Deon Taylor, director of the recently released thriller “Fatale,” is set to direct “Freedom Ride,” a biopic about the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis and his leadership of the 1961 Freedom Riders.
Taylor will also executive produce through his Hidden Empire Film Group alongside his partner Robert F. Smith, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump and documentarian Steven Vosburgh, who will write the script based on his interviews with Lewis and other Freedom Riders. Producers include Inde Companies’ Kim Leadford and Mark R. Harris, The Hideaway Entertainment’s Matthew Rhodes and Hidden Empire Film Group’s Roxanne Avent Taylor.
The Freedom Riders were a group of protesters who challenged the non-enforcement of Supreme Court rulings that found segregated public buses to be unconstitutional. The Riders risked their lives by traveling throughout the Deep South in desegregated buses, and were regularly attacked by white mobs led by the Ku Klux Klan. Their efforts...
Taylor will also executive produce through his Hidden Empire Film Group alongside his partner Robert F. Smith, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump and documentarian Steven Vosburgh, who will write the script based on his interviews with Lewis and other Freedom Riders. Producers include Inde Companies’ Kim Leadford and Mark R. Harris, The Hideaway Entertainment’s Matthew Rhodes and Hidden Empire Film Group’s Roxanne Avent Taylor.
The Freedom Riders were a group of protesters who challenged the non-enforcement of Supreme Court rulings that found segregated public buses to be unconstitutional. The Riders risked their lives by traveling throughout the Deep South in desegregated buses, and were regularly attacked by white mobs led by the Ku Klux Klan. Their efforts...
- 2/4/2021
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Producers targeting summer start in Georgia and Alabama.
Deon Taylor has come on board to direct Civil Rights drama Freedom Ride, recounting the efforts by the late Congressman John Lewis and other activists to end segregation laws.
The Hideaway Entertainment, Inde Companies and Hidden Empire Film Group have targeted a summer production start and plan to film in Atlanta, Georgia, and Birmingham, Alabama.
Steven Vosburgh, Dusdi Fissette, and Taylor wrote the screenplay set in 1961 about the Freedom Riders – a multiracial group of young activists led by Lewis, who went on to become a Congressman and died last summer, as they...
Deon Taylor has come on board to direct Civil Rights drama Freedom Ride, recounting the efforts by the late Congressman John Lewis and other activists to end segregation laws.
The Hideaway Entertainment, Inde Companies and Hidden Empire Film Group have targeted a summer production start and plan to film in Atlanta, Georgia, and Birmingham, Alabama.
Steven Vosburgh, Dusdi Fissette, and Taylor wrote the screenplay set in 1961 about the Freedom Riders – a multiracial group of young activists led by Lewis, who went on to become a Congressman and died last summer, as they...
- 2/4/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Deon Taylor is set to direct Freedom Ride, a period drama that will be produced by The Hideaway Entertainment’s Matthew Rhodes (Cherry), Inde Companies’ Kim Leadford (The Butler), Mark R. Harris (Crash) and Hidden Empire Film Group’s Roxanne Avent Taylor (Fatale). Taylor, whose films include Fatale and Black and Blue, has written the script with Steven Vosburgh and Dusdi Fissette based on first-person accounts by a dozen of the original Freedom Riders, including the late civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John Lewis.
Taylor and his Hidden Empire Film Group partner Robert F. Smith will be exec producers, along with Benjamin Crump and his company Brooklyn Media. Crump is the noted civil rights attorney who represents the family of the late George Floyd and repped the family of Trayvon Martin. The filmmakers will go out quickly to land a distributor for the package, in time for a hoped-for summer start date.
Taylor and his Hidden Empire Film Group partner Robert F. Smith will be exec producers, along with Benjamin Crump and his company Brooklyn Media. Crump is the noted civil rights attorney who represents the family of the late George Floyd and repped the family of Trayvon Martin. The filmmakers will go out quickly to land a distributor for the package, in time for a hoped-for summer start date.
- 2/4/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, the 2020 awards season schedule gets finalized; Afm will cover immersive content; “Murderous Trance” and “7 Days to Vegas” get acquired; and Kate Katzman has been added to “The Comeback Trail.”
Awards Date
The Makeup Artists & Hair Stylists Guild has set Jan. 11 as the date for its seventh annual awards show, four weeks and a day ahead of the 92nd Academy Awards.
The 2020 awards season will have more shows in a tighter time period than usual since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is moving its show forward two weeks.
The announcement was made Wednesday by Julie Socash, president of the guild, which operates as Local 706 of the International Alliance of the Theatrical Stage Employees. The guild also said nominations voting would take place between Oct. 28 and Nov. 8 with nominations announced on Nov. 11. Nominations for Lifetime Achievement Awards nominees will be announced July 9 with voting to open between Aug.
Awards Date
The Makeup Artists & Hair Stylists Guild has set Jan. 11 as the date for its seventh annual awards show, four weeks and a day ahead of the 92nd Academy Awards.
The 2020 awards season will have more shows in a tighter time period than usual since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is moving its show forward two weeks.
The announcement was made Wednesday by Julie Socash, president of the guild, which operates as Local 706 of the International Alliance of the Theatrical Stage Employees. The guild also said nominations voting would take place between Oct. 28 and Nov. 8 with nominations announced on Nov. 11. Nominations for Lifetime Achievement Awards nominees will be announced July 9 with voting to open between Aug.
- 6/27/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Mark R. Harris’ Los Angeles-based production shingle, The Harris Company, has optioned the crime series Darby Holland from veteran tattoo artist and crime novelist Jeff Johnson for six-figures in a bidding war that took place over the holiday.
Harris, whose credits include Gods and Monsters (which won Best Adapted Screenplay for Bill Condon) and the Academy-Award winning Best Picture Crash (2004), is producing. Kate Orsini is on board to pen the script for a planned television series.
The first in the crime series is Lucky Supreme, which was released by Arcade Publishing in April of last year to critical acclaim and was named Best Crime Novel of the year by Medium.
The logline: “in the gritty urban wilds of Old Town, Portland Oregon, the series follows the eponymous fixer Darby Holland, who runs a venerable tattoo parlor and leads his talented crew...
Harris, whose credits include Gods and Monsters (which won Best Adapted Screenplay for Bill Condon) and the Academy-Award winning Best Picture Crash (2004), is producing. Kate Orsini is on board to pen the script for a planned television series.
The first in the crime series is Lucky Supreme, which was released by Arcade Publishing in April of last year to critical acclaim and was named Best Crime Novel of the year by Medium.
The logline: “in the gritty urban wilds of Old Town, Portland Oregon, the series follows the eponymous fixer Darby Holland, who runs a venerable tattoo parlor and leads his talented crew...
- 1/2/2019
- by Anita Busch
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Wife” director Björn Runge has signed on to direct the indie feature “Remember Me.”
Runge will direct from a script written by Stephen Glantz, which is based on the true story of Abe and Regina Tauber, who fell in love at a young age, were separated by the German invasion of Poland, and their journey, thereafter, is an unbelievable tale of survival.
