Brian De Palma apparently was less than enthused by Pauline Kael’s scathing “Body Double” review. The legendary critic didn’t seem to grasp what De Palma was attempting with his 1984 meta noir send-up of Hollywood.
The auteur’s take on “Rear Window” centered on a struggling actor (Craig Wasson) who seems to witness a murder while housesitting for his friend’s (Gregg Henry) pal. His relationship with a rising young porn actress (Melanie Griffith) leads to him investigating whether or not his voyeurism could solve a crime.
“Body Double,” which is receiving a theatrical re-release as part of Netflix’s Milestone Movies program in honor of its 40th anniversary, was received “harshly” by critics, according to actor Henry, who reunited with writer/director/producer De Palma after having a single yet memorable line in “Scarface.” Henry went on to work with De Palma for six more films.
“You always...
The auteur’s take on “Rear Window” centered on a struggling actor (Craig Wasson) who seems to witness a murder while housesitting for his friend’s (Gregg Henry) pal. His relationship with a rising young porn actress (Melanie Griffith) leads to him investigating whether or not his voyeurism could solve a crime.
“Body Double,” which is receiving a theatrical re-release as part of Netflix’s Milestone Movies program in honor of its 40th anniversary, was received “harshly” by critics, according to actor Henry, who reunited with writer/director/producer De Palma after having a single yet memorable line in “Scarface.” Henry went on to work with De Palma for six more films.
“You always...
- 5/3/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Obviously it wasn’t by design, but the early-1950s renewal of the western genre, aided in large part by the success of Winchester ’73, which heralded a career second act for both its director, Anthony Mann, and its star, James Stewart, was answered in other quarters of the industry by multiple endeavors to take the once disreputable genre, previously dismissed as Roy Rogers/Saturday-matinee bunkum, all the way into the hallowed halls of state-sanctioned, capital-a art. And, as it happened, the two westerns that made a big runner-up showing at the 1952 and 1953 Oscars, High Noon and Shane, respectively, also served, by virtue of holding what wide swaths of the future cinephile demographic would come to view as Vichy letters of transit, as high-value targets for skeptics of the official cultural narrative.
These auteurist critics and film buffs, whose philosophy acquired definite contours some 10-odd years later, observed a different watershed moment: Rio Bravo.
These auteurist critics and film buffs, whose philosophy acquired definite contours some 10-odd years later, observed a different watershed moment: Rio Bravo.
- 5/3/2024
- by Jaime N. Christley
- Slant Magazine
Quentin Tarantino’s career was supposed to be concluded with an epic tenth film pretty soon, but now it’s all obscure again since the proclaimed director dashed it all to pieces canceling his upcoming movie.
Numerous speculations about the never-happening project’s creation process and its plot have never stopped circulating ever since the news broke, but one recently emerged detail will surely absorb everyone’s attention again — mostly due to the fact that it looks pretty much similar to what the MCU has been up to recently.
According to The Hollywood Reporter’s thorough investigation, Tarantino initially had at least four different ideas for his final film The Movie Critic — starting from the one that would focus on real-life movie critic Pauline Kael and then going to the expansion of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s universe by telling the story of Cliff Booth portrayed by Brad Pitt.
Numerous speculations about the never-happening project’s creation process and its plot have never stopped circulating ever since the news broke, but one recently emerged detail will surely absorb everyone’s attention again — mostly due to the fact that it looks pretty much similar to what the MCU has been up to recently.
According to The Hollywood Reporter’s thorough investigation, Tarantino initially had at least four different ideas for his final film The Movie Critic — starting from the one that would focus on real-life movie critic Pauline Kael and then going to the expansion of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s universe by telling the story of Cliff Booth portrayed by Brad Pitt.
- 4/24/2024
- by benjamin-patel@startefacts.com (Benjamin Patel)
- STartefacts.com
Last week, Quentin Tarantino shocked the entertainment industry by ashcanning what was to have been his 10th film, “The Movie Critic.” The two-time Oscar-winner and highly influential auteur has yet to publicly comment on why this has all gone down, but the snoops at The Hollywood Reporter have dug up some details.
For starters, there’s ample evidence of Tarantino developing something and then pulling the plug in the past. You can look at the Wikipedia entry for the man’s unrealized projects and do a whole lot of imagining. It’s just rare that something gets this far along in the process—production was due to start at the end of this year, and a tax deal had already been set up with the California Film Commission. Although no distributor was officially on board, there was an understanding that Tarantino would work again with Sony, after the successful collaboration...
For starters, there’s ample evidence of Tarantino developing something and then pulling the plug in the past. You can look at the Wikipedia entry for the man’s unrealized projects and do a whole lot of imagining. It’s just rare that something gets this far along in the process—production was due to start at the end of this year, and a tax deal had already been set up with the California Film Commission. Although no distributor was officially on board, there was an understanding that Tarantino would work again with Sony, after the successful collaboration...
- 4/24/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
It is apparently official: Quentin Tarantino's 10th and final film will not be "The Movie Critic." I say "apparently" because Tarantino briefly abandoned "The Hateful Eight" when the screenplay leaked to the internet, so maybe "The Movie Critic" still has a shot at going before a camera. But this feels final. It sounds like the concept got away from him, and he would've done the one thing he's talked about but avoided his entire career: he was going to make a sequel.
If The Hollywood Reporter has their story straight, "The Movie Critic" began life as a 1970s character study that was, in Tarantino's words, "based on a guy who really lived but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag" before expanding into a Hollywood yarn that involved Brad Pitt's Hollywood stuntman Cliff Booth from "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.
If The Hollywood Reporter has their story straight, "The Movie Critic" began life as a 1970s character study that was, in Tarantino's words, "based on a guy who really lived but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag" before expanding into a Hollywood yarn that involved Brad Pitt's Hollywood stuntman Cliff Booth from "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.
- 4/23/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
“You know you can watch that at home, right?” Such was the advice directed my way by a wisecracking passerby while queued up for a screening at the 2024 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival in Hollywood, California. They were clearly not a festival passholder, but the indifference heard right there on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was another instance of the trampling of history that both the festival and its parent channel aim to counter.
Probably the most even-handed response to that trampling would be a reminder—to flip a well-known phrase—that a home is not a house (not a movie house anyway). The folks who flock to Los Angeles every year from all over the world to attend this festival, probably all subscribers or rabid devotees of the channel that bears its name, cough up a prodigious amount of money to do so. It’s clear that for them,...
Probably the most even-handed response to that trampling would be a reminder—to flip a well-known phrase—that a home is not a house (not a movie house anyway). The folks who flock to Los Angeles every year from all over the world to attend this festival, probably all subscribers or rabid devotees of the channel that bears its name, cough up a prodigious amount of money to do so. It’s clear that for them,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Slant Magazine
The film considered too shocking for the world! Written, edited, produced and directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi of Mondo Cane fame, this epic recreation of the American slave trade atrocities was both condemned as depraved exploitation and acclaimed as an unprecedented cry of Black anguish and rage. The Detroit Chronicle hailed it as “a graphic, moving, nerve-paralyzing film.” Legendary film critic Pauline Kael called it “the most specific and rabid incitement of the race war.” It became one of the most reviled and misunderstood films of its time. Five decades cannot diminish Goodbye Uncle Tom’s impact or quiet its controversy as it has become even more relevant today!
