Caleb Carr, whose bestselling 1994 novel The Alienist made the author a household name who saw the book adapted into a 10-episode limited series on TNT, died of cancer Thursday at his home in Cherry Plains, New York. He was 68.
His death was announced by his brother Ethan Carr to The New York Times.
Carr was born on August 2, 1955, into a New York City family haunted by violence and abuse: His father was Lucien Carr, a Beat Generation journalist convicted of manslaughter for the 1944 killing of what today would be deemed a sexual predator. The fatal stabbing, which made headlines and history not least because Lucien’s friend and Columbia University classmate Jack Kerouac helped dispose of the knife, was depicted in the 2013 film Kill Your Darlings starring Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan.
Caleb Carr would later say that the incident, along his own childhood abuse at the hands of his father,...
His death was announced by his brother Ethan Carr to The New York Times.
Carr was born on August 2, 1955, into a New York City family haunted by violence and abuse: His father was Lucien Carr, a Beat Generation journalist convicted of manslaughter for the 1944 killing of what today would be deemed a sexual predator. The fatal stabbing, which made headlines and history not least because Lucien’s friend and Columbia University classmate Jack Kerouac helped dispose of the knife, was depicted in the 2013 film Kill Your Darlings starring Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan.
Caleb Carr would later say that the incident, along his own childhood abuse at the hands of his father,...
- 5/24/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix has tied up a deal in the $34M range for the John Lee Hancock-directed package Monsanto, we can reveal. The pic will star Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie and Oscar winner Laura Dern.
CAA Media Finance cut the presale after launching with Rocket Science last week. Netflix has been quieter at recent markets but is back at the table with the splashy deal.
This and Apple’s WW deal for Everest sherpa pic Tenzing are the two biggest deals to emerge from the Cannes market so far. The latter is understood to be in the $40M range.
Monsanto tells the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell), who takes on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S. chemical company Monsanto on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) who used Monsanto’s best-known product Roundup, a wildly financially successful weed and grass pesticide killer, as part...
CAA Media Finance cut the presale after launching with Rocket Science last week. Netflix has been quieter at recent markets but is back at the table with the splashy deal.
This and Apple’s WW deal for Everest sherpa pic Tenzing are the two biggest deals to emerge from the Cannes market so far. The latter is understood to be in the $40M range.
Monsanto tells the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell), who takes on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S. chemical company Monsanto on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) who used Monsanto’s best-known product Roundup, a wildly financially successful weed and grass pesticide killer, as part...
- 5/23/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
As one of the most acclaimed movie directors of our time, Quentin Tarantino has the right for opinions, including strong opinions, about his colleagues’ works. Tarantino has always been blunt and direct in his assessments, and Alfred Hitchcock became the target of the Pulp Fiction director’s cinephilic ire on more than one occasion.
This particular thriller has high scores across all platforms and is regarded as a Hitchcock classic, but Tarantino still didn’t find it deserving of his attention.
What’s with Tarantino’s Anti-Hitchcock Frenzy?
Interestingly enough, many Alfred Hitchcock’s movies have been completely disregarded by Quentin Tarantino throughout the years. From 1958’s Vertigo that he dubbed “stinking of the ‘50s” (which makes sense since the movie was made in the ‘50s) to 1959’s North by Northwest which he called “very mediocre,” Tarantino sure had his way with the celebrated thriller master’s works on many occasions.
This particular thriller has high scores across all platforms and is regarded as a Hitchcock classic, but Tarantino still didn’t find it deserving of his attention.
What’s with Tarantino’s Anti-Hitchcock Frenzy?
Interestingly enough, many Alfred Hitchcock’s movies have been completely disregarded by Quentin Tarantino throughout the years. From 1958’s Vertigo that he dubbed “stinking of the ‘50s” (which makes sense since the movie was made in the ‘50s) to 1959’s North by Northwest which he called “very mediocre,” Tarantino sure had his way with the celebrated thriller master’s works on many occasions.
- 5/18/2024
- by dean-black@startefacts.com (Dean Black)
- STartefacts.com
Oh, Canada debuting this week on the Croisette is high time to see lesser-seen Schrader on the Criterion Channel, who’ll debut an 11-title series including the likes of Touch, The Canyons, and Patty Hearst, while Old Boyfriends (written with his brother Leonard) and his own “Adventures in Moviegoing” are also programmed. Five films by Jean Grémillon, a rather underappreciated figure of French cinema, will be showing
Series-wise, there’s an appreciation of the synth soundtrack stretching all the way back to 1956’s Forbidden Planet while, naturally, finding its glut of titles in the ’70s and ’80s––Argento and Carpenter, obviously, but also Tarkovsky and Peter Weir. A Prince and restorations of films by Bob Odenkirk, Obayashi, John Greyson, and Jacques Rivette (whose Duelle is a masterpiece of the highest order) make streaming debuts. I Am Cuba, Girlfight, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Dazed and Confused are June’s Criterion Editions.
Series-wise, there’s an appreciation of the synth soundtrack stretching all the way back to 1956’s Forbidden Planet while, naturally, finding its glut of titles in the ’70s and ’80s––Argento and Carpenter, obviously, but also Tarkovsky and Peter Weir. A Prince and restorations of films by Bob Odenkirk, Obayashi, John Greyson, and Jacques Rivette (whose Duelle is a masterpiece of the highest order) make streaming debuts. I Am Cuba, Girlfight, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Dazed and Confused are June’s Criterion Editions.
- 5/14/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Heists, horror and carnivorous plants were all grist to Corman’s staggeringly prolific movie mill, as were his pivotal collaborations with other film-makers
News: Corman dies aged 98Roger Corman obituary
Roger Corman was the powerhouse of B-pictures and pulp classics, who in a staggeringly prolific career lasting from the 1950s to the 2010s produced more than 400 movies, and directed more than 50 – films such as The Wasp Woman, A Bucket of Blood, The Wild Angels, The Fall of the House of Usher, Little Shop of Horrors and The Man With the X-Ray Eyes. And with his collaborations with Vincent Price on a number of inspired Edgar Allan Poe adaptations in the 1960s, Corman helped to make Poe a canonical figure within American literature and a figure of enduring pop-cultural importance, revered by academics who have made campus careers out of the author.
Corman was the entrepreneurial life force of low-budget independent...
News: Corman dies aged 98Roger Corman obituary
Roger Corman was the powerhouse of B-pictures and pulp classics, who in a staggeringly prolific career lasting from the 1950s to the 2010s produced more than 400 movies, and directed more than 50 – films such as The Wasp Woman, A Bucket of Blood, The Wild Angels, The Fall of the House of Usher, Little Shop of Horrors and The Man With the X-Ray Eyes. And with his collaborations with Vincent Price on a number of inspired Edgar Allan Poe adaptations in the 1960s, Corman helped to make Poe a canonical figure within American literature and a figure of enduring pop-cultural importance, revered by academics who have made campus careers out of the author.
Corman was the entrepreneurial life force of low-budget independent...
- 5/12/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Rocket Science and CAA Media Finance are launching foreign sales out of Cannes for the John Lee Hancock directed Monsanto starring Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie and Oscar winner Laura Dern.
Monsanto tells the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell) who takes on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S. chemical company Monsanto on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) who used Monsanto’s best-known product Roundup, a wildly financially successful weed and grass pesticide killer, as part of his job as a high school groundskeeper. During the trial, Dr Melinda Rogers (Dern), the chief toxicologist of the Monsanto Company, testifies with certainty that Roundup is safe.
Pic’s screenplay was developed in association with Karl Spoerri’s Zurich Avenue and penned by Michael Wisner, Alexandra Duparc, Ned Benson and Hancock. Producers are Moritz Borman, Eric Kopeloff, Philip Schulz-Deyle and Jon Levin alongside HyperObject Industries’ Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.
Monsanto tells the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell) who takes on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S. chemical company Monsanto on behalf of Dewayne “Lee” Johnson (Mackie) who used Monsanto’s best-known product Roundup, a wildly financially successful weed and grass pesticide killer, as part of his job as a high school groundskeeper. During the trial, Dr Melinda Rogers (Dern), the chief toxicologist of the Monsanto Company, testifies with certainty that Roundup is safe.
