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
Let’s first address the flying superhero in the room: No, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark doesn’t (quite) make our list of the worst stage shows of 2011. (You can check out our Mormon-led best list here.) In the end, we decided Spidey’s aerial effects are pretty darned cool, though all too brief, and the retooled show isn’t as unwatchably overwrought as Julie Taymor’s original version. Instead, our evil eye is trained on the year’s even more offensive theatrical blunders like the misguided revival of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (pictured, with Jessie...
- 12/30/2011
- by Aubry D'Arminio
- EW.com - PopWatch
Stage Door will now be a weekly Tuesday series featuring Nathaniel's (or other contributors') theatrical adventures and, as often as possible, how they do connect or could connect with the cinema. So pardon this Monday entry, and subsequent double dip, but 'tis the season; we'll do this again tomorrow for the Tony Award Nominations! But today... a few notes on Marie & Bruce, the current revival of the play with Marisa Tomei (it closes this coming weekend) and the movie version with Julianne Moore.
I mentioned the play briefly before. It opens with Marie and Bruce in bed. Marie is unable to sleep and proceeds to talk herself in circles, spewing bile towards her sleeping husband whom she apparently hates and plans to leave that very day. She tells us about his prized typewriter which she threw away and complains that it's a hot summer, they've both had the flu, and neither of them have jobs.
I mentioned the play briefly before. It opens with Marie and Bruce in bed. Marie is unable to sleep and proceeds to talk herself in circles, spewing bile towards her sleeping husband whom she apparently hates and plans to leave that very day. She tells us about his prized typewriter which she threw away and complains that it's a hot summer, they've both had the flu, and neither of them have jobs.
- 5/2/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The female portion of the cast of Aaron Sorkin's HBO pilot is taking shape. Olivia Munn and Alison Pill are in negotiations for supporting roles in the project, while I hear Marisa Tomei is inching closer to committing to play the female lead. Tentatively titled More As This Story Develops, the project centers on cable news anchor Will McCallister (Jeff Daniels), who has his own show, as well as the show's female executive producer and staff. Tomei, repped by CAA and Untitled, is poised to play the executive producer, MacKenzie, for whom producing the news is what she does best and everything else is tied for last place. Pill will play Maggie, an associate producer on the assignment desk. Munn, repped by CAA and Mosaic, will play a sexy financial analyst on the same cable network as McCallister. Oscar winner Tomei has been one of several actresses considered for...
- 4/26/2011
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
Last night my girlfriend Kay and I saw Marisa Tomei in the revival of Wallace Shawn's 1979 play Marie and Bruce. (I'll tell you a bit more about it and how it compares to that very underseen Julianne Moore film in next week's theater column). As you walk into the theater, before the show starts, Marisa and co-star Frank Whaley are already on the stage, tossing and turning in bed.
Marisa aka Marie is obviously Not sleeping. In fact, she's chain smoking in between fights with the blankets and jabs at her snoring husband. Two older women walk past me.
Elderly Woman #1: ... [unintelligible] My Cousin Vinny.
Elderly Woman #2: That must be so frustrating, to win the Oscar your first time in a movie and then... nothing!
UHHnnnhh. So I say...
'First things first, ladies. Tomei has had quite a healthy early-skeptics-defying film career... complete with two follow up Oscar nominations and,...
Marisa aka Marie is obviously Not sleeping. In fact, she's chain smoking in between fights with the blankets and jabs at her snoring husband. Two older women walk past me.
Elderly Woman #1: ... [unintelligible] My Cousin Vinny.
Elderly Woman #2: That must be so frustrating, to win the Oscar your first time in a movie and then... nothing!
UHHnnnhh. So I say...
'First things first, ladies. Tomei has had quite a healthy early-skeptics-defying film career... complete with two follow up Oscar nominations and,...