Goodbye Uncle Tom is available on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray and Digital on April 23.
Enter for your chance to win a Blu-ray of Goodbye Uncle Tom, courtesy of Blue Underground. Two (2) winners will be selected at random.
Here...
Goodbye Uncle Tom is available on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray and Digital on April 23.
Enter for your chance to win a Blu-ray of Goodbye Uncle Tom, courtesy of Blue Underground. Two (2) winners will be selected at random.
Here...
- 4/21/2024
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
Quentin Tarantino sets up a Cannes farewell for his directorial career, as The Movie Critic is set to start filming towards the end of 2024.
Following the now-established narrative, writer/director Quentin Tarantino will be bringing his directorial career to a close with his next film. It’s many years since he announced this plan, and in recent years there’s been no shortage of speculation as to what that final feature will be.
Speculation on that front is over: he’s written, and will be directing, The Movie Critic. To save you reading one of those arduous ‘here’s everything we know about the film’ articles, the guts of it are that the movie has been inspired by a real, unnamed individual. There was speculation it might be the late critic Pauline Kael, but apparently not so.
Instead, Quentin Tarantino will be looking for a male lead to play the title character.
Following the now-established narrative, writer/director Quentin Tarantino will be bringing his directorial career to a close with his next film. It’s many years since he announced this plan, and in recent years there’s been no shortage of speculation as to what that final feature will be.
Speculation on that front is over: he’s written, and will be directing, The Movie Critic. To save you reading one of those arduous ‘here’s everything we know about the film’ articles, the guts of it are that the movie has been inspired by a real, unnamed individual. There was speculation it might be the late critic Pauline Kael, but apparently not so.
Instead, Quentin Tarantino will be looking for a male lead to play the title character.
- 4/15/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
M. Emmet Walsh, a veteran character actor who appeared in more than 150 films including “Blade Runner,” “Blood Simple” and “Knives Out” and played Dermot Mulroney’s dad in “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” has died.
His manager Sandy Joseph confirmed that he died Tuesday in Vermont. He was 88.
In Ridley Scott’s 1982 “Blade Runner,” Walsh was Harrison Ford’s LAPD boss, while he played the vicious private detective Loren Visser in the Coen brothers’ directing debut “Blood Simple.” Wearing a sickly yellow suit, Pauline Kael said he was the film’s “only colorful performer. He lays on the loathsomeness, but he gives it a little twirl — a sportiness.”
His other roles included the corrupt sheriff in the 1986 horror film “Critters” and a small role as a security guard in “Knives Out.”
Walsh appeared in a string of memorable 1970s films, including “Little Big Man” with Dustin Hoffman, “What’s Up, Doc?” with Ryan O’Neal and Barbra Streisand,...
His manager Sandy Joseph confirmed that he died Tuesday in Vermont. He was 88.
In Ridley Scott’s 1982 “Blade Runner,” Walsh was Harrison Ford’s LAPD boss, while he played the vicious private detective Loren Visser in the Coen brothers’ directing debut “Blood Simple.” Wearing a sickly yellow suit, Pauline Kael said he was the film’s “only colorful performer. He lays on the loathsomeness, but he gives it a little twirl — a sportiness.”
His other roles included the corrupt sheriff in the 1986 horror film “Critters” and a small role as a security guard in “Knives Out.”
Walsh appeared in a string of memorable 1970s films, including “Little Big Man” with Dustin Hoffman, “What’s Up, Doc?” with Ryan O’Neal and Barbra Streisand,...
- 3/20/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Brad Pitt is in talks to star in Quentin Tarantino’s 10th and supposedly final film The Movie Critic, even as one scene from the actor’s past continues to leave fans bewildered. The scene in question comes from the 1998 fantasy drama Meet Joe Black, in which Pitt’s character talks in patois in the hospital, fans have pointed out the “absurd” accent. Fans have derided the sequence as “absurd” for decades.
Did The 1998 Fantasy Flop Derail Brad Pitt’s Momentum? Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black
In Meet Joe Black, Brad Pitt plays a manifestation of Death experiencing life in a human form. But there is this scene where he speaks patois, the scene after almost 25 years is still considered as “one of the funniest, most absurd.” Here are a few fan reactions to the scene:
Watched Meet Joe Black the other night and absolutely lost it when Brad Pitt starts speaking patois.
Did The 1998 Fantasy Flop Derail Brad Pitt’s Momentum? Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black
In Meet Joe Black, Brad Pitt plays a manifestation of Death experiencing life in a human form. But there is this scene where he speaks patois, the scene after almost 25 years is still considered as “one of the funniest, most absurd.” Here are a few fan reactions to the scene:
Watched Meet Joe Black the other night and absolutely lost it when Brad Pitt starts speaking patois.
- 2/19/2024
- by Nivedita Dubey
- FandomWire
Many people often blasphemously (and hilariously) joke around that Morgan Freeman is God. Not only because of his pitch perfect casting as God but also due to his smooth, defining and, yes, god-like is Morgan Freeman’s voice that one can’t picture penguins or parts of nature or, yes, God, without hearing the man. One reason could be that we’ve only ever really known Morgan Freeman as an older actor, not striking a chord with mainstream audiences until he was in his 50s.
Soon enough his skills, screen presences and voice had Hollywood calling every time they needed a kind wise grandfather types or a grizzled vet from either side of the the law or any type of narration in any type of film. That persona has marked him as a welcome figure throughout modern cinema – despite the nearly constant cash grabs that pad out the unfortunate bulk of his filmography.
Soon enough his skills, screen presences and voice had Hollywood calling every time they needed a kind wise grandfather types or a grizzled vet from either side of the the law or any type of narration in any type of film. That persona has marked him as a welcome figure throughout modern cinema – despite the nearly constant cash grabs that pad out the unfortunate bulk of his filmography.
- 2/2/2024
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Anyone in the biz knows that the true representation of a movie critic has never been seen in mass media. Sitting in the dark before racing to make an embargo-break deadline, then kvetching online about weak third acts? Brad Pitt material, all of it.
Luckily, Quentin Tarantino’s next project may fix all that. Deadline reported that a deal is imminent for the director and star to reunite for Tarantino’s next and (allegedly) final picture, “The Movie Critic.” Pitt won Best Supporting Actor at the 2020 Oscars for his turn in Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” which also won Best Production Design for Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh, plus eight other nominations, including Best Picture. The two also worked together on “Inglorious Basterds.”
Now, we’re making a lot of assumptions here about whether Pitt will play the title role. For a while, it was rumored that the film was based,...
Luckily, Quentin Tarantino’s next project may fix all that. Deadline reported that a deal is imminent for the director and star to reunite for Tarantino’s next and (allegedly) final picture, “The Movie Critic.” Pitt won Best Supporting Actor at the 2020 Oscars for his turn in Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” which also won Best Production Design for Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh, plus eight other nominations, including Best Picture. The two also worked together on “Inglorious Basterds.”