The pic will be produced by Kim Waltrip of Wonderstar Productions, Mark R. Harris of the Harris Company, and Patti Gribow.
“‘Remember Me’ is a script with a very strong emotional force. It’s a story about love and it’s a story about survival under severe circumstances,” said Runge. “As a director, it’s a true privilege to be a part of this upcoming film. It’s about strong characters dealing with a whole spectra of human behavior. What gets the leading characters Regina and Abe...
Runge will direct from a script written by Stephen Glantz, which is based on the true story of Abe and Regina Tauber, who fell in love at a young age, were separated by the German invasion of Poland, and their journey, thereafter, is an unbelievable tale of survival.
The pic will be produced by Kim Waltrip of Wonderstar Productions, Mark R. Harris of the Harris Company, and Patti Gribow.
“‘Remember Me’ is a script with a very strong emotional force. It’s a story about love and it’s a story about survival under severe circumstances,” said Runge. “As a director, it’s a true privilege to be a part of this upcoming film. It’s about strong characters dealing with a whole spectra of human behavior. What gets the leading characters Regina and Abe...
- 7/31/2018
- by Justin Kroll
- Variety Film + TV
Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” is one of the last remaining Oscar contenders set to debut at the end of the year, and early reactions suggest the Pentagon Papers drama is going to be a major awards juggernaut. While we’ll have to wait a few more days for the review embargo to lift, critics who have seen the film have begun sharing their thoughts on social media and the first reactions are mostly glowing, especially in regards to Meryl Streep’s performance.
Read More:Steven Spielberg’s Pentagon Papers Drama ‘The Post’ Earns Standing Ovation After First Screening
“The Post” centers around the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post’s Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), as they race to publish to the Pentagon Papers and reveal the truth about America’s involvement in Vietnam. The movie...
Read More:Steven Spielberg’s Pentagon Papers Drama ‘The Post’ Earns Standing Ovation After First Screening
“The Post” centers around the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post’s Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), as they race to publish to the Pentagon Papers and reveal the truth about America’s involvement in Vietnam. The movie...
- 11/28/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: In the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein story and all that it involves — as people reconsider their relationship to the Miramax films of the ’90s (or don’t) and brace for a new Woody Allen movie, etc. — we return to an age-old question that could always stand to be asked anew: How should the backstory of a film and / or its makers impact the way we receive it?
Kate Erbland (@katerbland), IndieWire
When horrifying accusations like the ones waged against Harvey Weinstein come to light, it’s very easy to scream for a boycott and move on (and, as we often see in cases like these,...
This week’s question: In the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein story and all that it involves — as people reconsider their relationship to the Miramax films of the ’90s (or don’t) and brace for a new Woody Allen movie, etc. — we return to an age-old question that could always stand to be asked anew: How should the backstory of a film and / or its makers impact the way we receive it?
Kate Erbland (@katerbland), IndieWire
When horrifying accusations like the ones waged against Harvey Weinstein come to light, it’s very easy to scream for a boycott and move on (and, as we often see in cases like these,...
- 10/16/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Above: Polish poster for The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, Italy/Algeria, 1965). Designer: Jerzy Flisak.As the 55th New York Film Festival winds down this weekend, I thought I’d look back half a century at the films of the 5th edition. That 1967 festival, programmed by Amos Vogel, Richard Roud, Arthur Knight, Andrew Sarris and Susan Sontag, featured 21 new films, all but three of which were from Europe (six of them from France, 2 and 1/7 of them directed by Godard), all of which showed at Lincoln Center’s Philharmonic Hall. (They also programmed Gance’s Napoleon, Mamoulian’s Applause and King Vidor’s Show People in the retrospective slots). The only director to have a film in both the 1967 festival and the 2017 edition is Agnès Varda, who was one of the directors of the omnibus Far From Vietnam and was then already 12 years into her filmmaking career.It will come as...
- 10/13/2017
- MUBI
Simon Brew Sep 28, 2017
Meet the film reviewer who gave Warner Bros a review even better than a five star rave...
The late 1960s were widely regarded as a turning point for American cinema, and this was thrown into focus by the nominees for the 40th Academy Awards. Held on April 10th 1968, and celebrating films released in 1967, the line-up of five Best Picture candidates notably had only one film that could be bracketed as traditional Hollywood. Even then, the bloated Doctor Dolittle, featuring Rex Harrison gamely trying to belt out a few tunes across the best part of three hours, was disregarded pretty much the minute the nominees were read out. Instead, the focus turned to the other four contenders.
In The Heat Of The Night took home Best Picture gold in the end, beating out The Graduate and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. But also in the mix was...
Meet the film reviewer who gave Warner Bros a review even better than a five star rave...
The late 1960s were widely regarded as a turning point for American cinema, and this was thrown into focus by the nominees for the 40th Academy Awards. Held on April 10th 1968, and celebrating films released in 1967, the line-up of five Best Picture candidates notably had only one film that could be bracketed as traditional Hollywood. Even then, the bloated Doctor Dolittle, featuring Rex Harrison gamely trying to belt out a few tunes across the best part of three hours, was disregarded pretty much the minute the nominees were read out. Instead, the focus turned to the other four contenders.
In The Heat Of The Night took home Best Picture gold in the end, beating out The Graduate and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner. But also in the mix was...
- 9/27/2017
- Den of Geek
Ayesha Curry isn’t too upset that Donald Trump has disinvited the Golden State Warriors to the White House over comments made by her husband Stephen Curry.
The 28-year-old chef and cookbook author responded to the president with an eyeroll emoji on Twitter after he tweeted Saturday morning that Stephen and the 2017 NBA finals champs are not welcome for a visit.
“Donate to earthquake relief here,” Ayesha wrote, focusing her priorities instead on raising money for Unicef in response to the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that ripped through Mexico City earlier this week and the 6.1 magnitude earthquake that hit southern Mexico Saturday.
The 28-year-old chef and cookbook author responded to the president with an eyeroll emoji on Twitter after he tweeted Saturday morning that Stephen and the 2017 NBA finals champs are not welcome for a visit.
“Donate to earthquake relief here,” Ayesha wrote, focusing her priorities instead on raising money for Unicef in response to the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that ripped through Mexico City earlier this week and the 6.1 magnitude earthquake that hit southern Mexico Saturday.
- 9/23/2017
- by Dave Quinn
- PEOPLE.com
Not everyone was laughing over former White House press secretary Sean Spicer‘s ostensibly comic cameo at the 2017 Emmys.
Many on Twitter are bashing Emmys producers for allowing Spicer to appear onstage alongside Stephen Colbert, where President Donald Trump‘s former spokesman cracked a joke about the crowd size at Sunday night’s show, saying, “This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period, both in person and around the world.”
Colbert, the Late Show host who, according to CNNMoney, was the brains behind the cameo, said he and his producers knew there would be blowback—and they were right.
Many on Twitter are bashing Emmys producers for allowing Spicer to appear onstage alongside Stephen Colbert, where President Donald Trump‘s former spokesman cracked a joke about the crowd size at Sunday night’s show, saying, “This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period, both in person and around the world.”
