Books are being pulled from the library shelves of an Iowa school district following new legislation from Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, which purports to protect children from obscene material, The Gazette reports.
The new legislation, Senate File 496, prohibits “instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation in school districts, charter schools and innovation zone schools in kindergarten through grade six.” It requires that every book available to students be “age appropriate” and free of any “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act.”
The district used Artificial Intelligence to make...
The new legislation, Senate File 496, prohibits “instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation in school districts, charter schools and innovation zone schools in kindergarten through grade six.” It requires that every book available to students be “age appropriate” and free of any “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act.”
The district used Artificial Intelligence to make...
- 8/14/2023
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me telegraphs its intentions loud and early. The documentary’s subject, the buxom blonde Guess and Playboy model who became a cultural caricature before dying from an accidental drug overdose in 2007 at age 39, was misunderstood. The forces that created her also destroyed her. Shame on us. You could program You Don’t Know Me in a double feature with Pamela: A Love Story, another recent Netflix documentary about a sex symbol laid low by the public that made her famous.
You Don’t Know Me largely adheres to its playbook.
You Don’t Know Me largely adheres to its playbook.
- 5/16/2023
- by Chris Vognar
- Rollingstone.com
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
This expensive production was dismissed as a flop, and literary critics scorned it for diluting the famed novel by Theodore Dreiser. But it plays well now: William Wyler gives star Laurence Olivier what may be his best film acting role ever. Jennifer Jones’ title part suffers from script changes that censor and sentimentalize Dreiser’s intentions, but the film remains a shattering tragedy. Eddie Albert co-stars in one of his first dramatic roles; this encoding includes a scene dropped from the original release.
Carrie (1952)
Region Free Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] #200
1952 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 121, 118 min. / Street Date February 22, 2023 / Available from [Imprint] / Aud 34.95
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, Miriam Hopkins, Eddie Albert, Basil Ruysdael, Ray Teal, Barry Kelley, William Reynolds, Mary Murphy, Charles Halton, William Baldwin, Dorothy Adams, Jacqueline de Witt, Don Beddoe, Royal Dano, Margaret Field.
Cinematography: Victor Milner
Art Directors: Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson
Costume Design: Edith Head
Film Editor: Robert Swink...
Carrie (1952)
Region Free Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] #200
1952 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 121, 118 min. / Street Date February 22, 2023 / Available from [Imprint] / Aud 34.95
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, Miriam Hopkins, Eddie Albert, Basil Ruysdael, Ray Teal, Barry Kelley, William Reynolds, Mary Murphy, Charles Halton, William Baldwin, Dorothy Adams, Jacqueline de Witt, Don Beddoe, Royal Dano, Margaret Field.
Cinematography: Victor Milner
Art Directors: Hal Pereira, Roland Anderson
Costume Design: Edith Head
Film Editor: Robert Swink...
- 2/18/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A limited series about the Sandy Hook shooting and the ensuing eight-year legal battle between victims’ families and gun manufacturer Remington Arms has landed at Echo Lake Entertainment. Oscar nominee Robin Swicord (“When They See Us”) and Sarah Koskoff will create the show in consultation with several families directly affected by the tragedy and their attorneys.
Swicord, Koskoff and producer Mary Jane Skalski of Echo Lake Entertainment are teaming as executive producers to tell the story of the Sandy Hook case, which uncovered how a New York private equity firm purchased legacy American gun companies in the mid-2000s, effectively creating the equivalent of Big Pharma in the consumer arms industry. Swicord and Koskoff have followed the case closely and are consulting with several families who brought the lawsuit, as well as their attorney, Josh Koskoff (Sarah Koskoff’s brother).
Also Read:
‘The Daily Show': Dl Hughley Says Tucker Carlson...
Swicord, Koskoff and producer Mary Jane Skalski of Echo Lake Entertainment are teaming as executive producers to tell the story of the Sandy Hook case, which uncovered how a New York private equity firm purchased legacy American gun companies in the mid-2000s, effectively creating the equivalent of Big Pharma in the consumer arms industry. Swicord and Koskoff have followed the case closely and are consulting with several families who brought the lawsuit, as well as their attorney, Josh Koskoff (Sarah Koskoff’s brother).
Also Read:
‘The Daily Show': Dl Hughley Says Tucker Carlson...
- 2/1/2023
- by Natalie Oganesyan
- The Wrap
On March 20, 1952, two black and white dramas came into the Oscar ceremony vying for the win. Both “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “A Place in the Sun” had everything the Academy loves: drama, an ensemble of well-known actors and directors – many of whom had previous nominations and wins – and loads of nominations. By the time the Best Picture was to be announced, each had picked up major wins – “Streetcar” had claimed three of the four acting wins, while “Sun” had picked up statues for directing, cinematography and editing. So, it was a “what the heck??” Oscar moment when the final big prize was shockingly announced: the romantic musical “An American in Paris.”
A little over six years after the end of a war that ravaged Europe and in the middle of a Cold War that led to the infamous Hollywood blacklist that destroyed the careers of friends and collaborators, the...
A little over six years after the end of a war that ravaged Europe and in the middle of a Cold War that led to the infamous Hollywood blacklist that destroyed the careers of friends and collaborators, the...
- 2/25/2022
- by Susan Pennington
- Gold Derby
The movie awards’ season is in full flower with such films as Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog”; Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”; Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” Guillermo Del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” and Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” among the favorites for top prizes. But one thing we know for certain is that there is no sure thing when it comes to the Oscars. Consider the case of seventy years ago. Not only were there surprises among the nominees, but there were also some shocks when it came to the winners of the 1952 Oscars.