Now, we’re making a lot of assumptions here about whether Pitt will play the title role. For a while, it was rumored that the film was based,...
- 2/2/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
Los Angeles, Feb 2 (Ians) Hollywood star Brad Pitt is likely reuniting with Quentin Tarantino for the filmmaker’s 10th and ostensibly final feature, ‘The Movie Critic’.
The status of the deal is unclear. Tarantino has remained tight-lipped about ‘The Movie Critic’ but it’s reportedly set in southern California during the 1970s and centres on a cynical film reviewer, reports Variety.
It’s rumoured to be inspired by the life of Pauline Kael, the late New Yorker writer who was one of the most influential film critics of her time.
Tarantino sidestepped inquiries about ‘The Movie Critic’ during a conversation at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, saying to audience: “I can’t tell you guys (anything) until you see the movie. I’m tempted to do some of the character’s monologues right now, but I’m not going to. Maybe if there were less video cameras. You just have to wait and see.
The status of the deal is unclear. Tarantino has remained tight-lipped about ‘The Movie Critic’ but it’s reportedly set in southern California during the 1970s and centres on a cynical film reviewer, reports Variety.
It’s rumoured to be inspired by the life of Pauline Kael, the late New Yorker writer who was one of the most influential film critics of her time.
Tarantino sidestepped inquiries about ‘The Movie Critic’ during a conversation at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, saying to audience: “I can’t tell you guys (anything) until you see the movie. I’m tempted to do some of the character’s monologues right now, but I’m not going to. Maybe if there were less video cameras. You just have to wait and see.
- 2/2/2024
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Brad Pitt is likely reuniting with Quentin Tarantino for the filmmaker’s 10th and ostensibly final feature, “The Movie Critic.” The status of the deal is unclear.
Tarantino has remained tight-lipped about “The Movie Critic,” but it’s reportedly set in southern California during the 1970s and center on a cynical film reviewer. It’s rumored to be inspired by the life of Pauline Kael, the late New Yorker writer who was one of the most influential film critics of her time.
Tarantino sidestepped inquiries about “The Movie Critic” during a conversation at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, saying to audience members, “I can’t tell you guys [anything] until you see the movie. I’m tempted to do some of the character’s monologues right now, but I’m not going to. Maybe if there were less video cameras. You just have to wait and see.”
Pitt is expected to...
Tarantino has remained tight-lipped about “The Movie Critic,” but it’s reportedly set in southern California during the 1970s and center on a cynical film reviewer. It’s rumored to be inspired by the life of Pauline Kael, the late New Yorker writer who was one of the most influential film critics of her time.
Tarantino sidestepped inquiries about “The Movie Critic” during a conversation at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023, saying to audience members, “I can’t tell you guys [anything] until you see the movie. I’m tempted to do some of the character’s monologues right now, but I’m not going to. Maybe if there were less video cameras. You just have to wait and see.”
Pitt is expected to...
- 2/1/2024
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Some director/actor collaborations simply make too much sense and, well, you know what they say about if it ain't broke. For the third and (possibly) last time, star Brad Pitt and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino are reportedly reuniting for what's been billed as the last Tarantino movie ever before he calls it quits, titled "The Movie Critic." The news comes courtesy of Deadline, which heavily suggests that Pitt will actually play the title character.
"The Movie Critic" was once rumored to be loosely based on the life of famous real-life critic Pauline Kael, but subsequent comments by Tarantino (reported by /Film here) clarified, in his own words, the movie "...is based on a guy who really lived, but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag." Yeah, that sounds pretty much right up Tarantino's alley, doesn't it? That said, details at this point...
"The Movie Critic" was once rumored to be loosely based on the life of famous real-life critic Pauline Kael, but subsequent comments by Tarantino (reported by /Film here) clarified, in his own words, the movie "...is based on a guy who really lived, but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag." Yeah, that sounds pretty much right up Tarantino's alley, doesn't it? That said, details at this point...
- 2/1/2024
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
Few films have arrived in theaters saddled with more baggage than "Twilight Zone: The Movie." That the anthology film featuring segments from John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller actually arrived in the first place was something of a surprise -- and for many in the entertainment industry, it wasn't a welcome one.
The production became a wholly avoidable tragedy on June 23, 1982, when a helicopter crashed on the set of Landis' segment, "Time Out," killing Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen. The show does not always have to go on, but the movie was nevertheless completed and released (rather insensitively) on June 24, 1983, leading off with "Time Out". For some, it was like watching a snuff film.
How do you not let the realization that you're watching what might be a criminal production -- the National Transportation Safety Board had yet to finish their investigation,...
The production became a wholly avoidable tragedy on June 23, 1982, when a helicopter crashed on the set of Landis' segment, "Time Out," killing Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen. The show does not always have to go on, but the movie was nevertheless completed and released (rather insensitively) on June 24, 1983, leading off with "Time Out". For some, it was like watching a snuff film.
How do you not let the realization that you're watching what might be a criminal production -- the National Transportation Safety Board had yet to finish their investigation,...
- 1/17/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The Killer.How do you make a good movie in this country and be jumped on?Once, in 1967, in the opener for her Bonnie and Clyde review, Pauline Kael asked the opposite question: “How do you make a good movie in this country without being jumped on?” Now, times have changed. Nothing provokes us to jump and say, “Hold the torches! That’s the key! The way forward.”An automatic film like David Fincher’s new thriller, The Killer, comes and goes with the velocity of a Twitter news cycle: about six fervent days of talk. (The seventh and beyond? Fits and bursts of takes amid miles of silence.) Whether you think it’s good or bad, The Killer has not lingered in the popular consciousness. And I can’t imagine it lingering. It might have passed me by with the similarly fleeting presence of recent moving-image works like Richard Linklater...
- 1/3/2024
- MUBI
The term "auteur theory" was first coined by American critic Andrew Sarris, a phrase he extrapolated from the essays published in Cahiers du Cinéma in the early 1950s by the founding members of the French New Wave. Auteur theory posited that a director stands as the final authorial voice behind a feature film, and not the writer, the editor, or any of the other filmmakers. While many critics over the years have objected to auteur theory (Pauline Kael famously hated it), the language of referring to a film's director as its "one author" has become the default used by pundits and journalists to this day.
Throughout the 2010s, there was a visible push-and-pull when it came to auteur theory. While plenty of striking, important directors put out unique, idiosyncratic works, massive studio franchise pictures stayed at the commercial fore, and individual directors were subservient to all-powerful Higher Ups. For the...
Throughout the 2010s, there was a visible push-and-pull when it came to auteur theory. While plenty of striking, important directors put out unique, idiosyncratic works, massive studio franchise pictures stayed at the commercial fore, and individual directors were subservient to all-powerful Higher Ups. For the...