Pic’s screenplay was developed in association with Karl Spoerri’s Zurich Avenue and penned by Michael Wisner, Alexandra Duparc, Ned Benson and Hancock. Producers are Moritz Borman, Eric Kopeloff, Philip Schulz-Deyle and Jon Levin alongside HyperObject Industries’ Adam McKay and Kevin Messick.
- 5/8/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Naming the best movie in history is quite an ambitious task. Ask a hundred movie buffs what their favorite movie is and they will all come up with their own answer – from The Lord of the Rings to Apocalypse Now to Alien.
But Rotten Tomatoes took on this impossible mission and compiled a list of the 300 best movies of all time based on critics' scores, user scores, number of reviews, and other factors. And the first place movie was one that (almost) no one expected.
If the second and third places were taken by The Godfather and Casablanca – classic films that everyone with even a passing interest in cinema has seen–- then the first place went to the 1997 noir detective story L.A. Confidential.
What is L.A. Confidential About?
Three very different detectives – Bud White (Russell Crowe), Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) and Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) – are investigating a mass murder.
But Rotten Tomatoes took on this impossible mission and compiled a list of the 300 best movies of all time based on critics' scores, user scores, number of reviews, and other factors. And the first place movie was one that (almost) no one expected.
If the second and third places were taken by The Godfather and Casablanca – classic films that everyone with even a passing interest in cinema has seen–- then the first place went to the 1997 noir detective story L.A. Confidential.
What is L.A. Confidential About?
Three very different detectives – Bud White (Russell Crowe), Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) and Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) – are investigating a mass murder.
- 5/8/2024
- by zoe-wallace@startefacts.com (Zoe Wallace)
- STartefacts.com
Netflix giveth, and Netflix taketh away! Here we go again.
Can you believe we're already nearing the end of April? That means May is on the way — and summer is right around the corner. Here's hoping all these April showers do, indeed, turn into May flowers and bring on a pleasant spring. But while spring is often a season of new beginnings, it's time to say goodbye to several great titles that are currently streaming on Netflix but won't be around much longer. As always, there's a chance these movies and TV shows will return someday. For now, though, they're saying bye-bye. So act fast!
Below, I've highlighted some of the great titles you might want to watch Asap. The full list of titles leaving the service awaits you at the bottom. Let's get to it!
Read more: The 50 Scariest Horror Movie Monsters Ranked
Uncut Gems
I'm not an Oscars guy,...
Can you believe we're already nearing the end of April? That means May is on the way — and summer is right around the corner. Here's hoping all these April showers do, indeed, turn into May flowers and bring on a pleasant spring. But while spring is often a season of new beginnings, it's time to say goodbye to several great titles that are currently streaming on Netflix but won't be around much longer. As always, there's a chance these movies and TV shows will return someday. For now, though, they're saying bye-bye. So act fast!
Below, I've highlighted some of the great titles you might want to watch Asap. The full list of titles leaving the service awaits you at the bottom. Let's get to it!
Read more: The 50 Scariest Horror Movie Monsters Ranked
Uncut Gems
I'm not an Oscars guy,...
- 4/27/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
There are innumerable tales of films in Tinseltown that were never finished due to a variety of reasons. But among the most strange and tragic cases is the follow-up to the classic Russell Crowe 1997 flick, L.A. Confidential, helmed by Curtis Hanson.
For those unfamiliar, this Warner Bros. film, which starred Crowe, Kevin Spacey, and Guy Pearce, was one of the greatest neo-noir crime works of the 1990s. Hanson and co-writer Brian Helgeland even shared the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for it. Also, the $126.2 million flick received rave reviews from critics as well as audiences, and fans were excited about a potential sequel.
Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce in a still from L.A. Confidential (1997)
However, the much-hyped follow-up to L.A. Confidential, starring Chadwick Boseman, never materialized. In one of his rare interviews, Helgeland expressed his frustration with the sequel pitch process, saying, “We pitched it to everyone.
For those unfamiliar, this Warner Bros. film, which starred Crowe, Kevin Spacey, and Guy Pearce, was one of the greatest neo-noir crime works of the 1990s. Hanson and co-writer Brian Helgeland even shared the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for it. Also, the $126.2 million flick received rave reviews from critics as well as audiences, and fans were excited about a potential sequel.
Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce in a still from L.A. Confidential (1997)
However, the much-hyped follow-up to L.A. Confidential, starring Chadwick Boseman, never materialized. In one of his rare interviews, Helgeland expressed his frustration with the sequel pitch process, saying, “We pitched it to everyone.
- 3/30/2024
- by Siddhika Prajapati
- FandomWire
Thirty-two years ago, the psychological thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (watch it Here) reached theatres – and this one will always have a special place in my heart, because I remember catching a screening during its theatrical run. Little kid me sitting in a theatre, watching the story play out with my mom beside me. I even remember my mom gasping at the sight of something that happens in the film. Someone else who has an appreciation for the movie is my fellow JoBlo writer Lance Vlcek, and he felt it was time for this movie to get the Revisited treatment. So you can hear all about it by checking out the video embedded above!
Directed by Curtis Hanson from a screenplay written by Amanda Silver, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle has the following synopsis: When she was assaulted by her doctor, Claire Bartel reported him to the police,...
Directed by Curtis Hanson from a screenplay written by Amanda Silver, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle has the following synopsis: When she was assaulted by her doctor, Claire Bartel reported him to the police,...
- 3/29/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
James Ellroy is making a renewed Hollywood push.
The L.A. Confidential author has signed with UTA, which is already taking his latest novel, The Enchanters, out to producers. The news comes on the heels of his Triple Crown year.
Ellroy, whom the New Yorker recently dubbed “the neo-noir eminence of L.A. crime fiction,” is best known for his L.A. Quartet novels: The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential and White Jazz. His Underworld USA trilogy — American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand and Blood’s a Rover — has also garnered acclaim and best-seller status. A year ago this month, he received the prestigious Los Angeles Times Robert Kirsch Award in recognition of his lifetime excellence in writing about the American West.
The Enchanters is set in Hollywood in the summer of 1962. The novel, which was released in September, tackles the death of Marilyn Monroe in what...
The L.A. Confidential author has signed with UTA, which is already taking his latest novel, The Enchanters, out to producers. The news comes on the heels of his Triple Crown year.
Ellroy, whom the New Yorker recently dubbed “the neo-noir eminence of L.A. crime fiction,” is best known for his L.A. Quartet novels: The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential and White Jazz. His Underworld USA trilogy — American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand and Blood’s a Rover — has also garnered acclaim and best-seller status. A year ago this month, he received the prestigious Los Angeles Times Robert Kirsch Award in recognition of his lifetime excellence in writing about the American West.
The Enchanters is set in Hollywood in the summer of 1962. The novel, which was released in September, tackles the death of Marilyn Monroe in what...
- 2/8/2024
- by Lacey Rose
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
February––particularly its third week––is all about romance. Accordingly the Criterion Channel got creative with their monthly programming and, in a few weeks, will debut Interdimensional Romance, a series of films wherein “passion conquers time and space, age and memory, and even death and the afterlife.” For every title you might’ve guessed there’s a wilder companion: Alan Rudolph’s Made In Heaven, Soderbergh’s remake, and Resnais’ Love Unto Death. Mostly I’m excited to revisit Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth, a likely essential viewing before Megalopolis.
February also marks Black History Month, and Criterion’s series will include work by Shirley Clarke (also subject of a standalone series), Garrett Bradley, Cheryl Dunye, and Julie Dash, while movies by Sirk, Minnelli, King Vidor, and Lang play in “Gothic Noir.” Greta Gerwig gets an “Adventures in Moviegoing” and can be seen in Mary Bronstein’s Yeast,...