Colbert, the Late Show host who, according to CNNMoney, was the brains behind the cameo, said he and his producers knew there would be blowback—and they were right.
- 9/18/2017
- by Tierney McAfee
- PEOPLE.com
Hollywood is mourning Sam Shepard after his death of complications from Als. He was 73.
Shepard’s theater representative confirms to People that Shepard passed away at his home in Kentucky on Thursday, July 27, from complications from Als, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The actor’s battle with Als was not publicly known. He was with his family at the time of his death.
As news of his death became public, celebrities and fans alike began mourning the accomplished writer and actor.
“I loved Sam. He has been a huge part of my life, who I am, and he will remain so.
Shepard’s theater representative confirms to People that Shepard passed away at his home in Kentucky on Thursday, July 27, from complications from Als, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The actor’s battle with Als was not publicly known. He was with his family at the time of his death.
As news of his death became public, celebrities and fans alike began mourning the accomplished writer and actor.
“I loved Sam. He has been a huge part of my life, who I am, and he will remain so.
- 7/31/2017
- by Ale Russian
- PEOPLE.com
Delta Air Lines and Bank of America have pulled their sponsorship of a New York City production of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” that includes the bloody assassination of a leader resembling President Trump.
The play, currently showing at The Public Theater, was staged in Central Park on June 6, as part of this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park. The production’s assassination scene has drawn criticism from Fox News, Breitbart News and the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.
Delta Air Lines explained its decision in a statement on Twitter.
“No matter what your political stance may be,...
The play, currently showing at The Public Theater, was staged in Central Park on June 6, as part of this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park. The production’s assassination scene has drawn criticism from Fox News, Breitbart News and the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.
Delta Air Lines explained its decision in a statement on Twitter.
“No matter what your political stance may be,...
- 6/12/2017
- by Tierney McAfee
- PEOPLE.com
Antonio Sabato Jr. is running for Congress in California.
According to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, the 45-year-old actor is challenging Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village), the Los Angeles Times reports.
The L.A. resident will go against Brownley — who represents the southern central coast and most of Ventura County — in the 2018 election, according to the La Times.
CNN reports that the actor was inspired to run for office throughout President Donald Trump‘s election cycle.
“Brownley is a very junior member in the minority party,” Charles Moran, who is Sabato Jr.’s top fundraiser, told CNN.
According to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, the 45-year-old actor is challenging Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village), the Los Angeles Times reports.
The L.A. resident will go against Brownley — who represents the southern central coast and most of Ventura County — in the 2018 election, according to the La Times.
CNN reports that the actor was inspired to run for office throughout President Donald Trump‘s election cycle.
“Brownley is a very junior member in the minority party,” Charles Moran, who is Sabato Jr.’s top fundraiser, told CNN.
- 5/8/2017
- by Natalie Stone
- PEOPLE.com
Jordan Peele’s Next Film Is Another ‘Social Thriller’ With A Budget Five Times Bigger Than ‘Get Out’
In an excellent piece at Vulture this week, Mark Harris talked about how Hollywood tends to learn the wrong lessons from a surprise hit like Jordan Peele’s “Get Out,” a movie that has made a remarkable $170 million on a budget of just $4.5 million. “Hollywood is an engulfing beast,” Harris wrote, “and its instinct is to incorporate — to get someone like Peele aboard the ship rather than to re-steer the ship itself.”
Indeed, the only project that Peele has been connected to was a rumor that Warner Bros.
Continue reading Jordan Peele’s Next Film Is Another ‘Social Thriller’ With A Budget Five Times Bigger Than ‘Get Out’ at The Playlist.
Indeed, the only project that Peele has been connected to was a rumor that Warner Bros.
Continue reading Jordan Peele’s Next Film Is Another ‘Social Thriller’ With A Budget Five Times Bigger Than ‘Get Out’ at The Playlist.
- 5/3/2017
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Fox is once again beefing up its reality programming. Will its new Kicking & Screaming TV show fill the bill? Can the survivalist competition series survive in a cutthroat ratings market? Will Kicking & Screaming be cancelled or renewed for season two? Stay tuned.Kicking & Screaming is created by Matt Kunitz, David Shumsky, and Mark Harris. Kunitz and Anthony Dominici executive produce. New Girl‘s Hannah Simone hosts the Fox TV series. The reality show teams 10 expert survivalists with "indoorsy" types for “the race of their lives.” In a tropical jungle in Fiji, these mismatched teammates will face dangerous animals, raging rivers, hunger and extreme weather. Although the survivalists can fend for themselves, there are not prepared for their partners, who think “glamping” is roughing it. The first season contestants include a former beauty pageant winner, a model, and a professional...
- 4/29/2017
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director of The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, and much more, died Wednesday at age of 73.
Demme’s varied career not only covered feature films; he was an accomplished director of concert films and documentaries as well, working with an equally diverse array of talent, from Oprah Winfrey and Laura Dern to Justin Timberlake and Spalding Gray.
As news of the filmmaker’s death continues to spread, celebrities and influencers within the entertainment industry have begun sharing their reactions on social media. See a selection of remembrances below
Very sad to hear of...
Demme’s varied career not only covered feature films; he was an accomplished director of concert films and documentaries as well, working with an equally diverse array of talent, from Oprah Winfrey and Laura Dern to Justin Timberlake and Spalding Gray.
As news of the filmmaker’s death continues to spread, celebrities and influencers within the entertainment industry have begun sharing their reactions on social media. See a selection of remembrances below
Very sad to hear of...
- 4/26/2017
- by Dan Heching
- PEOPLE.com
After The Fox
Blu-ray
Kino Lorber
2017 / Color / 2.35 : 1 widescreen / Street Date March 22, 2017
Starring: Peter Sellers, Victor Mature, Martin Balsem, Akim Tamiroff.
Cinematography: Leonida Barboni
Film Editor: Russell Lloyd
Written by Neil Simon and Cesare Zavattini
Produced by John Bryan
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
After The Fox, a sunny mid-sixties farce about con-artists and movie-makers, boasts a powerhouse pedigree featuring leading men Peter Sellers and Victor Mature, a script by Neil Simon and Cesare Zavattini, music by Burt Bacharach, poster art from Frank Frazetta and the legendary director/actor/gambler Vittorio De Sica at the helm.
With such diverse talent on board, the film was somewhat misleadingly promoted as another in the line of 60’s screwball hipster comedies like Casino Royale and What’s New Pussycat. But the result is closer to De Sica’s laid back charmers from the ‘50s, Miracle in Milan and Gold of Naples (in fact,...
Blu-ray
Kino Lorber
2017 / Color / 2.35 : 1 widescreen / Street Date March 22, 2017
Starring: Peter Sellers, Victor Mature, Martin Balsem, Akim Tamiroff.
Cinematography: Leonida Barboni
Film Editor: Russell Lloyd
Written by Neil Simon and Cesare Zavattini
Produced by John Bryan
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
After The Fox, a sunny mid-sixties farce about con-artists and movie-makers, boasts a powerhouse pedigree featuring leading men Peter Sellers and Victor Mature, a script by Neil Simon and Cesare Zavattini, music by Burt Bacharach, poster art from Frank Frazetta and the legendary director/actor/gambler Vittorio De Sica at the helm.