- 12/24/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
When Barbra Streisand’s “Yentl” opened on Nov. 18, 1983, directing was very much a man’s world. In the 1970s, there had been a few inroads for women. Italian director Lina Wertmuller was nominated for best director for 1976’s “Seven Beauties” Stateside, actress Barbara Loden, who was married to Oscar-winning director Elia Kazan, wrote, directed and starred in the acclaimed 1970 indie drama “Wanda,” which won best foreign film at the Venice Film Festival. She never followed up with another movie and died of breast cancer in 1980.
There was also Joan Micklin Silver (“Hester Street”), Claudia Weill (“Girlfriends”), Martha Coolidge (“Not a Pretty Picture”), Joan Tewkesbury (“Old Boyfriends”) and Joan Darling (“First Love”). But those filmmakers ran into brick walls when they tried to set up projects with the major studios. The late Silver told Vanity Fair in 2021 that a studio executive didn’t mince his word: “Feature films are expensive to make and expensive to market,...
There was also Joan Micklin Silver (“Hester Street”), Claudia Weill (“Girlfriends”), Martha Coolidge (“Not a Pretty Picture”), Joan Tewkesbury (“Old Boyfriends”) and Joan Darling (“First Love”). But those filmmakers ran into brick walls when they tried to set up projects with the major studios. The late Silver told Vanity Fair in 2021 that a studio executive didn’t mince his word: “Feature films are expensive to make and expensive to market,...
- 11/19/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Boutique distributor Juno Films has acquired North American and UK rights to Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Traveled, a portrait of the iconic Norwegian actress and filmmaker from director Dheeraj Akolkar (Liv & Ingmar). World premiering in the Classics section of the 76th Festival de Cannes, the doc will make its North American debut at Doc NYC ahead of a spring 2024 launch in theaters.
Best known as the muse and one-time romantic partner of Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, Ullmann performed in films of his including Persona, Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage, The Passion of Anna, and Autumn Sonata, among others. She received an Honorary Oscar in 2022, after scoring noms for The Emigrants and Face to Face, and has also helmed titles like Faithless and the Jessica Chastain starrer Miss Julie. Alongside her career in the arts is a run in philanthropy that’s seen her serve as a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador,...
Best known as the muse and one-time romantic partner of Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, Ullmann performed in films of his including Persona, Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage, The Passion of Anna, and Autumn Sonata, among others. She received an Honorary Oscar in 2022, after scoring noms for The Emigrants and Face to Face, and has also helmed titles like Faithless and the Jessica Chastain starrer Miss Julie. Alongside her career in the arts is a run in philanthropy that’s seen her serve as a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador,...
- 10/24/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Exorcist” is, rightfully, heralded as one of the greatest, scariest films of all time. And in the 50 years since its 1973 release, filmmakers have tried, repeatedly, to recapture the magic that made the original film so special, to mixed results.
The latest attempt is “The Exorcist: Believer,” from director David Gordon Green, which returns Ellen Burstyn to the franchise for the first time since 1973 and focuses on a new phenomenon – synchronized possession. It’s meant to be the first of a new trilogy of films. And its release (it’ll be on PVOD on October 24) is enough to have us look back at the entire franchise thus far. Which films are scary good and which are ones that you’d rather spider-walk down the stairs to get away from? Read on to find out.
Warner Bros.
7. “Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist” (2005)
How troubled was the “Exorcist” prequel movie? So troubled...
The latest attempt is “The Exorcist: Believer,” from director David Gordon Green, which returns Ellen Burstyn to the franchise for the first time since 1973 and focuses on a new phenomenon – synchronized possession. It’s meant to be the first of a new trilogy of films. And its release (it’ll be on PVOD on October 24) is enough to have us look back at the entire franchise thus far. Which films are scary good and which are ones that you’d rather spider-walk down the stairs to get away from? Read on to find out.
Warner Bros.
7. “Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist” (2005)
How troubled was the “Exorcist” prequel movie? So troubled...
- 10/21/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
You can always count on Ridley Scott to speak his mind, with results that vary from amusingly curmudgeonly to cringe-inducing. With his latest directorial effort, "Napoleon," arriving next month, that means the time has come for yet another round of Scott being completely out of f**ks to give while touring the press circuit. It's almost become an annual tradition thanks to his relentless work ethic, as the director has continued to release a new film every 12 to 18 months since turning 80 back in 2017. Yet, even after such a prolific career, there are few of his films that Scott maintains strong feelings about quite like the ones he has for "Blade Runner."
There's nary a film buff who doesn't know "Blade Runner" was a flop upon its release in 1982, only to evolve into one of the most influential sci-fi films ever made over the subsequent decades. The process of adapting Philip K. Dick...
There's nary a film buff who doesn't know "Blade Runner" was a flop upon its release in 1982, only to evolve into one of the most influential sci-fi films ever made over the subsequent decades. The process of adapting Philip K. Dick...
- 10/9/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
The Exorcist rocked the world 50 years ago and horror has never been the same since. It shocked audiences with its unflinching portrayals of disturbing medical examinations, levels of profanity that shot right past those considered “acceptable” for Hollywood studio films, and a scene in which a twelve-year-old girl masturbates with a crucifix. It was decried by some and lauded by others. Evangelist Billy Graham famously said, “the Devil is in every frame” and urged Christians not to see the film and thereby expose themselves to such evil. The Catholic Church was mixed, condemning the film’s profanity and violence, but individuals within the church also praised its depiction of the power of good over evil. Roger Ebert loved it. Pauline Kael hated it. What matters, though, is people saw it, and they saw it in droves, making it the biggest box-office smash of the year. In 1973 and 74 it famously induced fainting,...
- 10/4/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Of all the stories and sides of Leonard Bernstein that Bradley Cooper decided to leave out of “Maestro,” the most infamous is surely the “Radical Chic” episode. In 1970, a New York magazine cover story, written by Tom Wolfe and entitled “Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny’s,” spent 20,000 words describing, in delectable you-are-there detail, a party thrown by Lenny and his wife, Felicia, at their Park Avenue apartment to raise funds for the Black Panthers. Several of the Panthers were there, mingling with the swells of aristocratic liberal New York, and Wolfe captured the contradictions of that evening in a tone of such scathing perception that it was as if he’d defined the concept of bourgeois political correctness, disemboweled it, and danced on its grave, all in the same moment.
In “Radical Wolfe,” a lively, impeccably chiseled portrait of Tom Wolfe, who died in 2018 (this is the first documentary...
In “Radical Wolfe,” a lively, impeccably chiseled portrait of Tom Wolfe, who died in 2018 (this is the first documentary...
- 9/15/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
When I was a kid, no movie ending scared me more than "Planet of the Apes." Granted, I was exposed to Tim Burton's poorly received update on the film before I ever saw the stunning ending of Franklin J. Schaffner's original, but the effect was the same both times: total shock, awe, and primal fear over the idea that our world may one day become wholly unrecognizable.
I was far from alone. A young Roger Ebert, just one year into his career as a critic, praised the film for its "thoroughly satisfactory surprise ending," while Pauline Kael commended the movie's ability to pull off its revelations, noting that its "construction is really extraordinary." The final scene of the film, in which an abstract monument in the sand is revealed to be none other than the Statue of Liberty, is both thrilling and existentially horrifying. Who could have ever...