February also marks Black History Month, and Criterion’s series will include work by Shirley Clarke (also subject of a standalone series), Garrett Bradley, Cheryl Dunye, and Julie Dash, while movies by Sirk, Minnelli, King Vidor, and Lang play in “Gothic Noir.” Greta Gerwig gets an “Adventures in Moviegoing” and can be seen in Mary Bronstein’s Yeast,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
The year 1990 saw the release of James Ellroy’s sweeping crime novel L.A. Confidential, which Ellroy wanted to be the most epic book about L.A. ever written. In his own eyes, the author accomplished that goal, calling his own work a “masterpiece” and one he did not envision making the transition to the big screen. Not that he really cared; Ellroy was always vocal about his disinterest in seeing his books adapted into movies, as he wasn’t particularly interested in the medium.
But there was a kindred spirit who similarly loved the City of Angels, and who wanted to tell a very big story about the place where he grew up. Curtis Hanson had been a director of adequate thrillers like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and The River Wild, but he was searching for a project that would allow him to tell a grand-scale story about Los Angeles.
But there was a kindred spirit who similarly loved the City of Angels, and who wanted to tell a very big story about the place where he grew up. Curtis Hanson had been a director of adequate thrillers like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and The River Wild, but he was searching for a project that would allow him to tell a grand-scale story about Los Angeles.
- 12/27/2023
- by Eric Walkuski
- JoBlo.com
I grew up in Canada, and I’d wager the experience – at least as far as pop culture goes – was probably pretty similar to growing up in the States. Yet, there were some minor, strange differences. Here, we have a regulatory body called the Crtc (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission), which ensures that about 30% of the content that’s broadcast on TV qualifies as “Canadian Content.” Thus, whenever you turn on the TV, one of our Canadian channels is bound to show something Canadian, including movies. While holiday classics like A Christmas Story and Black Christmas counted as Canadian Content (God Bless Bob Clark) we could reliably see around the holidays, more adventurous TV stations would show something outside the box. One such station was the adult-oriented Showcase (not to be confused with Showtime), which would program an utterly mental movie called The Silent Partner every Christmas Eve.
If you’re not Canadian,...
If you’re not Canadian,...
- 12/24/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Nashawn Breedlove, the actor best known for battle-rapping Eminem in the 2002 film 8 Mile, died of acute intoxication from fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, cocaine and ethanol, according to multiple media reports citing the autopsy report from the New Jersey State Medical Examiner’s office. His death is listed as accidental.
Breedlove died in his sleep September 24 at his home in New Jersey. He was 46.
Breedlove played Lotto, a member of Detroit rap group the Free World who squared off with Eminem in 8 Mile. In the scene, Lotto memorably insults Jimmy by comparing him to “that dude from Leave It to Beaver” during his freestyle.
Directed by Curtis Hanson, 8 Mile starred Eminem in a story loosely based on his life and rise to stardom. Eminem plays Jimmy, a white rapper that uses the stage name B-Rabbit and his journey to launch his hip-hop career. The film also starred Kim Basinger,...
Breedlove died in his sleep September 24 at his home in New Jersey. He was 46.
Breedlove played Lotto, a member of Detroit rap group the Free World who squared off with Eminem in 8 Mile. In the scene, Lotto memorably insults Jimmy by comparing him to “that dude from Leave It to Beaver” during his freestyle.
Directed by Curtis Hanson, 8 Mile starred Eminem in a story loosely based on his life and rise to stardom. Eminem plays Jimmy, a white rapper that uses the stage name B-Rabbit and his journey to launch his hip-hop career. The film also starred Kim Basinger,...
- 12/22/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Kim Basinger is the blonde bombshell has certainly proved her bonafides as an actress, quickly going from sex symbol to respected Oscar winner. Let’s take a look back at 10 of her greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1953 in Athens, Georgia, Basinger got her start as a model before turning to acting, catching the attentions of movie audiences as a Bond girl in the Sean Connery-starring “Never Say Never Again” (1983). She earned her first Golden Globe nomination soon thereafter for a supporting performance as Robert Redford‘s love interest in “The Natural” (1984).
She courted controversy with her sexually explicit turn in Adrien Lyne‘s “9 1/2 Weeks” (1986) and became a box office draw with Tim Burton‘s superhero smash “Batman” (1989). She even proved she could poke fun at herself with a cameo appearance in “Wayne’s World 2” (1992) as the aptly-named Honey Horneé.
It was with Curtis Hanson‘s neo-noir masterpiece “L.
Born in 1953 in Athens, Georgia, Basinger got her start as a model before turning to acting, catching the attentions of movie audiences as a Bond girl in the Sean Connery-starring “Never Say Never Again” (1983). She earned her first Golden Globe nomination soon thereafter for a supporting performance as Robert Redford‘s love interest in “The Natural” (1984).
She courted controversy with her sexually explicit turn in Adrien Lyne‘s “9 1/2 Weeks” (1986) and became a box office draw with Tim Burton‘s superhero smash “Batman” (1989). She even proved she could poke fun at herself with a cameo appearance in “Wayne’s World 2” (1992) as the aptly-named Honey Horneé.
It was with Curtis Hanson‘s neo-noir masterpiece “L.
- 12/1/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Actor Guy Pearce once teamed up with movie maker Christopher Nolan for their film Memento. The partnership was a learning experience for both, as Pearce showed Nolan something important when it came to collaborating with actors.
Guy Pearce changed the way Christopher Nolan approached actors Christopher Nolan | Liz O. Baylen/Getty Images
Nolan hadn’t worked with too many mainstream actors before Memento. His debut feature, Following, was a low-budget project that consisted of some actors who Nolan knew personally. Memento saw the filmmaker working alongside big names in Hollywood for the first time like Carrie-Anne Moss and Pearce. Despite being a still somewhat unproven director back then, Pearce was more than eager to star in Nolan’s Memento. So much so that he asked the director personally if he could be a part of the film.
“I got to meet Chris, then I saw Following, and then I called him and I said,...
Guy Pearce changed the way Christopher Nolan approached actors Christopher Nolan | Liz O. Baylen/Getty Images
Nolan hadn’t worked with too many mainstream actors before Memento. His debut feature, Following, was a low-budget project that consisted of some actors who Nolan knew personally. Memento saw the filmmaker working alongside big names in Hollywood for the first time like Carrie-Anne Moss and Pearce. Despite being a still somewhat unproven director back then, Pearce was more than eager to star in Nolan’s Memento. So much so that he asked the director personally if he could be a part of the film.
“I got to meet Chris, then I saw Following, and then I called him and I said,...
- 11/15/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Pat E. Johnson, the ninth-degree black belt and Chuck Norris contemporary who choreographed the fight scenes, trained the actors and portrayed a tournament referee in the first three Karate Kid films, has died. He was 84.
Johnson died Sunday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, his niece, Colleen Mary Johnson Summerville, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Johnson also was a stuntperson, stunt coordinator, trainer and/or fight coordinator on Buffy the Vampire Slayer; on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mortal Kombat movies; and on other films including Enter the Dragon (1973), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), Batman and Robin (1997) and Wild Wild West (1999).
Johnson served as a top instructor at Norris’ karate schools in the Los Angeles area starting in the late 1960s, and his students over the years included Steve McQueen, Bob Barker and members of the Osmond family.
For The Karate Kid (1984), Johnson...
Johnson died Sunday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, his niece, Colleen Mary Johnson Summerville, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Johnson also was a stuntperson, stunt coordinator, trainer and/or fight coordinator on Buffy the Vampire Slayer; on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mortal Kombat movies; and on other films including Enter the Dragon (1973), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), Batman and Robin (1997) and Wild Wild West (1999).
Johnson served as a top instructor at Norris’ karate schools in the Los Angeles area starting in the late 1960s, and his students over the years included Steve McQueen, Bob Barker and members of the Osmond family.
For The Karate Kid (1984), Johnson...
- 11/6/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Given how outlandish and enormous the "Fast & Furious" film series would eventually become, it's a little mind-boggling to remember that Rob Cohen's 2001 original, "The Fast and the Furious," was little more than a mid-budget "Point Break" knockoff. The story goes that star Paul Walker, having enjoyed working with Cohen on the 2000 college thriller "The Skulls" was asked what his dream action project would be. Walker said that he wanted to appear in an action movie mashup of "Days of Thunder" and "Donnie Brasco." That is: something with fast cars, but also a cop who goes undercover to infiltrate the criminal underground. The subsequent screenplay, written by Gary Scott Thompson, drew inspiration from a 1998 article in Vibe Magazine all about the New York underground racing scene. David Ayer was brought in to work on a draft, and he changed the setting to Los Angeles and made the cast more diverse.