Let’s revisit the 24th Academy Awards, which took place March 20, 1952 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood and were hosted by Danny Kaye. This was the last time the ceremony was presented on radio. The show moved to television the following year. Among the presenters that evening were Lucille Ball,...
Let’s revisit the 24th Academy Awards, which took place March 20, 1952 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood and were hosted by Danny Kaye. This was the last time the ceremony was presented on radio. The show moved to television the following year. Among the presenters that evening were Lucille Ball,...
- 12/6/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
CBS Studios is developing Broadmoor, a drama series intended for the UK/International premium and streaming market. The series, created by screenwriter/playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, is produced by Fulwell 73, which counts James Corden among its partners, in association with CBS Studios, where the company is based, and Miramax, in which ViacomCBS owns 49%.
Inspired by true events, Broadmoor is based on the famous British high-security psychiatric hospital, originally known as the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. It features overlapping stories about the staff, the visitors and, of course, the patients that included maniacs, stranglers, slashers and serial killers. Set against the backdrop of a crumbling 1970s-80s Britain on the edge of violent social change, the series follows a young woman who goes to Broadmoor believing that murderous behavior can be understood, treated, even tamed, only to find she has entered a warehouse for England’s fears, the locked attic where its...
Inspired by true events, Broadmoor is based on the famous British high-security psychiatric hospital, originally known as the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. It features overlapping stories about the staff, the visitors and, of course, the patients that included maniacs, stranglers, slashers and serial killers. Set against the backdrop of a crumbling 1970s-80s Britain on the edge of violent social change, the series follows a young woman who goes to Broadmoor believing that murderous behavior can be understood, treated, even tamed, only to find she has entered a warehouse for England’s fears, the locked attic where its...
- 8/26/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Photo: 'The Florida Project'/A24 The Criticism of the “American way” It probably wouldn’t be very far-fetched to conclude that the worldwide perception of 21st century Hollywood and American Cinema is that it does not love making its films about poverty and the struggles of impoverished people. More than 80 years have passed since “City Lights” and “Grapes of Wrath” and the times when poverty was an important and recurring theme in American culture and the narratives created by the likes of Theodore Dreiser and John Steinbeck constantly found their way in the spotlight. Since then, Hollywood has made just a handful of films that covered the theme of poverty while making countless movies touching poverty, usually as the start-up place for the protagonist. Indeed, touching might serve as the crucial word here as we’ve heard plenty of criticism of the American way of depicting poverty and impoverished people – always from a palpable distance,...
- 2/10/2021
- by David Tsintsadze
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
Sylvie & Gold: Ashe Formats an Affair to Remember in Warm Retro Melodrama
Utilizing the once familiar template of the studio staples referred to as ‘women’s pictures’ from the 1940s and 1950s Hollywood era, musician-turned-director Eugene Ashe revitalizes its potential in the sumptuously formatted Sylvie’s Love, a Harlem set story of compromised romance amidst dreams of music and television.
Like Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, it’s a mildly tempestuous tale of sacrificing love for the sake of artistic expression and features Tessa Thompson as the titular protagonist, representing a composite of at least two of the three icons Ashe features in the end credit dedication.…...
Utilizing the once familiar template of the studio staples referred to as ‘women’s pictures’ from the 1940s and 1950s Hollywood era, musician-turned-director Eugene Ashe revitalizes its potential in the sumptuously formatted Sylvie’s Love, a Harlem set story of compromised romance amidst dreams of music and television.
Like Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, it’s a mildly tempestuous tale of sacrificing love for the sake of artistic expression and features Tessa Thompson as the titular protagonist, representing a composite of at least two of the three icons Ashe features in the end credit dedication.…...
- 12/25/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
A bona fide film classic, George Stevens’ movie is less revered as an excellent adaptation of Theodore Dreiser than for its intense, almost hallucinatory romantic scenes between Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. A guileless poor boy tries to succeed above his economic background and entangles himself between two very different women. I guess the Academy wasn’t ready to take the glamorous young MGM beauty seriously: both Clift and their co-star Shelley Winters received acting nominations, but not Liz. Stevens’ first ‘fifties picture is perhaps the most balanced of his ‘heavy’ and ‘important’ works, a tragedy that’s too deeply felt to be merely ponderous.
A Place in the Sun
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 8
1951 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 122 min. / Street Date August, 2020 /
Starring: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, Anne Revere, Keefe Brasselle, Fred Clark, Raymond Burr, Walter Sande, Ted de Corsia, Kathleen Freeman, Kasey Rogers, Douglas Spencer, Ian Wolfe.
Cinematography: William C. Mellor...
A Place in the Sun
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 8
1951 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 122 min. / Street Date August, 2020 /
Starring: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, Anne Revere, Keefe Brasselle, Fred Clark, Raymond Burr, Walter Sande, Ted de Corsia, Kathleen Freeman, Kasey Rogers, Douglas Spencer, Ian Wolfe.
Cinematography: William C. Mellor...
- 10/6/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The double bill last week was confounding: Parasite playing side by side nationally with Love Story — the edgy Korean thriller nudging the 50-year-old weepy.
There was a perverse logic behind the playdates. Having won every statuette in sight, Parasite now was opening wide in quest of a giant payday, already approaching $200 million worldwide. Love Story, meanwhile, was being resuscitated in 700 theaters as a Valentine’s Day celebration of Hollywood’s consummate date movie (dates usually were consummated).