I was far from alone. A young Roger Ebert, just one year into his career as a critic, praised the film for its "thoroughly satisfactory surprise ending," while Pauline Kael commended the movie's ability to pull off its revelations, noting that its "construction is really extraordinary." The final scene of the film, in which an abstract monument in the sand is revealed to be none other than the Statue of Liberty, is both thrilling and existentially horrifying. Who could have ever...
- 9/9/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Apologies to André Bazin, Pauline Kael, and Andrew Sarris, but Roger Ebert was unquestionably the most influential film critic of the cinema's first century. In fact, unless the media landscape is drastically altered over the next few years, he may also wind up being the last film critic who ever truly mattered.
I do not mean this as a put-down of my colleagues. If you actually read film criticism nowadays, you know that there's never been a more thrillingly diverse assortment of voices in this too-cluttered arena. Manohla Dargis, Justin Chang, Scott Tobias, Angelica Jade Bastién, and Bilge Ebiri are must-reads in this house, and I could name a few dozen more who are reliably incisive and original in their thinking. I don't have time to read all of the critics I respect, which is both a frustrating and good thing.
But be honest, do you actually read film criticism nowadays?...
I do not mean this as a put-down of my colleagues. If you actually read film criticism nowadays, you know that there's never been a more thrillingly diverse assortment of voices in this too-cluttered arena. Manohla Dargis, Justin Chang, Scott Tobias, Angelica Jade Bastién, and Bilge Ebiri are must-reads in this house, and I could name a few dozen more who are reliably incisive and original in their thinking. I don't have time to read all of the critics I respect, which is both a frustrating and good thing.
But be honest, do you actually read film criticism nowadays?...
- 9/7/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Jessica Lange came by her restlessness naturally. Born on April 20, 1949, to a stay-at-home mom and a traveling salesman father who moved the family all over the state of Minnesota, she quickly became acclimated to the process of re-acclimating. Eventually, the need for stabilization lost its appeal. Three years into studying art and photography at the University of Minnesota, she married Spanish photographer Paco Grande, at which point their shared wanderlust took them all over the United States and Mexico. The pair split upon moving to Paris, where Lange discovered Étienne Decroux and corporeal mime -- which departs from the conventional white-faced japery you're familiar with, and seeks to find abstract poetry in the movement of people and things.
Lange possessed the soul of a poet, but found this form of performance emotionally unrewarding, so she decamped for New York City to study acting with Mira Rostova at Hb Studio. She...
Lange possessed the soul of a poet, but found this form of performance emotionally unrewarding, so she decamped for New York City to study acting with Mira Rostova at Hb Studio. She...
- 7/25/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The legendary filmmaker behind Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is gearing up for his tenth and final movie. The project, tentatively titled The Movie Critic, is set to start filming in fall 2023. In a surprising twist, it has been reported that Samuel L Jackson, one of Tarantino’s most frequent and beloved collaborators, has been cast in The Movie Critic. This news comes from insider Daniel Richtman, who shared the scoop on his Patreon page.
The film is based on a real-life “porno rag” journalist who wrote movie reviews in the late 1970s in Southern California. He was known for his cynical, rude and funny reviews of mainstream movies, using curses and racial slurs. He died in his late 30s from complications due to alcoholism.
The Hateful Eight Trailer
Tarantino said he was inspired by reading the magazine as a teenager when he worked as a vending machine restocker.
The film is based on a real-life “porno rag” journalist who wrote movie reviews in the late 1970s in Southern California. He was known for his cynical, rude and funny reviews of mainstream movies, using curses and racial slurs. He died in his late 30s from complications due to alcoholism.
The Hateful Eight Trailer
Tarantino said he was inspired by reading the magazine as a teenager when he worked as a vending machine restocker.
- 7/21/2023
- by amalprasadappu
- https://thecinemanews.online/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_4649
The effect of The Simpsons on pop culture can’t be overstated. In the early nineties, the show tapped into the cultural zeitgeist in a way few others had before. Indeed, no other cartoon show could reasonably emulate it- but Hollywood couldn’t help but try. Capitol Critters, Family Dog, and Fish Police were just a few of the shows that tried to be “the new Simpsons.” Still, the only one that really came close was ABC’s The Critic, starring the voice of Jon Lovitz as Jay Sherman, perhaps the world’s least-loved film critic and the subject of this Gone But Not Forgotten episode.
Unlike other wannabe animated hits, The Critic could boast a legit connection to The Simpsons, with it also being a production of James L. Brooks’ Gracie Films. At the same time, creators Al Jean and Mike Reiss had been showrunners on The Simpsons during...
Unlike other wannabe animated hits, The Critic could boast a legit connection to The Simpsons, with it also being a production of James L. Brooks’ Gracie Films. At the same time, creators Al Jean and Mike Reiss had been showrunners on The Simpsons during...
- 7/10/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
by Cláudio Alves
Shelley Duvall is one of a kind. Upon seeing her work in Altman's 3 Women, Andrew Sarris compared her to "a young Katharine Hepburn," while Pauline Kael said she was the "closest thing we've ever come to a female Buster Keaton." And yet, the critic would also inevitably arrive at the same conclusion that she was unique. "There are no forebears or influences that would help to explain Shelley Duvall's acting; she doesn't seem to owe anything to anyone." And so, it's a tragedy that, nowadays, she's mostly remembered as the woman broken by Stanley Kubrick during The Shining's grueling shoot, a pop psychology misreading that's spread through social media despite Duvall's own words on the matter.
Infuriating, it's condescending to a great multi-hyphenated artist whose independence and ambition defined a decades-spanning career in entertainment. Let's keep the wonders of Duvall's work alive and bright,...
Shelley Duvall is one of a kind. Upon seeing her work in Altman's 3 Women, Andrew Sarris compared her to "a young Katharine Hepburn," while Pauline Kael said she was the "closest thing we've ever come to a female Buster Keaton." And yet, the critic would also inevitably arrive at the same conclusion that she was unique. "There are no forebears or influences that would help to explain Shelley Duvall's acting; she doesn't seem to owe anything to anyone." And so, it's a tragedy that, nowadays, she's mostly remembered as the woman broken by Stanley Kubrick during The Shining's grueling shoot, a pop psychology misreading that's spread through social media despite Duvall's own words on the matter.
Infuriating, it's condescending to a great multi-hyphenated artist whose independence and ambition defined a decades-spanning career in entertainment. Let's keep the wonders of Duvall's work alive and bright,...
- 7/8/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game has been part of the film canon for so long that it’s valuable to remind audiences how gloriously alive and just plain fun it is. Low comedy walks hand and hand with tragedy and beauty throughout the film, which is frothy one minute, nearly apocalyptic the next—and so you’re never fully allowed to gather your bearings. It has a tone that could be symbolized by the escalating merry-go-round that prominently plays into the climax of Strangers on a Train—up and down, all around and seemingly totally out of control. The film, as Paul Schrader says in this Criterion edition’s liner notes, represents all of cinema’s possibilities in 106 minutes.
That controlled chaos is partially driven by anger and despair. Renoir often said that the film was a response to his frustrations with the bourgeoisie at a time...