- 4/22/2011
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The boards made very few creaks this week. La Cage aux Folles producers revealed the sad news that the musical will close on May 1 after 433 performances and 15 previews. Billy Elliot celebrated its 1,000th show. The four-night-only star-studded (think: Stephen Colbert, Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Christina Hendricks, Jon Cryer, and more) New York Philharmonic production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company began at Lincoln Center. And our reviewers saw Marisa Tomei return to off-Broadway in a ho-hum revival beneath her talents and Tony winners Sutton Foster and Joel Grey tap the light fantastic in Anything Goes (known now as The Play...
- 4/8/2011
- by Aubry D'Arminio
- EW.com - PopWatch
halfway through the day, we freeze a movie halfway through
Confession time: I still have not seen Personal Effects, Michelle Pfeiffer's second recent straight-to-dvd mishap, the other being I Could Never Be Your Woman (see previous post). In both films the goddess has a relationship with a much younger man.
55 minutes into the movie, Pfeiffer hits on an unresponsive near
silent Ashton Kutcher. What's wrong with him?
As one of the web's most notorious pfans, you'd think I'd be more of a completist. But I am so scared to watch it. I don't know why. It's not like I've never seen her in a disposable movie before. For all I know it's good (I scanned to the middle... having still not overcome my fear). Aside from this picture, I have only a few gaps in my Pfandom. I haven't seen any of her TV work prior to moving permanently...
Confession time: I still have not seen Personal Effects, Michelle Pfeiffer's second recent straight-to-dvd mishap, the other being I Could Never Be Your Woman (see previous post). In both films the goddess has a relationship with a much younger man.
55 minutes into the movie, Pfeiffer hits on an unresponsive near
silent Ashton Kutcher. What's wrong with him?
As one of the web's most notorious pfans, you'd think I'd be more of a completist. But I am so scared to watch it. I don't know why. It's not like I've never seen her in a disposable movie before. For all I know it's good (I scanned to the middle... having still not overcome my fear). Aside from this picture, I have only a few gaps in my Pfandom. I haven't seen any of her TV work prior to moving permanently...
- 10/17/2009
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
DVD Playhouse—March 2009
By
Allen Gardner
Let The Right One In (Magnolia) An awkward 12 year-old boy, ignored by his mother and the target of bullies, finds himself drawn to his new neighbor: a girl his own age who only appears at night, and seems herself to be as lonely an outcast as he. Haunting film from Sweden is best described as The 400 Blows meets Nosferatu, and contains some of the most haunting imagery of any film in recent memory. Truly a unique and memorable work. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Featurette; Photo and poster gallery. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
Paramount Centennial Collection Paramount offers two more classic titles, restored, remastered and loaded with extras. Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief stars Cary Grant as a retired jewel thief trying to enjoy his sunset years on the French Riviera with a minimum of drama, until he catches the eye of a high-maintenance heiress (Grace Kelly,...
By
Allen Gardner
Let The Right One In (Magnolia) An awkward 12 year-old boy, ignored by his mother and the target of bullies, finds himself drawn to his new neighbor: a girl his own age who only appears at night, and seems herself to be as lonely an outcast as he. Haunting film from Sweden is best described as The 400 Blows meets Nosferatu, and contains some of the most haunting imagery of any film in recent memory. Truly a unique and memorable work. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Featurette; Photo and poster gallery. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.
Paramount Centennial Collection Paramount offers two more classic titles, restored, remastered and loaded with extras. Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief stars Cary Grant as a retired jewel thief trying to enjoy his sunset years on the French Riviera with a minimum of drama, until he catches the eye of a high-maintenance heiress (Grace Kelly,...
- 3/11/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
The following feature-length motion pictures have been reviewed and rated by the Classification and Rating Administration pursuant to the Motion Picture Classification and Rating program. Each of the designated ratings is defined as follows under the Motion Picture Classification and Rating program.
G -- General Audiences. All ages admitted.
PG -- Parental Guidance Suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
PG -13 --Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
R -- Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Nc-17 -- No One 17 And Under Admitted
1. Christmas Is Here Again
Screen Media Ventures, LLC
G
2. Eagle Eye
DreamWorks/Paramount Distribution Rated for intense sequences of action and violence, and for language.