Filmgoers had a right to be baffled: Would Ki-woo finally emerge from his underground lair to buy the mansion he’d secretly infiltrated? On the other hand, would the Harvard rich kid, Oliver Barrett IV, be banned from hitting on the cute but impoverished (and sickly) Italian girl?
Although the movies are opposites in every way, a filmgoer would detect a common denominator: Both films are fixated on class — a theme that has...
There was a perverse logic behind the playdates. Having won every statuette in sight, Parasite now was opening wide in quest of a giant payday, already approaching $200 million worldwide. Love Story, meanwhile, was being resuscitated in 700 theaters as a Valentine’s Day celebration of Hollywood’s consummate date movie (dates usually were consummated).
Filmgoers had a right to be baffled: Would Ki-woo finally emerge from his underground lair to buy the mansion he’d secretly infiltrated? On the other hand, would the Harvard rich kid, Oliver Barrett IV, be banned from hitting on the cute but impoverished (and sickly) Italian girl?
Although the movies are opposites in every way, a filmgoer would detect a common denominator: Both films are fixated on class — a theme that has...
- 2/20/2020
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Nothing But the Best (1964) signifies a turning point in the British new wave: a sudden flip from grim northern drama to swinging London archness, here under the controls of three masters of that tone.1. Frederic Raphael is best known for writing Two For the Road (impossibly arch) and Eyes Wide Shut (strange... very strange), and this film does have some kind of commonality with those: glamorous young people, sporty cars, hard-to-get-into parties in sprawling country houses... but in essence it's more like a glib black comedy version of The Talented Mr. Ripley. Raphael had previously adapted the source story (by American crime writer Stanley Ellin) as a TV play, and in expanding it for cinema he threw out the ironic twist of fate that dooms the murderous, social-climber anti-hero, perhaps seeing it as an old-fashioned harking-back to Kind Hearts and Coronets (whose ironic twist was imposed by the censor). Now...
- 10/10/2019
- MUBI
Tony Sokol Nov 23, 2018
Pat Spain puts infamous crimes, mysteries and myths under the microscope in Travel Channel's Legend Hunter.
In the upcoming Travel Channel series Legend Hunter, Wildlife biologist and explorer Pat Spain will leave his lab to uncover answers to fascinating unsolved riddles, historic conundrums and mythic events. The series will premiere with a surprising new suspect in the the infamous Lizzie Borden murder case. The seven-episode series showcases Spain as he uses his scientific expertise and state-of-the-art technology to investigate infamous tales of murder, theft and unexplained events. He embarks on a hunt to recover a $20 million stolen Irish fortune, finds new evidence that could reveal the identity of Jack the Ripper and goes on a quest for a werewolf-like creature rumored to haunt the residents of Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
In the Legend Hunger series premiere, Spain looks "to find out who really took an ax to her father and stepmother,...
Pat Spain puts infamous crimes, mysteries and myths under the microscope in Travel Channel's Legend Hunter.
In the upcoming Travel Channel series Legend Hunter, Wildlife biologist and explorer Pat Spain will leave his lab to uncover answers to fascinating unsolved riddles, historic conundrums and mythic events. The series will premiere with a surprising new suspect in the the infamous Lizzie Borden murder case. The seven-episode series showcases Spain as he uses his scientific expertise and state-of-the-art technology to investigate infamous tales of murder, theft and unexplained events. He embarks on a hunt to recover a $20 million stolen Irish fortune, finds new evidence that could reveal the identity of Jack the Ripper and goes on a quest for a werewolf-like creature rumored to haunt the residents of Elkhorn, Wisconsin.
In the Legend Hunger series premiere, Spain looks "to find out who really took an ax to her father and stepmother,...
- 11/23/2018
- Den of Geek
Turner Classic Movies continues with its Gay Hollywood presentations tonight and tomorrow morning, June 8–9. Seven movies will be shown about, featuring, directed, or produced by the following: Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, Farley Granger, John Dall, Edmund Goulding, W. Somerset Maughan, Clifton Webb, Montgomery Clift, Raymond Burr, Charles Walters, DeWitt Bodeen, and Harriet Parsons. (One assumes that it's a mere coincidence that gay rumor subjects Cary Grant and Tyrone Power are also featured.) Night and Day (1946), which could also be considered part of TCM's homage to birthday girl Alexis Smith, who would have turned 96 today, is a Cole Porter biopic starring Cary Grant as a posh, heterosexualized version of Porter. As the warning goes, any similaries to real-life people and/or events found in Night and Day are a mere coincidence. The same goes for Words and Music (1948), a highly fictionalized version of the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musical partnership.
- 6/9/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Frances Dee movies: From 'An American Tragedy' to 'Four Faces West' Frances Dee began her film career at the dawn of the sound era, going from extra to leading lady within a matter of months. Her rapid ascencion came about thanks to Maurice Chevalier, who got her as his romantic interested in Ludwig Berger's 1930 romantic comedy Playboy of Paris. Despite her dark(-haired) good looks and pleasant personality, Dee's Hollywood career never quite progressed to major – or even moderate – stardom. But she was to remain a busy leading lady for about 15 years. Tonight, Turner Classic Movies is showing seven Frances Dee films, ranging from heavy dramas to Westerns. Unfortunately missing is one of Dee's most curious efforts, the raunchy pre-Coder Blood Money, which possibly features her most unusual – and most effective – performance. Having said that, William A. Wellman's Love Is a Racket is a worthwhile subsitute, though the...
