John Krasinski’s “If” presents a menagerie of celebrity-voiced imaginary friends who are in search of existential purpose after their kids grow up and forget them. Enter Ryan Reynolds, who runs a matchmaking service for the “IFs,” who live in a secluded retirement home at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park in Coney Island.
Framestore handled the audacious fusion of live-action and CG animation and VFX (800 shots) spread across their London, Montreal, and Mumbai studios. Led by animation director Arslan Elver and VFX supervisor Chris Lawrence, the team worked closely with director-actor Krasinski to get believable performances out of the IFs on set or in post. Krasinski saw them as visceral, hyper-real puppets. The techniques included stand-ins to help the voice actors deliver full performances, placing the animated characters in the shot with VR, or the use of home-shot reference footage from the animators.
There are three hero characters: Blue (Steve Carell), a sweet,...
Framestore handled the audacious fusion of live-action and CG animation and VFX (800 shots) spread across their London, Montreal, and Mumbai studios. Led by animation director Arslan Elver and VFX supervisor Chris Lawrence, the team worked closely with director-actor Krasinski to get believable performances out of the IFs on set or in post. Krasinski saw them as visceral, hyper-real puppets. The techniques included stand-ins to help the voice actors deliver full performances, placing the animated characters in the shot with VR, or the use of home-shot reference footage from the animators.
There are three hero characters: Blue (Steve Carell), a sweet,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Returning for its 15th annual edition this weekend, the TCM Classic Film Festival will turn Hollywood Blvd. into the center of the movie universe again for four days, for that very obsessive and loving subset of film fans that has the network’s vintage fare as part of their weekly and daily lives. And just what time span “classics” falls into is exemplified by the big opening and closing night films.
The gala opening night picture is 1994’s “Pulp Fiction,” which festival director Genevieve McGillicuddy says “is one of the most contemporary films that we are showing this year, along with ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘Little Women,’ the 1994 version. ‘Seven,’ I think, is the most recent film we’re screening; that’s 1995. Just like with the network, we don’t have any official cutoff in terms of the years of films that we’re showing. But, interestingly — it’s the opposite of a cutoff,...
The gala opening night picture is 1994’s “Pulp Fiction,” which festival director Genevieve McGillicuddy says “is one of the most contemporary films that we are showing this year, along with ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘Little Women,’ the 1994 version. ‘Seven,’ I think, is the most recent film we’re screening; that’s 1995. Just like with the network, we don’t have any official cutoff in terms of the years of films that we’re showing. But, interestingly — it’s the opposite of a cutoff,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
The preview opening of the new exhibit Meet the Stars: 100 Years of MGM Studios and the Golden Age of Hollywood on Thursday night was a crowded, buzzing affair. Held at the Hollywood Heritage Museum in the historic Lasky DeMille Barn across from the Hollywood Bowl, the event showcased the items of over 20 movie collectors. Memorabilia hunters, dressed in fedoras and flirty ’40s dresses, gabbed about their latest finds with others who have a similar passion.
The highlight of the night was when the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to former MGM child star Cora Sue Collins (who played a little Greta Garbo in 1933’s Queen Christina), the last surviving MGM contract player from the 1930s. Sitting at a tableau that recreated a party thrown for her by MGM in 1935, Collins elegantly thanked everyone for their well wishes. Actor George Chakiris was also in attendance, and he posed next to a costume...
The highlight of the night was when the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to former MGM child star Cora Sue Collins (who played a little Greta Garbo in 1933’s Queen Christina), the last surviving MGM contract player from the 1930s. Sitting at a tableau that recreated a party thrown for her by MGM in 1935, Collins elegantly thanked everyone for their well wishes. Actor George Chakiris was also in attendance, and he posed next to a costume...
- 4/5/2024
- by Hadley Meares
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Death In Paradise spin-off Beyond Paradise is back for a second series, and here’s the trailer.
As Death In Paradise nears the end of its 13th series, the BBC is preparing to launch the second series of successful spin-off Beyond Paradise, the most watched new drama of last year
The new series will see the return of Kris Marshall as Di Humphrey Goodman, Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn PC Kelby Hartford, Barbara Flynn as Anne Lloyd, Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins, Jade Harison as Cs Charlie Woods, Melina Sinadinou as Zoe, Eva Feiler as Lucy, Isaac Vincent-Norgate as Ryan, Amelia Vitale as Hannah. Also returning is Selwyn the Duck.
The official synopsis reads as follows:
Shipton Abbott continues to keep Di Humphrey Goodman and his team busy, with a baffling new crime each episode. From a death on a steam train to a missing teacher,...
As Death In Paradise nears the end of its 13th series, the BBC is preparing to launch the second series of successful spin-off Beyond Paradise, the most watched new drama of last year
The new series will see the return of Kris Marshall as Di Humphrey Goodman, Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams, Dylan Llewellyn PC Kelby Hartford, Barbara Flynn as Anne Lloyd, Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins, Jade Harison as Cs Charlie Woods, Melina Sinadinou as Zoe, Eva Feiler as Lucy, Isaac Vincent-Norgate as Ryan, Amelia Vitale as Hannah. Also returning is Selwyn the Duck.
The official synopsis reads as follows:
Shipton Abbott continues to keep Di Humphrey Goodman and his team busy, with a baffling new crime each episode. From a death on a steam train to a missing teacher,...
- 3/7/2024
- by Jake Godfrey
- Film Stories
Dashing, magnetic superstar Ricardo Montalbán got his start in the 1940s, appearing in numerous notable hit films in his native Mexico, playing a variety of roles in romantic dramas, historical comedies, and other swashbuckling adventures. His natural dazzle and ineffable "it" qualities caught the eye of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1947, and he shot the English-language film "Fiesta" with Esther Williams, Cyd Charisse, and Mary Astor. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Montalbán became incredibly busy, starring in romances, dramas, and an enormous amount of American TV, including one-shot TV movies and multiple notable hit shows. He was in "Dr. Kildare," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "Gunsmoke," "Hawaii Five-o," and, of course, "Star Trek," playing the charismatic tyrant Khan Noonien Singh.
A new generation of Montalbán fans was born with the debut of "Fantasy Island" in 1978. On "Fantasy Island," Montalbán played the mysterious Mr. Roarke, the manager of Devil's Island, a remote, hard-to-get-to tropical paradise...
A new generation of Montalbán fans was born with the debut of "Fantasy Island" in 1978. On "Fantasy Island," Montalbán played the mysterious Mr. Roarke, the manager of Devil's Island, a remote, hard-to-get-to tropical paradise...
- 1/23/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
This Sunday on BBC One, prepare for an enthralling journey as “Beyond Paradise” unfolds its latest episode at 9:00 Pm. Humphrey, the once laid-back paradise seeker, takes a turn in his pursuit of a quieter life. Having left the tropical haven behind, he now finds himself in the heart of fiancée Martha’s hometown, embracing the role of a Detective Inspector. However, the tranquility he sought might prove elusive as he confronts the challenges of a town grappling with a high crime rate.
In this gripping episode, viewers will witness Humphrey navigating the complexities of law enforcement in an unexpected setting. The juxtaposition of paradise-seeking and crime-fighting adds a fascinating layer to the storyline. As the plot unfolds, audiences can anticipate a blend of mystery, drama, and perhaps a few surprises that come with Humphrey’s new professional venture. “Beyond Paradise” promises a compelling narrative that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats,...
In this gripping episode, viewers will witness Humphrey navigating the complexities of law enforcement in an unexpected setting. The juxtaposition of paradise-seeking and crime-fighting adds a fascinating layer to the storyline. As the plot unfolds, audiences can anticipate a blend of mystery, drama, and perhaps a few surprises that come with Humphrey’s new professional venture. “Beyond Paradise” promises a compelling narrative that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats,...