PG-13
3. Fighting
Rogue Pictures Rated for intense fight sequences, a sex scene and brief strong language.
PG-13
4 Haunting Of Molly Hartley, The
Freestyle Releasing, LLC Rated for violence.
R
5. Lords Of The Street
Peace Arch Home Entertainment Inc. Rated for violence and language.
R
6. Machined Reborn Grindstone Entertainment Group Rated for sadistic violence and torture, language and some sexuality/nudity.
R
7. Marie And Bruce Genius Products Rated for language including sexual references, and some nudity.
R
8. Milk
Focus Features Rated for language, some sexual content and brief violence.
R
9. Ninja Cheerleaders
Peace Arch Home Entertainment Inc. Rated for nudity, sexual content and some crude material.
R
10. Nothing But The Truth
Yari Film Group Releasing, LLC Rated for language, some sexual material and a scene of violence.
R
11. Phoebe In Wonderland Thinkfilm Rated for thematic material and brief strong language.
PG-13
12. Righteous Kill
Overture Films
Rated for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use.
R
13. Secret Life Of Bees, The
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. Rated for thematic material and some violence.
PG-13
14. Surviving Crooked Lake
NeoClassics Films Ltd. Rated for some disturbing bloody images, brief strong language, drug use and smoking.
PG-13
15. Sushi Pack The Movie
Kidtoon Films, Inc.
G
16. Tyler Perry's The Family That Prays
Lionsgate Rated for thematic material, sexual references and brief violence.
PG-13
17. Vacancy 2: The Final Cut
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Rated for strong violence and terror, language and some sexual content.
R
18. World Unseen, The
Regent Releasing L.L.C. Rated for mature thematic material involving sexuality, and violence.
PG Updated Wednesday, August 13, 2008.
G -- General Audiences. All ages admitted.
PG -- Parental Guidance Suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
PG -13 --Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
R -- Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Nc-17 -- No One 17 And Under Admitted
1. Christmas Is Here Again
Screen Media Ventures, LLC
G
2. Eagle Eye
DreamWorks/Paramount Distribution Rated for intense sequences of action and violence, and for language.
PG-13
3. Fighting
Rogue Pictures Rated for intense fight sequences, a sex scene and brief strong language.
PG-13
4 Haunting Of Molly Hartley, The
Freestyle Releasing, LLC Rated for violence.
R
5. Lords Of The Street
Peace Arch Home Entertainment Inc. Rated for violence and language.
R
6. Machined Reborn Grindstone Entertainment Group Rated for sadistic violence and torture, language and some sexuality/nudity.
R
7. Marie And Bruce Genius Products Rated for language including sexual references, and some nudity.
R
8. Milk
Focus Features Rated for language, some sexual content and brief violence.
R
9. Ninja Cheerleaders
Peace Arch Home Entertainment Inc. Rated for nudity, sexual content and some crude material.
R
10. Nothing But The Truth
Yari Film Group Releasing, LLC Rated for language, some sexual material and a scene of violence.
R
11. Phoebe In Wonderland Thinkfilm Rated for thematic material and brief strong language.
PG-13
12. Righteous Kill
Overture Films
Rated for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use.
R
13. Secret Life Of Bees, The
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. Rated for thematic material and some violence.
PG-13
14. Surviving Crooked Lake
NeoClassics Films Ltd. Rated for some disturbing bloody images, brief strong language, drug use and smoking.
PG-13
15. Sushi Pack The Movie
Kidtoon Films, Inc.
G
16. Tyler Perry's The Family That Prays
Lionsgate Rated for thematic material, sexual references and brief violence.
PG-13
17. Vacancy 2: The Final Cut
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Rated for strong violence and terror, language and some sexual content.
R
18. World Unseen, The
Regent Releasing L.L.C. Rated for mature thematic material involving sexuality, and violence.
PG Updated Wednesday, August 13, 2008.
- 8/13/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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