Twenty years ago this month, the fairy tale-like romantic comedy “13 Going on 30” starring Jennifer Garner made its way into cinemas. The actress played Jenna Rink, a socially awkward soon-to-be 13-year-old who quickly realizes that she “hates being 13.” She makes a birthday wish to be “thirty, flirty and thriving.” With the little help of some wishing dust, she wakes up the next morning to discover that her wish has come true.
It was a defining moment in Garner’s early career. Her role as Sydney Bristow in the television action thriller series “Alias” had made her a breakout star (including at awards shows) just a few years earlier. She won the Golden Globe for Best Drama Actress in 2002 and had competed again in 2003 and earlier in 2004. She had also been nominated for two Emmy Awards one Screen Actors Guild trophy.
While Garner already had a number of film credits on her resume,...
It was a defining moment in Garner’s early career. Her role as Sydney Bristow in the television action thriller series “Alias” had made her a breakout star (including at awards shows) just a few years earlier. She won the Golden Globe for Best Drama Actress in 2002 and had competed again in 2003 and earlier in 2004. She had also been nominated for two Emmy Awards one Screen Actors Guild trophy.
While Garner already had a number of film credits on her resume,...
- 4/23/2024
- by Tariq Khan
- Gold Derby
"If you do have it, don't spread it." The first full trailer has debuted for an indie comedy called Werewolf Serenade, filmed in & around the city of Petaluma, California (same place as American Graffiti or Peggy Sue Got Married). The film is premiering in a few weeks at AVFest, and out later this year. It's a campy, low-budget indie dramedy about a middle-aged couple navigating the humorous challenges of transforming into a werewolf. When the burnt-out college professor Peter MacTire accidentally becomes a werewolf after his colleague turns up dead, he and his concert cellist wife Julia embrace the change to thwart an evil occultist plot, save the college, and their marriage. Hopefully. Starring writer / director Daedalus Howell as Peter, with Emily Keyishian, Mark P. Robinson, Alia Beeton, Christopher Sawyer, Rapheal Gavin, and Natalie Crafts. Yet another super low budget werewolf film, lots of them these days. Not exactly expecting this to win any prizes,...
- 4/19/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Until recently, if one were asked to name some of the best films of preeminent 1970s filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, it would be easy to pick the big hits. “The Godfather” (1972), “The Godfather II” (1974) and “Apocalypse Now” (1979) are definitely his most iconic and respected films. You’d also be hard-pressed to find a person aged 25-50 who isn’t keenly aware of his adaption of S.E. Hinton’s mandatory high school assigned “The Outsiders” (1983) or his classics “Peggy Sue Got Married” (1986) and maybe even “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” (1988). Yet lately, Coppola’s “The Conversation” (1974) has entered the chat as a somewhat under the radar, low-key masterpiece from the filmmaker, and this year the film celebrates its 50th birthday.
After honing his directorial chops on films like the Roger Corman-produced horror film “Dementia 13” (1963) and fledgling films like “You’re a Big Boy Now” (1966), “Finian’s Rainbow” (1968) and “The Rain People...
After honing his directorial chops on films like the Roger Corman-produced horror film “Dementia 13” (1963) and fledgling films like “You’re a Big Boy Now” (1966), “Finian’s Rainbow” (1968) and “The Rain People...
- 4/8/2024
- by Don Lewis
- Indiewire
Writer/director/producer/composer and vintner Francis Ford Coppola has spent over five decades making movies, becoming a cultural force that few else have proven to be in our lifetimes. His film career has been filled with peaks and valleys, and from making several of the greatest films ever made to flops that have bankrupted him (“One From the Heart”), Coppola has never been hesitant about swinging for the fences in his film projects.
Along the way, Coppola has received 14 Academy Award nominations, winning five Oscars. He is only one of six individuals who have won Oscars for producing, directing and screenplay. Coppola has also been nominated for 16 Golden Globe Awards, winning three. Quite a haul.
His next film, “Megalopolis,” focuses on an architect who has been asked to rebuild New York City after a colossal disaster nearly destroys it, and Coppola plans it to be a film set on an epic scale.
Along the way, Coppola has received 14 Academy Award nominations, winning five Oscars. He is only one of six individuals who have won Oscars for producing, directing and screenplay. Coppola has also been nominated for 16 Golden Globe Awards, winning three. Quite a haul.
His next film, “Megalopolis,” focuses on an architect who has been asked to rebuild New York City after a colossal disaster nearly destroys it, and Coppola plans it to be a film set on an epic scale.
- 3/30/2024
- by Tom O'Brien, Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Sam Mercer, producer on several M. Night Shyamalan movies and former head of Ilm, died Feb. 12 of younger onset Alzheimer’s in South Pasadena. He was 69.
Raised in Weston, Mass., he attended Occidental College and then started working as a location manager on 1980s classics including “Stripes,” “The Escape Artist,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Swing Shift,” “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “The Witches of Eastwick.”
He joined the Walt Disney Company as a production executive, supervising films including “Good Morning Vietnam,” “Three Fugitives” and “Dead Poets Society.” He then became VP of motion picture production at Hollywood Pictures, where he oversaw releases including “Quiz Show,” “The Joy Luck Club,” “Born Yesterday,” “Swing Kids,” “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” and “Arachnophobia.”
Mercer then worked as an independent producer, starting with “Congo,” “The Relic” and “Mission to Mars.” After working with Shyamalan on “The Sixth Sense,” then went on...
Raised in Weston, Mass., he attended Occidental College and then started working as a location manager on 1980s classics including “Stripes,” “The Escape Artist,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Swing Shift,” “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “The Witches of Eastwick.”
He joined the Walt Disney Company as a production executive, supervising films including “Good Morning Vietnam,” “Three Fugitives” and “Dead Poets Society.” He then became VP of motion picture production at Hollywood Pictures, where he oversaw releases including “Quiz Show,” “The Joy Luck Club,” “Born Yesterday,” “Swing Kids,” “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” and “Arachnophobia.”
Mercer then worked as an independent producer, starting with “Congo,” “The Relic” and “Mission to Mars.” After working with Shyamalan on “The Sixth Sense,” then went on...
- 3/14/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Sam Mercer, who produced eight M. Night Shyamalan films starting with the spooky blockbuster The Sixth Sense, has died. He was 69.
Mercer died Feb. 12 at his home in South Pasadena after a battle with younger-onset Alzheimer’s, his wife, Tegan Jones, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Mercer was seen as an out-of-the-box hire when he joined Industrial Light & Magic in September 2015 to oversee and coordinate activities of the VFX giant’s studios in San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Singapore. However, he left the next year after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Mercer began his career as a location manager on films including Stripes (1981), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987).
He joined Disney and was a production executive on such features as Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and Dead Poets Society (1989), and as a production vp at Hollywood Pictures, he oversaw the release of films...
Mercer died Feb. 12 at his home in South Pasadena after a battle with younger-onset Alzheimer’s, his wife, Tegan Jones, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Mercer was seen as an out-of-the-box hire when he joined Industrial Light & Magic in September 2015 to oversee and coordinate activities of the VFX giant’s studios in San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Singapore. However, he left the next year after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Mercer began his career as a location manager on films including Stripes (1981), National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and The Witches of Eastwick (1987).
He joined Disney and was a production executive on such features as Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and Dead Poets Society (1989), and as a production vp at Hollywood Pictures, he oversaw the release of films...
- 3/14/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sam Mercer, who produced seven M. Night Shyamalan films including The Sixth Sense, headed Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic and was location manager on several classic 1980s pics, has died. He was 69.
His wife Tegan Jones told Deadline that Mercer died February 12 of younger-onset Alzheimer’s.
“He was the best big brother I could have hoped for,” Shyamalan said in a statement. “He made every movie a family, and I’ve tried to emulate that in every film since.”
Mercer moved to Los Angeles from Weston, Ma, to work in the movie industry. He began his career as a location manager on such 1980s gems as Stripes, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Peggy Sue Got Married and The Witches of Eastwick before moving to Walt Disney Studios.
Paul Reubens in ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ (1985)
There he worked as a production executive, supervising movies including Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society,...
