The 1990s represented a golden epoch for action cinema. This was the time which saw VHS and its digitized successor DVD introduce a whole new generation of fans to the magic of stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. And those titans from the ‘80s still claimed big wins, too, at the box office and home media via the likes of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Demolition Man, and Cliffhanger.
It was also the decade that saw audiences turn out in droves to theaters and rental stores to catch a glimpse of Steven Seagal’s flying fists in movies like Under Siege or Jean-Claude Van Damme and his trademark splits in Timecop; Jackie Chan finally got the larger American fanbase he so richly deserved thanks to the Rush Hour movies while Bruce Willis gave us Die Hard With A Vengeance, the best of all the Die Hard sequels, before pivoting...
It was also the decade that saw audiences turn out in droves to theaters and rental stores to catch a glimpse of Steven Seagal’s flying fists in movies like Under Siege or Jean-Claude Van Damme and his trademark splits in Timecop; Jackie Chan finally got the larger American fanbase he so richly deserved thanks to the Rush Hour movies while Bruce Willis gave us Die Hard With A Vengeance, the best of all the Die Hard sequels, before pivoting...
- 4/11/2024
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
March 17, 1951 was a great day in history, because that the day Kurt Russell entered the world. And while he would go on to become one of the biggest icons of the eighties and nineties, many folks don’t know that Russell started as a child star for Disney, even acting opposite his future life partner Goldie Hawn in The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968). From the sixties into the seventies, he starred in Disney flicks like The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), but as the studio’s movies started to flop and Russell got older, a change of pace was needed. Arguably, Russell’s career took off when he began working with director John Carpenter, with the first movie being 1979’s TV movie Elvis, but what are Kurt Russell’s best movies? To celebrate his 73rd birthday, let’s dig into them here.
Honorable Mention: Captain Ron (1992)
A few weeks ago,...
Honorable Mention: Captain Ron (1992)
A few weeks ago,...
- 3/17/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
John Carpenter's "Escape From New York" is a cult classic for a reason — it rules. Released in 1981, "Escape From New York" is a down-and-dirty sci-fi action pic in which New York City has become a giant maximum security prison. As bad luck would have it, an attempted hijacking of Air Force One forces the President (Donald Pleasence) to eject from the plane in an escape pod. Guess where he ends up? Yep — NYC, baby! The Big Apple! The militarized government wants to save the President and retrieve a top-secret briefcase he has cuffed to his wrist, but New York is too dangerous to simply enter for your average rescue mission. So the powers-that-be strike upon a simple plan: they force criminal Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) into doing the job.
Snake, a cool dude with an eyepatch and a whispery voice, has no real choice in the matter: a device...
Snake, a cool dude with an eyepatch and a whispery voice, has no real choice in the matter: a device...
- 3/7/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Scott Glenn is the latest addition to the cast of “The White Lotus” Season 3.
As with all castings for the third season, Glenn’s role is being kept under wraps. “The White Lotus” is set to begin production in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok, Thailand, in February. Exact plot details are being kept under wraps aside from the fact it will follow a new group of guests at a White Lotus resort property.
Glenn joins previously announced cast members: Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Tayme Thapthimthong, Christian Friedel, Julian Kostov, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris, Carrie Coon, Francesca Corney, Nicholas Duvernay, Arnas Fedaravičius, Natasha Rothwell, Walton Goggins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola.
Glenn previously appeared in all three seasons of the HBO series “The Leftovers.” His other recent TV roles include both “Daredevil” and “The Defenders...
As with all castings for the third season, Glenn’s role is being kept under wraps. “The White Lotus” is set to begin production in and around Koh Samui, Phuket, and Bangkok, Thailand, in February. Exact plot details are being kept under wraps aside from the fact it will follow a new group of guests at a White Lotus resort property.
Glenn joins previously announced cast members: Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Tayme Thapthimthong, Christian Friedel, Julian Kostov, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris, Carrie Coon, Francesca Corney, Nicholas Duvernay, Arnas Fedaravičius, Natasha Rothwell, Walton Goggins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola.
Glenn previously appeared in all three seasons of the HBO series “The Leftovers.” His other recent TV roles include both “Daredevil” and “The Defenders...
- 2/7/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Pictured: Hulk, The Mummy, The Karate Kid, Kung-Fu Panda
A New Year means lots of removals from Netflix and January 1st is looking busy, with over 100 movies set to leave the service already. Below, we’ll be keeping track of all the Netflix departures for the first month of 2024.
First, a few housekeeping notes as to how Netflix removals work before we dive in. Due to licensing agreements, shows and movies added to Netflix aren’t added forever. Instead, they’re essentially rented for a fixed period. All the shows below have their current window on Netflix ending and will likely be bound for a rival streaming service.
We list titles slightly differently from other outlets, with our listings being the actual day of removal. If you want to watch any titles scheduled to expire on January 1st, for example, you’ll need to watch by the end of December 31st.
A New Year means lots of removals from Netflix and January 1st is looking busy, with over 100 movies set to leave the service already. Below, we’ll be keeping track of all the Netflix departures for the first month of 2024.
First, a few housekeeping notes as to how Netflix removals work before we dive in. Due to licensing agreements, shows and movies added to Netflix aren’t added forever. Instead, they’re essentially rented for a fixed period. All the shows below have their current window on Netflix ending and will likely be bound for a rival streaming service.
We list titles slightly differently from other outlets, with our listings being the actual day of removal. If you want to watch any titles scheduled to expire on January 1st, for example, you’ll need to watch by the end of December 31st.
- 12/31/2023
- by Kasey Moore
- Whats-on-Netflix
Actor Kate Hudson decided to support Swing Shift star Kurt Russell in the 2004 feature Poseidon. But there was one scene that was too hard to stomach even for Hudson.
Kate Hudson couldn’t stand watching Kurt Russell drown in ‘Poseidon’ Kate Hudson | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Poseidon was a 2006 disaster film about a tidal wave that crashes into a luxury ship. Russell played one of the survivors in the feature searching for a way to safety. He did the project without reading the script, and simply wanted to work with the film’s director Wolfgang Petersen.
“Back before I signed on to Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise and Cameron Crowe, my agent and I were talking on the phone, and I said, ‘Yeah, I want to work with those guys,’” Russell once told Entertainment Weekly. “And he said, ‘Well, do you want to read the script first?’ And I said, ‘No,...
Kate Hudson couldn’t stand watching Kurt Russell drown in ‘Poseidon’ Kate Hudson | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Poseidon was a 2006 disaster film about a tidal wave that crashes into a luxury ship. Russell played one of the survivors in the feature searching for a way to safety. He did the project without reading the script, and simply wanted to work with the film’s director Wolfgang Petersen.
“Back before I signed on to Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise and Cameron Crowe, my agent and I were talking on the phone, and I said, ‘Yeah, I want to work with those guys,’” Russell once told Entertainment Weekly. “And he said, ‘Well, do you want to read the script first?’ And I said, ‘No,...
- 11/11/2023
- by Antonio Stallings
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Exclusive: Oscar winner Ron Howard is heading into production at the end of November on survival thriller Eden, which was previously named Origin Of Species.
Oscar nominee Vanessa Kirby, who will next be seen starring in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon opposite Joaquin Phoenix, and Euphoria and White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney have joined the previously announced Jude Law, Ana de Armas and Daniel Bruhl. The two actresses replace Alicia Vikander and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Also joining the buzzy project is composing maestro Hans Zimmer, marking the tenth collaboration between the two Oscar winners, which began back in ’91 with Backdraft.
Based on an unsolved mystery that unfolded on a remote island in the Galapagos, the movie charts the lengths humans will go in pursuit of happiness.
Howard has wanted to tell the story for 15 years, ever since he first visited the Galapagos Island where the real-life events took place. Just before the...
Oscar nominee Vanessa Kirby, who will next be seen starring in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon opposite Joaquin Phoenix, and Euphoria and White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney have joined the previously announced Jude Law, Ana de Armas and Daniel Bruhl. The two actresses replace Alicia Vikander and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Also joining the buzzy project is composing maestro Hans Zimmer, marking the tenth collaboration between the two Oscar winners, which began back in ’91 with Backdraft.