- 12/18/2023
- by Posts UK
- TV Everyday
It’s been a few months since we’ve had a superhero movie bomb on par with Marvel’s “The Marvels” — Warner Bros’ “The Flash” movie — but even that didn’t compare to the disaster we saw this past weekend. Read on for the box office report.
The fact that Brie Larson‘s introduction as Carol Danvers in “Captain Marvel” in 2019 opened with more than $150 million and grossed more than $400 million domestically and $1.3 billion worldwide should have made “The Marvels” a sure bet this weekend, but early tracking and slow ticket pre-sales seemed to suggest otherwise.
Regardless, Disney opened “The Marvels” in 4,030 locations with previews on Thursday after receiving mixed-to-positive reviews with a 62% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, the writing was already on the wall, as reactions to the first trailer were fairly negative, and the addition of “WandaVision” co-star Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani‘s “Ms. Marvel” to...
The fact that Brie Larson‘s introduction as Carol Danvers in “Captain Marvel” in 2019 opened with more than $150 million and grossed more than $400 million domestically and $1.3 billion worldwide should have made “The Marvels” a sure bet this weekend, but early tracking and slow ticket pre-sales seemed to suggest otherwise.
Regardless, Disney opened “The Marvels” in 4,030 locations with previews on Thursday after receiving mixed-to-positive reviews with a 62% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, the writing was already on the wall, as reactions to the first trailer were fairly negative, and the addition of “WandaVision” co-star Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani‘s “Ms. Marvel” to...
- 11/12/2023
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
Miami Beach has had successive waves of hotel development in recent decades, starting in the late 1980s when developers began restoring South Beach’s art deco gems.
Now a number of new urban beach resorts from preeminent hospitality groups — including Aman, Rosewood, Auberge and Bulgari — are set to lure visitors to Miami Beach, which saw a post-covid-fueled boom. Across greater Miami, there were 17.1 million hotel room nights sold in 2022, up 12.7 percent from the year before.
Leading the pack is the redevelopment of a 1940 property whose 1990s renovation helped propel South Beach’s resurgence: The Raleigh. The historic property is where “America’s mermaid” Esther Williams made the original fleur-de-lis-shaped pool famous.
In 2019, Michael Shvo (whose firm Shvo owns Beverly Hills’ Mandarin Oriental Residences) and partners purchased The Raleigh for $103 million from Tommy Hilfiger, as well as two adjacent hotels (The Richmond and South Seas) that combined will become The Raleigh,...
Now a number of new urban beach resorts from preeminent hospitality groups — including Aman, Rosewood, Auberge and Bulgari — are set to lure visitors to Miami Beach, which saw a post-covid-fueled boom. Across greater Miami, there were 17.1 million hotel room nights sold in 2022, up 12.7 percent from the year before.
Leading the pack is the redevelopment of a 1940 property whose 1990s renovation helped propel South Beach’s resurgence: The Raleigh. The historic property is where “America’s mermaid” Esther Williams made the original fleur-de-lis-shaped pool famous.
In 2019, Michael Shvo (whose firm Shvo owns Beverly Hills’ Mandarin Oriental Residences) and partners purchased The Raleigh for $103 million from Tommy Hilfiger, as well as two adjacent hotels (The Richmond and South Seas) that combined will become The Raleigh,...
- 11/11/2023
- by Kathryn Romeyn
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It was five decades ago long distance swimmer Diana Nyad became part of the cultural landscape with her feats including a recording-setting circling of Manhattan and a 102-mile swim from the Bahamas to Florida she accomplished that in 27 hours. In 1978, Nyad made her first attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida but ended the quest after 40 hours. After segueing to a successful career as a sports journalist on ABC’s “Wild World of Sports” for over two decades, she decided at 60 to try again. She made three attempts felled by asthma, muscle fatigue, jellyfish and a tropical storm.
Nyad’s attempts at the swim were the subject of the 2013 documentary “The Other Shore.” When I talked to her for the L.A. Times a decade ago the then 64-year-old was preparing for her final attempt. “When I first started this in my 20s and when I started again when I turned...
Nyad’s attempts at the swim were the subject of the 2013 documentary “The Other Shore.” When I talked to her for the L.A. Times a decade ago the then 64-year-old was preparing for her final attempt. “When I first started this in my 20s and when I started again when I turned...
- 11/11/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Joan Evans, an actress who was the goddaughter of Joan Crawford, died Oct. 21 in Henderson, Nevada, according to her son, John Weatherly. No cause was given.
During her career, she worked with the likes of Farley Granger, Audie Murphy, Irene Dunne, and Esther Williams, among many others.
Among her film roles were parts in On the Loose (1951), It Grows on Trees (1952); and Skirts Ahoy! (1952).
She signed her first film contract in 1948 at age 14 to work with producer Samuel Goldwyn.
While doing reshoots, she was accidentally shot in the arm by Farley Granger. His gun discharged and she need emergency surgery and hospitalilzation.
Evans later appeared in such films as The Outcast (1954), A Strange Adventure (1956), The Flying Fontaines (1959) and The Walking Target (1960), and on TV shows including Climax!, The Millionaire, Cheyenne, 77 Sunset Strip, Wagon Train, Zorro, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Tall Man and Laramie.
She stopped acting in the...
During her career, she worked with the likes of Farley Granger, Audie Murphy, Irene Dunne, and Esther Williams, among many others.
Among her film roles were parts in On the Loose (1951), It Grows on Trees (1952); and Skirts Ahoy! (1952).
She signed her first film contract in 1948 at age 14 to work with producer Samuel Goldwyn.
While doing reshoots, she was accidentally shot in the arm by Farley Granger. His gun discharged and she need emergency surgery and hospitalilzation.
Evans later appeared in such films as The Outcast (1954), A Strange Adventure (1956), The Flying Fontaines (1959) and The Walking Target (1960), and on TV shows including Climax!, The Millionaire, Cheyenne, 77 Sunset Strip, Wagon Train, Zorro, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Tall Man and Laramie.
She stopped acting in the...
- 10/28/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Joan Evans, the daughter of screenwriters and goddaughter of Joan Crawford, who starred opposite Farley Granger in her first three films and with Audie Murphy in a pair of Westerns, has died. She was 89.
Evans died Oct. 21 in Henderson, Nevada, her son, John Weatherly, told The Hollywood Reporter.
She also toplined the Charles Lederer-directed On the Loose (1951), playing a suicidal teenager in the drama written by her parents, Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert; portrayed Irene Dunne’s daughter in the fantasy It Grows on Trees (1952); and enlisted in the U.S. Navy with Esther Williams in the musical comedy Skirts Ahoy! (1952).
Evans played the love interest of Granger’s character in the title role of Roseanna McCoy (1949), a drama loosely based on the family feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. The two worked together again in the 1950 releases Our Very Own and Edge of Doom, a bleak film noir directed by Mark Robson.
Evans died Oct. 21 in Henderson, Nevada, her son, John Weatherly, told The Hollywood Reporter.
She also toplined the Charles Lederer-directed On the Loose (1951), playing a suicidal teenager in the drama written by her parents, Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert; portrayed Irene Dunne’s daughter in the fantasy It Grows on Trees (1952); and enlisted in the U.S. Navy with Esther Williams in the musical comedy Skirts Ahoy! (1952).
Evans played the love interest of Granger’s character in the title role of Roseanna McCoy (1949), a drama loosely based on the family feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. The two worked together again in the 1950 releases Our Very Own and Edge of Doom, a bleak film noir directed by Mark Robson.