His wife Tegan Jones told Deadline that Mercer died February 12 of younger-onset Alzheimer’s.
“He was the best big brother I could have hoped for,” Shyamalan said in a statement. “He made every movie a family, and I’ve tried to emulate that in every film since.”
Mercer moved to Los Angeles from Weston, Ma, to work in the movie industry. He began his career as a location manager on such 1980s gems as Stripes, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Peggy Sue Got Married and The Witches of Eastwick before moving to Walt Disney Studios.
Paul Reubens in ‘Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ (1985)
There he worked as a production executive, supervising movies including Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society,...
- 3/14/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Austin, TX – One thing that SXSW attracts are movie stars. With the big premieres headquartered at the famous art deco Paramount Theatre in Austin, audiences were treated to appearances by the legendary Susan Sarandon (“Gutter”), a reunited Cheech & Chong, and for the creme de la creme we were in the “Cage.” The great Nicolas Cage appeared on behalf of “Arcadian.”
Dammit Janet …
Susan Sarandon @SXSW for ‘Gutter’
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com
Susan Sarandon is an Oscar Winning (“Dead Man Walking”) and ultimate cult actress (the legendary Janet in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”). She made her inauspicious debut in the (naturally) cult hippie film “Joe” and has had memorable roles in “Pretty Baby,” “Atlantic City,” “The Hunger,” “Bull Durham,” “Thelma and Louise,” “Lorenzo’s Oil” “Robot & Frank” and most recently as the voice of Dr. Wong in “Rick and Morty.” She represented her latest star turn...
Dammit Janet …
Susan Sarandon @SXSW for ‘Gutter’
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com
Susan Sarandon is an Oscar Winning (“Dead Man Walking”) and ultimate cult actress (the legendary Janet in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”). She made her inauspicious debut in the (naturally) cult hippie film “Joe” and has had memorable roles in “Pretty Baby,” “Atlantic City,” “The Hunger,” “Bull Durham,” “Thelma and Louise,” “Lorenzo’s Oil” “Robot & Frank” and most recently as the voice of Dr. Wong in “Rick and Morty.” She represented her latest star turn...
- 3/14/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
One may resist celebrity culture, but most people have at least a few actors from pop culture history that mean something to them, whether they're from the silver screen or the flickering box.
Actors know how to spark our emotions and suspend our disbelief. They embody our favorite stories and the visions of our favorite filmmakers. The stars of film and television have the privilege of immortalizing themselves in certain times and places. But it is not just themselves that they immortalize. In their best projects, they capture many complexities of emotion and culture that are relevant to millions. Steve McQueen and his Mustang in "Bullet," Warren Beatty and his freewheeling libido in "Shampoo," Anthony Hopkins and his empathetic presidential turn in "Nixon" -- for better or worse, actors color our memories of the past in both trivial and important ways.
It can be wistful, therefore, when an old favorite passes,...
Actors know how to spark our emotions and suspend our disbelief. They embody our favorite stories and the visions of our favorite filmmakers. The stars of film and television have the privilege of immortalizing themselves in certain times and places. But it is not just themselves that they immortalize. In their best projects, they capture many complexities of emotion and culture that are relevant to millions. Steve McQueen and his Mustang in "Bullet," Warren Beatty and his freewheeling libido in "Shampoo," Anthony Hopkins and his empathetic presidential turn in "Nixon" -- for better or worse, actors color our memories of the past in both trivial and important ways.
It can be wistful, therefore, when an old favorite passes,...
- 2/11/2024
- by Jack Hawkins
- Slash Film
On February 2nd, 1993 — and on the infinite number of days that followed it — Bill Murray’s curmudgeonly weatherman Phil Connors woke up to the sounds of “I Got You Babe” and reported on the Groundhog Day festivities in Punxutawney, Pennsylvania. And while his displeasure about having to cover such a nonsensically rodent-centric holiday eventually faded, the enduring charm of “Groundhog Day” has not.
In the three decades since Harold Ramis’ classic comedy hit theaters, the time loop formula of characters being stuck repeating a single day has been imitated by everyone from Tom Cruise to Natasha Lyonne. While the heights of “Groundhog Day” are hard to top, time loop films have become a charming addition to nearly ever genre under the sun. Ramis’ idea ended up providing a shot of adrenaline that allowed time travel cinema to flourish for another quarter century.
Time travel has its roots in ancient myths and folk tales,...
In the three decades since Harold Ramis’ classic comedy hit theaters, the time loop formula of characters being stuck repeating a single day has been imitated by everyone from Tom Cruise to Natasha Lyonne. While the heights of “Groundhog Day” are hard to top, time loop films have become a charming addition to nearly ever genre under the sun. Ramis’ idea ended up providing a shot of adrenaline that allowed time travel cinema to flourish for another quarter century.
Time travel has its roots in ancient myths and folk tales,...
- 2/2/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Don Murray, who rose to fame co-starring with Marilyn Monroe in 1956’s Bus Stop and enjoyed a prolific career that stretched into the 21st Century with Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017, has died. He was 94.
His death was announced by his son Christopher to The New York Times. No additional details were provided.
Murray was Oscar-nominated for his debut performance as Beauregard “Beau” Decker, the lovestruck cowboy who falls for Monroe’s saloon singer Cherie in Joshua Logan’s Bus Stop, an adaptation of the William Inge play.
A conscientious objector during the Korean War who fulfilled his service obligation by working in German and Italian refugee camps, Murray became known for building an acting career in what were once called “message” movies, films with socially responsible themes. In Fred Zinnemann’s A Hatful of Rain (1957), he played a morphine-addicted war veteran, and in 1962 starred as a closeted (and blackmailed...
His death was announced by his son Christopher to The New York Times. No additional details were provided.
Murray was Oscar-nominated for his debut performance as Beauregard “Beau” Decker, the lovestruck cowboy who falls for Monroe’s saloon singer Cherie in Joshua Logan’s Bus Stop, an adaptation of the William Inge play.
A conscientious objector during the Korean War who fulfilled his service obligation by working in German and Italian refugee camps, Murray became known for building an acting career in what were once called “message” movies, films with socially responsible themes. In Fred Zinnemann’s A Hatful of Rain (1957), he played a morphine-addicted war veteran, and in 1962 starred as a closeted (and blackmailed...
- 2/2/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Don Murray, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance opposite Marilyn Monroe in the 1956 film adaptation of William Inge’s play “Bus Stop,” has died. He was 94.
His son Christopher confirmed his death to the New York Times.
In the 2017 reboot of “Twin Peaks,” he played Bushnell Mullins, the chief executive of Lucky 7 Insurance.
Murray also starred in the fourth entry in the “Planet of the Apes” franchise, “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes”; played Brooke Shield’s father in “Endless Love”; and recurred on prime-time soap “Knots Landing” as Sid Fairgate.
Reviewing “Bus Stop,” directed by Joshua Logan, the New York Times said: “With a wondrous new actor named Don Murray playing the stupid, stubborn poke and with the clutter of broncos, blondes and busters beautifully tangled, Mr. Logan has a booming comedy going before he gets to the romance. A great deal is owed to Mr.
His son Christopher confirmed his death to the New York Times.
In the 2017 reboot of “Twin Peaks,” he played Bushnell Mullins, the chief executive of Lucky 7 Insurance.
Murray also starred in the fourth entry in the “Planet of the Apes” franchise, “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes”; played Brooke Shield’s father in “Endless Love”; and recurred on prime-time soap “Knots Landing” as Sid Fairgate.
Reviewing “Bus Stop,” directed by Joshua Logan, the New York Times said: “With a wondrous new actor named Don Murray playing the stupid, stubborn poke and with the clutter of broncos, blondes and busters beautifully tangled, Mr. Logan has a booming comedy going before he gets to the romance. A great deal is owed to Mr.
- 2/2/2024
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Sofia Coppola may come from film royalty, but she’s an artist all her own.
The daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola began her career as an infant — appearing as the newborn baby of Connie (Talia Shire) in the baptism scene of “The Godfather.” From there, she had a supporting role in his films “Peggy Sue Got Married” and the third “Godfather” film, filling in for the latter after original star Winona Ryder dropped out. Moving over to directing as an adult, she stunned critics with her 1999 debut feature “The Virgin Suicides,” an adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides’ book about five mysterious sisters and their troubled home lives.