Based on an unsolved mystery that unfolded on a remote island in the Galapagos, the movie charts the lengths humans will go in pursuit of happiness.
Howard has wanted to tell the story for 15 years, ever since he first visited the Galapagos Island where the real-life events took place. Just before the...
- 10/30/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Pain Hustlers and new seasons of Big Mouth and Elite are among the high-profile new projects debuting on Netflix in October.
Directed by David Yates, Pain Hustlers is a crime drama set in the world of pharmaceuticals. The film, which boasts a starry cast that includes Emily Blunt, Chris Evans and Andy García, debuts on Oct. 27.
On Oct. 20, Netflix launches the seventh season of Big Mouth. The penultimate season of the animated comedy heads to high school but the awkward moments and growing pains for Andrew Glouberman (John Mulaney) and Nick Birch (Nick Kroll) continue.
Also on Oct. 20, the seventh season of global hit Elite hits Netflix. There’s more trouble in store for the students of Las Encinas with Omar Shanaa (Omar Ayuso) back, Ivan (André Lamoglia) mending a broken heart and Isadora (Valentina Zenere) dealing with her criminal family.
Earlier this month, the streamer launched Beckham, a docuseries...
Directed by David Yates, Pain Hustlers is a crime drama set in the world of pharmaceuticals. The film, which boasts a starry cast that includes Emily Blunt, Chris Evans and Andy García, debuts on Oct. 27.
On Oct. 20, Netflix launches the seventh season of Big Mouth. The penultimate season of the animated comedy heads to high school but the awkward moments and growing pains for Andrew Glouberman (John Mulaney) and Nick Birch (Nick Kroll) continue.
Also on Oct. 20, the seventh season of global hit Elite hits Netflix. There’s more trouble in store for the students of Las Encinas with Omar Shanaa (Omar Ayuso) back, Ivan (André Lamoglia) mending a broken heart and Isadora (Valentina Zenere) dealing with her criminal family.
Earlier this month, the streamer launched Beckham, a docuseries...
- 10/16/2023
- by Hilary Lewis and Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It's been 22 years since "Band of Brothers" captivated television audiences with its gripping 10-episode tale of a United States paratrooper company's daring, civilization-saving exploits in the European Theater of World War II. And according to its placement on Netflix's top charts, it is as relevant and watchable as ever.
Whether the streamer's subscribers are revisiting the classic miniseries or discovering it for the first time, it's encouraging to know that people are still moved by the heroism of the young soldiers who put their lives on the line to turn back Adolf Hitler's genocidal grab for world domination -- especially as we watch the American Republican party and the country's law enforcement get overrun by the types of white supremacists who contributed to the rise of the Third Reich. We live in perilous times, so it's important to remember how many brave individuals fought and died to eliminate...
Whether the streamer's subscribers are revisiting the classic miniseries or discovering it for the first time, it's encouraging to know that people are still moved by the heroism of the young soldiers who put their lives on the line to turn back Adolf Hitler's genocidal grab for world domination -- especially as we watch the American Republican party and the country's law enforcement get overrun by the types of white supremacists who contributed to the rise of the Third Reich. We live in perilous times, so it's important to remember how many brave individuals fought and died to eliminate...
- 9/23/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Robert Swan, an actor familiar from sometimes brief but noticeable roles in Hoosiers, Rudy, The Untouchables and The Babe, died of cancer today at his home in Rolling Prairie, Indiana. He was 78.
His death was announced by his friend Betty Hoeffner in a Facebook post.
Perhaps best known for his role as an assistant to Gene Hackman’s high school basketball coach in director David Anspaugh’s 1986 sports drama Hoosiers, Swan also featured as a priest in Anspaugh’s 1993 Rudy starring Sean Astin.
Making his feature debut portraying a stagehand in 1980’s Somewhere in Time, Swan frequently appeared on both TV and in film over the next two decades, with roles in the 1984 TV-movie The Dollmaker starring Jane Fonda and in series including All My Children, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, Walking Tall, The Twilight Zone and Spencer For Hire.
On the big screen, he portrayed a biker in Doctor Detroit...
His death was announced by his friend Betty Hoeffner in a Facebook post.
Perhaps best known for his role as an assistant to Gene Hackman’s high school basketball coach in director David Anspaugh’s 1986 sports drama Hoosiers, Swan also featured as a priest in Anspaugh’s 1993 Rudy starring Sean Astin.
Making his feature debut portraying a stagehand in 1980’s Somewhere in Time, Swan frequently appeared on both TV and in film over the next two decades, with roles in the 1984 TV-movie The Dollmaker starring Jane Fonda and in series including All My Children, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, Walking Tall, The Twilight Zone and Spencer For Hire.
On the big screen, he portrayed a biker in Doctor Detroit...
- 8/9/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Robert Swan, “The Untouchables” actor and founder of Harbor Country Opera, has died of liver cancer. He was 78.
His death was confirmed by a family friend, who said his dream was to turn his award-winning screenplay about Samuel Johnson, the man first credited with creating the modern dictionary, into a movie.
Swan was known for his work in several feature films, including his role as a Mountie captain in Brian De Palma’s “The Untouchables” (1987), which starred Kevin Costner and landed Sean Connery an Oscar. He appeared in Oliver Stone and Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 “Natural Born Killers” as Deputy Napalatoni.
Additionally, he was featured in the 1984 Emmy-nominated Jane Fonda-led TV movie “The Dollmaker” and as a coach in the 1986 David Anspaugh-helmed feature “Hoosiers.” His further credits include “Backdraft,” “Somewhere in Time,” “Heart of Steel,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Stingray,” “Who’s That Girl,” “All My Children,” “Missing Persons” and “The Owner.
His death was confirmed by a family friend, who said his dream was to turn his award-winning screenplay about Samuel Johnson, the man first credited with creating the modern dictionary, into a movie.
Swan was known for his work in several feature films, including his role as a Mountie captain in Brian De Palma’s “The Untouchables” (1987), which starred Kevin Costner and landed Sean Connery an Oscar. He appeared in Oliver Stone and Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 “Natural Born Killers” as Deputy Napalatoni.
Additionally, he was featured in the 1984 Emmy-nominated Jane Fonda-led TV movie “The Dollmaker” and as a coach in the 1986 David Anspaugh-helmed feature “Hoosiers.” His further credits include “Backdraft,” “Somewhere in Time,” “Heart of Steel,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Stingray,” “Who’s That Girl,” “All My Children,” “Missing Persons” and “The Owner.
- 8/9/2023
- by McKinley Franklin
- Variety Film + TV
Robert Swan, the veteran character actor who appeared in key roles in the notable sports films Hoosiers, Rudy and The Babe, has died. He was 78.
Swan died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer at his home in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, his friend Betty Hoeffner told The Hollywood Reporter.
Swan also portrayed a Canadian Mountie in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987) and a bloodied deputy in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers (1994) and was other lawmen in Who’s That Girl (1987) and Mo’ Money (1992).
In Hoosiers (1986), his character, the Indiana farmer Rollin Butcher, has two sons on the Hickory High School basketball team, and he’s one of the few people in town to welcome new coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman). Later, he joins Coach Dale on the bench as a Huskers’ assistant.
Swan then reunited with Hoosiers director David Anspaugh to play a priest in another classic underdog sports flick,...
Swan died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer at his home in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, his friend Betty Hoeffner told The Hollywood Reporter.
Swan also portrayed a Canadian Mountie in Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987) and a bloodied deputy in Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers (1994) and was other lawmen in Who’s That Girl (1987) and Mo’ Money (1992).
In Hoosiers (1986), his character, the Indiana farmer Rollin Butcher, has two sons on the Hickory High School basketball team, and he’s one of the few people in town to welcome new coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman). Later, he joins Coach Dale on the bench as a Huskers’ assistant.