- 5/18/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Sunday’s Girls finale tied up some key loose ends concerning Hannah and her new miniature male sidekick. But we did have one crucial question regarding her newborn son that the farewell didn’t answer: What’s little Grover’s middle name?
Related Girls Finale Recap: So, Did Hannah Finally Grow Up? Grade the Episode!
Ok, so maybe it’s not “crucial,” in any sense of the word. But it was bugging us, so we reached out to star/creator Lena Dunham (via HBO) to see if such an answer even exists. And we quickly learned that it does. Even...
Related Girls Finale Recap: So, Did Hannah Finally Grow Up? Grade the Episode!
Ok, so maybe it’s not “crucial,” in any sense of the word. But it was bugging us, so we reached out to star/creator Lena Dunham (via HBO) to see if such an answer even exists. And we quickly learned that it does. Even...
- 4/19/2017
- TVLine.com
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveriesNEWSJohn Huston, Orson Welles and Peter Bogdanovich on the set of The Other Side of the WindWe're still holding our breath, but it looks like we may all get to see Orson Welles' beleaguered film project The Other Side of the Wind, to be released in some fashion by Netflix.The Tribeca Film Festival, running April 17 - 30, has announced its full lineup. Robert Osborne, Turner Classic Movies host and defacto representative in the United States for the appreciation of older films, has died at the age of 84. With his passing, the number of venerable, welcoming advocates for classic cinema is dropping precariously low.Recommended VIEWINGThe proof is the pudding: Director Terrence Malick actually participated in a public, recorded conversation! He was at SXSW to promote his new film, Austin-set Song to Song, and took place in a discussion with Richard Linklater...
- 3/14/2017
- MUBI
Can a Song Save Your Life?: Caton-Jones’ Modest Return to Filmmaking
Scottish film director Michael Caton-Jones had a very prolific filmography in the 1990s thanks to films like Memphis Belle (1990), Rob Roy (1995), and The Jackal (1997). It’s been nearly a decade since he’s tackled a feature film, following the dismally received Basic Instinct 2 in 2006. He’s returned to the UK for Urban Hymn, a modest character study set against the 2011 North London riots. Emotionally effective and featuring a trio of genuinely unfussy performances, the familiar trajectory too often settles for superficial examinations of its characters, hobbling them of the necessary interiority to make them more than one-dimensional archetypes. Despite this, those appreciative of feel-good narratives should take note considering the effortless dynamic of its leading actors.
Jamie (Laetitia Wright) and Leanne (Isabelle Laughland) are two disenfranchised young women in their late teens, orphans with violent histories...
Scottish film director Michael Caton-Jones had a very prolific filmography in the 1990s thanks to films like Memphis Belle (1990), Rob Roy (1995), and The Jackal (1997). It’s been nearly a decade since he’s tackled a feature film, following the dismally received Basic Instinct 2 in 2006. He’s returned to the UK for Urban Hymn, a modest character study set against the 2011 North London riots. Emotionally effective and featuring a trio of genuinely unfussy performances, the familiar trajectory too often settles for superficial examinations of its characters, hobbling them of the necessary interiority to make them more than one-dimensional archetypes. Despite this, those appreciative of feel-good narratives should take note considering the effortless dynamic of its leading actors.
Jamie (Laetitia Wright) and Leanne (Isabelle Laughland) are two disenfranchised young women in their late teens, orphans with violent histories...
- 9/12/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Teresa Wright and Matt Damon in 'The Rainmaker' Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright vs. Samuel Goldwyn: Nasty Falling Out.") "I'd rather have luck than brains!" Teresa Wright was quoted as saying in the early 1950s. That's understandable, considering her post-Samuel Goldwyn choice of movie roles, some of which may have seemed promising on paper.[1] Wright was Marlon Brando's first Hollywood leading lady, but that didn't help her to bounce back following the very public spat with her former boss. After all, The Men was released before Elia Kazan's film version of A Streetcar Named Desire turned Brando into a major international star. Chances are that good film offers were scarce. After Wright's brief 1950 comeback, for the third time in less than a decade she would be gone from the big screen for more than a year.
- 3/11/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a 40th anniversary screening of “Young Frankenstein” with special guests Mel Brooks, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr and executive producer Michael Gruskoff on Tuesday, September 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Film historian Leonard Maltin will introduce the comedy classic and host a live onstage discussion with Brooks, Leachman, Garr and Gruskoff.
“Young Frankenstein,” Brooks’s 1974 homage to the Golden Age of monster movies, features a large ensemble cast including Leachman, Garr, Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars and Gene Hackman. It earned Oscar® nominations for Adapted Screenplay (Wilder, Brooks) and Sound (Richard Portman, Gene Cantamessa).
Additional Academy events coming up in September at the Bing Theater in Los Angeles are listed below, with details at www.oscars.org/events:
“Let There Be Fright: William Castle Scare Classics”
The...
“Young Frankenstein,” Brooks’s 1974 homage to the Golden Age of monster movies, features a large ensemble cast including Leachman, Garr, Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars and Gene Hackman. It earned Oscar® nominations for Adapted Screenplay (Wilder, Brooks) and Sound (Richard Portman, Gene Cantamessa).
Additional Academy events coming up in September at the Bing Theater in Los Angeles are listed below, with details at www.oscars.org/events:
“Let There Be Fright: William Castle Scare Classics”
The...