- 11/5/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Elizabeth Hoffman, who portrayed Beatrice Reed Ventnor, the mother of the daughters played by Swoosie Kurtz, Sela Ward, Patricia Kalember and Julianne Phillips during the entire six-season run of the NBC drama Sisters, has died. She was 97.
Hoffman died Aug. 21 of natural causes at her home in Malibu, her son Chris told The Hollywood Reporter.
Hoffman stood out as Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1983 and 1988-89 Herman Wouk miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, directed by Dan Curtis and starring Robert Mitchum.
She also portrayed Meryl Streep’s mom in Curtis Hanson’s The River Wild (1994) and the elderly Ruth, the mother-in-law of Linda Hamilton’s character who lives in a cabin at the base of the volcano, in Roger Donaldson’s Dante’s Peak (1997).
Hoffman’s depressed Bea sets Sisters in motion when her four daughters reunite to care for her after she turns to alcohol to deal...
Hoffman died Aug. 21 of natural causes at her home in Malibu, her son Chris told The Hollywood Reporter.
Hoffman stood out as Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1983 and 1988-89 Herman Wouk miniseries The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, directed by Dan Curtis and starring Robert Mitchum.
She also portrayed Meryl Streep’s mom in Curtis Hanson’s The River Wild (1994) and the elderly Ruth, the mother-in-law of Linda Hamilton’s character who lives in a cabin at the base of the volcano, in Roger Donaldson’s Dante’s Peak (1997).
Hoffman’s depressed Bea sets Sisters in motion when her four daughters reunite to care for her after she turns to alcohol to deal...
- 10/23/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Terence Winter, the master of the gangster genre known for his work on The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire and more, is teaming with Academy Award-nominated producer Rachel Winter (Dallas Buyers Club) to develop a feature adaptation of A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown’s Most Shocking Crime.
A Murder in Hollywood scribe Casey Sherman
Marking the latest work of non-fiction from New York Times bestselling author Casey Sherman, the book optioned by the Winters chronicles the deadly love affair between screen legend Lana Turner and her gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato. It’ll be published through Sourcebooks early next year. Terence Winter will script the screen adaptation and produce through his Cold Front Pictures banner, alongside Rachel Winter through her Tangerine Pictures shingle.
The option marks just the latest high-profile deal for the prolific Sherman, whose bestseller 12: The Inside Story of Tom Brady’s Fight for Redemption,...
A Murder in Hollywood scribe Casey Sherman
Marking the latest work of non-fiction from New York Times bestselling author Casey Sherman, the book optioned by the Winters chronicles the deadly love affair between screen legend Lana Turner and her gangster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato. It’ll be published through Sourcebooks early next year. Terence Winter will script the screen adaptation and produce through his Cold Front Pictures banner, alongside Rachel Winter through her Tangerine Pictures shingle.
The option marks just the latest high-profile deal for the prolific Sherman, whose bestseller 12: The Inside Story of Tom Brady’s Fight for Redemption,...
- 10/4/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
“This is the only person to run a studio who knows how to make a movie,” director Allan Arkush exclaimed, hailing his former boss Roger Corman in front of a sold-out crowd at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica Saturday evening.
Now 97 years old, the unbelievably prolific Pope of Pop Cinema was the guest of honor at the genre-focused Beyond Fest, in partnership with American Cinematheque. Corman joined for a panel with Arkush, fellow directors Ron Howard, Joe Dante and Amy Holden Jones and producer Jon Davison — all of whom Corman helped launch into Hollywood under his independent production and distribution company New World Pictures, founded in 1970. After directing more than 45 features, Corman decided to create his own banner, which would go on to help jumpstart the careers of Jonathan Demme, Curtis Hanson and countless other talents.
“I made a picture for American International that made too much money, ‘The Wild Angels.
Now 97 years old, the unbelievably prolific Pope of Pop Cinema was the guest of honor at the genre-focused Beyond Fest, in partnership with American Cinematheque. Corman joined for a panel with Arkush, fellow directors Ron Howard, Joe Dante and Amy Holden Jones and producer Jon Davison — all of whom Corman helped launch into Hollywood under his independent production and distribution company New World Pictures, founded in 1970. After directing more than 45 features, Corman decided to create his own banner, which would go on to help jumpstart the careers of Jonathan Demme, Curtis Hanson and countless other talents.
“I made a picture for American International that made too much money, ‘The Wild Angels.
- 10/1/2023
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
Nashawn Breedlove, best known for battle-rapping Eminem in the 2002 film 8 Mile, has died. Bronx rapper Mickey Factz announced Breedlove’s death on Instagram. Breedlove died in his sleep Sunday at his home in New Jersey, a family member tells TMZ. A cause of death is not known. He was 46.
Breedlove played Lotto, a rapper who squared off with Eminem in 8 Mile.
“Rip to one of the few emcee’s to beat Eminem… Lotto from 8 Mile. You will be missed for your tenacity and aggressiveness,” Mickey Factz wrote.
Directed by Curtis Hanson, 8 Mile starred Eminem in a story loosely based on his life and rise to stardom. Eminem plays Jimmy, a white rapper that uses the stage name B-Rabbit and his journey to launch his hip-hop career. The film also starred Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer, among others. Eminem won an Oscar for Best Original Song,...
Breedlove played Lotto, a rapper who squared off with Eminem in 8 Mile.
“Rip to one of the few emcee’s to beat Eminem… Lotto from 8 Mile. You will be missed for your tenacity and aggressiveness,” Mickey Factz wrote.
Directed by Curtis Hanson, 8 Mile starred Eminem in a story loosely based on his life and rise to stardom. Eminem plays Jimmy, a white rapper that uses the stage name B-Rabbit and his journey to launch his hip-hop career. The film also starred Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer, among others. Eminem won an Oscar for Best Original Song,...
- 9/26/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Freestyle is a Polish crime drama movie directed by Maciej Bochniak, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Slawomir Shuty. The Netflix film follows a rising rap star with a criminal past, who decides to set up a risky drug deal in order to get cash for time in the recording studio, but this deal may end up costing him everything. So, if you loved Freestyle here are some similar movies you could watch next.
Hustle & Flow (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – Paramount Pictures
Synopsis: DJay is a Memphis hustler who spends most days in a parked Chevy philosophizing about life while Nola (Taryn Manning), turn tricks in the backseat. He’s not very good at pimping, but he can hustle almost anything or anyone and makes enough to keep himself and three girls satisfied and housed in his shotgun home. DJay however is in the midst of a midlife...
Hustle & Flow (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – Paramount Pictures
Synopsis: DJay is a Memphis hustler who spends most days in a parked Chevy philosophizing about life while Nola (Taryn Manning), turn tricks in the backseat. He’s not very good at pimping, but he can hustle almost anything or anyone and makes enough to keep himself and three girls satisfied and housed in his shotgun home. DJay however is in the midst of a midlife...
- 9/23/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Netflix turned down a sequel for Oscar-winning film “L.A. Confidential” — with one executive allegedly falling asleep during the pitch meeting.
Screenwriter Brian Helgeland claimed to Deadline during a Toronto International Film Festival interview (below) that a Netflix exec nodded off while Helgeland was presenting the 1970s-set film pitch to the streaming platform.
“[Author] James Ellroy and I worked out an elaborate pitch for ‘L.A. Confidential 2’ that takes place during the Patty Hearst [era], when the Symbionese Liberation Army came down to L.A., and we had Guy Pearce attached and Russell [Crowe] and Chadwick Boseman playing a young cop working for Mayor Bradley,” Helgeland said. “We pitched it to everyone. We had to go to Warner Bros. first and Warner Bros. is like, ‘We don’t make movies like this.'”