“The Virgin Suicides” was one of the most acclaimed indie films of the ‘90s, and established the visual style (a soft color palette and dreamy cinematography) as well as the thematic content that would define Coppola’s career, while teaming her up...
The daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola began her career as an infant — appearing as the newborn baby of Connie (Talia Shire) in the baptism scene of “The Godfather.” From there, she had a supporting role in his films “Peggy Sue Got Married” and the third “Godfather” film, filling in for the latter after original star Winona Ryder dropped out. Moving over to directing as an adult, she stunned critics with her 1999 debut feature “The Virgin Suicides,” an adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides’ book about five mysterious sisters and their troubled home lives.
“The Virgin Suicides” was one of the most acclaimed indie films of the ‘90s, and established the visual style (a soft color palette and dreamy cinematography) as well as the thematic content that would define Coppola’s career, while teaming her up...
- 12/27/2023
- by Alison Foreman and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Nicolas Cage doesn’t really care if you know he’s related to Francis Ford Coppola.
The actor, best known for his lively performances in flicks such as Con Air and Face/Off, famously changed his name from Nicolas Coppola to Nicolas Cage at the start of his career. He told a boisterous audience this afternoon at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that he made the switch for two reasons.
The first appeared to be what Cage described as some early career on-set bullying.
“I did a little movie called Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” Cage said. “When I was on set, some of the other actors couldn’t believe I had talent because I was Coppola’s nephew. They would quote lines from Apocalypse Now and change lines to ‘I love the smell of Nicholas in the mornings instead of napalm in the morning.’”
Cage continued...
The actor, best known for his lively performances in flicks such as Con Air and Face/Off, famously changed his name from Nicolas Coppola to Nicolas Cage at the start of his career. He told a boisterous audience this afternoon at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that he made the switch for two reasons.
The first appeared to be what Cage described as some early career on-set bullying.
“I did a little movie called Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” Cage said. “When I was on set, some of the other actors couldn’t believe I had talent because I was Coppola’s nephew. They would quote lines from Apocalypse Now and change lines to ‘I love the smell of Nicholas in the mornings instead of napalm in the morning.’”
Cage continued...
- 12/7/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Nicolas Cage is getting his long-awaited recognition for being a beacon of cinema over the course of his almost half-century-long career.
The Oscar-winning actor will be recognized with the Maria Manetti Shrem Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting during the 2023 Sffilm Awards, which will take place Monday, December 4 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
The award has been given out to actors such as Glenn Close, Kate Winslet, Robert Duvall, Robin Williams, and Adam Driver. Margot Robbie received the honor in 2022.
Cage appears in this year’s critically acclaimed dark comedy “Dream Scenario.” His classic films range from “Peggy Sue Got Married” to “Moonstruck,” “Face/Off” and “Con Air.” Cage previously has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in “Leaving Las Vegas,” and later earned a second Academy Award nomination for his performance in “Adaptation.”
Cage additionally...
The Oscar-winning actor will be recognized with the Maria Manetti Shrem Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting during the 2023 Sffilm Awards, which will take place Monday, December 4 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
The award has been given out to actors such as Glenn Close, Kate Winslet, Robert Duvall, Robin Williams, and Adam Driver. Margot Robbie received the honor in 2022.
Cage appears in this year’s critically acclaimed dark comedy “Dream Scenario.” His classic films range from “Peggy Sue Got Married” to “Moonstruck,” “Face/Off” and “Con Air.” Cage previously has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in “Leaving Las Vegas,” and later earned a second Academy Award nomination for his performance in “Adaptation.”
Cage additionally...
- 11/29/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Plot: A mild-mannered academic (Nicolas Cage) discovers that he’s the center of a strange phenomenon, with people worldwide suddenly seeing him in their dreams. At first, thrilled with the attention and sudden fame, he finds himself despised and “cancelled” when the dreams turn violent.
Review: Dream Scenario is a very “now” movie, with it a blazing satire of sudden fame and “cancel culture,” with director Kristoffer Borgli showing utter contempt for both. It’s the perfect vehicle for Nicolas Cage, as perhaps more than any actor, his likeness has been commodified over the years, being used and manipulated in meme after meme in a way that’s totally out of his control.
Likewise, his character, Paul Matthews, has no control over how people view him. Sporting a bald pate, a beard and the kind of nasal voice he used in Peggy Sue Got Married, Cage fully inhabits the role...
Review: Dream Scenario is a very “now” movie, with it a blazing satire of sudden fame and “cancel culture,” with director Kristoffer Borgli showing utter contempt for both. It’s the perfect vehicle for Nicolas Cage, as perhaps more than any actor, his likeness has been commodified over the years, being used and manipulated in meme after meme in a way that’s totally out of his control.
Likewise, his character, Paul Matthews, has no control over how people view him. Sporting a bald pate, a beard and the kind of nasal voice he used in Peggy Sue Got Married, Cage fully inhabits the role...
- 11/13/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Nicolas Cage is the most meta of modern actors. There are exceptions (most recently his heartbreaking work in Michael Sarnoski's "Pig"), but, for better or worse, we are almost always aware that we are watching a Cage performance. This isn't a new development. He's been an emoting machine dating back to Francis Ford Coppola's "Peggy Sue Got Married," and won a Best Actor Oscar for his Ray-Milland-on-steroids portrayal of an alcoholic in "Leaving Las Vegas."
As much as we love Cage going full Cage, those "Pig" roles are vital to his appeal as an actor. They remind us that he is a thoughtful, deeply intuitive performer capable of drawing us into the world of introverts and quietly damaged people. Kristoffer Borgli's dark comedy "Dream Scenario" is one such film -- to a point. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a mild-mannered biology professor who inexplicably begins appearing in the...
As much as we love Cage going full Cage, those "Pig" roles are vital to his appeal as an actor. They remind us that he is a thoughtful, deeply intuitive performer capable of drawing us into the world of introverts and quietly damaged people. Kristoffer Borgli's dark comedy "Dream Scenario" is one such film -- to a point. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a mild-mannered biology professor who inexplicably begins appearing in the...
- 11/12/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Will the Hollywood studio become extinct?
One hundred years ago, Louis B. Mayer unfurled his grand idea to mobilize “all the stars in heaven” for his filmmaking adventure. His dream factory, once prolific, now seems adrift amid the economic debris of streamerville and linear TV.
The studio system still has its advocates, one of whom, Francis Coppola, attempted to re-invent the studio on three occasions. He’s still trying.
His intriguing, if bizarre adventure, is told in a gripping new book by Sam Wasson titled Path to Paradise, vividly chronicling how the director leveraged his two great movies into an assembly line of cinema.
Well, almost. Coppola’s effort to orchestrate the genius of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now into an enduring filmmaking enterprise was defeated by two realities: The eccentricity of his management style and the frailty of his infrastructure.
Zoetrope was to be owned and run by creatives...
One hundred years ago, Louis B. Mayer unfurled his grand idea to mobilize “all the stars in heaven” for his filmmaking adventure. His dream factory, once prolific, now seems adrift amid the economic debris of streamerville and linear TV.
The studio system still has its advocates, one of whom, Francis Coppola, attempted to re-invent the studio on three occasions. He’s still trying.
His intriguing, if bizarre adventure, is told in a gripping new book by Sam Wasson titled Path to Paradise, vividly chronicling how the director leveraged his two great movies into an assembly line of cinema.
Well, almost. Coppola’s effort to orchestrate the genius of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now into an enduring filmmaking enterprise was defeated by two realities: The eccentricity of his management style and the frailty of his infrastructure.
Zoetrope was to be owned and run by creatives...
- 9/14/2023
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Few American filmmakers of the last 40 years await a major rediscovery like Hal Hartley, whose traces in modern movies are either too-minor or entirely unknown. Thus it’s cause for celebration that the Criterion Channel are soon launching a major retrospective: 13 features (which constitutes all but My America) and 17 shorts, a sui generis style and persistent vision running across 30 years. Expect your Halloween party to be aswim in Henry Fool costumes.