That controlled chaos is partially driven by anger and despair. Renoir often said that the film was a response to his frustrations with the bourgeoisie at a time...
- 7/5/2023
- by Chuck Bowen
- Slant Magazine
The title of Jean Eustache’s The Mother and the Whore refers to Marie (Bernadette Lafont), whose status as a 30-year-old marks her as effectively middle aged to her modestly younger peers, and Veronika (Françoise Lebrun), a hospital nurse who copes with the tedium of her experience with casual sex. These reductive, misogynistic archetypes of female behavior aren’t reflective of the film’s own views, but those of Alexandre (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a disaffected young intellectual who lives with Marie and is increasingly drawn to Veronika.
Alexandre airs his misogyny from the start as he meets up with his ex-girlfriend (Isabelle Weingarten). Speeding past any attempt at reconciliation, Alexandre proposes marriage, then proceeds to rant about her new relationship. Asking if she does the same things with her new beau as they did together, Alexandre maintains an outward veneer of calm but cannot keep the venom out of his voice.
Alexandre airs his misogyny from the start as he meets up with his ex-girlfriend (Isabelle Weingarten). Speeding past any attempt at reconciliation, Alexandre proposes marriage, then proceeds to rant about her new relationship. Asking if she does the same things with her new beau as they did together, Alexandre maintains an outward veneer of calm but cannot keep the venom out of his voice.
- 6/18/2023
- by Jake Cole
- Slant Magazine
I believe Jeff Bridges is one of the most charming actors of the last 50 years, and I'm not alone. Pauline Kael went one step further by calling Jeff, in an oft-quoted line, "[maybe] the most natural and least self-conscious screen actor who ever lived." I don't know if Kael harbored any sort of attraction toward Bridges, but I can't claim that my appreciation of him is entirely platonic.
He's not only a fine figure of a leading man (with an even finer head of hair), but he also possesses an easy charisma that has bolstered his screen presence from "The Last Picture Show" in 1971 all the way to "The Old Man," his recent Hulu show. If Bridges has ever given a bad performance, please enlighten me because I have yet to find it among his many credits. Instead of any further hagiography, here is a breakdown of Jeff Bridges' best movies.
He's not only a fine figure of a leading man (with an even finer head of hair), but he also possesses an easy charisma that has bolstered his screen presence from "The Last Picture Show" in 1971 all the way to "The Old Man," his recent Hulu show. If Bridges has ever given a bad performance, please enlighten me because I have yet to find it among his many credits. Instead of any further hagiography, here is a breakdown of Jeff Bridges' best movies.
- 5/27/2023
- by Jack Hawkins
- Slash Film
Planning to kick off pre-pre-production and the casting process for his next — and still, according to him, final — film, Quentin Tarantino has revealed more about what it'll be. According to the writer/director, The Movie Critic will be based on a real person, but not as has been speculated, Pauline Kael. Instead, it'll be someone far less well known.
Tarantino, speaking to Deadline's Baz Bamigboye at Cannes (where the director is presenting a screening of John Flynn’s 1977 revenge thriller Rolling Thunder), opened up to explain more about the character's inspiration, a critic who wrote for, by Qt's description, a "porno rag". Turns out Tarantino really was checking out such magazines for the articles!
"He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic, he says I think he was a very good critic. He was as cynical as hell. His reviews were a cross between early Howard Stern...
Tarantino, speaking to Deadline's Baz Bamigboye at Cannes (where the director is presenting a screening of John Flynn’s 1977 revenge thriller Rolling Thunder), opened up to explain more about the character's inspiration, a critic who wrote for, by Qt's description, a "porno rag". Turns out Tarantino really was checking out such magazines for the articles!
"He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic, he says I think he was a very good critic. He was as cynical as hell. His reviews were a cross between early Howard Stern...
- 5/25/2023
- by James White
- Empire - Movies
Quentin Tarantino has revealed that his next and reportedly final film, The Movie Critic, is based on a reviewer who wrote for a porno magazine. He is looking to cast “a new leading man” in the “35-year-old ballpark” for the role.
In an interview with Deadline, Tarantino clarified that the movie wasn’t inspired by the esteemed New Yorker critic Pauline Kael, as previously speculated. Instead, The Movie Critic takes place in 1977 California and is based on “a guy who really lived, but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag.”
Tarantino encountered the critic’s writing during one of his teenage jobs: loading porn magazines into a vending machine. Though he didn’t reveal the magazine’s name in the interview, it’ll be called The Popstar Pages in his upcoming movie.
“All the other stuff was too skanky to read but...
In an interview with Deadline, Tarantino clarified that the movie wasn’t inspired by the esteemed New Yorker critic Pauline Kael, as previously speculated. Instead, The Movie Critic takes place in 1977 California and is based on “a guy who really lived, but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag.”
Tarantino encountered the critic’s writing during one of his teenage jobs: loading porn magazines into a vending machine. Though he didn’t reveal the magazine’s name in the interview, it’ll be called The Popstar Pages in his upcoming movie.
“All the other stuff was too skanky to read but...
- 5/25/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Film News
When news first broke about Quentin Tarantino’s potential final film, “The Movie Critic,” it was suggested the project would focus on a female film critic in the late 1970s – a time period that had many wondering if Tarantino would make a movie about Pauline Kael. Alas, maybe in another life. In a new interview with Deadline, Tarantino confirmed major details about “The Movie Critic,” including that its lead character is not Kael but instead based on a real-life male critic who wrote biting reviews for a pornographic magazine during the era.
“The Movie Critic,” Tarantino said, “is based on a guy who really lived, but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag.”
“He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic,” Tarantino said of his subject, a writer who the filmmaker discovered as a teenager with while “loading porn magazines into vending machines,...
“The Movie Critic,” Tarantino said, “is based on a guy who really lived, but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag.”
“He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic,” Tarantino said of his subject, a writer who the filmmaker discovered as a teenager with while “loading porn magazines into vending machines,...
- 5/25/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Quentin Tarantino is preparing to make his final film. The title is The Movie Critic, and we’ve previously heard that it’s “set in late 1970s Los Angeles with a female lead at its center.” When that information was revealed, it stirred up speculation that the title character might be inspired by Pauline Kael, a highly respected critic that Tarantino is known to be a fan of. But in a new interview with Baz Bamigboye for Deadline, Tarantino revealed that Kael is not the inspiration for The Movie Critic. Instead, it’s inspired by the life of an unspecified man who wrote reviews for “a porno rag”!
Tarantino told Bamigboye that The Movie Critic is set in 1977 California and “is based on a guy who really lived, but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag.” Tarantino became aware of these reviews...
Tarantino told Bamigboye that The Movie Critic is set in 1977 California and “is based on a guy who really lived, but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag.” Tarantino became aware of these reviews...
- 5/25/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
While hanging out at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, auteur Quentin Tarantino revealed more about his upcoming 10th (and possibly final) feature film, “The Movie Critic.” All audiences have known so far is that it would follow a titular film reviewer in the 1970s, which many speculated would be about famous female critic Pauline Kael.