With such diverse talent on board, the film was somewhat misleadingly promoted as another in the line of 60’s screwball hipster comedies like Casino Royale and What’s New Pussycat. But the result is closer to De Sica’s laid back charmers from the ‘50s, Miracle in Milan and Gold of Naples (in fact,...
- 4/2/2017
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Way back in 1967, Rex Harrison starred in the family musical Doctor Dolittle as a veterinarian who could, quite literally, talk to the animals. The movie was plagued with problems during production involving its reluctant star and all the animals; the challenges were well detailed in Mark Harris' absorbing book Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood. As Harris pointed out in his book, the rather old-fashioned musical also clashed with emerging trends during a very tumultuous time for the major Hollywood studios. Audiences were tired of the old formulas and yearned for something new, which began to be satisfied as movies like Bonnie and Clyde, In the Heat of the Night and The Graduate broke out big. Still, Doctor Dolittle (pictured below...
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- 3/21/2017
- by Peter Martin
- Movies.com
In 1967, Rex Harrison starred in the family musical Doctor Dolittle as a veterinarian who could talk to animals, based on a character in Hugh Lofting's series of children's books first published in the 1920s. The movie was plagued with production problems and late-'60s audiences were not so interested in old-fashion musicals; the challenges were well detailed in Mark Harris' fascinating book Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood....
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- 3/21/2017
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
"The Furniture" is our weekly series on Production Design. Here's Daniel Walber...
Thoroughly Modern Millie opened 50 years ago this week, in the spring between San Francisco’s Human Be-In and the Summer of Love. None of 1967’s Best Picture nominees, immortalized as the birth of the New Hollywood in Mark Harris’s Pictures at a Revolution, had yet opened, but there was already something in the air.
Director George Roy Hill capitalized on this countercultural moment with an extravagant show of concentrated nostalgia. Thoroughly Modern Millie leaps back to the Roaring 20s, America’s last moment of liberated sexuality and conspicuous consumption before the Great Depression. Its flamboyant, frenetic ode to the flappers and their world was a big hit, making more than $34 million and landing 10th at the yearly box office. The film was nominated for seven Oscars including Art Direction-Set Decoration.
Yet its portrayal is not without contradictions.
Thoroughly Modern Millie opened 50 years ago this week, in the spring between San Francisco’s Human Be-In and the Summer of Love. None of 1967’s Best Picture nominees, immortalized as the birth of the New Hollywood in Mark Harris’s Pictures at a Revolution, had yet opened, but there was already something in the air.
Director George Roy Hill capitalized on this countercultural moment with an extravagant show of concentrated nostalgia. Thoroughly Modern Millie leaps back to the Roaring 20s, America’s last moment of liberated sexuality and conspicuous consumption before the Great Depression. Its flamboyant, frenetic ode to the flappers and their world was a big hit, making more than $34 million and landing 10th at the yearly box office. The film was nominated for seven Oscars including Art Direction-Set Decoration.
Yet its portrayal is not without contradictions.
- 3/20/2017
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: In honor of “Personal Shopper,” which finds Olivier Assayas re-teaming with his “Clouds of Sils Maria” star Kristen Stewart, who is the best director / actor duo in the movies today?
Mark Harris (@markharrisnyc), Vulture and Film Comment
Every time Matthew Broderick shows up in a movie directed by Kenneth Lonergan, I smile. It might seem an odd choice given that Lonergan has directed just three movies (“You Can Count on Me,” “Margaret,” and “Manchester by the Sea”) in 17 years, and also given that Broderick has played only supporting roles in those films. But Lonergan understands Broderick so well — his haplessness, his beleaguered, flawed decency,...
This week’s question: In honor of “Personal Shopper,” which finds Olivier Assayas re-teaming with his “Clouds of Sils Maria” star Kristen Stewart, who is the best director / actor duo in the movies today?
Mark Harris (@markharrisnyc), Vulture and Film Comment
Every time Matthew Broderick shows up in a movie directed by Kenneth Lonergan, I smile. It might seem an odd choice given that Lonergan has directed just three movies (“You Can Count on Me,” “Margaret,” and “Manchester by the Sea”) in 17 years, and also given that Broderick has played only supporting roles in those films. But Lonergan understands Broderick so well — his haplessness, his beleaguered, flawed decency,...
- 3/13/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The historical felicity of Jordan Peele’s horror movie Get Out topping the domestic box office on the same weekend that Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight won the best picture Oscar did not go unnoticed by many pundits and critics. “Get Out … deserves, in its own way, to be viewed alongside Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight as a giant leap forward for the possibilities of black cinema,” wrote critic and filmmaker Brandon Harris in The New Yorker, adding that “Get Out feels like it would have been impossible five minutes ago.” Two days after the ceremony, author Mark Harris added...
- 3/7/2017
- by Bilge Ebiri
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and Guillermo Del Toro examine the work of five filmmakers who captured the front lines of World War II in the intriguing new trailer for Netflix's new docu-series, Five Came Back.
The series chronicles the wartime work of John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra and George Stevens, whose documentaries helped mobilize war efforts at home and changed the perspectives of many Americans wary of entering the war in the first place. The film also examines how covering WWII affected each filmmaker personally and professionally,...
The series chronicles the wartime work of John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra and George Stevens, whose documentaries helped mobilize war efforts at home and changed the perspectives of many Americans wary of entering the war in the first place. The film also examines how covering WWII affected each filmmaker personally and professionally,...
- 3/1/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Netflix has released the trailer for a fascinating new three part documentary called Five Came Back. It focuses on how World War II changed Hollywood and features directors like Steven Spielberg and Guillermo del Toro diving into this subject matter.
Netflix put out an extensive press release with tons of details on what the doc will entail and I'm completely captivated by the film's subject matter. I love the history of film and the history of WWII and seeing a doc focusing on how these two things affected each other is film geek candy! Here are the additional details:
The movie is an adaptation of the book Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War written by Mark Harris. It's tells "the extraordinary story of how Hollywood changed World War II – and how World War II changed Hollywood, through the interwoven experiences of five filmmakers...
Netflix put out an extensive press release with tons of details on what the doc will entail and I'm completely captivated by the film's subject matter. I love the history of film and the history of WWII and seeing a doc focusing on how these two things affected each other is film geek candy! Here are the additional details:
The movie is an adaptation of the book Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War written by Mark Harris. It's tells "the extraordinary story of how Hollywood changed World War II – and how World War II changed Hollywood, through the interwoven experiences of five filmmakers...
- 2/28/2017
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
As creators today find themselves questioning just what impact their work can genuinely have on the world, Netflix reaches to the past for an example of great filmmakers who risked their lives to make a difference. “Five Came Back,” a three-part documentary series set to premiere March 31, spotlights the legendary directors of 1940s Hollywood who went to the front lines of World War II to document what they saw.