Speaking of: there’s a one-month headstart on seasonal programming with the 13-film “High School Horror”––most notable perhaps being a streaming premiere for the uncut version of Suspiria, plus the rare opportunity to see a Robert Rodriguez movie on the Criterion Channel––and a retrospective of Hong Kong vampire movies. A retrospective of ’70s car movies offer chills and thrills of a different sort
Six films by Allan Dwan and 12 “gaslight noirs” round out the main September series; The Eight Mountains,...
Speaking of: there’s a one-month headstart on seasonal programming with the 13-film “High School Horror”––most notable perhaps being a streaming premiere for the uncut version of Suspiria, plus the rare opportunity to see a Robert Rodriguez movie on the Criterion Channel––and a retrospective of Hong Kong vampire movies. A retrospective of ’70s car movies offer chills and thrills of a different sort
Six films by Allan Dwan and 12 “gaslight noirs” round out the main September series; The Eight Mountains,...
- 8/21/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Actor whose television character Pee-wee Herman delighted children and their parents in the 1980s
One of the most subversive and original figures in 1980s popular culture was a whey-faced, cherry-lipped, matchstick-thin child-man who wore a red bow tie, white tasselled loafers and a shrunken grey suit, and lived in a giant playhouse with sentient furniture and a floating head. This was Pee-wee Herman, created and played by the actor Paul Reubens, who has died aged 70 of cancer.
The character appeared on stage in The Pee-wee Herman Show during the early 1980s but did not become known internationally until the release of the film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), which marked the doolally debut of the director Tim Burton. US cinema in the Reagan era drew heavily on the iconography of the 50s and early 60s, whether for purposes sweet or unsavoury; this big-screen outing for Pee-wee, who was already suffused with the...
One of the most subversive and original figures in 1980s popular culture was a whey-faced, cherry-lipped, matchstick-thin child-man who wore a red bow tie, white tasselled loafers and a shrunken grey suit, and lived in a giant playhouse with sentient furniture and a floating head. This was Pee-wee Herman, created and played by the actor Paul Reubens, who has died aged 70 of cancer.
The character appeared on stage in The Pee-wee Herman Show during the early 1980s but did not become known internationally until the release of the film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), which marked the doolally debut of the director Tim Burton. US cinema in the Reagan era drew heavily on the iconography of the 50s and early 60s, whether for purposes sweet or unsavoury; this big-screen outing for Pee-wee, who was already suffused with the...
- 8/1/2023
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
‘Priscilla‘ is a drama movie written and directed by Sofia Coppola, starring Jacob Elordi, Cailee Spaeny and Kamilla Kowal.
This A24 production tells the story of a teenage Priscilla Beaulieu who meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
Director: Sofia Coppola Sofia Coppola. Depostiphotos
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American filmmaker and actress, born on May 14, 1971. She is the youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola. Sofia made her debut in the film industry as an infant in her father’s acclaimed crime drama film, The Godfather, in 1972. Later, she appeared in several music videos and played a supporting role in Peggy Sue Got Married in 1986. In 1990, Sofia portrayed Mary Corleone, the daughter of Michael Corleone, in The Godfather Part III,...
This A24 production tells the story of a teenage Priscilla Beaulieu who meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
Director: Sofia Coppola Sofia Coppola. Depostiphotos
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American filmmaker and actress, born on May 14, 1971. She is the youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola. Sofia made her debut in the film industry as an infant in her father’s acclaimed crime drama film, The Godfather, in 1972. Later, she appeared in several music videos and played a supporting role in Peggy Sue Got Married in 1986. In 1990, Sofia portrayed Mary Corleone, the daughter of Michael Corleone, in The Godfather Part III,...
- 6/21/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Sofia Coppola. Depostiphotos
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American filmmaker and actress, born on May 14, 1971. She is the youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola. Sofia made her debut in the film industry as an infant in her father’s acclaimed crime drama film, The Godfather, in 1972. Later, she appeared in several music videos and played a supporting role in Peggy Sue Got Married in 1986. In 1990, Sofia portrayed Mary Corleone, the daughter of Michael Corleone, in The Godfather Part III, but her performance received criticism, which led her to shift her focus to filmmaking.
Sofia made her feature-length directorial debut with the coming-of-age drama The Virgin Suicides in 1999, which was the first of her collaborations with actress Kirsten Dunst. In 2004, she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the comedy-drama Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director.
Sofia Carmina Coppola is an American filmmaker and actress, born on May 14, 1971. She is the youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola. Sofia made her debut in the film industry as an infant in her father’s acclaimed crime drama film, The Godfather, in 1972. Later, she appeared in several music videos and played a supporting role in Peggy Sue Got Married in 1986. In 1990, Sofia portrayed Mary Corleone, the daughter of Michael Corleone, in The Godfather Part III, but her performance received criticism, which led her to shift her focus to filmmaking.
Sofia made her feature-length directorial debut with the coming-of-age drama The Virgin Suicides in 1999, which was the first of her collaborations with actress Kirsten Dunst. In 2004, she received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the comedy-drama Lost in Translation, and became the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director.
- 6/21/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Francis Ford Coppola is assuring audiences that “Megalopolis” was mega-fun to film, despite rumors of “chaos” on set.
The Oscar winner revealed in an interview with Deadline alongside Kevin Costner that he can understand the parallel between rumors surrounding the notorious production of “Apocalypse Now” and now, almost a half-century later, “Megalopolis.” The epic film, which Coppola has described as a futuristic “love story,” has a staggering reported $120 million-plus price tag that Coppola financed himself.
Production wrapped in March 2023 amid reports of creative unrest on the project, which stars Adam Driver, Shia Labeouf, Forest Whitaker, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Voight, Jason Schwartzman, and Dustin Hoffman.
“Well, ‘Apocalypse Now’ was out there being edited for months and months and months. And because it had been made in the Philippines, it was sort of mysterious,” Coppola said. “[With ‘Megalopolis’] it was much the same thing. A rumor starts out; there was a report about chaos.
The Oscar winner revealed in an interview with Deadline alongside Kevin Costner that he can understand the parallel between rumors surrounding the notorious production of “Apocalypse Now” and now, almost a half-century later, “Megalopolis.” The epic film, which Coppola has described as a futuristic “love story,” has a staggering reported $120 million-plus price tag that Coppola financed himself.
Production wrapped in March 2023 amid reports of creative unrest on the project, which stars Adam Driver, Shia Labeouf, Forest Whitaker, Aubrey Plaza, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Voight, Jason Schwartzman, and Dustin Hoffman.
“Well, ‘Apocalypse Now’ was out there being edited for months and months and months. And because it had been made in the Philippines, it was sort of mysterious,” Coppola said. “[With ‘Megalopolis’] it was much the same thing. A rumor starts out; there was a report about chaos.
- 5/18/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
“Hurt but not defeated.” That’s the direction filmmaker Martha Coolidge gave to her star Nicolas Cage as they shot the pivotal breakup scene in the ’80s classic “Valley Girl.” In a filmed conversation from 2003 between the two for the film’s twentieth anniversary, Cage told Coolidge that he has “used that direction ever since” in all of his work.
As the iconic ’80s spin on “Romeo and Juliet” celebrates its 40th anniversary on April 29, and Cage returns to the big screen with his latest film “Renfield” — in which he plays the centuries old Prince of Darkness himself, Count Dracula, recovering from the latest attempt on his life with his familiar Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) in New Orleans — it’s clear that the impact of her words still resonate in the performances of the idiosyncratic actor.
He was just 17 years old when he auditioned for the role that would change his life.
As the iconic ’80s spin on “Romeo and Juliet” celebrates its 40th anniversary on April 29, and Cage returns to the big screen with his latest film “Renfield” — in which he plays the centuries old Prince of Darkness himself, Count Dracula, recovering from the latest attempt on his life with his familiar Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) in New Orleans — it’s clear that the impact of her words still resonate in the performances of the idiosyncratic actor.
He was just 17 years old when he auditioned for the role that would change his life.
