One of the most iconic movie scenes of all time is the terrifying opening of Steven Spielberg’s horror classic Jaws, wherein a young female swimmer is ruthlessly devoured by the film’s killer shark during a solo night swim. That swimmer was Susan Backlinie, forever immortalized on the silver screen as the ill-fated Chrissie Watkins in one of the greatest movies ever made.
We are saddened to learn that Susan Backlinie has passed away at the age of 77.
An actress and stuntwoman, Susan Backlinie appeared in a handful of movies in the wake of her unforgettable big screen debut in Jaws, including The Grizzly & the Treasure (1975), Two-Minute Warning (1976), A Stranger in My Forest (1976), Day of the Animals (1977), 1941 (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), and Catalina C-Club (1982). She also appeared in episodes of “The Quest,” “Quark” and “The Fall Guy,” in addition to working as a stunt performer for the 1979 movie...
We are saddened to learn that Susan Backlinie has passed away at the age of 77.
An actress and stuntwoman, Susan Backlinie appeared in a handful of movies in the wake of her unforgettable big screen debut in Jaws, including The Grizzly & the Treasure (1975), Two-Minute Warning (1976), A Stranger in My Forest (1976), Day of the Animals (1977), 1941 (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), and Catalina C-Club (1982). She also appeared in episodes of “The Quest,” “Quark” and “The Fall Guy,” in addition to working as a stunt performer for the 1979 movie...
- 5/13/2024
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Susan Backlinie, the stuntperson and actress who as a young skinny-dipper out for a nighttime swim off the coast of Amity Island became the shark’s first victim in Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, has died. She was 77.
Backlinie died Saturday at her home in Ventura, California, her convention agent, Matthew Templeton, told The Daily Jaws website.
Backlinie was a nationally ranked swimmer and professional diver who had performed as a mermaid and worked as an animal trainer when she was hired at age 28 to play the skinny-dipping Chrissie in Universal’s Jaws (1975).
“I didn’t want an actor to do it. I wanted a stuntperson because I needed somebody who was great in the water, who knew water ballet and knew how to endure what I imagined was going to be a whole lot of violent shaking,” Spielberg said in Laurent Bouzereau’s 2023 book, Spielberg: The First Ten Years. “So,...
Backlinie died Saturday at her home in Ventura, California, her convention agent, Matthew Templeton, told The Daily Jaws website.
Backlinie was a nationally ranked swimmer and professional diver who had performed as a mermaid and worked as an animal trainer when she was hired at age 28 to play the skinny-dipping Chrissie in Universal’s Jaws (1975).
“I didn’t want an actor to do it. I wanted a stuntperson because I needed somebody who was great in the water, who knew water ballet and knew how to endure what I imagined was going to be a whole lot of violent shaking,” Spielberg said in Laurent Bouzereau’s 2023 book, Spielberg: The First Ten Years. “So,...
- 5/12/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Stars: Camille Rowe, Jeremy Scippio, Stasa Stanic | Written by Franck Khalfoun, Glen Freyer | Directed by Franck Khalfoun
Night of the Hunted, the latest film from Franck Khalfoun is a remake, but not of Jean Rollin’s 1980 paranoid thriller of the same name, though that would be a logical choice for rebooting in these conspiracy-riddled times. Instead, he and co-writer Glen Freyer have reworked and updated Rubén Ávila Calvo and David R.L.’s 2015 Spanish thriller Night of the Rat.
This film begins in a hotel room where Alice is talking to her husband on the phone, we hear something about an appointment with a fertility specialist before she hurriedly hangs up as John enters the room. Driving back to town in the pre-dawn darkness they make a stop for gas despite Jiohn’s insistence that he filled the tank the day before. Alice goes in to grab some snacks, and as...
Night of the Hunted, the latest film from Franck Khalfoun is a remake, but not of Jean Rollin’s 1980 paranoid thriller of the same name, though that would be a logical choice for rebooting in these conspiracy-riddled times. Instead, he and co-writer Glen Freyer have reworked and updated Rubén Ávila Calvo and David R.L.’s 2015 Spanish thriller Night of the Rat.
This film begins in a hotel room where Alice is talking to her husband on the phone, we hear something about an appointment with a fertility specialist before she hurriedly hangs up as John enters the room. Driving back to town in the pre-dawn darkness they make a stop for gas despite Jiohn’s insistence that he filled the tank the day before. Alice goes in to grab some snacks, and as...
- 10/19/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Henry Deas III, a longtime Variety advertising sales executive who specialized in film festivals and international markets, died Aug. 6 in Culver City. He was 75.
Deas was known throughout the entertainment industry for his love of the movie business. He was an expert on the world’s largest film festivals and had an encylopedic knowledge of filmmakers around the world. Deas was a perpetual optimist who was rarely seen without a broad smile on his face.
“Henry Deas loved the independent film business and the industry loved him right back,” said Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, Variety Group Publisher and CEO, who worked closely with Deas and considered him a mentor.
“Henry thrived on doing right by his clients and they appreciated and supported him throughout his career and life beyond the office. We will forever miss our loving gentleman and Cannes legend. There was never a kinder soul, nor a dearer friend to so many,...