- 8/25/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
If Theodore Dreiser had been a woman and that woman wrote the novel “An American Tragedy” as a play, you’d have Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 drama, “Machinal.” Or something very much like it. “Machinal,” which opened Thursday in a Roundabout Theater revival at the American Airlines Theater, is receiving its first Broadway revival. The original 1928 production is notable for providing a very young Clark Gable with his Broadway debut. This 2014 staging is notable for giving Rebecca Hall her stunning Broadway debut and proving that “Machinal” is an arresting and not some old chestnut that deserves to be cracked open only.
- 1/17/2014
- by Robert Hofler
- The Wrap
Yes, this past Thursday I hit the big 6-0. Yeah, yeah, I know a woman isn’t supposed to reveal her age, but just who the hell would I be fooling? Not my family. Nor any of my friends. Not even those who read my comics back in the 80s and 90s and care to do a little homework and math – Iirc, the New Talent Showcase issues included bios by all the tyros whose work appeared in that book. Mine lists my birthday. And as long as I talking about that bio, for the record I was not particularly inspired by Star Wars or – with absolutely no disrespect intended, and I’m not saying I don’t love their work – to George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Gerry Conway, or Doug Moench. This is how I remember it happened.
Joey Cavalieri (who wrote the bios) asking me who my favorite writers were.
Joey Cavalieri (who wrote the bios) asking me who my favorite writers were.
- 10/28/2013
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
George Stevens's meticulously observed 1951 version of Theodore Dreiser's massive 1925 novel An American Tragedy is back in cinemas to accompany the BFI South Bank's retrospective of Montgomery Clift, who plays the small-town social climber opposite Elizabeth Taylor as the beguiling upper-class object of his ascent. Clift competed with his close friend Marlon Brando for the title of finest actor of his postwar generation, and he chose to work with the best directors around (Hawks, Stevens, Zinnemann, Huston, Wyler, Hitchcock, Mankiewicz), invariably playing outsiders in conflict with their surroundings, looking for a home, a dream, a place in the sun but never finding it. He died in 1966 at the age of 45, destroyed by alcohol, drugs, a terrible car accident and guilt over his homosexuality. Clift's sensitive face and eyes revealed his inner torment, and his best performance, perhaps, was as the tormented peacetime soldier in From Here to Eternity, one...
- 2/3/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Every second of this noir masterpiece is gripping, and the chemistry between Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor is utterly thrilling
Noir suspense merges with romantic tragedy in this stunning 1951 movie adapted from the Theodore Dreiser novel. It features two of the most beautiful people in movie history, Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. They are almost like reflections of each other; when they kiss, something incestuous and thrillingly forbidden throbs out of the screen. Clift plays George Eastman, a poor but personable young man who lands a job in his wealthy uncle's business. He begins dating Alice (Shelley Winters), who works on the factory floor, but then falls madly in love with Angela Vickers (Taylor), a beautiful socialite who is part of his uncle's smart set. His connections and luck encourage George to believe in his destiny, and that old encumbrances must be shrugged off. Clift perfectly shows how bewildered, earnest,...
Noir suspense merges with romantic tragedy in this stunning 1951 movie adapted from the Theodore Dreiser novel. It features two of the most beautiful people in movie history, Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. They are almost like reflections of each other; when they kiss, something incestuous and thrillingly forbidden throbs out of the screen. Clift plays George Eastman, a poor but personable young man who lands a job in his wealthy uncle's business. He begins dating Alice (Shelley Winters), who works on the factory floor, but then falls madly in love with Angela Vickers (Taylor), a beautiful socialite who is part of his uncle's smart set. His connections and luck encourage George to believe in his destiny, and that old encumbrances must be shrugged off. Clift perfectly shows how bewildered, earnest,...
- 2/1/2013
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★★ Remembered primarily for its passionate love story, the consensus over the years has been that 1951's A Place in the Sun toned down the social commentary of Theodore Dreiser's American Tragedy, focusing instead on the central relationship. Watching the film over 60 years since its initial theatrical release, it would appear that accepted critical wisdom has undersold this astonishing picture. While the romance is indeed achingly beautiful and played out with remarkable maturity, A Place in the Sun's searing indictment of the American Dream, tinged with both anger and regret, makes it one of the best films to come out of 50s Hollywood.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 1/31/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Kind of a Big Deal: Michelle Chong’s Choppy Directorial Effort Skirts By on Charm
The multi-talented Michelle Chong, a notable Singaporean host and television actress, dons screenwriter, director, and lead actress hats for her debut, Already Famous, an ironically titled character study about going against the odds to pursue your dreams. Chong, who’s already famous in her native country due to her presence in comedy shows like “The Noose,” and “Black Rose,” makes for a likeable and wholly watchable screen presence, so it’s unfortunate that the bloated pacing, generic storyline and cloyingly repetitive soundtrack hamper her natural charm and charisma. Distracting flourishes aside, this dreams-do-come-true story is as overworked as it’s ever been, not to mention stupendously unrealistic, as it was even by the time of Theodore Dreiser’s 1900 novel, Sister Carrie. Yet there’s an engaging mechanism at the center of her film, and there...
The multi-talented Michelle Chong, a notable Singaporean host and television actress, dons screenwriter, director, and lead actress hats for her debut, Already Famous, an ironically titled character study about going against the odds to pursue your dreams. Chong, who’s already famous in her native country due to her presence in comedy shows like “The Noose,” and “Black Rose,” makes for a likeable and wholly watchable screen presence, so it’s unfortunate that the bloated pacing, generic storyline and cloyingly repetitive soundtrack hamper her natural charm and charisma. Distracting flourishes aside, this dreams-do-come-true story is as overworked as it’s ever been, not to mention stupendously unrealistic, as it was even by the time of Theodore Dreiser’s 1900 novel, Sister Carrie. Yet there’s an engaging mechanism at the center of her film, and there...