Swan then reunited with Hoosiers director David Anspaugh to play a priest in another classic underdog sports flick,...
- 8/9/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I believe Jeff Bridges is one of the most charming actors of the last 50 years, and I'm not alone. Pauline Kael went one step further by calling Jeff, in an oft-quoted line, "[maybe] the most natural and least self-conscious screen actor who ever lived." I don't know if Kael harbored any sort of attraction toward Bridges, but I can't claim that my appreciation of him is entirely platonic.
He's not only a fine figure of a leading man (with an even finer head of hair), but he also possesses an easy charisma that has bolstered his screen presence from "The Last Picture Show" in 1971 all the way to "The Old Man," his recent Hulu show. If Bridges has ever given a bad performance, please enlighten me because I have yet to find it among his many credits. Instead of any further hagiography, here is a breakdown of Jeff Bridges' best movies.
He's not only a fine figure of a leading man (with an even finer head of hair), but he also possesses an easy charisma that has bolstered his screen presence from "The Last Picture Show" in 1971 all the way to "The Old Man," his recent Hulu show. If Bridges has ever given a bad performance, please enlighten me because I have yet to find it among his many credits. Instead of any further hagiography, here is a breakdown of Jeff Bridges' best movies.
- 5/27/2023
- by Jack Hawkins
- Slash Film
To judge by Aki Kaurismäki’s typically wry and winsome “Fallen Leaves,” the Finnish auteur’s first movie since threatening to retire after “The Other Side of Hope” came out 2017, only two things have any significant importance have happened in the world over the last six years.
The first and most pressing of those is the war in Ukraine, which bleeds into Ansa’s (Alma Pöysti) already depressing kitchen every time the supermarket cashier dares to turn on her radio after work. Listening to news of the latest atrocity in Kyiv is the only thing worse than eating her microwaved dinner in the complete silence Ansa settles for when she can’t find anything more comforting on the airwaves. She doesn’t need any further evidence of the darkness outside her window, thank you very much.
The other major historical milestone since 2017 was obviously the release of Jim Jarmusch’s “The Dead Don’t Die,...
The first and most pressing of those is the war in Ukraine, which bleeds into Ansa’s (Alma Pöysti) already depressing kitchen every time the supermarket cashier dares to turn on her radio after work. Listening to news of the latest atrocity in Kyiv is the only thing worse than eating her microwaved dinner in the complete silence Ansa settles for when she can’t find anything more comforting on the airwaves. She doesn’t need any further evidence of the darkness outside her window, thank you very much.
The other major historical milestone since 2017 was obviously the release of Jim Jarmusch’s “The Dead Don’t Die,...
- 5/24/2023
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Terrence Howard (Empire), Jb. Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Rebecca De Mornay (Jessica Jones) are set to star in Giving Thanks, a coming-of-age comedy set in Inglewood, California that will go into production in June.
The story revolves around Marcus and Roddy, two best friends who work at a dead-end retail job and dream about jump-starting their dream of living on their own while seeking fame and fortune. The pair come up with an ingenious plan to kidnap the pet iguana of football star Achilles Cooper for ransom, while also forcing the famous player to headline the birthday party of Marcus’s father.
Howard plays Calvin Turner, a hard-working father who wants to see his son, Marcus, take advantage of the opportunities life affords him. Smoove will portray Marcus’s arch-nemesis Dexter, an ambitious hustler who manages the retail box store where he works. And De Mornay is set...
The story revolves around Marcus and Roddy, two best friends who work at a dead-end retail job and dream about jump-starting their dream of living on their own while seeking fame and fortune. The pair come up with an ingenious plan to kidnap the pet iguana of football star Achilles Cooper for ransom, while also forcing the famous player to headline the birthday party of Marcus’s father.
Howard plays Calvin Turner, a hard-working father who wants to see his son, Marcus, take advantage of the opportunities life affords him. Smoove will portray Marcus’s arch-nemesis Dexter, an ambitious hustler who manages the retail box store where he works. And De Mornay is set...
- 5/1/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Stars: William Baldwin, Arie Thompson, Michael Marce, Kennedy Porter, Noel G, Rashod Freelove, Emree Franklin | Written by Conor Dowling | Directed by Maximilian Elfeldt
Originally released in the US at the end of December 2021, with no fanfare, publicity, or (at the time) even an IMDb page, War of the Worlds: Annihilation is the latest film made by The Asylum exclusively for US streaming service Tubi and now making its UK debut via 101 Films. Like their first Tubi original film, Swim, I’ve found their films to be hit or miss, usually miss and the way this was originally dumped quietly in the middle of the holiday season didn’t do anything to make me hopeful about what I was about to watch.
A massive group of meteorites, which for some reason the characters keep calling asteroids, fall from the sky all over the globe releasing a strange toxic smoke. The military,...
Originally released in the US at the end of December 2021, with no fanfare, publicity, or (at the time) even an IMDb page, War of the Worlds: Annihilation is the latest film made by The Asylum exclusively for US streaming service Tubi and now making its UK debut via 101 Films. Like their first Tubi original film, Swim, I’ve found their films to be hit or miss, usually miss and the way this was originally dumped quietly in the middle of the holiday season didn’t do anything to make me hopeful about what I was about to watch.
A massive group of meteorites, which for some reason the characters keep calling asteroids, fall from the sky all over the globe releasing a strange toxic smoke. The military,...
- 4/26/2023
- by Jim Morazzini
- Nerdly
Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer and founding member of both The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, David Crosby, passed away yesterday at the age of 81. A legendary and influential musician, Crosby recently developed a new generation of fans following the theatrical documentary, "David Crosby: Remember My Name," which was narrated and produced by Cameron Crowe. Not long after, Crosby famously made headlines when he pulled his musical catalog from Spotify after they continued to platform problematic podcaster, Joe Rogan. When Crosby's passing was announced, fans rightfully cited his remarkable contributions to the world of music, but many also referenced his eclectic collection of appearances in film and television.
Crosby's music is as distinctive as his appearance, with his trademark mustache unmistakably "Crosby." The combination of his legacy and his distinguished look made him the perfect person to make random cameo appearances in sitcoms and in tertiary roles, in addition to fictionalized versions of himself.
Crosby's music is as distinctive as his appearance, with his trademark mustache unmistakably "Crosby." The combination of his legacy and his distinguished look made him the perfect person to make random cameo appearances in sitcoms and in tertiary roles, in addition to fictionalized versions of himself.
- 1/20/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
David Crosby, the iconic musician known for The Byrds as well as co-founding Crosby, Still & Nash with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, has died at the age of 81.
The news of David Crosby’s death was announced by his wife, Jan, in a statement to Variety. “It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away,” reads the statement. “He was lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django. Although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music. Peace, love, and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. We will miss him dearly. At this time, we respectfully and kindly ask for privacy as we grieve and try to deal with our profound loss.
The news of David Crosby’s death was announced by his wife, Jan, in a statement to Variety. “It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away,” reads the statement. “He was lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django. Although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music. Peace, love, and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. We will miss him dearly. At this time, we respectfully and kindly ask for privacy as we grieve and try to deal with our profound loss.
- 1/19/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Mike Hill, the film editor who worked on 22 consecutive Ron Howard features, winning an Oscar for his work on Apollo 13 and earning nominations for A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man and Frost/Nixon, has died. He was 73.
Hill died Thursday of cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, a rare lung condition, at his home in Omaha, Nebraska, a family spokesperson announced.
Hill and editing partner Daniel P. Hanley partnered with Howard for the first time on Night Shift (1982) and for the last time on In the Heart of the Sea (2015).
In between, they handled Splash (1984), Cocoon (1985), Willow (1988), Backdraft (1991), Ransom (1996), Edtv (1999), The Missing (2003) and The Da Vinci Code (2006), to name just seven films, in addition to their Oscar-lauded efforts on Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Cinderella Man (2005) and Frost/Nixon (2008).
Hill and Hanley also collected three BAFTA nominations, which included a win for Howard’s Rush (2013), and three Ace Eddie nominations.
“Mike was a...