Read More: Steven Spielberg’s Strange History With ‘Cruising’
Helping to tell the wartime stories of John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens are some modern-day legends. Spotlighted in the trailer below are interviews with Steven Spielberg, Paul Greengrass, Guillermo del Toro, Lawrence Kasdan and Francis Ford Coppola. Meryl Streep steps in to narrate.
Written by Mark Harris (adapted from his book) and directed by Laurent Bouzereau, the series digs into the legacy of documentary work created...
Read More: Steven Spielberg’s Strange History With ‘Cruising’
Helping to tell the wartime stories of John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens are some modern-day legends. Spotlighted in the trailer below are interviews with Steven Spielberg, Paul Greengrass, Guillermo del Toro, Lawrence Kasdan and Francis Ford Coppola. Meryl Streep steps in to narrate.
Written by Mark Harris (adapted from his book) and directed by Laurent Bouzereau, the series digs into the legacy of documentary work created...
- 2/28/2017
- by Liz Shannon Miller
- Indiewire
With narration by Meryl Streep and interviews with some of the best directors of our generation — Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, Paul Greengrass and Lawrence Kasdan — Netflix today released its trailer and release date for its three-part docu-series Five Came Back.” Spielberg, Scott Rudin and Barry Diller are among the executive producers on this project which was adapted from Mark Harris' best-selling book, Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood…...
- 2/28/2017
- Deadline
Every day, plenty of books get passed around Hollywood and deals are made to turn them into movies, or in the case of Mark Harris‘ “Five Came Back,” documentaries. But few of them command the incredible talent assembled for the adaptation of Harris’ “Five Came Back.”
Read More: ‘Shadow Of Truth’ Trailer Shows Why It Could Be Netflix’s Next ‘Making A Murderer’
Featuring narration by Meryl Streep, and interviews and commentary from Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo Del Toro, Paul Greengrass and Lawrence Kasdan, the series tells the story of filmmakers John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens, whose work producing WWII documentaries brought the realities of the war home to everyday Americans.
Continue reading Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo Del Toro, Meryl Streep, More Bring Netflix’s ‘Five Came Back’ Doc Series To Life at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Shadow Of Truth’ Trailer Shows Why It Could Be Netflix’s Next ‘Making A Murderer’
Featuring narration by Meryl Streep, and interviews and commentary from Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo Del Toro, Paul Greengrass and Lawrence Kasdan, the series tells the story of filmmakers John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens, whose work producing WWII documentaries brought the realities of the war home to everyday Americans.
Continue reading Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo Del Toro, Meryl Streep, More Bring Netflix’s ‘Five Came Back’ Doc Series To Life at The Playlist.
- 2/28/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
One of the more popular film-related books of the last few years is Mark Harris‘ Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War, which recounts the experience directors John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens had heading to war and then returning to Hollywood to make some of their greatest films. In a welcome surprise only recently revealed, the book has now been turned into a three-part series on Netflix and it’ll arrive next month.
Featuring narration from Meryl Streep and interviews with Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg, Paul Greengrass, and Lawrence Kasdan, the first trailer has arrived. Judging from this preview, it looks to be a rousing documentary capturing this crucial time in cinematic history and the world at large. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau, he and his team pored through 100 hours of archival and newsreel footage...
Featuring narration from Meryl Streep and interviews with Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg, Paul Greengrass, and Lawrence Kasdan, the first trailer has arrived. Judging from this preview, it looks to be a rousing documentary capturing this crucial time in cinematic history and the world at large. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau, he and his team pored through 100 hours of archival and newsreel footage...
- 2/28/2017
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: Here we are again, staring down the barrel of another year at the movies, one sure to be filled with its fair share of discoveries, disappointments, and trucks that are powered by monsters. Many of our most anticipated new films can be seen coming a mile away, but what’s the most exciting movie of 2017 that no one is talking about?
Angie Han (@ajhan), Slashfilm.com
I haven’t seen much talk about “The Glass Castle,” Lionsgate’s upcoming adaptation of Jeannette Walls’ memoir, maybe because it doesn’t have an actual release date yet. But I’ve been interested in the project since it was first announced,...
This week’s question: Here we are again, staring down the barrel of another year at the movies, one sure to be filled with its fair share of discoveries, disappointments, and trucks that are powered by monsters. Many of our most anticipated new films can be seen coming a mile away, but what’s the most exciting movie of 2017 that no one is talking about?
Angie Han (@ajhan), Slashfilm.com
I haven’t seen much talk about “The Glass Castle,” Lionsgate’s upcoming adaptation of Jeannette Walls’ memoir, maybe because it doesn’t have an actual release date yet. But I’ve been interested in the project since it was first announced,...
- 1/9/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Last month, The Criterion Collection finally announced their forthcoming release of Richard Linklater‘s The Before Trilogy and now with the announcement of their March titles, a few more highly-requested titles will be coming to the collection. Perhaps the most sought-after, Michelangelo Antonioni‘s English-language debut and counterculture landmark Blow-Up, will be arriving on the line-up.
Also coming is the previously teased 45 Years from Andrew Haigh, one of the finest films of last year (featuring an incredible, outside-the-box cover), as well as Hal Ashby‘s Being There, John Waters‘ Multiple Maniacs, which recently got a restored theatrical run, and Felipe Cazals‘ Canoa: A Shameful Memory.
Notable special features include a new documentaries on Blow-Up, Being There, and 45 Years, audio commentaries from Haigh and Waters, as well as a Guillermo del Toro introduction for Canoa, and a talk between the director and Alfonso Cuarón. Check out the full details for each release after the artwork.
Also coming is the previously teased 45 Years from Andrew Haigh, one of the finest films of last year (featuring an incredible, outside-the-box cover), as well as Hal Ashby‘s Being There, John Waters‘ Multiple Maniacs, which recently got a restored theatrical run, and Felipe Cazals‘ Canoa: A Shameful Memory.
Notable special features include a new documentaries on Blow-Up, Being There, and 45 Years, audio commentaries from Haigh and Waters, as well as a Guillermo del Toro introduction for Canoa, and a talk between the director and Alfonso Cuarón. Check out the full details for each release after the artwork.
- 12/15/2016
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday morning. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: In the wake of the election, Filmmaker Magazine published a piece about the intrinsically political nature of movies, in which the writer argued: “For the next four years (and long afterwards), every time someone leaves a movie theater feeling contented, feeling set in their values, feeling numbed and entertained and nothing else, that’s a problem.”
How does filmmaking — and film criticism — need to adapt in the age of Trump?
Richard Brody (@tnyfrontrow), The New Yorker
Filmmakers need to make films and film critics need to write about them. None of them need instruction; the hardest thing in good and bad times...
This week’s question: In the wake of the election, Filmmaker Magazine published a piece about the intrinsically political nature of movies, in which the writer argued: “For the next four years (and long afterwards), every time someone leaves a movie theater feeling contented, feeling set in their values, feeling numbed and entertained and nothing else, that’s a problem.”
How does filmmaking — and film criticism — need to adapt in the age of Trump?
Richard Brody (@tnyfrontrow), The New Yorker
Filmmakers need to make films and film critics need to write about them. None of them need instruction; the hardest thing in good and bad times...