- 4/13/2023
- by Marya E. Gates
- Indiewire
Nicolas Cage’s career takes a turn for the metatextual in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. The 2022 movie, which also stars Pedro Pascal, incorporates large parts of the actor’s filmography and on-screen persona into an outlandish story about passion, fandom, and a plot to take down an international arms dealer. Director and co-writer Tom Gormican’s willingness to mix reality and fiction didn’t stop with the script. A disagreement between Cage and Pascal over the appearance of a prop made it into the final cut of the film.
‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ has a second life online thanks to TikTok Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal attend the Los Angeles special screening of “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” I Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent isn’t just interested in the mythology around Nicolas Cage. It is entirely built around his career...
‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ has a second life online thanks to TikTok Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal attend the Los Angeles special screening of “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” I Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent isn’t just interested in the mythology around Nicolas Cage. It is entirely built around his career...
- 4/2/2023
- by Sam Hines
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Nicolas Cage’s favorite cult film role is one he did for free.
The Oscar winner revealed during a Reddit Ama with “Renfield” co-star Nicholas Hoult that, among his best underseen roles, his favorite remains a small cameo in 1989’s “Never on Tuesday.”
Cage was asked by a fan what his “favorite lesser-known performance out of your filmography” is, to which Cage responded, “There was a little cameo that I did that lasted all of about one minute in a movie called ‘Never on Tuesday.’ I don’t recommend the entire film. But, it was a performance I did.”
The indie movie was written and directed by Adam Rifkin and starred Andrew Lauer, Pete Berg, and Claudia Christian as a trio with car trouble. The film was direct-to-video and produced by Cassian Elwes.
The “Peggy Sue Got Married” star added, “I didn’t get paid but the agreement was with...
The Oscar winner revealed during a Reddit Ama with “Renfield” co-star Nicholas Hoult that, among his best underseen roles, his favorite remains a small cameo in 1989’s “Never on Tuesday.”
Cage was asked by a fan what his “favorite lesser-known performance out of your filmography” is, to which Cage responded, “There was a little cameo that I did that lasted all of about one minute in a movie called ‘Never on Tuesday.’ I don’t recommend the entire film. But, it was a performance I did.”
The indie movie was written and directed by Adam Rifkin and starred Andrew Lauer, Pete Berg, and Claudia Christian as a trio with car trouble. The film was direct-to-video and produced by Cassian Elwes.
The “Peggy Sue Got Married” star added, “I didn’t get paid but the agreement was with...
- 3/28/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
In Tom Gormican's 2022 film "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent," Pedro Pascal plays Javi Gutierrez, a fun-loving playboy billionaire living in Majorca, Spain. Javi is a huge fan of actor Nicolas Cage and hires him to hang out for a weekend. Cage, playing himself, cautiously accepts the offer, having found himself in a bit of a creative rut; a younger version of Cage appears in visions to lambaste his older self that he is no longer the massive movie star he once was. Javi will spend a great deal of time heaping praise on Cage and eventually reveals that he has a secret collectibles vault full of Cage-related memorabilia. Cage, meanwhile, will be secretly approached by the CIA, and told that Javi is actually a dangerous arms dealer that might be involved in an ongoing kidnapping plot. The film is bright, whimsical, and enjoyable. Cage, as he always does,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Pedro Pascal is really feeling the heat.
This week, the star of “The Last of Us” and “The Mandalorian” appeared on “Hot Ones”, answering questions while eating some very spicy wings.
Read More: Pedro Pascal Gives Mario Kart The ‘Last Of Us’ Treatment In ‘Saturday Night Live’ Sketch
Taking his first bites, the actor joked, “I wonder how much of this is gonna get caught on my astonishing moustache.”
Asked about working with Baby Yoda on “The Mandalorian”, Pascal shared how lifelike the puppetry is on the creature, to the point that it wasn’t difficult for him to get emotional during certain key scenes.
“This puppet is making me cry,” he laughed.
Pascal was also asked if, now that he’s worked often enough with heavy costumes like his Mandalorian armour, if he can’t help but notice that on other actors when he’s watching a movie or show.
This week, the star of “The Last of Us” and “The Mandalorian” appeared on “Hot Ones”, answering questions while eating some very spicy wings.
Read More: Pedro Pascal Gives Mario Kart The ‘Last Of Us’ Treatment In ‘Saturday Night Live’ Sketch
Taking his first bites, the actor joked, “I wonder how much of this is gonna get caught on my astonishing moustache.”
Asked about working with Baby Yoda on “The Mandalorian”, Pascal shared how lifelike the puppetry is on the creature, to the point that it wasn’t difficult for him to get emotional during certain key scenes.
“This puppet is making me cry,” he laughed.
Pascal was also asked if, now that he’s worked often enough with heavy costumes like his Mandalorian armour, if he can’t help but notice that on other actors when he’s watching a movie or show.
- 3/9/2023
- by Corey Atad
- ET Canada
Now that Mandy Walker (“Elvis”) has upset Claudio Miranda (“Top Gun: Maverick”) at the 37th American Society of Cinematographers Awards, all eyes are on next week’s Oscar ceremony, where she is well-positioned to take out another frontrunner, James Friend (“All Quiet on the Western Front”), and become the first female Dp to win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
The academy and ASC have awarded the same film only 17 times (47%), but eight of those have occurred between 2011 and 2022, giving the organizations a 66% correlation over the past 12 years. Put in perspective, that means the years since 2010 have posted practically the same amount of identical winners as the 24 preceding (nine).
See ASC Awards: Mandy Walker breaks glass ceiling for women with ‘Elvis’ win
While the odds had “Top Gun: Maverick” ahead at the ASC Awards, Walker’s win isn’t nearly as shocking as some have characterized it to be. For...
The academy and ASC have awarded the same film only 17 times (47%), but eight of those have occurred between 2011 and 2022, giving the organizations a 66% correlation over the past 12 years. Put in perspective, that means the years since 2010 have posted practically the same amount of identical winners as the 24 preceding (nine).
See ASC Awards: Mandy Walker breaks glass ceiling for women with ‘Elvis’ win
While the odds had “Top Gun: Maverick” ahead at the ASC Awards, Walker’s win isn’t nearly as shocking as some have characterized it to be. For...
- 3/6/2023
- by Ronald Meyer
- Gold Derby
Variety will present Nicolas Cage with the Variety Legend & Groundbreaker Award at the Miami Film Festival on March 5. Previous recipients of the prestigious award include Francis Ford Coppola, Hans Zimmer and Ron Howard.
“Year after year, Nicolas Cage proves to be an actor of great range, exhibiting dramatic power and great comedic verve, making his work surprising, delightful and moving,” said Steven Gaydos, Variety EVP global content & executive editor. “We’re excited to see the Oscar-winner’s turn in Universal Pictures’ ‘Renfield’ this year and celebrate his entire career at the Miami Film Festival.”
“Nicolas Cage is the very definition of a legend. An Academy Award-winning actor, a global superstar, and a cult icon, everyone the world over is familiar with his inimitable persona and larger than life presence,” said Lauren Cohen, Miami Film Festival Director of Programming. “He is truly one of a kind — the very essence of what...
“Year after year, Nicolas Cage proves to be an actor of great range, exhibiting dramatic power and great comedic verve, making his work surprising, delightful and moving,” said Steven Gaydos, Variety EVP global content & executive editor. “We’re excited to see the Oscar-winner’s turn in Universal Pictures’ ‘Renfield’ this year and celebrate his entire career at the Miami Film Festival.”
“Nicolas Cage is the very definition of a legend. An Academy Award-winning actor, a global superstar, and a cult icon, everyone the world over is familiar with his inimitable persona and larger than life presence,” said Lauren Cohen, Miami Film Festival Director of Programming. “He is truly one of a kind — the very essence of what...
- 2/17/2023
- by Shalini Dore
- Variety Film + TV
Nicolas Cage as Dracula?
Nicholas Hoult as Renfield?
Sign us up, all the way up!
Universal Pictures dropped the official trailer for Renfield today, which offers a unique (and hilarious) take on the man tasked with caring for Dracula.
This Renfield has sold his soul to Dracula for some pretty wicked powers that allow him to compete with the greatest superheroes.
But his job is anything but superheroic.