But he confirmed in an interview with Deadline that the story will focus on a male film critic living in California, based on a real person who wrote reviews in a porno magazine in 1977. “He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic,” Tarantino said. “I think he was a very good critic. He was as cynical as hell. His reviews were a cross between early Howard Stern and what Travis Bickle might be if he were a film critic.”
Discussing more about the real-life figure (who he declined to name), the...
But he confirmed in an interview with Deadline that the story will focus on a male film critic living in California, based on a real person who wrote reviews in a porno magazine in 1977. “He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic,” Tarantino said. “I think he was a very good critic. He was as cynical as hell. His reviews were a cross between early Howard Stern and what Travis Bickle might be if he were a film critic.”
Discussing more about the real-life figure (who he declined to name), the...
- 5/25/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Quentin Tarantino, sitting in the shade on the Carlton Hotel terrace, revealed to this column that his new film will indeed be about a movie critic from the 1970s but he stressed that it won’t be about the New Yorker’s Pauline Kael. Instead, it will be based on a man who wrote for a porno magazine.
Tarantino was speaking to this columnist ahead of announcing a special screening in Directors’ Fortnight this afternoon of John Flynn’s 1977 movie Rolling Thunder starring William Devane. Today’s event is billed as as a ‘Rendezvous-vous with Quentin Tarantino’.
Exclusive: Quentin Tarantino reveals 1977's 'Rolling Thunder' as his surprise Directors' Fortnight screening here at #Cannes. The writer-director dedicated a chapter to the film in his last book Cinema Speculation. pic.twitter.com/mm9mWiDbds
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) May 25, 2023
The filmmaker dedicates an entire chapter to Flynn’s revenge thriller in his book Cinema Speculation.
Tarantino was speaking to this columnist ahead of announcing a special screening in Directors’ Fortnight this afternoon of John Flynn’s 1977 movie Rolling Thunder starring William Devane. Today’s event is billed as as a ‘Rendezvous-vous with Quentin Tarantino’.
Exclusive: Quentin Tarantino reveals 1977's 'Rolling Thunder' as his surprise Directors' Fortnight screening here at #Cannes. The writer-director dedicated a chapter to the film in his last book Cinema Speculation. pic.twitter.com/mm9mWiDbds
— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) May 25, 2023
The filmmaker dedicates an entire chapter to Flynn’s revenge thriller in his book Cinema Speculation.
- 5/25/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Whenever Quentin Tarantino makes a movie, the movie news apparatus kicks into overdrive. Ideally, we would walk in cold to every movie, but with Tarantino there's a breadcrumb dropping game that invites us to suss out plot details. For years, it was common for his scripts to get leaked to the internet (and he seemed relatively okay with this), but he was furious when an early draft of "The Hateful Eight" made the cyber rounds prior to shooting. He wasn't done, and he didn't want the public taking a look under the hood before he was done calibrating the engine.
The plot of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" was kept almost completely under wraps until its 2019 Cannes debut, and I expected more of the same with his next (and purportedly final) feature, "The Movie Critic." But minor details have been seeping out here and there, and Paul Schrader just...
The plot of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" was kept almost completely under wraps until its 2019 Cannes debut, and I expected more of the same with his next (and purportedly final) feature, "The Movie Critic." But minor details have been seeping out here and there, and Paul Schrader just...
- 5/19/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Master Gardener is out today and you should see it, though this is not a post about that film, or really Paul Schrader. (With whom our contributor M.R. Allan just had a great interview in Vanity Fair.) But while talking to Indiewire he revealed a very enticing possibility on Quentin Tarantino’s next, tenth, final film The Movie Critic, and while I won’t say I called it, a familiarity with Cinema Speculation made this easy enough to guess.
The quote in full:
“Quentin––this may have changed––but about a month ago he was making a film, had something to do with filmmaking in the ’70s. And part of this, he’s going to use clips from movies from the ’70s, but he’s also gonna remake movies from the ’70s. And he asked me, ‘Can I redo the ending of Rollling [sic] Thunder?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, go for it.
The quote in full:
“Quentin––this may have changed––but about a month ago he was making a film, had something to do with filmmaking in the ’70s. And part of this, he’s going to use clips from movies from the ’70s, but he’s also gonna remake movies from the ’70s. And he asked me, ‘Can I redo the ending of Rollling [sic] Thunder?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, go for it.
- 5/19/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
With the release of Ari Aster's third feature film, "Beau is Afraid" (read our review here), the word around the virtual water cooler is that Aster has solidified his place as the next great auteur. The word "auteur" gets thrown around a lot these days, joining the ranks of words like "iconic" that have seemingly lost all meaning in favor of becoming a way to say, "I really like this." Artistic assessment by the masses has grown increasingly hyperbolic, with every new film earning as many 5-star Letterboxd comments reading "a masterpiece" as it does 0.5-star declarations of "the worst movie ... ever." But auteur theory gained prominence back in the 1940s, birthed from French theorists André Bazin and Alexandre Astruc and given its name by American film critic Andrew Sarris.
The foundation was based on the idea of "director-as-author," but has evolved to also encompass a director's signature style or recognizable motifs.
The foundation was based on the idea of "director-as-author," but has evolved to also encompass a director's signature style or recognizable motifs.
- 4/26/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Quentin Tarantino, who is prepping his final film, The Movie Critic, will be the guest of honor at the Directors’ Fortnight competition during this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Per the invitation, Tarantino is presenting a “secret screening” for guests of the annual event. In addition to the screening on May 25, Tarantino will share his “counter-history of cinema” theories about 1970s Hollywood. If you feel like you’re missing out, fear not. You can find aspects of the presentation in Tarantino’s new book Cinema Speculation.
The competition, considered by the event as a “counter-programming of free-spirited films from all over the world,” recognizes and celebrates a period in Hollywood history when filmmakers challenged the industry, pushing boundaries while welcoming a new generation of budding talent. While Tarantino remains quiet about the details, he plans to bring “a rockabilly vibe on closing day.” I’ll be the first to admit...
The competition, considered by the event as a “counter-programming of free-spirited films from all over the world,” recognizes and celebrates a period in Hollywood history when filmmakers challenged the industry, pushing boundaries while welcoming a new generation of budding talent. While Tarantino remains quiet about the details, he plans to bring “a rockabilly vibe on closing day.” I’ll be the first to admit...
- 4/20/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Quentin Tarantino fans can always expect his films to bring the gore and violence, but hardly, if ever, will they feature sex or nudity.
This is an intentional choice, the prolific director said in a recent interview, explaining that it’s never been “essential” to his stories.
“Sex is not part of my vision of cinema,” Tarantino told the Catalan Spanish newspaper Diari Ara.
“And the truth is that, in real life, it's a pain to shoot sex scenes, everyone is very tense,” he continued. “And if it was already a bit problematic to do it before, now it is even more so.”
He said had there ever been a sex scene “essential to the story, I would have, but so far it hasn’t been necessary”.
Save for the rare sex scene in his lesser-known crime drama Jackie Brown (1997) – which he agreed was “so unromantic and erotic” that it...