- 10/28/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner had one of Hollywood’s most explosive marriages. The pair’s romance began as an affair and remained just as drama-filled until their divorce. They separated often, and during one of their off-periods, Sinatra came home to find Gardner in the house. A screaming match ensued, and Sinatra ultimately threw a douche filled with water at Gardner and Lana Turner.
Frank Sinatra once threw a douche at Ava Gardner
During one of Sinatra’s performances, Gardner believed he was singing to another woman in the audience. As a result, she stormed out, put her wedding ring in an envelope for him, and left the city. After several weeks apart, they reconciled, albeit briefly.
A few days into their reunion, the couple got into another argument. When Gardner told Sinatra to get out, he responded, “Okay, baby, I’ll get out. You can find me in Palm Springs.
Frank Sinatra once threw a douche at Ava Gardner
During one of Sinatra’s performances, Gardner believed he was singing to another woman in the audience. As a result, she stormed out, put her wedding ring in an envelope for him, and left the city. After several weeks apart, they reconciled, albeit briefly.
A few days into their reunion, the couple got into another argument. When Gardner told Sinatra to get out, he responded, “Okay, baby, I’ll get out. You can find me in Palm Springs.
- 9/11/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Diana Nyad was a swimming legend, a stellar athlete in the 1970s who achieved the heights of her sport, and then went on to a successful decades-long career in the broadcast booth for ABC Sports, ESPN, and elsewhere.
The new movie Nyad is not about any of that. In this regard, the film, a first narrative effort from Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, has something in common with Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, which premiered today in Venice. Neither movie is a traditional biopic about their title subject, but rather a movie with a singular focus that digs much deeper into the weeds to discover what drove them and made them who they were.
For a film revolving around an athlete, making this the story of a champion who starts all over at age 60 is decidedly an un-Hollywood-like thing to do. The fact...
The new movie Nyad is not about any of that. In this regard, the film, a first narrative effort from Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, has something in common with Bradley Cooper’s Maestro, which premiered today in Venice. Neither movie is a traditional biopic about their title subject, but rather a movie with a singular focus that digs much deeper into the weeds to discover what drove them and made them who they were.
For a film revolving around an athlete, making this the story of a champion who starts all over at age 60 is decidedly an un-Hollywood-like thing to do. The fact...
- 9/2/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Margia Dean, who co-starred in the cult sci-fi classic The Quatermass Xperiment and appeared alongside the likes of Clint Eastwood, Vincent Price, Esther Williams and George Reeves in other movies, has died. She was 101.
Dean died June 23 in her apartment in Rancho Cucamonga, California, her niece Denyse Barr told The Hollywood Reporter.
From 1948-56, Dean worked in about 20 features for producer Robert L. Lippert, founder of the B-movie studio Lippert Pictures, thus earning the nickname “The Queen of Lippert.”
She acted for Sam Fuller in two of those films, the first two features he ever directed, in fact — I Shot Jesse James (1949), in which she portrayed a saloon singer, and the Price-starring The Baron of Arizona (1950).
Based on a popular BBC serial, Hammer Films’ The Quatermass Xperiment (1956), directed by Val Guest and starring Brian Donlevy, told the story of an astronaut (Richard Wordsworth) who crash-lands back on Earth and...
Dean died June 23 in her apartment in Rancho Cucamonga, California, her niece Denyse Barr told The Hollywood Reporter.
From 1948-56, Dean worked in about 20 features for producer Robert L. Lippert, founder of the B-movie studio Lippert Pictures, thus earning the nickname “The Queen of Lippert.”
She acted for Sam Fuller in two of those films, the first two features he ever directed, in fact — I Shot Jesse James (1949), in which she portrayed a saloon singer, and the Price-starring The Baron of Arizona (1950).
Based on a popular BBC serial, Hammer Films’ The Quatermass Xperiment (1956), directed by Val Guest and starring Brian Donlevy, told the story of an astronaut (Richard Wordsworth) who crash-lands back on Earth and...
- 7/6/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Noreen Nash, a starlet of the 1940s and ’50s who appeared in such notable films as The Southerner, Giant and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold, has died. She was 99.
Nash died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Beverly Hills, her oldest son, Lee Siegel Jr., told The Hollywood Reporter.
Nash worked on about two dozen features during her two-decade career, including several “B” pictures like Phantom From Space (1953), where she portrayed an abducted scientist in a movie shot at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The blue-eyed, dark-haired Nash also starred as the wife of an owner of a Palm Springs tennis club on the CBS summer replacement series The Charles Farrell Show — it stood in for I Love Lucy in 1956 — and appeared on episodes of Hopalong Cassidy, The Abbott and Costello Show, My Little Margie, Dragnet and 77 Sunset Strip.
Nash played the...
Nash died Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Beverly Hills, her oldest son, Lee Siegel Jr., told The Hollywood Reporter.
Nash worked on about two dozen features during her two-decade career, including several “B” pictures like Phantom From Space (1953), where she portrayed an abducted scientist in a movie shot at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
The blue-eyed, dark-haired Nash also starred as the wife of an owner of a Palm Springs tennis club on the CBS summer replacement series The Charles Farrell Show — it stood in for I Love Lucy in 1956 — and appeared on episodes of Hopalong Cassidy, The Abbott and Costello Show, My Little Margie, Dragnet and 77 Sunset Strip.
Nash played the...
- 6/8/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Range Media Partners has signed Bertie, the highly sought-after writer-director otherwise known as Katie Ellwood, who has been behind such titles as Hawkeye and Troop Zero, and has a top-notch dance card looking ahead.
Known for tonally specific work which is darkly comic, full of humanity and frequently action-packed, Bertie recently teamed with frequent collaborator Bert (aka Amber Templemore-Finlayson) to direct three well-received episodes of Marvel’s Hawkeye starring Jeremy Renner.
Bert & Bertie have also jointly directed on HBO’s Our Flag Means Death, as well as Showtime’s Kidding starring Jim Carrey, Apple TV+’s sci-fi thriller Silo starring Rebecca Ferguson, and Hulu’s Emmy-winning historical satire The Great, starring Elle Fanning. The pair made their feature directorial debut with the Amazon Studios dramedy Troop Zero, starring Academy Award winners Viola Davis and Allison Janney, which world premiered as the closing film of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival before debuting globally on Prime Video.
Known for tonally specific work which is darkly comic, full of humanity and frequently action-packed, Bertie recently teamed with frequent collaborator Bert (aka Amber Templemore-Finlayson) to direct three well-received episodes of Marvel’s Hawkeye starring Jeremy Renner.
Bert & Bertie have also jointly directed on HBO’s Our Flag Means Death, as well as Showtime’s Kidding starring Jim Carrey, Apple TV+’s sci-fi thriller Silo starring Rebecca Ferguson, and Hulu’s Emmy-winning historical satire The Great, starring Elle Fanning. The pair made their feature directorial debut with the Amazon Studios dramedy Troop Zero, starring Academy Award winners Viola Davis and Allison Janney, which world premiered as the closing film of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival before debuting globally on Prime Video.
- 5/17/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Artist Jim Shaw’s studio is a dream factory. It’s where images and ideas combine in unnatural and often surreal ways, conjuring visual puns like the smiling visage of Esther Williams superimposed with an image of her lover, actor Jeff Chandler, wearing a gown. A matching piece shows Chandler with a hermaphroditic image of Williams in the pose of Botticelli’s Venus de Milo. Both pieces were inspired by rumors that Williams ended their affair upon learning Chandler was a transvestite.
“I just kind of ended up working with elements of Hollywood,” Shaw says of his new show, Jim Shaw: Thinking the Unthinkable, at Gagosian Beverly Hills from Jan. 12 through Feb. 25. “I’ve been interested in sort of the history, along with politics, of LSD and psychedelics. I came across that Esther Williams had taken LSD, and that led me to reading her autobiography. When she finally took LSD,...