Deas was known throughout the entertainment industry for his love of the movie business. He was an expert on the world’s largest film festivals and had an encylopedic knowledge of filmmakers around the world. Deas was a perpetual optimist who was rarely seen without a broad smile on his face.
“Henry Deas loved the independent film business and the industry loved him right back,” said Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, Variety Group Publisher and CEO, who worked closely with Deas and considered him a mentor.
“Henry thrived on doing right by his clients and they appreciated and supported him throughout his career and life beyond the office. We will forever miss our loving gentleman and Cannes legend. There was never a kinder soul, nor a dearer friend to so many,...
- 8/9/2023
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
With Super Bowl Lvii upon us, we wanted to know what Football (or Football related) movie was your favorite. We compiled a list of scripted movies, so you won’t see the Oscar Winning Documentary Undefeated on the list, but if that is your favorite, please click the other button and let us know why you loved it so much in the comments section.
Favorite Football Film80 For Brady (2023)American Underdog (2021)Paterno (2018)Woodlawn (2015)My All American (2015)Concussion (2015)Balls Out (2014)When The Game Stands Tall (2014)Draft Day (2014)23 Blast (2013)Touchback (2012)The 5th Quarter (2011)The Blind Side (2009)The Longshots (2008)The Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008)Leatherheads (2007)The Game Plan (2007)The Comebacks (2007)Gridiron Gang (2006)Facing The Giants (2006)We Are Marshall (2006)Invincible (2006)Two For The Money (2005)The Longest Yard (2005)Friday Night Lights (2004)Radio (2003)Monday Night Mayhem (2002)The Replacements (2000)Remember The Titans (2000)Any Given Sunday (1999)Varsity Blues (1999)Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998)The Waterboy (1998)The Garbage...
Favorite Football Film80 For Brady (2023)American Underdog (2021)Paterno (2018)Woodlawn (2015)My All American (2015)Concussion (2015)Balls Out (2014)When The Game Stands Tall (2014)Draft Day (2014)23 Blast (2013)Touchback (2012)The 5th Quarter (2011)The Blind Side (2009)The Longshots (2008)The Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008)Leatherheads (2007)The Game Plan (2007)The Comebacks (2007)Gridiron Gang (2006)Facing The Giants (2006)We Are Marshall (2006)Invincible (2006)Two For The Money (2005)The Longest Yard (2005)Friday Night Lights (2004)Radio (2003)Monday Night Mayhem (2002)The Replacements (2000)Remember The Titans (2000)Any Given Sunday (1999)Varsity Blues (1999)Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998)The Waterboy (1998)The Garbage...
- 2/12/2023
- by Brad Hamerly
- JoBlo.com
Film producer Edward S. Feldman, who received an Academy Award best picture nomination for “Witness,” died on Oct. 2 in Los Angeles, according to his publicist. He was 91.
He was also nominated for BAFTA Awards for “Witness” and “The Truman Show.” In 1977, he received an Emmy nomination in the limited series category for “21 Hours at Munich” and was nominated the following year in the same category for “King.”
His feature film producing credits included “What’s the Matter With Helen?,” “Save the Tiger,” “The Other Side of the Mountain,” “Two-Minute Warning,” “The Last Married Couple in America,” “Hot Dog…The Movie,” “The Golden Child,” “Wired,” “Green Card,” the 1994 live-action “The Jungle Book,” the live-action “101 Dalmatians,” its sequel “102 Dalmatians” and “K-19: The Widowmaker.”
“Witness” starred Harrison Ford as a detective protecting a young Amish boy who becomes a target after he witnesses a murder in Philadelphia. The film received eight Oscar nominations,...
He was also nominated for BAFTA Awards for “Witness” and “The Truman Show.” In 1977, he received an Emmy nomination in the limited series category for “21 Hours at Munich” and was nominated the following year in the same category for “King.”
His feature film producing credits included “What’s the Matter With Helen?,” “Save the Tiger,” “The Other Side of the Mountain,” “Two-Minute Warning,” “The Last Married Couple in America,” “Hot Dog…The Movie,” “The Golden Child,” “Wired,” “Green Card,” the 1994 live-action “The Jungle Book,” the live-action “101 Dalmatians,” its sequel “102 Dalmatians” and “K-19: The Widowmaker.”
“Witness” starred Harrison Ford as a detective protecting a young Amish boy who becomes a target after he witnesses a murder in Philadelphia. The film received eight Oscar nominations,...
- 10/6/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
As we seem to be in the middle of a disaster-movie revival (the Rock alone has topped neuvo variations on “Earthquake” and “The Towering Inferno”), it seems sensible enough that someone should blow the dust off 1977’s lesser-remembered 1976 “Two-Minute Warning,” in which a sniper terrorized an American football stadium. (The “disaster” part was really the panicked crowd stampede at the end.) Though actually what “Final Score” is most like, as the press materials duly note, is “‘Die Hard’ in a football stadium.”