This is an intentional choice, the prolific director said in a recent interview, explaining that it’s never been “essential” to his stories.
“Sex is not part of my vision of cinema,” Tarantino told the Catalan Spanish newspaper Diari Ara.
“And the truth is that, in real life, it's a pain to shoot sex scenes, everyone is very tense,” he continued. “And if it was already a bit problematic to do it before, now it is even more so.”
He said had there ever been a sex scene “essential to the story, I would have, but so far it hasn’t been necessary”.
Save for the rare sex scene in his lesser-known crime drama Jackie Brown (1997) – which he agreed was “so unromantic and erotic” that it...
- 4/14/2023
- by Inga Parkel
- The Independent - Film
He’ll cover the screen red in blood, but he won’t work blue.
“Sex is not part of my vision of cinema,” Oscar-winning writer-director Quentin Tarantino said in an interview with a Spanish news outlet (as per EW). And now that we think about it, no, there aren’t too many scenes of lovemaking in the auteur’s oeuvre.
There is no shortage of buff dudes (Brad Pitt removing his shirt in “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” received a round of applause at its New York press premiere) and fetching young women (have you seen “Death Proof”?) but, yeah, not really any “sex scenes” per se.
“It’s a pain to shoot sex scenes, everyone is very tense,” he said, adding, “If it was already a bit problematic to do it before, now it is even more so. If there had ever been a sex scene that was essential to the story,...
“Sex is not part of my vision of cinema,” Oscar-winning writer-director Quentin Tarantino said in an interview with a Spanish news outlet (as per EW). And now that we think about it, no, there aren’t too many scenes of lovemaking in the auteur’s oeuvre.
There is no shortage of buff dudes (Brad Pitt removing his shirt in “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” received a round of applause at its New York press premiere) and fetching young women (have you seen “Death Proof”?) but, yeah, not really any “sex scenes” per se.
“It’s a pain to shoot sex scenes, everyone is very tense,” he said, adding, “If it was already a bit problematic to do it before, now it is even more so. If there had ever been a sex scene that was essential to the story,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
Quentin Tarantino has been making the international press rounds in support of his “Cinema Speculation” book tour, recently speaking to Spain’s Diari Ara about how one of his only box office bombs shook his confidence as a film director. That bomb would be “Death Proof,” Tarantino’s 2017 stuntman action-thriller starring Kurt Russell that was released domestically as one half of the movie “Grindhouse.” The other half was Robert Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror.” The “Grindhouse” release earned $25 million, while “Death Proof” picked up only $30 million overseas in its standalone release.
“I have been lucky enough to write stories that have connected with many people, and this has allowed me to practice my art without the restrictions that most filmmakers have,” Tarantino told the publication. “Now, a funny thing happened: for a while I was getting a lot of project proposals, until the studios ended up assuming that I do my...
“I have been lucky enough to write stories that have connected with many people, and this has allowed me to practice my art without the restrictions that most filmmakers have,” Tarantino told the publication. “Now, a funny thing happened: for a while I was getting a lot of project proposals, until the studios ended up assuming that I do my...
- 4/13/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Quentin Tarantino is now on the international leg of his book tour for “Cinema Speculation,” the director’s first work of film criticism. And the tour also now serves as a way for the press to, well, press Tarantino about his upcoming tenth and final film, “The Movie Critic.” With its late-1970s LA setting, many believed the titular main character could be based on Pauline Kael, the lauded long-time critic for The New Yorker who had a brief stint working in Hollywood.
Continue reading Quentin Tarantino Says ‘The Movie Critic’ Is About A “Real” But “Not Known” Male Critic & Isn’t A Revenge Movie at The Playlist.
Continue reading Quentin Tarantino Says ‘The Movie Critic’ Is About A “Real” But “Not Known” Male Critic & Isn’t A Revenge Movie at The Playlist.
- 4/11/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
If true, what an occasion: word has emerged Clint Eastwood hopes to direct a new feature that is being “internally billed” as an intended final film––something I fully did not anticipate, being as the man is two months from 93, visibly frail, and (frankly) sounds like a fan that’s had a couple key pieces broken, wonderful director and screen presence though he remains.
Discussing Film have picked up news of the project, currently (or supposedly) titled Juror #2 and concerning “a juror on a murder trial who realizes that he may have caused the victim’s death and must grapple with the dilemma of whether to manipulate the jury to save himself, or reveal the truth and turn himself in.” My suspicions, admittedly, are raised by the claim Eastwood––who through 50 years and 40 films has not once taken a screenwriting credit––would direct and script the feature. Miscommunication, bullshit, or awaited surprise?...
Discussing Film have picked up news of the project, currently (or supposedly) titled Juror #2 and concerning “a juror on a murder trial who realizes that he may have caused the victim’s death and must grapple with the dilemma of whether to manipulate the jury to save himself, or reveal the truth and turn himself in.” My suspicions, admittedly, are raised by the claim Eastwood––who through 50 years and 40 films has not once taken a screenwriting credit––would direct and script the feature. Miscommunication, bullshit, or awaited surprise?...
- 3/30/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Earlier this month, news broke that Quentin Tarantino was ready to prep and shoot his tenth and final film, “The Movie Critic.” THR’s story about the film describes its plot “as being set in late 1970s Los Angeles with a female lead at its center.” And almost immediately, fans speculated that “The Movie Critic” was about Pauline Kael, the late, great movie critic for The New Yorker who had a brief stint in Hollywood during the movie’s time period.
Continue reading Quentin Tarantino Confirms ‘The Movie Critic’ Is His Next Film, That It’s Set In 1977, But It’s Not About Pauline Kael at The Playlist.
Continue reading Quentin Tarantino Confirms ‘The Movie Critic’ Is His Next Film, That It’s Set In 1977, But It’s Not About Pauline Kael at The Playlist.
- 3/30/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
On March 30, 1984, 20th Century-Fox unveiled Robert Zemeckis’ adventure film Romancing the Stone in theaters. The film, starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito, went on to gross $75 million-plus during its theatrical run. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
One of the nicest things about Michael Douglas’ production of Romancing the Stone is that it never pretends to be more than it really is — a rip-roaring adventure yarn with plenty of action, plenty of thrills, a lot of laughs, a few surprises and a pleasantly predictable romance. What makes it several notches superior to most of the competition is that everyone involved seems to have had a particularly clear idea of what he’s doing and the determination (and skill) to do it better than just about anyone else. At its core, Romancing the Stone is just a big, dumb movie but, as Pauline Kael might say, it’s a movie-movie,...
One of the nicest things about Michael Douglas’ production of Romancing the Stone is that it never pretends to be more than it really is — a rip-roaring adventure yarn with plenty of action, plenty of thrills, a lot of laughs, a few surprises and a pleasantly predictable romance. What makes it several notches superior to most of the competition is that everyone involved seems to have had a particularly clear idea of what he’s doing and the determination (and skill) to do it better than just about anyone else. At its core, Romancing the Stone is just a big, dumb movie but, as Pauline Kael might say, it’s a movie-movie,...
- 3/30/2023
- by Arthur Knight
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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