Grab a doobie, Reefer Madness is coming to Los Angeles.
To mark the show’s 25th anniversary, members of the original creative team are reuniting for a limited eight-week engagement at the Whitley in Los Angeles that opens on May 30. Back are Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell and Alan Cumming, who will produce alongside creators Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney. Andy Fickman, who directed 2005’s Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, will also produce with America Olivo Campbell.
Spencer Liff, a veteran choreographer with credits on everything from So You Think You Can Dance? to Spring Awakening, will direct and choreograph the revival. The production team includes original cast member Wendy Parker as executive producer, with Maia Falconi-Sachs, Matthew Rosenthal and Nick Padgett taking co-producer credits. David Lamoureux will serve as music director, and Maxx Reed as associate director and choreographer.
The musical, with book and lyrics by Murphy, and book and music by Studney,...
To mark the show’s 25th anniversary, members of the original creative team are reuniting for a limited eight-week engagement at the Whitley in Los Angeles that opens on May 30. Back are Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell and Alan Cumming, who will produce alongside creators Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney. Andy Fickman, who directed 2005’s Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, will also produce with America Olivo Campbell.
Spencer Liff, a veteran choreographer with credits on everything from So You Think You Can Dance? to Spring Awakening, will direct and choreograph the revival. The production team includes original cast member Wendy Parker as executive producer, with Maia Falconi-Sachs, Matthew Rosenthal and Nick Padgett taking co-producer credits. David Lamoureux will serve as music director, and Maxx Reed as associate director and choreographer.
The musical, with book and lyrics by Murphy, and book and music by Studney,...
- 3/7/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mark Shelmerdine, the BAFTA L.A. co-founder and producer who is credited with reviving Alexander Korda’s London Films, died Oct. 26 in Santa Barbara after a long illness. He was 78.
Shelmerdine was diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer in 2016. After being treated in a trial program between Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston Methodist Hospital, he received a liver transplant in 2018 and became the longest living survivor among those in the program. Friend and fellow producer Brian Eastman confirmed the news of Sherlmerdine’s death to Variety.
Shelmerdine got his start in the entertainment industry after joining the Taylor Clark group, led by the Scottish businessman Robert Clark. As the group’s company secretary and finance director, Shelmerdine was placed in charge of preparing weekly reports and analyses on the box office returns of the Caledonian Associated Cinema and ABC Cinema chains, which Clark owned.
Shelmerdine was diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer in 2016. After being treated in a trial program between Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston Methodist Hospital, he received a liver transplant in 2018 and became the longest living survivor among those in the program. Friend and fellow producer Brian Eastman confirmed the news of Sherlmerdine’s death to Variety.
Shelmerdine got his start in the entertainment industry after joining the Taylor Clark group, led by the Scottish businessman Robert Clark. As the group’s company secretary and finance director, Shelmerdine was placed in charge of preparing weekly reports and analyses on the box office returns of the Caledonian Associated Cinema and ABC Cinema chains, which Clark owned.
- 12/2/2023
- by Valerie Wu
- Variety Film + TV
Mark Shelmerdine, the veteran producer who revived London Films as an indie powerhouse and played a pivotal role in the development of the international TV distribution market, died October 26 in Santa Barbara surrounded by his family. He was 78.
Among his achievements, he was among the first UK indie TV producers to retain rights to a broadcast production and was a founder of the LA branch of BAFTA.
Shelmerdine’s death was confirmed to Deadline by his friend Brian Eastman. The producer had survived a rare and potentially deadly form of bile duct cancer by receiving a life-saving liver transplant in 2018 through a trial in Houston, and was one of the longest living survivors of the MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston Methodist Hospital program.
Born on March 27, 1945, Shelmerdine spent part of his childhood in Singapore before moving to the UK. He was awarded a place to attend Sidney Sussex College...
Among his achievements, he was among the first UK indie TV producers to retain rights to a broadcast production and was a founder of the LA branch of BAFTA.
Shelmerdine’s death was confirmed to Deadline by his friend Brian Eastman. The producer had survived a rare and potentially deadly form of bile duct cancer by receiving a life-saving liver transplant in 2018 through a trial in Houston, and was one of the longest living survivors of the MD Anderson Cancer Center and Houston Methodist Hospital program.