“I just kind of ended up working with elements of Hollywood,” Shaw says of his new show, Jim Shaw: Thinking the Unthinkable, at Gagosian Beverly Hills from Jan. 12 through Feb. 25. “I’ve been interested in sort of the history, along with politics, of LSD and psychedelics. I came across that Esther Williams had taken LSD, and that led me to reading her autobiography. When she finally took LSD,...
- 1/16/2023
- by Jordan Riefe
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The remarkable true story of Irish immigrant Jennie Hodgers — who posed as a man to fight for the Union Army during the American Civil War — will be adapted for screen.
Arny Granat, a veteran concert promoter turned Tony-winning musical producer, has hired Stephanie Sanditz to pen a feature film script from Lynda Durrant’s book “My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier.” Granat — whose stage credits include “In The Heights,” “The Color Purple,” “Spamalot,” “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “History Boys” — has been chasing an adaptation of the story for nearly a decade.
Set in the 1800s, “My Last Skirt” tells the story of Hodgers, who went by the name Albert Cashier to enlist and serve her country. Following the war, Hodgers would live as Cashier for much of her life after observing the disparity in opportunity for women of the age. She is also believed to be...
Arny Granat, a veteran concert promoter turned Tony-winning musical producer, has hired Stephanie Sanditz to pen a feature film script from Lynda Durrant’s book “My Last Skirt: The Story of Jennie Hodgers, Union Soldier.” Granat — whose stage credits include “In The Heights,” “The Color Purple,” “Spamalot,” “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “History Boys” — has been chasing an adaptation of the story for nearly a decade.
Set in the 1800s, “My Last Skirt” tells the story of Hodgers, who went by the name Albert Cashier to enlist and serve her country. Following the war, Hodgers would live as Cashier for much of her life after observing the disparity in opportunity for women of the age. She is also believed to be...
- 10/12/2022
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has a number of high-profile movies coming to the Toronto Film Festival, just as it did at Venice and Telluride, but a less heralded title with no instantly recognizable star names was chosen to open the fest tonight, and The Swimmers may turn out to be a surprise winner for the streamer when it debuts this fall. It certainly reverses the curse of some of TIFF’s less successful opening-nighters.
Ostensibly about a triumphant appearance at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, The Swimmers is really a moving and suspenseful story of the plight of refugees looking for a better life against all odds. The power of this movie is it turns out to be an unlikely underdog sports saga about a couple of Syrian sisters who show remarkable swimming skill in school and who are so impressive they could be Olympic caliber. But before you wonder if this will turn into a waterlogged Rocky,...
Ostensibly about a triumphant appearance at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, The Swimmers is really a moving and suspenseful story of the plight of refugees looking for a better life against all odds. The power of this movie is it turns out to be an unlikely underdog sports saga about a couple of Syrian sisters who show remarkable swimming skill in school and who are so impressive they could be Olympic caliber. But before you wonder if this will turn into a waterlogged Rocky,...
- 9/9/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Upending arthouse tropes with musical numbers and lashings of sex, this witty debut about a Peruvian domestic worker refuses to see its heroine as a victim
Writer-director María Paz González’s first feature takes a well-worn miserabilist trope out of the arthouse drawer – a domestic worker struggles with homesickness and faces economic inequality – and upcycles it with warmth and wit to make something quite original. It’s even funny and upbeat in its final lap. It’s something of a shock, since so many films about hard-up migrant women who go in search of better lives abroad end up with their protagonists grieving, dead or punished in some other way.
It’s hard to imagine Lina (Magaly Solier) would ever let anything like poverty or despair cramp her natural style. Plucky, hard-working and sexy Af, she’s sometimes down but never out. Originally from Peru, where she has left a...
Writer-director María Paz González’s first feature takes a well-worn miserabilist trope out of the arthouse drawer – a domestic worker struggles with homesickness and faces economic inequality – and upcycles it with warmth and wit to make something quite original. It’s even funny and upbeat in its final lap. It’s something of a shock, since so many films about hard-up migrant women who go in search of better lives abroad end up with their protagonists grieving, dead or punished in some other way.
It’s hard to imagine Lina (Magaly Solier) would ever let anything like poverty or despair cramp her natural style. Plucky, hard-working and sexy Af, she’s sometimes down but never out. Originally from Peru, where she has left a...
- 8/16/2021
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Team Experience has been celebrating Esther Williams Centennial with a three part miniseries. Previously we featured Thrill of a Romance and Neptune's Daughter.
by Cláudio Alves
In some ways, Million Dollar Mermaid is both the quintessential Esther Williams movie and a departure in the screen siren's career. During the 1940s, Williams achieved cinematic stardom through self-knowing exercises in romantic silliness and musical extravagance, lighthearted productions that wore their escapist possibilities as a badge of honor. One can often feel the screenwriter's strain, trying to shoe-horn swimming scenes in stories that could function just as well without them. Even the baseball comedy Take Me Out to the Ball Game had to be retrofitted into having an out-of-place pool number where Williams gets to lip-sync while swimming under the gaze of Busby Berkeley's camera. Consequentially, MGM never presented Williams as a great dramatic actress, preferring to exhalt her natural charms, radiant presence,...
by Cláudio Alves
In some ways, Million Dollar Mermaid is both the quintessential Esther Williams movie and a departure in the screen siren's career. During the 1940s, Williams achieved cinematic stardom through self-knowing exercises in romantic silliness and musical extravagance, lighthearted productions that wore their escapist possibilities as a badge of honor. One can often feel the screenwriter's strain, trying to shoe-horn swimming scenes in stories that could function just as well without them. Even the baseball comedy Take Me Out to the Ball Game had to be retrofitted into having an out-of-place pool number where Williams gets to lip-sync while swimming under the gaze of Busby Berkeley's camera. Consequentially, MGM never presented Williams as a great dramatic actress, preferring to exhalt her natural charms, radiant presence,...
- 8/11/2021
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Team Experience is celebrating Esther Williams' Centennial.
by Nathaniel R
"Do you mind if I watch, too?" a businessman in a parked car shouts from outside a swimming pool -- a pretty swimming instructor, has asked her students to watch her do a swan dive. "Not at all," she says with a dulcet tone and flirty smile. Moments later the businessman is grilling the child to tell him everything he knows about his teacher including where she lives (!) This is the opening scene from 1945's Thrill of a Romance and courtship was, um, different. Who knows about this fictional swimming instructor but the actress playing her was already used to being gawked at, even before movie cameras arrived.
Esther Williams, the athlete turned movie star, was born on this day one hundred years ago in Inglewood, California. By the time she was 16 she was a national swimming champion with Olympic dreams.
by Nathaniel R
"Do you mind if I watch, too?" a businessman in a parked car shouts from outside a swimming pool -- a pretty swimming instructor, has asked her students to watch her do a swan dive. "Not at all," she says with a dulcet tone and flirty smile. Moments later the businessman is grilling the child to tell him everything he knows about his teacher including where she lives (!) This is the opening scene from 1945's Thrill of a Romance and courtship was, um, different. Who knows about this fictional swimming instructor but the actress playing her was already used to being gawked at, even before movie cameras arrived.
Esther Williams, the athlete turned movie star, was born on this day one hundred years ago in Inglewood, California. By the time she was 16 she was a national swimming champion with Olympic dreams.
- 8/8/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
In July we were very busy offering you the Most Cannes coverage we've ever done here -- thank you to Elisa and Cláudio for making it so special. We just kicked off the beginning of our analysis of Emmy categories (ongoing) and just wrapped posting the first Oscar charts of 2021 (all done - check 'em out). But if you weren't here every day you surely missed something. So in case you did...