- 1/2/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The Master confirms Paul Thomas Anderson as the only American film-maker of his generation who could be mistaken for a junior member of Hollywood's golden age
Hollywood's prestige season is upon us and, despite a parade of heavy hitters, including Steven Spielberg's Lincoln and the Wachowski-Tykwer adaptation of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, no potential Oscar winner is more ambitious – or more likely to provoke discussion regarding its meaning and intent – than Paul Thomas Anderson's sixth feature, The Master.
Anderson's subtly disorienting, deeply engrossing study of the symbiotic relationship between charismatic cult leader Lancaster Dodd, magnificently played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and his disturbed follower Freddie Quell, indelibly embodied by Joaquin Phoenix, is a panoramic chamber drama. Punctuated by persistent close-ups, it's an extended two-shot epic in its sweep.
The first production to avail itself of the great clarity afforded by 65mm in the 16 years since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet,...
Hollywood's prestige season is upon us and, despite a parade of heavy hitters, including Steven Spielberg's Lincoln and the Wachowski-Tykwer adaptation of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, no potential Oscar winner is more ambitious – or more likely to provoke discussion regarding its meaning and intent – than Paul Thomas Anderson's sixth feature, The Master.
Anderson's subtly disorienting, deeply engrossing study of the symbiotic relationship between charismatic cult leader Lancaster Dodd, magnificently played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and his disturbed follower Freddie Quell, indelibly embodied by Joaquin Phoenix, is a panoramic chamber drama. Punctuated by persistent close-ups, it's an extended two-shot epic in its sweep.
The first production to avail itself of the great clarity afforded by 65mm in the 16 years since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet,...
- 11/3/2012
- by J Hoberman
- The Guardian - Film News
AMC Scene from “Mad Men.”
Editor’s note: Every Sunday after the newest episode of “Mad Men,” lawyer and Supreme Court advocate Walter Dellinger will host an online dialogue about the show. The participants include Columbia University history professor Alan Brinkley, Stanford Law Professor Pam Karlan, and Columbia theater and television professor Evangeline Morphos. Dellinger will post his thoughts shortly after each episode ends at 11 p.m., and the others will add their commentary in the hours and days that follow.
Editor’s note: Every Sunday after the newest episode of “Mad Men,” lawyer and Supreme Court advocate Walter Dellinger will host an online dialogue about the show. The participants include Columbia University history professor Alan Brinkley, Stanford Law Professor Pam Karlan, and Columbia theater and television professor Evangeline Morphos. Dellinger will post his thoughts shortly after each episode ends at 11 p.m., and the others will add their commentary in the hours and days that follow.
- 4/9/2012
- by Walter Dellinger
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Hugo Chloë Grace Moretz, has been formally invited to play the shy-but-don't-mess-with-her high-school student in Kimberly Peirce's Carrie for MGM / Screen Gems according to Deadline.com. Moretz, last seen opposite Asa Butterfield in Martin Scorsese's Best Picture Oscar nominee Hugo, is also known for playing Aaron Johnson's sidekick in Kick-Ass and the girl vampire in Matt Reeves' Let Me In. She turned 15 last Feb. 10. Based on Stephen King's 1974 bestselling horror novel, Carrie was first made into a movie in 1976. Adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen and directed by Brian De Palma, the sleeper hit about a homely teenager with deadly telekinetic powers helped to propel Sissy Spacek to movie stardom and resurrected the career of former 1950s Universal player Piper Laurie, both of whom were nominated for Academy Awards. (Both Spacek and Laurie lost to actresses featured in Sidney Lumet's...
- 3/28/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Lauren Greenfield's The Queen of Versailles, which opened Sundance's Us Documentary Competition on Thursday "is like a Theodore Dreiser novel for our time, infused with the vivid, vulgar spirit of reality TV," writes Salon's Andrew O'Hehir. "It often had the sold-out Eccles Center howling, but also has elements of profound tragedy and allegory."
Kenneth Turan sets up the tale of David and Jackie Siegel in the Los Angeles Times: "Jackie was the 43-year-old former beauty queen with an engineering background; David was her 74-year-old husband, father of her seven children and the founder, president and chief executive of Westgate Resorts, at the time the largest privately owned time-share entity in the world. And then there was the House. Not the 26,000-square-foot Florida house they currently lived in. Oh, no. This was a new residence, modeled on Versailles, a 90,000-square-foot mega-mansion with 10 kitchens, 30-plus baths and a closet so big...
Kenneth Turan sets up the tale of David and Jackie Siegel in the Los Angeles Times: "Jackie was the 43-year-old former beauty queen with an engineering background; David was her 74-year-old husband, father of her seven children and the founder, president and chief executive of Westgate Resorts, at the time the largest privately owned time-share entity in the world. And then there was the House. Not the 26,000-square-foot Florida house they currently lived in. Oh, no. This was a new residence, modeled on Versailles, a 90,000-square-foot mega-mansion with 10 kitchens, 30-plus baths and a closet so big...
