Emmy and Tony winner Hal Holbrook, an actor best known for his role as Mark Twain, whom he portrayed for decades in one-man shows, died on Jan. 23. He was 95.
Holbrook’s personal assistant, Joyce Cohen, confirmed his death to the New York Times on Monday night.
Holbrook played the American novelist in a solo show called “Mark Twain Tonight!” that he directed himself and for which he won the best actor Tony in 1966. He returned to Broadway with the show in 1977 and 2005 and appeared in it more than 2,200 times (as of 2010) in legit venues across the country. He began performing the show in 1954.
He received an Emmy nomination for a TV adaptation of “Mark Twain Tonight!” in 1967, the first of multiple noms. He won four Emmy Awards.
He also drew an Oscar nomination for supporting actor for his role in the film “Into the Wild” in 2008. At the time of the nomination,...
Holbrook’s personal assistant, Joyce Cohen, confirmed his death to the New York Times on Monday night.
Holbrook played the American novelist in a solo show called “Mark Twain Tonight!” that he directed himself and for which he won the best actor Tony in 1966. He returned to Broadway with the show in 1977 and 2005 and appeared in it more than 2,200 times (as of 2010) in legit venues across the country. He began performing the show in 1954.
He received an Emmy nomination for a TV adaptation of “Mark Twain Tonight!” in 1967, the first of multiple noms. He won four Emmy Awards.
He also drew an Oscar nomination for supporting actor for his role in the film “Into the Wild” in 2008. At the time of the nomination,...
- 2/2/2021
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Donald Douglas, a film editor known for Murder, She Wrote, George Washington and The Eddie Capra Mysteries, has died. His family announced that Douglas died October 3 at Grace Pointe in Greeley, Co, after a brief illness. He was 87.
The two-time Emmy nominee was born in 1932 in Kendall, Fl. At seventeen, Douglas enlisted in the Air Force and served for four years as a radar operator during the Korean War. While training for his Air Force service in California, Douglas met and married his first wife Kaye, with whom he would have four children.
After his time in the Air Force, Douglas returned to Southern California, where he caught the attention of Hanna Barbera boss Bill Hanna and dipped his feet into film editing. Douglas launched his decades-long film editing career at Hanna Barbera and went on to work multiple shows including The Yogi Bear Show, The Jetsons, The Flintstones and Jonny Quest.
The two-time Emmy nominee was born in 1932 in Kendall, Fl. At seventeen, Douglas enlisted in the Air Force and served for four years as a radar operator during the Korean War. While training for his Air Force service in California, Douglas met and married his first wife Kaye, with whom he would have four children.
After his time in the Air Force, Douglas returned to Southern California, where he caught the attention of Hanna Barbera boss Bill Hanna and dipped his feet into film editing. Douglas launched his decades-long film editing career at Hanna Barbera and went on to work multiple shows including The Yogi Bear Show, The Jetsons, The Flintstones and Jonny Quest.