Feeding Dracula is a full-time job, and ol' Drac's got some pretty specific tastes, such as a bus full of children, to satisfy his cravings.
Renfield has no idea how to extricate himself from the situation, so he attends a support group, seemingly for people dealing with overbearing bosses.
Even the best support group would find it difficult to counsel Renfield with his particular boss, but it looks like they give him some useful ideas to get started.
Hoult has sunk his...
Nicholas Hoult as Renfield?
Sign us up, all the way up!
Universal Pictures dropped the official trailer for Renfield today, which offers a unique (and hilarious) take on the man tasked with caring for Dracula.
This Renfield has sold his soul to Dracula for some pretty wicked powers that allow him to compete with the greatest superheroes.
But his job is anything but superheroic.
Feeding Dracula is a full-time job, and ol' Drac's got some pretty specific tastes, such as a bus full of children, to satisfy his cravings.
Renfield has no idea how to extricate himself from the situation, so he attends a support group, seemingly for people dealing with overbearing bosses.
Even the best support group would find it difficult to counsel Renfield with his particular boss, but it looks like they give him some useful ideas to get started.
Hoult has sunk his...
- 1/5/2023
- by Carissa Pavlica
- TVfanatic
Tom Shadyac's 1994 hit film "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" starring Jim Carrey has, in 2022, been the subject of a deep re-litigation. Upon its release, audiences reacted with the utmost enthusiasm to Carrey's over-the-top-and-then-some shenanigans, laughing heartily at the actor's boundless energy and aggressive strangeness. Even the premise was odd: Ace Ventura was a private investigator who only took cases involving pets and animals. His plum gig comes when the Miami Dolphins hire him to find their kidnapped mascot, a dolphin named Snowflake.
What made the film worthy of reconsideration was a staggeringly transphobic twist that mocked and derided one of the film's main characters for comedic purposes. The climax of "Ace Ventura" saw a trans woman (Sean Young) stripped down to her underwear in front of dozens of cops as evidence of her guilt in the case. Her exposure was accompanied by having the surrounding crowd spitting and rubbing their...
What made the film worthy of reconsideration was a staggeringly transphobic twist that mocked and derided one of the film's main characters for comedic purposes. The climax of "Ace Ventura" saw a trans woman (Sean Young) stripped down to her underwear in front of dozens of cops as evidence of her guilt in the case. Her exposure was accompanied by having the surrounding crowd spitting and rubbing their...
- 10/30/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
On paper, a film that is basically a mash-up of “Sliding Doors” and “Peggy Sue Got Married” starring “Riverdale‘s” Lili Reinhart should be a fun, diverting rom-com to wrap up the summer. Unfortunately, the new Netflix film “Look Both Ways” is misguided on almost every level.
Reinhart plays soon-to-be college graduate Natalie whose five-year, post-grad plan includes moving to Los Angeles with her best friend Cara and pursuing work in feature animation.
Continue reading ‘Look Both Ways’ Review: Lili Reinhart Stars In A Netflix Rom-Com That Works In Zero Ways at The Playlist.
Reinhart plays soon-to-be college graduate Natalie whose five-year, post-grad plan includes moving to Los Angeles with her best friend Cara and pursuing work in feature animation.
Continue reading ‘Look Both Ways’ Review: Lili Reinhart Stars In A Netflix Rom-Com That Works In Zero Ways at The Playlist.
- 8/17/2022
- by Marya E. Gates
- The Playlist
Spare parts of high school comedies from “Peggy Sue Got Married” to “Mean Girls” and beyond have been torn asunder, then sewn back together to create “Senior Year.” In other words, this vehicle for producer-star Rebel Wilson isn’t organic even as a genre homage; its Frankensteinian assemblage always feels more imitative than inspired. Nonetheless, if Alex Hardcastle’s effortfully high-spirited Netflix feature isn’t exactly good, it’s still .
Introduced as “just some average boring invisible girl who had no friends” in 1999, Australian émigré Stephanie Conway (Angourie Rice) determines on her 14th birthday to start doing better. Three years hence, a methodical push toward popularity has paid off: She’s captain of the cheerleading squad, has assumed possession of the boyfriend, Blaine (Tyler Barnhardt), of deadly rival Tiffany (Ana Yi Puig), seems to have the prom queen crown sewn up and can afford not to even notice that both...
Introduced as “just some average boring invisible girl who had no friends” in 1999, Australian émigré Stephanie Conway (Angourie Rice) determines on her 14th birthday to start doing better. Three years hence, a methodical push toward popularity has paid off: She’s captain of the cheerleading squad, has assumed possession of the boyfriend, Blaine (Tyler Barnhardt), of deadly rival Tiffany (Ana Yi Puig), seems to have the prom queen crown sewn up and can afford not to even notice that both...
- 5/13/2022
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
The total U.K. and Ireland box office in April this year was £96.9 million (119.2 million), according to numbers for the month released by Comscore.
At this time in 2021, indoor cinemas remained closed due to the second nationwide lockdown, except for Guernsey and the Isle of Man, re-opening on May 17 in England and Scotland. Compared to the first four months of pre-pandemic 2019, 2022 is running 27 behind.
“Sonic The Hedgehog 2” is the No.1 film of April, grossing £22.8 million, and is the fourth-highest grossing film of the year so far. The animated sequel is tracking 18 ahead of the original film’s £19.3 million and is the second-best performing film based on a video game, 5 behind “Uncharted” (£24.2 million). In second position for April was “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore” with £19.1 million, the sixth-highest grossing film of 2022.
“The Bad Guys” is at No.3, grossing £10.7 million, and is the third-biggest animated film of the year, after...
At this time in 2021, indoor cinemas remained closed due to the second nationwide lockdown, except for Guernsey and the Isle of Man, re-opening on May 17 in England and Scotland. Compared to the first four months of pre-pandemic 2019, 2022 is running 27 behind.
“Sonic The Hedgehog 2” is the No.1 film of April, grossing £22.8 million, and is the fourth-highest grossing film of the year so far. The animated sequel is tracking 18 ahead of the original film’s £19.3 million and is the second-best performing film based on a video game, 5 behind “Uncharted” (£24.2 million). In second position for April was “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore” with £19.1 million, the sixth-highest grossing film of 2022.
“The Bad Guys” is at No.3, grossing £10.7 million, and is the third-biggest animated film of the year, after...
- 5/6/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
On the May 3, 2022 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editor Ben Pearson is joined by editor and chief film critic Chris Evangelista to gather around the virtual water cooler and talk about what they've been up to.
Opening Banter:
At The Water Cooler:
What we've been Doing: What we've been Reading: What we've been Watching:
Ben watched Scream (2022), Halloween Kills, Doctor Zhivago, Starstruck season 2, Peggy Sue Got Married, City Lights, and Barry.
Chris watched Men, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Walker.
What we've been Eating: What we've been Playing:
Also mentioned:
All the other stuff you need to...
The post Daily Podcast: Mini-Water Cooler: Doctor Strange 2, Walker, Peggy Sue Got Married, and More appeared first on /Film.
Opening Banter:
At The Water Cooler:
What we've been Doing: What we've been Reading: What we've been Watching:
Ben watched Scream (2022), Halloween Kills, Doctor Zhivago, Starstruck season 2, Peggy Sue Got Married, City Lights, and Barry.
Chris watched Men, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Walker.
What we've been Eating: What we've been Playing:
Also mentioned:
All the other stuff you need to...
The post Daily Podcast: Mini-Water Cooler: Doctor Strange 2, Walker, Peggy Sue Got Married, and More appeared first on /Film.
- 5/3/2022
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
I think it is safe to say Nicolas Cage makes unusual choices when he approaches a character. Rarely, if ever, has he played a moment in a way that was completely expected. Whether it's through his voice, his body, his eye contact, or his work with the hair, makeup, and costume departments, Cage approaches everything from a completely singular perspective. Sometimes the choice is inspired genius, such as using the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker as the inspiration for H.I. McDunnough in "Raising Arizona." Sometimes you are just left wondering what he could possibly be even trying to accomplish, like all those direct-to-video...