Born on March 27, 1945, Shelmerdine spent part of his childhood in Singapore before moving to the UK. He was awarded a place to attend Sidney Sussex College...
- 12/1/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Mark Shelmerdine, the Emmy-nominated producer who remade Alexander Korda’s dormant London Films label into an independent production powerhouse behind projects including I, Claudius, has died. He was 78.
Shelmerdine died Oct. 26 in Santa Barbara after a long illness, friend and fellow producer Brian Eastman told The Hollywood Reporter. After being diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer in 2016, he had a life-saving liver transplant in 2018.
In the 1980s, Shelmerdine co-founded the Los Angeles branch of BAFTA and the Association of Independent Television Producers, which helped shape the sector that now dominates British TV production. He also published self-help books written by his late wife, Susan Jeffers.
The first of three children, Shelmerdine was born on March 27, 1945, in Buckinghamshire, England. His father, Dick, worked as a police office in Singapore and the Bahamas and as a postmaster in Gloucestershire, England.
Shelmerdine started out as an accountant at Coopers & Lybrand and Taylor Clark Ltd.
Shelmerdine died Oct. 26 in Santa Barbara after a long illness, friend and fellow producer Brian Eastman told The Hollywood Reporter. After being diagnosed with a rare form of bile duct cancer in 2016, he had a life-saving liver transplant in 2018.
In the 1980s, Shelmerdine co-founded the Los Angeles branch of BAFTA and the Association of Independent Television Producers, which helped shape the sector that now dominates British TV production. He also published self-help books written by his late wife, Susan Jeffers.
The first of three children, Shelmerdine was born on March 27, 1945, in Buckinghamshire, England. His father, Dick, worked as a police office in Singapore and the Bahamas and as a postmaster in Gloucestershire, England.
Shelmerdine started out as an accountant at Coopers & Lybrand and Taylor Clark Ltd.
- 11/29/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ric de Azevedo, who performed as a member of the voluminous King Family and served as a TV producer on Private Benjamin, California Dreams, Young Maverick and the Dukes of Hazzard spinoff Enos, has died. He was 75.
De Azevedo died March 14 in Fruit Heights, Utah, after an undisclosed illness, his family announced.
Survivors include a brother, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actor Cam Clarke, and a cousin, singer and My Three Sons actress Tina Cole.
De Azevedo also worked as a postproduction executive at Universal Studios, as director of postproduction for Warner Bros. Television from 1983-93 and as director of film services for Warner Bros. Studios, where he helped develop the organizational system for the studio’s vault assets.
Known for his soulfully expressive singing voice, de Azevedo appeared with 37 family members on the ABC musical variety series The King Family Show in 1965-66 and 1969. He also performed alongside The King Family’s teen offshoot,...
De Azevedo died March 14 in Fruit Heights, Utah, after an undisclosed illness, his family announced.
Survivors include a brother, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actor Cam Clarke, and a cousin, singer and My Three Sons actress Tina Cole.
De Azevedo also worked as a postproduction executive at Universal Studios, as director of postproduction for Warner Bros. Television from 1983-93 and as director of film services for Warner Bros. Studios, where he helped develop the organizational system for the studio’s vault assets.
Known for his soulfully expressive singing voice, de Azevedo appeared with 37 family members on the ABC musical variety series The King Family Show in 1965-66 and 1969. He also performed alongside The King Family’s teen offshoot,...
- 3/21/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This Star Wars: Andor article contains spoilers.
Off the back of an action-packed heist on Aldhani, Andor has delivered its finest hour with “Announcement,” which explores the repercussions of the Rebel heist across the galaxy. The Empire is tightening its grip, senators are being watched, and even rebel operatives can’t trust one another as the hammer comes down on Coruscant and elsewhere.
It’s also during one of these scenes on the Imperial capital that Andor drops its biggest callback to the Original Trilogy yet. Despite showrunner Tony Gilroy’s reassurances that Andor wouldn’t just be another Disney+ easter egg show, the more serious, space-set drama has still found ways to reintroduce elements of classic Star Wars but without making them feel like shallow winks at the audience. In Andor, familiarity is part of the worldbuilding and often in service of the story itself. And in general, the...