The “Mystic River” scribe continued, “Ellroy is a performance artist and he would do the pitch; and it was the most amazing pitch.
Screenwriter Brian Helgeland claimed to Deadline during a Toronto International Film Festival interview (below) that a Netflix exec nodded off while Helgeland was presenting the 1970s-set film pitch to the streaming platform.
“[Author] James Ellroy and I worked out an elaborate pitch for ‘L.A. Confidential 2’ that takes place during the Patty Hearst [era], when the Symbionese Liberation Army came down to L.A., and we had Guy Pearce attached and Russell [Crowe] and Chadwick Boseman playing a young cop working for Mayor Bradley,” Helgeland said. “We pitched it to everyone. We had to go to Warner Bros. first and Warner Bros. is like, ‘We don’t make movies like this.'”
The “Mystic River” scribe continued, “Ellroy is a performance artist and he would do the pitch; and it was the most amazing pitch.
- 9/11/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
L.A. Confidential Oscar-winning scribe Brian Helgeland had cracked a sequel with the original author James Ellroy to the City of Angels film noir — but no one bit, not even the pic’s original studio, Warner Bros.
Helgeland shared his war story on pitching the sequel around town in Deadline’s Toronto Studio. The first L.A. Confidential won Helgeland an Adapted Screenplay Oscar as well as a Supporting Actress Oscar for Kim Basinger. The pic, directed by the late Curtis Hanson, was nominated for nine Oscars including Best Picture.
Helgeland tells us, “James Ellroy and I worked out an elaborate pitch for L.A. Confidential 2 that takes place during the Patty Hearst (era), when the Symbionese Liberation Army came down to L.A., and we had Guy Pearce attached and Russell (Crowe) and Chadwick Boseman playing a young cop working for Mayor Bradley.”
“We pitched it to everyone,” Helgeland,...
Helgeland shared his war story on pitching the sequel around town in Deadline’s Toronto Studio. The first L.A. Confidential won Helgeland an Adapted Screenplay Oscar as well as a Supporting Actress Oscar for Kim Basinger. The pic, directed by the late Curtis Hanson, was nominated for nine Oscars including Best Picture.
Helgeland tells us, “James Ellroy and I worked out an elaborate pitch for L.A. Confidential 2 that takes place during the Patty Hearst (era), when the Symbionese Liberation Army came down to L.A., and we had Guy Pearce attached and Russell (Crowe) and Chadwick Boseman playing a young cop working for Mayor Bradley.”
“We pitched it to everyone,” Helgeland,...
- 9/11/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Amazon Studios MGM releases the film in theaters on Friday, December 15 with expansion to follow on Friday, December 22.
In “American Fiction,” the comic and tragic go hand in hand. Each moment is layered with meaning, socially, politically, and emotionally. The film, based on the novel “Erasure” by writer and professor Percival Everett, is part satire, part romantic comedy, all combined with thoughtful family drama. With an all-star cast and talented writer at the helm, “American Fiction” is poised to become an audience favorite.
The film tells the story of Thelonious Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), an English professor and unsuccessful author suffering from writer’s block and explosive bouts of rage that alienate him from other people. After making one of his students cry, he’s forced to take a break from teaching and return to Boston to...
In “American Fiction,” the comic and tragic go hand in hand. Each moment is layered with meaning, socially, politically, and emotionally. The film, based on the novel “Erasure” by writer and professor Percival Everett, is part satire, part romantic comedy, all combined with thoughtful family drama. With an all-star cast and talented writer at the helm, “American Fiction” is poised to become an audience favorite.
The film tells the story of Thelonious Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), an English professor and unsuccessful author suffering from writer’s block and explosive bouts of rage that alienate him from other people. After making one of his students cry, he’s forced to take a break from teaching and return to Boston to...
- 9/11/2023
- by Jourdain Searles
- Indiewire
Film Independent is currently in the middle of a Matching Campaign to raise support for the next 30 years of filmmaker support. All donations make before or on September 15 will be doubled—dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000. To celebrate the campaign, we’re re-posting a few of our most popular blogs.
From Olivia Colman’s fraught sojourn to the Greek Isles in The Lost Daughter to Jessie Buckley’s terrifying trip up the M5 to the English countryside in Men and M. Night’s bummer beaches in Old, taking a little “me time” away from home is often the single biggest mistake any movie character could possibly make. Horror, psychological drama, comedy, mystery, rom-com. The genre hardly matters. In film, the simple act of taking a vacation is rarely the relaxing, restorative interlude one hopes that it might be, placing uneasy personalities in uncertain—even harrowing—circumstances.
So with Labor Day weekend upon...
From Olivia Colman’s fraught sojourn to the Greek Isles in The Lost Daughter to Jessie Buckley’s terrifying trip up the M5 to the English countryside in Men and M. Night’s bummer beaches in Old, taking a little “me time” away from home is often the single biggest mistake any movie character could possibly make. Horror, psychological drama, comedy, mystery, rom-com. The genre hardly matters. In film, the simple act of taking a vacation is rarely the relaxing, restorative interlude one hopes that it might be, placing uneasy personalities in uncertain—even harrowing—circumstances.
So with Labor Day weekend upon...
- 9/1/2023
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
Clockwise from top left: The Wolf Of Wall Street (Paramount), Spy Kids: Armageddon (Netflix), 8 Mile (Universal), Fast Times At Ridgemont High (Universal)Graphic: The A.V. Club
It’s the last month of summer as well as back-to-school time, so Netflix is here to help make the transition easier. While...
It’s the last month of summer as well as back-to-school time, so Netflix is here to help make the transition easier. While...
- 8/30/2023
- by Robert DeSalvo
- avclub.com
One of the latest thrillers to hit the ever-changing digital carousel over on Netflix is a new take on an old classic called "River Wild." Currently one of the most viewed releases on the streamer, the adventure film sends viewers hurtling down treacherous whitewater rapids in a fairly straightforward story of survivalist horror. Inspired by director Curtis Hanson's "The River Wild" starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon, this most recent version mostly jettisons the character dynamics of the original 1994 film in favor of the slightly more campy teens-in-peril trope.
Unless you consider "Deliverance" to be horror adjacent (and there are plenty of reasons why that's justifiable), there is a serious drought in the number of genre films offering up high stake thrills taking place on a whitewater rafting trip gone horribly awry. "River Wild" may not necessarily live up to the original, but it does offer up another chance...
Unless you consider "Deliverance" to be horror adjacent (and there are plenty of reasons why that's justifiable), there is a serious drought in the number of genre films offering up high stake thrills taking place on a whitewater rafting trip gone horribly awry. "River Wild" may not necessarily live up to the original, but it does offer up another chance...
- 8/18/2023
- by Drew Tinnin
- Slash Film
For Sony, a big win this week: The studio has announced that “Insidious: The Red Door” ($19.99) is now the biggest-grossing horror film worldwide for 2023. That’s a little surprising, but a $182 million take tops both “M3GAN” and “Scream 6” for the honors.
However, it’s faring a little differently on VOD. Released to PVOD after its fourth weekend, the latest entry in the horror franchise had an uneven debut over three different platforms. It is #1 at Vudu (which ranks by revenue) but is currently only #5 at iTunes and #7 at Googleplay (which calculate by transactions). It got as high as #3 at iTunes after its Tuesday release.
Two other films placed atop the others: “The Little Mermaid” (Disney), also $19.99, repeated at #1 on iTunes, while “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” (Paramount), just reduced to $5.99, leads at GooglePlay.
“Insidious” was the only new entry on the charts this week. Along with “Mermaid” and “Transformers,...
However, it’s faring a little differently on VOD. Released to PVOD after its fourth weekend, the latest entry in the horror franchise had an uneven debut over three different platforms. It is #1 at Vudu (which ranks by revenue) but is currently only #5 at iTunes and #7 at Googleplay (which calculate by transactions). It got as high as #3 at iTunes after its Tuesday release.
Two other films placed atop the others: “The Little Mermaid” (Disney), also $19.99, repeated at #1 on iTunes, while “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” (Paramount), just reduced to $5.99, leads at GooglePlay.