10 Highlights
• Gay Best Friend: Christian in Clueless - Christopher's series arrives at a very unusual ahead-of-its-time example of this trope
• Independence Day - Cláudio had never seen it so he watched for the holiday
• It Happened One Night Nathaniel guest starred on "Little Gold Men" to talk about the classic comedy
• Toni Collette in Velvet Goldmine Nick takes on a singular prismatic performance
• The Honoraries: Danny Glover 3-part tribute to this fine actor/producer's career
• Emmy Nom Reactions...
10 Highlights
• Gay Best Friend: Christian in Clueless - Christopher's series arrives at a very unusual ahead-of-its-time example of this trope
• Independence Day - Cláudio had never seen it so he watched for the holiday
• It Happened One Night Nathaniel guest starred on "Little Gold Men" to talk about the classic comedy
• Toni Collette in Velvet Goldmine Nick takes on a singular prismatic performance
• The Honoraries: Danny Glover 3-part tribute to this fine actor/producer's career
• Emmy Nom Reactions...
- 8/1/2021
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Years in the making! The glory of MGM on parade! Enough studio resources to film twenty pictures were expended on this paean to showman Florenz Ziegfeld. It’s really Metro Goldwyn Mayer’s Technicolor valentine to itself, showing off the studio’s enormous stable of musical talent, along with various of its comic performers. Arthur Freed and Louis B. Mayer’s notion of ‘something for everyone’ results in weird stack of grandiose musical numbers and mostly weak comedy. The biggest draw is the incredible color cinematography that peeks through in three or four jaw-droppingly elaborate musical spectacles. The picture is a workout to find the artistic limits of the Technicolor system.
Ziegfeld Follies
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1945 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 117 110 min. / Street Date June 15, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: (alphabetically): Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, Victor Moore, Red Skelton, Esther Williams. Also...
Ziegfeld Follies
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1945 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 117 110 min. / Street Date June 15, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: (alphabetically): Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, Victor Moore, Red Skelton, Esther Williams. Also...
- 7/20/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Renée Dorléac, the French actress and mother of actresses Catherine Deneuve, Francoise Dorléac and Sylvie Dorléac, has died aged 109 in Paris, her family has confirmed to Le Figaro.
Known professionally as Renée-Jeanne Simonot, Dorléac was married to actor Maurice Dorléac and was grandmother to actors Christian Vadim and Chiara Mastroianni.
Born in northern France in 1911, she debuted at the Odéon Theatre in Paris at the age of seven. Primarily a stage actress, she remained there for 28 years, holding the post of “leading lady.”
Simonot was one of the first French actresses to begin the dubbing of American films in France from the beginning of the talkies in 1929 through the 1930s. She was the voice of Olivia de Havilland (in most of her films), Sylvia Sidney, Judy Garland, Donna Reed and Esther Williams, among others.
While dubbing for MGM, she met Maurice Dorléac and they married in 1940.
In an interview conducted...
Known professionally as Renée-Jeanne Simonot, Dorléac was married to actor Maurice Dorléac and was grandmother to actors Christian Vadim and Chiara Mastroianni.
Born in northern France in 1911, she debuted at the Odéon Theatre in Paris at the age of seven. Primarily a stage actress, she remained there for 28 years, holding the post of “leading lady.”
Simonot was one of the first French actresses to begin the dubbing of American films in France from the beginning of the talkies in 1929 through the 1930s. She was the voice of Olivia de Havilland (in most of her films), Sylvia Sidney, Judy Garland, Donna Reed and Esther Williams, among others.
While dubbing for MGM, she met Maurice Dorléac and they married in 1940.
In an interview conducted...
- 7/15/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Cirque Du Soleil is opening its doors to the cameras as it prepares to get back on the Las Vegas stage.
John Lewis: Good Trouble and The Way I See It director Dawn Porter has teamed up with MGM Television to produce a feature documentary about the live entertainment group.
The doc will pull back the curtain to tell the inside story of Cirque du Soleil’s resurgence after the most difficult period in its history. Filming on the project has begun and will continue through opening night on July 1, when Cirque du Soleil’s show O will make its return to the stage at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
For the first time in its 37-year history, Cirque du Soleil has granted exclusive access to the circus, from the ringmasters in the boardroom to the world-class acrobats and divers that grace the water stage of O.
O, like all live shows,...
John Lewis: Good Trouble and The Way I See It director Dawn Porter has teamed up with MGM Television to produce a feature documentary about the live entertainment group.
The doc will pull back the curtain to tell the inside story of Cirque du Soleil’s resurgence after the most difficult period in its history. Filming on the project has begun and will continue through opening night on July 1, when Cirque du Soleil’s show O will make its return to the stage at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
For the first time in its 37-year history, Cirque du Soleil has granted exclusive access to the circus, from the ringmasters in the boardroom to the world-class acrobats and divers that grace the water stage of O.
O, like all live shows,...
- 6/30/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
The 78th annual Golden Globes take place virtually Sunday night on NBC with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey returning as hosts. “Mank,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “The Crown,” “The Flight Attendant” and “Ted Lasso” are among the top nominees in the feature film and TV categories.
Also in contention is a movie called “Music” that was shot in 2017 and marks the directorial debut of the singer Sia. While it merits a mere 11% at Rotten Tomatoes, it reaped nominations for Best Musical/Comedy and star Kate Hudson. These bids harken back to 1982 when Pia Zadora won New Star of the Year for the well-stuffed turkey “Butterfly.” She also won the Razzie Award for the film which also starred Orson Welles.
And just who was Zadora’s competition for New Star of the Year? Elizabeth McGovern and Howard Rollins Jr. for “Ragtime”; Kathleen Turner for “Body Heat” Rachel Ward for...
Also in contention is a movie called “Music” that was shot in 2017 and marks the directorial debut of the singer Sia. While it merits a mere 11% at Rotten Tomatoes, it reaped nominations for Best Musical/Comedy and star Kate Hudson. These bids harken back to 1982 when Pia Zadora won New Star of the Year for the well-stuffed turkey “Butterfly.” She also won the Razzie Award for the film which also starred Orson Welles.
And just who was Zadora’s competition for New Star of the Year? Elizabeth McGovern and Howard Rollins Jr. for “Ragtime”; Kathleen Turner for “Body Heat” Rachel Ward for...
- 2/27/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Radiohead will be auctioning off the bowler hat that Thom Yorke wore in the iconic (and very memeable) “Lotus Flower” music video.
The sale, announced on Monday, is part of a charity auction benefiting Cahonas Scotland and Testicular Cancer Education and Awareness. As of Monday, the bid for the hat — which is signed by Yorke and features a hand-drawn Radiohead logo — stood at £1,280 (about $1,715).
For Sale: one bowler hat. https://t.co/ltxuoC8Nf2
Proceeds from this auction support @CahonasScotland and Testicular Cancer Education and Awareness. pic.twitter.com/P...
The sale, announced on Monday, is part of a charity auction benefiting Cahonas Scotland and Testicular Cancer Education and Awareness. As of Monday, the bid for the hat — which is signed by Yorke and features a hand-drawn Radiohead logo — stood at £1,280 (about $1,715).
For Sale: one bowler hat. https://t.co/ltxuoC8Nf2
Proceeds from this auction support @CahonasScotland and Testicular Cancer Education and Awareness. pic.twitter.com/P...
- 11/23/2020
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Everyone from Spike Lee to Thom Yorke has hit the streets — and Twitter — in celebration of Joe Biden, who was elected the 46th President of the United States Saturday after a lengthy week of vote tallying.