Off the back of an action-packed heist on Aldhani, Andor has delivered its finest hour with “Announcement,” which explores the repercussions of the Rebel heist across the galaxy. The Empire is tightening its grip, senators are being watched, and even rebel operatives can’t trust one another as the hammer comes down on Coruscant and elsewhere.
It’s also during one of these scenes on the Imperial capital that Andor drops its biggest callback to the Original Trilogy yet. Despite showrunner Tony Gilroy’s reassurances that Andor wouldn’t just be another Disney+ easter egg show, the more serious, space-set drama has still found ways to reintroduce elements of classic Star Wars but without making them feel like shallow winks at the audience. In Andor, familiarity is part of the worldbuilding and often in service of the story itself. And in general, the...
- 10/19/2022
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
July 11th is chock-full of some stellar cult classic releases on Blu-ray and DVD, so hopefully you guys have been saving your pennies. Scream Factory is keeping busy with a trio of titles, including The Man From Planet X, a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for Species, and Sex Doll. Arrow Video has put together a stunning special edition set for Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse that you’ll definitely want to add to your home media collections, and both The Fifth Element and Peter Jackson’s King Kong are getting a 4K release, too.
Other notable titles for July 11th include Star Crystal, Vampire Cop, The Blessed Ones, Devil’s Domain, The Magicians: Season Two and a Don’t Look in the Basement/Don’t Look in the Basement 2 double feature.
The Man From Planet X (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
From the farthest reaches of space it came … is it friend or foe?...
Other notable titles for July 11th include Star Crystal, Vampire Cop, The Blessed Ones, Devil’s Domain, The Magicians: Season Two and a Don’t Look in the Basement/Don’t Look in the Basement 2 double feature.
The Man From Planet X (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
From the farthest reaches of space it came … is it friend or foe?...
- 7/11/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Scream Factory sets their sights on the stars to bring a visitor from deep space onto Blu-ray with their July 11th home media release of The Man from Planet X, and we've been provided with three Blu-ray copies of the 1951 sci-fi film to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers.
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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of The Man from Planet X.
How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:
1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:
https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/
2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The Man from Planet X Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on July 17th.
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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of The Man from Planet X.
How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:
1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:
https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/
2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject “The Man from Planet X Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.
Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on July 17th.
- 7/10/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The first visitor from outer space in the ’50s sci-fi boom is one very curious guy, dropping to Earth in a ship like a diving bell and scaring the bejesus out of Sally Field’s mother. Micro-budgeted space invasion fantasy gets off to a great start, thanks to the filmmaking genius of our old pal Edgar G. Ulmer.
The Man from Planet X
Blu-ray
Scream Factory / Shout! Factory
1951 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 71 min. / Street Date July 11, 2017 / 27.99
Starring: Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, Raymond Bond, William Schallert, Roy Engel, David Ormont.
Cinematography: John L. Russell
Film Editor: Fred R. Feitshans, Jr.
Original Music: Charles Koff
Written and Produced by Aubrey Wisberg, Jack Pollexfen
Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
One of the first features of the 1950s Sci-Fi boom, 1951’s The Man from Planet X set a lot of precedents, cementing the public impression of ‘little green men from Mars’ and...
The Man from Planet X
Blu-ray
Scream Factory / Shout! Factory
1951 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 71 min. / Street Date July 11, 2017 / 27.99
Starring: Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, Raymond Bond, William Schallert, Roy Engel, David Ormont.
Cinematography: John L. Russell
Film Editor: Fred R. Feitshans, Jr.
Original Music: Charles Koff
Written and Produced by Aubrey Wisberg, Jack Pollexfen
Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
One of the first features of the 1950s Sci-Fi boom, 1951’s The Man from Planet X set a lot of precedents, cementing the public impression of ‘little green men from Mars’ and...
- 6/16/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Turner Classic Movies continues with its Gay Hollywood presentations tonight and tomorrow morning, June 8–9. Seven movies will be shown about, featuring, directed, or produced by the following: Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Farley Granger, John Dall, Edmund Goulding, W. Somerset Maughan, Clifton Webb, Montgomery Clift, Raymond Burr, Charles Walters, DeWitt Bodeen, and Harriet Parsons. (One assumes that it's a mere coincidence that gay rumor subjects Cary Grant and Tyrone Power are also featured.) Night and Day (1946), which could also be considered part of TCM's homage to birthday girl Alexis Smith, who would have turned 96 today, is a Cole Porter biopic starring Cary Grant as a posh, heterosexualized version of Porter. As the warning goes, any similaries to real-life people and/or events found in Night and Day are a mere coincidence. The same goes for Words and Music (1948), a highly fictionalized version of the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musical partnership.