“Insidious” was the only new entry on the charts this week. Along with “Mermaid” and “Transformers,...
- 8/7/2023
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
The new “River Wild” is a reimagining of Curtis Hanson’s classic 1994 thriller starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon and David Strathairn about a rafting trip that takes a deadly turn.
In the new version, Adam Brody plays a heavily-tattooed ex-convict who will stop at nothing to make sure he never returns to prison. The movie also stars Brody’s wife Leighton Meester and Taran Killam, and it was directed and co-written by the trio’s longtime friend Ben Ketai.
Brody’s violent scenes with Meester are so frightening that one wonders why the couple — who’ve been married for nine years and have two children together — signed on to the film. “I tried to kill her for a fair amount of the movie,” Brody says on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “I wouldn’t have picked this for us. It came to me… fully formed...
In the new version, Adam Brody plays a heavily-tattooed ex-convict who will stop at nothing to make sure he never returns to prison. The movie also stars Brody’s wife Leighton Meester and Taran Killam, and it was directed and co-written by the trio’s longtime friend Ben Ketai.
Brody’s violent scenes with Meester are so frightening that one wonders why the couple — who’ve been married for nine years and have two children together — signed on to the film. “I tried to kill her for a fair amount of the movie,” Brody says on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “I wouldn’t have picked this for us. It came to me… fully formed...
- 8/2/2023
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Almost exactly one year ago today, we heard that real-life couple Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, along with Taran Killam (Meester’s co-star in the TV series Single Parents) would be starring in a reimagining of the 1991 thriller The River Wild, which starred Meryl Streep, David Straithairn, and Joseph Mazzello as a family that had the bad luck of crossing paths with criminals played by Kevin Bacon and John C. Reilly while on a river rafting trip. Now Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has announced that they’ll be giving the reimagining, which drops the definite article and is simply called River Wild, a digital, Blu-ray, and DVD release on August 1st – and along with this announcement comes the unveiling of a trailer, which you can watch in the embed above!
Curtis Hanson directed the original The River Wild from a screenplay by Denis O’Neill (with uncredited revisions by Carrie Fisher...
Curtis Hanson directed the original The River Wild from a screenplay by Denis O’Neill (with uncredited revisions by Carrie Fisher...
- 7/13/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Manny Coto, who won an Outstanding Drama Series Emmy for 24, worked on its sequel series, co-created Fox’s AI drama neXt and was an EP on Dexter, Star TreK Enterprise, American Horror Story and others, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer at his home in Pasadena. He was 62.
His family shared the news today, saying he had fought the disease for 13 months and passed surrounded by loved ones.
The Cuba-born Coto shared the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy for 24’s fifth season in 2005. He continued on 24 through its eighth and final season, and co-created along its sequel series, 24: Live Another Day and 24: Legacy. He also served as executive producer on four seasons of American Horror Story and two seasons of American Horror Stories, directing the 2021 episode “Feral” of the latter.
He also was an EP on the final three seasons of Showtime’s Dexter, scoring an Outstanding Drama...
His family shared the news today, saying he had fought the disease for 13 months and passed surrounded by loved ones.
The Cuba-born Coto shared the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy for 24’s fifth season in 2005. He continued on 24 through its eighth and final season, and co-created along its sequel series, 24: Live Another Day and 24: Legacy. He also served as executive producer on four seasons of American Horror Story and two seasons of American Horror Stories, directing the 2021 episode “Feral” of the latter.
He also was an EP on the final three seasons of Showtime’s Dexter, scoring an Outstanding Drama...
- 7/10/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Once upon a time, "The Fighter" might have starred ... Eminem? Development on the film began in 2003, while Eminem was fresh off his lead role in "8 Mile," which won an Oscar that year for Best Original Song with "Lose Yourself." He had also achieved success the year before with "The Eminem Show," which won the Grammy for Best Rap Album and was the world's bestselling album of 2002. As he racked up the #1 album, song, and movie virtually simultaneously, Hollywood wanted to continue riding that success and working with Eminem. And it seems he was looking to channel his own inner Rocky, too.
In an appearance on the Hollywood Gold podcast in February 2023 (via The Hollywood Reporter), producer Todd Lieberman discussed the film's seven-year road to the big screen. During that time, it would change hands from director Darren Aronofsky to David O. Russell and stars Matt Damon and Brad Pitt...
In an appearance on the Hollywood Gold podcast in February 2023 (via The Hollywood Reporter), producer Todd Lieberman discussed the film's seven-year road to the big screen. During that time, it would change hands from director Darren Aronofsky to David O. Russell and stars Matt Damon and Brad Pitt...
- 6/5/2023
- by Joshua Meyer
- Slash Film
Doyle Brunson, the American poker legend who helped popularize the card game globally, has died aged 89.
Known as ‘the Godfather of Poker,’ Brunson was a leading professional player for more than 50 years, wrote a number of books on the game and was a familiar face on programs such as High Stakes Poker and World Series of Poker. He was a Poker Hall of Fame inductee and a two-time World Series of Poker Main Event champion.
Perhaps aptly, he passed away in the home of poker, Las Vegas, on Sunday. He was known in poker circles by his nickname, ‘Texas Dolly.’
Brunson appeared in films such as Zak Penn improv comedy The Grand as a poker pro and was a consultant on Lucy You, a 2007 film from Curtis Hanson about a hotshot player with personal demons.
Poker superstars such as Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth and Scotty Nguyen have written messages expressing...
Known as ‘the Godfather of Poker,’ Brunson was a leading professional player for more than 50 years, wrote a number of books on the game and was a familiar face on programs such as High Stakes Poker and World Series of Poker. He was a Poker Hall of Fame inductee and a two-time World Series of Poker Main Event champion.
Perhaps aptly, he passed away in the home of poker, Las Vegas, on Sunday. He was known in poker circles by his nickname, ‘Texas Dolly.’
Brunson appeared in films such as Zak Penn improv comedy The Grand as a poker pro and was a consultant on Lucy You, a 2007 film from Curtis Hanson about a hotshot player with personal demons.
Poker superstars such as Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth and Scotty Nguyen have written messages expressing...
- 5/15/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Russell Crowe will receive the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival (June 30-July 8). The Oscar winning actor will also deploy his musical talent with his band Indoor Garden Party, which will perform at the festival’s opening night concert. The festival also revealed Friday that Johnny Depp would appear in its trailer, which will have its premiere at the opening ceremony.
Crowe, who was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia at an early age, began his acting career at the age of 6, working in TV and theater. In 1989, he started working in Australian films, with “The Crossing”, “Proof”, and “Romper Stomper”. He won two Australian Academy Awards: supporting actor for “Proof” and best actor for “Romper Stomper.”
His first appearance in a U.S. film was alongside Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio in Sam Raimi’s...
Crowe, who was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia at an early age, began his acting career at the age of 6, working in TV and theater. In 1989, he started working in Australian films, with “The Crossing”, “Proof”, and “Romper Stomper”. He won two Australian Academy Awards: supporting actor for “Proof” and best actor for “Romper Stomper.”
His first appearance in a U.S. film was alongside Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio in Sam Raimi’s...
- 5/5/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival is highlighting two of the biggest stars of the 2000s, announcing Friday that Russell Crowe will receive the 2023 lifetime achievement honor, the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema, and securing Johnny Depp to feature in this year’s festival trailer.
Crowe will also show off his musical chops at the Czech festival, taking the stage to perform with his band Indoor Garden Party at the Karlovy Vary opening night concert on June 30.
Since his breakthrough performance as an Australian skinhead in Geoffrey Wright’s Romper Stomper in 1992, Crowe has been unavoidable on the global film scene. His iconic turns as rough cop Bud White in Curtis Hanson’s L. A. Confidential (1997), as Big Tobacco whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand in Michael Mann’s The Insider (1999), as Roman general Maximus in Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandals epic Gladiator (2000), and as mentally-ill mathematical genius John Nash...
Crowe will also show off his musical chops at the Czech festival, taking the stage to perform with his band Indoor Garden Party at the Karlovy Vary opening night concert on June 30.