Hill died Thursday of cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, a rare lung condition, at his home in Omaha, Nebraska, a family spokesperson announced.
Hill and editing partner Daniel P. Hanley partnered with Howard for the first time on Night Shift (1982) and for the last time on In the Heart of the Sea (2015).
In between, they handled Splash (1984), Cocoon (1985), Willow (1988), Backdraft (1991), Ransom (1996), Edtv (1999), The Missing (2003) and The Da Vinci Code (2006), to name just seven films, in addition to their Oscar-lauded efforts on Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Cinderella Man (2005) and Frost/Nixon (2008).
Hill and Hanley also collected three BAFTA nominations, which included a win for Howard’s Rush (2013), and three Ace Eddie nominations.
“Mike was a...
- 1/9/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This essay is one of several contributed by filmmakers and actors as part of Variety’s 100 Greatest Movies of All Time package.
How do you pick the greatest movies of all time? What are the requirements? How about a movie that you have watched a hundred times? How about a movie that stars all of your favorite funny people being as funny as they have ever been? How about a comedy that is gentle, riotous and infectious?
I’ve never understood why that wasn’t as important as “Citizen Kane” when making these lists. Well, “Waiting for Guffman” is my “Citizen Kane.” Has anyone watched “Citizen Kane” more than three times? Maybe eight people. Does anyone think Orson Welles’ performance is better than Eugene Levy’s in “Guffman”? If you were feeling down about the state of the world, what would you watch, “Waiting for Guffman” or “Citizen Kane”? They...
How do you pick the greatest movies of all time? What are the requirements? How about a movie that you have watched a hundred times? How about a movie that stars all of your favorite funny people being as funny as they have ever been? How about a comedy that is gentle, riotous and infectious?
I’ve never understood why that wasn’t as important as “Citizen Kane” when making these lists. Well, “Waiting for Guffman” is my “Citizen Kane.” Has anyone watched “Citizen Kane” more than three times? Maybe eight people. Does anyone think Orson Welles’ performance is better than Eugene Levy’s in “Guffman”? If you were feeling down about the state of the world, what would you watch, “Waiting for Guffman” or “Citizen Kane”? They...
- 12/21/2022
- by Judd Apatow
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
In an industry where enduring creative collaborations are often as fragile as the movie business itself, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer now occupy a singular place in the annals of Hollywood history.
For 35 years, the Oscar-winning director-producer team (A Beautiful Mind) have been telling epic stories under the banner of their company Imagine Entertainment — from features to TV dramas and comedies and more recently documentaries and nonfiction series.
Whatever the genre or format, their projects share connective tissue: They are often stories that document how ordinary people are capable of extraordinary acts.
In the spirit of classic Imagine movies as Backdraft (1991) and Apollo 13 (1995), Howard and Grazer have added another epic story to their canon in Amazon Studios/United Artists’ Thirteen Lives — a narrative re-telling of the 2018 real-life rescue of a Thai soccer team after a rainstorm trapped them inside the Tham Luang cave for 18 days.
In an industry where enduring creative collaborations are often as fragile as the movie business itself, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer now occupy a singular place in the annals of Hollywood history.
For 35 years, the Oscar-winning director-producer team (A Beautiful Mind) have been telling epic stories under the banner of their company Imagine Entertainment — from features to TV dramas and comedies and more recently documentaries and nonfiction series.
Whatever the genre or format, their projects share connective tissue: They are often stories that document how ordinary people are capable of extraordinary acts.
In the spirit of classic Imagine movies as Backdraft (1991) and Apollo 13 (1995), Howard and Grazer have added another epic story to their canon in Amazon Studios/United Artists’ Thirteen Lives — a narrative re-telling of the 2018 real-life rescue of a Thai soccer team after a rainstorm trapped them inside the Tham Luang cave for 18 days.
- 12/13/2022
- by Stacey Wilson Hunt
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Albert Brenner, the innovative production designer, art director and five-time Oscar nominee whose work was admired in films from Fail Safe, Bullitt and Point Blank to The Sunshine Boys, The Turning Point and Backdraft, has died. He was 96.
Brenner died Thursday in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles, his family announced.
The Brooklyn native started his career dressing mannequins for window displays and worked on such TV shows as Car 54, Where Are You? before progressing to a much larger canvas — designing the five-acre New York Street backlot for Paramount in Hollywood after the original was destroyed by fire in August 1983.
Across his 50-plus-year career, Brenner collaborated on eight features with director Garry Marshall, seven with Herbert Ross, five with Peter Hyams, three with Sidney Lumet and two with Robert Mulligan. Comedies, sci-fi flicks, Westerns, period pieces — he did them all.
Of...
Albert Brenner, the innovative production designer, art director and five-time Oscar nominee whose work was admired in films from Fail Safe, Bullitt and Point Blank to The Sunshine Boys, The Turning Point and Backdraft, has died. He was 96.
Brenner died Thursday in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles, his family announced.
The Brooklyn native started his career dressing mannequins for window displays and worked on such TV shows as Car 54, Where Are You? before progressing to a much larger canvas — designing the five-acre New York Street backlot for Paramount in Hollywood after the original was destroyed by fire in August 1983.
Across his 50-plus-year career, Brenner collaborated on eight features with director Garry Marshall, seven with Herbert Ross, five with Peter Hyams, three with Sidney Lumet and two with Robert Mulligan. Comedies, sci-fi flicks, Westerns, period pieces — he did them all.
Of...
- 12/12/2022
- by Rhett Bartlett
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Albert Brenner, a production designer and/or art director on such films as Bullitt, The Turning Point, Pretty Woman and Backdraft who racked up five career Oscar nominations, has died. He was 96. The Mirisch Agency told Deadline he died December 8 in his sleep.
A 2003 recipient of the Art Directors Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Brenner scored Best Art Direction/Set Decoration Academy Award nominations for Beaches (1988), 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), California Suite (1978), The Turning Point (1977) and The Sunshine Boys (1975).
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery Related Story Broadway Review: Matthew Broderick & Sarah Jessica Parker Check In For Tidy 'Plaza Suite' Related Story Steve Restivo Dies: Actor & Co-Owner Of L.A. Restaurant Near Infamous Murder Site Was 81
Born on February 17, 1926, in New York City, Brenner served in the Air Force during World War II. His training later at the Yale School of Drama proved invaluable when...
A 2003 recipient of the Art Directors Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Brenner scored Best Art Direction/Set Decoration Academy Award nominations for Beaches (1988), 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), California Suite (1978), The Turning Point (1977) and The Sunshine Boys (1975).
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery Related Story Broadway Review: Matthew Broderick & Sarah Jessica Parker Check In For Tidy 'Plaza Suite' Related Story Steve Restivo Dies: Actor & Co-Owner Of L.A. Restaurant Near Infamous Murder Site Was 81
Born on February 17, 1926, in New York City, Brenner served in the Air Force during World War II. His training later at the Yale School of Drama proved invaluable when...
- 12/12/2022
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Richard Miller, the Industrial Light and Magic sculptor that helped create Princess Leia’s gold bikini costume for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, has died. He was 80.
Miller’s close friend and colleague Fon H. Davis confirmed the news in an Instagram post.
“I am heartbroken to hear my friend, colleague and incredibly talented sculptor, Richard Miller has passed away,” he captioned. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work, laugh, and be grumpy, at times, with him. I really appreciate having this picture Marrianne Heath sent me last Christmas. That’s the smile I like to remember. I also miss Grant very much today. We would have gotten together to remember Richard. Hug your friends today.”
Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
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A post shared by Fon H Davis (@fonhdavis)
Almost a year ago, Miller had taken to Twitter...
Miller’s close friend and colleague Fon H. Davis confirmed the news in an Instagram post.
“I am heartbroken to hear my friend, colleague and incredibly talented sculptor, Richard Miller has passed away,” he captioned. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work, laugh, and be grumpy, at times, with him. I really appreciate having this picture Marrianne Heath sent me last Christmas. That’s the smile I like to remember. I also miss Grant very much today. We would have gotten together to remember Richard. Hug your friends today.”
