nadine Rothschild for Westend Films and Spencer Pollard for Khe.
The collection will be released as a DVD boxset entitled ‘The Woody Allen Library’ on July 7 and will also be available digitally from June 23. The films include Bullets Over Broadway, Celebrity, Deconstructing Harry, Everyone Says I Love You, Mighty Aphrodite, Small Time Crooks, Sweet and Lowdown, and Wild Man Blues.
Michael Chapman, Acquisitions Executive of Khe, said: “Given the recent success of Blue Jasmine, this is the perfect time to release some of Allen’s past works.”
London-based Khe has released more than 250 films such as Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing; The Reluctant Fundamentalist starring Riz Ahmed; and Ray Winstone gangster thriller Lords of London.
The deal was negotiated by Nadine Rothschild for Westend Films and Spencer Pollard for Khe.
The collection will be released as a DVD boxset entitled ‘The Woody Allen Library’ on July 7 and will also be available digitally from June 23. The films include Bullets Over Broadway, Celebrity, Deconstructing Harry, Everyone Says I Love You, Mighty Aphrodite, Small Time Crooks, Sweet and Lowdown, and Wild Man Blues.
Michael Chapman, Acquisitions Executive of Khe, said: “Given the recent success of Blue Jasmine, this is the perfect time to release some of Allen’s past works.”
London-based Khe has released more than 250 films such as Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing; The Reluctant Fundamentalist starring Riz Ahmed; and Ray Winstone gangster thriller Lords of London.
- 4/28/2014
- ScreenDaily
Today we are setting our sights on one of the most iconic Broadway leading ladies alive and looking back at her astonishingly rich and varied career onstage and onscreen, having worked with many of the most important entertainment figures of the 20th and 21st century over her 60-year career and winning multiple awards and honors in the process - the one and only Elaine Stritch. Touching upon her time in many notable theatrical entities ranging from her early work at The New School under director Erwin Piscator to rubbing elbows with legends like Bertolt Brecht, William Inge, Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams and Marlon Brando to her unforgettable turns in Stephen Sondheim's Company and Follies In Concert, Stritch also shines a light on her indelible performances in the plays of Edward Albee and looks ahead to a staged reading of Three Tall Women she is pursuing later this year. Most importantly,...
- 2/17/2014
- by Pat Cerasaro
- BroadwayWorld.com
The Nut Job
Directed by: Peter Lepeniotis
Cast: Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Katherine Heigl, Liam Neeson
Running Time: 1 hr 26 mins
Rating: PG
Release Date: January 17, 2014
Plot: Rogue squirrel Surly (Arnett) discovers a nut shop that is also the front for an underground bank robbery.
Who’S It For? With its key demographics having already seen Frozen, the film may provide decent satiation for its crowd, but without any rich spectacle, only its animal-talking zaniness to carry it through an ironically turgid running time.
Overall
Looking back on the moment, it was probably intended by the Nut Job filmmakers that my Saturday morning screening of The Nut Job began with the image presented inescapably out of focus, in need of a restart that would repeat the film’s first five minutes. Even through squinted eyes, forever damaged by not being able to experience 3D even with the glasses on due to the film’s presentation itself,...
Directed by: Peter Lepeniotis
Cast: Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Katherine Heigl, Liam Neeson
Running Time: 1 hr 26 mins
Rating: PG
Release Date: January 17, 2014
Plot: Rogue squirrel Surly (Arnett) discovers a nut shop that is also the front for an underground bank robbery.
Who’S It For? With its key demographics having already seen Frozen, the film may provide decent satiation for its crowd, but without any rich spectacle, only its animal-talking zaniness to carry it through an ironically turgid running time.
Overall
Looking back on the moment, it was probably intended by the Nut Job filmmakers that my Saturday morning screening of The Nut Job began with the image presented inescapably out of focus, in need of a restart that would repeat the film’s first five minutes. Even through squinted eyes, forever damaged by not being able to experience 3D even with the glasses on due to the film’s presentation itself,...