Spike Lee Lmaooo pic.twitter.com/EXkWrLKFeH
— Paul McCallion (@OrangePaulp) November 7, 2020
In a video shared to Twitter, movie director and producer Spike Lee shook and sprayed a bottle of champagne before a cheering crowd, while Ariana Grande tweeted: “Crying Joe Biden Kamala Harris Thank God” with a chain of hearts. Grande previously endorsed Bernie Sanders...
Spike Lee Lmaooo pic.twitter.com/EXkWrLKFeH
— Paul McCallion (@OrangePaulp) November 7, 2020
In a video shared to Twitter, movie director and producer Spike Lee shook and sprayed a bottle of champagne before a cheering crowd, while Ariana Grande tweeted: “Crying Joe Biden Kamala Harris Thank God” with a chain of hearts. Grande previously endorsed Bernie Sanders...
- 11/7/2020
- by Brenna Ehrlich
- Rollingstone.com
“Who cares what a lot of females wear on the beach, as long as I can keep you in a one-piece bathing suit? Baby, you’re a swimmer. You belong in the water. Wet, you’re terrific. Dry, you’re just a nice girl who ought to settle down and get married.”
Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) is available on Blu-ray From Warner Archive. Ordering information can be found Here
James Sullivan works the carny circuit, promoting the likes of a boxing kangaroo or grappling bear. Then the wheeler-dealer meets a million-dollar idea: beautiful swimming champ Annette Kellerman. She’ll churn through a River Thames PR stunt. Cause a bathing-suit scandal among Boston bluebloods. Headline New York’s Hippodrome. And become a Hollywood swimsation as cameras roll and Rin Tin Tin looks on. Glamorous, amphibious Esther Williams portrays the real-life aquatic star in a splashy biopic costarring Victor Mature...
Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) is available on Blu-ray From Warner Archive. Ordering information can be found Here
James Sullivan works the carny circuit, promoting the likes of a boxing kangaroo or grappling bear. Then the wheeler-dealer meets a million-dollar idea: beautiful swimming champ Annette Kellerman. She’ll churn through a River Thames PR stunt. Cause a bathing-suit scandal among Boston bluebloods. Headline New York’s Hippodrome. And become a Hollywood swimsation as cameras roll and Rin Tin Tin looks on. Glamorous, amphibious Esther Williams portrays the real-life aquatic star in a splashy biopic costarring Victor Mature...
- 7/14/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
With movie theaters having to close their doors to curb the spread of coronavirus, it also meant many previously scheduled festivals had to cancel, postpone, or improvise. The latest to still make things work during these strange circumstances is Turner Classic Movies, whose annual TCM Classic Film Festival was set to take place in mid-April in Los Angeles, celebrating their 11th edition.
They’ve now announced a Special Home Edition to take place April 16-19 on the channel, featuring new restorations of films that previously played at the festival as well as ones slated for this year. They are also featuring interviews with talent from years past, showing both on the channel and on YouTube and social media.
The lineup offers no shortage of cinema history landmarks with The Seventh Seal, North by Northwest, Metropolis, Grey Gardens, They Live by Night, Network, Casablanca, and The Magnificent Ambersons (with Peter Bogdanovich...
They’ve now announced a Special Home Edition to take place April 16-19 on the channel, featuring new restorations of films that previously played at the festival as well as ones slated for this year. They are also featuring interviews with talent from years past, showing both on the channel and on YouTube and social media.
The lineup offers no shortage of cinema history landmarks with The Seventh Seal, North by Northwest, Metropolis, Grey Gardens, They Live by Night, Network, Casablanca, and The Magnificent Ambersons (with Peter Bogdanovich...
- 3/25/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Yesterday's pop sensation inevitably becomes tomorrow's nostalgia. But if your impressions of The Go-Go's are formed largely by their enduring karaoke-lounge popularity, or by the campy image of the five bandmembers water-skiing on the cover of their Vacation album, like chorines in an Esther Williams movie, then it's good to be reminded that these erstwhile badasses were spawned out of the Los Angeles punk scene. Alison Ellwood's entertaining bio-documentary, which will air on Showtime in North America, traces their dive-bar roots, their years of booze-and-blow hedonism, the dizzying ascent of their success and the strained sisterhood ...
- 1/25/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Yesterday's pop sensation inevitably becomes tomorrow's nostalgia. But if your impressions of The Go-Go's are formed largely by their enduring karaoke-lounge popularity, or by the campy image of the five bandmembers water-skiing on the cover of their Vacation album, like chorines in an Esther Williams movie, then it's good to be reminded that these erstwhile badasses were spawned out of the Los Angeles punk scene. Alison Ellwood's entertaining bio-documentary, which will air on Showtime in North America, traces their dive-bar roots, their years of booze-and-blow hedonism, the dizzying ascent of their success and the strained sisterhood ...
- 1/25/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
There is a reason that Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino — the married co-creators of Amazon Prime’s smash hit “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” — have twice won a record eight Emmys for the first and second seasons of the comedy hit. (Season 2 also just earned 4 SAG award nominations — the most for a comedy series — and a fourth season is in the works). The couple known for their fast-paced rat-a-tat-tat banter know how to put on a lavish show within a show that is all about entertainment and the sacrifices and benefits that is inherent in such a lifestyle.
Besides the fabulous period production designs, gorgeous period costumes — oy, the hats you will see — there are priceless inside-y looks at characters who echo real-life individuals whose marks on our culture can still be felt — from Jane Lynch‘s Phyllis Diller-like hick comedian to Luke Kirby‘s soulfully acerbic Lenny Bruce, both...
Besides the fabulous period production designs, gorgeous period costumes — oy, the hats you will see — there are priceless inside-y looks at characters who echo real-life individuals whose marks on our culture can still be felt — from Jane Lynch‘s Phyllis Diller-like hick comedian to Luke Kirby‘s soulfully acerbic Lenny Bruce, both...
- 12/13/2019
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
The 10th annual TCM Classic Film Festival is finally in the books, yet another fabulous, frustrating and altogether marvelous gathering in the heart of Hollywood to designed to revel in the history of movies and encourage the continued appreciation of the value of understanding where the movies have come from, how they’ve come to the place they are, and even a moment or two to consider possible futures, both for the path on which the movies find themselves and for the future of the festival itself. As always, I have filed my report on this year’s activities—movies watched, schedules contemplated, favorite people visited—for Slant magazine’s blog The House Next Door—and if I came off in that report a little crankier than usual, that dissatisfaction is borne from love for what Tcmff does so well every year and concern for some of the more commerce-oriented...
- 4/23/2019
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Joyce Ann Flint, who designed dresses for Esther Williams and other MGM stars in the 1950s, died Wednesday of cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, her son Michael announced. She was 83.
At MGM, Flint apprenticed under two-time Oscar winner (and 10-time nominee) Helen Rose, known for her work on such films as The Bad and the Beautiful and I'll Cry Tomorrow.
Flint was the head of Flint Realty for nearly 50 years and helped launch of the Professional Fiduciary Association of California, an organization of court-appointed conservators.
She was a descendent of Pio Pico, the last Spanish ...
At MGM, Flint apprenticed under two-time Oscar winner (and 10-time nominee) Helen Rose, known for her work on such films as The Bad and the Beautiful and I'll Cry Tomorrow.
Flint was the head of Flint Realty for nearly 50 years and helped launch of the Professional Fiduciary Association of California, an organization of court-appointed conservators.
She was a descendent of Pio Pico, the last Spanish ...
- 3/22/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Joyce Ann Flint, who designed dresses for Esther Williams and other MGM stars in the 1950s, died Wednesday of cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, her son Michael announced. She was 83.
At MGM, Flint apprenticed under two-time Oscar winner (and 10-time nominee) Helen Rose, known for her work on such films as The Bad and the Beautiful and I'll Cry Tomorrow.