Since his breakthrough performance as an Australian skinhead in Geoffrey Wright’s Romper Stomper in 1992, Crowe has been unavoidable on the global film scene. His iconic turns as rough cop Bud White in Curtis Hanson’s L. A. Confidential (1997), as Big Tobacco whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand in Michael Mann’s The Insider (1999), as Roman general Maximus in Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandals epic Gladiator (2000), and as mentally-ill mathematical genius John Nash...
- 5/5/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.
Today we talk with a legend (Blake Howard of One Heat Minute Productions) about a legend: Russell Crowe. Born in New Zealand and settled in Australia, Crowe had starred in a dozen films (he was even a child actor!) before his American breakthrough in Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential.
Our first B-Side is an Australian picture he made with icon (and close friend) Jack Thompson: The Sum of Us. Our second is the wines & vines rom-com A Good Year! Number three is the Pittsburgh shot-and-set action drama The Next Three Days. And, finally, we get a little Unhinged. Don’t worry, during this part of the show you will find nary a hinge.
Blake dishes...
Today we talk with a legend (Blake Howard of One Heat Minute Productions) about a legend: Russell Crowe. Born in New Zealand and settled in Australia, Crowe had starred in a dozen films (he was even a child actor!) before his American breakthrough in Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential.
Our first B-Side is an Australian picture he made with icon (and close friend) Jack Thompson: The Sum of Us. Our second is the wines & vines rom-com A Good Year! Number three is the Pittsburgh shot-and-set action drama The Next Three Days. And, finally, we get a little Unhinged. Don’t worry, during this part of the show you will find nary a hinge.
Blake dishes...
- 5/4/2023
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Russell Crowe is speaking up about a negative experience he had during “L.A. Confidential”
The Oscar winner alleged that the studio behind the 1997 neo-noir film — distributed by Warner Bros., and produced by Regency and The Wolper Organization — stopped paying his hotel and rental car bills in an effort to make Crowe walk away from the movie.
“A few days into the rehearsals, the studio stopped paying the bill at the hotel, and they stopped paying for my rental car,” Crowe told Vanity Fair. “The studio didn’t want me to be in that role. They wanted, I think, Sean Penn and Robert De Niro in the film or something. Things that they could quantify and understand.”
“L.A. Confidential” went on to receive nine Oscar nominations including Best Picture, winning Best Adapted Screenplay and landing Crowe’s co-star Kim Basinger a Best Supporting Actress win.
The “Gladiator” alum continued,...
The Oscar winner alleged that the studio behind the 1997 neo-noir film — distributed by Warner Bros., and produced by Regency and The Wolper Organization — stopped paying his hotel and rental car bills in an effort to make Crowe walk away from the movie.
“A few days into the rehearsals, the studio stopped paying the bill at the hotel, and they stopped paying for my rental car,” Crowe told Vanity Fair. “The studio didn’t want me to be in that role. They wanted, I think, Sean Penn and Robert De Niro in the film or something. Things that they could quantify and understand.”
“L.A. Confidential” went on to receive nine Oscar nominations including Best Picture, winning Best Adapted Screenplay and landing Crowe’s co-star Kim Basinger a Best Supporting Actress win.
The “Gladiator” alum continued,...
- 4/25/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
James Ellroy isn’t keeping his opinions confidential anymore.
The “L.A. Confidential” novelist criticized the 1997 film adaptation of the neo-noir story and cited writer-director Curtis Hanson’s death as the reason for being blunt today.
“People love the movie ‘L.A. Confidential,'” Ellroy said during a discussion with fellow author Michael Connelly at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books (via The Los Angeles Times). “I think it’s turkey of the highest form. I think Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger are impotent. The director died, so now I can disparage the movie.”
“L.A. Confidential” received nine Oscar nominations including Best Picture. The film went on to win Best Adapted Screenplay, with Basinger taking home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Ellroy, who received the Robert Kirsch Award at the festival, previously penned a tribute to Hanson after his 2016 passing.
“Curtis treated me respectfully and deferentially at all times.
The “L.A. Confidential” novelist criticized the 1997 film adaptation of the neo-noir story and cited writer-director Curtis Hanson’s death as the reason for being blunt today.
“People love the movie ‘L.A. Confidential,'” Ellroy said during a discussion with fellow author Michael Connelly at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books (via The Los Angeles Times). “I think it’s turkey of the highest form. I think Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger are impotent. The director died, so now I can disparage the movie.”
“L.A. Confidential” received nine Oscar nominations including Best Picture. The film went on to win Best Adapted Screenplay, with Basinger taking home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Ellroy, who received the Robert Kirsch Award at the festival, previously penned a tribute to Hanson after his 2016 passing.
“Curtis treated me respectfully and deferentially at all times.
- 4/24/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
L.A. Confidential captured the accolades of critics and audiences alike with the same kind of force that police use in the film. The 1997 crime drama would also introduce the U.S. to rising talents such as Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe, as well as earn an Academy Award for Kim Basinger. L.A. Confidential would be based on the novel of the same name written by esteemed crime novel author James Ellroy. For as much praise that the Curtis Hanson film received, Ellroy is one audience member the movie failed to win over, and according to Variety, he isn’t holding back any punches about it.
Ellroy recently spoke at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this past Saturday and would have a sit-down conversation with fellow crime novelist Michael Connelly, where Ellroy doesn’t mince words about the adaptation. The 75-year-old writer would share his thoughts in an unfiltered manner,...
Ellroy recently spoke at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this past Saturday and would have a sit-down conversation with fellow crime novelist Michael Connelly, where Ellroy doesn’t mince words about the adaptation. The 75-year-old writer would share his thoughts in an unfiltered manner,...
- 4/24/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
“L.A. Confidential” author James Ellroy is no longer keeping his feelings about the film adaptation very hush-hush.
Speaking at the L.A. Times Festival of Books last week, Ellroy said that while many people “love” the Oscar-winning film from Curtis Hanson, he thinks it’s a “turkey of the highest form.”
“I think Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger are impotent,” he added bluntly. “The director died, so now I can disparage the movie.”
Hanson died in 2016. At the time, Ellory wrote a remembrance of the filmmaker published by Variety that toed the line between praise and condemnation. “My strange and strangely gifted friend Curtis died earlier this week. His film of my novel ‘L.A. Confidential’ was a signature moment in my life. The signature was his, more than mine,” Ellory wrote in 2016. “Thus, this eulogy and post-mortem note of thanks for the splendid gift he gave me.”
Writing that Hanson’s films,...
Speaking at the L.A. Times Festival of Books last week, Ellroy said that while many people “love” the Oscar-winning film from Curtis Hanson, he thinks it’s a “turkey of the highest form.”
“I think Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger are impotent,” he added bluntly. “The director died, so now I can disparage the movie.”
Hanson died in 2016. At the time, Ellory wrote a remembrance of the filmmaker published by Variety that toed the line between praise and condemnation. “My strange and strangely gifted friend Curtis died earlier this week. His film of my novel ‘L.A. Confidential’ was a signature moment in my life. The signature was his, more than mine,” Ellory wrote in 2016. “Thus, this eulogy and post-mortem note of thanks for the splendid gift he gave me.”
Writing that Hanson’s films,...
- 4/24/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
LA Confidential author James Ellroy has ripped the acclaimed film adaptation to pieces.
The writer said he is now free to “disparage” the 1997 crime thriller following director Curtis Hanson’s death in 2016.
Ellroy acknowleged that the movie, which was a box office hit and was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, is considered to be high quality by many, but he revealed he does not share these sentimenets.
In fact, he told Los Angeles Times he thinks “it’s turkey of the highest form”.
Ellroy also had harsh words for two of the film’s stars, Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger, whose performances he called “impotent”.
Basinger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, which also won Best Screenplay for Hanson and Brian Helgeland.
Hanson previously condemned the adaptation of his 1990 novel in 2016, saying that Hanson “rearranged my world and repopulated it...
The writer said he is now free to “disparage” the 1997 crime thriller following director Curtis Hanson’s death in 2016.
Ellroy acknowleged that the movie, which was a box office hit and was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, is considered to be high quality by many, but he revealed he does not share these sentimenets.