- 10/14/2020
- by Alexandra Del Rosario
- Deadline Film + TV
Tarence Ray and Tom Sexton from the Trillbilly Worker’s Party take Joe and Josh on a cinematic journey through the South.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011)
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2009)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Deliverance (1972)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Boogie Nights (1997)
In Bruges (2008)
The Birds (1963)
Cleopatra (1963)
The Blind Side (2009)
Moneyball (2011)
Next of Kin (1989)
Speed (1994)
Gravity (2013)
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
Hustle and Flow (2005)
Black Snake Moan (2007)
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
Black Snake (1973)
Mandy (2018)
Sling Blade (1996)
One False Move (1992)
The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
George Washington (2000)
Prince Avalanche (2013)
Halloween (1978)
Halloween (2018)
Halloween: H20 (1998)
Halloween (2007)
Joe (2014)
All The Real Girls (2003)
Chrystal (2005)
The Accountant (2001)
O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)
Wild River (1960)
The Ladykillers (2004)
The Ladykillers (1956)
Baywatch (2017)
Tin Men (1987)
52 Pick-Up (1986)
Gremlins (1984)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Mad Max (1978)
Mad Max 2 – The Road Warrior (1980)
Alien (1979)
Aliens (1986)
Fire Down Below (1997)
Coal Miner’s Daughter...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011)
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2009)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Deliverance (1972)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Boogie Nights (1997)
In Bruges (2008)
The Birds (1963)
Cleopatra (1963)
The Blind Side (2009)
Moneyball (2011)
Next of Kin (1989)
Speed (1994)
Gravity (2013)
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
Hustle and Flow (2005)
Black Snake Moan (2007)
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
Black Snake (1973)
Mandy (2018)
Sling Blade (1996)
One False Move (1992)
The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
George Washington (2000)
Prince Avalanche (2013)
Halloween (1978)
Halloween (2018)
Halloween: H20 (1998)
Halloween (2007)
Joe (2014)
All The Real Girls (2003)
Chrystal (2005)
The Accountant (2001)
O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)
Wild River (1960)
The Ladykillers (2004)
The Ladykillers (1956)
Baywatch (2017)
Tin Men (1987)
52 Pick-Up (1986)
Gremlins (1984)
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Mad Max (1978)
Mad Max 2 – The Road Warrior (1980)
Alien (1979)
Aliens (1986)
Fire Down Below (1997)
Coal Miner’s Daughter...
- 5/5/2020
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
One of the more diverse and thereby surprising filmmakers working today is David Gordon Green. After receiving his share of acclaim early in his career with the indie films George Washington, All The Real Girls, and Undertow, Green has branched out and tried his hands at various genres. Whether he’s dabbling in political satire (Our [...]
The post ‘Halloween’ Director Delves Into The “Core Essence” Of Michael Myers appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
The post ‘Halloween’ Director Delves Into The “Core Essence” Of Michael Myers appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 9/24/2018
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
Liberation Entertainment/International Film Circuit
Jeff Nichols' contemporary Southern Gothic tale indicates the influence of producer David Gordon Green (George Washington, Snow Angels) in its elegiac pacing and lyrical shots of depressed landscapes. But for all its formal elegance, this tale of a modern-day Hatfields and McCoys-style feud is far less interesting in terms of its narrative and characterizations. Shotgun Stories, recently nominated for a John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award, is currently playing an exclusive engagement at New York City's IFC Center.
Michael Shannon, who's previously excelled in such films as "Bug" and "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," again displays his compelling screen presence as Son, one of three brothers barely managing to survive in the bleak environs of rural Southeast Arkansas. He and his comparably named siblings -- Boy (Douglas Ligon) and Kid (Barlow Jacobs) -- were long ago abandoned by their alcoholic father to be raised by their embittered mother (Natalie Canerday).
The father moved on to a new life, finding religion, becoming sober and subsequently raising another family consisting of four brothers who enjoy demonstrably greater means. When the father dies and Son and his brothers crash the funeral to convey their disrespects, it sets off a blood feud that ultimately becomes violent.
The writer-director's attempt at a Greek-type mythos feels more than a little strained, and only in the film's quieter, subtler moments -- as when Son strips off his shirt to reveal unexplained shotgun pellet wounds all over his back -- does it achieve the effects for which it's reaching. Although it boasts excellent, fully lived-in performances and a genuine sense of atmosphere thanks in large part to Adam Stone's poetic cinematography and the haunting musical score by Ben Nichols and his band Lucero, Shotgun Stories never manages to be fully convincing.
Jeff Nichols' contemporary Southern Gothic tale indicates the influence of producer David Gordon Green (George Washington, Snow Angels) in its elegiac pacing and lyrical shots of depressed landscapes. But for all its formal elegance, this tale of a modern-day Hatfields and McCoys-style feud is far less interesting in terms of its narrative and characterizations. Shotgun Stories, recently nominated for a John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award, is currently playing an exclusive engagement at New York City's IFC Center.