If you think that sounds fun, you’d be right: Park your brain cells in the lobby, and this U.K. production about a terrorist attack on a London soccer stadium — with Dave Bautista as Bruce Willis plus 100 or so extra pounds of muscle — is an entertainingly over-the-top ride that doesn’t even try to be “credible.” It’s not quite daft or otherwise distinctive enough to be memorable.
If you think that sounds fun, you’d be right: Park your brain cells in the lobby, and this U.K. production about a terrorist attack on a London soccer stadium — with Dave Bautista as Bruce Willis plus 100 or so extra pounds of muscle — is an entertainingly over-the-top ride that doesn’t even try to be “credible.” It’s not quite daft or otherwise distinctive enough to be memorable.
- 9/10/2018
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
In this episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for the weeks of, June 21st and June 28th 2016.
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Follow-Up No episode last week Wrath of Khan exchange program Arrow, Twilight Time, and Criterion sales News Kino Lorber: No Retreat, No Surrender, The Lodger Warner Archive: To Have and Have Not, Silk Stockings Disney: Beauty and the Beast 25th Anniversary Edition Criteron: Pan’s Labyrinth, September Line-up Arrow: Woody Allen Box Set Olive Films: September titles Code Red: Highpoint Family Honor, Headhunter (Diabolik preorders) Studio Canal: Leaving Las Vegas Saturn Awards: Winners Links to Amazon
July 21st
99 River Street Anesthesia Appointment With Crime Cornbread Earl and Me The Crush Embrace Of The Serpent Fantastic Planet Hidden Fear Home of Our Own Knight of Cups Midnight Special Nikkatsu Diamond Guys: Vol. 2 Return of a...
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
Follow-Up No episode last week Wrath of Khan exchange program Arrow, Twilight Time, and Criterion sales News Kino Lorber: No Retreat, No Surrender, The Lodger Warner Archive: To Have and Have Not, Silk Stockings Disney: Beauty and the Beast 25th Anniversary Edition Criteron: Pan’s Labyrinth, September Line-up Arrow: Woody Allen Box Set Olive Films: September titles Code Red: Highpoint Family Honor, Headhunter (Diabolik preorders) Studio Canal: Leaving Las Vegas Saturn Awards: Winners Links to Amazon
July 21st
99 River Street Anesthesia Appointment With Crime Cornbread Earl and Me The Crush Embrace Of The Serpent Fantastic Planet Hidden Fear Home of Our Own Knight of Cups Midnight Special Nikkatsu Diamond Guys: Vol. 2 Return of a...
- 6/29/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
A mad extortionist is blowing up rollercoaster rides. Put-upon George Segal must stop him because we all know that the time, the tide and roller coasters wait for no man. Producer Jennings Lang's by-the-numbers suspense thriller is light on suspense and thrills, but the cast is good and the screenplay at least partly intelligent. And hey -- it's got a teenage Helen Hunt! Rollercoaster Blu-ray Shout! Factory 1977 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 119 min. / Street Date June 21, 2016 / 19.99 Starring George Segal, Timothy Bottoms, Henry Fonda, Helen Hunt, Harry Guardino, Susan Strasberg, Craig Wasson, Robert Quarry, Quinn Redeker, Dick Wesson, Gary Franklin, Steve Guttenberg. Cinematography David M. Walsh Original Music Lalo Schifrin Written by Richard Levinson, William Link, Tommy Cook Produced by Jennings Lang Directed by James Goldstone
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Jaws inspired plenty of rip-off movies about sharks, bears, killer whales and monster octopi threatening beaches. Since it wasn't safe to go back to the water,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Jaws inspired plenty of rip-off movies about sharks, bears, killer whales and monster octopi threatening beaches. Since it wasn't safe to go back to the water,...
- 6/18/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In this special episode of Off The Shelf, Ryan and Brian take a look at the new DVD and Blu-ray releases for Tuesday, March 1st 2016.
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
News Upcoming Warner Archive titles Absent Minded Professor on Disney Movie Club ThunderBean: Cubby Bear Pre-order Shout Factory: Rollercoaster, Two-minute Warning Scream Factory: Raising Caine, The Crush, Jeepers Creepers 1 & 2 Kino: Making Contact, Ape (3D Bluray) Plain Archive: Foxcatcher (Sold out) Episode Links & Notes Audition (Arrow UK Release) The Boy Cop Creed The Danish Girl Death Note: Complete Series Decline of Western Civilization Decline of Western Civilization Part II Gog 3D Jafar Panahi’s Taxi Kung Fu Trailers Of Fury L’Inhumaine Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash Legend Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales Paprika Pieces The Rosary Murders The Sinful Dwarf Something Different / A Bagful of Fleas Strange Brew Transformations Youth Credits Ryan Gallagher (Twitter...
Subscribe in iTunes or RSS.
News Upcoming Warner Archive titles Absent Minded Professor on Disney Movie Club ThunderBean: Cubby Bear Pre-order Shout Factory: Rollercoaster, Two-minute Warning Scream Factory: Raising Caine, The Crush, Jeepers Creepers 1 & 2 Kino: Making Contact, Ape (3D Bluray) Plain Archive: Foxcatcher (Sold out) Episode Links & Notes Audition (Arrow UK Release) The Boy Cop Creed The Danish Girl Death Note: Complete Series Decline of Western Civilization Decline of Western Civilization Part II Gog 3D Jafar Panahi’s Taxi Kung Fu Trailers Of Fury L’Inhumaine Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash Legend Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales Paprika Pieces The Rosary Murders The Sinful Dwarf Something Different / A Bagful of Fleas Strange Brew Transformations Youth Credits Ryan Gallagher (Twitter...