- 1/17/2014
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
Well, here's a change of pace. Usually, plot details for Woody Allen films are kept under lock and key until the movie is practically in theaters, but this time around, without a release date even set, we now know what it's all about. Sony Pictures Classics have (unsurprisingly) picked up the rights to Allen's next film "Magic In The Moonlight," and in their official announcement, they've provided a logline. Here it is: "Magic In The Moonlight is a romantic comedy about an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. Personal and professional complications ensue. The film is set in the south of France in the 1920s against a backdrop of wealthy mansions, the Côte d’Azur, jazz joints and fashionable spots for the wealthy of the Jazz Age." So, "Small Time Crooks" meets "Midnight In Paris"? Whatever it is, we'll be watching, especially with the cast of Emma Stone,...
- 1/9/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
School is almost out, but the learning never stops when you have access to the internet. There are so many discussions, behind-the-scenes videos, and interviews from master filmmakers floating on the web that you can spend a whole summer immersing yourself in the world of film studies and not run out of material. So to kick off your summer studies, why not start off with some Woody Allen? Below you'll find a one hour episode of “Scene By Scene,” a brief BBC series from critic/filmmaker Mark Cousins (the man behind the epic 15-part "The Story Of Film" and "What Is This Film Called Love?"). The show had him talking to directors about their body of work and dissecting their process, with the ample running time allowing him to really dig deep. In this one hour discussion circa June 2000 (around the release of "Small Time Crooks") Woody talks about his obsession with death,...
- 6/10/2013
- by Jason McDonald
- The Playlist
The 6th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala has unveiled its lineup for the 2013 edition which will be held from June 7-11 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
The festival is organized by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, in addition to the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk). The festival has a National level competition for Documentaries (long and short), short fiction, animation, music videos and campus films. The Best Short Fiction (upto 69 mins) wins a cash prize of Rs. 50,000/ and a certificate. Best Animation wins a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/ and a certificate while the Best Music Video is also awarded a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/ and a certificate.
National Competition: Short Fiction
23 Winters
Dir: Rajesh S. Jala/30min/2013
Afternoon/Do Pahar
Dir: Shazia Shrivastava|Sharifa Roy/29min/2012
Alfie
Dir: Thomas Mathai/26min/2013
Behind the Wall/Bhinti Maage
Dir: Vishwesh Kolwalker/14min/2013
Bleeding
Dir: AromalT./21min/2012
For Hire
Dir: Varun Chawla...
The festival is organized by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, in addition to the International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk). The festival has a National level competition for Documentaries (long and short), short fiction, animation, music videos and campus films. The Best Short Fiction (upto 69 mins) wins a cash prize of Rs. 50,000/ and a certificate. Best Animation wins a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/ and a certificate while the Best Music Video is also awarded a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/ and a certificate.
National Competition: Short Fiction
23 Winters
Dir: Rajesh S. Jala/30min/2013
Afternoon/Do Pahar
Dir: Shazia Shrivastava|Sharifa Roy/29min/2012
Alfie
Dir: Thomas Mathai/26min/2013
Behind the Wall/Bhinti Maage
Dir: Vishwesh Kolwalker/14min/2013
Bleeding
Dir: AromalT./21min/2012
For Hire
Dir: Varun Chawla...
- 5/14/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
A fast paced action thriller of explicit violence, all the better for a comedic turn and creative story telling. Writer/director Martin McDonagh reunites with .In Bruges. leading man Colin Farrell for a rollicking junket into the wild side of high stakes crimes and, well, dogs. Small time crooks Billy (Sam Rockwell) and Hans (Christopher Walken) have a small time racket that is a small as it gets. They steal dogs and then return them to the owner for the reward. This would be pathetic if it were not for Hans. ulterior motive, to pay for his wife.s medical bills as she recovers from cancer. Set in Los Angeles, the film starts with a shot of the Hollywood...
- 10/10/2012
- by Ron Wilkinson
- Monsters and Critics
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Sept. 4, 2012
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Walter Matthau prepares for the ride of his life in A New Leaf.
The 1971 comedy favorite A New Leaf marks the directorial debut of Elaine May (The Heartbreak Kid, Ishtar), who also penned the film’s screenplay.
Henry Graham (Walter Matthau, Who’s Got the Action?) is a man with a problem: he has run through his entire inheritance and is completely unequipped to provide for himself. His childhood guardian, Uncle Harry (James Coco, The Cheap Detective), refuses to give him a dime, so Henry devises a plan with the help of his imaginative butler (George Rose, Hawaii) to make his money the old-fashioned way – he can marry it. But he cannot see himself as a happily married man, so he comes up with an even more devious solution… with a temporary loan from his uncle, Henry has six...
Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95
Studio: Olive Films
Walter Matthau prepares for the ride of his life in A New Leaf.
The 1971 comedy favorite A New Leaf marks the directorial debut of Elaine May (The Heartbreak Kid, Ishtar), who also penned the film’s screenplay.
Henry Graham (Walter Matthau, Who’s Got the Action?) is a man with a problem: he has run through his entire inheritance and is completely unequipped to provide for himself. His childhood guardian, Uncle Harry (James Coco, The Cheap Detective), refuses to give him a dime, so Henry devises a plan with the help of his imaginative butler (George Rose, Hawaii) to make his money the old-fashioned way – he can marry it. But he cannot see himself as a happily married man, so he comes up with an even more devious solution… with a temporary loan from his uncle, Henry has six...
- 6/28/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
In 1993, whilst under heavy fire from the media regarding his split with Farrow and in the middle of a nasty custody battle over custody of their children, Woody Allen released yet another movie. “Manhattan Murder Mystery” is a light hearted romp that reunites him with Diane Keaton in a role originally intended for Farrow. Keaton and Allen play a high class married couple who accidentally stumble upon what they believe to be a murder. Co-Starring Alan Alda and Angelica Huston the movie is fun, frivolous watch which showed that the on screen chemistry between Allen and Keaton was still there after all those years. It also proved that regardless of what was happening in his personal life Woody Allen was still an accomplished and extremely focused film director. He escaped from the pressures of reality by immersing himself in even more work.
In 94 he directed “Don’t Drink the Water...
In 94 he directed “Don’t Drink the Water...
- 1/13/2012
- by Tom Ryan
- Obsessed with Film
Woody Allen’s 41st feature film in 45 years of directing somewhat surprisingly became the biggest box office hit of his career, grossing $56 million in the Us and was thought to have enough mainstream potential to be released in the UK soon after its Stateside run (usually us Brits have to wait a full year before the latest Woody Allen film is released and even then almost always on a limited run). Now available on DVD and Blu-Ray release in the Us and coming out in the UK on the 6th February 2012, it’s the perfect time to take a look back at this film, which upon release had a fair amount of Oscar hype, and see how it holds up.
Overall it’s one of Woody’s most optimistic films of recent times, its story centres around Owen Wilson’s character Gil – a Hollywood hack screenwriter – feeling out of place in his surroundings,...
Overall it’s one of Woody’s most optimistic films of recent times, its story centres around Owen Wilson’s character Gil – a Hollywood hack screenwriter – feeling out of place in his surroundings,...
- 12/28/2011
- by Owain Paciuszko
- Obsessed with Film
Veteran director joins $100m club with his acclaimed new picture despite being written off by critics
Despite years of critical derision and a general perception that his career is in terminal decline, Woody Allen has confounded his critics by engineering a commercial renaissance – joining the $100m club in the process.
Allen's 41st feature as director, Midnight in Paris, which is due for release in the UK on Friday, is already his highest-grossing picture: its worldwide take stands at more than $107.4m (£68.7m).
Allen has not reached these heights at the box office since the mid-80s, when Hannah and Her Sisters took $40.1m in the Us, compared with Midnight in Paris's $54.4m. Manhattan (1979) and Annie Hall (1977) are the next highest, with $39.9m and $38.3m respectively.
The reasons behind the success of Midnight in Paris are open to debate. In recent years Allen's commercial credibility has been on the rise,...
Despite years of critical derision and a general perception that his career is in terminal decline, Woody Allen has confounded his critics by engineering a commercial renaissance – joining the $100m club in the process.
Allen's 41st feature as director, Midnight in Paris, which is due for release in the UK on Friday, is already his highest-grossing picture: its worldwide take stands at more than $107.4m (£68.7m).
Allen has not reached these heights at the box office since the mid-80s, when Hannah and Her Sisters took $40.1m in the Us, compared with Midnight in Paris's $54.4m. Manhattan (1979) and Annie Hall (1977) are the next highest, with $39.9m and $38.3m respectively.
The reasons behind the success of Midnight in Paris are open to debate. In recent years Allen's commercial credibility has been on the rise,...