Michael Shannon, who's previously excelled in such films as "Bug" and "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," again displays his compelling screen presence as Son, one of three brothers barely managing to survive in the bleak environs of rural Southeast Arkansas. He and his comparably named siblings -- Boy (Douglas Ligon) and Kid (Barlow Jacobs) -- were long ago abandoned by their alcoholic father to be raised by their embittered mother (Natalie Canerday).
The father moved on to a new life, finding religion, becoming sober and subsequently raising another family consisting of four brothers who enjoy demonstrably greater means. When the father dies and Son and his brothers crash the funeral to convey their disrespects, it sets off a blood feud that ultimately becomes violent.
The writer-director's attempt at a Greek-type mythos feels more than a little strained, and only in the film's quieter, subtler moments -- as when Son strips off his shirt to reveal unexplained shotgun pellet wounds all over his back -- does it achieve the effects for which it's reaching. Although it boasts excellent, fully lived-in performances and a genuine sense of atmosphere thanks in large part to Adam Stone's poetic cinematography and the haunting musical score by Ben Nichols and his band Lucero, Shotgun Stories never manages to be fully convincing.
- 3/28/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
By Aaron Hillis
Writer-producer-director David Gordon Green became an instant indie darling when his debut feature, "George Washington," snagged four Spirit Award nominations and the New York Film Critics Circle's award for Best First Film in 2000. An impressionistic drama set in the South (as are many of Green's films), "George Washington" was primarily crewed by Green's fellow North Carolina School of the Arts classmates and alumni, including "Great World of Sound" director Craig Zobel and others who continue to collaborate on each other's projects. In fact, cinematographer Tim Orr and composer David Wingo followed Green through his next three films . "All the Real Girls," "Undertow" and his latest, the 2007 Sundance entry, "Snow Angels." Adapted by Green from Stewart O'Nan's novel, the film is a poignant small-town drama about relationships young and old, some beginning and others breaking, with a top-notch ensemble that includes Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Griffin Dunne and Amy Sedaris.
Writer-producer-director David Gordon Green became an instant indie darling when his debut feature, "George Washington," snagged four Spirit Award nominations and the New York Film Critics Circle's award for Best First Film in 2000. An impressionistic drama set in the South (as are many of Green's films), "George Washington" was primarily crewed by Green's fellow North Carolina School of the Arts classmates and alumni, including "Great World of Sound" director Craig Zobel and others who continue to collaborate on each other's projects. In fact, cinematographer Tim Orr and composer David Wingo followed Green through his next three films . "All the Real Girls," "Undertow" and his latest, the 2007 Sundance entry, "Snow Angels." Adapted by Green from Stewart O'Nan's novel, the film is a poignant small-town drama about relationships young and old, some beginning and others breaking, with a top-notch ensemble that includes Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Griffin Dunne and Amy Sedaris.
- 3/4/2008
- by Aaron Hillis
- ifc.com
NEW YORK -- David Gordon Green is in final negotiations to write and direct a screen adaptation of John Grisham's nonfiction book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town for Warner Independent Pictures and George Clooney and Grant Heslov's production company Smoke House.
In a separate development, WIP also has nabbed worldwide rights, excluding Spain, Mexico, Latin America and a few smaller territories, to Green's dark domestic drama Snow Angels, starring Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell. Snow premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival.
Grisham's Innocent Man, which was published in October by Doubleday, tells the true story of Ron Williamson, a man wrongly convicted of murder who spent more than 10 years on death row in Oklahoma. WIP and Smoke House bought rights to the book in December.
The Grisham deal solidifies Green's move from small indie features -- the critically acclaimed George Washington, All the Real Girls and Undertow -- to working with name talent.
Snow is an adaptation of Stewart O'Nan's 1993 novel.
In a separate development, WIP also has nabbed worldwide rights, excluding Spain, Mexico, Latin America and a few smaller territories, to Green's dark domestic drama Snow Angels, starring Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell. Snow premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival.
Grisham's Innocent Man, which was published in October by Doubleday, tells the true story of Ron Williamson, a man wrongly convicted of murder who spent more than 10 years on death row in Oklahoma. WIP and Smoke House bought rights to the book in December.