- 1/22/2012
- MUBI
Chicago – The year was 1959, and the film was “The Diary of Anne Frank,” based on the 1955 Pulitzer Prize winning stage play, which in turn was adapted from the famous diaries of a young girl hiding from Nazi occupiers in WWII Holland. Two actresses, Millie Perkins (Anne) and Diane Baker (her sister Margot), made their movie debuts in this renowned film.
The director of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” the celebrated George Stevens, led a nationwide search for the lead teenage actress to portray Anne, after Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood and Susan Strasberg (Anne in the original play) passed on the role. The film won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Shelley Winters), Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography, and was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director.
Millie Perkins and Diane Baker were participating in the “Hollywood Celebrities and Memorabilia Show” in September when they talked to HollywoodChicago.com.
The director of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” the celebrated George Stevens, led a nationwide search for the lead teenage actress to portray Anne, after Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood and Susan Strasberg (Anne in the original play) passed on the role. The film won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress (Shelley Winters), Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography, and was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director.
Millie Perkins and Diane Baker were participating in the “Hollywood Celebrities and Memorabilia Show” in September when they talked to HollywoodChicago.com.
- 1/7/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Montgomery Clift could have become a much bigger star had he turned down fewer roles in major classics (Sunset Blvd., reportedly Shane, East of Eden) and accepted fewer roles in major duds (The Big Lift, Lonelyhearts, The Defector). Clift has been a relatively frequent presence on Turner Classic Movies, but those unfamiliar with his work will be able to check him out — and compare him to fellow "'50s rebels" Marlon Brando and James Dean — on Saturday, August 20, as TCM will be presenting 11 Montgomery Clift movies as part of its "Summer Under the Stars" series. The one TCM premiere is the spy thriller The Defector (1966), which also happens to be Clift's last movie. [Montgomery Clift Movie Schedule.] My favorite Montgomery Clift performance is his quietly ambitious George Eastman in George Stevens' A Place in the Sun (1951). Though Marlon Brando's Stanley Kowalski from A Streetcar Named Desire (also 1951) is much better remembered today,...
- 8/20/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The actor Elizabeth Taylor has died aged 79. Here we look back over her work, from early roles in National Velvet and Little Women to her defining appearances opposite Richard Burton
News: Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79
Gallery: A career in pictures
It's difficult to think of a better argument for the separate-but-equal value of the terms "actor" and "film star" than the career of Elizabeth Taylor. If that reads as a slight on her ability, it shouldn't. Taylor was a sporadically marvellous performer, one who rarely superseded her director or material but who could, with those factors working in her favour, surpass some of her more gifted peers' capacity for reckless emotional danger.
She was the rare actor who was as interesting on a bad day as on a good one, and not just for her mesmeric physical beauty: like any great film star, she was as compelled by her own screen presence as we were,...
News: Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79
Gallery: A career in pictures
It's difficult to think of a better argument for the separate-but-equal value of the terms "actor" and "film star" than the career of Elizabeth Taylor. If that reads as a slight on her ability, it shouldn't. Taylor was a sporadically marvellous performer, one who rarely superseded her director or material but who could, with those factors working in her favour, surpass some of her more gifted peers' capacity for reckless emotional danger.
She was the rare actor who was as interesting on a bad day as on a good one, and not just for her mesmeric physical beauty: like any great film star, she was as compelled by her own screen presence as we were,...
- 3/23/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Elizabeth Taylor, 1932-2011
Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor died early this morning in Los Angeles of complications from congestive heart failure. She was 79 years old.
Certainly there was much about the glamorous Ms. Taylor outside of her motion picture work that could prompt her “legendary” status, namely her eight marriages, tabloid-saturated romances and tireless philanthropic work in combating the AIDS virus.
But the legend of the gorgeous, violet-eyed Ms. Taylor was created in the movies, which is where it will endure.
So many memorable performances in so many unforgettable filims. Here are a bunch of our favorites…
National Velvet, 1944
National Velvet (1944)
Everyone’s favorite equestrian endeavor introduced much of the world to its fresh-faced, rising star, a violet-eyed 11-year-old who quickly proved that she wasn’t horsing around. And don’t forget she won a special children’s Oscar for her performance!
Available on DVD from MGM/Fox
Little Women (1949)
MGM bleached Ms.
Screen legend Elizabeth Taylor died early this morning in Los Angeles of complications from congestive heart failure. She was 79 years old.
Certainly there was much about the glamorous Ms. Taylor outside of her motion picture work that could prompt her “legendary” status, namely her eight marriages, tabloid-saturated romances and tireless philanthropic work in combating the AIDS virus.
But the legend of the gorgeous, violet-eyed Ms. Taylor was created in the movies, which is where it will endure.
So many memorable performances in so many unforgettable filims. Here are a bunch of our favorites…
National Velvet, 1944
National Velvet (1944)
Everyone’s favorite equestrian endeavor introduced much of the world to its fresh-faced, rising star, a violet-eyed 11-year-old who quickly proved that she wasn’t horsing around. And don’t forget she won a special children’s Oscar for her performance!
Available on DVD from MGM/Fox
Little Women (1949)
MGM bleached Ms.
- 3/23/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Match Point (2005) Direction and screenplay: Woody Allen Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton Oscar Movies Recommended Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Match Point If Alfred Hitchcock were to direct a screenplay written by Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, and Stanislaw Lem, and based on Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, the result would be something like Woody Allen's latest opus, Match Point. A dark fable about the vagaries of chance in a godless world, Allen's straightforward, aesthetically old-fashioned crime drama belies a hauntingly complex turn-of-the-millennium sensibility. Set in London, the basic plot of Match Point replicates certain key elements found in Dreiser's An American Tragedy: After experiencing the joys of wealth and high social standing (read: power), an ambitious petit bourgeois resorts to whatever it takes to maintain his newfound status. Between the lines of its critique of class inequality and materialism, Match Point dissects...