Related: Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Fon H Davis (@fonhdavis)
Almost a year ago, Miller had taken to Twitter...
- 12/11/2022
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
In an episode of ABC’s “The Goldbergs,” youngest son Adam suffers a grievous lapse in judgment. It’s Mother’s Day, but rather than spend time with his devoted, if meddling mother, he wants to see “Willow,” the potentially life-changing new George Lucas project. When the conflict comes to a head, Adam tells his mother he hates her, then sprints to the cineplex for what he’s convinced will be the next great franchise from an unparalleled cinematic genius. He emerges two hours later in the grips of despair having realized that “Willow” was barely worth watching, much less worth committing emotional matricide for.
In fairness to the 1988 film, “Willow” wasn’t an abject failure, at least not in the way we currently think of cinematic missteps. With a box office haul four times its budget and a passionate cult following, however small, “Willow” would have been for many...
In fairness to the 1988 film, “Willow” wasn’t an abject failure, at least not in the way we currently think of cinematic missteps. With a box office haul four times its budget and a passionate cult following, however small, “Willow” would have been for many...
- 11/30/2022
- by Joshua Alston
- Variety Film + TV
Ron Howard will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Directing at the 25th annual Scad Savannah Film Festival on Sunday, Oct. 23.
Recently, Howard directed and produced the biographical survival feature, “Thirteen Lives,” starring Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton. Based on the Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018, the film revolves around a team of divers and their mission to rescue twelve boys and the coach of a Thai soccer team who are trapped in a system of underground caves. “Thirteen Lives” will be screened at the Scad Savannah Film Festival, followed by an in-person conversation with Howard about his career.
The largest university-run film fest in the U.S., Scad honors professional and student filmmakers and welcomes a wide array of industry pros including directors, writers and actors over its eight-day run.
The Scad Savannah Film Festival will take place from Oct. 22 to 29. The complete festival line-up will be announced on Oct.
Recently, Howard directed and produced the biographical survival feature, “Thirteen Lives,” starring Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton. Based on the Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018, the film revolves around a team of divers and their mission to rescue twelve boys and the coach of a Thai soccer team who are trapped in a system of underground caves. “Thirteen Lives” will be screened at the Scad Savannah Film Festival, followed by an in-person conversation with Howard about his career.
The largest university-run film fest in the U.S., Scad honors professional and student filmmakers and welcomes a wide array of industry pros including directors, writers and actors over its eight-day run.
The Scad Savannah Film Festival will take place from Oct. 22 to 29. The complete festival line-up will be announced on Oct.
- 9/30/2022
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: USC Originals has scored its first theatrical release, in association with Warner Bros., following Lightyear Entertainment’s acquisition of its film, Voodoo Macbeth. The company behind the Oscar-nominated Australian feature Tanna has slated the pic for release across the U.S. and Canada in October.
Based on a true story, Voodoo Macbeth follows a young Orson Welles (Jewell Wilson Bridges) and a group of committed artists as they set out to create what is now considered a landmark event in African-American theater history—the Negro Theatre Unit’s revolutionary 1936 production of Macbeth.
With Fdr’s New Deal providing funding for the Federal Theatre Project, director Rose McClendon (Inger Tudor) convinces co-director John Houseman (Daniel Kuhlman) to help her bring Shakespeare’s Macbeth to the Harlem community at the Lafayette Theater — with an all-Black cast. Well before Citizen Kane and War of the Worlds, they choose for their groundbreaking production...
Based on a true story, Voodoo Macbeth follows a young Orson Welles (Jewell Wilson Bridges) and a group of committed artists as they set out to create what is now considered a landmark event in African-American theater history—the Negro Theatre Unit’s revolutionary 1936 production of Macbeth.
With Fdr’s New Deal providing funding for the Federal Theatre Project, director Rose McClendon (Inger Tudor) convinces co-director John Houseman (Daniel Kuhlman) to help her bring Shakespeare’s Macbeth to the Harlem community at the Lafayette Theater — with an all-Black cast. Well before Citizen Kane and War of the Worlds, they choose for their groundbreaking production...
- 8/9/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Ryan Phillippe (The Locksmith) has signed on for a key role opposite Bella Thorne in Mitzi Peirone’s thriller Saint Clare, based on Don Roff’s hit novel Clare at 16. Rebecca De Mornay (Lucifer), Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction), Bart Johnson (High School Musical) and Dylan Flashner (The Card Counter) will co-star in the film, which Screen Media has slated for release in North American theaters in 2023.
Saint Clare follows Clare Bleecker (Thorne), a quiet catholic college student with a divine vocation for killing. Phillippe will play the role of Timmons, a police officer investigating the latest murder in the small town, with Clare as his prime suspect. Whaley will portray Mailman Bob, a ghost from Clare’s past, with Johnson pulling double duty as twin brothers Joe and Randall, and Flashner set for the supporting role of Wade.
Peirone scripted the indie with American Psycho‘s Guinevere Turner. David Chackler,...
Saint Clare follows Clare Bleecker (Thorne), a quiet catholic college student with a divine vocation for killing. Phillippe will play the role of Timmons, a police officer investigating the latest murder in the small town, with Clare as his prime suspect. Whaley will portray Mailman Bob, a ghost from Clare’s past, with Johnson pulling double duty as twin brothers Joe and Randall, and Flashner set for the supporting role of Wade.
Peirone scripted the indie with American Psycho‘s Guinevere Turner. David Chackler,...
- 8/9/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Viggo Mortensen implemented a “Dangerous Method” on set for Ron Howard’s “Thirteen Lives.”
The thrice Oscar-nominated actor recalled barely being able to breathe when filming “Thirteen Lives,” telling the story of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue of 12 youth soccer players and their assistant coach who were trapped after a rainstorm. Mortensen portrays real-life hero Richard Stanton, with Colin Farrell as fellow rescue diver John Volanthen. Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, and Paul Gleeson also star in the film, released July 29 in theaters before launching globally on Prime Video August 5.
“All of a sudden I couldn’t breathe,” Mortensen told People. “It seemed like a long time, but it was only a matter of seconds. I panicked.”
In that moment, Mortensen remembered Stanton’s training to switch the mouthpiece to the oxygen tank and breathe using the second tank. “It’s not that complicated,” Mortensen added. “But at the moment, it’s hard to think clearly.
The thrice Oscar-nominated actor recalled barely being able to breathe when filming “Thirteen Lives,” telling the story of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue of 12 youth soccer players and their assistant coach who were trapped after a rainstorm. Mortensen portrays real-life hero Richard Stanton, with Colin Farrell as fellow rescue diver John Volanthen. Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, and Paul Gleeson also star in the film, released July 29 in theaters before launching globally on Prime Video August 5.
“All of a sudden I couldn’t breathe,” Mortensen told People. “It seemed like a long time, but it was only a matter of seconds. I panicked.”
In that moment, Mortensen remembered Stanton’s training to switch the mouthpiece to the oxygen tank and breathe using the second tank. “It’s not that complicated,” Mortensen added. “But at the moment, it’s hard to think clearly.
- 7/28/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Over the course of an engaging (if inevitably repetitive) two and a half hours, “Thirteen Lives” reenacts the incredible rescue effort that captured the world’s attention for several weeks in the summer of 2018: Twelve boys and the assistant coach of a Thai soccer team went exploring the Tham Luang cave when an unforeseen rainstorm forced them deeper and deeper. What should have been a reasonably easy hike instead became a near-death experience, as rising waters and an early monsoon season left them stranded for days, until a handful of the world’s most experienced divers arrived on the scene.
International news coverage ensured that audiences around the globe were aware of the situation, but far fewer know just what it took to get those kids to safety — which explains why this feel-good story has inspired multiple films, from “The Rescue” to “The Cave,” with an even more “authentic...
International news coverage ensured that audiences around the globe were aware of the situation, but far fewer know just what it took to get those kids to safety — which explains why this feel-good story has inspired multiple films, from “The Rescue” to “The Cave,” with an even more “authentic...