- 3/2/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Let’s face it, most of us have a soft spot for things blowing up in movies, and for a long time movies have been happy to feed our appetite for destruction. But it wasn’t always that way.
I know it’s hard to imagine, but there was a time when explosions weren’t so common in movies. Back then, big-budget movies had dancing and singing, and everyone had a merry time. After WWII though, things started to change. In newspapers and magazines, Americans were being exposed to terrible images of war-torn Europe and Japan. This imagery was haunting, yet it sparked some imaginations. At first, Hollywood was careful not to glamorize it. They figured out a way to show massive destruction and violence while making it fun and moderately profitable instead of soul-crushing and distasteful. The 50’s became known for its low-budget cheese-fests; sci-fi B movies featuring such...
I know it’s hard to imagine, but there was a time when explosions weren’t so common in movies. Back then, big-budget movies had dancing and singing, and everyone had a merry time. After WWII though, things started to change. In newspapers and magazines, Americans were being exposed to terrible images of war-torn Europe and Japan. This imagery was haunting, yet it sparked some imaginations. At first, Hollywood was careful not to glamorize it. They figured out a way to show massive destruction and violence while making it fun and moderately profitable instead of soul-crushing and distasteful. The 50’s became known for its low-budget cheese-fests; sci-fi B movies featuring such...
- 9/14/2015
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (G.S. Perno)
- Cinelinx
Producer Robert Evans, circa 1970s, in the documentary The Kid Stays in the Picture.
Robert Evans: The Kid Is Alright
By
Alex Simon
I interviewed legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans in 2002 for Venice Magazine, in conjunction with the release of the documentary "The Kid Stays in the Picture," adapted from his iconic autobiography and audiobook. Our chat took place at Woodland, Evans' storied estate in Beverly Hills, in his equally famous screening room, which mysteriously burned down a couple years later. Evans was still physically frail, having recently survived a series of strokes, but his mind, his wit and his charm were sharp as ever, with near total recall for people, places and stories. Many, many stories. Here are a few of them.
It’s a widely-held belief that the years 1967-76 represent the “golden age” of American cinema. Just look at a few of these titles: Rosemary’s Baby,...
Robert Evans: The Kid Is Alright
By
Alex Simon
I interviewed legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans in 2002 for Venice Magazine, in conjunction with the release of the documentary "The Kid Stays in the Picture," adapted from his iconic autobiography and audiobook. Our chat took place at Woodland, Evans' storied estate in Beverly Hills, in his equally famous screening room, which mysteriously burned down a couple years later. Evans was still physically frail, having recently survived a series of strokes, but his mind, his wit and his charm were sharp as ever, with near total recall for people, places and stories. Many, many stories. Here are a few of them.
It’s a widely-held belief that the years 1967-76 represent the “golden age” of American cinema. Just look at a few of these titles: Rosemary’s Baby,...
- 7/5/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
My First R-rated Movie Or…
How I Became The 007 Of Covert Forbidden Film Viewing
By Alex Simon
For those of us who grew up in the suburbs in the pre-home video, pre-cable TV and pre-Netflix coupons 1970s and early ‘80s, there were few dangerous pleasures as heady as sneaking into an R-rated movie at the local multiplex. The multiplex cinema was a ‘70s phenomenon that made regulating children’s viewing habits infinitely more difficult than the old days of stand-alone, single screen theaters. Ironically, the new freedom that filmmakers enjoyed with the advent of the MPAA rating system in late 1968 was almost in perfect synch with the rise of multi-screen cinemas. Some things do happen for a reason.
You never forget your first...
My first R-rated film was during Thanksgiving of 1976. We were visiting my dad’s family in Birmingham, Alabama and the men adjourned after dinner to go see Two Minute Warning,...
How I Became The 007 Of Covert Forbidden Film Viewing
By Alex Simon
For those of us who grew up in the suburbs in the pre-home video, pre-cable TV and pre-Netflix coupons 1970s and early ‘80s, there were few dangerous pleasures as heady as sneaking into an R-rated movie at the local multiplex. The multiplex cinema was a ‘70s phenomenon that made regulating children’s viewing habits infinitely more difficult than the old days of stand-alone, single screen theaters. Ironically, the new freedom that filmmakers enjoyed with the advent of the MPAA rating system in late 1968 was almost in perfect synch with the rise of multi-screen cinemas. Some things do happen for a reason.
You never forget your first...
My first R-rated film was during Thanksgiving of 1976. We were visiting my dad’s family in Birmingham, Alabama and the men adjourned after dinner to go see Two Minute Warning,...