Flint was the head of Flint Realty for nearly 50 years and helped launch of the Professional Fiduciary Association of California, an organization of court-appointed conservators.
She was a descendent of Pio Pico, the last Spanish ...
At MGM, Flint apprenticed under two-time Oscar winner (and 10-time nominee) Helen Rose, known for her work on such films as The Bad and the Beautiful and I'll Cry Tomorrow.
Flint was the head of Flint Realty for nearly 50 years and helped launch of the Professional Fiduciary Association of California, an organization of court-appointed conservators.
She was a descendent of Pio Pico, the last Spanish ...
- 3/22/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Disneynature’s “Penguins” places character, or rather an Adélie penguin who’s quite the character, at the forefront. Directors Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson focus on one charismatic male coming of age in the harsh conditions of Antarctica’s spring/summer season as he sets up a nest, finds a mate, and fulfills his destiny as a father. With irreverence, charm, sparkling cinematography, and a catchy pop soundtrack, this marks the series’ youngest-skewing, most comedic Earth Day documentary yet. That’s not a bad thing, however. Instead of bombarding the audience with factoids and heavy scientific terminology, it lets a poignant narrative unspool — one with an engaging, highly accessible and hugely entertaining underdog hero’s journey.
Any “March of the Penguins” comparisons are subtly dispelled early on. Fothergill and Martin open on different, but similarly striking emotional beats: on cute-as-a-button Steve’s specific strut, a kind of nervous-but-determined waddle, set...
Any “March of the Penguins” comparisons are subtly dispelled early on. Fothergill and Martin open on different, but similarly striking emotional beats: on cute-as-a-button Steve’s specific strut, a kind of nervous-but-determined waddle, set...
- 3/17/2019
- by Courtney Howard
- Variety Film + TV
David Crow Feb 23, 2019
Stanley Donen, legendary director of Singin' in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Charade, has passed away.
Stanley Donen, one of the filmmakers most associated with the Golden Age of Hollywood movie musicals out of the MGM Freed unit, has passed away at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy that includes Singin’ in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, On the Town, Funny Face, and non-musical Audrey Hepburn classics like Charade and Two for the Road.
The news was confirmed by one of Donen’s sons to The Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips. The journalist tweeted Saturday morning, “Confirmed by one of his sons this morning: Director Stanley Donen has died at 94… A huge, often neglected talent.”
Born in South Carolina in April 1924, Donen said later in life that he was inspired by the likes of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals of the ‘30s,...
Stanley Donen, legendary director of Singin' in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Charade, has passed away.
Stanley Donen, one of the filmmakers most associated with the Golden Age of Hollywood movie musicals out of the MGM Freed unit, has passed away at the age of 94, leaving behind a legacy that includes Singin’ in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, On the Town, Funny Face, and non-musical Audrey Hepburn classics like Charade and Two for the Road.
The news was confirmed by one of Donen’s sons to The Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips. The journalist tweeted Saturday morning, “Confirmed by one of his sons this morning: Director Stanley Donen has died at 94… A huge, often neglected talent.”
Born in South Carolina in April 1924, Donen said later in life that he was inspired by the likes of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals of the ‘30s,...
- 2/23/2019
- Den of Geek
When Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie zipped into Hollywood, she was a talent the industry had never seen before, or since — a three-time Olympic ladies’ singles champion (a record she continues to hold) whose chipper, if chilly romantic comedy hits kept Twentieth Century-Fox solvent in the build-up to World War II, in part because she phoned up her pal Joseph Goebells to make sure her pictures played in Nazi Germany.
Was Henie a Nazi? No, says Anne Sewitsky’s shiny biopic “Sonja: The White Swan.” Henie was simply an opportunist, and a variety of other expletives depending on who you ask. Take, say, Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck, who here barges into Henie’s backyard to call her a “man-eating nymphomaniac.” That scene stretches credulity, but with a soundtrack that bops between ’80s rocker Billy Squier and the synthesizers that greet the snow queen’s arrival in L.
Was Henie a Nazi? No, says Anne Sewitsky’s shiny biopic “Sonja: The White Swan.” Henie was simply an opportunist, and a variety of other expletives depending on who you ask. Take, say, Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck, who here barges into Henie’s backyard to call her a “man-eating nymphomaniac.” That scene stretches credulity, but with a soundtrack that bops between ’80s rocker Billy Squier and the synthesizers that greet the snow queen’s arrival in L.
- 1/26/2019
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
The banning of the holiday classic “Baby It’s Cold Outside” because critics suggest it alludes to date rape is ruffling the songwriter’s daughter, who blames the turn of events on Bill Cosby.
“Bill Cosby ruined it for everybody,” Susan Loesser — whose father is legendary songwriter Frank Loesser — told NBC News on Thursday.
“Way before #MeToo, I would hear from time to time people call it a date rape song. I would get annoyed because it’s a song my father wrote for him and my mother to sing at parties. But ever since Cosby was accused of drugging women, I hear the date rape thing all the time.”
Also Read: Radio Station Yanks 'Baby It's Cold Outside' in Support of #MeToo Movement
Cleveland’s Star 102.1 radio station pulled the song last week as show of support for the #MeToo movement, with disc jockey Glenn Anderson calling the lyrics...
“Bill Cosby ruined it for everybody,” Susan Loesser — whose father is legendary songwriter Frank Loesser — told NBC News on Thursday.
“Way before #MeToo, I would hear from time to time people call it a date rape song. I would get annoyed because it’s a song my father wrote for him and my mother to sing at parties. But ever since Cosby was accused of drugging women, I hear the date rape thing all the time.”
Also Read: Radio Station Yanks 'Baby It's Cold Outside' in Support of #MeToo Movement
Cleveland’s Star 102.1 radio station pulled the song last week as show of support for the #MeToo movement, with disc jockey Glenn Anderson calling the lyrics...
- 12/10/2018
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
Director Peter Segal is not a household name, and to hear him tell it, that’s by design. But the 56-year-old Hollywood veteran is one of the directors most responsible for the evolution of movie comedies over the past two decades, with a seemingly preternatural sense of what moviegoers want. Segal’s films, which include a couple of cult classics and some of Adam Sandler’s biggest hits, have grossed more than $1 billion wordwide, the majority grossing more than $100 million each.
Segal’s latest film, “Second Act,” stars Jennifer Lopez and hits theaters Dec. 21.
Consider this praise from fellow funnyman Judd Apatow. “Pete is one of the few directors who knows how to balance hard comedy and emotional storytelling,” Apatow says. “His films are always moving and hilarious. People always want that magical combination.”
Agrees Segal’s longtime agent, Adam Kanter, “Pete’s films are successful, not only because they are entertaining,...
Segal’s latest film, “Second Act,” stars Jennifer Lopez and hits theaters Dec. 21.
Consider this praise from fellow funnyman Judd Apatow. “Pete is one of the few directors who knows how to balance hard comedy and emotional storytelling,” Apatow says. “His films are always moving and hilarious. People always want that magical combination.”
Agrees Segal’s longtime agent, Adam Kanter, “Pete’s films are successful, not only because they are entertaining,...
- 11/28/2018
- by Akiva Gottlieb
- Variety Film + TV
‘3rd Dimension!’ ‘Technicolor!’ Paramount underwent a difficult post-production learning curve getting this early entry in the 3-D craze out the door and into waiting theaters. Fernando Lamas and Arlene Dahl decorate the colonial-era costume drama, injecting some heat into their frisky wrestling match meet-cute love scene. Rip those bodices!
Sangaree
3-D Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1953 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Street Date October 16, 2018 / 34.95
Starring: Fernando Lamas, Arlene Dahl, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, Charles Korvin, Tom Drake, John Sutton, Willard Parker.