- 11/14/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Buzzfeed lists 28 Asian American directors, some with great movies under their belt - presumably to help Disney with Mulan because they'll need it. Consider that...
Newsweek ...Sony went with a white dude for their competing Mulan project
Awards Daily gorgeous photoshoot of Loving stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga for Vogue
Marvel reveals the end credits music on Doctor Strange. It sounds kind of lava lamp funky with a touch of warped vinyl. I don't know. I can't describe music.
i09 Taika Waititi promises that Thor: Ragnarok is "out there crazy" and that Marvel was totally accepting of his style. He's also suggested on Reddit that the movie will mostly ignore the larger Marvel Universe (aside from a Doctor Strange reference)
Coming Soon Hugh Grant, Imelda Staunton, and Brendan Gleeson join the cast of Paddington 2. But who fills the Nicole Kidman shaped hole?
/Film Captain Planet movie in the...
Newsweek ...Sony went with a white dude for their competing Mulan project
Awards Daily gorgeous photoshoot of Loving stars Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga for Vogue
Marvel reveals the end credits music on Doctor Strange. It sounds kind of lava lamp funky with a touch of warped vinyl. I don't know. I can't describe music.
i09 Taika Waititi promises that Thor: Ragnarok is "out there crazy" and that Marvel was totally accepting of his style. He's also suggested on Reddit that the movie will mostly ignore the larger Marvel Universe (aside from a Doctor Strange reference)
Coming Soon Hugh Grant, Imelda Staunton, and Brendan Gleeson join the cast of Paddington 2. But who fills the Nicole Kidman shaped hole?
/Film Captain Planet movie in the...
- 10/19/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Every week, the CriticWire Survey asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday morning. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?” can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: What was the best film of the 2016 New York Film Festival?
Richard Brody (@tnyfrontrow), The New Yorker
This year’s festival is an overflowing cornucopia; when I grab for one film to hold up as my favorite, another falls into my hand. Better to mention one that meets the simpler, if arbitrary, criterion, most aesthetic invention per second: that would be Terence Nance’s fifteen-minute film “Univitellin.” Let’s talk about a word that its images bring to mind: mnemonic. Sixteen years ago, when I was having dinner with Jean-Luc Godard at an outdoor table of a hotel restaurant, he...
This week’s question: What was the best film of the 2016 New York Film Festival?
Richard Brody (@tnyfrontrow), The New Yorker
This year’s festival is an overflowing cornucopia; when I grab for one film to hold up as my favorite, another falls into my hand. Better to mention one that meets the simpler, if arbitrary, criterion, most aesthetic invention per second: that would be Terence Nance’s fifteen-minute film “Univitellin.” Let’s talk about a word that its images bring to mind: mnemonic. Sixteen years ago, when I was having dinner with Jean-Luc Godard at an outdoor table of a hotel restaurant, he...
- 10/17/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Quentin Tarantino‘s brand of fetishism — the non-foot kind, I mean — is, in some part, an exploration of the cinema on a genre-by-genre basis, and so his filmography has, to my mind, been missing a certain something without a documentary. While he’ll claim there are (maybe) only two features left in him, there’s a chance that one will take that path — or at least have a documentary-like reserve of research behind it.
The subject? 1970. No, not the cinema of the 1970s, a medium-specific topic that’s been covered as much as any, but 1970, a time Quentin Tarantino considers the takeover point for New Hollywood — and it’s fascinated him so much that he’s been poring over and pondering material for four years. So he revealed during a recent masterclass held at Lyon’s Lumière Festival, where the “work in progress” was given this noncommital classification: “Am I going to write a book?...
The subject? 1970. No, not the cinema of the 1970s, a medium-specific topic that’s been covered as much as any, but 1970, a time Quentin Tarantino considers the takeover point for New Hollywood — and it’s fascinated him so much that he’s been poring over and pondering material for four years. So he revealed during a recent masterclass held at Lyon’s Lumière Festival, where the “work in progress” was given this noncommital classification: “Am I going to write a book?...
- 10/14/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Quentin Tarantino held a masterclass during the Lumière Festival in Lyon, France where he revealed tidbits about his new project that he’s been researching for four years. The subject is the 1970s and how that decade marked a turning point for American and international cinema. Calling it a “work in progress,” the director told the crowd he’s still figuring out what it will be.
“Am I going to write a book? Maybe. Is it going to be a six-part podcast? Maybe. A feature documentary? Maybe. I’m figuring it out,” he said, via Deadline.
Tarantino was joined by Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremau, who also runs this event. This year “The Hateful Eight” helmer curated a handful of films from the ‘70s that will be presented throughout the week. Some of the movies that will be screened include Arthur Hiller’s “Love Story,” Dario Argento’s “The Bird With The Crystal Plumage,...
“Am I going to write a book? Maybe. Is it going to be a six-part podcast? Maybe. A feature documentary? Maybe. I’m figuring it out,” he said, via Deadline.
Tarantino was joined by Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremau, who also runs this event. This year “The Hateful Eight” helmer curated a handful of films from the ‘70s that will be presented throughout the week. Some of the movies that will be screened include Arthur Hiller’s “Love Story,” Dario Argento’s “The Bird With The Crystal Plumage,...
- 10/13/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
NEWSLillian SchwartzMartin Scorsese's much-anticipated (and long-in-the-making) 16th-century drama set in Japan, Silence, finally has a release date this year.Director Herschell Gordon Lewis, the so-called "godfather of gore," has died at the age of 87.In New York, the Magenta Plains gallery has opened an exhibition dedicated to early computer art pioneer Lillian Schwartz, whose films are truly delightful.You are no doubt familiar with the video essays of Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin, in no small part due to their work here on the Notebook. Next week can hear the two speak about their critical practice at London's Essay Film Festival.News, yes, but also recommended viewing: the third edition of the free, streaming avant-garde program Kinet is now available, including two wonderful short films by New York filmmaker Gina Telaroli.Recommended VIEWINGTruly the Golden Age of Hollywood: A 1925 tour of MGM studios at its height.One of cinema's...
- 9/28/2016
- MUBI
Every week, the CriticWire Survey asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday morning. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?” can be found at the end of this post.)
In a recent piece for The Talkhouse, Shannon Plumb — wife of “The Light Between Oceans” director Derek Cianfrance, as well as a filmmaker in her own right — wrote a candid piece about her reaction to the reviews of Cianfrance’s latest movie, and how it informed her opinion about critics in general. Some of her more pointed comments included:
“Critics can be like horseflies sucking blood from thoroughbreds.
People are losing their ability to be romantic… And the critics, like lemmings, are jumping off the cliff with all the other unsentimental rodents.
Anthony Lane, like so many other critics, seem to be watching movies with his head,...
In a recent piece for The Talkhouse, Shannon Plumb — wife of “The Light Between Oceans” director Derek Cianfrance, as well as a filmmaker in her own right — wrote a candid piece about her reaction to the reviews of Cianfrance’s latest movie, and how it informed her opinion about critics in general. Some of her more pointed comments included:
“Critics can be like horseflies sucking blood from thoroughbreds.