- 3/24/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Snipers entered the public conciousness in the U.S. on August 1, 1966, when Charles Whitman shot dozens of people from a tower located on the University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas. Whitman's shooting spree claimed the lives of 14; earlier, he had killed his wife and mother in their homes. The mass murder was unprecedented in American history, and Whitman's motives remain unexplained. * Two years later, Peter Bogdanovich borrowed that story as the basis for Targets, in which a sniper on an oil tank in Los Angeles first shoots motorists driving on a nearby freeway, then flees to a drive-in theater, where he resumes his deadly attack. Nearly seven years later, in 1975, George Lafountaine's novel Two-Minute Warning appears to have been published...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 2/3/2014
- Screen Anarchy
"In the movies, people don't kill people, guns kill people. And robots. And intelligent apemen."
Here's another video supercut from Slackstory that pays tribute to the gunfights in film. Gun's have been a part of the moviegoing experience ever since they were invented, and this supercut does a decent job of giving us the best gun scenes throughout the years. Check out the video and let us know if they missed any good ones.
Source films, in order of appearance:
Dog Day Afternoon
Pulp Fiction
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Batman
Murphy's Law
Sudden Impact
Commando
Die Hard
The Terminator
The Untouchables
Blade Runner
Last Man Standing
First Blood
North by Northwest
Dr. No
Casino Royale
The World Is Not Enough
The Deer Hunter
Goodfellas
Once Upon A Time in the West
Desperado
Last Man Standing
Desperado
Last Man Standing
Dirty Harry
Planet of the Apes
Lethal Weapon
Rambo II...
Here's another video supercut from Slackstory that pays tribute to the gunfights in film. Gun's have been a part of the moviegoing experience ever since they were invented, and this supercut does a decent job of giving us the best gun scenes throughout the years. Check out the video and let us know if they missed any good ones.
Source films, in order of appearance:
Dog Day Afternoon
Pulp Fiction
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Batman
Murphy's Law
Sudden Impact
Commando
Die Hard
The Terminator
The Untouchables
Blade Runner
Last Man Standing
First Blood
North by Northwest
Dr. No
Casino Royale
The World Is Not Enough
The Deer Hunter
Goodfellas
Once Upon A Time in the West
Desperado
Last Man Standing
Desperado
Last Man Standing
Dirty Harry
Planet of the Apes
Lethal Weapon
Rambo II...
- 6/26/2013
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Actor Jack Klugman died Monday (Dec. 24) in Los Angeles at the age of 90.
His wife, Peggy, tells Los Angeles' Kabc-tv that he died at his home in Northridge.
Klugman famously played half of TV's "The Odd Couple." He won two Emmys as sloppy sportswriter Oscar Madison to Tony Randall's fussy Felix Unger on the '70s sitcom. He also starred as a medical examiner in the series "Quincy, M.E." from 1976 to 1983.
He lost his voice to throat cancer in the '80s but retrained himself to speak and returned to acting in the Broadway's "Three Men on a Horse" in 1993.
As for film roles, he appeared in "12 Angry Men" (1957), "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962), "Goodbye, Columbus" (1969) and "Two-Minute Warning" (1976).
Klugman is survived by his wife, sons, David and Adam, and two grandchildren.
His wife, Peggy, tells Los Angeles' Kabc-tv that he died at his home in Northridge.
Klugman famously played half of TV's "The Odd Couple." He won two Emmys as sloppy sportswriter Oscar Madison to Tony Randall's fussy Felix Unger on the '70s sitcom. He also starred as a medical examiner in the series "Quincy, M.E." from 1976 to 1983.
He lost his voice to throat cancer in the '80s but retrained himself to speak and returned to acting in the Broadway's "Three Men on a Horse" in 1993.
As for film roles, he appeared in "12 Angry Men" (1957), "Days of Wine and Roses" (1962), "Goodbye, Columbus" (1969) and "Two-Minute Warning" (1976).
Klugman is survived by his wife, sons, David and Adam, and two grandchildren.
- 12/24/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Shadows
Written by John Cassavetes
Directed by John Cassavetes
USA, 1959
“We did everything wrong, technically…. The only thing we did right was to get a group of people together who were young, full of life, and wanted to do something of meaning.” – John Cassavetes
As one of the first movies to be produced outside of the Hollywood studio system, John Cassavetes’ self-financed Shadows (1959) is a pioneering movie in the history of American independent cinema. Favoring an approach influenced by theatre, Cassavetes cast amateur actors and friends in a semi-improvised character study about three siblings living in 1950’s New York. Produced on a small budget, Shadows was shot in Cassavetes’ own apartment and out on the streets of Manhattan, while friends stood on look out watching for the police.
In the final credits of Shadows Cassavetes mischievously proclaimed, “The film you have just seen was an improvisation”. If Jean-Luc Godard’s...
Written by John Cassavetes
Directed by John Cassavetes
USA, 1959
“We did everything wrong, technically…. The only thing we did right was to get a group of people together who were young, full of life, and wanted to do something of meaning.” – John Cassavetes
As one of the first movies to be produced outside of the Hollywood studio system, John Cassavetes’ self-financed Shadows (1959) is a pioneering movie in the history of American independent cinema. Favoring an approach influenced by theatre, Cassavetes cast amateur actors and friends in a semi-improvised character study about three siblings living in 1950’s New York. Produced on a small budget, Shadows was shot in Cassavetes’ own apartment and out on the streets of Manhattan, while friends stood on look out watching for the police.