- 10/3/2011
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s blockbuster movies that have dominated the box office in 2011. But there’s been room for some sleeper hits, too. Such as this little lot…
Over the past four months, three of the ten biggest films of all time at the box office have been released. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides have each grossed over $1bn across the planet. It’s a staggering number, with Potter leading the pack, sitting behind Avatar and Titanic as the third biggest film of all time.
But the success of these movies was arguably preordained. Each had a massive production budget, a marketing spend to make small countries wince, and opening weekends bought for them that would spring them off to a very fast box office start.
What 2011 has also proven, though, is that there’s still room for a good,...
Over the past four months, three of the ten biggest films of all time at the box office have been released. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides have each grossed over $1bn across the planet. It’s a staggering number, with Potter leading the pack, sitting behind Avatar and Titanic as the third biggest film of all time.
But the success of these movies was arguably preordained. Each had a massive production budget, a marketing spend to make small countries wince, and opening weekends bought for them that would spring them off to a very fast box office start.
What 2011 has also proven, though, is that there’s still room for a good,...
- 8/17/2011
- Den of Geek
If its 'working stiffs who decide to rob the billionaire who defrauded their pensions' plot weren't such a blatant capitalization on recent financial scandals, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Tower Heist looks like an ensemble robbery comedy that someone like Woody Allen would have tried to make 13 years ago. For starters, it stars Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick and Tea Leoni. The only actors that tip off the fact that this is a 2011 film are Michael Pena and Gabourey Sidibe. Oh, and the grey hair on Stiller and Broderick's hair, that's kind of a tell as well. And while that sounds like a knock on the film, Tower Heist looking like it belongs in a generational league with Small Time Crooks, The...
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- 7/28/2011
- by Movies.com
- Movies.com - Celebrity Gossip
If its 'working stiffs who decide to rob the billionaire who defrauded their pensions' plot weren't such a blatant capitalization on recent financial scandals, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Tower Heist looks like an ensemble robbery comedy that someone like Woody Allen would have tried to make 13 years ago. For starters, it stars Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick and Tea Leoni. The only actors that tip off the fact that this is a 2011 film are Michael Pena and Gabourey Sidibe. Oh, and the grey hair on Stiller and Broderick's hair, that's kind of a tell as well. And while that sounds like a knock on the film, Tower Heist looking like it belongs in a generational league with Small Time Crooks, The...
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- 7/28/2011
- by Movies.com
- Movies.com
If its 'working stiffs who decide to rob the billionaire who defrauded their pensions' plot weren't such a blatant capitalization on recent financial scandals, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Tower Heist looks like an ensemble robbery comedy that someone like Woody Allen would have tried to make 13 years ago. For starters, it stars Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick and Tea Leoni. The only actors that tip off the fact that this is a 2011 film are Michael Pena and Gabourey Sidibe. Oh, and the grey hair on Stiller and Broderick's hair, that's kind of a tell as well. And while that sounds like a knock on the film, Tower Heist looking like it belongs in a generational league with Small Time Crooks, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion,...
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- 7/28/2011
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
If its 'working stiffs who decide to rob the billionaire who defrauded their pensions' plot weren't such a blatant capitalization on recent financial scandals, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Tower Heist looks like an ensemble robbery comedy that someone like Woody Allen would have tried to make 13 years ago. For starters, it stars Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick and Tea Leoni. The only actors that tip off the fact that this is a 2011 film are Michael Pena and Gabourey Sidibe. Oh, and the grey hair on Stiller and Broderick's hair, that's kind of a tell as well. And while that sounds like a knock on the film, Tower Heist looking like it belongs in a generational league with Small Time Crooks, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion,...
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- 7/28/2011
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
Midnight in Paris is poised to become Woody Allen’s biggest hit in 25 years. Though it only recently reached more than 1,000 movie theaters, the Owen Wilson comedy has grossed an impressive $22.7 million, in addition to near-universal critical praise. When it passes Match Point ($23.1 million) and Vicky Cristina Barcelona ($23.2 million) later this week, it will be the director’s most successful film since the Oscar-winning Hannah and Her Sisters in 1986.
Well, technically… but not really. As impressive as Midnight in Paris has been — especially following duds You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and Whatever Works — no box-office nerd would attempt...