People are losing their ability to be romantic… And the critics, like lemmings, are jumping off the cliff with all the other unsentimental rodents.
Anthony Lane, like so many other critics, seem to be watching movies with his head,...
- 9/26/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Jimmy Fallon's recent interview with Donald Trump has landed the late-night host in critics' sights. On Thursday, The Tonight Show host, 41, conducted a characteristically lighthearted interview, including playfully tousling Trump's hair. By early Friday, viewers had begun to question Fallon's treatment of the polarizing Republican presidential nominee.Beyond the head rub, Fallon is also facing accusations of letting Trump, 70, off with an easy interview and allowed him to dodge hard-hitting questions about his campaign. And others feel Fallon's choice to amuse and entertain is humanizing a candidate whose opinions have been decried as sexist, racist and xenophobic. Below are...
- 9/16/2016
- by Brittany King, @brrriitttnnii
- PEOPLE.com
Jimmy Fallon's recent interview with Donald Trump has landed the late-night host in critics' sights. On Thursday, The Tonight Show host, 41, conducted a characteristically lighthearted interview, including playfully tousling Trump's hair. By early Friday, viewers had begun to question Fallon's treatment of the polarizing Republican presidential nominee.Beyond the head rub, Fallon is also facing accusations of letting Trump, 70, off with an easy interview and allowed him to dodge hard-hitting questions about his campaign. And others feel Fallon's choice to amuse and entertain is humanizing a candidate whose opinions have been decried as sexist, racist and xenophobic. Below are...
- 9/16/2016
- by Brittany King, @brrriitttnnii
- PEOPLE.com
Jimmy Fallon's recent interview with Donald Trump has landed the late-night host in critics' sights.
On Thursday, The Tonight Show host, 41, conducted a characteristically lighthearted interview, including playfully tousling Trump's hair. By early Friday, viewers had begun to question Fallon's treatment of the polarizing Republican presidential nominee.
Beyond the head rub, Fallon is also facing accusations of letting Trump, 70, off with an easy interview and allowed him to dodge hard-hitting questions about his campaign. And others feel Fallon's choice to amuse and entertain is humanizing a candidate whose opinions have been decried as sexist, racist and xenophobic.
Below are...
On Thursday, The Tonight Show host, 41, conducted a characteristically lighthearted interview, including playfully tousling Trump's hair. By early Friday, viewers had begun to question Fallon's treatment of the polarizing Republican presidential nominee.
Beyond the head rub, Fallon is also facing accusations of letting Trump, 70, off with an easy interview and allowed him to dodge hard-hitting questions about his campaign. And others feel Fallon's choice to amuse and entertain is humanizing a candidate whose opinions have been decried as sexist, racist and xenophobic.
Below are...
- 9/16/2016
- by Brittany King, @brrriitttnnii
- People.com - TV Watch
While the last few months have been pretty dire for moviegoers seeking the large-scale satisfactions that blockbusters can provide, my seven-year-old has had a nearly perfect summer at the movies. From “The Jungle Book” to “Kubo and the Two Strings,” it’s been a great summer to be a kid — or a chaperone.
The summer hasn’t been a total wasteland. As Vulture’s Mark Harris pointed out, movies aimed at older audiences, particularly older women, have been reliable arthouse hits, and audiences who see past the glare of studio marketing campaigns have had plenty to choose from: “Swiss Army Man,” “The Fits,” Don’t Think Twice,” “Love & Friendship” and “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” to name a few. But there’s a particular itch that only a sweeping spectacle can scratch, and movies like “Suicide Squad,” “X-Men: Apocalypse” and “Ghostbusters” went after that itch with steel wool and a blowtorch.
The summer hasn’t been a total wasteland. As Vulture’s Mark Harris pointed out, movies aimed at older audiences, particularly older women, have been reliable arthouse hits, and audiences who see past the glare of studio marketing campaigns have had plenty to choose from: “Swiss Army Man,” “The Fits,” Don’t Think Twice,” “Love & Friendship” and “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” to name a few. But there’s a particular itch that only a sweeping spectacle can scratch, and movies like “Suicide Squad,” “X-Men: Apocalypse” and “Ghostbusters” went after that itch with steel wool and a blowtorch.
- 8/29/2016
- by Sam Adams
- Indiewire
As a companion piece to yesterday's Smackdown, a two-part podcast. If you missed Part One it's right here. Now we conclude our '77 festivities (did you enjoy or did we go to overboard?) with our panel, which includes Mark Harris, Guy Lodge, Nick Davis, Sara Black McCulloch, and Nathaniel R, discussing Tuesday Weld, Richard Dreyfuss, Diane Keaton, Looking for Mr Goodbar, The Turning Point and a few '77 extras.
Part Two Finale. Index (40 minutes)
00:01 One more anecdote on The Goodbye Girl
04:45 Richard Dreyfuss' big year and Steven Spielberg's interest/disinterest in actors in Close Encounters of the Third Kind
15:30 Tuesday Weld's career and the divisive Looking for Mr Goodbar
24:00 The Turning Point and a female-heavy Best Picture lineup
32:15 Performances that weren't nominated from: Saturday Night Fever, Opening Night, Handle With Care, Roseland, and Three Women
39:00 Thank yous!
You can listen to...
Part Two Finale. Index (40 minutes)
00:01 One more anecdote on The Goodbye Girl
04:45 Richard Dreyfuss' big year and Steven Spielberg's interest/disinterest in actors in Close Encounters of the Third Kind
15:30 Tuesday Weld's career and the divisive Looking for Mr Goodbar
24:00 The Turning Point and a female-heavy Best Picture lineup
32:15 Performances that weren't nominated from: Saturday Night Fever, Opening Night, Handle With Care, Roseland, and Three Women
39:00 Thank yous!
You can listen to...
- 8/1/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
As a companion piece to yesterday's Smackdown, a two-part podcast. In the first installment Mark Harris, Guy Lodge, Nick Davis, Sara Black McCulloch, and Nathaniel R discuss 1977's Oscar race, Jane Fonda & Vanessa Redgrave's friendship, Neil Simon's quippy writing, and more...
Part One. Index (41 minutes)
00:01 Intros, 1977 Memories, Annie Hall vs Star Wars
05:55 "getting" movies and Oscar-watching before the internet
09:09 Julia and Jane Fonda's curious "supporting" lead
16:23 Gender in Julia, Vanessa Redgrave's politics, and queer subtext
29:45 Child acting and difficult language in The Goodbye Girl
35:45 The influx of divorce/single parenting movies in the 70s
39:14 Nick's family memory of The Goodbye Girl
You can listen to the podcast here or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? ...
Part One. Index (41 minutes)
00:01 Intros, 1977 Memories, Annie Hall vs Star Wars
05:55 "getting" movies and Oscar-watching before the internet
09:09 Julia and Jane Fonda's curious "supporting" lead
16:23 Gender in Julia, Vanessa Redgrave's politics, and queer subtext
29:45 Child acting and difficult language in The Goodbye Girl
35:45 The influx of divorce/single parenting movies in the 70s
39:14 Nick's family memory of The Goodbye Girl
You can listen to the podcast here or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you? ...