- 3/10/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
“True to its title, ‘Coco Before Chanel’ chronicles the early life of the woman who would become perhaps the single most influential figure in 20th-century fashion,” writes the New York Times’ A.O. Scott. “But the film, directed and co-written by Anne Fontaine, bears less resemblance to a standard-issue biopic (like, say, ‘La Vie en Rose,’ to take a recent French example) than to a novel by Émile Zola or Theodore Dreiser. …...
- 9/25/2009
- Indiewire
In the nearly two decades that I've been writing film reviews, I can't recall another week that saw the release of three movies that are guaranteed to wind up on my year-end Ten Best list. The movies are vampire love story "Thirst" and the documentaries "The Cove," about an aquatic conservationist's attempts to stop the slaughter of dolphins, and "Severe Clear," an autobiographical account of one Marine's experiences in Iraq. Beyond their dramatic merits, all three demonstrate a front-and-center mastery of technique. They use image and sound not just for the usual, so-called "classical" purposes (to define the characters and advance the story) but to encourage the audience to think about filmmaking's ability to express states of mind.
The latest provocation from South Korean director Park Chan-Wook (director of the critically divisive "Vengeance" trilogy: "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," "Oldboy" and "Lady Vengeance"), "Thirst" is, in no particular order, a horror movie,...
The latest provocation from South Korean director Park Chan-Wook (director of the critically divisive "Vengeance" trilogy: "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," "Oldboy" and "Lady Vengeance"), "Thirst" is, in no particular order, a horror movie,...
- 7/30/2009
- by Matt Zoller Seitz
- ifc.com
Our very own Hal was at a roundtable interview event in La the other morning, and while we didn't get to ask all the questions we wanted like: "Will Smith sucks.. what do you think of him being in a remake of Oldboy?" he still got in a few good ones. Thirst premiered at Cannes and our limey loved it.. you can read his review here.
Check out the full interview after the break!
How did you balance the humor and seriousness in Thirst?
Ten years ago I couldn’t dream that I’d end up with a film like this, because at the time my plan was to make the most serious film in the history of cinema. But, a filmmaker’s tendency or personality isn’t something that can be changed, because even though I’d decided to make something serious, I came up with something like this.
Check out the full interview after the break!
How did you balance the humor and seriousness in Thirst?
Ten years ago I couldn’t dream that I’d end up with a film like this, because at the time my plan was to make the most serious film in the history of cinema. But, a filmmaker’s tendency or personality isn’t something that can be changed, because even though I’d decided to make something serious, I came up with something like this.
- 7/29/2009
- QuietEarth.us
While Sean Penn’s recent Best Actor Oscar win for Milk helped bring Harvey Milk’s message to a wide audience — both from the increased visibility of the film and from Penn’s moving acceptance speech — the occasion marked another instance of a Hollywood tradition: a gay character played by a heterosexual actor.
Penn, like Tom Hanks (Philadelphia [1993]) and William Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman [1985]) before him, was praised for his “bravery” for taking on the role and even — eek! — kissing another man.
Gay actors, on the other hand, get no such credit for playing gay roles; let’s not forget the year that Rupert Everett’s hilarious supporting turn in My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) was ignored by the Academy, with the implication that queer thespians need merely show up to play queer characters, with no actual acting involved. (To add insult to injury, that same year saw...
Penn, like Tom Hanks (Philadelphia [1993]) and William Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman [1985]) before him, was praised for his “bravery” for taking on the role and even — eek! — kissing another man.
Gay actors, on the other hand, get no such credit for playing gay roles; let’s not forget the year that Rupert Everett’s hilarious supporting turn in My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) was ignored by the Academy, with the implication that queer thespians need merely show up to play queer characters, with no actual acting involved. (To add insult to injury, that same year saw...
- 4/8/2009
- by dennis
- The Backlot
Unkillable Classics
By Troy Brownfield
You may recall that I opened the new Unkillable Classics column with a discussion of Frankenstein. It’s almost a given now that installment two should cover the other big Universal release of 1931, that other standard-bearer of the horror genre that’s forever linked to that first film. The film for today is, of course, Dracula.
Like Frankenstein, I discovered this film for myself via the local broadcast outlet that carried the “thriller” package weeks. By that time, there were already plenty of other Dracula associations that I could make from pop culture. I fondly recall an issue of the Super Friends comic from DC (in fact, it was issue #10 from 1978, making me about five upon its release) where the heroes crossed paths with a group of characters that resembled the classic movie monsters. It turned out that these “monsters” were in fact the super...
By Troy Brownfield
You may recall that I opened the new Unkillable Classics column with a discussion of Frankenstein. It’s almost a given now that installment two should cover the other big Universal release of 1931, that other standard-bearer of the horror genre that’s forever linked to that first film. The film for today is, of course, Dracula.
Like Frankenstein, I discovered this film for myself via the local broadcast outlet that carried the “thriller” package weeks. By that time, there were already plenty of other Dracula associations that I could make from pop culture. I fondly recall an issue of the Super Friends comic from DC (in fact, it was issue #10 from 1978, making me about five upon its release) where the heroes crossed paths with a group of characters that resembled the classic movie monsters. It turned out that these “monsters” were in fact the super...
- 11/17/2008
- Fangoria
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.