- 7/28/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell are the latest additions to the cast of Apple and Legendary’s upcoming live-action series about Godzilla and the Titans.
The father and son duo join previously announced cast members Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski in the show based on Legendary’s growing Monsterverse franchise.
In the show, following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the series will explore one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.
Kurt is a legendary actor known for his roles in films like “Escape from New York” and “Escape from LA,” “The Thing,” “Big Trouble in Little China,” “Backdraft,” and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” He has also starred in the Quentin Tarantino...
The father and son duo join previously announced cast members Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski in the show based on Legendary’s growing Monsterverse franchise.
In the show, following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the series will explore one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.
Kurt is a legendary actor known for his roles in films like “Escape from New York” and “Escape from LA,” “The Thing,” “Big Trouble in Little China,” “Backdraft,” and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” He has also starred in the Quentin Tarantino...
- 7/20/2022
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: This weekend marks four years since 12 members of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach walked into the Tham Luang cave complex in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province, and were soon trapped 1000 meters down by rapidly rising floodwaters. Leading to an extraordinary 17-day rescue effort in which the Thai government and its Navy SEALs were assisted by a wave of volunteers from numerous countries who lent their expertise at a time it wasn’t clear if the boys would still be alive. Bringing half-starved boys through the dark and twisty underwater path was extremely dangerous, as evidenced by the death of a Thai Navy Seal diver who ran out of oxygen. We all know the happy ending, but we also knew the Apollo 13 outcome and it didn’t dampen the thrills, emotion and tension. Director Ron Howard has again created a gripping testament to human ingenuity. Viggo Mortensen,...
- 7/8/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
The first trailer for Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives, about the rescue mission to save 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooding Thai cave, has been released.
Colin Farrell and Mortensen play divers John Volanthen and Richard Stanton, respectively. The two men were part of the 2018 rescue mission that found all 13 people alive about 2.5 miles from the cave mouth. Various options for extracting the group were discussed, but as the rain began to pick up, the rescue team decided to extract the boys one by one by rendering them unconscious and swimming through the tunnels with them. Jason Mallinson (played by Paul Gleeson in the film), Chris Jewell (Tom Bateman), Richard Harris (Joel Edgerton) and Craig Challen were also part of the mission.
Between July 8 and 10, all of the boys were rescued from the cave. The rescue effort involved more than...
The first trailer for Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives, about the rescue mission to save 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a flooding Thai cave, has been released.
Colin Farrell and Mortensen play divers John Volanthen and Richard Stanton, respectively. The two men were part of the 2018 rescue mission that found all 13 people alive about 2.5 miles from the cave mouth. Various options for extracting the group were discussed, but as the rain began to pick up, the rescue team decided to extract the boys one by one by rendering them unconscious and swimming through the tunnels with them. Jason Mallinson (played by Paul Gleeson in the film), Chris Jewell (Tom Bateman), Richard Harris (Joel Edgerton) and Craig Challen were also part of the mission.
Between July 8 and 10, all of the boys were rescued from the cave. The rescue effort involved more than...
- 6/28/2022
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The international rescue effort of a Thai soccer team in 2018 is now at the core of Ron Howard’s gripping epic based on the incredible true story.
Oscar-winner Howard directs “Thirteen Lives” centered on the mission to bring back 12 boys and their soccer coach who became trapped in the Tham Luang cave during an unexpected rainstorm. Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen portray real-life rescue divers John Volanthen and Richard Stanton, respectively, with Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, and Paul Gleeson also starring. “Thirteen Lives,” penned by William Nicholson, will premiere in theaters for one week starting July 29 before launching globally on Prime Video August 5.
The official logline reads: “Faced with insurmountable odds, a team of the world’s most skilled and experienced divers, uniquely able to navigate the maze of flooded, narrow cave tunnels, join with Thai forces and more than 10,000 volunteers to attempt a harrowing rescue of the twelve boys and their coach.
Oscar-winner Howard directs “Thirteen Lives” centered on the mission to bring back 12 boys and their soccer coach who became trapped in the Tham Luang cave during an unexpected rainstorm. Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen portray real-life rescue divers John Volanthen and Richard Stanton, respectively, with Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, and Paul Gleeson also starring. “Thirteen Lives,” penned by William Nicholson, will premiere in theaters for one week starting July 29 before launching globally on Prime Video August 5.
The official logline reads: “Faced with insurmountable odds, a team of the world’s most skilled and experienced divers, uniquely able to navigate the maze of flooded, narrow cave tunnels, join with Thai forces and more than 10,000 volunteers to attempt a harrowing rescue of the twelve boys and their coach.
- 6/28/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Jennifer Jason Leigh also joins Pine, Annette Bening and Danny DeVito in the cast.
Fresh from her Oscar win for West Side Story, Ariana DeBose has joined the cast of Poolman, Chris Pine’s directorial debut for AGC Studios.
Jennifer Jason Leigh has also signed on for the comedy mystery, financed by AGC, joining Pine, Annette Bening and Danny DeVito in the cast.
Pine co-wrote the script for Poolman with Ian Gotler and will produce with Stacey Sher and Patty Jenkins. Matthew Jensen is serving as cinematographer. The film goes into production next month in Los Angeles, where the story is set.
Fresh from her Oscar win for West Side Story, Ariana DeBose has joined the cast of Poolman, Chris Pine’s directorial debut for AGC Studios.
Jennifer Jason Leigh has also signed on for the comedy mystery, financed by AGC, joining Pine, Annette Bening and Danny DeVito in the cast.
Pine co-wrote the script for Poolman with Ian Gotler and will produce with Stacey Sher and Patty Jenkins. Matthew Jensen is serving as cinematographer. The film goes into production next month in Los Angeles, where the story is set.
- 5/16/2022
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose and Jennifer Jason Leigh have joined the cast of Chris Pine’s directorial debut Poolman. They join the previously announced cast of Pine, Annette Bening and Danny DeVito.
Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios is fully financing the project, which it launched at EFM earlier this year, and will continue to shop to buyers on the Croisette this week.
Pine directs from a script he co-write with Ian Gotler, Bening and DeVito. Pine plays Darren Barrenman, a hapless dreamer and would be philosopher who spends his days looking after the pool of the Tahitian Tiki apartment block in sunny Los Angeles and crashing city council meetings with his neighbors Jack and Diane (DeVito and Bening). When Barrenman uncovers the greatest water heist in LA history since Chinatown he makes uneasy alliances with a beautiful and connected femme fatale while following every lead he can with corrupt city officials,...
Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios is fully financing the project, which it launched at EFM earlier this year, and will continue to shop to buyers on the Croisette this week.
Pine directs from a script he co-write with Ian Gotler, Bening and DeVito. Pine plays Darren Barrenman, a hapless dreamer and would be philosopher who spends his days looking after the pool of the Tahitian Tiki apartment block in sunny Los Angeles and crashing city council meetings with his neighbors Jack and Diane (DeVito and Bening). When Barrenman uncovers the greatest water heist in LA history since Chinatown he makes uneasy alliances with a beautiful and connected femme fatale while following every lead he can with corrupt city officials,...
- 5/16/2022
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Ariana DeBose and Jennifer Jason Leigh have joined Chris Pine’s directorial debut, “Poolman.”
Fully financed by Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, the actors join an existing cast of Annette Bening and Danny DeVito. Pine also stars in the movie, which is billed as a moving tribute to Los Angeles.
Plot details for the pic are so far sparse, but “Poolman” is crafted as a nod to famous LA noirs like “Chinatown,” “The Long Goodbye,” “The Big Lebowski” and “La La Land.”
DeBose is fresh off her awards season sweep, which included Oscar, BAFTA and SAG awards for her star-making historic portrayal of Anita in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” Her other credits include “Hamilton,” “The Prom” and HBO’s “Westworld.” DeBose is also set to host the Tony Awards in June.
Meanwhile, Leigh — an Oscar nominee for “The Hateful Eight” — most recently starred in TV series “Hunters” and Lena Dunham’s “Sharp Stick.