In fact, he told Los Angeles Times he thinks “it’s turkey of the highest form”.
Ellroy also had harsh words for two of the film’s stars, Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger, whose performances he called “impotent”.
Basinger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, which also won Best Screenplay for Hanson and Brian Helgeland.
Hanson previously condemned the adaptation of his 1990 novel in 2016, saying that Hanson “rearranged my world and repopulated it...
- 4/24/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
James Ellroy, the author of L.A. Confidential, made an appearance at the L.A. Times Festival of Books where he talked about the film adaptation of his book.
“People love the movie L.A. Confidential,” Ellroy said, via the Los Angeles Times. “I think it’s turkey of the highest form. I think Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger are impotent. The director [Curtis Hanson] died, so now I can disparage the movie.”
L.A. Confidential was released in 1997 and not only did it receive rave reviews, it was a hit at the box office as well. The film earned two Academy Awards including Best Screenplay and a Best Supporting Actress award for Kim Basinger.
Ellroy has been critical of the adaptation Hanson made of his work and following the film director’s death, the author wrote a piece where he talked about their differences.
“I conceived a tale of 1953 L.
“People love the movie L.A. Confidential,” Ellroy said, via the Los Angeles Times. “I think it’s turkey of the highest form. I think Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger are impotent. The director [Curtis Hanson] died, so now I can disparage the movie.”
L.A. Confidential was released in 1997 and not only did it receive rave reviews, it was a hit at the box office as well. The film earned two Academy Awards including Best Screenplay and a Best Supporting Actress award for Kim Basinger.
Ellroy has been critical of the adaptation Hanson made of his work and following the film director’s death, the author wrote a piece where he talked about their differences.
“I conceived a tale of 1953 L.
- 4/24/2023
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
James Ellroy doesn’t mince words regarding “L.A. Confidential,” the 1997 film adaptation of his fiction-crime novel of the same name. Speaking at this year’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday, the 75-year-old author sat down with fellow crime author Michael Connelly, where he shared his unfiltered thoughts on “L.A. Confidential,” the LAPD and his personal reading taste.
Ellroy, who has voiced issues with director Curtis Hanson’s adaptation before, gave a further explanation of his distaste.
“People love the movie ‘L.A. Confidential,’” Ellroy said. “I think it’s turkey of the highest form. I think Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger are impotent. The director died, so now I can disparage the movie.”
When it released in 1997, “L.A. Confidential” was both a critical and commercial smash. The film earned $126 million at the global box office, going on to become one of the year’s...
Ellroy, who has voiced issues with director Curtis Hanson’s adaptation before, gave a further explanation of his distaste.
“People love the movie ‘L.A. Confidential,’” Ellroy said. “I think it’s turkey of the highest form. I think Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger are impotent. The director died, so now I can disparage the movie.”
When it released in 1997, “L.A. Confidential” was both a critical and commercial smash. The film earned $126 million at the global box office, going on to become one of the year’s...
- 4/23/2023
- by McKinley Franklin
- Variety Film + TV
by Cláudio Alves
Making your way through the Criterion Channel's Erotic Thrillers collection, you'll start noticing a recurring concept here and there. One of the most prevalent is voyeurism (peeping toms or bystanders) twisted by the advent of violence. That very idea can lead to a consideration of the audience as another variation of the voyeur, whether in a critique or apologia. Fear and desire often mix, the horrified spectator enlivened by the hideousness they just saw even as trauma lingers in the psyche. Excited by danger and drunk on terror, they're laid bare for the camera in more ways than one.
As our cinematic odyssey reaches the end of the eighties, we encounter three tales of eroticized witnessing – Curtis Hanson's The Bedroom Window, Bill Condon's Sister, Sister, and the program's first woman-directed picture, Sollace Mitchell's Call Me…...
Making your way through the Criterion Channel's Erotic Thrillers collection, you'll start noticing a recurring concept here and there. One of the most prevalent is voyeurism (peeping toms or bystanders) twisted by the advent of violence. That very idea can lead to a consideration of the audience as another variation of the voyeur, whether in a critique or apologia. Fear and desire often mix, the horrified spectator enlivened by the hideousness they just saw even as trauma lingers in the psyche. Excited by danger and drunk on terror, they're laid bare for the camera in more ways than one.
As our cinematic odyssey reaches the end of the eighties, we encounter three tales of eroticized witnessing – Curtis Hanson's The Bedroom Window, Bill Condon's Sister, Sister, and the program's first woman-directed picture, Sollace Mitchell's Call Me…...
- 4/20/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
As a fan of Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel "Dune," I've always been perplexed by the hostility to David Lynch's 1984 filmed adaptation. It is a wildly truncated take on the book, one that makes a couple of key alterations to the text, but I don't go to movies for slavish takes on great novels. I've already had that experience.
Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," Curtis Hanson's "L.A. Confidential" and George Stevens' "A Place in the Sun" (based on Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy") are distinctly different from their source material, and, thus, illuminating and thrilling in exciting new ways. It's akin to listening to the Cowboy Junkies' cover of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" -- I'm hearing a brilliant song for the first time.
While Lynch was able to place his singularly perverse stamp on Herbert's universe -- he was, unsurprisingly, quite fond of the twisted...
Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," Curtis Hanson's "L.A. Confidential" and George Stevens' "A Place in the Sun" (based on Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy") are distinctly different from their source material, and, thus, illuminating and thrilling in exciting new ways. It's akin to listening to the Cowboy Junkies' cover of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" -- I'm hearing a brilliant song for the first time.
While Lynch was able to place his singularly perverse stamp on Herbert's universe -- he was, unsurprisingly, quite fond of the twisted...
- 4/16/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
It is my experience that one gets a far richer, stranger cinema education in pursuing the careers of actors, that group defined first by (assuming luck shines upon them) two or three era-defining films and then so much that dictates their industry—pet projects, contractual obligations, called-in favors alimony payments, auteur one-offs, and on and on. Few embody that deluge of circumstance better than Michelle Yeoh and Isabelle Huppert, both of whom are receiving spotlights in March. The former’s is a who’s-who of Hong Kong talent, new favorites (The Heroic Trio), items we can at least say are of interest (Trio‘s not-great sequel Executioners), etc.
Huppert’s series runs longer, and notwithstanding certain standards that have long sat on the channel it adds some heavy hitters: Hong’s In Another Country, Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness, Hansen-Løve’s Things to Come. And, of course,...
Huppert’s series runs longer, and notwithstanding certain standards that have long sat on the channel it adds some heavy hitters: Hong’s In Another Country, Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness, Hansen-Løve’s Things to Come. And, of course,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Eminem hasn’t focused much on a career path as an actor, but he apparently was in the running for a film that could have potentially changed his trajectory and had nothing to do with Mom’s spaghetti.
Film producer Todd Lieberman was a guest on the latest episode of the Hollywood Gold podcast, where he revealed that Eminem was initially producers’ top choice to star as boxer Micky Ward in The Fighter. The role in the 2010 David O. Russell-directed movie ultimately went to Mark Wahlberg, with Christian Bale playing his brother Dicky Eklund.
“The first person that we thought would star in this film was Eminem,” Lieberman said. “Eminem was going to be Micky Ward.”
The producer explained that discussions surrounding Eminem followed the success of director Curtis Hanson’s 2002 film 8 Mile, which featured the music superstar playing aspiring rapper B-Rabbit in a story that incorporated autobiographical...
Film producer Todd Lieberman was a guest on the latest episode of the Hollywood Gold podcast, where he revealed that Eminem was initially producers’ top choice to star as boxer Micky Ward in The Fighter. The role in the 2010 David O. Russell-directed movie ultimately went to Mark Wahlberg, with Christian Bale playing his brother Dicky Eklund.
“The first person that we thought would star in this film was Eminem,” Lieberman said. “Eminem was going to be Micky Ward.”
The producer explained that discussions surrounding Eminem followed the success of director Curtis Hanson’s 2002 film 8 Mile, which featured the music superstar playing aspiring rapper B-Rabbit in a story that incorporated autobiographical...
- 2/17/2023
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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