The post How Francis Ford Coppola Convinced Nicolas Cage To Make Peggy Sue Got Married appeared first on /Film.
The post How Francis Ford Coppola Convinced Nicolas Cage To Make Peggy Sue Got Married appeared first on /Film.
- 4/28/2022
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
Countless movies capture the exhilaration and horror of high school, but only a select few resurrect those qualities for high school reunions. On a new Be Reel, we reminisce on this delightful and harrowing subgenre, featuring “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” (1997), “Peggy Sue Got Married” (1986) and “Central Intelligence” (2016). There’s one universal takeaway: even one night of reliving high school sends grown adults off the deep end.
Continue reading ‘Romy And Michele’ At 25: The Transportive Insanity of High School Reunion Movies [Be Reel Podcast] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Romy And Michele’ At 25: The Transportive Insanity of High School Reunion Movies [Be Reel Podcast] at The Playlist.
- 4/21/2022
- by Chance Solem-Pfeifer
- The Playlist
As they say, art imitates life, and for Pedro Pascal, playing a Nicolas Cage superfan wasn’t too far from the truth.
Pascal stars as a billionaire who offers 1 million to a fictionalized version of Cage to attend his birthday party in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” in theaters April 22.
And while Pascal’s “Unbearable” character has villainous intentions, the “Narcos” alum noted that he previously tapped into an inspired “Cage rage” to play DC evil mastermind Max Lord in “Wonder Woman 1984.”
“I remember shooting a scene in ‘1984’ and, in the instant, I was like, what kind of energy do I need here?” Pascal told Entertainment Weekly. “And I remembered Nicolas Cage — before I ever met him, before the thought of ever making ‘Massive Talent’ existed — I remembered him jumping on the desk in ‘Vampire’s Kiss,’ kind of torturing [co-star] María Conchita Alonso. I remembered that scene and his energy,...
Pascal stars as a billionaire who offers 1 million to a fictionalized version of Cage to attend his birthday party in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” in theaters April 22.
And while Pascal’s “Unbearable” character has villainous intentions, the “Narcos” alum noted that he previously tapped into an inspired “Cage rage” to play DC evil mastermind Max Lord in “Wonder Woman 1984.”
“I remember shooting a scene in ‘1984’ and, in the instant, I was like, what kind of energy do I need here?” Pascal told Entertainment Weekly. “And I remembered Nicolas Cage — before I ever met him, before the thought of ever making ‘Massive Talent’ existed — I remembered him jumping on the desk in ‘Vampire’s Kiss,’ kind of torturing [co-star] María Conchita Alonso. I remembered that scene and his energy,...
- 4/19/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
It takes a very special actor to turn the alphabet into an aria of weirdness. And yet, there’s Nicolas Cage, looking young and handsome in a 1980s Italian power suit, losing his cool after being told a contract has been misfiled. This is, naturally, an unforgivable sin. So how does this man on the edge demonstrate his rage? By screaming the alphabet: A! B! C! D! As he shrieks his way through, yes, all 26 letters, the volume increases and the movements ramp up to something that resembles either an...
- 4/18/2022
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
In what can be called movie geek comfort food, Battle: Los Angeles and Krull have become cult favorites over the years. Why? You can watch either movie while doing other things keeping an extra eye on the screen, have devout fans who can recite the dialogue verbatim and will defend both movies to the end. Guilty pleasures, yes, cult status, definitely.
Even HBO Max has it listed as such.
The 2011 sci-fi and 1982 fantasy films have come to HBO Max and are available to stream now.
“Marines don’t quit.”
Battle: Los Angeles, starring Aaron Eckhart, and from director Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath Of The Titans), is the exciting story of a squad of U.S. Marines who become the last line of defense against a global invasion. It gets the military right than most war movies. Numerous Marine units assisted in filming and the movie contains some awesome scenes with Black Hawks,...
Even HBO Max has it listed as such.
The 2011 sci-fi and 1982 fantasy films have come to HBO Max and are available to stream now.
“Marines don’t quit.”
Battle: Los Angeles, starring Aaron Eckhart, and from director Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath Of The Titans), is the exciting story of a squad of U.S. Marines who become the last line of defense against a global invasion. It gets the military right than most war movies. Numerous Marine units assisted in filming and the movie contains some awesome scenes with Black Hawks,...
- 4/3/2022
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
April is here and that means there’s a whole slew of new releases headed to Hulu to meet your streaming needs.
In the realm of original films, Hulu has the queer rom-com “Crush,” starring Rowan Blanchard and Auli’i Cravalho, which debuts April 29. Meanwhile, new library arrivals this month include the Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt sci-fi mind-bender “Looper,” both “Shrek” and “Shrek 2,” and all four films in “The Twilight Saga.”
April is also a big month for new TV shows on Hulu. Andrew Garfield’s hot streak continues with the FX drama “Under the Banner of Heaven,” which debuts exclusively on Hulu April 28. For reality TV fans, “The Kardashians” premieres on April 14. Hulu also has two franchise spinoff kids shows returning with Season 7 of “Madagascar: A Little Wild” on April 4 and Season 2 of “The Croods: Family Tree” on April 5.
These are but a few highlights in a rather...
In the realm of original films, Hulu has the queer rom-com “Crush,” starring Rowan Blanchard and Auli’i Cravalho, which debuts April 29. Meanwhile, new library arrivals this month include the Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt sci-fi mind-bender “Looper,” both “Shrek” and “Shrek 2,” and all four films in “The Twilight Saga.”
April is also a big month for new TV shows on Hulu. Andrew Garfield’s hot streak continues with the FX drama “Under the Banner of Heaven,” which debuts exclusively on Hulu April 28. For reality TV fans, “The Kardashians” premieres on April 14. Hulu also has two franchise spinoff kids shows returning with Season 7 of “Madagascar: A Little Wild” on April 4 and Season 2 of “The Croods: Family Tree” on April 5.
These are but a few highlights in a rather...
- 4/2/2022
- by Haleigh Foutch
- The Wrap
The return of fan-favorite shows, auteurs tackling new original series, new documentaries and more headline what’s new on HBO Max in April 2022.
Top of the list is the HBO Max original series “The Flight Attendant,” which returns for its second season on April 21. Then there’s the long-awaited return of Bill Hader’s “Barry” on April 24 on HBO and HBO Max, as well as Season 3 of “The Black Lady Sketch Show” on April 8.
In terms of new originals, “The Wire” and “The Deuce” creator David Simon is back with the new series “We Own This City” on April 25, which chronicles the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force. Michael Mann executive produces and directs the first episode of the neo-noir “Tokyo Vice,” which premieres on April 7. And Ben Foster stars as Holocaust survivor Harry Haft in the HBO Original Film “The Survivor,” which...
Top of the list is the HBO Max original series “The Flight Attendant,” which returns for its second season on April 21. Then there’s the long-awaited return of Bill Hader’s “Barry” on April 24 on HBO and HBO Max, as well as Season 3 of “The Black Lady Sketch Show” on April 8.
In terms of new originals, “The Wire” and “The Deuce” creator David Simon is back with the new series “We Own This City” on April 25, which chronicles the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force. Michael Mann executive produces and directs the first episode of the neo-noir “Tokyo Vice,” which premieres on April 7. And Ben Foster stars as Holocaust survivor Harry Haft in the HBO Original Film “The Survivor,” which...
- 4/1/2022
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
Though the confusingly named initiative “FX on Hulu” is on its way out, FX is still bringing premium television to Hulu in the meantime.
Hulu’s list of new releases for April 2022 is highlighted by FX limited series Under the Banner of Heaven. This adaptation of the non-fiction book by John Krakauer stars Andrew Garfield as a Mormon police detective whose faith is shaken when investigating a murder involving the church.
It’s not all just FX on the TV side of things for Hulu this month, however. The streamer is debuting second seasons of its series The Hardy Boys (April 6) and Woke (April 8). There isn’t much to report from Hulu’s original movies arm aside from true crime documentary Captive Audience on April 21. But that doc about one family’s 50-year journey for justice sounds like a must-watch.
April 1 sees the usual arrival of library film titles. Looper,...