- 6/9/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Edgar G. Ulmer movies on TCM: 'The Black Cat' & 'Detour' Turner Classic Movies' June 2017 Star of the Month is Audrey Hepburn, but Edgar G. Ulmer is its film personality of the evening on June 6. TCM will be presenting seven Ulmer movies from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, including his two best-known efforts: The Black Cat (1934) and Detour (1945). The Black Cat was released shortly before the officialization of the Christian-inspired Production Code, which would castrate American filmmaking – with a few clever exceptions – for the next quarter of a century. Hence, audiences in spring 1934 were able to witness satanism in action, in addition to other bizarre happenings in an art deco mansion located in an isolated area of Hungary. Sporting a David Bowie hairdo, Boris Karloff is at his sinister best in The Black Cat (“Do you hear that, Vitus? The phone is dead. Even the phone is dead”), ailurophobic (a.
- 6/7/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Beyond the Time Barrier is part of Anthology Film Archives' Edgar G. Ulmer retrospective in New York.
Above: The Light Ahead (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1939).
“Nicholson was able to photograph the parked F-102a from a matched angle to complete the second side of the split-screen shot begun at the abandoned airfield the previous day. Fortunately, the weather had remained consistent, or the composite could never have been assembled. For the film, the jet would now appear in the same shot with the wrecked control tower and Clarke, though existing in actuality some twenty miles apart.
At every step, Ulmer sought production value and realism whenever he could squeeze it in, even when barely possible. Says Clarke: ‘We were very exited about [trying to get] a B-36 as it was taxiing along. We were so hopeful that the actors playing the officials from the Pentagon would get their dialogue correct and that their car...
Above: The Light Ahead (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1939).
“Nicholson was able to photograph the parked F-102a from a matched angle to complete the second side of the split-screen shot begun at the abandoned airfield the previous day. Fortunately, the weather had remained consistent, or the composite could never have been assembled. For the film, the jet would now appear in the same shot with the wrecked control tower and Clarke, though existing in actuality some twenty miles apart.
At every step, Ulmer sought production value and realism whenever he could squeeze it in, even when barely possible. Says Clarke: ‘We were very exited about [trying to get] a B-36 as it was taxiing along. We were so hopeful that the actors playing the officials from the Pentagon would get their dialogue correct and that their car...
- 11/5/2012
- by David Phelps
- MUBI
Margaret Field, best remembered for the 1951 sci-fier The Man From Planet X, died at her Malibu home on Sunday, Nov. 6, the day her daughter Sally Field turned 65. Margaret Field, who had been diagnosed with cancer six years ago, was 89. Directed by cult B-movie director Edgar G. Ulmer, The Man From Planet X turned out to be the highlight of Field's film career. The story revolves around a mysterious journalist (Robert Clarke) who may or may not be an alien with ties to a spaceship that has landed near an observatory on a remote Scottish island. Most of Field's previous movie appearances had been uncredited bit parts, chiefly in Paramount productions such as The Perils of Pauline, Night Has a Thousand Eyes, and Samson and Delilah. Her parts got bigger following The Man from Planet X, but they remained subpar roles in mostly B movies. Among those were Philip Ford's...
- 11/8/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Silent All Quiet On The Western Front: TCM's Library of Congress Tribute [Photo: Kay Francis, Leslie Howard in British Agent.] Schedule (Et) and synopses from the TCM website: 8:00 Pm The Constant Nymph (1943). A composer finds inspiration in his wife's romantic cousin. Dir: Edmund Goulding. Cast: Charles Boyer, Joan Fontaine, Alexis Smith. Bw-112 mins. 10:00 Pm Baby Face (1933). A beautiful schemer sleeps her way to the top of a banking empire. Dir: Alfred E. Green. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook. Bw-76 mins. 11:30 Pm Two Heads On A Pillow (1934). Once-married attorneys face off during a heated divorce case. Dir: William Nigh. Cast: Neil Hamilton, Miriam Jordan, Henry Armetta. Bw-68 mins. 12:45 Am All Quiet On The Western Front (1930). Young German soldiers try to adjust to the horrors of World War I. Dir: Lewis Milestone. Cast: Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray. Bw-134 mins. 3:15 Am : Will Rogers Winging Around Europe (1927). Bw-0 mins. 3:30 Am...