In the final credits of Shadows Cassavetes mischievously proclaimed, “The film you have just seen was an improvisation”. If Jean-Luc Godard’s...
- 11/1/2011
- by Tom Jarvis
- SoundOnSight
Taxi Driver returns to the big screen this week. John Patterson, who has seen it many times, says this American parable is ever more relevant today
I first met "God's Lonely Man" at the end of the 70s, the night before I moved to the United States. It was just something to pass the time before getting myself to the airport, but after Taxi Driver's climactic whorehouse massacre, which leaves blood, brains and hair on many a wall, I began to wonder whether this whole moving to America business was such a good idea after all.
Cut to three years later, June 1982: I take my father to a double-bill, this time in Washington DC, about four blocks from the White House. First up was a thinly attended screening of The Deer Hunter, which I and my father, a military man, concurred was utter bollocks; but before Taxi Driver...
I first met "God's Lonely Man" at the end of the 70s, the night before I moved to the United States. It was just something to pass the time before getting myself to the airport, but after Taxi Driver's climactic whorehouse massacre, which leaves blood, brains and hair on many a wall, I began to wonder whether this whole moving to America business was such a good idea after all.
Cut to three years later, June 1982: I take my father to a double-bill, this time in Washington DC, about four blocks from the White House. First up was a thinly attended screening of The Deer Hunter, which I and my father, a military man, concurred was utter bollocks; but before Taxi Driver...
- 5/6/2011
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Our Emmy guru Chris "Boomer" Beachum notes these fascinating Emmy factoids:
● The comedy lead actress race has three former "Saturday Night Live" cast members as nominees (Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Amy Poehler).
● "Glee" received nominations in every single acting category (both leads, both supportings, both guests).
● The comedy supporting actor race has three cast members from "Modern Family." It is only the third time this has happened in this category (both other times for "Cheers" -- 1985 with Nicholas Colasanto, John Ratzenberger and George Wendt and 1988 with Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson and George Wendt).
● With that top bid for "The Good Wife," this is the first year CBS has had a drama series nominee since "Joan of Arcadia" in 2004.
● With an Emmy win for "Lost" next month, composer Michael Giacchino would have won an Emmy, Grammy and Oscar all in 2010. He also won an Emmy in 2005 for composing the score of "Lost.
● The comedy lead actress race has three former "Saturday Night Live" cast members as nominees (Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Amy Poehler).
● "Glee" received nominations in every single acting category (both leads, both supportings, both guests).
● The comedy supporting actor race has three cast members from "Modern Family." It is only the third time this has happened in this category (both other times for "Cheers" -- 1985 with Nicholas Colasanto, John Ratzenberger and George Wendt and 1988 with Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson and George Wendt).
● With that top bid for "The Good Wife," this is the first year CBS has had a drama series nominee since "Joan of Arcadia" in 2004.
● With an Emmy win for "Lost" next month, composer Michael Giacchino would have won an Emmy, Grammy and Oscar all in 2010. He also won an Emmy in 2005 for composing the score of "Lost.
- 7/9/2010
- by tomoneil
- Gold Derby
“Super Bowl Super-8 Movie Madness ”at the Way Out Club will be held on (Super Bowl) Sunday, February 7th from 8pm to Midnight. If you’re not familiar with the madness, here’s a brief rundown: Remember (before video tapes) the Super-8 films they used to sell in the 1950’s and 60’s that were condensed versions of features? In the 1970’s they sold Sound versions of these films and 16 of these will be projected on a large screen at the Way Out Club (they average about 15 minutes each).
Admission is a measly Two Bucks!!!!
In honor of the Super Bowl, I’ll be showing five football-related films. They are: Two-minute Warning (Charlton Heston vs a Sniper at the Super Bowl), Black Sunday (Bruce Dern and his blimp full of exploding nails at the Super Bowl), M*A*S*H (with the football game climax), Horse Feathers (The Marx Brothers playing...
Admission is a measly Two Bucks!!!!
In honor of the Super Bowl, I’ll be showing five football-related films. They are: Two-minute Warning (Charlton Heston vs a Sniper at the Super Bowl), Black Sunday (Bruce Dern and his blimp full of exploding nails at the Super Bowl), M*A*S*H (with the football game climax), Horse Feathers (The Marx Brothers playing...
- 2/2/2010
- by Tom
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Charlton Heston, the square-jawed movie star who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Ben-Hur and was famed for a number of other epic films, died Saturday night at the age of 84. Though an official cause of death was not initially released, the actor had announced in 2002 that he was battling Alzheimer's disease, and had withdrawn from professional appearances after the diagnosis. An actor at first well-known for his portrayal of historical figures -- in addition to his role as Ben-Hur, he also played Michelangelo, El Cid, Moses, and John the Baptist -- Heston's fame later in life was highlighted by his polarizing views on gun control, as the actor was elected president of the National Rifle Association in 1998 and vigorously defended the rights of gun owners throughout the country. Indeed the role of political activist, which he embraced throughout his life, almost overshadowed his impressive acting career, which started in theater and television before graduating to the silver screen.