Hulu’s list of new releases for April 2022 is highlighted by FX limited series Under the Banner of Heaven. This adaptation of the non-fiction book by John Krakauer stars Andrew Garfield as a Mormon police detective whose faith is shaken when investigating a murder involving the church.
It’s not all just FX on the TV side of things for Hulu this month, however. The streamer is debuting second seasons of its series The Hardy Boys (April 6) and Woke (April 8). There isn’t much to report from Hulu’s original movies arm aside from true crime documentary Captive Audience on April 21. But that doc about one family’s 50-year journey for justice sounds like a must-watch.
April 1 sees the usual arrival of library film titles. Looper,...
- 4/1/2022
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
April is about to be a good month for returning HBO and HBO Max properties.
HBO Max’s list of releases for April 2022 features three hotly anticipated seasons of television. The Flight Attendant, which helped launch HBO Max as a viable spot for good dramedy in 2020, premieres its second season on April 21. That will be followed by another go-around for the sci-fi comedy Made for Love on April 28. Of course, the big ticket item this month is something that HBO Max inherited from its cable cousin. Barry season 3 will continue the story of hitman-turned-actor Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) on April 24.
The TV offerings run much deeper than just returning shows this month. April 7 sees the arrival of Tokyo Vice, a sprawling crime drama with some episodes directed by Michael Mann. The series stars Ansel Elgort as an American journalist embedding himself in Tokyo’s criminal underground in the late ’90s.
HBO Max’s list of releases for April 2022 features three hotly anticipated seasons of television. The Flight Attendant, which helped launch HBO Max as a viable spot for good dramedy in 2020, premieres its second season on April 21. That will be followed by another go-around for the sci-fi comedy Made for Love on April 28. Of course, the big ticket item this month is something that HBO Max inherited from its cable cousin. Barry season 3 will continue the story of hitman-turned-actor Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) on April 24.
The TV offerings run much deeper than just returning shows this month. April 7 sees the arrival of Tokyo Vice, a sprawling crime drama with some episodes directed by Michael Mann. The series stars Ansel Elgort as an American journalist embedding himself in Tokyo’s criminal underground in the late ’90s.
- 4/1/2022
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
When the ASC launched its awards in 1986, a single statue was given for feature film cinematography, presented by Gregory Peck to Jordan Cronenweth for his work on Francis Ford Coppola’s “Peggy Sue Got Married.”
Now, 36 years later, the American Society of Cinematographers Awards is returning to the smaller scale of yore even as it promises to celebrate a wide range of image-makers. The ceremony will take place on March 20th at the ASC Clubhouse, the org’s modest, if stylish, headquarters in Hollywood, rather than in a cavernous ballroom.
But even though ASC has reduced the scale of the event this year, the scope of the awards has continued to expanded significantly since that first evening. Honors now go to TV categories as well as documentary. The ASC’s Spotlight Award joined the parade in 2013 to recognize films seen mainly on the festival circuit, in limited theatrical release or outside the U.
Now, 36 years later, the American Society of Cinematographers Awards is returning to the smaller scale of yore even as it promises to celebrate a wide range of image-makers. The ceremony will take place on March 20th at the ASC Clubhouse, the org’s modest, if stylish, headquarters in Hollywood, rather than in a cavernous ballroom.
But even though ASC has reduced the scale of the event this year, the scope of the awards has continued to expanded significantly since that first evening. Honors now go to TV categories as well as documentary. The ASC’s Spotlight Award joined the parade in 2013 to recognize films seen mainly on the festival circuit, in limited theatrical release or outside the U.
- 3/19/2022
- by David Heuring
- Variety Film + TV
Nicolas Cage’s sometimes over-the-top performances, complete with meme-worthy lifted brows and bulging eyeballs, are getting their own showcase. “People think I’m not in on the joke,” the headline of his 2013 Guardian profile reads. Lest there be any doubt, he’s now acted in and produced a feature-length film to prove his point.
Channeling the meta-ness of “Adaptation,” Cage stars in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” as a debt-ridden, washed-up actor named Nick Cage and as Nicky, his alter ego and a bad angel of sorts who appears to be 1980s-vintage Cage, here to facilitate internal dialogue. Per the film’s concocted biographical details, he has an ex-wife named Olivia (Sharon Horgan), a makeup artist he met on the set of “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin,” and a teenage daughter named Addy (Lily Mo Sheen), who thinks Humphrey Bogart was an adult film performer.
(Nick Cage is not to be...
Channeling the meta-ness of “Adaptation,” Cage stars in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” as a debt-ridden, washed-up actor named Nick Cage and as Nicky, his alter ego and a bad angel of sorts who appears to be 1980s-vintage Cage, here to facilitate internal dialogue. Per the film’s concocted biographical details, he has an ex-wife named Olivia (Sharon Horgan), a makeup artist he met on the set of “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin,” and a teenage daughter named Addy (Lily Mo Sheen), who thinks Humphrey Bogart was an adult film performer.
(Nick Cage is not to be...
- 3/13/2022
- by Martin Tsai
- The Wrap
In “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” Nicolas Cage plays Nicolas Cage, a conceit we get used to in a matter of seconds, even as it turns into a gift that keeps on giving. There’s a reason we get used to it so quickly: Movies with a meta dimension have been with us for years — movies like “The Player,” where Robert Altman cast a galaxy of Hollywood stars as their real-life selves, or “Being John Malkovich,” where John Malkovich played John Malkovich, or “Adaptation,” where Cage played Charlie Kaufman, the screenwriter of the film we happened to be watching. Unlike those movies, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” isn’t a floridly ambitious pretzel-logic art film. , which turns out to be both a cheesy thing and a special thing.
Tom Gormican, the director and co-writer of “Unbearable Weight,” knows all too well that when it comes to Nicolas Cage,...
Tom Gormican, the director and co-writer of “Unbearable Weight,” knows all too well that when it comes to Nicolas Cage,...
- 3/13/2022
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
In Netflix’s “The Adam Project,” a fighter pilot from the future named Adam (Ryan Reynolds) accidentally crash lands in 2022, and has to team up with his 12-year-old former self (Walker Scobell) in order to have a chance at a future victory. But while Adam physically journeys to his own past, other time travel movies have seen objects, communication, and even consciousness skip back and forth along the timeline to affect their stories.
Below, we look at 15 of the very best movies centered around time travel, each putting its own unique spin on the concept of characters who, in some way, manage to traverse time.
“Time After Time” (1979) Warner Bros.
While none of the cinematic adaptations of the prolific works of 19th century science-fiction writer Hg Wells are on this list, the writer himself is (or at least a fictionalized version of him) in the time hopping murder mystery “Time After Time.
Below, we look at 15 of the very best movies centered around time travel, each putting its own unique spin on the concept of characters who, in some way, manage to traverse time.
“Time After Time” (1979) Warner Bros.
While none of the cinematic adaptations of the prolific works of 19th century science-fiction writer Hg Wells are on this list, the writer himself is (or at least a fictionalized version of him) in the time hopping murder mystery “Time After Time.
- 3/12/2022
- by Lauren Thoman
- The Wrap
The Oscar campaign for “Coda” has touted the film as “history-making.” If you wanted to be a literal-minded curmudgeon about it, you could say that the history it’s talking about was already made — when Marlee Matlin, in 1986, became the first deaf performer to win an Academy Award for best actress, for her great, ardent, wounded performance in “Children of a Lesser God.” Matlin deserved to win.
Nevertheless, history works in waves. Sidney Poitier made history by becoming the first Black actor to be a Hollywood star, as well as the first to win an Academy Award for best actor. But in 2001, there were three Black actors nominated for lead performance at the Oscars: Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball,” Denzel Washington for “Training Day,” and Will Smith for “Ali”. And that was history-making too: a recognition of the leap from the world of Poitier, who for too many years was...
Nevertheless, history works in waves. Sidney Poitier made history by becoming the first Black actor to be a Hollywood star, as well as the first to win an Academy Award for best actor. But in 2001, there were three Black actors nominated for lead performance at the Oscars: Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball,” Denzel Washington for “Training Day,” and Will Smith for “Ali”. And that was history-making too: a recognition of the leap from the world of Poitier, who for too many years was...
- 3/1/2022
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
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