Fully financed by Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, the actors join an existing cast of Annette Bening and Danny DeVito. Pine also stars in the movie, which is billed as a moving tribute to Los Angeles.
Plot details for the pic are so far sparse, but “Poolman” is crafted as a nod to famous LA noirs like “Chinatown,” “The Long Goodbye,” “The Big Lebowski” and “La La Land.”
DeBose is fresh off her awards season sweep, which included Oscar, BAFTA and SAG awards for her star-making historic portrayal of Anita in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” Her other credits include “Hamilton,” “The Prom” and HBO’s “Westworld.” DeBose is also set to host the Tony Awards in June.
Meanwhile, Leigh — an Oscar nominee for “The Hateful Eight” — most recently starred in TV series “Hunters” and Lena Dunham’s “Sharp Stick.
- 5/16/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Hollis Resnik, a Chicago theater legend who made her mark in productions of Follies, Les Miserables, Cabaret and Sunset Boulevard, died Sunday night from heart failure. She was 66.
Her death was announced by Rev. Jim Heneghan, a family friend and spokesperson.
“She was, for decades, a reigning diva of the Chicago theater,” wrote Tribune critic Chris Jones, “a rich-voiced star of musicals with a singular presence, a crackling sense of humor, and a larger-than-life persona, on and off the stage.”
Resnik was in the movie Backdraft and appeared on TV shows such as Crime Story, The Untouchables and The Playboy Club. But it was in national touring productions and on Chicago stages that she left her mark.
Resnik’s stage roles included Fantine in national touring productions of Les Misérables, Edith Beale in Grey Gardens at Northlight Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz,...
Her death was announced by Rev. Jim Heneghan, a family friend and spokesperson.
“She was, for decades, a reigning diva of the Chicago theater,” wrote Tribune critic Chris Jones, “a rich-voiced star of musicals with a singular presence, a crackling sense of humor, and a larger-than-life persona, on and off the stage.”
Resnik was in the movie Backdraft and appeared on TV shows such as Crime Story, The Untouchables and The Playboy Club. But it was in national touring productions and on Chicago stages that she left her mark.
Resnik’s stage roles included Fantine in national touring productions of Les Misérables, Edith Beale in Grey Gardens at Northlight Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz,...
- 4/21/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
There are plenty of movies set in Chicago, from Backdraft, the Barbershop franchise, The Boss, The Break-Up, the Child’s Play series, Damien: Omen II, Divergent, The Divergent Series: Insurgent, Eagle Eye, and The Fugitive to Hardball, I, Robot, A League of Their Own, Little Fockers, Mean Girls, Meet the Parents, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Relic, Road to Perdition, What Women Want, The Watcher, and The Whole Nine Yards, and more. Now, although we would have wanted to get all these movies in on this list of Ten Awesome Movies Straight Out of Chicago!, we cannot, which is why we
Ten Awesome Movies Straight Out of Chicago...
Ten Awesome Movies Straight Out of Chicago...
- 3/21/2022
- by Stanley Anto
- TVovermind.com
This opening letter is from the Den of Geek x Vikings: Valhalla Special Edition Magazine created in paid partnership with Netflix. You can read the full digital issue here!
On paper, a Vikings spin-off certainly seems like a no-brainer. The original series ran for six seasons and garnered legions of fans thanks to its adventurous storytelling, morally gray characters, cinematic action sequences, and willingness to take risks. The simplest choice would have been to create essentially a carbon copy of the original, leaning into its themes of legacy and explicitly tying the new series to its parent program.
Instead, Netflix has gone in a different direction, setting Vikings: Valhalla 125 years after the original, in a world where names like Ragnar and Lagertha are remembered as mythic figures more than real people who loved and struggled and triumphed.
“We had no desire to do Season 7 of Michael [Hirst]’s show.” Vikings: Valhalla...
On paper, a Vikings spin-off certainly seems like a no-brainer. The original series ran for six seasons and garnered legions of fans thanks to its adventurous storytelling, morally gray characters, cinematic action sequences, and willingness to take risks. The simplest choice would have been to create essentially a carbon copy of the original, leaning into its themes of legacy and explicitly tying the new series to its parent program.
Instead, Netflix has gone in a different direction, setting Vikings: Valhalla 125 years after the original, in a world where names like Ragnar and Lagertha are remembered as mythic figures more than real people who loved and struggled and triumphed.
“We had no desire to do Season 7 of Michael [Hirst]’s show.” Vikings: Valhalla...
- 2/17/2022
- by Lacy Baugher
- Den of Geek
Exclusive: Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment’s family film Dakota, starring Abbie Cornish, Lola Sultan (Netflix’s Yes Day), William Baldwin (Backdraft), Patrick Muldoon (The Comeback Trail) and Tim Rozon (Surreal Estate), for release in limited theaters beginning April 1, with a platformed theatrical rollout to follow.
In the action-adventure pic, recently widowed single mom Kate Sanders (Cornish) lives on her family’s farm in Georgia with her daughter Alex (Sultan). Life on the farm is a challenge and things only get more complicated when the combat dog Dakota, delivered by Sergeant Cj Malcolm (Rozon), arrives on their doorstep. Cj is fulling a promise made to Kate’s late husband, his friend and fellow Afghanistan veteran Marine Clay Sanders, to bring Dakota home to them, upon his death.
Kate spends her time between the farm and running the volunteer fire department,...
In the action-adventure pic, recently widowed single mom Kate Sanders (Cornish) lives on her family’s farm in Georgia with her daughter Alex (Sultan). Life on the farm is a challenge and things only get more complicated when the combat dog Dakota, delivered by Sergeant Cj Malcolm (Rozon), arrives on their doorstep. Cj is fulling a promise made to Kate’s late husband, his friend and fellow Afghanistan veteran Marine Clay Sanders, to bring Dakota home to them, upon his death.
Kate spends her time between the farm and running the volunteer fire department,...
- 2/4/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Imagine Entertainment, the film and TV production company cofounded by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, is in talks to sell to a London investment firm. The report cites “people familiar” with the matter, and claims Centricus, the London firm, may pay between $600 milliion to $800 million for more than a 70 percent stake in the company. Deadline reported earlier this summer that investors and potential buyers were taking interest in Imagine Entertainment, which was founded by Howard and Grazer in 1985.
The interested parties included at that time an unnamed Middle East sovereign wealth fund, as well as international banks and a domestic private equity firm. The valuation of the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind production company was reported as north of $800M.
Imagine’s umbrella consists of NY-based indie production shingle Jax Media, a majority stake in Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions,...
The interested parties included at that time an unnamed Middle East sovereign wealth fund, as well as international banks and a domestic private equity firm. The valuation of the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind production company was reported as north of $800M.
Imagine’s umbrella consists of NY-based indie production shingle Jax Media, a majority stake in Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions,...
- 1/16/2022
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Imagine Entertainment is in negotiations to sell a majority stake in the production banner headed by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer to London-based investment firm Centricus Asset Management Ltd.
The talks were first reported by the The Wall Street Journal. The negotiations are accelerating but a source close to the situation cautions there’s still no certainty that a deal will come to fruition. The discussions under way with Centricus are said to value Imagine Entertainment, one of Hollywood’s largest independent content producers, at about $600 million to $700 million. The company has been in the hunt for a capital infusion through an equity sale for some months.
Centricus has $35 billion in assets under management and is known for investing in financial services, technology, infrastructure, media and sports businesses. The company was co-founded in 2016 by Nizar Al-Bassam and Dalinc Ariburnu. Josh Purvis serves as CEO and COO.
Imagine Entertainment declined to comment.
The talks were first reported by the The Wall Street Journal. The negotiations are accelerating but a source close to the situation cautions there’s still no certainty that a deal will come to fruition. The discussions under way with Centricus are said to value Imagine Entertainment, one of Hollywood’s largest independent content producers, at about $600 million to $700 million. The company has been in the hunt for a capital infusion through an equity sale for some months.