Born in Evanston, IL, Heston was the son of a mill owner who found his life's ambition in acting and found his first big breaks on the Broadway stage and in the nascent medium of television. He made his debut in the 1950 film noir thriller Dark City, and within two years headlined (alongside established stars Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde) the 1952 Best Picture Oscar winner, The Greatest Show on Earth, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Though he continued to work in a number of lower-profile films, including Ruby Gentry and The Naked Jungle, it was DeMille who in 1956 gave the actor one of his most iconic roles, that of Moses in the Biblical epic The Ten Commandments, a sweeping, captivating, over-the-top film that pioneered cinematic special effects with its parting of the Red Sea, and in its depiction of the turbulent political lives and love lives of its stars -- Heston, Yul Brynner as the Pharoah and Anne Baxter as the woman torn between them -- became the quintessential studio epic of its time, favored as much for its close-to-camp emotional broadness as well as its impressive scale. Heston did a 180-degree turnaround from that statuesque role with 1958's Touch of Evil, the Orson Welles thriller that remains a classic to this day in which he played a Mexican narcotics officer drawn into a lurid drug ring. Heston won his Best Actor Oscar in 1959 for another lavish, larger-than-life historical epic, Ben-Hur, which with its famed chariot race and story set against the backdrop of ancient Rome won a record 11 Academy Awards, a feat not equalled until Titanic's similar win in 1997.
After Ben-Hur, Heston's status as a star was firmly cemented, and throughout the 1960s roles in such films as El Cid, 55 Days at Peking, The Greatest Story Ever Told (where he played John the Baptist), The Agony and the Ecstasy (his Michelangelo going up against Rex Harrison's Pope Julius II), and Khartoum followed. He found another legendary screen character in 1968's Planet of the Apes, as an astronaut who finds himself on a futuristic Earth now populated by evolved simians who have enslaved the human race. As with his other roles, Heston perfectly balanced the camp aspects of the story with a gravitas that helped ground the sci-fi thriller with a modern-day resonance that helped audiences identify with the hero's plight. (Heston briefly reprised his role in the sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes). The 1970s saw the actor again in futuristic roles in The Omega Man (based on the same story as last year's I Am Legend) and Soylent Green, as well as the disaster epics Airport 1975 and Earthquake. Heston's later film career was made up primarily of thrillers (Gray Lady Down, Two-Minute Warning, The Awakening), television appearances (most notably in Dynasty and its spinoff, The Colbys), and cameos in a variety of high-profile films (Wayne's World 2, Tombstone, True Lies, Hamlet, Any Given Sunday, and the remake of Planet of the Apes, among others). By 1978, Heston had received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild; on the down side, he also regrettably won a Razzie award in 2002 for his supporting performances in Cats & Dogs and Town and Country.
Heston's film career often became overshadowed by his political activities. In the 1960s he was an early, vocal and visible participant in the Civil Rights movement; joining Martin Luther King's march on Washington. In the 1980s and onward, as the former president of the Screen Actors Guild and onetime chairman of the American Film Institute he championed conservative causes and campaigned aggressively against gun control, becoming president of the National Rifle Association in 1998 and speaking out against then-President Bill Clinton on the subject. Becoming yet another icon, Heston found himself revered and reviled by supporters on both sides of the issue and became the surprising center of a highly emotional culture war, using his fame to speak out in favor of a number of conservative issues (he changed his political stance from Democrat to Republican in the late 1980s). Using his position as a Time-Warner stock holder he castigated the company for profiting from the sales of an Ice-T album which included the song "Cop Killer," reading the lyrics to the song aloud at a stockholder meeting. His career as gun-control opponent reached an apotheosis with his appearance in 2000 when he vowed that they could take his guns when they pried the weapons "from my cold, dead hands." Later, in Michael Moore's 2002 Oscar-winning Bowling for Columbine, a visibly diminished Heston refused to answer Moore's barrage of questions regarding gun deaths, particularly for the callousness of Heston attending an NRA meeting in Denver shortly after the nearby Columbine school massacres. A year later, Heston received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and he officially disclosed that he was battling Alzheimer's; he consequently withdrew from public life.
Heston is survived by his wife Lydia Clarke, to whom he was married 64 years, and their two children, Fraser Clarke Heston and Holly Heston Rochell. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff...
Born in Evanston, IL, Heston was the son of a mill owner who found his life's ambition in acting and found his first big breaks on the Broadway stage and in the nascent medium of television. He made his debut in the 1950 film noir thriller Dark City, and within two years headlined (alongside established stars Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde) the 1952 Best Picture Oscar winner, The Greatest Show on Earth, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Though he continued to work in a number of lower-profile films, including Ruby Gentry and The Naked Jungle, it was DeMille who in 1956 gave the actor one of his most iconic roles, that of Moses in the Biblical epic The Ten Commandments, a sweeping, captivating, over-the-top film that pioneered cinematic special effects with its parting of the Red Sea, and in its depiction of the turbulent political lives and love lives of its stars -- Heston, Yul Brynner as the Pharoah and Anne Baxter as the woman torn between them -- became the quintessential studio epic of its time, favored as much for its close-to-camp emotional broadness as well as its impressive scale. Heston did a 180-degree turnaround from that statuesque role with 1958's Touch of Evil, the Orson Welles thriller that remains a classic to this day in which he played a Mexican narcotics officer drawn into a lurid drug ring. Heston won his Best Actor Oscar in 1959 for another lavish, larger-than-life historical epic, Ben-Hur, which with its famed chariot race and story set against the backdrop of ancient Rome won a record 11 Academy Awards, a feat not equalled until Titanic's similar win in 1997.