Cinematography: W. Wallace Kelley, Lionel Lindon
Film Editor: Howard A. Smith
3-D Blu-ray restoration: 3-D Film Archive
Original Music: Lucien Cailliet
Written by David Duncan, Frank L. Moss, from the novel by Frank Slaughter
Produced by William H. Pine, William C. Thomas
Directed by Edward Ludwig
Producers William H. Pine and William C. Thomas turned out profitable Paramount product for fifteen years, although few of their shows were accorded artistic accolades.
Sangaree
3-D Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1953 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 94 min. / Street Date October 16, 2018 / 34.95
Starring: Fernando Lamas, Arlene Dahl, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, Charles Korvin, Tom Drake, John Sutton, Willard Parker.
Cinematography: W. Wallace Kelley, Lionel Lindon
Film Editor: Howard A. Smith
3-D Blu-ray restoration: 3-D Film Archive
Original Music: Lucien Cailliet
Written by David Duncan, Frank L. Moss, from the novel by Frank Slaughter
Produced by William H. Pine, William C. Thomas
Directed by Edward Ludwig
Producers William H. Pine and William C. Thomas turned out profitable Paramount product for fifteen years, although few of their shows were accorded artistic accolades.
- 9/15/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
On this day in 1946, the bikini made its debut. To celebrate #NationalBikiniDay, let’s take a look back at some of the most iconic swimsuits–both one- and two-piece–in film and television, from the 1930s to the present.
1930s: Jean Harlow
In the 1930s, before her death at age 26, film actress Jean Harlow was a Hollywood sex symbol. According to Redbook, she was also one of the earliest stars to be photographed in a swimsuit.
1940s: Betty Grable
Betty Grable was celebrated in the 1930s and 40s for her “million dollar legs.” Though this yellow bikini is not as famous as Grable’s famous one-piece and high heels attire, it’s iconic in its own right.
1950s: Esther Williams
1960s: Ursula Andress (first Bond girl)
This Swiss actress catapulted to fame as the first “Bond girl” in the 1962 film, “Dr. No.” The scene where Andress rises out of the...
1930s: Jean Harlow
In the 1930s, before her death at age 26, film actress Jean Harlow was a Hollywood sex symbol. According to Redbook, she was also one of the earliest stars to be photographed in a swimsuit.
1940s: Betty Grable
Betty Grable was celebrated in the 1930s and 40s for her “million dollar legs.” Though this yellow bikini is not as famous as Grable’s famous one-piece and high heels attire, it’s iconic in its own right.
1950s: Esther Williams
1960s: Ursula Andress (first Bond girl)
This Swiss actress catapulted to fame as the first “Bond girl” in the 1962 film, “Dr. No.” The scene where Andress rises out of the...
- 6/5/2018
- by Ashley Eady
- The Wrap
It was a moment that seemed strangely out of place. The Titanic was in its death throes when the maestro behind the mayhem turned to Eric Braeden and uttered a single word: "Never.” Eric felt the questioning look cross his own face as he turned to the voice. The confusion evident, the speaker, director James Cameron, explained: "The last line in Colossus." Eric smiled, struck by the fact that the director wasn’t referencing his, at that point, 17 (now 38) year run as Victor Newman on the TV soap The Young and the Restless, but, instead, his portrayal of Dr. Charles Forbin in a little sci-fi thriller from 1970 about a computer that takes over the world. At the same time, he was forced to reflect on his own bittersweet feelings regarding that film — Colossus: The Forbin Project — his first starring role in a Hollywood production. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) "I was...
- 5/17/2018
- by Ed Gross
- Closer Weekly
Actor-turned-director Gilles Lellouche coaxes a motley assortment of Frenchmen to shake off their midlife malaise by celebrating their inner Esther Williams in the utterly formulaic Sink or Swim. This is the kind of feelgood comedy-drama the Brits have been rehashing with semi-regularity since the 1990s, with misfits and underdogs discovering strength and a sense of purpose in unity, preferably with a liberating performance element. The main difference here is that being French, it's ten times as talky, making for a sluggish two hours that delivers only in a triumphant final act that's as improbable as it is inevitable.
A pedestrian...
A pedestrian...
- 5/14/2018
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“…now, you can run, you can hide, or you can start to live like human beings again. This is our Waterloo, baby! You want your city back? You gotta take it.”—Fred Williamson, Vigilante Lynne Ramsay’s methods have become more concentrated, more specialized. When she began, her films found her gesturing at the edge of conventional psychology through lightly surreal abstraction. A rat tied to a balloon, a nocturnal supermarket bursting with song, her typical bricolage of light and found objects where every source feeds into a unified color scheme: all these elements say what her paralyzed or stunted protagonists could not. The world ironically reflected their darkness, their optimism, or their depression. Since 2002’s Morvern Callar she began a sort of narrowing of her emotional concern. Her characters wear masks of rage, of depression, of guilt, and fear. Music, color, light, objects and even people seem to reflect their inner turmoil.
- 4/3/2018
- MUBI
Robyn Karney, who has died of cancer aged 77, was a writer on film and a literary editor. She had comprehensive knowledge of the cinema, and in the early 1980s edited the popular Octopus Books series of Hollywood studio histories. She co-wrote the Bloomsbury Foreign Film Guide (1988, with Ronald Bergan) and was the compiler of Who’s Who in Hollywood (1993).
Perhaps her biggest project was as editor-in-chief of the Chronicle of the Cinema (1997; updated as Cinema, Year by Year), launched by Esther Williams at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. She loved being in the Us and, for instance, spent many months in Santa Fe working on Victoria Price’s 1999 book about her father, Vincent Price.
Perhaps her biggest project was as editor-in-chief of the Chronicle of the Cinema (1997; updated as Cinema, Year by Year), launched by Esther Williams at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. She loved being in the Us and, for instance, spent many months in Santa Fe working on Victoria Price’s 1999 book about her father, Vincent Price.
- 1/31/2018
- by Linda Goldsmith
- The Guardian - Film News
(See previous post: Fourth of July Movies: Escapism During a Weird Year.) On the evening of the Fourth of July, besides fireworks, fire hazards, and Yankee Doodle Dandy, if you're watching TCM in the U.S. and Canada, there's the following: Peter H. Hunt's 1776 (1972), a largely forgotten film musical based on the Broadway hit with music by Sherman Edwards. William Daniels, who was recently on TCM talking about 1776 and a couple of other movies (A Thousand Clowns, Dodsworth), has one of the key roles as John Adams. Howard Da Silva, blacklisted for over a decade after being named a communist during the House Un-American Committee hearings of the early 1950s (Robert Taylor was one who mentioned him in his testimony), plays Benjamin Franklin. Ken Howard is Thomas Jefferson, a role he would reprise in John Huston's 1976 short Independence. (In the short, Pat Hingle was cast as John Adams; Eli Wallach was Benjamin Franklin.) Warner...
- 7/5/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Fourth of July movies: A few recommended titles that should help you temporarily escape current global madness Two thousand and seventeen has been a weirder-than-usual year on the already pretty weird Planet Earth. Unsurprisingly, this Fourth of July, the day the United States celebrates its Declaration of Independence from the British Empire, has been an unusual one as well. Instead of fireworks, (at least some) people's attention has been turned to missiles – more specifically, a carefully timed North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile test indicating that Kim Jong-un could theoretically gain (or could already have?) the capacity to strike North America with nuclear weapons. Then there were right-wing trolls & history-deficient Twitter users berating National Public Radio for tweeting the Declaration of Independence, 140 characters at a time. Besides, a few days ago the current U.S. president retweeted a video of himself body-slamming and choking a representation of CNN – courtesy of a gif originally created by a far-right Internet...
- 7/5/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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