Centricus has $35 billion in assets under management and is known for investing in financial services, technology, infrastructure, media and sports businesses. The company was co-founded in 2016 by Nizar Al-Bassam and Dalinc Ariburnu. Josh Purvis serves as CEO and COO.
Imagine Entertainment declined to comment.
- 1/15/2022
- by Jennifer Maas and Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
“It’s so fun to make a film with John, he’s such a film buff,” confides “A Quiet Place Part II” visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar. The John in question is of course writer and director John Krasinski, who Farrar says created “a much more active film” than the first go around. The pair discussed classic movies like “Jaws,” the work of Alfred Hitchcock, and even silent films as their guide posts for the feelings the sequence should evoke in audiences. “It was really fun constructing tension and suspense” with these touchstones in mind, according to Farrar. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
The prologue which opens the film is a perfect example of the high octane action which puts Farrar’s digital alien creatures front and center. “Everything had to be pretty fast,” he says of animating the monsters’ initial attack on humanity. “They hear, they target, then they move,...
The prologue which opens the film is a perfect example of the high octane action which puts Farrar’s digital alien creatures front and center. “Everything had to be pretty fast,” he says of animating the monsters’ initial attack on humanity. “They hear, they target, then they move,...
- 12/11/2021
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Filmed 10 years before the catastrophic events of 9/11, when firefighters were heralded as national heroes, and decades before wildfires became a year-round phenomenon as a result of climate change, the 1991 movie Backdraft was a veritable recruitment poster for a profession already viewed as selflessly noble.
Critics were unanimous in their praise of its special effects but less impressed by the film’s crisscross storylines involving sibling rivalry, a collapsed marriage and a pyromaniacal murderer. Moviegoers liked it, though — so much so that the Universal/Imagine feature broke a record for a Memorial Day weekend premiere and grossed $77.9 ...
Critics were unanimous in their praise of its special effects but less impressed by the film’s crisscross storylines involving sibling rivalry, a collapsed marriage and a pyromaniacal murderer. Moviegoers liked it, though — so much so that the Universal/Imagine feature broke a record for a Memorial Day weekend premiere and grossed $77.9 ...
Filmed 10 years before the catastrophic events of 9/11, when firefighters were heralded as national heroes, and decades before wildfires became a year-round phenomenon as a result of climate change, the 1991 movie Backdraft was a veritable recruitment poster for a profession already viewed as selflessly noble.
Critics were unanimous in their praise of its special effects but less impressed by the film’s crisscross storylines involving sibling rivalry, a collapsed marriage and a pyromaniacal murderer. Moviegoers liked it, though — so much so that the Universal/Imagine feature broke a record for a Memorial Day weekend premiere and grossed $77.9 ...
Critics were unanimous in their praise of its special effects but less impressed by the film’s crisscross storylines involving sibling rivalry, a collapsed marriage and a pyromaniacal murderer. Moviegoers liked it, though — so much so that the Universal/Imagine feature broke a record for a Memorial Day weekend premiere and grossed $77.9 ...
Investors and potential buyers are taking interest in Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, Deadline has confirmed.
The interested parties include an unnamed Middle East sovereign wealth fund, as well as international banks and a domestic private equity firm. The valuation of the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind production company is north of $800M.
Imagine’s umbrella consists of NY-based indie production shingle Jax Media, a majority stake in Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, a robust documentaries division including titles such as NatGeo’s Rebuilding Paradise, directed by Ron Howard, Sony Pictures Classics’ Julia and Apple’s Who Are You, Charlie Brown?
Imagine’s library includes Howard’s canon with such titles as Backdraft, Apollo 13 but also TV series such as 24, Arrested Development, Friday Night Lights and Empire. Howard is also set to direct his first animated feature movie for Paramount,...
The interested parties include an unnamed Middle East sovereign wealth fund, as well as international banks and a domestic private equity firm. The valuation of the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind production company is north of $800M.
Imagine’s umbrella consists of NY-based indie production shingle Jax Media, a majority stake in Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, a robust documentaries division including titles such as NatGeo’s Rebuilding Paradise, directed by Ron Howard, Sony Pictures Classics’ Julia and Apple’s Who Are You, Charlie Brown?
Imagine’s library includes Howard’s canon with such titles as Backdraft, Apollo 13 but also TV series such as 24, Arrested Development, Friday Night Lights and Empire. Howard is also set to direct his first animated feature movie for Paramount,...
- 7/21/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Imagine Entertainment, the production banner run by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, has been the subject of renewed acquisition talks in recent weeks, multiple sources told Variety.
Investors and potential buyers include an undisclosed sovereign wealth fund from the Middle East, which has been quietly exploring American media investments of late. Also kicking the tires on Imagine are international banks and a domestic private equity firm, according to two individuals familiar with the discussions. The current valuation being floated is between $800 million and $825 million, sources added.
An Imagine Entertainment spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
The interest in Imagine comes at a time when the media sector is rife with M&a and consolidation activity. In addition to top-level transactions like the pending combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery and Amazon’s nearly $9 billion purchase of MGM, companies like Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and LeBron James’ Spring Hill Entertainment...
Investors and potential buyers include an undisclosed sovereign wealth fund from the Middle East, which has been quietly exploring American media investments of late. Also kicking the tires on Imagine are international banks and a domestic private equity firm, according to two individuals familiar with the discussions. The current valuation being floated is between $800 million and $825 million, sources added.
An Imagine Entertainment spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
The interest in Imagine comes at a time when the media sector is rife with M&a and consolidation activity. In addition to top-level transactions like the pending combination of WarnerMedia and Discovery and Amazon’s nearly $9 billion purchase of MGM, companies like Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and LeBron James’ Spring Hill Entertainment...
- 7/20/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
For more than a minute there, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s metallic exoskeleton appeared unstoppable. With a glowing red-eye that became the stuff of nightmares and then action figures (we’re serious), the T-800 entered the ‘90s like a wrecking ball. No matter what they threw at him, and no matter what obstacles got in his way, the cyborg did not pause, it did not rest, and it seemed to be everywhere.
Ironically, this also applied to more than just the Terminator’s onscreen antics. In the summer of 1991, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was an indestructible money-sucking machine that conquered the box office four weekends in a row in July, and then miraculously hung on to its boffo target long enough to also become the number one movie in America for a weekend in September.
It was an R-rated entertainment that was technically a sequel, yet also a standalone science fiction thriller...
Ironically, this also applied to more than just the Terminator’s onscreen antics. In the summer of 1991, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was an indestructible money-sucking machine that conquered the box office four weekends in a row in July, and then miraculously hung on to its boffo target long enough to also become the number one movie in America for a weekend in September.
It was an R-rated entertainment that was technically a sequel, yet also a standalone science fiction thriller...
- 7/2/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer has signed with CAA in all areas worldwide. He was previously represented by WME.
The composer and record producer, who won an Academy Award for Disney’s “The Lion King” in 1995, has five films set to be released this year, including “Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” Barry Levinson’s “The Survivor” and his two most anticipated projects, “Dune” and “No Time to Die.”
Speaking at last year’s Variety FYC Fest, Zimmer spoke about working on the James Bond film alongside songwriters Billie Eilish and Finneas and score collaborator Johnny Marr. He acknowledged coming onto the project in late 2019 after another composer had come and gone. Zimmer explained, “The first thing that happened when I got to London was, they (the Bond camp) didn’t know which song to pick. And of course, there are a thousand songs that are being written. You know,...
The composer and record producer, who won an Academy Award for Disney’s “The Lion King” in 1995, has five films set to be released this year, including “Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” Barry Levinson’s “The Survivor” and his two most anticipated projects, “Dune” and “No Time to Die.”
Speaking at last year’s Variety FYC Fest, Zimmer spoke about working on the James Bond film alongside songwriters Billie Eilish and Finneas and score collaborator Johnny Marr. He acknowledged coming onto the project in late 2019 after another composer had come and gone. Zimmer explained, “The first thing that happened when I got to London was, they (the Bond camp) didn’t know which song to pick. And of course, there are a thousand songs that are being written. You know,...
- 5/25/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
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