After Ben-Hur, Heston's status as a star was firmly cemented, and throughout the 1960s roles in such films as El Cid, 55 Days at Peking, The Greatest Story Ever Told (where he played John the Baptist), The Agony and the Ecstasy (his Michelangelo going up against Rex Harrison's Pope Julius II), and Khartoum followed. He found another legendary screen character in 1968's Planet of the Apes, as an astronaut who finds himself on a futuristic Earth now populated by evolved simians who have enslaved the human race. As with his other roles, Heston perfectly balanced the camp aspects of the story with a gravitas that helped ground the sci-fi thriller with a modern-day resonance that helped audiences identify with the hero's plight. (Heston briefly reprised his role in the sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes). The 1970s saw the actor again in futuristic roles in The Omega Man (based on the same story as last year's I Am Legend) and Soylent Green, as well as the disaster epics Airport 1975 and Earthquake. Heston's later film career was made up primarily of thrillers (Gray Lady Down, Two-Minute Warning, The Awakening), television appearances (most notably in Dynasty and its spinoff, The Colbys), and cameos in a variety of high-profile films (Wayne's World 2, Tombstone, True Lies, Hamlet, Any Given Sunday, and the remake of Planet of the Apes, among others). By 1978, Heston had received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild; on the down side, he also regrettably won a Razzie award in 2002 for his supporting performances in Cats & Dogs and Town and Country.
Heston's film career often became overshadowed by his political activities. In the 1960s he was an early, vocal and visible participant in the Civil Rights movement; joining Martin Luther King's march on Washington. In the 1980s and onward, as the former president of the Screen Actors Guild and onetime chairman of the American Film Institute he championed conservative causes and campaigned aggressively against gun control, becoming president of the National Rifle Association in 1998 and speaking out against then-President Bill Clinton on the subject. Becoming yet another icon, Heston found himself revered and reviled by supporters on both sides of the issue and became the surprising center of a highly emotional culture war, using his fame to speak out in favor of a number of conservative issues (he changed his political stance from Democrat to Republican in the late 1980s). Using his position as a Time-Warner stock holder he castigated the company for profiting from the sales of an Ice-T album which included the song "Cop Killer," reading the lyrics to the song aloud at a stockholder meeting. His career as gun-control opponent reached an apotheosis with his appearance in 2000 when he vowed that they could take his guns when they pried the weapons "from my cold, dead hands." Later, in Michael Moore's 2002 Oscar-winning Bowling for Columbine, a visibly diminished Heston refused to answer Moore's barrage of questions regarding gun deaths, particularly for the callousness of Heston attending an NRA meeting in Denver shortly after the nearby Columbine school massacres. A year later, Heston received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and he officially disclosed that he was battling Alzheimer's; he consequently withdrew from public life.
Heston is survived by his wife Lydia Clarke, to whom he was married 64 years, and their two children, Fraser Clarke Heston and Holly Heston Rochell. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff...
- 4/6/2008
- IMDb News
Actor Brock Peters, best known for his role as Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape in the classic film To Kill a Mockingbird, died Tuesday in Los Angeles of pancreatic cancer; he was 78. According to reports, he had been diagnosed with the disease in January and had been receiving chemotherapy treatments, and the actor passed away at his home surrounded by family. An actor with a distinctive, authoritarian baritone who worked extensively in films, television and on the stage, Peters made his film debut in the lush melodrama Carmen Jones, an re-imagining of Bizet's Carmen starring Dorothy Dandridge, and appeared five years later in another musical adaptation, Porgy and Bess. In 1962, Peters took the role of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, and during filming was befriended by star Gregory Peck; in fact, Peters read the eulogy at Peck's funeral in 2003. His magnetic and heartbreaking performance in Mockingbird led to roles in The L-Shaped Room and The Pawnbroker, and though he rarely achieved leading man status, Peters worked steadily throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s in both movies and TV, and received a Tony nomination in 1973 for Lost in the Stars. He appeared in thrillers Soylent Green and Two-Minute Warning, miniseries Roots: The Next Generation, and innumerable guest spots on television series ranging from Gunsmoke to The Bionic Woman. To a later generation of fans, Peters was known for two different Star Trek roles, playing Admiral Cartwright in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as well as a recurring role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Joseph Sisko, the father of star Avery Brooks' character. In 1991, Peters received a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild. Peters is survived by his longtime companion Marilyn Darby and a daughter from his first marriage. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 8/23/2005
- WENN
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