Well, technically… but not really. As impressive as Midnight in Paris has been — especially following duds You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and Whatever Works — no box-office nerd would attempt...
- 6/23/2011
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW.com - PopWatch
Yesterday, we asked you to name your favorite Woody Allen movie ever. Needless to say, the responses we received were as diverse as Allen’s oeuvre itself, from established classics like Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters to underrated gems like Alice and Sweet and Lowdown. Then there’s a reader who claims to have watched Everyone Says I Love You at least 10 times. That just makes me happy. EW readers still really seem to love Woody’s “earlier, funnier” movies like Bananas, Sleeper, and Love and Death, while his critically panned recent output fared surprisingly well — more than one...
- 6/17/2011
- by Christian Blauvelt
- EW.com - PopWatch
"Midnight in Paris" is, without question, the best Woody Allen film I've seen in the past decade.And, I should stop right there. As I was setting out to catch the screening of "Midnight in Paris", it occurred to me that it has actually been some time since I last saw a Woody Allen film when it was new. It sure didn't feel that way, as I've been keeping up the director vicariously, but the last one I saw in the theater was "Small Time Crooks", in 2000. Sheesh, that is a while ago....
- 6/10/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Elaine May at the 92Y. Part One.
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to see Ishtar (1987) at a special event with writer/director/actress/funnywoman Elaine May. She's been out of the spotlight for some time. The last major hurrah was her hilarious supporting role in Woody Allen's Small Time Crooks (2000). Ishtar, for those that are unfamiliar, is an infamous big budget flop in which Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman star as a talentless musical duo who get mixed up with middle eastern politics via "terrorist" Isabelle Adjani and CIA agent Charles Grodin during a gig in Morrocco.
Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and Isabelle Adjani in Ishtar (1987). © Sony Pictures
If you lived through the 1980s you probably feel like you saw Ishtar even if you didn't it because it became an easy-target for comedians and the basis of a lot of schaudenfreude fun (look how the mighty fall!
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to see Ishtar (1987) at a special event with writer/director/actress/funnywoman Elaine May. She's been out of the spotlight for some time. The last major hurrah was her hilarious supporting role in Woody Allen's Small Time Crooks (2000). Ishtar, for those that are unfamiliar, is an infamous big budget flop in which Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman star as a talentless musical duo who get mixed up with middle eastern politics via "terrorist" Isabelle Adjani and CIA agent Charles Grodin during a gig in Morrocco.
Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and Isabelle Adjani in Ishtar (1987). © Sony Pictures
If you lived through the 1980s you probably feel like you saw Ishtar even if you didn't it because it became an easy-target for comedians and the basis of a lot of schaudenfreude fun (look how the mighty fall!
- 5/20/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
An Aardman Production For Sony Pictures Animation Martin Freeman, David Tennant, Imelda Staunton, Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, Brian Blessed, Brendan Gleeson, Russell Tovey, and Ashley Jensen Also On Board
Culver City, Calif. – Hugh Grant will voice the lead role alongside an all-star cast in The Pirates! Band Of Misfits, the new stop-motion, 3D, animated film produced by Aardman Animations for Sony Pictures Animation. The film, which will be distributed by Columbia Pictures, will be released March 30, 2012 in North America.
Hugh Grant, starring in his first animated role, is the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain – a boundlessly enthusiastic, if somewhat less-than-successful, terror of the High Seas. With a rag-tag crew at his side (Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson, Russell Tovey, and Ashley Jensen), and seemingly blind to the impossible odds stacked against him, the Captain has one dream: to beat his bitter rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) to...
Culver City, Calif. – Hugh Grant will voice the lead role alongside an all-star cast in The Pirates! Band Of Misfits, the new stop-motion, 3D, animated film produced by Aardman Animations for Sony Pictures Animation. The film, which will be distributed by Columbia Pictures, will be released March 30, 2012 in North America.
Hugh Grant, starring in his first animated role, is the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain – a boundlessly enthusiastic, if somewhat less-than-successful, terror of the High Seas. With a rag-tag crew at his side (Martin Freeman, Brendan Gleeson, Russell Tovey, and Ashley Jensen), and seemingly blind to the impossible odds stacked against him, the Captain has one dream: to beat his bitter rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) to...
- 5/17/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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