The Grisham deal solidifies Green's move from small indie features -- the critically acclaimed George Washington, All the Real Girls and Undertow -- to working with name talent.
Snow is an adaptation of Stewart O'Nan's 1993 novel.
- 3/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- The 28th annual IFP Market announced a lineup of 186 new projects, with an 11% increase in film industry dealmaking meetings from last year and two new partners added to its No Borders International co-production market. Among the notable No Borders projects are Faye Dunaway's feature directorial debut Master Class, her long-gestating adaptation of playwright Terrence McNally's Tony-winning portrait of Maria Callas. Other notable projects still in development set to be discussed between filmmakers, financiers and buyers in more than 1,700 meetings include the Southern-themed Busted Down on Bourbon Street from director David Gordon Green (George Washington).
TORONTO -- In his first two films, George Washington and All the Real Girls, David Gordon Green emerged as a Southern filmmaker who could ably portray the natural rhythms of life and language of the rural South without resorting to cliches. In his third film, Undertow, those cliches, rather startlingly, are everywhere. In trying to make what he characterizes as "a balls-to-the-wall, get-him-by-the-gut-and-slit-his-throat kind of movie," Green loosens his grip on character. This time he populates his film with sorry white-trash characters possessing room temperature IQs even in the most minor roles.
Undertow is the kind of mistake a young and adventurous director will make. It should not deter him from making many more films that will enjoy acclaim for their subtlety and sensibilities. Even so, Green's rep as a key indie filmmaker might bring this UA release a modest success in adult specialty venues.
Talented English actor Jamie Bell conquers the Southern accent to play Chris, the malcontent son of farmer and taxidermist John (Dermot Mulroney). After his mom died, his dad moved with him and his brother deep into the woods to escape memories. Chris knows there must be more to life than farm chores but is unable to prove it by his current existence. So he spends his free time getting into trouble.
Wanting to attract the attention of a neighbor girl, he throws a huge rock through her window and winds up being chased by an enraged father and dog. Running in his bare feet, he leaps off a rooftop and impales a foot on a nail sticking out of a board. Yet, by God, he continues to run with that board stuck to his foot.
His younger brother, Tim (Devon Alan), is no brighter. He tries to eat things such as paint and mud, perhaps in the belief this will somehow help his ulcer. His idea of a good project is "organizing my books by the way they smell."
Then Dad's prodigal brother Deel (Josh Lucas) turns up. Just out of the pen and casting sly glances at everyone, you know this guy means trouble the minute he strolls onscreen. Only John can't see it. He offers Deel room and board to "help out" with the two boys. The minute Deel asks about their father's gold Mexican coins, you know what shape that trouble will take.
Once Deel has located the coins and killed his brother, the two boys are on the run from their homicidal uncle. Logic might dictate that Chris Call the police, but he dismisses this by mumbling, The cops'll think I did it. Why? you wonder. Who has the prison record here?
The chase is more a random ramble through the woods, where the boys encounter a well-intentioned black couple, who gives them food for work. Then, making their way to a small seaport, they fall in with a bunch of runaway kids about their age. Here Chris develops a crush on the pretty, abused Violet (Shiri Appleby), but before he can act on his impulses his uncle shows up, apparently willing to kill the two boys in broad daylight in front of whoever is willing to witness the murder.
The naturalistic style of the film is completely at odds with the hokey melodrama. The actors do an acceptable job at those long pauses and dialogue deliveries under the breath, but you can't help noticing the effort to play "rural Southern." Green, working from a script he wrote with Joe Conway, might have had the makings of a decent family drama here had the demands of a "balls-to-the-wall" thriller not diverted his attention.
UNDERTOW
MGM
United Artists and ContentFilm presenta Sunflower production
Credits:
Director: David Gordon Green
Screenwriters: Joe Conway, David Gordon Green
Story by: Lingard Jervey
Producers: Lisa Muskat, Terrence Malick, Edward R. Pressman
Executive producers: John Schmidt, Alessandro Camon
Director of photography: Tim Orr
Production designer: Richard A. Wright
Music: Philip Glass
Additional music: Michael Linnen, David Wingo
Costume designer: Jill Newell
Editors: Zene Baker, Steven Gonzoles
Cast:
Chris: Jamie Bell
Deel: John Lucas
Tim: Devon Alan
John: Dermot Mulroney
Violet: Shiri Appleby
MPAA rating: R
Running time: 107 minutes...