- 8/1/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Presenting the Supporting Actress Nominees of '77. A mother with extraterrestrial problems, a highly neurotic swinger, a wealthy political activist, a precocious daughter, and a timid ballerina.
The Nominees
John Travolta opening the envelope
If the characters weren't quite typical this time, the shortlist formation was a familiar mix of career glories. Consider the slotting: Oh look, there's the child actor slot that the Supporting Actress category is famous for going to Quinn Cummings; Tuesday Weld wins the underappreciated enduring talent nod; No typical shortlist is complete without a newish critical darling with momentum which in 1977 was Melinda Dillon (she had created the "Honey" role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf on stage but didn't get to do the movie and was finally making film inroads via her role in the previous year's Best Picture nominee Bound for Glory ); Finally, you have to have a current Oscar darling with considerable...
The Nominees
John Travolta opening the envelope
If the characters weren't quite typical this time, the shortlist formation was a familiar mix of career glories. Consider the slotting: Oh look, there's the child actor slot that the Supporting Actress category is famous for going to Quinn Cummings; Tuesday Weld wins the underappreciated enduring talent nod; No typical shortlist is complete without a newish critical darling with momentum which in 1977 was Melinda Dillon (she had created the "Honey" role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf on stage but didn't get to do the movie and was finally making film inroads via her role in the previous year's Best Picture nominee Bound for Glory ); Finally, you have to have a current Oscar darling with considerable...
- 7/31/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The Supporting Actress Smackdown Of 1977 is coming. You already met two of our panelists. And here are the other three (including me).
Meet The Panelists
Panelist: Sara Black McCulloch
Bio: Sara Black McCulloch is a Toronto-based researcher, translator and writer. She has written for i-d, cleo Journal, Adult, The Hairpin, Gawker, Bitch Magazine and The National Post. You can read more of her work here.
Question: What does 1977 mean to you?
1977 seemed to be steeped in so much disillusionment. I think that, like the years that signal the end of a decade but don't quite bookend it, it was...fraught. The year was packed with events that pointed to change and fueled uncertainty. It was the year the U.S. signed the nuclear-proliferation pact and the same year that the U.S. government voted against covering elective abortions through Medicaid. The Apple II computer hit the market and Jimmy Carter...
Meet The Panelists
Panelist: Sara Black McCulloch
Bio: Sara Black McCulloch is a Toronto-based researcher, translator and writer. She has written for i-d, cleo Journal, Adult, The Hairpin, Gawker, Bitch Magazine and The National Post. You can read more of her work here.
Question: What does 1977 mean to you?
1977 seemed to be steeped in so much disillusionment. I think that, like the years that signal the end of a decade but don't quite bookend it, it was...fraught. The year was packed with events that pointed to change and fueled uncertainty. It was the year the U.S. signed the nuclear-proliferation pact and the same year that the U.S. government voted against covering elective abortions through Medicaid. The Apple II computer hit the market and Jimmy Carter...
- 7/26/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Today in movie related history...
1907 Cracking Rosalind Russell is born. Stars in many classics including: His Girl Friday, Gypsy, and Auntie Mame and is nominated for 4 Best Actress Oscars. The only actresses that share her fate of 4 Best Actress nominations w/out a win: Greta Garbo, Marsha Mason, and Barbara Stanwyck. Of the four only Marsha Mason didn't receive an Honorary later on.
1913 Suffragette Emily Davison runs onto the track at the Epson Derby and is trampled by King George V's horse. It's a huge turning point in the court of public opinion and the suffragette movement. It was reenacted in last year's Suffragette.
1936 Bruce Dern is born and never stops acting thereafter. Also donates Laura Dern to the world for which he has our undying gratitude
1940 The last allied soldiers leave Dunkirk. Britain's Pm vows that his forces will "never surrender". Christopher Nolan is currently filming a movie about Dunkirk called,...
1907 Cracking Rosalind Russell is born. Stars in many classics including: His Girl Friday, Gypsy, and Auntie Mame and is nominated for 4 Best Actress Oscars. The only actresses that share her fate of 4 Best Actress nominations w/out a win: Greta Garbo, Marsha Mason, and Barbara Stanwyck. Of the four only Marsha Mason didn't receive an Honorary later on.
1913 Suffragette Emily Davison runs onto the track at the Epson Derby and is trampled by King George V's horse. It's a huge turning point in the court of public opinion and the suffragette movement. It was reenacted in last year's Suffragette.
1936 Bruce Dern is born and never stops acting thereafter. Also donates Laura Dern to the world for which he has our undying gratitude
1940 The last allied soldiers leave Dunkirk. Britain's Pm vows that his forces will "never surrender". Christopher Nolan is currently filming a movie about Dunkirk called,...
- 6/4/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Weekly tweet roundup for bite-sized amusements or insta-feelings. After the jump... X-Men, Alicia Vikander and goodbyes to Muhammad Ali (Rip) who led such an eventful life and inspired so many that I've lost track of how many documentaries there are about him. Plus that underappreciated Michael Mann biopic.
Key detail: The Oscar is like, "I will pose with the rest of you, but you may not touch me." (h/t @wondermann5) pic.twitter.com/F2QqFsU2NM
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) June 1, 2016...
Key detail: The Oscar is like, "I will pose with the rest of you, but you may not touch me." (h/t @wondermann5) pic.twitter.com/F2QqFsU2NM
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) June 1, 2016...
- 6/4/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Vanity Fair Brie Larson reportedly frontrunner to play Captain Marvel. I'll believe that movie when I see it.
Boy Culture 90 things Marilyn Monroe would have done if she'd lived to be 90 today
The Playlist Susanne Bier, the Oscar winning Danish director of Brothers and After the Wedding fame, is rumored to be in the running to direct the next Bond film
Screencraft Do professional readers only read the first ten pages of each screenplay in their stacks? If you're an aspiring screenwriter you should read this.
Variety Jake Gyllenhaal to star in The Division, an adaptation of a video game
People Archives Mark Harris pointed us to this amazing profile of Sandy Dennis, Oscar-winner and crazy cat lady from 1989
Vox has a detailed analysis and cool sortable list of all major TV characters who died this season, As per usual they're still killing off minorities in disproportionate numbers. Out of...
Boy Culture 90 things Marilyn Monroe would have done if she'd lived to be 90 today
The Playlist Susanne Bier, the Oscar winning Danish director of Brothers and After the Wedding fame, is rumored to be in the running to direct the next Bond film
Screencraft Do professional readers only read the first ten pages of each screenplay in their stacks? If you're an aspiring screenwriter you should read this.
Variety Jake Gyllenhaal to star in The Division, an adaptation of a video game
People Archives Mark Harris pointed us to this amazing profile of Sandy Dennis, Oscar-winner and crazy cat lady from 1989
Vox has a detailed analysis and cool sortable list of all major TV characters who died this season, As per usual they're still killing off minorities in disproportionate numbers. Out of...
- 6/2/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
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