- 9/29/2011
- Alt Film Guide
Joan Fontaine-Charles Boyer in Rare The Constant Nymph on TCM. [Photo: Miriam Jordan, Neil Hamilton in Two Heads on a Pillow.] Besides the Edmund Goulding-directed Joan Fontaine-Charles Boyer-Alexis Smith movie The Constant Nymph, other Library of Congress Film Archive entries on Turner Classic Movies tonight include Two Heads on a Pillow (1934), a B comedy directed by William Nigh, an important late silent-era director (Lon Chaney's Mr. Wu, Ramon Novarro's Across to Singapore) later stuck with second-rate fare. Apparently a sort of Adam's Rib predecessor, Two Heads on a Pillow features former silent-era leading man Neil Hamilton (Batman's Commissioner Gordon) and minor leading lady Miriam Jordan as once-married attorneys involved in a divorce case. It's probably worth watching even if only because of its cast, which also includes silent-era veterans Betty Blythe (the title role in the now-lost The Queen of Sheba) and Claire McDowell (Ramon Novarro's leprosy-stricken mom in Ben-Hur,...
- 9/29/2011
- Alt Film Guide
The rest of this month has some exciting genre output on display at the wonderful Egyptian and Aero Theatres, hosted by the American Cinematheque.
Currently running, the Egyptian’s Lust and Larceny: Noir City, the 12th Annual Festival of Film Noir will wrap up on April 18. Friday, April 16 beginning at 7:30pm will be a double feature of 1955’s thriller Crashout, followed by 1954’s brutal revenge melodrama Cry Vengeance. Neither of these films are currently available on DVD. Saturday will see a double feature of horror director Lew Landers’ The Power of the Whistler from 1945 and starring Richard Dix (Val Lewton’s The Ghost Ship), as well as its follow up of the same year, Voice of the Whistler, directed by horror legend William Castle! In attendence will be Robert Dix, son of star Richard Dix.
Running from April 29 through May 2, the Egyptian presents A Wrinkle in Time: The Best of Time Travel Films.
Currently running, the Egyptian’s Lust and Larceny: Noir City, the 12th Annual Festival of Film Noir will wrap up on April 18. Friday, April 16 beginning at 7:30pm will be a double feature of 1955’s thriller Crashout, followed by 1954’s brutal revenge melodrama Cry Vengeance. Neither of these films are currently available on DVD. Saturday will see a double feature of horror director Lew Landers’ The Power of the Whistler from 1945 and starring Richard Dix (Val Lewton’s The Ghost Ship), as well as its follow up of the same year, Voice of the Whistler, directed by horror legend William Castle! In attendence will be Robert Dix, son of star Richard Dix.
Running from April 29 through May 2, the Egyptian presents A Wrinkle in Time: The Best of Time Travel Films.
- 4/16/2010
- by Jesse
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Russ Marker was a regional filmmaker and actor in Texas who made his film debut as Col. Curtis in Edgar Ulmer’s 1960 science fiction film Beyond the Time Barrier starring Robert Clarke. He produced, directed, and scripted the obscure 1963 sci-fi film The Yesterday Machine starring Tim Holt, about a Nazi scientist who invents a time machine to travel back to World War II to change the outcome. Marker also co-wrote and directed the unfinished early 1960s horror film Demon from Devil’s Lake. It was remade several years later starring John Agar under the title Night Fright (aka E.T.N.: The Extraterrestrial Nastie) (1968), and featured Marker in a small role.
He was born Hirom Monroe Kennamer in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, on October 11, 1926. He was featured in small roles in the films Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Finding North (1998). He was also seen in various roles in several episodes of the television series Walker,...
He was born Hirom Monroe Kennamer in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, on October 11, 1926. He was featured in small roles in the films Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Finding North (1998). He was also seen in various roles in several episodes of the television series Walker,...
- 3/15/2010
- by Jesse
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
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