Undertow is the kind of mistake a young and adventurous director will make. It should not deter him from making many more films that will enjoy acclaim for their subtlety and sensibilities. Even so, Green's rep as a key indie filmmaker might bring this UA release a modest success in adult specialty venues.
Talented English actor Jamie Bell conquers the Southern accent to play Chris, the malcontent son of farmer and taxidermist John (Dermot Mulroney). After his mom died, his dad moved with him and his brother deep into the woods to escape memories. Chris knows there must be more to life than farm chores but is unable to prove it by his current existence. So he spends his free time getting into trouble.
Wanting to attract the attention of a neighbor girl, he throws a huge rock through her window and winds up being chased by an enraged father and dog. Running in his bare feet, he leaps off a rooftop and impales a foot on a nail sticking out of a board. Yet, by God, he continues to run with that board stuck to his foot.
His younger brother, Tim (Devon Alan), is no brighter. He tries to eat things such as paint and mud, perhaps in the belief this will somehow help his ulcer. His idea of a good project is "organizing my books by the way they smell."
Then Dad's prodigal brother Deel (Josh Lucas) turns up. Just out of the pen and casting sly glances at everyone, you know this guy means trouble the minute he strolls onscreen. Only John can't see it. He offers Deel room and board to "help out" with the two boys. The minute Deel asks about their father's gold Mexican coins, you know what shape that trouble will take.
Once Deel has located the coins and killed his brother, the two boys are on the run from their homicidal uncle. Logic might dictate that Chris Call the police, but he dismisses this by mumbling, The cops'll think I did it. Why? you wonder. Who has the prison record here?
The chase is more a random ramble through the woods, where the boys encounter a well-intentioned black couple, who gives them food for work. Then, making their way to a small seaport, they fall in with a bunch of runaway kids about their age. Here Chris develops a crush on the pretty, abused Violet (Shiri Appleby), but before he can act on his impulses his uncle shows up, apparently willing to kill the two boys in broad daylight in front of whoever is willing to witness the murder.
The naturalistic style of the film is completely at odds with the hokey melodrama. The actors do an acceptable job at those long pauses and dialogue deliveries under the breath, but you can't help noticing the effort to play "rural Southern." Green, working from a script he wrote with Joe Conway, might have had the makings of a decent family drama here had the demands of a "balls-to-the-wall" thriller not diverted his attention.
UNDERTOW
MGM
United Artists and ContentFilm presenta Sunflower production
Credits:
Director: David Gordon Green
Screenwriters: Joe Conway, David Gordon Green
Story by: Lingard Jervey
Producers: Lisa Muskat, Terrence Malick, Edward R. Pressman
Executive producers: John Schmidt, Alessandro Camon
Director of photography: Tim Orr
Production designer: Richard A. Wright
Music: Philip Glass
Additional music: Michael Linnen, David Wingo
Costume designer: Jill Newell
Editors: Zene Baker, Steven Gonzoles
Cast:
Chris: Jamie Bell
Deel: John Lucas
Tim: Devon Alan
John: Dermot Mulroney
Violet: Shiri Appleby
MPAA rating: R
Running time: 107 minutes...
- 10/25/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- After six years, indie distributor Cowboy Pictures will ride into the sunset, according to the company's president, John Vanco. Vanco will announce his plans in the coming weeks. Cowboy was founded in 1997, under the moniker Cowboy Booking, by Vanco and Noah Cowan. Cowan exited his co-president post last year. The unit released more than 40 films theatrically, including the documentaries The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition and the Oscar-nominated Promises and the rock docus I Am Trying to Break Your Heart and Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. The company also rolled out David Gordon Green's George Washington, James Toback's Harvard Man and Lynne Ramsay's Morvern Callar.
- 10/22/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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